Spirit Guides

Guardian Angels: Protective, Familiar and Sympathetic Spirits

(From Kardec's The Spirits' Book)

489. Are there spirits who attach themselves to a specific individual to protect and help that person? 
“Yes, they are spiritual brothers and sisters, and you may also call them your protective spirit or good spirit.” 

490. What should we understand by the expression guardian angel? 
“A high order protective spirit.” 

491. What is the mission of a protective spirit? 
“Similar to that of parents to their children – to lead their wards down the right path, give them advice, console them when they are sick or suffering, and support their courage in the trials of human life.” 

492. Are protective spirits attached to individuals from birth? 
“From birth to death. They often follow them after death into the spirit life, and even through several successive physical lives as these existences are very short phases of their existence as spirits.” 

493. Is the mission of a protective spirit voluntary or obligatory? 
“Your protective spirit is duty-bound to watch over you, having accepted that task. Spirits can choose their wards from a selection of like-minded beings. In some cases, this position is a pleasure, while in others it is a job or duty.” 
a) By attaching to a person, does a spirit cease to protect other individuals? 
“No, but the spirit does so less exclusively.” 

494. Are protective spirits inextricably tied to the person assigned to them? 
“Spirits often leave their position to fulfill various missions, but an exchange is carried out in that case.” 

495. Do protective spirits ever abandon their charges when the latter continuously ignore their guidance? 
"The spirits withdraw from their charges when they see that their guidance is fruitless and their charges are stubbornly determined to yield to the influence of inferior spirits. However, they are never entirely abandoned and the spirits continue to make themselves heard. Their wards are the ones who shut their ears. As soon as they are called back, the spirits return.” 

It was God who has placed them at your side. They are there out of their love for God, and they fulfill an honorable but painstaking mission. Wherever you go, prison, solitude, the lepers’ house, or even the lowest haunts and taverns, they are by your side. Nothing ever separates you from your invisible friend, whose presence you cannot see but from whom your soul receives the gentlest impulsions and hears the wisest counsels.” Do not try to hide anything from them. Think of the future, and try to advance upward. This will shorten your trials and make your lives happier. 

496. If spirits abandon their charges and no longer help them, can they harm them? 
“Good spirits never cause harm to anyone. They leave that to inferior spirits. You may accuse fate of the bad luck or troubles that plague you, but they are the result of your own bad behavior.” 

497. Can protective spirits leave their charges at the mercy of spirits wanting to do them harm? 
“Wicked spirits band together to counteract the good, but if wards would so desire, they could restore all the power to the protective spirit. While waiting for the return of their charges, protective spirits may find other individuals whose kindness and openness make it easy to help them.” 

498. When protective spirits allow their wards to go astray, is it because they are unable to manage the malicious spirits who mislead them? 
“No, it is not because they can't, it is because they choose not to. Their wards will become wiser and better through the trials they have chosen for themselves. Protective spirits assist their wards through the wise guidance they provide. Unfortunately, sometimes they are ignored. The weakness, carelessness, or pride of humans is what gives strength to bad spirits. Their power over you comes solely from your lack of willpower to provide enough resistance to their action.” 

500. Do spirits ever reach a point where they no longer need a guardian angel? 
“Yes, when they are able to guide themselves, in the same manner that students reach a point where they no longer need a teacher. However, this does not take place on Earth.” 

501. Why is the role that spirits have in our lives hidden? Why do they not openly protect and guide us? 
“If you counted on their support, you would not act of your own accord, which would cause your spirit to remain stationary. All human beings need to acquire experience, often at their own expense, in order to advance. They need to exercise their own power, otherwise they remain stunted, like a child who is not allowed to walk alone. The action of spirits is regulated so that your free will is maintained. Without responsibility, you would not advance on the road leading to God. Human beings put forth their own strength because they do not see their invisible support. Their guides continue to watch over them, and call out to them to warn them of danger when necessary.” 

502. When guardian angels succeed in leading their charges down the right path, do they gain any benefit for themselves? 
“It is an admirable task, which is credited to them for their advancement or happiness. They celebrate when they are successful, and feel a sense of triumph in the same way that teachers are elated at the success of their students.”
a) Are they responsible if their wards do not succeed? 
“No, since they have done everything that they could.” 

504. Can we know the name of our protective spirits or guardian angels? 
“How can you know their names if they have no existence for you? Is it not possible that there are spirits whom you do not know of?” 
a) But how can we call them if we do not know who they are? 
“Give them any name you wish – that of any superior spirit with whom you identify and respect. Your guardian angel will answer this call because all good spirits are brothers and sisters who are always ready to assist one another.” 

