Soul

The soul is a spiritual aspect of humans. It is recognised in some way, shape, or form by all cultures.

## Perspectives

De Plancy argues that it is what separates humans from animals, and that it grants ambition for something beyond what humans currently have. He lists conscience, remorse, hope for the future, and respect for the dead as things that possession of a soul grants. He claims that those who deny the existence of the soul since they can't see it are living in denial because their arguments against the existence of the soul can be applied to many things they accept do exist.

Dicearchus said that the soul was the harmony and balance of the four classical elements within a person.

According to Hoorbeeck, in the Jewish tradition souls are made in pairs, traditionally considered male and female. If these souls come together in life, the pair will be happy, but will be unhappy otherwise. He also notes that this meeting is rare, and people can need many attempts to find their soul mate. De Plancy, in an example of his heavy Catholic bias, calls this idea heresy.

Philo claimed that there are intrinsically good and bad souls, and that when they gain mortal forms these souls impart their nature on the person. De Plancy was vocal in his disagreement with this, claiming it heretical in the eyes of the Roman Catholic church.

According to the Muslim tradition, souls remain near their deceased bodies until the day of judgement.

The Greeks and Romans believed that, after death, souls became ghosts who could appear around their tombs and wanted to continue doing what they loved in life. This is similar to how ghosts are depicted in the gospels, where the ghosts are shown to see each other and speak, and one starts asking for water to refresh his tongue. Origen and Saint Irene both used the example from the gospels to determine that ghosts retained their memories from life. According to Plato, the souls of murder victims hunted down those of their murderers in the afterlife. It was also said that souls could be returned to their bodies and be restored to life as long as they didn't die by drowning. According to Servius, this was because souls were made of fire and were extinguished by water. De Plancy displays disbelief at this.

The Scandinavian belief, which was believed by at least some Romans present during the Siege of Jerusalem, was that, after death in battle, souls rise to a higher realm, either the stars, or to a higher plane of existence, where they become genii, whereas those who died peacefully would go to an underworld beneath the earth.

In Thailand it was believed that souls could go where they wanted after death, with those who lived good lives gaining great might after death with which to fight against evildoers.

## Appearance

One scholar claimed that a ghost told him that the soul looks like a spherical vase of polished glass with eyes on all its sides.

De Plancy says that the soul of Gontran had the form of a weasel.

A Jewish doctor supposedly saw the soul of one of his friends who was in the process of dying, and that he saved his friends life by praying so hard that his soul returned to his body. He claimed the souls looked like a light, transparent vapour in the form of a human. Notably, the accounts describe the man's soul with feminine pronouns.

In the Greco-Roman tradition, after death the soul would gain a larger, more majestic, subtle, and delicate form that glowed with the light of stars. Servius claimed that souls were made of fire.

## Land of the Dead

When a person dies, their soul is typically considered to pass into some sort of afterlife.

In Greco-Roman mythology, Charon was the ferryman who took souls to the realm of Hades.

In gallic Brittany, it was believed that the spirits of the dead lived on an island between England and Iceland. Boatmen and fishermen of Brittany had to pay no tribute because they also had the role of bringing the dead to that island. They would be summoned from their homes at midnight by a knock on the door, and would go to the shore where boats loaded with souls awaited them. They would then sail these ships to the Isle of Shadows, where the new souls would be greeted by the older ones. This practice was banned after the Christianisation of Brittany due to the risk of smuggling.

### March of Souls

In the Christian belief, souls who had not atoned for their sins could go on a pilgrimage on Earth to atone, and could do this in large groups.

There is a mention in the 11th century that a host of people dressed in white passed by the city of Narni, heading eastwards, from dawn until three in the afternoon. One of the residents, who recognised one of the people, asked him what was going on, to which he was told by his acquaintance that they were souls going on a pilgrimage to atone for their sins, having just visited the Tomb of Saint Martin and were now on their way to Notre-Dame in Farfe.

## Soul Trade

According to de Plancy, selling one's soul to a devil was a common belief in Germany.

De Plancy implies that whenever a deal is made with a devil, the mortal making the deal is selling their soul. Stories recounting this add additional features, such as the following:

> A student sold his soul to the devil in return for the devil causing the woman he loves to marry him. By selling his soul, he lost his shadow. During the wedding, sunlight struck the pair, and he was shown to have no shadow, and thus had sold his soul. The wedding was immediately called off.
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When selling one's soul, the deal should include mention of an amount of time the mortal has before they are claimed by the devil, otherwise the devil will generally take the person as soon as they have completed their end of the bargain. This is illustrated by de Plancy in the following tale:

> Three men were drinking and talking at a village cabaret about the immortal nature of the soul and how bad Hell was. One of them started getting rowdy and saying stupid things. Then a tall man in smart clothes turned up and asked them what they were laughing about, to which the rowdy one told him, and said that he was willing to sell his soul for a small amount of money, which he would then spend on alcohol to drink with the buyer. The tall man then offered to buy his soul. A price was agreed, and the money handed over and spent on alcohol. When night came, they finished the alcohol, and the tall man announced it was time for them all to return home, and that he would be taking his property, taking the man he bought the soul of back to Hell with him.
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## Further Reading

* *Dictionary and History of Spectres*, Leloyer
* *Journal of the Soul*
* *Of Care for the Dead*, Calmet
* *The Jewish War*, Josephus
* *Treatise on Apparitions*, Calmet

## See Also

* Gontran
* The Dead

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.25
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.26
3. ↑ de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.27