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moonvoice
A Description of Souls in Vilturj
In Vilturj, the 'soul' manifests itself in different forms. Unlike mainstream belief where people have 'one' soul, people in Vilturj have multiple souls. We also project this belief outward, and believe that everyone has multiple souls. Animals, plants and many landmarks also have at least one soul. Each 'soul' has a function. Some persevere after physical death, while some die with the body. Other souls are only acquired when a trainee 'shaman' is accepted fully by the otherworlds and becomes an Ilkara'te or Oraite (shaman).
In our belief system, souls are transient. Almost all forms of dis-ease and illness - whether mental, emotional or physical - are thought to be related to damage done to any one of the souls that we possess. As a result, many of our souls can be fractured, damaged, stolen, locked away or traumatised as a result of our interactions with life, the otherworlds, and other people and spirits. It is the purpose of the Oraite and the Ilkara'te to make journeys both in this world, and in the otherworlds, in order to locate fragmented pieces of spirit or soul and bring them back to the body. It is thought that as we attempt to reunite all the lost and scattered pieces of spirit and achieve wholeness (an ongoing and potentially never-ending process of improvement), we also eliminate a lot of unnecessary illness and dis-ease, and learn how to integrate with necessary illness and dis-ease.
The souls house the personality, the ego, our connection to our ancestral past and the divine, our memories and our connection to our own totem and the otherworlds. The physical body is also a manifestation of a soul. Uniting the souls, or valuing each equally, is seen as a goal to achieving a sense of balance, health and nourishment. This can logically be applied to everyday life in a practical manner, it isn't after all healthy to focus only on the ego, or by contrast, only on our ancestral past or our physical body.
It is an unusual belief system, as are many traditional or indigenous perspectives on the soul. Most people don't believe in more than one soul, let alone that these souls can be taken or leave because of trauma. For us it is a logical way of explaining why illness develops, but never in the place of other more accepted modalities such as western medicine or psychology. Indeed, the act of healing the soul (often called 'soul retrieval') is thought to be an asset to more common healing modalities, and does not need to be practiced at the exclusion of these.
The Human Souls
1. Urt (pron: URD) - The Urt, which is also known as the Ur'd or Ur'da, is the soul most easily injured, and therefore the soul that most commonly reflects our personality and state of being at any one time. It is the Urt which fragments most easily because of surgery, childhood trauma, loss, etc. The Urt is also considered our twin, or our warrior aspect, because many fragments of the Urt often go into the otherworlds and become stronger in our absence. Our Urt is also the house of strength, or the tumugut (bearsoul). This strength is fixed from birth, and determines the integrity of people and their ability to hold strong to ethics / defend their family / etc. This soul can stay behind on the material plane as a 'ghost' or as a repetitive 'ghost fragment' (i.e. a ghost that repeats the same action or emotion all the time, never showing awareness of its environment).
2. A'vun (pron: Ah-VOON) - This is the soul of the body which dies when the body dies. It is thought that this soul becomes part of a cosmic or celestial entity when we pass away. This soul also contains our material wants and desires, and if we live a prosperous life, the A'vun is often quite healthy and strong. This also houses many of our memories, which is why we don't often remember the details of every life that we experience. At times, it is thought that the A'vun is also connected to our ego, material desires and sexuality. It is closely affected by damage to the Urt. It is quite difficult to fragment the A'vun, though mutilation, amputation and direct physical harm like eating disorders can require an A'vun retrieval.
3. T'yamjien (pron: Ti-yah-me-YEN) - This soul is the repository of all ancestral knowledge, genetic memory, thought, intellect, insight and memory. It is the soul of our ancestors, and is born again within us. Traditionally it was thought to pass along the father's side for a boy and along the mother's side for a girl. However, these days some practicioners of Vilturj believe the T'yamjien passes along equally from both sides of the family, meaning we have a vast resource of genetic and ancestral memory at our fingertips at any one time. Much of early training in Vilturj focuses on learning how to access the T'yamjien and the ancestors through this. The T'yamjien responds well to cellular ritual, blood ritual, and rituals to connect to totems, 'soul mates', ancestors etc.
