The Spirit World

[tinyartist18]

In Avatar, we see MANY interactions between the "real" world and the spirit world.

1) We know that Aang, and Aang alone is the bridge between the world and the spirit world. However, Iroh has been to the spirit world.
2) We know that the "world" of spirits is very different from our own - for example, Koh's swamp.
3) We know that spirits have the ability to travel between their and our world
4) We know that spirits can manifest themselves into physical forms - Tui and La.
5) We know that spirit can manifest iteself in a certain period of the lunar cycle and physically and emotionally wreak havoc on an unsuspecting town ;D (Hei Bai)
6) We know that some - not all - spirits are dead (Roku, Kyoshi), and others have been alive since before recorded history (Koh, Tui, La, etc..)
7) We know that some spirits can keep themselves in (presumably) their raw spirit form (and apparently, run a 100-story library while they're at it.)

What are the rules that govern the spirit world? Is this just an example of the chaos theory?
Speculations?
Discussion?
Comments?
etc...?

[Dancing Destroyer]

Spirit=Self

I would say that it seems that same philosophies apply from Eastern religions, but I am not really sure what this system of the Spirit World best parallels. I am not too knowledgeable about Eastern Religions and Philosophies.

It almost seems like an adapted Western Philosophy to me, personally. Spirits seem to me like they are souls. With special exceptions, it seems that people's spirits are unique. The concept of reincarnation is only mentioned in the Avatar. Multiple Spirits seems polytheistic.

The concepts of Chackras and inner Spirit can be traced somewhere Eastern, but I am not sure what best describes it. I am mildly familiar with Buddhism, but that is more about desire and disconnection. It is clearly the Air-Nomad mentality. I would make more comparisons to Buddhism, but if I am right Nirvana in Buddhism means nothingness. It is the state of being detached from the world. There are similarities, but it is still different from the Spirit World.

I also think you can apply some Ghost Busters logic to the Spirit World and get some results.

[tinyartist18]

Dontcha mean Ghost Hunters? :P

Good Idea. Have to go to school, but I'll be thinking about it.

[nutshak]

Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BD

I reckon the spirit world laws dont exist. I mean they are probably just a whole bunch or spirits floating around an empty multiverse and chatting to one another. When a still living human spirit (aang for instance) enters the spirit world an image is manifested so they are able to comprehend the realm and not make there head explode!

I think the monkey guy is the spirit of the town mayor from "Avatar Day"

[violetconflagration]

1) We know that Aang, and Aang alone is the bridge between the world and the spirit world. However, Iroh has been to the spirit world.

When did Iroh go into the spirit world? I know in the Winter Solstice ep. he can see the spirit of Roku's dragon, but where does it say he's actually entered the spirit world?

[Snake of the South]

1) We know that Aang, and Aang alone is the bridge between the world and the spirit world. However, Iroh has been to the spirit world.

When did Iroh go into the spirit world? I know in the Winter Solstice ep. he can see the spirit of Roku's dragon, but where does it say he's actually entered the spirit world?

Zhao mentions that he has heard the rumors of Iroh's trip to the Spirit World in "The Siege of the North: Part 1." Sadly, Mike and Bryan never really elaborated on it that much aside from saying "After Lu Ten's death, Iroh had a walkabout around the world before returning home..."

I think people who are spiritually attuned enough can see, interact with, and journey to the Spirit World. So I'd imagine that a lot of the White Lotus members are like Iroh when it comes to the Spirit World. Anyway, it really seems that the only spirits that one can see in the Spirit World are that of the Avatar's past reincarnations and the spirits that inhabit the world (i.e. Hei Bei, Koh, etc.). Sokka does make the mention of there not being any bathrooms in the Spirit World as if he was able to walk around and such as Aang was, but for all we know, he was just in limbo in a white room a la Ganondorf at the end of Ocarina of Time. Multiple characters in the world of Avatar say that the whole world is one which really leads me to believe that if the whole world is one living thing, that everyone gets reincarnated upon death since life is whole and souls are a part of what makes things alive. Here's an interesting relation. Remember Sozin and Roku and how close they were? Now look at how Aang and Zuko turned out. Same relationship basically, just opposite starting and ending points. The people who get stuck in the Spirit World like Sokka or Umi are the ones that are attacked by spirits themselves. So in a way, the Spirit World is almost like the hell of the Avatar world. It's not like you get tortured there if you end up there, but it's not like it's a paradise if you're wandering around in limbo.

The Spirit World most likely exists so the normal Avatar world and the ability to bend exists. People who bend elements are more spiritually connected than non-benders, so without spirits, there is no bending (Twi and La from "The Siege of the North" are a perfect example of this). Basically, if the whole Spirit World vanished, so would the normal world. The Spirit World is sort of like the backbone of the world. It's like the crust of the pizza. That's probably why spirits can travel between there and the normal world with ease while it takes more work with humans.

Based on this theory thing I've typed up, the laws could go like this:

-Spirits are spirits and people are people. People only get into the Spirit World through limbo or intense spiritual attunement. It's not actually heaven. Roku, Kyoshi, Yangchen, etc. are spirits because they were Avatars whom is a spirit (y'know...the Avatar Spirit and all that jazz).

-The Spirit World and the normal world cannot exist without each other

-No bending in the Spirit World or in Spirit Form

-While you can pop your spirit out of your body once you're spiritually attuned enough, you must find a portal to the Spirit World unless Roku takes you on a magic dragon ride

That's all I got really and there might be some holes here and there I looked over, so by all means point them out if you find them. I just found it interesting in "The Winter Solstice" when Aang popped out of his body and exclaimed he was in the Spirit World when he was in the real world. I think he might have meant he was a spirit now rather than being in the Spirit World because the Spirit World seems to be it's own thing with the ability to manipulate into past events that occurred in the normal world thus furthering my believe of the whole co-existence law.