The Reality of the Soul

"The only thing of value in a man is the soul. That is why it is the soul that is given everlasting life, either in the Land of the Sky or in the Underworld. The soul is man's greatest power; it is the soul that makes us human, but how it does so we do not know. Our flesh and blood, our body, is nothing but an envelope around our vital power."
Ikinilik, an Utkuhikjaling Inuit

The following is taken from Holger Kalweit's excellent Dreamtime and Inner Space: The World of the Shaman

Ideas about the nature of the soul are similar throughout the world. They are, in summary, as follows:

• The soul is described as wind, vapour, a shadow, an image, a sketch, a mirror image in water, a phantom, an outline, a reflection, an echo, a double, life-spirit, spirit, a will-o'-the-wisp, that which is immortal in all humans, a form, a similarity, an appearance, a representation, a half-light, breath.
• The soul is the life-principle, it can exist without a body, it is the pre-requisite of consciousness, The body only lives by virtue of the soul, is of secondary importance, and is completely dependent on it.
• When no soul is present the body is unconscious or as if dead. It continues to function in a purely mechanical manner, but is incapable of generating wakefulness. Comprehension declines and the body collapses. It is exhausted, weary and feels cold, growth is impeded, and so on. The soul is the source of health, strength and warmth.
• The soul is present throughout the body or only in certain parts of it, such as the head, the heart or the belly.
• The soul can leave the body through all bodily orifices, such as the mouth, the anus, the nose, the fontanelle, the ears, the eyes, or the navel.
• Under the following conditions the soul is disconnected from the body: during sleep, in dreams, in a state of shock, fear, or unconsciousness; in battle or when excited, during the delivery of a child, in illness, and during emotional fluctuations in general.
• The soul leaves the body some time before the actual moment of death.
• The return of the soul into the body is indicated by sneezing. A sleeping person should be woken up gently to avoid startling the soul, which might be away on a journey; this applies especially in the case of shamans.
• Some people can see a person's soul before that person dies; this is a sign of impending death. When someone dies, the spirits of his ancestors are awaiting the soul. When it has completely separated from the body the relatives accompany it on its journey to the Beyond.
• After death the soul remains for some time in a human environment, near or in the place where it lives, or by the graveside - sometimes until the body begins to decompose, but never after that. It then sets out on its journey to the Beyond.
• Defensive rituals are performed because people fear the soul of a dead person. All possessions of the deceased are destroyed so that nothing remains to remind him of his earthly existence and he can thus leave the world of man without becoming homesick. The soul or ghost of a person can cause fear and misfortune; but it can also bring good luck if used as a protecting spirit.
• A distinction is made between people who have only just died, ghosts or haunting spirits, and souls of the dead. A ghost, ie a lost or roaming soul, will walk abroad in the neighbourhood of the living. The soul that goes straight to the Beyond is called the dead-soul. It can enter people and possess them, and represents a temporary state. It has to pass through further states of existence in order to develop itself spiritually or finally dissolve completely.
• Both dead spirits and ghosts can become visible, frequently in human form, but more ethereal in appearance and surrounded by a phosphorescent aura of light. They can also reveal themselves as animals or in an amorphous form.
• The spirits of the dead can transcend space and thus are able to move from one place to another in no time. They are capable of taking on any shape. Soul substance adheres to fingernails, hair, excrement and saliva. These can therefore be used for all kinds of diagnostic purposes as well as for negatively influencing or affecting the person in question. The soul substance adheres to all things with which the soul has been in contact.
• The souls of children and sick people can easily be abducted by spirits of the dead. The soul is never safe against abduction by spirit beings. A soul can be recalled into a corpse by magic or sorcery. As a result of this a zombie comes into being.
• Before a battle the soul can leave the body and fight its enemy in a disembodied state.
• The shaman is the specialist of the soul; with his soul he is capable of healing but also of causing harm. It is visible only to seers and shamans.
• Because the soul is not bound by time and space, it receives information in an extrasensory and acausal manner. It can recognise objects over vast distances, journey quickly to remote countries, and associate with mythical beings. The soul knows the psyche of people.
• Since other beings and objects also have a soul, the human soul can establish contact with them.
• Man consists of a body, his life-force, his psyche and his soul. The life-force (vital soul) is identical with our bodily functions, such as the circulation of blood and energies as well as biochemical processes.

Many notions of magic may be derived from the idea of a subtle energy body. A summary:

1. Other living entities such as animals or plants - but in our understanding also dead bodies - have a second body, which is of a spiritual nature.
2. The cause of illnesses resides in the soul body. Healing must therefore concentrate on harmonising this soul body.
3. The Beyond, in which the soul lives, is subject to laws and conditions of space, time and causality known in our world, but at the same time embodied in the qualities and capabilities of the soul.
4. Since all material forms not only possess a soul body but at the same time are bearers of the spiritual essence - mana, power, ch'i, prana - our soul is directly connected with them: the soul and the ensouled universe are a whole.
5. By altering the structure of their consciousness, people of all cultures acquire access to the soul body, to the Beyond, and to a nonmaterial cosmic reservoir of energy.