soul stealing?

[xblue420x]

Hello all.. Once again, I'm not sure where this would fit into(new pagans, gods/goddesses, or what), but here goes.. My friend is very troubled..she isn't religious, not pagan or wiccan or christian or anything..but anyway, She says that about 2 years ago she was attacked by an evil spirit and it stole her soul. Then more spirits showed up after the first left and they have never gone since. Are there ways that a spirit could take a human soul, and the human still live? If so, are there ways to get the soul back? How could she/we banish the spirits that are still haunting her? And if all of this didn't really happen, like its all just in her mind, would something worse happen if she/we did try some sort of spell or something to rid her of them? I want to help her more than anything so she can have some peace, but if something worse can happen I don't want to risk it. Any thoughts, advice..anything would be greatly apperciated.
Bright Blessings
~Blue~

[Raevyn]

No, I don't think someone can take your soul, nor do I think they would want to. They might take some of your energy, which is what might have this girl troubled, but I'd be suspicious as to why she assumes that an evil spirit did anything.

It's not that these things never happen, it's that it's easy to assume things - maybe we had a bad day, or we need some help from a doctor, and we think it's an evil spirit.

What can happen depends on her really. You could try cleansing her home with sage or a candle or salt or whatever you like, that often helps. Even if there's no nasty there, it can help to get rid of negative energies and give her some peace.

[xblue420x]

i understand all of that...
"It's not that these things never happen, it's that it's easy to assume things - maybe we had a bad day, or we need some help from a doctor, and we think it's an evil spirit."

But this girl wouldn't go on assuming it for 2 years.. if there was any reason for her to doubt what happened, she would, and she wouldn't think that it happened because something else happened like if she had a bad day. She says that she saw the spirit and then felt it attacking her. Also that the spirits that are still with her had their souls stolen from them by the first/main spirit. She has seen doctors, and shes been to a hundred hospitals, but I don't know, for some reason I have a feeling that it did really happen, that she isn't just a schizo or histrionic or anything else like that. Other than hearing and seeing these spirits she has no sings of any mental disorders. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on it. We really should try sage and candles.

[Ben Gruagach]

There is a tradition among some shamanic cultures where illnesses are attributed to "missing bits of soul" (or as some people today might put it, bits of energy that were leeched away.)

A shaman would help heal this problem by going on a trance-journey to the spirit world to "retrieve" the lost bit and would bring it back to the afflicted one. The ceremony would very likely include lots of cleansings and banishings of negative energies or spirits that might be hanging around the patient as well.

If the shaman thinks that the patient has negative spirit energy "stuck" in them, the shaman might attempt to draw it out of them (often by physicially sucking it out, but not always.)

Michael Harner's book "The Way of the Shaman" goes into a lot of detail about these things.

As a witch, I'd probably recommend that the patient learn and practice a cleansing and protection system that is in tune with their religious system. If they're Christian, that might involve going to services at church, confessing if that's part of their religious system, and possibly even seeking out an excorcism if they feel it is that serious, and their priest or minister agrees. If they're a magick user, I'd recommend learning and regularly doing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, which is outlined on the web in various places using both Kabbalistic and more pagan symbolism. Dion Fortune wrote a classic book called "Psychic Self-Defence" which would probably be good to check out.

If your friend has truly been to plenty of medical doctors and psychiatrists regarding this, and they haven't diagnosed anything, then it might be something that is truly psychological (not biological) or psychic/spiritual, and might benefit from some religiously-oriented approaches. In my humble opinion, of course!

[Rick]

If your friend has already (1.) had a complete physical workup & (2.) had a psytriatric evaluation, & neither of these yielded anything out of the ordinary, then about all that's left is to (3.) consult with a shaman, as Ben has suggested (bear in mind the term 'shaman' could, but doesn't necessarily imply, Native American), or some other spiritual worker. Ben makes excellent points about 'soul retrieval'...

I'm familiar with the concept of others acquiring 'splinters' of one's soul, but haven't heard of one's soul being entirely stolen (well, except in zombie movies, or by an indigenous person having their photo taken... OK, I never said they would be good jokes)... try to find a shaman in your area, one that comes highly recommended by others that have used him or her...

[Stacy]

Hmmm..I've never heard that an evil spirit could steal your soul and let you know and aware that they did that..

But, anything is possible.

You said thet your friend isn't religious..the way you said it, sounds to me like she is an atheist. I think that what you don't believe in can't harm you. The only way that it can drain your energy (moreover: take tour soul) is if you conciously believe that they can do that. That's my oppinion.

But, I might be completely wrong. :ugh:

I agree with all of the previous advices given to you.

Just a thought: was she having any family or other personal problems when this happened?

Hope everything settles in the best way for her.

BB
Stacy

[Raevyn]

Originally posted by xblue420x
But this girl wouldn't go on assuming it for 2 years.. if there was any reason for her to doubt what happened, she would, and she wouldn't think that it happened because something else happened like if she had a bad day.

Well you know her better then me so if you say so :) It wouldn't be absolutely unheard of to believe something like that even for long periods of time though - weirder things have happened. It's not so much that I think people are sick as much as that the mind can do funny/strange things. It's really quite common for negative energies to manifest in one's life as nightmares or strange happenings such as you mention (I get nightmares myself - then it's time to cleanse the house of nasty energies that might be floating around). That's why I'd go with the cleansing first, so let us know how that went.

[Storm]

I have read cases of a person having his body stolen. I don't think you can steal a soul. This guy was kicked out of his body by a spirit of an old sailor who apparently didn't feel he was done living. The new soul went back to his old home town and all those that were young when he dissapeared were much older and didn't realise it wasn't his body but his story of who he was, all the details fit.. they accepted him. He lived for years as this new person while on the other side of the world the body/person was thought dead and MIA. They new guy always felt the presence of the soul he kicked out and never went out on those days where the veil is thought to be thin. Well one halloween he was very ill and weak and there was a battle of sorts and the orriginal soul won and returned to his own home and family and he had no recollection of the previous few years. Well thats the jist of the story I read and the evidence was verifiable. One of those stories that make you go hmmmm. Interesting.