506. Will we recognize our protective spirit when we enter the spirit world? 
“Yes, because you often knew it before you reincarnated.” 

509. Do savages and morally inferior human beings have protective spirits? 
“All human beings have a spirit who watches over them, but their missions depend on their charge. A child who is learning to read does not have a professor of philosophy for this task. The advancement of the familiar spirit is always relative to that of the spirit it protects. While you have a higher spirit who watches over you, you may in turn become the guardian of a spirit who is lower than you. The progress you help that person make contributes to your own advancement. God does not ask for more from a spirit than its nature and degree of evolution can provide.” 

511. With the exception of protective spirits, are there wicked spirits who attach themselves to individuals to tempt them and cause them to struggle between good and bad? 
“‘Attached’ is not accurate. It is very true that bad spirits try to draw you from the path of righteousness when they find an opportunity to do so. However, when one of them attaches to an individual, it does so simply because it hopes the person is going to listen to them. In such a case, there is a struggle between a good and a bad spirit, and whoever successfully influences that individual prevails.” 

512. Could we have multiple protective spirits? 
“Every one of you has a number of sympathetic spirits of varying degrees of elevation around you. They care about you out of love, and you have others who help you to do wrong, as well.” 

514. Are “familiar spirits” the same as “sympathetic spirits” and “protective spirits”? “There are many levels of protection and sympathy, and you may call them whatever you like. A ‘familiar spirit’ is usually a friend of the home.” Based on observing the nature of spirits connected to human beings, we can draw the following conclusions: 
Protective spirits, familiar spirits or guardian angels have a mission to accompany the individuals they are protecting over the course of their lives and help them to advance. The degree of perfection in these protective spirits is always superior to that of their charges. 
Familiar spirits connect with specific people, for longer or short period of time, to be useful to them within the confines of their possibilities, which can be quite narrow. They have the best intentions, but sometimes can be inappropriate and even flippant. They are concerned with the everyday details of human life and only act when permitted or ordered by a protective spirit. 
Sympathetic spirits are drawn to us by personal affection, and similar good or bad inclinations. The length of their relationship with us is almost always dependent on circumstances. 
A wicked spirit is an imperfect or perverse spirit who connects with someone in order to corrupt them. It acts on its own, with no mission, and its persistence is proportionate to the access it has been granted. A person is always free to follow the suggestions of a bad spirit or to resist them. 

517. Do spirits attach themselves to every member of a family to protect them? 
“Some spirits attach themselves to family members who live together and are united by affection, but you must not think that guardian spirits are guilty of racial pride.” 

518. As spirits are attracted to individuals based on their like-mindedness, are they attracted to groups of individuals for special purposes? 
“Spirits go where they meet others like them, where they are more at ease and sure that someone will listen to them. Every one attracts spirits according to their predispositions, whether as an individual or as an element of a collective whole, such as a society, city or country. Societies, cities and countries are visited by various spirits, according to their predominant character and passions. Imperfect spirits withdraw from those who resist them. The moral excellence of collective wholes, like that of individuals, drives away bad spirits and attracts good ones, who maintain the sense of good among the masses, as others may spread the worst passions.” 

Among nations, spirits are attracted by the habits, manners and dominant characteristics of their people, and, particularly their legal system, because the character of a nation is reflected in its laws. Those who uphold righteousness resist the influence of wicked spirits. 

522. Is a presentiment always a warning from a protective spirit? 
“A presentiment is private guidance from a spirit who wishes you well. The same may be said of the intuition that leads a spirit to choose a specific life when about to be reincarnated. This is a voice of instinct. A spirit, before incarnation, is aware of the kind of trials it is about to endure. When these trials are of a very clear nature, the spirit maintains an impression of them. This impression, the instinctive voice, becomes more intense or louder as the crucial moment draws near, and eventually becomes a presentiment.” 

523. As presentiments and the voice of instinct are always somewhat vague, what should we do when uncertain? 
“When in doubt, call out to your protective spirit, or pray to God to send you a messenger – one of us.” 

524. Do our guardian spirits warn us in our personal affairs? 
“Guardian spirits warn you with respect to everything that concerns you. Your guardian spirits try to lead you to the best possible course in everything that you do. Unfortunately, you often ignore their open guidance, and get into trouble through no fault other than your own. Our guardian spirits give us guidance and awaken the voice of our conscience. However, as we do not always attach enough importance to these hints, they give us more direct warnings through the people around us. If humans reflect upon the various circumstances of their lives, they will see that, on many occasions, they received advice that would have spared them a good deal of aggravation or pain if they had not ignored it. 

