Guardian Spirits
Various mythologies assign different names to the Spirits associated with a person and offer diverse accounts of their origins. Sometimes they are seen as Ancestor Souls, sometimes as Guardian Angels, sometimes as manifestations of the person’s own soul — their “higher Self.”
Yet they all agree on one point — beside the person there exists a force seen as external to the person that performs certain protective and guiding functions. Misfortune can be explained by the guardian spirit turning away, having been driven away, or even slain, while good fortune is attributed to the spirit’s skillful performance of its duties.
Christianity holds that not everyone has a Guardian Angel. But a baptized person is given one — this is regarded as one of the benefits of baptism.
In Ancient Greece the notion of a personal Daemon corresponded to the modern concept of a “guardian angel” — eudaemonia — a state of well-being protected by a spirit. The word “daemon” derives from δαίω, δαίνυμι, δαίμαι — all from the root δα- meaning “endowment,” “distribution,” “gift.” Daemons were not thought to have a fixed allegiance to good or evil; rather, they helped determine a person’s character. Dark and light daemons were distinguished and regarded as cosmically necessary, generated by the World Soul to operate on different planes of being, including the earthly elements. In late antiquity daemons were imagined either as subjugated and limited or as dangerous and hostile to humans. A daemon is partly unconscious and instinctive. Its power lies both in preventing suffering and misfortune and in prompting good deeds. The significance of a daemon is by no means absolute. Its influence can prove ineffective, and then other sources must be used to choose a course of action.
In earlier Greek culture, however, daemons were often considered the benevolent souls of illustrious figures from the ancient “golden age” (Hesiod), souls that could be sent to support, protect, and spiritually guide those on earth chosen for some mission.
The Akkadians likewise described individual Guardian Spirits (Shedu) who protected people from danger. Depictions of the Shedu emphasize their dual nature — human and rational on one hand, animal and elemental on the other. Their wings attest to a spiritual-divine origin.
In shamanic traditions Guardian Spirits play a central role. It is believed that not only shamans but ordinary people have guardian spirits. However, the source of the shaman’s power is precisely his guardian spirit. It is also called the “power animal“, the “guardian spirit,” or the “totem animal.” A whole ritual of seeking is developed to acquire it. Typically the shaman keeps watch at night in the open air, awaiting the guardian spirit. The guardian spirit usually appears in the form of an animal, bird, fish, or reptile, but it can also take on a human form. Encounters with it are at once beneficial and healing and often traumatic, yet they grant the shaman access to power. The shaman calls the spirit into his body, and it protects him from illness and hostile forces of the lower world. After a few years the guardian spirit can be changed if necessary.
Spiritual helpers dictate to the shaman how he should dress and live and what he will do. Tradition holds that if a person ignores the spirit’s instructions, the broken alliance will displease the spirit and the spirit may kill the person. If a person has lost their guardian spirit (it is said to be “disordered”), a shaman is called to restore it. To heal a patient, the shaman undertakes a restorative journey into an otherworldly realm, seeking to find the lost guardian and return it to the patient.
In the twentieth century C. G. Jung wrote that he too had a personal Daemon named Philemon, though Jung’s relations with his Daemon were not so rosy: “Every man, if he is creative, does not belong to himself. He is not free. He is a captive, drawn along by the demon… The demon of creativity was relentless and merciless with me.” Crowley regarded the goetic spirit Belial as his “special personal Daemon.”
The Western tradition also has its own idea of Guardian Spirits. First, such Spirits are considered ministering, i.e., having no other task (an analogy with “Guardian Angels”). Connection with such a Spirit partly depends on the will of the person, although the spirit does not abandon the person until their death, even if the bond with it is broken.
Magic holds that the Guardian Spirit (Daemon) is a product of the path and will of the Magus himself, just as, for example, a house-spirit is a product of the inhabitants’ “sense of home.” In other words, by its nature the Guardian Spirit is an elemental aspect of the person and, at the same time, a kind of other side of that person.
It is clear that potentially every person truly has such a Spirit, yet to bring it into actual existence requires excess power, either accumulated or acquired by some other means. The form it takes naturally depends on the person’s nature, on which aspect of the person the spirit embodies. That is why for some it is an Angel (appearing to those who seek divine protection and guardianship), for others an animal (expressing the elemental aspects of the person), and for others a human figure (when certain human qualities recede into shadow).
For the Western Magus it is important to understand that the development of the Daemon, the reverse side of one’s being, has both positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, this development helps develop certain powers and skills and therefore adds both protection and wisdom. But on the other hand, it decentralizes the magus’s power. There is a danger (especially pronounced on shamanic paths) of transferring the centre of activity from the Personality to the Daemon; a kind of “castling” occurs, the centre of being shifts from the Personality to the Daemon, and the person becomes subservient to the spirit. This phenomenon was often taken for “selling one’s soul to the devil,” although the Devil has nothing to do with it — the person sold his soul to his own other self.
In this connection it is clear that in developing and strengthening the bond with his Daemon, the Magus must understand clearly that the spirit’s instructions are not absolute commands. Unlike relations with genuine ministering spirits, ordering a Daemon around will not work. If oppressed or enslaved, the Daemon can become a latent enemy, dreaming of freedom and power over the tyrannical personality.
