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gullindaganIn 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
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
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Date: 2021-09-21 11:31 pm (UTC)As far as the planes, I have read some stuff in some Theosophical literature about it, though I can't remember where. I've mostly just taken it from JMG and Fortune. I have seen similar divying up in unexpected places though.
I really need to get that Pollington book, that sounds very interesting. I was thinking also yesterday about all the English words for parts of the human. I mean, we have "soul", "spirit", "mind", "body", "memories", "thoughts", "feelings", "emotions", "consciousness", "awareness", "ego", "heart", "gut" and so many others, and how those seem to be more like the kind of divisions the Germanic peoples are making, but the Plane bodies are a different kind of ordering.
As far as mixing oil and watercolor, it is just a metaphor! And a metaphor about metaphors at that, though in a way, all words are metaphors...
I think it's right and good to have the fuzziest understanding of the spiritual, as that's the one that we can know the least about. Though in a certain way I think it is always present.
I think the breath is what keeps the "spirit", "consciousness", "soul" or "awareness" in the body. It's when the person stops breathing that they die. So in a way, it's physical, etheric and spiritual, though it is one of the few automatic bodily functions that can be easily altered by the will! I think that's why breathwork is so important in so many traditions. To me it is quite important that Odin is who gave us Ond.
I think Hamingja/Luck is definitely related to karma, but I think the Charisma/personal power thing is an important part of it too. I believe that doing practices such as banishing rituals, or being totally celibate for a time, or practicing exercises of the will, or many other sorts of things builds up a personal power that we might call "mojo", but could also be called "Hamingja"- but the term also probably has a deeper and wider meaning too. I'm trying to find ways to understand these terms using my direct experience. "Mojo" for instance has that meaning now in our culture, but previously in southern black culture it was a specific type of charm.
The thing about Wyrd, Orlog, Karma, Fate, is that in a certain way, they are dependent on the astral realm. Literally the stars. The sage is one who has gone beyond the stars. Beyond his fate. Of course, Odin couldn't alter his destiny, and this brings us to another oil and watercolor moment.