4. Czu'czur (pron: CHUR-chur) - The name of the fourth soul is considered a 'false' name, and is only the words 'guide' (czur) placed together twice. The fourth soul is the soul of the Oraite and Ilkara'te, and only they know its true name. It is a closely guarded secret, since the word itself is said to possess great power. The fourth soul is only conferred when one of the final initiations is passed. This soul is the presence of the otherworlds / totem / spirit helpers within us. This soul is considered quite fragile, and can be removed or 'revoked' if the Oraite or Ilkara'te offends the gods / otherworld entities too severely. Once revoked, it cannot readily be returned, and the Oraite / Ilkara'te loses their status and is often exiled. It is this soul that elects to stay behind in the otherworlds and tutor trainee shamans once the physical body has died. The fourth soul is considered a valuable 'tool' in the Oraite's / Ilkara'te's healing compendium, since it is this soul that makes psychopomping and soul retrieval far easier to conduct.
5. Afcze (pron: AHF-Chay) - This is the stone soul only given to Ilkara'te (sky shamans). It is an abstract stone conferred by a pre-existing stone to a human. In our practice, Ilkara'te learn the secret of the weather and weather workings, as well as cosmic and celestial movements, from stones. It is thought that this spirit makes the Ilkara'te so inaccessible as a person, and often why they choose to live very solitary lives. The Afcze cannot be damaged or removed, though it can be so 'alien' that it can cause illness to the other souls simply by being present in the body.
6. Urjkut (pron: UR-Kut(as in 'book') - This is the 'Urt' of the animals, however it doesn't have a clear definition. Humans can be born with an Urjkut instead of an Urt, or acquire Urjkut fragments over time. Likewise, certain animals are born with human Urts and often become a part of legend or almost idolised over time because of their canniness and spiritual ability. Animals with an Urt might be considered a 'familiar' in Wicca, or simply an extraordinary animal in contemporary society. The boundary between Urjkut and Urt is one that has been little explored.
Out of these four souls, only the Czu'czur and the A'vun can be truly destroyed. The Urt and T'yamjien however live 'forever' once they have been born, and exist even if split into hundreds of fragments over tens of thousands of years. It is not thought in Vilturj that humans reincarnate from animals in a linear fashion. Instead it is believed that we all share a common ancestry, but that new Urt and T'yamjien must be fashioned for new humans (perhaps as a way of justifying overpopulation / population increase).
Animal Souls
All animals are thought to possess a T'yamjien which houses automatic and genetic behaviour / migration routes etc. They are all also thought to possess the A'vun. Some mammals and birds are thought to possess an 'Urt' (in the case of animals it is called an Urjkut). The presence of the Urjkut in animals is a matter of conjecture, however I believe that most of the more 'intelligent' or evolved animals possess an Urjkut and can therefore also benefit from soul retrieval and extraction.
Other Souls
Plants in our belief system possess an individual soul or physical soul (A'vun) and in most instances a group consciousness (a more advanced form of T'yamjien). Because of the ability of plants to be in constant communication with the their T'yamjien, many trainee shamans are often told and encouraged to commune first with plants (particularly forests / grasses etc.) in order to learn how to access genetic memory, before communing intensively with animals.
Stones have an A'vun and an abstract spirit called the Afcze. This latter spirit is considered cryptic and often inaccessible. Ilkara'te train more intensively with the Afcze than we do, but even they are thought to never understand its clear purpose or presence. The Afcze is thought to be connected to the cosmos and the weather patterns, possibly because of potential connections to meteorites.
Therianthropy and Otherkin
It is possible for humans to possess part or whole animal Urjkut souls. These people nowadays in contemporary and pop culture identify themselves as therians. In situations where humans possess the souls of other entities or spirits, they identify as otherkin. In Vilturj this fits in neatly with our perspective that many people have - usually - at least one part, fragment or whole animal (and other) Urjkut / Urt. In some cases this part of the soul needs to be expelled if it causes unsavoury behaviour (malicious fox Urjkut are an example of this), in other cases the animal or otherkin spirit is considered an asset once it is understood and worked with. Our souls after all are highly transient, it is not so hard to believe that animal, plant, land and stone souls (at the very least) can find their way into our bodies. It is then not so hard to believe that these can both benefit and harm us, as we assimilate with them and become whole.
moonvoiceA Description of Souls in Vilturj
In Vilturj, the 'soul' manifests itself in different forms. Unlike mainstream belief where people have 'one' soul, people in Vilturj have multiple souls. We also project this belief outward, and believe that everyone has multiple souls. Animals, plants and many landmarks also have at least one soul. Each 'soul' has a function. Some persevere after physical death, while some die with the body. Other souls are only acquired when a trainee 'shaman' is accepted fully by the otherworlds and becomes an Ilkara'te or Oraite (shaman).
