Winifred Hodge Rose
In Definition and Overview of Heathen Souls, I offer a definition for what I call the existential theory of souls. The criteria for defining a soul using this approach are: (1) the soul confers life by its presence, and its absence means death. These are the life-souls. Or (2) the soul can exit the living body temporarily and take action on its own, without causing death; these are the daemon-souls. And / or (3) the soul has an independent, stand-alone afterlife. One of the souls I discuss in my articles, the Sefa / Sebo, does not fit into these criteria. Instead, I believe it is a soul sung into being by all our other souls, and functions as the coordinator of our souls and the residence of our ‘sense of Self’ during life.
Having laid out my research and thoughts about the nature of the souls in this Heathen Soul Lore series, I want to return now to the idea with which I began this study: that we have multiple souls, with different sources, natures, and afterlife fates. Here is another argument in favor of the idea that we have a number of different souls, rather than having several dependent soul-parts fitting into a single soul, as is more commonly assumed. My argument is based on cosmology: on the perception that our multiple souls are connected to multiple worlds, cosmological processes and beings. They come into being in different ways, are connected by various flows of energies to different worlds and beings, and have different fates in the afterlife. To me, these are indications of individual soul-beings, rather than soul-parts. Here is a review of these souls, focused on cosmological details, to support my argument.
Origins, Nature, and Destinations of the Souls
Our life-soul Ferah comes into being as a flash of lightning during physical conception; I might call it a flash of ‘life-ning’! Ferah’s powerful life-energy is most closely aligned with Deities of Earth, Thunder and Lightning: those whose own powers flow through the living world of Midgard and support the life processes therein. Ferah-souls comprise an interconnected network of vital energies, linking together humans, other living beings, flows of natural energies, and Deities into an ordered system governed by natural laws. After death, Ferah may become a spirit associated with Midgard nature in some way, or may join the ambient surges of Midgard life-energy. Powerful Ferahs may become the kind of guardian spirits reflected in the Germanic (and Celtic) Matronae of Roman times: place-based spirits or genii loci of rivers, cities, regions, clan and tribal domains rooted in a specific area. I think that one possibility, among others, for the Ferah soul after death is to accompany its partner Hugr soul, and perhaps one or more landwights as well, to form together a powerful ancestral or semi-divine land-warder spirit. Alternatively, we can make our own Ferah a deliberate gift to the Gods: growing our Ferah’s strength, beauty and connections throughout our lives, and at the time our death comes to us, offering it to the Holy Ones with love and dedication.
Ahma / Önd is eternal, unchanging spiritual essence, rising from the primal energies of Fire and Ice, from the great Ginnungagap of all potential which opens up between these polarities, and from Hvergelmir, the Roaring Cauldron, the Source of proto-being which flows forth from the Gap. Ahma / Önd brings our breath of life with it, and bears it away when it leaves. Birth and death of the body have no direct effect on Ahma.
Ghost is formed from and filled by Ahma, wrapped in a soul-skin by the care of one or more Deities. The unshaped spiritual essence of Ahma is shaped by the soul-skin of the Ghost into a personal being with its own characteristics and nature. Ahma flows into Ghost as divine breath and inspiration, and enters Midgard through our breath and our Ghost-Mind, with their connections to our other souls and body. The human Ghost mirrors the personal Deities, who are shaped by their own power from Ahma, the essence of impersonal Godhead or Source, into personal beings with their own distinct natures. Ghost is formed for us at the time of our birth, and rides in upon our first breath of life to take root within us. It departs upon our last breath, as we ‘give up the Ghost.’ The usual afterlife of Ghost is residence with whichever Deities it was closest to during life, to participate in the God-Homes with the activities and purposes of those Deities. In some cases, Ghost may choose to disembody itself and return to the primal Ahma, impersonal Spirit, from which it was formed, rather than heading to the God-Homes. A severely unhealthy or damaged Ghost, or the Ghost of a person who is extremely tightly connected to living persons or Midgard affairs, may end up as a haunt drifting in the spiritual plane of Midgard, until the situation or condition that caused this is resolved.
