This is an excerpt from the brand new Kindle book I just co-wrote and released with Ellen Dugan, Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches. In it, we explore different sides of a number of issues, including Angels and Magick. The first piece is written by, and appears courtesy of, Ellen Dugan - the second is by me!

Go Carefully My Friend (by Ellen Dugan)

When it comes to working magick with the angels, I approach it the same way I would handle a stick of sweating dynamite: with extreme caution and considerable care. I have cultivated this magickal point of view because over the years I have witnessed many folks who get into angel magick (usually because they figure it's somehow safer than Witchcraft)--and then I have witnessed the chaos and destruction that careless angel magick can wreak. Truthfully, angels are not the cute, cuddly, naked babies popular culture has made them out to be. They are not ethereal romantic women with long hair and a lilting Irish brogue who help you with your love life, either. Angels are another type of entity altogether, and only the foolhardy decide to work angel magick without respect and restraint. If there was ever a time for wisdom and personal control, it is now, as we contemplate this topic of angel magick.

I once literally broke a sweat when I overheard some romantic New Ager gushing over how much fun it is to work with angels: They're just so beautiful and loving. I feel so safe, why it's like a hug from heaven. Oh, and I think Metatron is my personal guardian angel!

By the gods, I'm starting to get a little tick under my left eye even recalling that comment. Just in case you didn't know, "The Metatron" (capital T, capital M) is the head angel. He is the voice of God and is associated with the top of the Tree of Life. A few of his many titles are "The King of Angels" and the "All Knowing" --he's like a super angel. The Metatron is definitely not a warm and fuzzy "personal angel," which explains my twitching over the previous statement. According to angelic lore, The Metatron is thought to manifest as a pillar of fire and is brighter than the sun. Wow. A personal guardian angel? I really don't think so...100,000 SPF sunscreen anyone?

As a practicing Witch for over thirty years, I consider angel magick to be in the category of theurgy. Theurgy is defined as rituals that are designed to align oneself with the Divine, or the angelic realms; in other words, high magick. I have carefully researched, written about, and worked respectfully with the planetary archangels and their coordinating flowers and herbs. But are you noticing something about my descriptions? The adverbs carefully and respectfully. Angels are an incredible power source, and one that is nondenominational. They do not care what religion you are, and if you call them correctly, they come.

Here is the minimum of what you need to know about the four more commonly known archangels. I have also included the magickal correspondences that I employ.

Raphael. You may call for the archangel Raphael's assistance with matters of healing, personal power, information, and communication, plus the cunning and determination to make your dreams come true. This archangel has a radiating sort of energy that manifests differently for everyone, so be aware and take note on how you experience his presence. Element: air. Season: spring. Day of the week: Wednesday. Astrological association: Mercury. Tarot cards: Ace of Swords and the Magician. Color: purple. Flowers and herbs: iris and lavender.

Michael. You may call upon archangel Michael for strength, courage, physical protection, psychic protection, truth, and divine illumination. Just a quick not here: he has a warrior's spirit and a ferocious energy. Be respectful and consider any requests made of Michael with the utmost care. Element: fire. Season: summer. Day of the week: Sunday. Astrological association: Sun. Tarot cards: Ace of Wands, the Sun, and Strength. Colors: red and gold. Flowers and herbs: marigold and sunflower.

Gabriel. Request Gabriel's assistance to make your dreams come true. She is the angel of magick, clairvoyance, and visions. She also assists with issues of fertility, birth, and children. Gabriel can help you to overcome your deepest fears. Keep in mind that she is not always gentle with washing away your fears either. Like the element she is associated with, water has many moods. Element: water. Season: fall. Day of the week: Monday. Astrological association: Moon. Tarot cards: Ace of Cups and Queen of Cups. Colors: blue and white. Flowers and herbs: white rose and honesty (moonwort).

Uriel. Appeal for the archangel Uriel's assistance regarding practical matters of prosperity, the harvest, and gardening. Uriel is sometimes called the earth angel, and as such he is linked to the faeries and the elemental kingdoms. There is quite a debate with magicians concerning this particular archangel, so you may see a variation on the spelling of the name (Auriel) as well as a difference of opinion on the correspondences. The following are the ones I have successfully used in the past. Element: earth. Season: winter. Day of the week: Saturday. Astrological association: Saturn. Tarot card: Ace of Pentacles and Nine of Pentacles. Colors: green and brown. Flowers and herbs: honeysuckle, tulip, wheat, and corn.

When it comes down to it, it is your own personal preference that will dictate whether or not you work magick with the angelic realms. If you are mindful of their powers and thoughtful and considerate in how you approach their magick, you should see great results. Just remember to always give them the respect they deserve.

