What happens after we die? Do we each have a mortal body and an immortal soul? Does what we do on Earth in this life influence what happens to us in the afterlife? How does the Pagan view of death differ from that of Christianity? Trainee Shaman Jerry Gardner ponders these and other imponderables.
After birth, it could be argued death is the most important event in our lives. Yet in the Western world at least, death remains the greatest taboo. It is an unwelcome guest: feared, shunned, pushed into a corner, forgotten and ignored. Death has been largely sanitised and moved to the margins: out of sight and out of mind.
Death is often seen as a tragedy, and in many circumstances it is exactly that. When a young child dies, we struggle to explain the heartbreak. But death is inevitable sooner or later for all of us. As the 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne put it, “You do not die from being ill: you die from being alive.”
Are you dying to get to heaven?
Is death really the end? Atheists would claim that it is, whilst religions like Christianity and Islam beg to differ, promising heavenly salvation or eternal damnation (terms and conditions apply). Indeed, it could be argued that the primary purpose of religion is to make sense of life and death. The problem is that you can never be quite sure who is right. I’ve always loved the Rowan Atkinson sketch where he plays the Devil welcoming the new arrivals to hell. To the Christians present he says, “Yes, I’m sorry, I’m afraid the Jews were right.” He goes on to tell the Atheists “You must be feeling a right bunch of charlies now.”
An astrologist friend said to me “Since nobody has indisputably ever come back to describe, or prove, what happens, we can only fashion our own beliefs that give us comfort and succour as we move along this path that leads inexorably to our deaths.” He is right. The greatest irony is that it is only by dying that we can find out for ourselves what the answer is. Is there a dark nothingness, or do greater things await us? As one ghost wisely said to another: “Do you believe in life before death?!”
Body and soul
Some religions believe in the dual nature (or dualism) of human beings: the division into a material, mortal body and a spiritual, immortal soul. In this scenario, the belief is that at death, the mortal body dies, but the soul lives on, separate from the body.
This dualistic belief can trace its origins back far in time – at least as far as the Ancient Greeks, and most likely further back. The Ancient Greeks borrowed many – some might say all! – of their Gods, Goddesses and belief systems from the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed in a human body and five part human soul, consisting of the Ib (heart), Sheut (shadow), Ren (name), Ba (soul / personality) and Ka (Vital spark). At death, the Ba and the Ka united to form the Akh, the immortal soul which lived on for eternity. Thus there is good reason to believe the division of body and soul is a very ancient tradition.
Christinairy & Dualism
It may come as a surprise to learn that dualism does not form part of the Christian creed. From a biblical perspective, the body and soul are seen as an indivisible “oneness.” At death, Christianity teaches that this “oneness” will be either resurrected to eternal life in heaven, or condemned to eternal damnation in hell. When the Bible talks about a “soul” it really means the whole of a person’s being (a “living, mortal, physical soul”), not some shadowy, formless entity that lives on after the mortal body dies and decays. When author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis said “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body,” my understanding is that he was referring to the oneness rather than an everlasting essence. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – a 20th century French philosopher and Jesuit priest who was condemned by the Church for some of his teachings – offers a beatuiful quote which is perhaps closer to the truth: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
Nowhere in the Bible is there reference to the immortal soul. The Bible teaches us that only through Jesus can people find eternal life, and that non-believers are eternally damned. Although christened into the faith, I have never properly understood what happens to Christians when they die. Indeed the inability to find an answer that satisfied me was one of the reasons I started out on my spiritual journey. Do dead Christians remain sleeping in the ground, their “oneness” of body and soul remaining on earth until the judgement day, when God alone decides who is lifted to eternal glory? Or do they ascend directly to heaven, whilst non-believers, Pagans, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, sinners and unbaptised babies are left to rot in hell for ever?
For those religions that believe in dualism, however, a whole range of exciting new vistas opens up. Reincarnation becomes possible. Interestingly, there is some evidence that certain branches of the early Church - the Gnostics, for example - believed in reincarnation, although it has no place in modern-day Christianity.
A Pagan Perspective
As a Pagan and trainee Shaman, I believe in the dual nature of mortal body and immortal soul. I also believe that the soul, like energy, cannot be destroyed. Like energy, the soul can change its form or appearance, but it is, in essence, eternal. I base my opinions on many years of discussions, research, study, intuition, spiritual journeys and teachings (by both human and spirit beings!) - but in the end my opinions are just that: opinions. I share what I believe in the full knowledge that I may be wrong, and that your opinions are as valid to you as mine are to me!