The Hama is closely linked to the body both during life and after death, in the form of our Lich-Hama, our ensouled physical body. It comes into being in the womb, imprinted and energized by Ferah, Saiwalo-Dwimor, and one or more Deities, and bears the spiritual blueprint for our body and physical life: our appearance, physical and social abilities, and living energies, in the form of La, Læti and Litr. The structures of the womb itself (caul, placenta, afterbirth) are considered to contain a spirit of luck, the hamingja, which accompanies the person throughout life. After death, if the body is cremated, then the Hama dissolves and its energy returns to the ambient pool of natural energies. If the body goes through the process of decomposition, then the Hama’s energy gradually decomposes along with the flesh, but some of the energy will remain as the ‘soul of the bones.’ Some necromantic and shamanic practices make use of this soul-energy lingering in the bones of people, and of animals.
Aldr is given to us by the Norns at birth, and with it comes the ørlög or orlay they have spun for us. As our life proceeds, Aldr continues its connection with the Norns, feeding strands of new orlay back and forth between them and our Midgard life. Orlay builds up this way in the Norns’ Well, and in our Werold-hama, the cloak that Aldr weaves, containing all the experiences and deeds of our life: our own personal world. Aldr continually feeds nourishing and healing spiritual energies into our Lich-Hama, seeking always to extend our life-span, our vigor and vitality. Thereby, it fills our Ealdoryard, the energy-container of Aldr which coincides with the outline of our physical body. Aldr governs the timing of events in our life, and our relationship with Time itself. It can be considered our body-in-time, as our Lich-Hama is our body-in-space. When our life is over, Aldr, dressed in its Werold-hama, proceeds to the Doom-stead of the Gods and Norns. There, our lifetime’s experience and deeds, our Werold-hama or cloak, is observed and acknowledged by the Holy Ones, and—if deserved—is blessed. Then it is fastened into the Well of Wyrd, to be drawn up from the Well by the Tree’s roots and become one more layer of All-That-Is upon the Tree of Worlds.
Mod souls develop, over evolutionary time, from elementals, nature-based spirits or daemons, associated with microbes and other natural beings. Through association with humans and their other souls over generations, especially with Sefa and Hugr, Mod-daemons become humanized, strongly influencing our temperament and character, our mind and motivations, but keep their basic characteristics as powerful daemon-souls. Mod is characterized by its Will, strength, power, determination, might and main: physical, mental and spiritual, and uses its access to natural flows of Midgard energy to maintain its might. It is especially connected with Thor and his family, and their flows of might and main. Highly developed human Mod-souls have modcraft: strategic intelligence and wisdom, characteristic of leaders, counselors, elders, wise queens and kings. Frigg embodies this modcraft, and can guide its development among humans. After death, Mod is likely to accompany our Ghost-soul in its afterlife in the God-Homes, or as a haunt. In some cases, it may return to being an elemental or nature-spirit, or may accompany another of our souls in its afterlife.
Hugr arises as a wisp of longing from the wetlands of Hel, and filters up into Midgard. There, it encounters afterlife Hugr-spirits who have previously incarnated within human soul-households. After further development, the new Hugr incarnates and begins its long cycle of learning, bringing with it many aspects of character, thought, emotion, temperament, willpower, and the need for and interest in human attachments and human life. Through the experience of lifetimes, Hugr becomes wise, subtle, and powerful. After death, the experienced Hugr may become an ancestral spirit, a guide and warder for a time, a Dis, Alf, or Fylgja, until reincarnating again. Ill-intentioned afterlife Hugrs may become afflicting spirits, given many names in folklore, who cause illnesses, accidents, nightmares, bad luck, loss of fertility and other problems for living humans. Odin is the exemplar of Hugr’s nature and its powers, a patron of this soul among humans.
Saiwalo is the Hel-dweller, who remains rooted in Hel and sends an image or phantom, a Dwimor, into Midgard to ensoul a person. The Dwimor serves as an alchemical matrix, attracting and holding all a person’s souls and body together during life. Saiwalo-Dwimor is not closely involved with our Midgard personality and activities, but it generates, gathers, and mutates mental-emotional images which influence us and those around us. After death, the Dwimor-phantom returns to its Saiwalo in Hel, bearing with it a hoard of images that it collected during life, which then shape our Saiwalo soul’s perceptions of its habitat and existence in Hel. This hoard of images also influences the next Dwimor that Saiwalo generates to ensoul a new person in Midgard.
