Our Secret Companions and Liberators

If the human person were alone, it would be exceptionally difficult to liberate oneself from such inner prisons. In the Celtic tradition, there was a strong sense that each of us has an invisible companion who walks the road of life with us. I imagine that our secret companions in the invisible world are the angels. One of the poverties of modern life is the loss of belief in such presences. The Christian tradition says that when you were sent here to the earth, a special angel was chosen to accompany your every step, breath, thought, and feeling. This is your guardian angel who is right beside you, as near as your skin. The Irish poet Denis Devlin says, “It is inside our life the angel happens.” The imagination of the tradition understands that your angel has a special responsibility for your life, to watch over you and to keep a circle of light around you, lest any negativity damage you in any way. When we reflect on this, we can imagine the depth of presence the angel is. Your angel is as ancient as eternity itself and has memory that is older than the earth. Your angel was there when the eternal artist began to dream you. Your angel is wedded to the dream and possibility of your life, and wishes to keep your life from becoming fixated in any inner prison.

Your angel is aware of the secret life that sleeps in your soul. Without you even knowing it, your angel is always at work for you. It is possible to sense this if you consider for a moment the key thresholds in your life. You may feel that you should contact an old friend or someone you had not seen for a while. You set out to do this, and you discover that the friend really needs you. The visit could never have been more opportune. There are also the times when someone comes into your mind, and the next thing they are at your door or on the phone. This is the secret world of association and inspiration which can never be explained. Artists could never create without the inspiration the angel brings. It is the gift of the angel to watch over that threshold where your invisible world comes to visible form. Any art, belief, or spirituality that lacks inspiration is ultimately dry and mechanical. Something inspired has the surprise, vitality, and warmth of the eternal in it. The Irish word for angel is “aingeal.” This was also the word for a burnt-out cinder taken from the fire. It was often given to children going out in the night to protect them. It was said to represent an angel. The word “aingeal” shows how our Celtic tradition fused a spirituality of the elements with that of the angels.

I imagine that the angels are spirits of light and playfulness. They are often depicted as playing musical instruments. They have none of the seriousness or narrowness that often accompanies dead religion. Angels are specially present around young children. In the West of Ireland, people always recognized that the angels were near children. Fresh from the eternal world, babies are often said to be able to see their own angels. To know that you have a strong and individual spiritual companion is great encouragement not to linger for false shelter in unnecessary prisons. In your angel, you have as much shelter as you need. You are not on your own. If you could see your path with the eyes of your soul, you would see that it is a luminous path and that there are two of you walking together; you are not alone. When loneliness or helplessness overcomes you, it is time to call on your angel for help and courage. This is the tender region of the heart for which your angel is especially competent and helpful. There are lovely prayers the Celts said to their angels: