History Main / AnatomyOfTheSoul

* One of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''' early episodes involves Beast Boy and Cyborg falling into Raven's mind and the three having to battle with one of Raven's many [[SplitPersonality emotions]]. Later on in the ''Teen Titans Go!'' comics, Raven ends up having all her emotions escape her mind, only for the group to have to recapture them again. A later issue has it turning out that they missed one (Of course, Rage), and though Raven is happy with this, since it's the first time in a while where she's been able to really feel emotions without worrying about things taking a turn for the worse, she realizes that she needs to have all her emotions and takes Rage back into her mind.

* One of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''' early episodes involves Beast Boy and Cyborg falling into Raven's mind and the three having to battle with one of Raven's many [[SplitPersonality emotions]]. Later on in the ''Teen Titans Go!'' comics, Raven ends up having all her emotions escape her mind, only for the group to have to recapture them again. A later issue has it turning out that they missed one (Of course, Rage), and though Raven is happy with this, since it's the first time in a while where she's been able to really feel emotions without worrying about things taking a turn for the worse, she realizes that she needs to have all her emotions and takes Rage back into her mind.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, sapient "Black" souls, like those of Men and [[OurElvesAreDifferent Mer]], have a part that houses the consciousness and a part that houses the [[SoulPower spirit energy]] that can be used to [[ItemCrafting enchant items]]. When the [[YourSoulIsMine trapped soul]] of a sapient being is used for enchanting, the consciousness part goes to the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]], an unaligned and bleak plane of Oblivion ruled by the mysterious [[EnergyBeing Ideal Masters]], and the separated spirit energy is stored in the item. "White souls" (souls of unintelligent creatures) apparently lack the consciousness part.

* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' occasionally delves into the matter of the soul. Hourai immortals drank elixir that caused them to separate their soul from their body, and their soul then able to generate physical body on their own that aren't subject to aging and will regenerate if damaged. On the other hand, Youmu Konpaku (whose family name is taken from the concept of Hun and Po in Chinese mythologies) is a half-ghost, part of her soul (FanNickname'd Myon) is ''outside'' her body.

* In the ''Fanfic/HauntedMansionAndTheHatboxGhost'' FanVerse, a person's mind, emotions and memories are carved in ectoplasm and remain behind after death. Because ectoplasm is a much more versatile support than flesh for a human mind, the resulting ghosts need a lot of focus ato "materialize" into a visible form and re-access their memories.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' sourcebooks first divided the soul into anima and animus (similar to the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' example) and later declared that it comprises seven different parts (see the egyptian system below) as a means of classifying the varieties of {{Undead}}.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', a being's soul is composed of two parts -- a Light of Existence (the heart) and a Shadow of Existence (the appearance), both containing parts of the being's personality. If erased from existence, the Shadow ends up in [[EldritchAbomination Entropy]]'s Realm (the Light, according to WordOfGod, returns to Fauna Luster from whom all souls spring, or in the case of some of the G3 ponies, entered the afterlife, or was reborn as a new individual). What's more, it's stated that there's not a "Law of Conservation of Mass" when it comes to souls, meaning [[spoiler: the same person can have ''multiple'' {{reincarnation}}s ([[BadFuture Dark World]]!Twilight being the reincarnation of G3 Minty's Light and Minty Pie being the reincarnation of her shadow, for example), but the soul will still exist independently of the reincarnation.]]

* In the MagicalGirl CrisisCrossover ''FanFic/ShatteredSkiesTheMorningLights'', [[ForScience Viluy]] has all manner of soul-analogues from across the multiverse in her lab, including [[Franchise/SailorMoon Pure Heart Crystals, Hostes, Dream Mirrors, Sailor Crystals, Star Seeds]], [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Heart Flowers]], and [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Linker Cores]]... and she's performing horrific experiments on all of them. It's later revealed that Viluy discovered an embodiment of the soul that's deeper and more pure than all of the above, called Seeds. Described as an "essence" by [[BigBad Joker]], everything with a mind of its own is supposed to have either a good-aligned Cosmos Seed or an evil-aligned Chaos Seed. To Joker's astonishment, [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Sakura's]] is [[TakeAThirdOption a perfect balance of both]].
* ''FanFic/{{Outcry}}'': [[spoiler:Ashburn kills Leviathan by crushing his soul, but in return her own is shattered as well. Several teams scatter to recover the soul fragments across Brockton Bay, unaware that many pieces made it to Drangleic as well. While Taylor's soul is successfully reassembled in the Abyss, due to the actions of one of the fragments and its interaction with the Scholar of the First Sin, she's now missing several memories and has some knowledge she didn't have earlier.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' uses a kind of Jungian Soul Anatomy, though it tends to focus primarily on the Mind. A Persona is a physical manifestation of the wielder's psyche. In the original, one character's consciousness is split in three, an "Ideal" version, an "Innocent" version, and a Malevolent "Id" version. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', a character's repressed feelings manifest themselves as a Shadow, which can become a Persona when accepted. Igor does say that the power of Persona is the power to control one's Heart, which is why Social Links are so important in the later games. (When a character's without the Wild Card has a strong enough bond with the protagonist, their Persona literally evolves.) Dreams also extremely important in each game. (Igor or Philemon usually first contacts the protagonists through a dream.) Finally, Destiny plays a major role in each of the games. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} 4]]'', it's explicitly stated that only those bound by a "contract" (the contract in P3 reads "I chooseth this fate of my own free will,") may enter the Velvet Room. Both ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}: Innocent Sin'' and ''Persona 2: Eternal Punishment'' has Shadows similar to the kind found in P4, though they don't seem to have the same relation to Personas. ''Innocent Sin'', meanwhile, also has Shadow Selves, who have lost their dreams.
** The separation of the ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' Shadows needs some clarification. While they are born of essentially the same process as P4 Shadows, it was triggered by [[EldritchAbomination Nyarla]][[MadeOfEvil thotep]]- ''certainly'' '''''nothing''''' you'd ever want mucking with the dregs of your soul.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', a failed attempt to give a human a Persona ends with the human's soul shattered into eleven Trapezohedrons, aspects of the soul of that person. The Trapezohedrons are: Emotion, Ethics, Memory, Wisdom, Knowledge, Reason, Perseverance, Impulse, Perception, Will, and a final Trapezohedron containing the ShadowArchetype of that person. It is necessary to recover all eleven to restore the victim.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' occasionally delves into the matter of the soul. Hourai immortals drank elixir that caused them to separate their soul from their body, and their soul then able to generate physical body on their own that aren't subject to aging and will regenerate if damaged. On the other hand, Youmu Konpaku (whose family name is taken from the concept of Hun and Po in Chinese mythologies) is a half-ghost, part of her soul (FanNickname'd Myon) is ''outside'' her body.

* In ''Literature/ChroniclesOfAncientDarkness]], all humans (and presumably animals, trees, and geologic features) have a name-soul, a clan-soul, and a world-soul. Part of their death rites involves drawing circles made of red ochre on the dying person's feet, chest, and forehead, to ensure their souls don't become separated. These souls can also be corrupted by soul-sickness, as happens to Torak in the fourth book. If the name-soul is missing or sick, the person becomes a ghost, forgetting their identity. If the clan-soul is missing (or if the three souls are scattered), a demon is formed (though the clan-soul becoming sick just makes someone lose their connection to nature). The most powerful demons, Elementals, are formed when a geologic feature like a waterfall "dies" and its souls are scattered.[[note]][[FridgeLogic though how you can draw ochre circles on something made of water, that doesn't even have a body, is a mystery.]][[/note]] If the world-soul is lost, the owner becomes a [[FateWorseThanDeath Lost One]], [[AndIMustScream trapped forever in a dark void]].

* ''Manga/KagihimeMonogatari'' has "stories" inside of people. From the way these operate, they mostly contain aspects of memory, though there seems to be a slight overlap with soul in them.

** Removing them has various effects. Energy loss simply is just that, a loss of energy. Losing a Pure Heart puts the victim in a zombiesque or hysteric state. Most just collapse though. Removing the Mirror doesn't really do much but does cause pain to the victim if someone looks inside (by sticking their head INTO it); however, ''eating'' the Mirror will cause the victim to die if it is not recovered. The Star Seed will cause a person to fade away if taken far away or if the person is a Sailor Senshi (due to it doubling as a source of their powers). If it's a normal person and it remains close by it will turn them into a Phage or Fake Sailor Senshi (even men).

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, sapient "Black" souls, like those of Men and [[OurElvesAreBetter Mer]], have a part that houses the consciousness and a part that houses the [[SoulPower spirit energy]] that can be used to [[ItemCrafting enchant items]]. When the [[YourSoulIsMine trapped soul]] of a sapient being is used for enchanting, the consciousness part goes to the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]], an unaligned and bleak plane of Oblivion ruled by the mysterious [[EnergyBeing Ideal Masters]], and the separated spirit energy is stored in the item. "White souls" (souls of unintelligent creatures) apparently lack the consciousness part.

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' loosely follows the concept of ''hun'' and ''po'', called by their Japanese names ''kon'' and ''haku/paku'' (officially translated "spiritual energy" and "life energy"), mixing in the concept of ''[[LifeEnergy qi/ki]]'' by portraying both as fluid quantities found in humans. [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent Ayakashi]] are [[EnergyBeings composed entirely]] of haku. [[SoulFragment A piece of Matsuri's spirit]] acted independently when sent into Lu's mind (with an appearance [[ResidualSelfImage that represented his self-image rather than his current state]]), suggesting there can be pure-kon lifeforms as well. Most humans can only strengthen and manipulate their kon, which is what powers like Matsuri's ninjutsu are based on. Ayakashi mediums possess not only an unusually large amount of haku (which makes some ayakashi want to eat them), but [[KiManipulation control over it]] (which makes other ayakashi ''worship'' them).

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' loosely follows the concept of ''hun'' and ''po'', called by their Japanese names ''kon'' and ''haku/paku'' (officially translated "spiritual energy" and "life energy"), mixing in the concept of ''[[LifeEnergy qi/ki]]'' by portraying both as fluid quantities found in humans. [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent Ayakashi]] are [[EnergyBeings composed entirely]] of haku. [[SoulFragment A piece of Matsuri's spirit]] acted independently when sent into Lu's mind (with an appearance [[ResidualSelfImage that represented his self-image rather than his current state]]), suggesting there can be pure-kon lifeforms as well. Most humans can only strengthen and manipulate their kon, which is what powers like Matsuri's ninjutsu are based on. Ayakashi mediums possess not only an unusually large amount of haku (which makes some ayakashi want to eat them), but [[SoulPower control over it]] (which makes other ayakashi ''worship'' them).

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': Several Supergirl's enemies are fragments of her soul, her spirit or her emotions given physical shape by magic or Kryptonite: [[ComicBook/DemonSpawn Nightflame]] is the embodiment of her death wish and [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Dark Supergirl]] is born from her self-loathing and SurvivorGuilt.

* '''Dreams --''' Believe it or not, Dreams are a valuable commodity. All you need is a few days of insomniac nightmares to realize the value of even the most mundane dream. [[DreamStealer Supernatural creatures seem to treasure human dreams a great deal]]. Perhaps they can't dream? More majestically, a character's dream's represent their hopes and aspirations, so their loss represent a loss of [[AmbitionIsEvil drive and ambition.]] Perhaps more dangerously, the ability to ''sleep.''

** Since this bone is what enables us to walk upright, one could argue the point.
*** And because of how we walk, using the [[IncrediblyLamePun soles of our feet.]]

