There is a difference however between an "angel" and a "spirit guide" . An angel is not human, but a creation of God. They have never walked the earth in human form.

    A spirit guide could be an angel or it could be a human who has passed on but is now watching over you, to "guide" you along. They could perhaps be a relative of yours, a friend, or just someone who by the laws of attraction has become attracted to you.

   A Guardian Angel is a specific type of "Spirit Guide." Spirit Guide refers to a general category of beings who are in soul, or spirit form and not in physical form. Guardian Angels are direct expressions of the loving thoughts of God sent to us to watch over us and help us. They are pure love and bring to us only what will help us, guide us, protect us and encourage us to aspire to the very best qualities of our soul.      Guardian Angels are with us before our conception, when we, too, are in soul form. They accompany us through birth and are with us in every thought, word and event we experience in life

    Guardian Angels are committed to us for the entire journey of our life - they never leave us and we are their only occupation. They will be with us when we leave this life and when we are, again, a soul in heaven.

     Everyone has had a feeling or " intuition " with regard to a dangerous situation, perhaps rounding a curve and "sensing " there might be a stalled vehicle up ahead, or some other impending danger. Some might call it intuition or a sixth sense, but more likely it was your guardian angel or spirit guide warning you.      Talk to your Guardian Angels even before you know their names. Practice communicating with them and have patience. If you practice sensing, listening, envisioning, imagining and consciously intending to have lucid dreams with your Guardian Angels, you will sense them ever more clearly and eventually hear, sense or know their names.       Saint Augustine said, "Make friends with Angels."     Treat your Guardian Angels just as you would your dearest, most loving friends. Take your time and gradually build your relationship with them. Remember that when you take one step toward them, they take 10 steps to you!

     In times of great difficulty or distress, call on your guardian angel or spirit guide for assistance. They will be there for you. You need not know who your guardian angel is by name. You need only say, "I’m calling on my guardian angel for help in my time of need ." They will be there for you, try it, it works !

Excerpted from "Return of the Angels" by Migene González-Wippler published by Llewellyn Publications.

The concept of the guardian angel exists in many religions and cultures and can be traced to the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In ancient times they were known as Keribu, the origin of the word "Cherub," and were said to guard palaces and temple gates. The Romans believed that men and small children were guarded by spirits known as Genii, while women were protected by Junos, an idea undoubtedly inspired by Juno, Jupiter's irascible wife, who was the guardian of the home.

Muslims believe humanity is protected by the Malaika and by the Jafaza, who are said to keep away evil spirits. The Japanese believe in guardian spirits known as Kami. And the American Indians also believe in protective spirits that remain with them throughout their lives.

The Christian tradition teaches that a guardian angel is assigned to every human being at the moment of birth. According to some traditions, we are assigned two guardian angels, one who is good and another who is evil. These two angels sit upon each of our shoulders and try to influence our actions. The day of the guardian angels is celebrated by the Catholic Church on October 4. The Archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, the only angels recognized by name by the Catholic Church, are honored on September 29.  Many Angles are named in the Book of Enoh but were ommitted from the current Bible in the 6th and 15th centuries.  You can find the link below to read the book or watch the videos for yourself.

The guardian angels are believed to guide human beings and to steer us in the path of goodness throughout our lives, but they do not interfere with human free will. They only indicate the right course but do not force us to follow it. Each person is called to make that decision on his own because God wants us to walk in the right path because we choose to, not because we must. The divine gift of free will makes that choice our own.

The guardian angels belong to the ninth angelic choir, that of the Angels, and they use a variety of ways to influence a person. Among these are intuition, telepathy, dreams, and that small, inner voice that sometimes we hear and that never steers us wrong. Sometimes a guardian angel may use another person to send a message, and can manipulate the circumstances of everyday life to assist an individual in times of need. Other times they may choose to take the form of a human being, an animal, or simply appear in the traditional guise ascribed to them by religious tradition: a radiant being, dressed in dazzling white raiment, with widespread snowy wings.

The guardian angels protect, but they cannot intervene in human destiny, which has already been decided before each person's birth. He can only safeguard us from making wrong decisions and try to keep us away from evil actions. This may be blamed on what is known as the karma of previous lives, according to Buddhism, but the end result is the same. The guardian angel cannot change a person's destiny. That is why sometimes small children die of incurable diseases or in a tragic form. In these cases, most mystical and religious traditions agree that this spirit came to Earth for a short time. When good people, who follow the divine laws, experience tragic or overwhelming events in their lives, this is also seen as part of their destinies or their karma.

The guardian angel protects us and guides us, but always within the laws that rule our destinies and our free will. But when a person deviates from God's laws, the guardian angel abandons that person and no longer guides or protects him. Also, because of the accumulation of negative energies in the world created by evil human actions and the imbalance created by the original Creation, a human being may be sometimes surrounded by powerful destructive forces that threaten to destroy him. These may prove too strong for the guardian angel, who does not always win every battle. For that reason, it is important to establish a strong contact with our guardian angels, and that may be accomplished by calling him to our side often. Meditations, invocations, prayers, and ritual purifications also help to strengthen our spiritual link with our guardian angels.