How to connect with your angels

We don’t know much about angels, but we know this… and that’s enough.

From winged, long-haired beings draped in white, to mysterious black-cloaked entities who gather on LA beaches at sunset and sunrise (City of Angels*), the form of angels has long been a source of speculation. Regardless of what we think they look like, most of us seem to agree that angels exist to help humankind. They can also, I’ve found, be a soft conduit to connecting with the divine. What that looks like is entirely up to us.

(Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash)

Angels were my gateway into spirituality. Around 2006 I was working at a women’s magazine which was introducing an angel card reading column that would answer reader questions, but it needed letters from staff to bridge the gap before readers’ letters arrived. I submitted a question about my perennial singleness and was both astounded and unsurprised by the accuracy of the response. What I mean by that is my human side was stunned that a stranger could divine so much profound knowledge about me with scant information provided. But at the same time, my dormant spiritual side was like, ‘duh, of course’. I knew divine guidance was accessible to me before I knew it knew it – if that makes sense. I wouldn’t have phrased it like this at the time, but that moment was the start of me reaching back from my current self towards all the previous versions of me where I was more spiritually connected. It wasn’t an epiphany, it was a slow remembering. It was also the start of my journey to become a healer, working with many light beings in the spiritual realm beyond angels.

After I got my first angel card deck and began drawing cards for myself, I felt compelled to wade in deeper. So I began doing card readings for other people, shyly at first, then all in. I did a card-reading workshop (but hadn’t really needed to, I realised later). People began following me on Instagram for my ‘oracle card of the day’ draws. Initially I thought that having a large following would be great marketing for my nascent business, but I was wrong. Few people who reach out for healing sessions do so as a result of Instagram (I know this because there’s a ‘how did you find me?’ field on my booking form).

It’s clear to me that the main reason people follow me is not because of the transformative healing work I do, it’s because the word ‘angel’ is in my Instagram handle and because many of the cards I post depict angels. Although I have stopped talking about angels, and don’t even offer angel card readings any longer, people are still drawn to any faint reference of these celestial beings. Why? For reassurance – something we increasingly crave in fast-moving, turbulent times.

I understand the fascination with angels. In a world that can be hostile and lonely, it’s immensely comforting to know there are energetic beings around you at all times, protecting you and supporting you, and that nothing you do will ever make them leave. That’s the kind of guarantee you just don’t get in human-to-human relationships, which are never entirely stable and certainly never unconditional. And given we’re often confused about what to do and where to go, knowing there are divinely sent beings available to offer some guidance is incredibly reassuring. Those are the sort of spiritual bannisters we want to lean on when we don’t trust ourselves (which is pretty much all the time).

While angels can’t make decisions for us, they can certainly give us a steer in the right direction, and reassure us whenever we need it. If you’d like to connect with your angels better, here are some ideas:

• Talk to them, out loud or in your head. I often call on Archangel Michael for a hit of courage when I need it.

• If you need help understanding a message from your intuition, ask your angels to send you a sign to confirm it. More information about angel signs here.

• Buy a pack of angel cards and practise drawing a couple of cards for yourself whenever you need it. Some people have reservations about buying cards created by Doreen Virtue, given she’s now distanced herself from the New Age community, but I still use her cards and have no problem doing so. In the same way a song no longer belongs to the songwriter and can mean whatever the listener wants it to mean, oracle cards are for us to use and no longer belong to the person who created them (more about that here).

• Spend more time in nature. This sounds woo woo, but it’s totally not. Being outside around things that are growing helps me feel more connected to my spiritual side, including angels and all the rest. I don’t think I’ve never spent time in nature and not felt at peace.

By the way, I rewatched City of Angels recently. I had forgotten the plot included angels hanging out in libraries (makes sense to me, as I am rarely happier than when I’m around books) and the prolonged ridiculousness of Meg Ryan’s character’s demise. One star, does not hold up.