Sefa arises from within a person, the expression of all their souls singing or vibrating together. Sefa holds our sense of Self, of how all our souls interrelate and interact together during Midgard life. Sefa focuses on ‘self and other’, the relationships among humans (living and after life), and between humans, Deities, and other spirits. It is perceptive, understanding, insightful: qualities that it uses to strengthen its relationships. The Goddesses Sif, Sjöfn, Frigg, Vör, and the other companions of Frigg are matrons of Sefa. During life, Sefa creates a hologram of all the souls’ experiences, which is retained by the other souls when they separate after Midgard life is over.
My argument is that these souls are different enough, in their origins, nature, connections, and afterlife fates, to reasonably be regarded as individual soul-beings, rather than as dependent parts of one soul.
Soul-Footholds
In my understanding, our souls have what I call footholds in our physical body and its life-processes: places where that soul interfaces most powerfully with our physical life. Here is a review of each soul’s foothold in the body. These different footholds give further illustration of the nature and functions of each of the souls, as well as how they relate to each other.
Ferah fills our entire body with its etheric life-substance. I think the channels of energy that are identified in Eastern systems as Qi and Prana run through this Ferah-substance, as do our sensations and many of our instinctual reactions. Our perceptions, both physical-sensory and metaphysical, are also linked with our Ferah.
Ahma and Ghost have their foothold in our breath, lungs and diaphragm, while Ghost-Mind hovers over our brain and interpenetrates it.
Hama is integrally connected with its creation, our Lich-Hama or living body, and especially with the blood, hair, skin and outer appearance. It shows itself in the activities, skills and abilities of our body, including our voice, body language, expressions, behavior and personal characteristics.
Aldr’s foothold lies in our bone marrow and in the many fluids of our body, which are held within the body by our Ealdoryard, the Aldr’s boundary that coincides with our physical exterior. Many of our body fluids are regulated by cycles of time: the rise and fall in levels of hormones, neurotransmitters, digestive / reproductive / immune-related fluids, the fluids that bathe and wash our brain, spinal column and bone marrow, and many others, influenced by diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles and by our age and stage of life. These are among the means by which Aldr influences our physical body and our body-in-time; they are Aldr’s foothold in our body. The fluids ruled by Aldr symbolically mirror Aldr’s source in the waters of the Norns’ Well. Aldr is also a soul which feeds nourishment to our body, especially the spiritual and energetic nourishment contained in food that is close to its natural state. Emotional nourishment is gained through all the work that humans do together to grow, obtain, prepare, celebrate, and share the food. These aspects of nourishment work together to optimize our life-span and vitality.
Mod is seated in our solar plexus and abdomen, meshed with our microbiome and with the powerful energy centers in this region. Mod gives us strength and vigor at all levels: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. The interactive processes of digestion, metabolism, energy production, muscles and tendons, reproductive system, and immune system all influence and are influenced by the state of our Mod.
Sefa resides in the heart, and Hugr in the breast, around and in the heart. They are also associated with our organs of perception, our brain, and the many biochemical processes that generate and are generated by our emotions. With their focus on relationship and kinship, and Hugr’s root in desire, these souls are heavily invested in the body’s involvement with sexuality, mating and reproduction.
Saiwalo-Dwimor, in my perception, has no actual physical connection with the body, except in the sense that in phantom form it is the image of our body. Dwimor is the metaphysical (non-physical) matrix which attracts and holds together the other souls and their energies during Midgard life.
Different Religions, Different Perspectives
Here is another question that comes up, as we consider the perspective on Heathen souls that I present in my Soul Lore series. What should we make of the fact that different religions, philosophies, and schools of psychology all have different ideas about what ‘the soul’ is, where it comes from, where it goes to, and ‘who is in charge of it’ during, before, and after our physical life? Wars have been fought, people are ostracized, impoverished, enslaved, tortured and killed over these questions, not to mention defined as being ‘insane’ or ‘evil’ based on ‘wrong beliefs.’ What is ‘the soul’, and how many of them do we have?
As I make clear in this series, I perceive us as having multiple souls. I also perceive that souls are not like physical entities with clear, firm boundaries, where we can say with certainty where one ends and another begins. I see them as being more like Venn diagrams of overlapping circles, or ‘fuzzy sets’ where the properties of one category blur into the properties of another. I perceive them as being multidimensional, extending into dimensions beyond our familiar space and time, which makes putting them into any definitional boxes more difficult.