In our belief system, souls are transient. Almost all forms of dis-ease and illness - whether mental, emotional or physical - are thought to be related to damage done to any one of the souls that we possess. As a result, many of our souls can be fractured, damaged, stolen, locked away or traumatised as a result of our interactions with life, the otherworlds, and other people and spirits. It is the purpose of the Oraite and the Ilkara'te to make journeys both in this world, and in the otherworlds, in order to locate fragmented pieces of spirit or soul and bring them back to the body. It is thought that as we attempt to reunite all the lost and scattered pieces of spirit and achieve wholeness (an ongoing and potentially never-ending process of improvement), we also eliminate a lot of unnecessary illness and dis-ease, and learn how to integrate with necessary illness and dis-ease.
The souls house the personality, the ego, our connection to our ancestral past and the divine, our memories and our connection to our own totem and the otherworlds. The physical body is also a manifestation of a soul. Uniting the souls, or valuing each equally, is seen as a goal to achieving a sense of balance, health and nourishment. This can logically be applied to everyday life in a practical manner, it isn't after all healthy to focus only on the ego, or by contrast, only on our ancestral past or our physical body.
It is an unusual belief system, as are many traditional or indigenous perspectives on the soul. Most people don't believe in more than one soul, let alone that these souls can be taken or leave because of trauma. For us it is a logical way of explaining why illness develops, but never in the place of other more accepted modalities such as western medicine or psychology. Indeed, the act of healing the soul (often called 'soul retrieval') is thought to be an asset to more common healing modalities, and does not need to be practiced at the exclusion of these.
The Human Souls
1. Urt (pron: URD) - The Urt, which is also known as the Ur'd or Ur'da, is the soul most easily injured, and therefore the soul that most commonly reflects our personality and state of being at any one time. It is the Urt which fragments most easily because of surgery, childhood trauma, loss, etc. The Urt is also considered our twin, or our warrior aspect, because many fragments of the Urt often go into the otherworlds and become stronger in our absence. Our Urt is also the house of strength, or the tumugut (bearsoul). This strength is fixed from birth, and determines the integrity of people and their ability to hold strong to ethics / defend their family / etc. This soul can stay behind on the material plane as a 'ghost' or as a repetitive 'ghost fragment' (i.e. a ghost that repeats the same action or emotion all the time, never showing awareness of its environment).
2. A'vun (pron: Ah-VOON) - This is the soul of the body which dies when the body dies. It is thought that this soul becomes part of a cosmic or celestial entity when we pass away. This soul also contains our material wants and desires, and if we live a prosperous life, the A'vun is often quite healthy and strong. This also houses many of our memories, which is why we don't often remember the details of every life that we experience. At times, it is thought that the A'vun is also connected to our ego, material desires and sexuality. It is closely affected by damage to the Urt. It is quite difficult to fragment the A'vun, though mutilation, amputation and direct physical harm like eating disorders can require an A'vun retrieval.
3. T'yamjien (pron: Ti-yah-me-YEN) - This soul is the repository of all ancestral knowledge, genetic memory, thought, intellect, insight and memory. It is the soul of our ancestors, and is born again within us. Traditionally it was thought to pass along the father's side for a boy and along the mother's side for a girl. However, these days some practicioners of Vilturj believe the T'yamjien passes along equally from both sides of the family, meaning we have a vast resource of genetic and ancestral memory at our fingertips at any one time. Much of early training in Vilturj focuses on learning how to access the T'yamjien and the ancestors through this. The T'yamjien responds well to cellular ritual, blood ritual, and rituals to connect to totems, 'soul mates', ancestors etc.
