Spirit Plane (again...)

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From: Geoff Gunner (eosgg@raesp-farn.mod.uk)
Date: Mon 04 Oct 1993 - 15:15:53 EET


Geoff Gunner here, folks.

Ideas have been sizzling about Spirit Plane matters, partly sparked off by a very nice book - 'Spiritwalk', by Charles de Lint, ISBN: 0-812-51620-6. Deals with a lot of things aired in the digest.

Anyway, before rabbiting off I'd better make it clear what *I* want from any treatment of the spirit plane. I want a framework that I can build upon, but not a restriction. I want something that doesn't need lots of little rules to make it logically coherent. Something that can explain lots of European myths, other myths if possible as well. I'm happy to drop current rules if the new is more fruitful. So that's where I'm coming from, and this could be where I'm going:

GP = Gods/Hero Plane, SP = Spirit Plane, MP = Material Plane There is a heirarchy; MP -> SP -> GP. ( -> ? ) Each successive level is an abstraction of the previous. The Spirit Plane holds the 'essence' of a living thing; an individuals's spirit, soul, etc.
The God Plane is an abstract; entities 'exist' which are ideals, stereotypes or whatever (Jung's archetypes, Plato's Ideals (?)). The three planes are interlinked; individuals possess souls, souls possess attributes. An example: a spider has a spirit; this spirit partakes of
'spiderishness'. So in a sense, all spiders 'worship' Gorakikki. Intelligent
creatures have a concious decision on what 'attributes' to emulate. (It may be possible to attain unsuitable attributes such as 'catness'. And then there's the most troublesome attribute of all, Chaos!) This works in reverse. 'Spiderishness' is cloaked in a spiritual aura, which on the MP is worshipped as a subcult of Gorakkikki (an individual from a plane perceiving the higher in a manner consistent with its experiences, i.e
'discrete' existance of things, which is animism (or is it 'anism'?)).
The existance of the entity on the god-plane could be tied in strongly with a rune - both are referring to abstracts. Or is this too neat ? Because the nature of 'reality' is different for the planes, it will be hard for an individual to think meaningfully about another. I may talk of the
'existance' of Orlanth on the God Plane, but this is just a representation I
can understand. Hence the strange, disjointed nature of dreams - direct experience of the SP by my spirit, but not making sense to a MP point of view. So a large part of being a shaman is learning to think in SP terms, to thus be able to manipulate and use the energies present there. Which is why they always seem to be out of their box. (though that could be the powdered rhizome). Things such as fear spirits are much more explainable. They might even be linked to a god, if 'fear' has been personnified into a deity.

So that's my understanding of the mechanics of the situation. How to travel between the planes: Technically, one is already present on all three planes, but in a manner appropriate to that plane. My spirit cannot think deductively as that is not part of the normal mode of a spirit's existance. On the GP I would be Anger, Curiosity, etc - again no use to me as an adventurer. So I must learn techniques to take my rational, mundane side to the planes. Or I must learn ways of becoming fully aware of that part of me on the desired plane (Trancendental Meditation, 'Second Sight', etc.)

On taking myself to another plane, I can make my *spirit* aware of the 'rational me', and so extend myself into the spirit plane (note, this isn't sending 'me' off into the spirit plane, but bringing the spirit to me.) This seems to me to be how shamans and dream workers do it.

The idea of transferring myself physically into the SP I'm having a lot of problems with ( e=mc^2, after all! The physical can't exist on the spiritual, so where does it go ? Saved up as raw energy for the transfer back ? Hence the mythical time limitations on walking the planes, as this energy is slowly dissipating. Or perhaps it could get 'eaten' by some spiritual horror). And transferral the other way (i.e. Demonic appearence) has the same problems. But note - the use of energy to create mass might account for the temperature drop/rise present at so many mythical happenings. Anyone help me out of this hole I've dug myself ?

And what if a species, rather than an individual, learnt to cross the boundary between the planes ? As with all invader species, they would find life a lot easier. So the Tuatha de Daan (?) retreat from the Milesians into the lands of Faerie in Celtic mythos. They would gain in spiritual skills to help them survive but slowly loose their physical skills until they were fully part of the spirit world (Irish legends are full of the TdD using mortals to do their dirty work). I prefer European elves to Gloranthan, and forsee some good stuff coming from this approach. Ghouls I can see as a species that are moving the other way in a particularly nasty manner.

Anyway, I shall stop there. AS I said, this is the result of a feverish weekend's thinking which involved alcohol, so it may be (i.e. is probably :-> ) complete gibberish.

Geoff. Honestly, I'm not a god-lear.. (THWUNK!Splot)

ps. Has anyone done any work on translating C&S magic into RQ terms ? Although most of it is more appropriate to medieval FRP, things like the Drug Trance and Power Word magics are very tempting !

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