Angels have often been cited as messengers from God. They
have been regular sightings of them from biblical times to the present day
yet the angels themselves remain a mystery. This essay will examine the
growing mythology surrounding angels and try to resolve this age old
mystery.
Throughout history people have reported to have seen
angels in times of great stress or danger. Seeing an angel is usually seen
as positive and life changing experience. The experience doesn't necessary
make the person religious but it have often changed their perspective of the
world.
Over half the people who have seen angels have held no
religious beliefs and because of this sightings have often been interpreted
as psychic and spiritual so therefore have been catalogued as a supernatural
event.
Angels usually appear without reason but they are more
likely to seen during a time when a person is afraid or frightened. Many
scientists have argued this is a physiological phenomenon brought on by a
mixture of stress, a lack of oxygen and fantasy. People who seen angels tend
to disagree with these explanations claiming that this is not true at all.
Angels, like ghosts and black dogs, are often seen by
roadsides but this does not mean they have haunt particular places. Angels
usually appear in places that are specific to the individual who sees them.
Roadsides are often popular venues for seeing angels are they are they to
warn that an accident is about to happen and they are to intervene.
In many cases angels have simply been heard and not
seen. Many people have been warned, for example, to slow down their car
before an accident occurs and often warned others of imminent danger. In
these cases angels have been seen to save lives.
When angels have been heard they have often been heard to
sing. Their voices have been called beautiful and strangely inhuman - these
voices have also been christened more emotive and in a higher tone than any
humans making them hard to ignore.
Angels, in most cases, are seen and not heard. When
angels are seen it is usually in their traditional image with beautiful,
sexless faces, carrying swords and trumpets, floating above the ground,
spreading their wings and revealing a skin glowing with an inner light.
On many occasions they have taken human form and without
wings.
According to the bible angels exist in hierarchies. These
hierarchies of spiritual beings range from cherubs to the six-winged
Seraphim which is never sighted. Angels usually take on many forms and often
take on the form of humans to act as guardians as someone passes from one
life to the next. Many people claim to have seen their guardian angels but
in no reported cases have been recognised as a deceased relative.
In most cases angels offer reassurance and protection. In
some rare instances black-clothed angels have been seen and have surrounded
by darkness. This is seen as entirely evil and people have been advised that
if they see one not pursue it as a tragedy will occur.
Whatever angels are, they are as random as life itself.
Life can be unfair and if, as reported, angels do intervene in our lives, it
is a once in a lifetime experience to glimpse something beyond the ordinary.
Angels do not remain the only unsolved religious mystery
- stigmata and
possession remain enigmas to this day.
'Cathedral' brings angel mythology up to date with it's
timeless plot.
