The Spirit World

The Unmistakable Amy Brown

The following is an outline (and only an outline) for our parish’s upcoming presentation on the Spirit World: An Exploration of Folklore and Faith. My apologies to any readers wishing that I would flesh things out a bit here below. You’ll just have to come worship with us and stay through Adult Formation for that. You’d be more than welcome.

The Spirit World

Of All That Is, Seen and Unseen

Let’s Take Spirits for Granted

I could make philosophical, historical, theological, or common sense arguments

But let’s assume that folks gathered for this presentation believe in a spirit world

What I’m concerned with today is traditional Christian understandings of such

Because spooky stuff happens all the time; the world today is as weird as ever!

You wouldn’t believe the calls I get just in NY Mills and the surrounding area

What Do We Mean by Spirit?

We think of spirits today as nonphysical entities, wispy, ephemeral

But the Early Church thought of spirit not as nonphysical but as superphysical

Psyche (animus, soul, breath) is frail mortal life

Pneuma (spirit) is immortal life, beyond merely what we can see and touch

To angels we are the insubstantial ones, as smoke against their diamond

So You’ve Got Yourself a Spirit

First thing to do in matters praeternatural is to identify what we’re dealing with

Christians have traditionally divided encounters with spirits in three categories:

(1) Terrestrial—embodied, physical spirits: humans, animals, plants

(2) Celestial—the “bodiless powers,” creatures of pure mind: angels

(3) Elemental—something in between embodied humanity and bodiless angels

Hierarchy of Being: How the Ancients (and We) See the World

Gods / Angels

Daemons / Elementals

Humans

Animals

Plants

Inanimate Objects

Take note: the higher levels can descend; the lower levels cannot rise

We still assume the Hierarchy of Being today; a boy is greater than a dog

Note that God is not even on the scale; He transcends worldly hierarchy

Terrestrial Spirits: Souls

What is a soul? It is participation in the Being of God.

The body is the physical manifestation of the soul, not separate from it.

All that lives has a soul. They come in three varieties:

(1) Vegetal—plants and growing things

(2) Animal—senses, emotions, personalities

(3) Rational—moral agency, reason, free will

Rational souls are immortal by nature; a soul without a body is a ghost or saint

Animals souls are either immortal or resurrect: either way, animals have a future

Even inanimate objects may have a spiritual reality; they “witness” in Scripture

What Can You Do With a Ghost?

Put it back to sleep (Orthodox prayers); unfinished business (ibbur or dybbuk)

Souls may be sent from God: saints in Heaven, poor souls in Purgation

If this is the case, there’s not much you can do but wait them out!

Celestial Spirits: Angels

Angels are understood to be “bodiless powers,” pure mind; cannot die

They may take on a body for a time, or have a “body” simply of limitation

They are not limited by matter, space, or time as we know it (aeveternity)

Each angel is as different from every other as we are from other species

Traditionally numbered in Nine Choirs:

           (1) Seraphim, Cherubim, Offanim—highest of the high, heavenly court

           (2) Dominions, Virtues, Powers—creatures of cosmic order

           (3) Archangels, Principalities, Angels—deal closely with humans

This correspond to the Three Heavens: atmosphere, firmament, empyrean

What Can You Do With an Angel?

Cower, mostly; pray, show respect; angels are messengers of God on high

Should you deal with a demon (more below) call on God and holy angels

Never address a demon directly: they are older and wiser than you

Call on Christ, the Saints (especially Mary), and St Michael; exorcism!

Elemental Spirits: Something In-Between

Elemental spirits (classical daemons) have bodies but not like ours

They can change size, shape, visibility, subtlety; they do not get sick or weak; long-lived
Denizens of Otherworld, a hidden aspect of our own

Their bodies are made of “smokeless fire” or “coagulated air”

Faeries, Fey, Longaevi, Nymphs, Elves, Goblins, Vaesen, Piskies (Pixies), Nisser, Kami, Redcaps, Necks (Nixie), Trolls, Jötnar, Jinni, Woodwose, Hags, &c

Elementals reflect elements: gentle Mediterranean nymphs vs Norse frost giants

St Paul seems to make reference to them; many Christians believe in them

They are found in all cultures around the world from Japan to America

Most of European folklore can be summed up as “Don’t upset the faeries!”

Systems of Classification: Know Your Faeries

Paracelsus:

Sylphs (air)

Salamanders (fire)

Gnomes (earth)

Undines (water)

Katharine Briggs:

Trouping Faeries

Domestic Faeries

Monsters
Water Faeries

Faerie Origins

Celestial—are they fallen, “neutral” angels? (Irish)

Terrestrial—are they “hidden folk” or ghosts? (Nordic)

Elemental—were they created independently (Jewish, Muslim, &c)?

Lilith: Adam’s first wife, the mother of monsters, created on the Fifth Day

Bonus Image: A Little Risky for Presentation

What Can You Do With a Faerie?

Quite a lot as it turns out; first off, pretend not to see them if at all possible

Act with utmost respect; do not accept rides or food from suspicious faeries

They generally don’t like to hear of God, for they do not know if they’re immortal

Some faeries seek out marriage to humans for offspring or a rational soul

Traditional wards: iron, cross, black-handled knife, bread and salt, hazel, rowan

Not all wards work on all types; distinguish the Seelie from Unseelie Host

Natural magic is morally neutral; easier to deal with than ghosts or devils

Fallen Spirits: Infernals

There is a fourth category, but not by nature: chthonic or infernal spirits

A fallen angel is a devil; a fallen human is damned; a fallen faerie is an imp

Of course, it also works the other way: by grace are souls raised to Heaven

A saint is no more a ghost than a demon is an angel

What About Gods?

Are the pagan gods a separate category? We mean gods as distinct from the God

(1) Terrestrial—the pagan gods are deified dead men (St Augustine, Egypt, Rome)

(2) Elemental—the pagan gods were powerful faeries (St Paul, Ireland)

(3) Abstract—the pagan gods were metaphors and personifications (Greece)

(4) Celestial—the pagan gods were the angels of the nations falsely worshipped, or outright demons; this was the dominant understanding of the Early Church

Giants in the Earth?

Giants can be terrestrial, elemental, or celestial—but what of Nephilim?

These are hinted at in Genesis and elaborated upon in books such as Enoch

(1) Hybrid interpretation: angels bred with humans, creating hybrid giants; these giants mostly died in the Flood, but their spirits became daemons

(2) Sethite interpretation: the Watchers were super-humans, not angels; the Nephilim they produced were the heroes and demigods of pagan myth

Judaism and Christianity generally hold that angels cannot produce offspring

Orthodox Judaism, Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, and Ethiopian Judaism and Christianity (who include Enoch as Scripture) are all officially Sethite

Are We Alone?
Clearly not, not in the universe or even on Earth
Would aliens be terrestrial spirits?
Christianity assumes other planets, dimensions, realms, realities
Angels roam the spaces between stars and worlds between worlds

Bonus Image: A Little Risky for Presentation