London - What do James Bond actress Gemma Arterton and Hollywood star Denzel Washington
have in common?
Here’s a clue: it’s not the agent looking after them. In fact, both have spoken of their belief in guardian angels.
Arterton told Vogue magazine she believes her dead grandmother acts as her guardian angel, sending her signs about, among other things, whether or not to accept film projects.
Washington described seeing an angel which looked like his sister – only with wings.
It’s enough to bring out the cynic in anyone.
Wayne Rooney’s torso already bears a tattoo of a guardian angel, reportedly dedicated to his son Kai.
Victoria Beckham has said she and husband David wear matching guardian angel necklaces that apparently emit a powerful “energy”.
But it isn’t just the rich and famous who are professing their belief in guardian angels.
The internet is bulging with blogs and websites set up by those claiming to have seen their guardian angel. And sales of books on the topic have soared.
Publishers have snapped up writers claiming angelic visions.
“The genre appeals because people naturally have the desire to find meaning and depth in their life,” says Mark Booth, from Hodder & Stoughton. “Often the established church doesn’t fulfil that.”
Some of the best-known “angel books” are those by Lorna Byrne, an Irish mother-of-four.
Her 2008 memoir, Angels In My Hair, about a life filled with visions of angels, has sold more than half a million copies around the world.
Two further books written by Byrne, Stairways To Heaven and A Message Of Hope From The Angels, have also become bestsellers.
Byrne claims her earliest memory was of lying in a cot and attempting to play with “angels” as they floated above her head. And, she says, they’ve never left her.
T
here is money to be made from people’s faith in them. A host of “mystics” offer everything from “angel card readings” to “angel therapists”.
A lot of people believe they have met their guardian angel.
History is full of tales of angelic encounters, from the Old Testament to Joan of Arc’s belief that the archangel Michael told her to lead France in battle against the English. But what have all these people seen?
“A lot of people are genuinely seeing these things,” says Christopher French, professor of psychology at Goldsmiths University.
“For example, mountain climbers who have lost their bearings sometimes report seeing a figure guiding them out of the danger. It may be a psychological defence when faced with danger. Of course, we don’t hear from those whose guardians led them off the edge of a cliff.”
Neuroscientists have identified several factors which may induce fantastical visions.
In 2005, researchers found sending electric currents through the left temporoparietal junction – an area at the back of the brain which retains visual memories and sensory information – resulted in patients seeing “ghostly” figures.
Brain scans of Tibetan monks showed mystical experiences tended to occur when sections at the front of the brain (typically involved in concentration and planning) were very active, while those involved in navigation and spatial orientation were calm.
Believers say a vision ends with the angel passing on a message, often in the form of white feathers.
Arterton has said she “has feathers which follow her everywhere”.
Analysts argue such phenomena simply reflect a human need to find patterns in otherwise random events.
– Daily Mail
