Liber ab Anima (The Book of Soul)^203
the Roman god Viduus who is said to be responsible for that separation after the body
dies. His name means ‘divider’. As it is clear that the body remains present in this world
upon death, it seems reasonable to believe the soul is not a function of the body.
In ancient Egypt, the soul was called ba. It was depicted as a bird or sometimes as a
human with the head of a bird. Upon death, the ba left the body. Often times great
leaders were said to have the ba of some of the most sacred animals. The gods were
sometimes said to also have the ba of specific animals; however, the Pharaoh was also
said to be the ba of the gods. The ancient Egyptians were rather clear that when dis-
cussing the soul, they were not speaking of a force that animates the body but instead a
pattern of consciousness. The life force had a different name, ka. Again we see ‘Our
creator is evidenced by our creativity,’ expressed here by saying the soul of the creator
is found in both animals and humanity.
In the many Voodoo traditions, the word zombie is used to describe a human who
has had his soul removed from his body. According to Caribbean Voodoo traditions
(as opposed to Hollywood Voodoo traditions), the victim did not have to die before
becoming a zombie. Instead, the soul of a living person could be removed either with
or without tricking the soul into thinking it was time to leave. Even though there is a
wealth of knowledge that tells us the death was faked and the soulless conduct of the
victim is a result of chemicals used to fake death, the lore remains. So we have another
insight into what the Voodoo traditions consider the soul to be—not something that
animates the body because the body can be animate without the soul.
On the Polynesian islands, the soul is called Mauri. In Batak (Sumatra, Indonesia)
it is called Tondi. It is the very nature of that which we are. Collectively, it is the very
nature of that which the collective is. As the collective of a small group, it has been
called the Yamato, or the soul of the Japanese. On a much larger scale, it has been
described as the soul of humanity. The Hindu religion calls that great collective the
Atman, the Greeks called it the Aether. In my view of the Wiccan religion, this collec-
tive is not the Creator itself, but the force by which the Creator acts in creation. It is the
very soul of our Lord and Lady.
In Teutonic lore, there are creatures known as the Undine. They are female Water
Sprites who are said not to have a soul until they marry a mortal man and have a child.
The birth of that child causes the Undine to receive a soul. But where did it come
from? For that matter where did the soul of the child come from?
In Roman lore, the goddess Psyche is the personification of the soul, her name
meaning either ‘breath’ or ‘soul.’ She was so beautiful that Aphrodite became jealous
and sent Eros to punish her by causing Psyche to fall in love with an ugly man. Upon
looking just once at Psyche, he fell hopelessly in love with her. For that love, he had no
choice but to visit her every night. Being in the service of Aphrodite, he had no choice
but to insist that Psyche not know his true identity. One night, Psyche cheated and held
a light to his face to determine his identity. When he discovered her attempt, he left
her. Psyche (soul) then wandered the world desperately hoping to find Eros (love)
again.s WB Chap 11.p65 203 7/11/2003, 5:55 PM