4. Czu'czur (pron: CHUR-chur) - The name of the fourth soul is considered a 'false' name, and is only the words 'guide' (czur) placed together twice. The fourth soul is the soul of the Oraite and Ilkara'te, and only they know its true name. It is a closely guarded secret, since the word itself is said to possess great power. The fourth soul is only conferred when one of the final initiations is passed. This soul is the presence of the otherworlds / totem / spirit helpers within us. This soul is considered quite fragile, and can be removed or 'revoked' if the Oraite or Ilkara'te offends the gods / otherworld entities too severely. Once revoked, it cannot readily be returned, and the Oraite / Ilkara'te loses their status and is often exiled. It is this soul that elects to stay behind in the otherworlds and tutor trainee shamans once the physical body has died. The fourth soul is considered a valuable 'tool' in the Oraite's / Ilkara'te's healing compendium, since it is this soul that makes psychopomping and soul retrieval far easier to conduct.
5. Afcze (pron: AHF-Chay) - This is the stone soul only given to Ilkara'te (sky shamans). It is an abstract stone conferred by a pre-existing stone to a human. In our practice, Ilkara'te learn the secret of the weather and weather workings, as well as cosmic and celestial movements, from stones. It is thought that this spirit makes the Ilkara'te so inaccessible as a person, and often why they choose to live very solitary lives. The Afcze cannot be damaged or removed, though it can be so 'alien' that it can cause illness to the other souls simply by being present in the body.
6. Urjkut (pron: UR-Kut(as in 'book') - This is the 'Urt' of the animals, however it doesn't have a clear definition. Humans can be born with an Urjkut instead of an Urt, or acquire Urjkut fragments over time. Likewise, certain animals are born with human Urts and often become a part of legend or almost idolised over time because of their canniness and spiritual ability. Animals with an Urt might be considered a 'familiar' in Wicca, or simply an extraordinary animal in contemporary society. The boundary between Urjkut and Urt is one that has been little explored.
Out of these four souls, only the Czu'czur and the A'vun can be truly destroyed. The Urt and T'yamjien however live 'forever' once they have been born, and exist even if split into hundreds of fragments over tens of thousands of years. It is not thought in Vilturj that humans reincarnate from animals in a linear fashion. Instead it is believed that we all share a common ancestry, but that new Urt and T'yamjien must be fashioned for new humans (perhaps as a way of justifying overpopulation / population increase).
Animal Souls
All animals are thought to possess a T'yamjien which houses automatic and genetic behaviour / migration routes etc. They are all also thought to possess the A'vun. Some mammals and birds are thought to possess an 'Urt' (in the case of animals it is called an Urjkut). The presence of the Urjkut in animals is a matter of conjecture, however I believe that most of the more 'intelligent' or evolved animals possess an Urjkut and can therefore also benefit from soul retrieval and extraction.
Other Souls
Plants in our belief system possess an individual soul or physical soul (A'vun) and in most instances a group consciousness (a more advanced form of T'yamjien). Because of the ability of plants to be in constant communication with the their T'yamjien, many trainee shamans are often told and encouraged to commune first with plants (particularly forests / grasses etc.) in order to learn how to access genetic memory, before communing intensively with animals.
Stones have an A'vun and an abstract spirit called the Afcze. This latter spirit is considered cryptic and often inaccessible. Ilkara'te train more intensively with the Afcze than we do, but even they are thought to never understand its clear purpose or presence. The Afcze is thought to be connected to the cosmos and the weather patterns, possibly because of potential connections to meteorites.
Therianthropy and Otherkin
It is possible for humans to possess part or whole animal Urjkut souls. These people nowadays in contemporary and pop culture identify themselves as therians. In situations where humans possess the souls of other entities or spirits, they identify as otherkin. In Vilturj this fits in neatly with our perspective that many people have - usually - at least one part, fragment or whole animal (and other) Urjkut / Urt. In some cases this part of the soul needs to be expelled if it causes unsavoury behaviour (malicious fox Urjkut are an example of this), in other cases the animal or otherkin spirit is considered an asset once it is understood and worked with. Our souls after all are highly transient, it is not so hard to believe that animal, plant, land and stone souls (at the very least) can find their way into our bodies. It is then not so hard to believe that these can both benefit and harm us, as we assimilate with them and become whole.
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Date: 2007-01-07 01:29 am (UTC)