Spirit World The Spirit World was one of the planes of existence in the World Tree cosmology . It was home to the Celestial Empire and its Bureaucracy , the overarching pantheon of Kara - Tur . Cosmology . The Spirit World was apparently incompatible with the Great Wheel cosmology , coming as it did from radically different worldview . It was , however , considered a part of the World Tree cosmology , in which it replaced the Astral Plane , but only over the continent of Kara - Tur , where the Celestial Empire and its Bureaucracy held sway . It was a transitive plane that was both coexistent with and coterminous to the Material Plane , but only in the continent of Kara - Tur . The Ethereal Plane formed a border region between the Material Plane and the Spirit World . Although it was , on the whole , a neutral plane with no elemental traits , individual locations could vary and bear local traits and alignments . The Spirit World equivalent of a blacksmith ' s forge might be fire - dominant , while that of a haunted graveyard could be mildly evil - aligned . Magic that derived from appropriate veneration — that is , divine magic — was enhanced in the Spirit World , while magic that depended on knowledge — arcane magic — merely functioned as normal . Spells that depended on the Plane of Shadow did not work in the Spirit World , as it had links to that dark realm . The plane was timeless ; though days and nights still passed , the denizens never aged and never hungered and or thirsted . Description . The Spirit World was a realm of extremes , with everything a seemingly greater version of its counterpart on the Material Plane . Every sense was enhanced , made keener and more aware , showing the world in sharp focus . Every sound was more distinct and pleasing to the ear . Colors were brighter or more vibrant , deeper or more intense : in the day , the sky was the purest blue , in the night , a jet black with brilliantly shining stars . So it was to visitors from the material world ; the spirits who dwelled there described the material world as but a pale reflection of the Spirit World . Every natural locale in the material world had a spirit counterpart , but these too were greater in every way . A mountain stood taller and more majestic , a lake was deeper and held purer water , and a tree reached higher and its fruits had stronger taste . Not all sites built by living creatures were repeated in the spirit world , and structures from anthills to castles might be missing , but when they were , they too were larger and sturdier and grander . Accounting for this , the geography and general terrain of the Spirit World followed that of the material world , namely the continent of Kara - Tur . Distances between landmarks were always the same , regardless of their apparent magnitude . Every deity , immortal , and spirit of the Celestial Bureaucracy dwelled in a small realm attached to the Spirit World . Inhabitants . The Spirit World was the home of the spirits of all things in the material world : living beings , deceased ancestors , spirits of items , and spirits of places , from the biggest mountain to the smallest stone . For example , a lake in the Spirit World was the abode of a water elemental who served as the spirit of the lake in the material world . A palace in the Spirit World housed the spirits of the ancestors of the ruler of the palace in the material world . Settled areas in the material world were , in the spirit world , generally heavily populated by the spirits of the deceased . These could be the most hazardous , as the ancestors were very protective of their still - living descendants . For instance , a ninja who sought to slay a lady in her palace might first have to get past the angry ghosts of her ancestors before he delivered her to them . Seeking the protection of their ancestors , rulers preferred to live in the same palace for generations . Thus the Spirit World was home to all manner of creature , of all kinds , including dragon s , elemental s , fey , outsider s , and undead . Spellcasters could summon creatures from the Spirit World to the Material Plane . The Celestial Emperor and all the various deities , immortals , and spirits of the Celestial Bureaucracy dwelt in the Spirit World . Locations . The Spirit World was the site of the Celestial Heavens , the divine domain of the Celestial Empire . It also contained the Underworld , the hells in which it imprisoned the spirits of the evil dead and disgraced officials of the Bureaucracy . The Shou believed the Underworld to lay in the west , and so thought it unlucky to build a house facing this way . Connections . From the material plane , travelers to the Spirit World would often first slip through the Ethereal Plane . Whilst ethereal , they could see both the material world quite clearly and the spirit world as its faint echo . By focusing on that echo , they brought themselves closer to the Spirit World and finally entered it . Spells that formerly allowed passage to the Astral Plane instead applied to the Spirit World , at least within the land of Kara - Tur . The " plane shift " spell could be used to cross back and forth . As the material and spirit worlds were coexistent , a traveler who crossed to the Spirit World and made a journey of say 1 mile ( 1 . 6 kilometers ) to the north and returned would find themselves 1 mile ( 1 . 6 kilometers ) to the north of where they ' d started . The Spirit World held some natural portals to other planes , especially the abodes of greater gods who administered the operation of the universe . A portal to a god ' s realm stood at the counterpart of an appropriate location in the material world . However , the Spirit World had no links to the Plane of Shadow .