Esowiki - Spiritual Terms Simply Explained

The soul is usually thought of as the non-physical, immortal essence of a person—the part of you that makes you you, beyond just your body or brain.

🛐 RELIGIOUS VIEWS

✝️ Christianity

• The soul is immortal and given by God.

• It's the true self, and after death it goes to Heaven or Hell based on one’s actions and faith.

☪️ Islam

• The soul (called ruh) is also eternal.

• After death, it faces judgment and will be rewarded or punished in the afterlife.

🕉️ Hinduism

• The soul is called Atman—the eternal, unchanging self.

• It is reincarnated through many lifetimes until it reunites with Brahman (universal soul).

☸️ Buddhism

• Slightly different: it denies a permanent soul (anatta doctrine).

• Instead, it teaches that we are a bundle of constantly changing elements, and what carries on is a flow of karma, not a fixed soul.

✡️ Judaism

• The soul (neshama) is divine in origin and returns to God.

• There are multiple levels or aspects of the soul in some Jewish mysticism (like in Kabbalah).

🔮 PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS

🧠 Plato:

• Believed the soul is immortal and exists before and after the body.

• Divided it into three parts: reason, spirit, and desire.

⚖️ Aristotle:

• Saw the soul as the "form" of the body—it makes a living thing alive, but doesn’t survive death.

🧠 Modern Views:

• In psychology, the soul is often treated metaphorically (as "the mind" or "consciousness").

• Some scientists reject the idea of a soul altogether, seeing human experience as the product of brain activity.

🚨 IN SCIENTOLOGY

If we connect this back to Scientology:

• The soul is called the thetan.

• It's immortal, trillions of years old, and independent of the body or mind.

• The goal of Scientology is to free the thetan from trauma and regain its full power and awareness.

🎭 POETICALLY SPEAKING

In art, poetry, and everyday speech, "soul" is often used to mean:

• Passion ("He sings with soul.")

• Essence ("The soul of the city.")

• Compassion or empathy ("She's a kind soul.")

🕰️ ORIGINS OF THE IDEA OF THE SOUL

The idea of a soul has appeared almost universally across ancient cultures, usually as a way to explain:

• What happens after death

• Dreams and out-of-body experiences

• The "inner self" or consciousness

🌍 Ancient Civilizations:

Egyptians

• Believed in multiple "souls" or spiritual components:

  • Ka (life force)

  • Ba (personality/soul that could travel in the afterlife)

  • Akh (immortal spirit)

• The Ba could leave the body and return—very close to the astral body idea.

Ancient Greeks

• Plato: The soul is eternal, exists before birth, and returns to the realm of forms after death.

• Pythagoreans: Taught reincarnation and that the soul could leave the body during sleep or trance.

• Neoplatonists: Especially Plotinus—believed the soul could ascend to higher spiritual planes.

Hinduism & Vedanta

• The soul (Atman) is eternal and divine, reincarnating through lifetimes.

• Describes multiple bodies:

  • Stula Sharira (gross/physical body)

  • Sukshma Sharira (subtle/astral body)

  • Karana Sharira (causal body)

These layers match closely with esoteric and occult concepts of the soul having multiple "vehicles."

🌌 THE ASTRAL BODY: THE SOUL IN MYSTICISM & OCCULTISM

🔮 What is the Astral Body?

• The astral body is a non-physical, subtle energy body that coexists with the physical body.

• It’s often described as:

  • The vehicle of consciousness during dreams

  • What travels during out-of-body experiences (OBEs) or astral projection

  • The "soul-body" that survives after death (before reaching higher planes)

🌒 Occult & Esoteric Sources

Theosophy (19th–20th c.)

• Founded by Helena Blavatsky.

• Described multiple "bodies" or layers of being:

  • Etheric body

  • Astral body (emotions, dreams)

  • Mental body

  • Spiritual body

• The astral plane was a real realm of existence, inhabited by souls, spirits, and entities.

Hermeticism & Western Mysticism

• Influenced by Greek, Egyptian, and early Christian ideas.

• Emphasizes the idea of the soul leaving the body and journeying through heavenly spheres.

Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism)

• Describes five levels of the soul:

  • Nefesh (vitality)

  • Ruach (emotion/spirit)

  • Neshamah (intellect)

  • Chayah (life-force)

  • Yechidah (oneness with the divine)

Some interpretations align the middle levels with the astral realm.

Gnosticism

• Taught that the soul is a divine spark trapped in a material body.

• The soul must ascend through the astral spheres to return to the divine source.

💫 Astral Travel & Modern Belief

Many modern spiritual movements and "New Age" thinkers believe in the astral body:

• Astral projection is said to be a practice where the soul or consciousness detaches and travels to other realms.

• Often described as floating above your body, moving through walls, meeting guides or spirits.

Even some paranormal research and near-death experience accounts reference this idea, where people describe leaving their physical form and observing events from above.

TL;DR

• The soul as a concept came from a universal human need to understand consciousness, death, and the "inner self."

• The astral body is a specific idea from mysticism and esotericism, referring to a subtle, spiritual body that can leave the physical body and journey through non-physical realms.

• It plays a big role in systems like Theosophy, Hindu metaphysics, Hermeticism, and New Age spirituality.

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