We wrongly assume that spirits only manifest themselves through extraordinary phenomena. We would like to see them aid us through miracles, and we imagine them to be armed with some sort of magic wand. This is not the case, as their guidance is only through natural means, and their intervention usually takes place without our being aware of it. For instance, they may cause the meeting of two individuals who seem to have been brought together by chance; they suggest to the mind of an individual the idea of going in a particular direction. They call attention to some special point, and if the individual unknowingly follows their suggestions, this brings about the result they seek to obtain. This way, human beings believe they are following their own impulses and always maintain their free will. 

526. As spirits possess the power of acting upon matter, can they cause incidents to happen to guarantee a given event? For example, are individuals destined to die in a specific manner at a given time. If a person climbs a ladder, the ladder breaks, and the person dies. Have spirits caused the ladder to break to fulfill the destiny accepted by or imposed upon this person? 
“Spirits can act upon matter, but only through natural law and not by deviating from it to cause an unforeseen event opposing these laws. In the example above, the ladder breaks because it is rotten or not strong enough to bear the man’s weight. However, as this demise was this man’s destiny, the spirits around him influence him to climb the ladder that will break under his weight, and his death will take place naturally. In this case, no miracle was required to bring it about.” 

527. Let us take another example, in which the natural state of matter does not intervene. A man is destined to be killed by lightning. He is caught in a storm and seeks shelter under a tree, the lightning strikes the tree and he dies. Have spirits made the lightning bolt strike to kill this specific person? 
“The explanation of this case is the same as in the previous example. Lightning strikes the tree at this particular moment because it was in accordance with the laws of nature. Lightning was not made to strike the tree because the man was under it, but the man was inspired with the idea of seeking shelter under a tree that was about to be struck by lightning. The tree would have been struck regardless of whether the man had been under it or not.” 

528. A nasty person hurls an object at someone that nearly hits the person but does not make contact. Has the object been defected by a friendly spirit? 
“If the individual aimed at was not destined to be hit, a friendly spirit would have suggested the thought of stepping outside the trajectory of the object, or would have impacted the enemy’s sight to give that individual poor aim.” 

530. Can flippant and mocking spirits cause pesky annoyances that defeat our projects and upset our plans? Are they the architects of our petty troubles of human life? 
“These spirits take pleasure in causing disturbances that test your patience, but they tire of this game when they see that they are unsuccessful in perturbing you. However, it would be neither just nor correct to blame them for all your disappointments your own recklessness causes the majority of them. When your a glass breaks, it is much more likely to have been caused by your own clumsiness rather than by a spirit.” 
a) Why do spirits cause pesky annoyances? Is it out of personal animosity or do they attack someone who crosses their path for no other reason than pure spite? 
“They act out due to both of these motives. In some cases, they are enemies whom you have made during your present or former life, and who pursue you accordingly. In others, they act without any fixed objective in mind.” 
b) Can we put an end to this sort of torture? If so, by what means? 
“In many cases, you can do so by praying for them. Wish them good, in spite of their wickedness, and you will gradually make them see that they are wrong. In all cases, they will stop attacking you if you can show them that you are able to rise above their behavior with patience, as they realize that they gain nothing by their misdeeds." 

533. Can spirits obtain the gifts of fortune for us if we ask them? 
“They may sometimes agree to such a request as a trial for you. However, they often refuse, just as you would deny the selfish demands of a child.” 
a) When such favors are granted, is it by good spirits or bad ones? 
“Both. The condition of the request and whether it is granted depends on the intention. Acceptance is more frequent on the part of spirits who try to lead you astray and find an easy means of doing so through the material pleasures obtained by wealth.” 

534. When obstacles seem destined to get in the way of our plans, is it always through the influence of spirits? 
“Such obstacles are sometimes thrown in your way by spirits, but they can more often be attributed to your own poor decisions. Social standing and character have a large role in your successes or failures. If you persist in following a path that is not the right one for you, you become your own wicked genius.” 

535. When anything good happens to us, should we thank our guardian spirits for it? 
“First thank God, without whose permission nothing takes place, and next thank the good spirits who have acted as God’s representatives.” 
a) There are individuals who neither pray nor give thanks, and seem to succeed in everything they do in spite of this. 
“Yes, but just wait and see the end of their lives. They pay dearly for the fleeting prosperity that they have not merited. The more they receive, the more they have to account for.”