The rise of spiritualism in the late nineteenth century raised new ways to perceive the dead. A new possibility to communicate with the deceased attributed novel characteristics to the human soul. Building upon this spiritualist discourse, the prominent theory-crafter of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), thought the spirit of the dead, which she differentiated from the soul, to be a separate but connected component of the physical body. As such, this component should be separable from the physical body before death. Blavatsky developed the theory into an ontology (theory of what there is), cosmogony (the origin of the universe), physiology (the constitution of the human body), and soteriology (a doctrine of salvation). The separation possible before death became known as astral projection and it was a way to liberate the ‘astral body’ from its physical sheath, enabling the individual to travel spatially and temporally. Astral projection was regarded the apex of magic and a highly valued goal, actively pursued. Unlike previous studies, this thesis aims to explain the phenomenon of astral projection, how it was perceived and constructed, from both an emic as well as etic perspective. Using discourse analysis, this thesis aims to explore and discuss how Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society diachronically constructed their understanding of the practice and the mechanisms enabling it. In addition, this thesis also aims to trace the evolution of astral projection in the Theosophical Society from its founding in 1875 to Blavatsky’s death in 1891 as well as what functions the practice filled. This is achieved in two sections, through three steps, split between the ‘early’ and the ‘later’ Theosophical Society; this thesis examines the physiology presented, followed by the second step of surveying the ontology represented, which lastly explores how these are used to explain the phenomenon of astral projection.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-189871 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Karlström, Erik A. |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Religionshistoria |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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