Souls
Chapter 1: Reason of Origin 04/07
At night, when the range of one’s perception narrows and one’s own willpower seems to fade almost entirely—more so than during the bright daylight hours—the power of the spirits seems to grow all the more. In such circumstances, humans close their eyes and fall asleep, as if to escape the threat posed by that great force of will.
And then he dreams. In his dreams, he goes to places he has never been, does things he could never do in real life, and meets people who have already died and whom he can no longer see. When morning comes and he wakes up, he wonders why he was able to go to places he has never been or meet people who have died. He then begins to view the “self” in his dreams—the one who can go to places he “shouldn’t be able to reach” or places he doesn’t know, the one who can do things he normally cannot, and the one who can meet people who have already died—as something distinct and independent from ordinary human beings. Building on this, he comes to use the term “soul” to symbolize the whole human personality transcending the limitations of the physical body, and even to refer to the will possessed by animals.
Like spirits, souls are essentially entities that arise from the intangible human will; however, since the will of a living human being necessarily possesses a physical body, the “soul”—which symbolizes human will—is endowed with a physical form from the very beginning. This is why, in many cases, souls are believed to appear in human form. For example, the Egyptians believed that humans consisted of three parts. One was the “body,” and the other two were called “Ba” and “Ka,” which correspond to the “soul.” Although the Egyptians themselves did not seem to make a very clear distinction between “Ba” and “Ka,” they appear to have regarded “Ba” as the life force that moves the body, and “Ka” as the personality. The Egyptians believed that even after death, the “Ba” and “Ka” remained within the body and could leave it during the day to roam freely. However, they believed that at night, both the “Ba” and the “Ka” had to return to the body to eat and drink; if there was no body to return to, they would truly die. It is speculated that the techniques of mummification, used to preserve corpses, may have developed precisely to prevent this “true death” (the second stage of death) from occurring.
The fundamental difference between spirits and souls lies in the fact that spirits are fundamentally rooted in a sense of reverence for non-human entities, whereas souls arise from a sense of reverence for humans; furthermore, while the physical form of a spirit exists solely for the convenience of sorcery and rituals, the physical form of a soul is inherent from the very beginning. This is a crucial distinction. Since souls possess a human-like physical form from the outset, they can communicate with living humans relatively easily.
Now, while animism provided humans with beings to worship and revere, “magic” sought to harness that great power more effectively for human benefit by identifying with the attributes symbolized by those spirits and souls. It can be said that shamanism is the worship of a specific individual who exclusively practices this magic.
And then he dreams. In his dreams, he goes to places he has never been, does things he could never do in real life, and meets people who have already died and whom he can no longer see. When morning comes and he wakes up, he wonders why he was able to go to places he has never been or meet people who have died. He then begins to view the “self” in his dreams—the one who can go to places he “shouldn’t be able to reach” or places he doesn’t know, the one who can do things he normally cannot, and the one who can meet people who have already died—as something distinct and independent from ordinary human beings. Building on this, he comes to use the term “soul” to symbolize the whole human personality transcending the limitations of the physical body, and even to refer to the will possessed by animals.
Like spirits, souls are essentially entities that arise from the intangible human will; however, since the will of a living human being necessarily possesses a physical body, the “soul”—which symbolizes human will—is endowed with a physical form from the very beginning. This is why, in many cases, souls are believed to appear in human form. For example, the Egyptians believed that humans consisted of three parts. One was the “body,” and the other two were called “Ba” and “Ka,” which correspond to the “soul.” Although the Egyptians themselves did not seem to make a very clear distinction between “Ba” and “Ka,” they appear to have regarded “Ba” as the life force that moves the body, and “Ka” as the personality. The Egyptians believed that even after death, the “Ba” and “Ka” remained within the body and could leave it during the day to roam freely. However, they believed that at night, both the “Ba” and the “Ka” had to return to the body to eat and drink; if there was no body to return to, they would truly die. It is speculated that the techniques of mummification, used to preserve corpses, may have developed precisely to prevent this “true death” (the second stage of death) from occurring.
The fundamental difference between spirits and souls lies in the fact that spirits are fundamentally rooted in a sense of reverence for non-human entities, whereas souls arise from a sense of reverence for humans; furthermore, while the physical form of a spirit exists solely for the convenience of sorcery and rituals, the physical form of a soul is inherent from the very beginning. This is a crucial distinction. Since souls possess a human-like physical form from the outset, they can communicate with living humans relatively easily.
Now, while animism provided humans with beings to worship and revere, “magic” sought to harness that great power more effectively for human benefit by identifying with the attributes symbolized by those spirits and souls. It can be said that shamanism is the worship of a specific individual who exclusively practices this magic.