arethinn: feminine face with green eyes and pointed ears, wearing a headpiece of leaves with a seven-pointed star (otherkin (faerie glass))
Arethinn ([personal profile] arethinn) wrote in [community profile] otherkin2011-12-02 03:04 pm

(no subject)

[personal profile] jarandhel wondered this on another forum, and I found the question interesting and thought I'd ask it here.

Quite a few otherkin (not to mention human esoteric practitioners, but it's not the context of this question) claim to occasionally travel to the Otherworld, the astral, Faerie, and such places, or to spirit-walk to their own original home realms or planets (such as the Elenari and the worlds Alorya and Yyl'nectoir). That is, they do this now, at-will, rather than only having memories of the place. But he noted with curiosity that he couldn't think of any instances where he'd heard angel-kin talking about travelling to Heaven right now (despite having been a moderator of an angelkin list in the past), or demons to Hell, or to Limbo, Purgatory, or other similar "afterlife" kinds of places such as Valhalla or Hel (actually I have heard of people travelling to Hel, I think), the Elysian Fields or Hades, depending on the kin in question. (My own ideas on Tir na nOg or "the Summerland" are kind of mixed up now that I frame the question that way; they are not meaningful for me, but I'm trying to remember what I heard various elder sidhe/elven/etc types talk about back in the day, where "the day" is defined as the late 1990s. Anyway--)

So the question is, if you're one of those sorts of kin, do you regularly travel to the relevant associated place? Or is it somehow barred, or have you not tried?

My own answer was only this, which is really why I'm posting this question here, as it's not a very good answer at all and I'd be interested to see what others have to say on the subject:

Huh... you know, I'm not sure. I have vague recollections of angelics talking about Heaven, but nothing specific is leaping to mind and I think they were mostly in memory-mode, not access-now mode. (Maybe one of the problems of angel-kin is "generally, can't get back there right now"?) Demons and Hell... hum. Again, I feel like I want to say "oh yeah, I've heard some people talking about it somewhere" but I can't come up with any examples. Granted I don't talk to a lot of demons.

Maybe the beings that rule these realms are powerful enough that mere us-es can't breach the borders without invitation, and no invitations are forthcoming? Perhaps it's evidence of specific exile (rather than mistake, willing travel, or being sent)? I really don't know. Interesting question.


edit: I think I misled to describe these as "afterlife" realms. That may be what they are, but I think the real nature of the question is why does it seem that certain kintypes (e.g. elves and faery) have fairly easy current access to their "home" realm by spirit travel (there may of course be exceptions), while others (angels, demons) do not? At least, that was so in his observations, and my own mental poll said "hey yeah, I haven't heard people talk about that except as memories, not as a right-now kind of thing."
remiel: (Default)

[personal profile] remiel 2011-12-03 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
I am an incarnate angel, and can visit Heaven at will (although I avoid it). I can also visit certain realms of Hell, the Elysian Fields, and Hades. I am not the only one that I know of, either. I am having trouble thinking of how to elaborate here, but if anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to ask/tell me.
remiel: (Default)

[personal profile] remiel 2011-12-03 09:39 am (UTC)(link)
No harm in asking, and I do not find any of this too private, so no worries there. Besides, I like questions. It forces me to put words to thoughts that I do not normally do.

"I'm curious how you go there?"

It varies. Sometimes, I go there via dreams. Sometimes, I get pulled there by various entities who want my attention. Most often, I do journeywork via meditation and visualization.

"What is it like?"

Since I avoid Heaven so much, I cannot really describe it well. I tend to stay outside the core city's gates, where it is a little more wild, with a meadow that leads to a forest. I see the city with lots of white marble, gold, silver, and sometimes gemstones. But I believe a lot of that is just my brain's perception of the energy.

"Is it any different from memories you have prior to incarnation (if that's how you got here)?"

I am a bit of an odd case. I am a multiple-turned-walk-in sort of. Essentially, I was incarnated into this body along with another angel. Most of this life, we were not aware of each other, and she was dominant. But last March, she took off, and now it is just me. So, I was incarnated that way, yes...but it is also similar to a walk-in since I am only recently the only one in the body.

It is not much different than my memories at all.

"Why do you say you avoid it?"

I never felt fully home in Heaven. I flitted between it and Hell over the years, and am somehow welcomed on both sides (although not fully; there are those I do not get along with). That push and pull eventually contributed to me coming here instead.


"You say also Elysian Fields and Hades, though those are not usually terms I would associate with a JHVH-angel... Anything to say about them?"

It is a bit complicated. Well, more than a bit. I am a JHVH-angel, but I also have ties to other cultures. The concept of angels pre-dates Judaism, and I have memories of those days as well. It winds up being this weird loop, the more you research into humanity's conception of angels.

When I say Elysian Fields and Hades, I am referring to the Greek concepts. I am tied to them more via working within that pantheon, than necessarily being an angel, although some of the lore surrounding my name ties me to those concepts, anyway.

My perception of Hades is cavern-like, but it bleeds into other areas, such as Erebus, and the Elysian Fields. I have only seen a segment of the latter, and it is full of barley-like plants.

It is not such a far stretch, if you want to take the route of lore, to see at least Hades mentioned. The historical and cultural development of the underworld, of Sheol, is influenced heavily by Greek myth, anyway. Some ancient Hebraic texts even use the term "Hades", and there is a non-canonical ancient text that tells a story of Yeshua going to the Underworld, where Hades and Satan are conversing. So to see cultural crossovers is not unheard of, even in old texts, let alone UPGs.
kierawilson: (that kind of girl)

[personal profile] kierawilson 2012-01-29 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't know Kizzy took off... how are you? She's okay, right?