animus_network | A question

what
you mean like soul stuff?

Perhaps. The specifics of it are beyond me, which would be why I am asking.

The basics of astral projection are this.

It is assumed a person has two bodies: a physical body, which is rooted in the world, and an astral body, sometimes analogous to the soul, sometimes to the mind. Usually these two bodies are kept together in one shell, the physical body. Astral projection is an act of a force of will where the astral body separates from the physical body to traverse other areas of existence, sometimes other worlds but most often the astral plane, or the heavens to some if you will.

The means for accomplishing this can vary: meditation, magic, psychic acts of will. There's hundreds of methods for achieving what amounts more or less to the same thing.

If I remember correctly, it's supposed to be a practice where you could separate your soul from your body for various periods of time and travel through it. This was popular in many fictional books in my universe, but it wasn't possible there.

I hoped that helped you out.

[She reads this over once, twice, three times before responding.]

I see. And how powerful do you think a subject would have to be in any of those methods in order to accomplish such a feat?

It does, thank you.

You mentioned it was a merely fictional practice in your world, but may I ask how long, on average, it was thought that a person's soul could be separated from their body? Or perhaps, how far their soul could travel from their body?

souls naturally decay when not weighed down by a brain
but astral projection is like a soul being tied to the brain with a leash
might be possible if you used familiars
but i'm a specialist in that field

Sure. I am happy to answer any questions you have about this.

How long you could separate your soul from your body depended on a great many things. Most factors depended on the story or book you were reading, but you mainly had to deal with how you long you meditated, if you believed it would work, and how pure your soul was to begin with. The more you believed, meditated, and were pure, the longer you could be separated from your body. However, experience did play a big role in most of those stories.

As for how far, that also depended upon how long you meditated, how pure you were, experience, and belief. The more of those you had, the farther you could travel.

However..such things were only fictional in my world.

[There was no way one could become a spirit and then go back to being human, in chaos's world. Such things were impossible, even for him.]

[...]

I think I understand. [Sort of.] What is a familiar?

lingering thoughts of departed souls jammed together into a body
to make a soul-like entity dependent on prana
the magus controlling the familiar can use spells to see through their eyes

Count Bleck is familiar with the concept though he has never put it into practice.

That's very dependent.

The most important factor, I suppose, is how spiritually "apt" someone is. That could mean how at peace they are with themselves and the world, or devotion to a religion, ect. Anything that could, in a way, be a focus for spiritual power and energy. The act of astral projection is never an easy one, so there is no one specific way that is easier than the other.

However, the most common way to project on a personal level tends to be deep meditation. Upon reaching a specific state of meditation the person can feel their astral body leave the physical one and ascend to the astral plane. Of course this method, as it is with most methods, leaves the person projecting physically vulnerable.

Spiritually vulnerable, as well, if they aren't prepared for their sojourn on the astral plane.

Edited 2012-11-26 18:28 (UTC)

Belief, purity, and experience. I see... Could it be accomplished if the person in question didn't necessarily believe what they were doing was astral projection, exactly, but something else?

[Ruana prayed.]

Even if they were only fictional, any knowledge as better than none.

In the stories, there were a few occasions of that happening..however, they were quite rare, and you did not find too many of them.

..And that's true. After all, even if this isn't my universe, this information may work to some extent here.

[... Now that sounds like--]

Do they have a consistent appearance, generally? Or does it depend on the magus that is controlling them?

[--the phantoms?]

[That odd being from the whale attack... well, better to get information from a variety of sources.]

Would you tell me about what you know?

definitely depends on magus
and some can even change form
like, they have some very general similarities
but what they actually look like depends on the ingredients used
identity
looks
powers
all these are affected by ingredients
like if you used a human spirit
then the familiar might have a humanoid form as one of their forms
like one girl uses dogs
another is supposed to use pigeons
in my time crows and dogs and pigs were common

That depends on what you wish to know about it.

[It's really not his specialty, but he's familiar with the concept...]

I've never done it myself, but I'm familiar with the mechanics. What do you want to know?

Edited 2012-11-26 21:30 (UTC)

What if a person is not necessarily aware that they are projecting their astral body, yet they still have a mantra or prayer of sorts that they focus on? I suppose, in fewer words: could it be done accidentally?

And what kind of spiritual dangers might they encounter while separated from their physical body?

[Goodness, she's full of questions today.]

That would make sense, I suppose, given how the consequences of such an act could be life-threatening, from what I understand. Doing so unintentionally would be dangerous at best.

[And yet, maybe that's what happened here, so many years ago.]

Exactly. Given the nature of this place and the people inhabiting it, getting a variety of perspectives on any given thing only makes sense, yes?

The idea is foreign to me, and the research library is missing sections on the subject. Anything you would be willing to talk about would be appreciated.

Accidently?

Yes. I suppose that is possible. There are triggers out there that can force such experiences to occur without knowing it. Astral projection would be tricky to have occur as an accident. But it is feasible.

There's a reason it requires intense meditation. Traversing the astral planes for most is hard, and a break in concentration during meditation could be disastrous. The astral body could become lost in the astral plane if not careful, or even be destroyed if concentration is broken.

And there are those heavily versed in the astral plane that could trap your astral body there, if they wished.

And at worst, the soul would forever be cut off from the body. Physically, you would die, but spiritually, you would live forever, alone.

[It kind of reminds him of the Testaments a bit, to be honest.]

That does make sense. I quite agree with you. Forgive my small error.

[..Maybe he should get some rest later.]

[That's... unsettling, to see spirits being talked about like they're ingredients, but it doesn't sound as much like the phantoms as she first thought. Hm.]

I see. That sounds as though it would be... unpleasant, to be cobbled together with the spirits of others against your will.

What do familiars do, if I may ask? Are they sentient?

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