Therefore, in this case harmonious cooperation, mutual strengthening, and shared journey are what matter.
Kak pochuvstvovat’, kakie duhi-hraniteli ohranyayut menya ili okrujayuschih menya lyubei?
For this, there exists a special ritual.
Can a person interact with another person’s Daimon?
What situation could cause a shaman to change their Guardian Spirit?
One person’s Daimon can interact with another’s, as similar interacts with similar.
A shaman changes their Spirit in case of its illness or death, for example, in a battle with other spirits.
Only by having a lot of energy can a person unlock their potential power.
You said that in order to feel which spirits surround me and surrounding people a ritual is needed! What ritual?
To be honest, I don’t really believe in a guardian angel.
Yes, guardian angels must definitely exist for every human being.
There must be one.
The Guardian is an inseparable part of any person.
I believe that this is not quite what is called a guardian angel; the angel is like a shield, it is always with a person and it never changes, while a Daimon is something else, like a second guardian fulfilling the function of a sword, it resolves all mundane issues and knows a lot, but while helping a person, it always has its own interests, it is very successful to work with it but it shouldn’t impose its will on a person.
Dear Enmenkar. For a very long time, I have dreamed of asking a question for which I would like to hear a more or less coherent answer… Nevertheless, is the guardian angel a product of man himself, or is it an assistant assigned by someone or something…? And in our society, with a certain religion, everything comes down only to the baptism ritual as a way to acquire this guardian angel. What about unbaptized people? How do they acquire their guardians?
From the perspective of the myth I am talking about, ‘Guardian Angel’ is an external entity in relation to a person, however, it is not ‘assigned’ by anyone, but exists parallel to the person as a result of a corresponding necessity. Therefore, such a spirit is possessed regardless of religious affiliation.
Enmerkar, do you speak of “religious affiliation” for politeness? What can religious people seek in your texts?
Is it possible in principle to connect with your angel? Or can only he initiate contact when he wants.
A couple of years ago, I began to feel someone’s presence nearby. It was for most of the day but not every day. Usually at home. At first, it frightened me, but then it became calm. I started to have good luck. I decided to try to establish the most basic contact. Everyone calls me incredibly lucky because the most frightening problems are solved easily. And it is always when I am in despair asking him for help. Before the session, I dreamed that a young man handed me a book with a big number 38, during the exam, I got that ticket.
Can one, by their own desire, acquire a guardian spirit of their choice? If yes, then how? And is there a way, without having shamanic power, to become a shaman?
No, a Guardian Spirit is a reflection of the inner essence of a being; it is not chosen but sought.
Thank you, I will definitely find it!!
I have a question… can a person have 12 spirit guardians?
Is it possible that a person is guarded not by an angel, but by a demon… like Satan… or Beelzebub? And how dangerous is that?
Well, regarding Satan or Beelzebub – unlikely :), but in principle, demons can guard, that’s even sometimes used, but the cost for their ‘services’ is always disproportionate.
Where is the line between an angel and a demon? Only in literary writings? The concepts of good and evil are so inconsistent that what may be good for one can be bad for another.
It has already been asked here, but I will ask it differently… Who can recommend an effective ritual for calling a fetch (or materialization, if you like)? Ideally, one tested in practice…
I apologize if I’m intruding. In my possibly incorrect view, a person is a being led by the creator, destined to fulfill certain tasks in this incarnation. The organism is a conduit of my consciousness, an assistant in fulfilling the task set before my monad. And it doesn’t matter if I want this or not, I will constantly be reminded of it. I must fulfill the potential and transform it into the actual. And constant resistance to this is always felt. It’s like breaking through a wall with a running start. Run-up – breakthrough – rest. Slackness is replaced by new accumulation of strength for the run-up and again a thrust. If it fails – disgrace yourself in the chart. Weak. You try again. This is life.
Hmm… seek out spirit guardians… and everything will be all right, listen to yourself…
“The Guardian Spirit is the Elemental of the human being, and at the same time, its ‘reverse’ side.” Interaction has determined the Guardian Spirit. “This concerns both the charlatans of human myth, wandering in their madness toward the abyss and dragging gullible students with them, and otherworldly beings, especially the eternally hungry elementals. The latter particularly masquerade as ‘teachers from subtle planes’ and find many victims for themselves.” To avoid transforming into the REVERSED side of the manifested Guardian Spirit, work in the direction of the root.
Dear Enmerkar. Thank you for the wonderful article. You treat A. Crowley with great respect, but after “Crowley considered his ‘special personal daemon’ to be the goetic spirit Belial,” I feel a bit confused. I honestly do not understand, knowing your clear and definite attitude towards demons and cooperation with them… Please clarify. This has greatly troubled me. Thank you in advance for your answer.
I find it difficult to comment on Crowley’s words, but it is known that he loved to make outrageous statements. I think the mentioned expression should be perceived as an ‘artistic exaggeration.’
Phew. Thank you, dear En… I actually feel relieved. )