The Soul
There are at least two currently known interpretations of soul from accounts of ancient Norse belief. The last breath a person took was understood to be an evaporation of the life principle into a source of life that was primeval and common, and which was in the world of the gods, nature and the universe. There was also a "free soul" or "dream soul" that could only leave the body during moments of unconsciousness, ecstasy, trance and sleep. The conscious soul which comprised emotions and will was located in the body and it could only be released when the body was destroyed through decay or immolation. When the body had been broken down, the conscious soul could start its journey to the realm of the dead, possibly by using the free soul as an intermediary.
Read more about this topic: Death In Norse Paganism
Famous quotes containing the word soul:
“A good soul like a good body should be as unobtrusive as possible; in so far as it functions properly, it should not be noticed for good or for ill.”
—C.E.M. (Cyril Edwin Mitchinson)
“Jesus, Lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, While the tempest still is high;
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, Till the storm of life be past;
Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last.”
—Charles Wesley (1707–1788)