[Marchosias]

Allow me to be the voice of bluntness Straight up--you cant "lose" your soul. Considering that your soul is YOU, your consciousness, etc. If her soul was gone, she wouldnt be sitting around wondering about. Rathar than a shaman, I would suggest counseling. However...

Speaking from a Satanic point of view, Ive heard this kind of thing before. Generally, if somebody is saying that their soul has been stolen, or they are forced "under the will of Satan", or that some entitie did something sexual to them, or something like that, its a call for attention. In which case an extremely low quotiant of self-worth/esteem may be to blame. Again, I suggest counseling.

Im not saying that your friend is lying....If she really believes something like that happened to her, it would be in her best interest if you helped her get help.

Hope I could be of assistance,
Marcho

[Haedis]

Not everyone thinks of the soul as consciousness though. If the soul IS entirely seperate from the conscious mind it would be possible (though quite improbable) to "steal" it without impeding the persons functioning.

I'm not saying I believe the claims though. It may not have been an intentional lie but I cant imagine it actually happening the way the person thinks.

[Raevyn]

Psst just in case it was missed, blue mentioned their friend was seeking psychiatric help anyway, but that they thought this wasn't just a mental thing.

That's something to think about, haedis, the separation of soul from consciousness.

My next question becomes, so what would anyone want with a soul anyway?

[Haedis]

The answer would obviously depend on the person who was asked. I'm not entirely sure what I think of souls in general, but I can't think of any decent rationale for "soul stealing" at all.

The only people I've ever heard honestly concerned about it are the more paranoid Christians I've met. And they could only justify their fears by reciting vaguely related Biblical verses.

So if this is an ongoing problem with the person in question it would rule out actual spiritual possession....hmm.

[FireryWings]

I hate to be the, uhhh, devil's advocate, but perhaps this isn't a supernatural thing. This girl very possibly could have been raped, and then because of the violent nature of rapes she could have blocked out the occurance. It has happened before, and she could have invented the soul stealer and it's cohorts to explain what happened to her while she blacked out. This would expain the "stealing" of the soal because rape victums commonly feel as though a part of them is missing or stolen after they have been violated. And the lingering of the other spirits could be the feelings she is having afterward, like never beening safe again, never being the same again. I'm not saying that soul stealers might be out there, but she may need someone to regress her memories to the time of the attack and see if her sub-concious remembers anything. But she denfinitly needs all of our prayers to help her through this. May the God and Goddess heal her, whatever may have happened to her.

Blessed Be~:sunny:

[Haedis]

I think most people who responded already figured it wasnt supernatural but if the most obvious or acceptable explanation is the only one that is considered it doesnt make that much progress in figuring out what may have happened.


"This would expain the "stealing" of the soal because rape victums commonly feel as though a part of them is missing or stolen after they have been violated. And the lingering of the other spirits could be the feelings she is having afterward, like never beening safe again, never being the same again"

Interesting idea. Perhaps the original poster noticed something along those lines and can enlighten us.

[xblue420x]

That is very interesting, I would have never thought about it. Wouldn't something like that have already come up while she was in the hospitals or in therapy though? Maybe nobody else thought about it either..just one question though..This would be a very touchy subject, with everything that other people have recommended so far I knew how to say/ask her about it..But if this happened, and it was so bad that she blocked it out and now has this story of evil spirits and soul stealers, how would I possibly ask her? I can't really just be like "..Yeah, a movie at 8 sounds good to me, by the way, were you ever raped?" I'm not very good with the subject of rape..never have been. Thanks though..I didn't really think she could have been blocking something out. You have all been alot more helpfull then you will ever know.
~Blue

[Rick]

...well, the subject might just as easily not be rape... it could be anything extremely traumatic... you might ask if she's tried hypnotic regression, maybe suggest that it might shed some light on her problem...

[Azure]

I have to agree with Rick and some of the others - frankly, when someone feels like this, 9.9 times out of ten it turns out to be the result of personal trauma manifesting psychologically - rape is just one possibility - depression, anxiety, high stress - they all can manifest in ways far more ugly than any supernatural bugbear you can name.

I have to say, your friend's problem is mostl ikely psychological, even if she doesn't feel that way.

Having said that, I think cleansing rituals, both personal and for her space can't hurt, and may help - if you can unblock that stuff, it may be easier for her to deal with the involved psychic trauma. Positive ritual never hurts and often it can be extremely comforting for the person involved - if they do believe it's supernatural, regardless of whether it is or not, then cleansing will bring a sense of protection, safety and release.

[FireryWings]

Glad to have been of help. :) I voluteer with a mentoring service for kids and have seen many young abused children. Many don't understand what heppened to them so their minds create a new situation that they can deal with. Maybe she saw one of those supernatural movies where the characters do have their souls taken. My suggestion would be to get her to go to a counselor. Let her talk about things that bother her and it could come out eventually. Memory regression is an accepted practice now and can help greatly with blocked memories. But she will need a friend to care for her when she realizes what ever did happen to her. A good way to broach the subject is to bring up someone else who has had counseling, or maybe you could go with her to the first meeting if she is frightened of appearing crazy. Many people with deep seated problems are afriad to talk about them for fear of being thought crazy and possibly being locked up. Good luck with helping her, I pray the Lord and Lady will heal her.

Blessed Be!

[Marchosias]

Dont worry Firery--theres nothing wrong with being the Devil's advocate! :)