A Trinity of Sorts

The concept of the triple soul came up in the comments of an earlier post. I give much credit to my Hindu friend who asked me to explain this concept in greater detail. I’ve been avoiding writing about the topic or even mentioning the parts, mostly because it is such a distinct Feri concept and I wary of speaking about anything that is distinctly Feri in a public forum. But the idea of the triple, or multilayered, soul is not strictly a Feri idea. The big pieces of this concept seem to come from Huna, a system based on traditional Hawaiian spiritual practices created in the 1930s by Max Freedom Long. Victor Anderson claimed to be initiated into Hawaiian Huna tradition. Hinduism and Tantra also recognize that soul is made up of several energetic bodies, although I believe there are at least five, rather than three.

Talking about the triple soul is tricky. When I first learned of this idea I assumed it was just psychological overlay – like Freud’s Id, Ego and Superego. But as I began to practice Feri techniques I experienced the three (or four, which I’ll explain) parts of myself and now it is a core way I experience the world. I’m going to talk about my ideas and my experiences. For the simplest explanation of the concept of the triple soul and some exercises for them, please go to Lilith’s Lantern, a site run by initiates.

One part of the soul is the Fetch. This is our primal, animal self. It is pre-verbal. It is the four-year old in us. Other words that come to mind for it: shit, fuck, mess, wild, laughing, craving, connection, listening, tantrum, rejoice, shiny, urge. This is the part of us that is actually most connected to the Divine, to Spirit/s, to place, to self. It’s the sticky part of us that attaches to others, animate and inanimate. I’m fairly certain that this is where the conservative Christian idea comes from that we give bits of our souls to anyone we have sex with – because I think they’re right on (just not about their morality of it). Fetch can also be called Sticky One for this reason. Fetch is the part of us that shape shifts (for those that can, I haven’t been able to yet).

This part of us is most likely restricted and constricted. It’s the part of us that is usually forced into a box and stuffed aside: don’t be too loud, too big, too sparkly, too angry, too sensual, too sexual, too TOO. Instead of learning how to engage these parts of ourselves in healthy ways with appropriate boundaries we are usually raised to discard or hide these parts of ourselves. Fear and shame are huge obstacles to be overcome in reclaiming access to our Fetch.

I often think of the root chakra as pure Fetch and the next two (pelvic and solar plexus) being partially Fetch as well.

Talker, or as I call it, Talky Self, is linked most commonly with our intellect and that part of us that communicates in the ‘real’ world. It is rational and allows us to be present in the here and now, communicating with other people. It’s the container of knowledge (but not usually of wisdom). It’s the part of ourselves that is most often overly developed in our world, since reason is the high priest of all these days. I most certainly have an over-developed Talky Self. Trying to get it quiet long enough for me hear what the other parts of me might be saying is the bulk of all my meditation time these days. Words that I associate with Talker are: words, associate, reason, explain, categorize, knowing, personality, ego.

Talker is usually the part of us that is encouraged out in the world. It feels a lot safer to be fully ensconced in Talker than it does in our other parts. This is the part that of me that was most valued growing up. I have spent a lot of my adult life longing to be more connected to my other parts and working toward tempering, but not shaming, my Talky Self.

The Godsoul is the piece that people might traditional equate with a soul, the spiritual part of ourselves that communicates directly with the Divine. Except, this isn’t just communicating with the Divine but is the Divine. From what I understand about Huna, this is the part that is our Ancestors. I think of Godsoul as Spirit, our Holy Guardian Angel, our energetic tether with the Holy Matrix, our link to the Otherworld and the Great Sea of Spirit. When we are tapped into this part of ourselves we Know and Understand things, be it for a moment or for longer; we swim in the sea of wisdom.

I associate Godsoul with the top two chakras. When all of are parts in alignment our crown chakra, described as a lotus, is in full bloom.

In my experience people who are mostly engaged in Fetch tend toward artistic and ecstatic activities, and if they are not balanced can have poor boundaries and often make us feel unsafe. Those people who are mostly active in Talker’s sphere to the detriment  of their other parts are hyper-intellectual and can come across as cold. People who are tapped into their Godsoul at the expense of the other two parts come across as flaky and out of touch with the world around them.

These three parts of the soul are both unique from one another and also merely parts of the same whole. I add into this a fourth part: the physical body. When I meditate I first check in with my physical self and calm it down, then I move through my other parts, checking in and raising energy in each part, before attempting to unify the whole. What Feries aim for is integration, that ‘all our parts be straight within us.’ This is not the ‘goal’ per se of the spiritual life, but is rather a necessary part of being prepared for greater spiritual work and stronger connection with the Gods.

For more information, I recommend reading Victor Anderson’s Etheric Anatomy: The Three Selves and Astral Travel.