This past summer, the wife of my travel companion and dear friend in Japan told me that upon my left shoulder sits a yellow angel reading a book. In researching this I had to sift through some very strange new-new-new age spirituality but found this passage in an encyclopedia entry regarding the angel Jophiel who is often depicted similarly to how she described:

He Stirs feelings through Radiation of Illumination and into aspiration for spiritual things. He helps in absorbing information, studying for and passing tests, dissolution of ignorance, pride, and narrow-mindedness, and exposure of wrongdoing in governments and corporations. Jophiel helps in fighting pollution, cleaning up our planet and brings to mankind the gift of Beauty. He also provides inspiration for artistic and intellectual thought providing help with artistic projects and to see the beautiful things around us.

What a wonderful ally to have and what wonderful things to which I can aspire. I believe she may have quite the eye for reading one’s character. In addition, Jophiel is described as being, amongst other things, the archangel of understanding. It is one thing to understand, and quite another thing to realize. Recently I read the aphorism that if a sage understands he is but an ordinary person and if the ordinary person realizes he is the sage. Nevertheless, perhaps with the direction of Jophiel I may realize some things about myself and others.