Angel Magick in the City of Angels (By Tess Whitehurst)

When I began to work with angels on a daily basis as a part of my spiritual and magickal practice, it was a major turning point for me. After hearing about Ellen's experience with angels being like "a stick of dynamite," I realized that my perhaps uncommonly intense reliance on the angelic realm probably has something to do with the fact that I live in Los Angeles, the city of angels. Let me explain.

Los Angeles is where I found my magick when I was eighteen. I had just moved here from a small town to go to acting school, and I suddenly had access to magick books and all the occult wisdom and energy that was swirling around everywhere. Unfortunately, opening up to and practicing spells right away without a physical teacher or a mentor of any kind sent me into a state of treacherous openness to all forms of negativity. I had no real idea how to shield or protect myself. While I was ecstatic to discover that I was a Witch and to begin to practice the Craft, I found myself spiraling into unstable and dark times. In time, I dropped out of acting school, got in a kind of scary car accident, experienced high drama of many varieties, and generally had a pretty bad time of it.

In fact, it wasn't until I moved to the Grand Canyon a year or so later that I began to balance out and find harmony and joy again. During my stay at the canyon I spent time detoxifying in the sunshine, gazing into the silent emptiness, gathering desert sage, smudging, saying affirmations, and soaking in herbal and sea salt baths to cleanse my aura.

Then I moved back to Los Angeles, and wham! After just a few months, I was down in the dumps again, beaten down and downtrodden, negativity surrounding me like a murky cloud and following me wherever I went. I'd have times when I felt a little bit better--maybe after a sea salt bath or a workout--but then I'd find my stomach full of knots and my mood would sink back down into the depths.

It actually wasn't until I started working with angels on a regular basis that this pattern turned around for good. Every day, to this day, I call on Archangel Michael to cleanse and shield me, my home, my car, and my loved ones. I also call on a group of angels to surround my home--every single day--and I call on other angels as necessary throughout the day for protection, healing, and all number of things. As a matter of fact, I don't sit down to write without very respectfully calling on Archangel Metatron for help with organization and laser-focused magickal expression.

What does all of this have to do with Los Angeles? In feng shui, the realm of heaven (which is one and the same with the angelic realm) is also associated with transportation, the metal element and yang (masculine/bright/fast/hot/dry/loud) energy. Seriously, can you think of a city that is more yang than Los Angeles? There are five-lane freeways in every quarter of the huge, sprawling, hot, blindingly sunny city, filled with fast-moving (or jammed and honking) vehicles. People, buildings, and noise are everywhere. This excessive yang energy, I believe, is what makes Los Angeles such a tricky and hard-to-master town for so many people. The energy is the opposite of mellow: it's like standing in the middle of a busy and fast-moving freeway at noon in July. You've got to be literally quick, on pointe, and on your guard--and from an energetic perspective, especially if you're sensitive, you've got to be very grounded and very shielded in order not to literally go crazy. (Believe me.)

Furthermore, the brightest light casts the darkest shadow. This is true both in the physical and spiritual sense. Los Angeles is the bright, sunshiny city of dreams: if you can conceive of something, you can probably create it here, whether it's a movie, a career, an invention, a business, a relationship, or a nonprofit organization. And very bright spiritual energy abounds in the form of gurus, healers, yogis, and spiritual locations such as Lake Shrine, the Pacific Ocean, and the Santa Monica Mountains. On the other hand, very dark energies swirl around here as well: broken dreams, earthbound spirits, cult leaders, predatory humans, exploitative business models, and pretty much any variety of juju you can think of.

The word angel literally means "messenger." As the entertainment capital of the world, it is literally the business of the city to broadcast messages throughout the entire planet. Is this city aptly named or what?

So, in the case of Los Angeles (which, obviously, is very different than many other parts of the world), the angelic realm is just the magickal stick of dynamite you (or at least I) need in order to survive and thrive. Yes, angelic energy might be intense, but so is the city outside my door and under my very floorboards.

Here's an example. I once called on Archangel Michael and his band of mercy to walk beside me as bodyguards when I found myself in an empty alley behind my apartment building, walking by a seemingly violent man yelling to himself and explosively punching trashcans. On my way back home, a police car drove slowly by (which I had never seen before in that area) just at the exact same moment and point in space that I discovered the man crouched behind a car, apparently waiting for me to pass back by so that he could pounce. The cop glared at the man, and the man slumped dejectedly and walked away as I let myself safely back into my apartment complex. I was like, "Wow, thank you, Michael!" (Archangel Michael is the patron saint of police officers, in case you didn't know.)

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Excerpted from Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches

Angel Image: Wikimedia Commons