Pagans believe in the existence of several worlds or planes. The most obvious are the Upper World, Middle (physical) World and Underworld, which loosely correspond to Heaven, Earth and Hell. I believe there are other worlds which exist beside, above and below these three worlds, and that souls move between all of them, depending on factors such as where they are on their spiritual journey, where they are most needed, what they need to learn and what teachings they can impart. A soul can take several forms and may exist in more than one plane:
· As part of a physical body and soul: This role is greatly admired in the other worlds, as it takes a massive commitment and great energy and effort to be born into the physical world. In certain circumstances – such as a spiritual journey, or a near-death experience – the soul may temporarily separate from the body.
· As a soul part: during times of great trauma or stress, a part of the whole soul can become detached and remain stranded alone in space and time (the Shamanic process of soul retrieval works to reunite the lost part(s) with the whole)
· As a soul in the underworld: the souls of people who have behaved badly on earth must spend time in the underworld until such time as they learn the error of their ways. Christian Hell is eternal: the Pagan underworld at least offers the chance of redemption. Many good souls also exist in the underworld to offer help and guidance.
· As a soul guide: a soul without a physical body, able to exist in both human and spiritual dimensions, and there to offer help, security and guidance to their chosen human(s).
· As a power animal: very similar to a soul guide, except their soul takes the form of animal, and exists only in spiritual dimensions
· As a soul in heaven: Christianity and Islam make mention of seven heavens – seven levels of heaven – and I believe this is one concept where they are on the right track. My understanding is that the higher you go in heaven, the more difficult it is to return to lower or different planes of existence. As souls ascend the higher levels of heaven, here they may aspire to become angels, and ultimately, in seventh heaven, to become part of divinity itself. To some extent, these ascending souls subsume themselves into the collective divinty, but crucially, they retain the option of returning to their individuality. Angels, as the most highly advanced form of the soul apart from the divinity, are able to move freely between the different planes of existence, though they tend mostly to do so only when they are called upon.
· As part of the collective consciousness: the universe needs this energy as part of its very existence. All souls are always a part of the collective consciousness - like separate drops of water which combine to create an ocean – but some souls exist wholly in this space and do their work there full time. The collective consciousness covers, exists in or connects to every other plane of existence.
· As a lost soul: souls who roam the Earth, or who are stuck in a certain place (often a graveyard) either because they lack awareness of the spirit world, or because they do not wish to face up to the consequences of their past evil actions and go to the underworld to serve their time. Some ghosts are lost souls.
· As a non-soul: in the underworld there are souls whose actions on earth were so evil, selfish and depraved that they give themselves up and selflessly choose to become “non-souls.” These “non-souls” I have only glimpsed, and I am not entirely sure of their purpose, but I do know that they serve a vital purpose. I don’t think “non-soul” is the correct word to describe them, but it’s the best I can currently come up with. Perhaps they are the underside of the collective consciousness, the Yin to the Yang. My understanding is that they cannot change from being a non-soul.
· As a “soul-less” soul: a friend has told me that she believes some souls can have their soul-memory (of DNA and Karma) wiped out, and then return to earth and other planes where they may act destructively. They are puppets acting on behalf of a more intelligent and evil source. These “soul-less” souls are similar to - perhaps the same as - non-souls (I don’t know), and may explain the presence of evil on earth.
The immortal soul and an explanation of death
Anyone who has experienced the gut-wrenching sadness of a child or young parent dying knows that one of the worst aspects is the senselessness of it all. It makes no sense that an omnipotent God could allow such misery, pain and suffering to occur. At such times, religion can offer little but cold comfort. Comments like “He is with the angels now” or “God has called her to heaven” may offer some solace, but they offer no explanation beyond the hollow “it’s all part of God’s plan.”
Paganism can offer no additional comfort at times of tragedy, but it can at least offer an explanation. Each person on earth – or more correctly, each immortal soul on earth - is here to teach and to learn life lessons which can move them further along or further backwards on their spiritual journey. The goal of that spiritual journey is to eventually find heaven. When a young child dies, it may be that their purpose on earth was to teach those around them a life lesson, or indeed that their own soul needed to learn a lesson. This may sound unduly harsh, but if you believe that the soul is immortal, and if you judge time on a circular, eternal, spiritual basis - rather than on an earthly and linear basis – then the very real pain of tragedy is, if not lessened, then at least understood.
In my current existence, my spiritual journeys have taken me back to past lives, and forwards to future events, including my eventual death. When I made the journey to my deathbed, it was as miserably upsetting as anything I have ever experienced. But now I am comfortable with what I have seen, because in my mind I understand the bigger picture. Death is not to be feared, it is to be accepted. Death is a natural part of life, but it is also so much more - it is but one stage on the most incredible, most wonderful and most beautiful spiritual journey imaginable.
My sincere thanks to the many friends who generously and open-heartedly contributed to this article.
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