We had just moved to the small village of Erbach. A short walk our front door and we were in the woods. Some trails took us to the old city in Heppenheim, other trails wove their way through the trees. On one section off the main trail, I noticed two small sacred figures under a large tree root. Somehow they inspired me to begin putting angels along the trail. At first, I placed just a few angels. If you looked, you could see them, but one could walk by and not notice. To me, the trees and the angels were happy to be together. More angels were placed on more trees over the next year. Some came from our travels, some from stores, and many from the flea market.
The next year, handmade angels began appearing. It was a mystery who put them there. Some really precious ones made by children must have been made from flour since they melted in the rain. More store-bought angels began showing up. Over the next two years, angels of every description started appearing. There were now over sixty angels on this path with about half from other people, who we never met.
It was fun imagining how each person would make the discovery of the angels and then add some angels of their own. Interestingly, the town of Heppenheim is also very interested in angels as they appear all over the town and especially in the old city area.
Friends and students would join us for walks in the woods. Everyone delighted at the many angels on the path, and many expressed interest in creating an angel path where they lived.
After three years, two signs appeared one at each end of the path where the angels could be seen. It read, Engels Weg. These hand made signs were beautifully done and carefully fixed to the trees. This part of the trail now had an official name, that inspired even more people to leave more angels. At one point, there were close to one hundred different angels along this path through the forest.
We enjoyed seeing new ones, angels that moved from one tree to another, how different they looked in snow, rain, and sun. The movement of angels and seasons went on for two more years.
About a month before we moved, we went for a walk on the Angel way and were shocked. They were gone. All of them. Gone. The Engel Weg signs were still there. Except for one hanging angel, none could be found. It brought some anger and sadness. We never knew who or what or how or why all the angels disappeared. But they did. Over the next month of walks through the woods, the angels had not returned. We are living for six months in our new home, so we do not know if anything has changed.
The video is a compilation of photos I took over the five years walking the Angel Way. In our yoga tradition, we say the angels are jealous of humans since we can do many things they cannot. Some famous movies have been made on this theme.
None of the people who placed the angels on the path ever met or found out who was putting angels on the path. It was as mysterious as angels themselves.
