The Tripartite Human

Humans are composed of three aspects: A body, a Soul, and a Spirit.

The corporeal, or Physical Body is obviously the material form which we take in this life; the very vessel in which both the Spirit and Soul reside.

The Spirit is the vital force that passes through the body as upward-moving energy; the uplifting life force and innate ability of the body which is provided and nurtured by- and therefore ultimately the same as- nature itself.

The Soul is downward-moving energy which carries the intellect, personality, emotion, intent and will, desire, and faith of a person; it is "the breath of life" and Divine Spark which anchors the Soul to and animates the physical body.

The life of a person lies within the blood (Body) and breath (Soul), while the Axis Mundi of one's power (Spirit) lies within the heart. All of these together make up the magico-material body of one’s ultimate existence within the material world, and allows it to variously experience the physical world, inner world, and spiritual world; these three worlds themselves correlate respectively to:

1. Physical perception of the material world through the senses of the body.
2. Perception of the Spirit World via our inner senses such as intuition.
3. Mystical perception of the “heavenly world of God”.

Both the Soul and the Spirit are non-ordinary essences which act as a person's penultimate center, endowing them with the capacity to perceive and interact with the world around them; the Soul is the eternal animating breath of the body- while the Spirit is its natural quintessence, formed of the four elements of existence themselves. Rather than "imprisoning" the Soul and Spirit in the corporeal vessel, however, as one might imagine, all 3 are “married" and thus exist in harmony together as one being.

The body itself is HaShem's tool, given to us to do the sacred work of its Soul in the material world, through the exercise of the Spirit. Thus, all work and experience ultimately moves through the body; everything we do- every way we otherwise experience and effect change upon the world around us- comes from the very core of our physical being; the body is where we worship, and is our sanctuary and altar both.

Not only does our body require protection, care, and respect, as HaShem’s holy created vessel, then- but as practitioners it's generally important that we take care of our body in order to do our work in the first place; worship, magic, and energy work can be demanding, and if you're in a constant state of imbalance then worship and work can only aggravate an already precarious situation.

When the Body expires, however, the Soul returns to HaShem, while the Spirit returns to the Earth which produced and nourished it.

The Soul and Spirit may also leave the body for some other reason (either willingly during sleep and spirit flight; or because of pain and trauma)- and if they do not return, it may cause bodily, spiritual, and / or psychological (or other) harm. Bodies therefore cannot live without either the Spirit or the Soul- and conversely, both the Spirit and the Soul need the Body for existence in the material world.

Wholeness of the both, then, ultimately determines the state of the individual's physical, spiritual, psychic, and emotional health as a result. Even a temporary separation requires a holy act such as handwashing and prayer- and more severe separations may require intense spiritual healing.