Divine Charity

Note From The Author

About seven years ago, Lena and Camael came to me in separate dreams. I know, this sounds totally bonkers! But they did. 

Lena came first. She was crying. (Probably why I have her crying through damn near the whole book lol). In my dream, she had just given birth to twins. She was still on the hospital bed with her legs in the stirrups. She looked over at me and begs me to save her. I saw her black eyes and the frost on her skin. I saw the blood dripping to the floor as she bore down to push. 

I started crying with her because I was both terrified of her and terrified for her. Seeing a demon in your dream, it's no wonder I was afraid of her, but I was so scared for her because I could feel her desperation. 

Now, I'm in the habit of keeping a dream journal, so when I woke up the next morning I made sure to write down all the little dream flashes I remembered. Which was mostly just her giving birth, wanting to be saved and her asking me where "Cam" was.

Anyway, fast-forward about three months and I dream of a man. He walked right up to me, stuck out his hand and said, "I am Camael. You've been taking too long." 

(Camael was how I spelt his name in my journal.)

Obviously, I had no clue what the hell he meant and I didn't think much of it 'cuz...well...dreams are weird. 

About two years ago, on a lark, I started reading through my dream journals and came to realize, Camael could definitely be short for Cam. So I went with it. 

When I tell you that Camael and Lena have been in my dreams and thoughts for years... Good Golly Miss Molly!

I had to literally force myself to break up with Camael and Lena for a while because they completely took over my life. It was like once I started writing their story, my life wasn't my own anymore. 

I haven't found any theology about a demon named Lena, so I hope she doesn't mind I fashioned her personality after a good friend of mine (Love you, ho!). 

I didn't know Camael was an angel when I dreamt of him. He was just this dude with pearl-like pink skin in my dream so I thought he was an anomalous dream-guy-thing. Anyway, a couple of months ago, I was gifted an Angel Tarot deck. I'm a bit on the witchy side but never dealt much with angels. 

Anyway, I go to do a practice reading for myself to just kind of get a feel for the cards, and...wouldn't you know it, Chamuel was the first card I pulled. I couldn't believe how many of Chamuel's characteristics I gave Camael without even realizing it! It made me wonder if I had heard his name wrong all along - which, incidentally, then had me going back to have Lena make the mistake of calling him Kraven.

It was an obvious sign to me. I picked up Lena and Camael's story right where I left off. 

I think this was a good thing because last week, I finally got one of my favorite authors to read for me!!! And Camael came to me in my dream again. He gave me a hug and said, "Thank you." 

Why does talking about dreams always make you feel crazy? Just me? Okay...

A lot of believers say that Chamuel is an archangel. But I had already started writing him as the son of the Eternal One and it didn't feel right to change it, so I left it be. 

(S)He's considered both an angel of war and an angel of love. I've read that (s)he is the one to pray to too when you've gone through traumatic relationships; when you feel lonely and broken-hearted, or desperately need to be loved. Chamuel helps people develop trust, self-esteem, and self-forgiveness by encouraging inner peace.

(Remember my note about the spelling of Camael? Well that is one known spelling, but Chamuel is the more commonly used spelling; however, an interesting little side note: Chamuel [spelt with a "CH"] is more closely connected to the feminine - as in Chamuel as a female being. Chamuel is well known for her aspects of love and balance. Khamuel spelled with a "KH" is the same Camael/Chamuel but is more related to war and being the masculine form of the same being. (That is why in the book I spelled his name the way I did.) Either way Chamuel/Khamuel is gifted with the archaea of charity, enthusiasm and unconditional love. 

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading! I hope you had fun and enjoyed your experiences on Charity. Feel free to come back and visit any time!