Spiritual Guides

Part 1

What they are and the forms they can take

The overall purpose of this blog is to help seekers find simple advice on how to find their own way.  I do this by providing lessons I have learned and by answering some of the most common questions I have been asked in my years of posting on message boards and e-mail lists regarding witchcraft, paganism, and spirituality.  To be honest I understand the question as it was something I wondered about myself over the years, but have recently decided I have an understanding of how guides will manifest in a person’s life (and trust me they are not all what you would expect).

The questions I am referring to are:

• “What are spirit Guides?
• What forms can guides take?
•  How do I contact them?
• Why do we need them?

This essay is going to focus specifically on the topics of what spiritual guides are and what some of the forms they can take.  I figure this would be a good starting point.  In order to contact and find out who/what your spiritual guides are you need to at least know what they are and the forms they can take.  Next week I will write about why we need them and how to contact them.

Before I continue writing this post I need to explain how I define a guide in my path.  The thing is I don’t limit guides to just spirits and other worldly beings that I work with and have contacted.  Guides for me can come in the form of authors, teachers, poets, ect.  For me a guide is any one who provides you something on a spiritual level that has an effect on the way you view the world.

So that means a guide could be basically anything right?

Yes.  However the effect the being has on you should be quite profound.   I can’t tell you what to classify as a profound experience.  It’s one of those things you know when it happens.  If the author inspires you to think about things in a new way they can be a guide.  If  they give you advice that seems to click with your intuition they are in many cases a guide.

To be honest I have learned somethings about nature simply by watching the world around me and it had an impact on my world view.  In that way nature herself would be one of my most important spiritual guides.  Yet she is not the only guide I have.    I have given a few examples of people you may consider guides, but I think a more direct explanation of each of the examples is important.

I’ll start with the obvious concept of teachers being guides.  To be honest one of my guides in recent history has become my first philosophy teacher.  He is the one who has basically told me to start writing.  He also suggested that I do something with my passion for philosophy, anthropology, religion, mythology, and metaphysics into something I can do with my life.  He also said that I need to get into academia.

He has encouraged me to work on my dream.  That’s one of the reasons I have started this project.  It has helped me work on polishing my writing and getting my thoughts out clearer.  It also gets my name and voice out there.  Even though this information is given freely, it is still published.  The material is still out there and accessible for any one who desires it.

Next you have authors.  Many people read a lot of books when they are starting out.  I was no different and to be honest I still read as much as I can.  I have found that there are some authors who have influenced me more than others.  I consider those authors to also be guides as they are providing me with text and information that I have been able to apply to my spiritual development and growth.  I have been taking classes with one of those authors who is now a teacher.

If that writers work clicks with you and you suddenly seem to have a better understanding of something you have been struggling with that would be an author I would consider a guide.  Now this can be poets, musicians, fictional authors, neo-pagan authors, philosophers, myths or what not.  In the end what matters is if the work has an effect on your path and understanding of the universe.

Finally in the physical world you have your role models.  To me a role model is someone you look up to and you try to be like.  They have inspired you in some way to be the person you want to be, and you feel that they have had an impact on your life.  Role models come in all shapes and sizes, and to be honest I have a few myself though if you were to ask me it would take me a minute to tell you one of them.

So far guides have essentially been people who has changed your life in some way.  That’s true.  They have pinpointed you and helped you out.  A guide should never give you the answers and advice you seek directly.  They should provide hints or insight into their own struggles or opinions, but in the end you are the one who has to do the work.  This is more prevalent when you are dealing with “spirit guides”.

The key term in spirit guide is the word spirit.  It has come to the point in the essay where I must actually get into the metaphysical aspect.  I am ending with this so I can start the essay with a review of what spirits are and then get onto how to contact them and end with why they are so important.

So what is a spirit?

To me there are many types of spirits.  I essentially see them as beings that live in this worlds and in the other worlds that do not have a physical form as we understand it in this world.  They are the elves, faes and the ghosts.  These are the dragons and gnomes, slyphs and undines, and angels as well.  Any being mentioned in lore that does not exist in this physical world but in the spirit world are spirits.

When you deal with spirit guides there are things you need to keep in mind.  The first thing is they they will trick you occasionally as a test of your own wisdom and intuition.  They will also speak in riddles.  Some times there are no words spoken, but you get images or sensations.  The communication is going to come in which ever way they feel will get their messages across to you in a way that you will understand.  You also have to know that they are no infallible.  Spirits don’t know everything and its absurd to think that they do.  They may have insight that we don’t due to the nature of what they are and their existence, but they don’t know everything.

Ok.  So what forms can spirit guides take?

The most common form aside from an angel is that of an animal.  Some people would call these beings your totems, but I do not as totem is a term that applies specifically to a Native American practice.  Other paths have other terms for animal guides.  Myself I just think of them as my animal guides.

The animal guide or guides you have are typically aspects of yourself that are hidden or that you need to understand.  Many people have guides that represent aspects of themselves that they need to face up to and confront, others the animals have special meanings to the person.  The first assumption that many people have is that the animal guide will appear in the form of an animal you like or enjoy.  The fact is there is no guarantee of that fact.  Your guide may be an animal that you hate, and if that is the case there is a lesson there for you.

One form that is common amongst those who follow a more ancestral worship path is to have an ancestor actually be one of your guides.  Maybe this ancestor is a recently passed loved one, or maybe it’s a few further generations back.  This is an ancestor that has come to help you on your way.  In either case if your guide is a family member and not some magnificent being be respectful.  To be honest I would prefer to have ancestral guides than an other being  as they are actually tied to my blood and my wyrd and thus my fate.

There are angels.  Angels are any beings that serve as messengers to the gods.  They are intermediaries between the Gods and us at times.  They also have wills of their owns at times.  They can choose their friends and teach them their crafts.  Angels are beings of mass power and should be respected as such.

There are many other beings that can be your guides over the years.  Some people believe that Matron and Patron Gods can be guides, but I see that differently.  Divine beings are more than guides.  They are divine beings and are Gods.  They rule many things and have more important things to do than to teach you.  They may have lessons for you, but in the end its a riddle what those things are.

The list could go on. I have covered some of the most common guides that people see.  I hope that this has been a helpful essay and will provide you with a lot of insight.  Next week you will be able to have some technique and tips on how to contact the guides and why they are important.  Even if you don’t know your guides right now, you do have them.