On Perfumed Angel's Wings - 2

I'm inclined to believe an angel whispered in my ear, rather than it being intuition, because I have seen a shining being standing in my own living room and that wasn't intuition! Angels are very physical when they want to be, and very etheric when they want to be.

They straddle the two universes. This experiencing of them accords with the current theological position which, according to Canon Emeritus of Ely Cathedral describes angels as 'spiritual beings intermediate between God and mankind'. He adds that it's thought angels were created before mankind, and they were somehow implicated in 'the Creation's Fall for perfection', hence there are 'fallen angels'.

In New Catholic Encyclopedia, angels are described as 'celestial spirits who serve God in various capacities'. Pope John Paul the 11 has stated that angels do exist and that they 'have a fundamental role to play in the unfolding of human events'.

Religious literature abounds with accounts of angels. They feature strongly in the Bible, and the Koran, and they're known as devas or 'shining ones' in Hinduism. The sacred mountain of Kanchenjunga, on the border of Nepal and Sikkim, is known as the 'five thrones of the Shining Ones'. There are also Native American accounts of being advised by 'shining beings' during vision-quests, rather than by the usual totem animals, and stories about 'the feathered people' and 'the winged ones'.

In European art, angels grace the corners of innumerable religions paintings, put there by Renaissance and other artists who believed implicitly in their existence. In countless town and villages in Europe, angels carved in stone have been built into the fabric of medieval and later churches to protect the congregation within. 

• But verily over you
  (Are appointed angels)
  To protect you, -
  Kind and Honourable, -
  Writing down (your deeds)
  They know (and understand)
  All that ye do.
  Koran, Sura:10-12

Angels have a fragrance which, in my experience at least, precedes their 'appearance'. Perhaps the fragrance was also there when I actually saw the angel, but was 'cut out' as my senses focused intently on the vision in front of me.

I tried really hard to remember each visual detail, and was mesmerized by what appeared to be wings. Each 'feather' seemed to be a centre or vortex of energy made up of light - the spine in particular being a source of great light - yet also a route to the infinite, while each delicate strand coming off it was a chain made up of many sparkling lights.

Each sparkle on each strand had its own energy field, and together they made the form of each super luminous 'feather', which was less a material feather than an arrangement of light in a feather shape. The Overall effect was extremely powerful and awe-inspiring.

I've found the fragrance of angels elusive in the sense that it seems to have no source. It just suddenly appears and suffuses the whole body and mind. I can recall two aromas quite distinctly, neither of which I have encountered before.

One was fairly similar to a heavy, deep, exotic rose maroc. The other was a light fragrance that was sweet, and floralish, but not just floral, also resin - imagine frankincense as a flower but without the same aroma. Sometimes I will smell an angel without seeing one, and I know it's the fragrance of angels because it's so pervading and fills my nose even to the point that I feel I can't inhale any longer.

After such powerful aromatic experiences I always have a good look and sniff around to see if there was any other possible source for the phenomenon. I check my clothes for perfume; I sniff all the plants and flowers; and run through my mind who has been in the house, possibly wearing scent; but no source for the strange fragrances has ever been found. Others in the house have smelt it too - and the mystery remains long after the fragrance has gone.

People who report fragrance associated with angel visitations invariably say it was like Jasmine, rose, lilly, hyacinth or violets. Personally, I expect people use these descriptions because the actual smell is impossible to describe - as we have nothing to compare it to on earth - and the fragrance of these particular flowers is as close as we can get.

I've also smelt something like the aroma of freesias, but not quite. We should not expect the fragrance of the angels to reflect what is here on earth, as the angels are of Heaven, not earth. Indeed, as H.C. Moolenburgh MD has commented in A Handbook of Angels (1988), 'I think at times we take in the perfume of the angel hierarchies themselves.'

Fragrance is one of the sacred codes of the celestial heavens. We can in some sense consume the aroma of angles like angel food, an etheric manna from heaven, which is also angelic illumination. At the same time, fragrance invites the angels towards us, a celestial go-between. As light is contained within fragrance, it is a means by which we can communicate, a form of light transference  which carries our message to the illuminated realms.

Sometimes the fragrance of angels is overpowering, at other times it is barely perceptible, like a breath exuding a heavenly fragrance that only briefly touches the skin, a lightness etherical but tangible. Perhaps to smell an angel is to be kissed by the divine.

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens : Valerie Ann Worwood  …..Learn More...............