The Planes, the Bodies, and Germanic Soul Lore

[gullindagan]

In a previous thread, a commenter (shout out to JP again!) brought up the idea of Germanic Soul Lore in relation to the Planes of Western Occultism. According to traditional occultism, which I have received from JMG and Dion Fortune, we have roughly 5 planes with corresponding bodies. The physical, etheric, astral, mental and spiritual.  The physical plane is the plane of, well, the physical body... The etheric is the plane of subtle energy, like "chi". You can feel the etheric body slightly move out of synch with the physical when you go "wheee" over a quick hill in a car. Also, this seems to be the body that survives for a little while after death, but which vampires keep alive through etheric feeding. This is also the "etheric double" which can bilocate, or which can maybe go into battle as a wolf or a bear... The "astral" plane is literally the plane of the Stars, and is the plane of fate and karma as well as images, thoughts and feelings. This is the plane we enter while dreaming, while scrying, thinking or imagining. The "mental" plane is the plane of Meaning. We are just now developing the mental body, we only have a "mental sheath". Above, or behind, within, or otherwise past the mental plane is the "spiritual plane". This is the realm of the spiritual forces which we can only comprehend through the astral and the mental planes, but cannot perceive directly from our current stage. However, it is my understanding that the "divine spark" which is actually the core, or essence of our being, "exists" (the spiritual plane is ineffable, and "exists" isn't really the right word, but there is no right word) on the spiritual plane. The way that I see it, one of the main goals of spiritual work is to develop the lower bodies to the point where the divine spark and the ego are in conscious relation. This work can be helped along by guiding spirits, such as the Holy Guardian Angel, Angel of the Nativity, or other such entities.

The ancient Germanic peoples also had a complicated understanding of what makes up an "individual" (not so unable-to-be-divided after all, eh?) From what I understand about that complex, which I have received mainly from Flowers/Thorsson,  there are multiple bodies that don't exactly correspond to the occult "planes". There the "lyke" or "lich" which does pretty much correspond to the physical body exactly. The "hyde" is the etheric energy, the "ond" (the gift given by Odin in the Voluspa, which means "breath of life") I would also definitely place in the "etheric" plane, but it is in a way connected directly to the Spiritual.  The word "spirit" comes from the Latin for "breath", and I see "Ond" as basically the same as the Hindu "prana." The "hugh" or "hugr" and myne or "minni", or, thought and memory (the same as "Huginn" and "Muninn") to me are two parts of the "astral" body. The "wode" is inspiration, frenzy, and I might consider this a part that reaches between the Astral and Mental, maybe something like the "mental sheath." I think the "Fetch/Fylgia" is a guardian spirit, like the HGA, "Hamingja" is basically "personal power" or "charisma" or "personal magnatism" and "Wyrd/Orlog" is obviously related to "Fate", "Destiny" and "Karma" - though that will have to be another post.

In general, I am still trying to fit these together, but they are like two different artists, one using watercolors and one using oil paint, to paint a portrait. I'd be quite happy to discuss these ideas further in the comments and in future posts. It seems like the Germanic peoples had a much more developed sense of the etheric realms and etheric/spiritual tech than we do now. It might also be interesting to compare Maria Kvilhaug's idea of the initiations hidden in the Norse myths, where the hero faces the internal, female, sun-like higher self, to the idea of the Divine Spark. That might merit it's own post though...

Also, I found this explanation of the Old Saxon ideas of the soul-complex which might be interesting to folks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23aaWeTwnuU

Comments

[slithytoves123]

Off-topic, but I floated an idea at JMG's Magic Monday to change the reference to "Sumarbrandr" in the HLBRP to "the Sword of Frey" or "Frey's sword" (long and short versions) to remove what I've learned is a reference to a modern Rick Riordan novel.

I plan to only change that part to start with, to see how it goes, but after that I'd like to try changing the wording of the other items to explicitly mention the gods best known for owning them: "Before me, Odin's spear. Behind me, Heimdall's horn. At my right hand, Frey's sword. At my left hand, Balder's ring." Something about that formulation seems promising.

[gullindagan]

Sounds like a good experiment. Maybe alternate days and see if you feel a difference? Also, have you started the MP yet?

[slithytoves123]

That sounds good.

I have started the MP but am seem to have hit a wall. The first time was like getting the rush of air when you first crack open a door that's been shut for a long time. Since then, the effect has been much more muted.

I recall other people mentioning hitting a wall, so probably I just need to push through it.

[gullindagan]

Yeah that's common, just need to keep going.