The contemporary interest in angels is built largely around guardian
angels, a specific category of angelic beings said to be assigned to
watch over each person. However, parallel notions of guardian or tutelary
spirits are found worldwide in every culture—even in societies
lacking belief in what we would readily call angels.
The function of these tutelary spirits is, in many cases, quite similar
to the function of traditional angels. They watch over and protect
individuals, and in some cultures, these spirits are believed to be
attached to a person from birth. The manner in which these spirits
manifest their guidance varies: often people refer to inexplicable
“hunches” or intuitions, sometimes they receive visions or hear voices.
Possibly the most well known means of actually seeking a guardian
spirit is the “vision quest” undertaken by certain Native American
groups. In these societies, a standard component of the puberty rite
(the formal transition from childhood to adulthood) is the ritual quest
for a “revelation” (in the form of a dream or a vision) from the spirit
world. It is the hope that this revelation will ultimately inspire in a
young person a sense of purpose or identity, or it may steer the seeker
toward his adult vocation. These rituals sometimes involve treks into
the wilderness where the seeker fasts or engages in other activities likely
to bring on visionary experiences. As part of the vision, initiates
often acquire spirit helpers who take the form of animal spirits,
deceased relatives, or personifications of the forces of nature. This linkup
(meeting the spirit guardian) can be viewed as a wholly new relationship, or the conscious realization of a relationship
that has existed since birth.
Shamans (healers or religious specialists of
hunter/gatherer cultures), who may find their
vocations during their adolescent vision
quest—or, later, during a separate encounter
with the otherworld—often have many spirit
helpers. These helpers run the gamut from animal
spirits to the spirits of departed shamans.
With respect to animal helpers (one’s “power
animals,” to use contemporary terminology) the
relationship may be a totemic one, meaning
that the initiate or shaman in some way participates
in the nature of the animal. In other
words, a person with an eagle spirit helper
becomes “eagle-like,” and someone with a bear
helper becomes “bear-like.”
There is, in particular, a correlation
between the shaman’s guardian spirits and traditional
guardian angels. To the extent that
such helpers are viewed as communication links
between shamans and higher spirits, they function
as true angels (whose defining characteristic
is the job of message bearers).
A phenomenon with certain parallels to shamanism is contemporary
Spiritualism. Among Spiritualists, whose religion is built around
communication with the so-called dead, one finds similar notions of
spirit guides or helpers—helpers who are often, but not always,
deceased relatives. Individual mediums (people with exceptional sensitivity
to the otherworld) often have many guides, much as the
shaman has many spirit helpers. Despite this multiplicity, mediums
will usually have one principle spirit—a master guide or “control”—
who regulates contact with other spirits, and who thus serves as a kind
of guardian spirit for the medium.
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