On message: Stephen Feltham on our need for angels

‘People seem to need an outdoor place to express their emotions, hopes and spirituality.’

About sixty yards or so in front of the great statue of the Angel of the North there are some objects by a hedge: an assortment of little angels, love hearts, crucifixes, crosses, snowflakes, ribbons, and prayers. They are remembrances.

This little corner of woodland has become a modern-day shrine, a place to centre down and be still, to perhaps pray and nurture feelings of sadness, regret, or thanks. Has the nature and the name of the sculpture imbued this place with an air of something not of this earth, nearing the divine?

People seem to need an outdoor place to express their emotions, hopes and spirituality. There are many around the world that are not associated with religion but nevertheless provide a spiritual vehicle for us. Take the ‘lock bridge’ on the Seine River in Paris. Couples used to inscribe their names on a padlock, lock it on the bridge, and throw the keys into the river. The ritual symbolises love locked forever.

Equally, a visit to St Augustin’s well in Cerne Abbas will reveal that in that tranquil space (which has hosted Bournemouth Local Quaker Meeting for healing), ribbons and prayer flags are tied to the surrounding trees by the many visitors to this place.

Or take the prehistoric rings surrounding the Saxon church at Knowlton. In its outer edge is a grove of yew trees. There, tied to their branches, are ribbons and prayers.

I am sure you will be aware of many other examples. Some places have a special ability to radiate a spiritual essence. It can be: artificial, like the Angel of the North; natural but modified, like St Augustin’s well; or totally natural like a yew tree. But whatever it is, it is an angel.

What is an angel? An angel is a being or substance which is a pure spirit. Angels are said to have intellect and willpower, and so exercise knowledge and love. Each angel is essentially a centre of consciousness, sometimes without a body.

The simplest perception of an angel, however, is how we meet them at Christmas: a messenger from God. Could it be said that each angel – as a totally unique being, specially created and endowed with powers for knowing, loving, acting, and rejoicing in a manner far beyond our way of doing things – is able to bring us a special understanding or realisation of a mystery?

Angels have the capability to stimulate and bring forth within us a deep sense of love, emotion, and enlightenment. When experienced, this is unique, healing and life-influencing.

Angels, therefore, are essential for each of us; we need them for ourselves and for those around us. We may call angels by other names – statues, gardens, churches, woodland glades, forest streams and hedgerows – but even so, they are messengers. Do we not need them? If so, what is your angel?

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