I think that religions, philosophies, and sciences each define souls in ways that fit with their overall worldview and understanding of theology, cosmology, psychology, biology and the like. And this works for each of them in context, because the souls are amorphous, elastic, fractal, holographic, multidimensional beings. Souls can adapt to the ‘containers’ of belief in which they are placed. Or, more accurately, our understanding and experience of our souls can so adapt. Heathenism is one such container, or set of containers, and my own views of Heathen soul lore provides another that fits within it. Souls can be sorted in different ways, placed into different containers of belief.
This gives rise to another question: are some ‘containers’ of belief more desirable than others? More healthy, more expansive, more compassionate, more ‘soulful’, more insightful, or whatever? I think this is so, and I am biased in favor of the Heathen ideas about the souls that I pursue in my soul lore studies. This is based on my values, interests, beliefs and aspirations. I fully acknowledge that a follower of a different belief system would see the landscape of soul lore quite differently, and I would not try to argue them out of it.
It’s like looking at light. Is light all one color, white? Or is it a spectrum of rainbow colors? The answer to both questions is ‘yes’; it depends on what kind of lens one is looking through. (And keep in mind that all our perceptions come to us through lenses, like the physical lenses of our eyes which perceive light.) My soul-lens is a Heathen one, colored by Heathen understandings of multiple Deities, multiple Worlds, multiple Beings across the worlds, multiple states-of-being for souls before, during and after physical life, multiple strands of time and wyrd, history, genetics, and many other influences interwoven to make us who we are, day by day, life by life. I see our souls as being the players, the actors, in this great game of Being, and I think that one soul would not be enough to capture, experience, enact and express it all.
“It takes a village to raise a child”, and it takes a soular-system of interactive beings to create a fully responsive, aware, active, multidimensional Self for each person, each lifetime, while at the same time interacting with other worlds and beings, outside of the space and time and awareness of our everyday lives. There’s a lot going on out there, in our World and in all the others, and we benefit by approaching it as a team of soul-beings, each with its own strengths and abilities, perceptions, origins and destinations.
The Meaningfulness of Soul Lore Study
It seems to me that the study of ancient words, and their etymologies or histories, taken in context within ancient writings, can be a key to waking up and recognizing our own souls. The word-complexes are like lures or songs, or runes, that awaken the relevant souls, calling to them through the mists of time and worlds. Even the confusions and contradictions that arise from these studies are alluring, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle or an intriguing riddle that we want to keep working on until we’ve solved it to our own satisfaction. The solutions that we find might be unique to us, or might be relevant to others, too. They might, or might not, be something that can be firmly supported by scholarly references. But that is not the point, nor the end-goal, of this endeavor.
The end-goal is to know our own souls, and to understand their relationships with each other, with the Holy Ones, ancestors, powers and spirits of nature, with living people and all the other beings of this and other worlds. There are many ways such goals may be accomplished, of course. But the study of ancient soul-words offers a unique gateway to forgotten knowledge, a place from which to begin our journey toward understanding. It starts us off in the direction we want to go, and helps us make sense of all the knowledge and experience we gather along the way of living our life.
Pursuing soul lore through ancient languages also offers a direct and vital link to ancestral pools of knowledge, and to one’s ancestors themselves, an important consideration for many Heathens. I suggest that the methods I use for soul lore study can be extended into other historically-based Pagan religions and their ancient languages, for the same purpose. I also envision that modern Heathens from all different ancestral backgrounds can enrich their own practice by pursuing language roots that connect them with their own kin and the ancient cultures of their kin. For so many people, in so many times and places of the world, ancestral connection is deeply meaningful. Learning even a few relevant words from the ancient languages of our kin-lines, whatever they may be, is one way of awakening our souls, who stretch their roots through Time, Wyrd and Worlds.
We consider ‘understanding’ to be a ‘deep’ thing, and it is. It reaches deeply into our self, into the selves of others and the world around us. Its roots are sunk deeply into Time itself. We know more than we realize we know, and we discover that by digging deeply into what we think is unknown, using ‘understanding’ as our digging-tool. After all the digging, we discover something that we knew all along, on some level of our being, but did not realize that we knew it.
Pursuing soul lore is life-changing, life-enhancing and enriching. It gives us the power of knowing who and what we are, and being able to express this out into the world in a multitude of ways. It gives us the ability to understand others more deeply and interact with them in better ways: not only other humans, but other beings of this and other Worlds as well.
Posted here April 2021.