THEME 1. What are Angels, Fairies and Gnomes?

Most lands have nature spirit folklores. The English talk of sea-sprites, fairies, elves, gnomes, pixies and goblins. Also, the Irish speak of their “little people”, the Nordics of trolls and of their Nature Gods like Odin, while the Australian and American natives tell of their totem spirits. In most cases we have fanciful stories for children, but how did these start? Were they fact? Did people see the little beings and not have the courage or clarity to share the visions sensibly with others? Was the creation of fairytales the soft option; a way of humouring folk who feared the facts? Did seers think it not feasible nor wise to share their visions with a hostile and fearful public? Can we say then fairytales are true, or partly so? Most people show mixed response to these questions. A few believe, or want to believe in nature spirits. Others make fun of these notions, or gossip as they mock the sanity in such ideas. This is the normal response to new ideas. In the history of science the so called “fringe” has always held groups of theorist believers and opponents.

We also hear stories of the Saints and so-called World Teachers. What did it mean in the Bible when Angels ministered to Jesus? What were the ecstatic visions of St Therese, and William Blake, to name just two? What truth is in Bible stories like the Angel with the flaming sword, or in the Angels who appear to Prophets, or great events? That Angels are real may not then surprise the church-goer or believer in religion. That Angels seem to be in everyday places unseen to most may yet surprise us.

With fairylore and nature spirit myth so common, and with Biblical creed so assured, it is a fair guess that these beings exist. The Bible does not say Angels are nature spirits, but this link is in Eastern beliefs of the Hindus and Buddhists. In such faiths the word Deva describes resplendent beings large and small.

So, what, where and why are these nature spirits? The answer to this is simple yet not easy to grasp. The vast Kingdom of the Angels is all around us. Their world is none other than our own, but we limit ourselves in our cognition and normally don’t see nor hear them. Angels and fairies are beings with bodies, just as you or I have bodies. The essence of their flesh is finer than ours, and appears to the clairvoyant as shimmering light. This may explain why the Sanskrit word for Angels and nature spirits is Deva that means shining one or resplendent deity.

So where are they? Let us look at the Theosophical idea of the seven planes and their subplanes. We have the planes, or higher worlds, listed as:-

The Seven Planes

1) Divine

2) Monadic

3) Spiritual

4) Buddhic

5) Mental

6) Astral

7) Physical

In order of refinement of the matter comprising them, the physical plane is the densest and most material whilst the divine is the most refined. The planes are all someway interlinked and space in each plane is of higher dimension than the plane below it. Thus, for example, the space on our physical plane has three dimensions; each object having length, width and height. Astral space has four dimensions; each object having length, width, height and a within for each point of it. Likewise, each of the above seven planes divide into seven subplanes as seen below in the example for the physical plane.

Physical Plane’s Subplanes

1st subplane	1st ether	The four subtle
2nd subplane	2nd ether	invisible worlds
3rd subplane	3rd ether	of the nature
4th subplane	4th ether	spirits.
5th subplane	gases	The three dense
6th subplane	liquid	“visible to human”
7th subplane	solid matter	subplanes.

Light and dark, colours and beauty, love and reason, all have their higher meanings on the higher planes. Many of the virtues of human life show at once on higher planes as qualities essential to life.
Human vices reveal on higher planes to be illusion and hurtful glamour; all ugly and mortal features of our world. This fact, hard won from human training in our physical world, is clear to the Angels and denizens of higher worlds. For Angels it is thus natural and vital in life to be saintly and to see only the divine qualities of existence. For people who have recently died, other factors enter, such as faith, and belief systems from their life. Life after death we shall leave to other books.



Let us now regard the purpose of the Angelic Kingdom. Why are there Angels and nature spirits? Having studied the doctrines about devas and read the works of Hodson [5], Leadbeater [6], Heline [3, 4], Blavatsky [2], Steiner [7], Bailey [1], and others; and then having seen Angels myself, some statements can be made regarding the Deva Kingdom:-

1) The Deva Kingdom is a parallel Kingdom with the Human, having also parity in evolution with the Animal Kingdom.
2) The so-called Angels of the Scriptures are devas who’ve passed beyond the parallel Human Kingdom in evolution into a Spiritual Kingdom.
3) There is no growth at all in nature without devas playing a role.
4) Devas, in varied aspects, are embodiments of life force and act as agencies of the weather, cataclysms, rays of light, guardianship and protection, spirit messengers, channels of forces.

In short, the devas’ purpose is to carry out the Divine Plan for planetary evolution in all its myriad forms and guises on all planes of nature. Often the devas are not the decision makers in these processes, but the means of achieving. So we may see the nature spirits dancing in gardens, helping plants to grow, healing people, blessing and sanctifying places, etc.. To them, a home is also a workplace, and for many of them life, play, work and joy are the same thing.

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1. What are Angels, Fairies and Gnomes? | 2. The Angel Hierarchy in the Botanic Gardens | 3. The Main Angel of the Gardens | 4. The Angel of Princes Lawn | 5. The Angel of Southern Lawn | 6. The Angel of Eastern Lawn | 7. The Angel of Ornamental Lake | 8. The Angel of Central Lawn | 9. An Out of Body Experience in the Gardens | 10. Angels of the Skies | 11. A collection of Sylphs | 12. Messengers and Handmaidens | 13. The world of Fairies | 14. Lights in the foliage | References | Images of Botanic Gardens Angels | Angels slideshow with pix by Peter F Christiansen
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