Angel of Healing
I finished the paintings to honor the seven chakras housed in the body. My mind turned to the chakras outside the body, especially the 8th and 9th chakras that reside above the head. The color most associated with the 8th chakra is “ultraviolet.” Ultraviolet means “beyond violet”, which is the color of the highest frequencies of visible light. Since the color is beyond what is visible, I pondered what color I wanted to use as the background for a painting honoring the 8th chakra.
A few days later I sat to meditate. I picked up my drum and began drumming. Suddenly I have a vision of a man with a dog sled. The sled is pulled by a team of dogs. He motions for me to get in. I do and off we go, traveling to far northern regions of the universe. We cross mountains of snow entering the far, far regions of space. As we come over a hill, there before me is an amazing display of the Northern Lights. The man tells me "these are the colors of the background of your next painting or series of paintings. I interpreted this event as spirit’s response to my question and pondering on the color of the backfround for my painting on the 8th chakra. We stop and stand in awe of this amazing sight. Then the dogs take me on, pulling me and the sled into this energy. We are swirling for a time and then move through this and come to a place of complete silence. The silence was so silent that paradoxically it was deadening--a complete sense of peace. The waters are like glass, the whole region glistens as if they are diamonds. For a moment everything disappears and there is nothing. The best I can describe it after the fact is it was like a space of nothingness and yet complete stillness where everything existed and yet nothing existed. Suddenly I hear the distant call of the dog sled driver, calling the dogs back. I felt the jerk of the sled and the dogs turned the sled in a large circle in the sky brushing the sides of what seemed like mountains of crystals and we returned to the leader. He took the reins and we journeyed back to the room and back into my body. I realized that I was now carrying energy of the new painting or perhaps paintings.
As is my custom, I painted background of the colors that I saw as best as I could match them, and then painted what I saw. Here is the painting.
I journeyed to the image and engaged him in dialog. He tells me that he is the “angel of healing” and that I can access him and his energy to assist in working with my clients and for healing in general.
Research on the “angel of healing” reveals that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have an archangel of healing named Raphael. According to all three Abrahamic religions, Raphael performs all manners of healing.
Although the archangel Rafael does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and appears only in the Septuagint by name in the book of Tobit, biblical scholars believe there are references to Rafael in the protestant Bible. Medieval French rabbi, author and Hebrew Bible commentator Rashi views Raphael as being one of the three angels that appeared to Abraham in the oak grove of Mamre in the Book of Genesis. Orthodox and some protestant traditions such as the Anglican tradition ascribe to the belief that Raphael is one of the unnamed angels in John's Revelation 8:2. Raphael is also generally associated with the angel mentioned in the Gospel of John as stirring the water at the healing pool of Bethesda. Raphael is a venerated angel within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions.
In Islam, Raphael is the fourth major angel; and in the Muslim tradition is known as Israfil who is traditionally attributed to a trumpet, which is poised at his lips so that when God so commands he shall be ready to announce the Day of Resurrection.
In more modern day angelology, the Archangel Raphael is one of the most well-known healing angels, and the main archangel who oversees healing for living beings on Earth. He is considered an incredibly kind and powerful angelic being, who is ready, willing and waiting to connect with humans directly if they so desire.
According to author and angel channel, Melanie Becker, when called upon Raphael brings powerful healing to mind, body, and spirit. He may surround you with emerald green healing light to nurture your entire being, and rejuvenate your physical vitality. He often brings healing through guidance. With the powerful divine guidance from Archangel Raphael, you can activate and use your body’s innate ability to heal itself.
According to Becker, in some cases Raphael does help to trigger instant and miraculous healing, though this is not always the case. Sometimes you will be required to listen to his guidance and take action yourself to align with the healing you seek. The guidance from Archangel Raphael may not be in the way you expect, as he will both directly and indirectly communicate with you to guide you in the direction of full healing, vibrant health, and well-being.
Irrespective of what we may think about angels, angelology, the practice of studying angelic beings, can be found within both modern media and older media. The history and study of these beings can be found as early as the Roman Empire and has gone through various stages of popularity.
Working with spirit beings is central to shamanism. In the invisible realms of non-ordinary reality there are a variety of helping spirits that can help the shaman with healing individuals, the community, and the planet. Shamanic cultures believe that when we are born the spirit of at least one power animal volunteers to remain with us to keep us healthy emotionally and physically and also protect us from harm. These animals are akin to the Christian belief in guardian angels. The other form of helping spirit that shamans work with is a teacher in human form. These typically were the gods and goddesses of the culture, religious figures, and ancestors who wished to help. These helping spirits work with the shaman to bring healing to individuals, the community, and the environment. The helping spirits are also consulted with when information is needed.
I hold my paintings to be both projections of my own inner world as well as expressions of my contact with spirit beings in the greater areas of non-ordinary reality. They appear in my paintings as a way for me to honor, interact with and integrate these unconscious parts of me into consciousness as well as an opportunity to build relationships with them in a greater sense as spirit beings in non-ordinary reality. In the case of this painting, “Angel of Healing”, the image can represent both my own inner healer that I have projected onto the canvas as well as my rendition of an actual spirit being of healing such as the archangel Raphael or another helping and healing spirit.
Confusing for me was the appearance of the Cougar. Initially I didn’t understand why a cougar would appear in this painting as it didn’t seem appropriate for the context of this painting. However, on researching the medicine of the cougar, I discovered that in the Zuni traditions the cougar represents the link between ourselves and the most powerful spirits in Zuni Mythology—Mother Earth, Father Sky, and the Originator of All. The Zunis designated Cougar the duty of carrying messages from humans to the higher spirits, because of this animal’s personal power, superior knowledge, strength of will, and steadfastness. Therefore, the presence of the cougar in this painting can be understood to represent a link to spiritual realms of non-ordinary reality and the angel of healing.
Sources:
Becker, Melanie. http://www.ask-angels.com/channeled-messages/archangel-raphael/ retrieved 4/1/18
Ingerman, Sandra. “The Power of Shamanism to Heal Emotional and Physical Illness” http://www.sandraingerman.com/sandrasarticles/abstractonshamanism.html retrieved 4/1/18
Spirit of the Wild Cat.” http://wildfelids.org/SpiritoftheWildCat.html retrieved 4/1/18
http://biblescripture.net/Tobias.html retrieved 4/1/18.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=203 retrieved 4/1/18.