Earth Angels: A Pocket Guide for Incarnated Angels, Elementals, Starpeople, Walk-Ins, and Wizards
Doreen Virtue
Hay House, 2002
176 pages
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I picked this book up. I’d heard it was something kind of like Otherkin, but not using that term. I was a little leery when I saw that the author was a very popular, angels-are-all-sweetness-and-light New Age icon, but decided to give it a try anyway.
Talk about Otherkin Lite.
“Earth Angels” are basically people who are reincarnated “elementals” (read: therianthropes, elves and fae Otherkin), angels (read: angelkin), starpeople (read: aliens), Wise Ones (read: people who worked magic in a past life) and walk-ins. Okay, that’s not so very different from what a lot of Otherkin believe.
However, it’s how she explains the phenomenon of people who were not human in other lives that ruins the book for me. First off, the way you determine what type of “Earth Angel” you are is basically a 30-question “Are you like this? How about this?” quiz that would fit in perfectly on Quizilla–samples of questions are whether you’re overweight, if you dye your hair, if you’re of Celtic ancestry, whether you’re good at handling money or not, if you practice Reiki, or believe in magic. Supposedly these things tell you what type of Earth Angel you are (never mind that pretty much everything she asks about are things that are common among garden-variety humans, too).
Then, her information about each group is not only based on stereotyped behavior and belief patterns that are common among everyday humans as well as ‘kin, but it’s really, really, really white-light and saccharine. For example, she says that all incarnated elementals are major environmentalists, always happy (but prone to mood swings), and “physically robust”. And as far as the whole Wise Ones thing goes, a lot of it plays right into the Atlantean thing–the whole “Oh, magic isn’t for regular people–anyone who works magic must be at a higher vibrational level than everyone else!” thing as well as the Burning Times persecution complex. All walk-ins, on the other hand, supposedly walked in because they have some mission to fulfill.
And speaking of missions, according to this book, all Earth Angels are here for the purpose of Saving the World!
I don’t doubt that the author ran into a lot of people who, were they in the Otherkin community, would be considered Otherkin. However, this book shows a distinct lack of skepticism and self-questioning, things that are common in the Otherkin community. Instead, it tells readers exactly what they want to hear–“You love nature, so you must be an Incarnated Elemental!” or “You love helping people and often find yourself in codependent relationships–you must be an Incarnated Angel!” While the end of each chapter on specific types of Earth Angels does have some tips on how to counteract the negative aspects of being whatever you are, it’s assumed that by answering the spiffy little quiz at the beginning that you are an Earth Angel–there’s nothing on questioning yourself further, only how to fulfill your God-given mission!
If you think being other than human is a great way to feel special, feel free to pick this up. Otherwise, save your money.
One pawprint out of five.
Pagan Book Reviews 
Bluejay Young said,
March 18, 2007 at 1:56 pm
So the New Age finally caught up with the Old Age. The idea that some people have souls other than human is of course well known in folklore. It was culled by Blavatsky for her esoteric writings. I don’t know how much of this is in Virtue because I won’t read her gunk — even the boss of the New Age bookstore where I worked said it was gunk but he had to make $.
This is why I had to laugh when I first came across the concept of Otherkin and people talking about it as if it were some kind of new idea. Here is the way I heard it thirty-five years ago; google “Deva evolution” for more.
Helena Blavatsky wrote that in addition to all the human souls, there are plenty of people on “the angel evolution path” or deva evolution. Each human soul passes through incarnations of increasing complexity (based on her interpretation of what Darwin said), so each of us has lived as everything from amoebae to monkeys, then on to domesticated animals and finally people. But the deva or angelic souls start as “elementals”, fairies and pixies, the fae, you know. They go on a parallel evolution path which leads them eventually to incarnate in human bodies, but they’re not human. Blavatsky, Besant and Leadbetter (especially the latter two) and Alice Bailey were writing about this over a hundred years ago.
Looks like Virtue has taken another Theosophical idea and watered it down for all the fat older women (“Are you overweight?” “Do you dye your hair?”) who venture into my former place of employment hoping to be told they’re special.
Violin Goddess said,
May 26, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I’ve read this book and agree wholeheartedly! It’s basically FLUFF! She makes overgeneralizations and uses them as diescriptives for certian otherkin types. They are so general that they could apply to 1/3 of the US citizens. He book also tends to be a t Bit “cheery”. You know the type, the kind of person who makes you cupckaes with your name spelled on it in frosting, and you just want to smack them!! That type. At best this book is fluff and vague. At worst it s almost completely misleading and only accurate (I’ am guessing) by coincidence or chance. This does not bode well for me wanting to pick up any other Doreen Virture books. Especially since most of them have to do with Angels, and I happen to be Angelkin. I’m afraid what she is going to do to the facts with her “FLUFF” attitude and approach.
Violin Goddess
Danny said,
March 31, 2008 at 11:22 pm
i have read the book and i have to admit im still studing the book to make any judgements however i am enjoying the book and a dear friend gave me the book as a gift and she had read the book and enjoyed it most books you have to read through and study them and figure out what is true and what is not true and take notes and after you have finished your study then figure out for yourself what is true you already know in your heart where you come from you just have to find it its a journey
FYI said,
October 6, 2008 at 8:04 pm
FYI, I knew for 3 years that I’m probably an incarnated angel (had many many dreams related to angels and I felt wings in my back many times)
I know 3 people who are also angels (one of them who I have foretold she was a black angel by seeing her picture on a forum before I knew her)
But I only learnt today that all this had a name (otherkin) and that it was a rather well known “phenomenon” on the net.
Sadly, I also discovered that people are taking it as a real joke.
FYI said,
October 6, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I just want to add that…
I would prefer that all this otherkin stuff was not that much known by everyone. It would maybe be taken more seriously rather than being taken like a prepub identity-seeking movement.
Celtic Girl said,
December 26, 2008 at 2:18 pm
To Violin Godess-If someone cared enough about me to make a cupcake with my name on it, I would not want to “smack them” I would like to thank them, as for the fluffy book, it did help me, fact or fiction, it helps.