*** What appears to be Queen Nehelenia's Dream Mirror appears in a flashback in ''[=SuperS=]'' and at the beginning of ''Sailor Stars'' and is completely black.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' uses a kind of Jungian Soul Anatomy, though it tends to focus primarily on the Mind. A Persona is a physical manifestation of the wielder's psyche. In the original, one character's consciousness is split in three, an "Ideal" version, an "Innocent" version, and a Malevolent "Id" version. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', a character's repressed feelings manifest themselves as a Shadow, which can become a Persona when accepted. Igor does say that the power of Persona is the power to control one's Heart, which is why Social Links are so important in the later games. (When a character's without the Wild Card has a strong enough bond with the protagonist, their Persona literally evolves.) Dreams also extremely important in each game. (Igor or Philemon usually first contacts the protagonists through a dream.) Finally, Destiny plays a major role in each of the games. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} 4]]'', it's explicitly stated that only those bound by a "contract" (the contract in P3 reads "I chooseth this fate of my own free will,") may enter the Velvet Room. Both ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}: Innocent Sin'' and ''Persona 2: Eternal Punishment'' has Shadows similar to the kind found in P4, though they don't seem to have the same relation to Personas. ''Innocent Sin'', meanwhile, also has Shadow Selves, who have lost their dreams.

* The tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' --inspired by Chinese mythologies, amongst other things-- uses Body, Essence (fundamental building block of what you are), and Soul (divided into two parts; the Hun, or higher soul-which is the seat of reason and rational thought and is also what ordinary ghosts come from...and the Po, or lower soul-the seat of passion, destructive impulses, and instinct. Wild hungry ghosts can come from the Po, and it's also where a Celestial Exalt's shard of Exaltation resides).

** On the other hand, TheFairFolk are much simpler on a spiritual level. At their core is the "Heart" grace, which contains their overall essence and self. Around it they build the four primary graces of Cup, Staff, Sword, and Ring, from which they derive both their powers, and their ability to [[BlueAndOrangeMorality relate with others]]. They then have feeding mouths, one for commoners and two for nobles, which are used to consume emotions from other creatures. Of course it's not an actual soul, but rather an artificially constructed imitation of one, the Fair Folk being creatures of pure chaos posing as individuals.
* ''TabletopGame/MummyTheResurrection'' has the soul divided into Ka (roughly, Avatar), Ba (Mind), Sahu (Light), Khu (Dreams), and Khaibit (Shadow). They also threw in Ren (TrueName) and Sekhem (LifeEnergy).
** The reboot, ''TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse'', uses the traditional Egyptian anatomy for the inborn splat, the Decree, based around what aspect the mummy was most attuned to when they were first raised - the Ab (heart), Ba (spirit), Ka (essence), Ren (name), or Sheut (shadow).

* Most [=RPGs=] where death is common and reversible (such as TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons) have a soul, a body, and a mind -- the mind can be subject to magical or psychic events, the body is subject to physical events, and the soul is usually ignored until death, when it separates from the body and needs to be retrieved if the character is to be resurrected. Any magic that fools around with souls, such as necromancy, is usually considered evil.
* The first edition of ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' used the Egyptian mythology variant with the Pesedjet (Egyptian pantheon) only Purview of Heku, which allows the Scion to manipulate the various parts of their soul to great effect.

* The importance of the soul in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' means it gets a fair bit of attention. Besides describing what the soul is (the source of inspiration, will to live, curiosity, empathy for others, and sense of connection to the world) and the effects of its loss, the soul is also the basis of magic, and manipulation of the soul can be used to gain powers. The soul is also the basis for an individual's Mental World, which contains worlds which personify their personality, experiences, and dreams, and is inhabited by [[AnthropomorphicPersonification beings]] such as their daimon (personification of their desire for self-improvement, and personal criticism) and goetic demons (personifications of vices and flaws). Individual souls are also connected to the soul of humanity as a whole, and the earth itself.

* In Shintoism, the soul is concieved as have four spirits: ara-mitama (violent), nigi-mitama (harmonious), saki-mitama (prosperous), kushi-mitama (wondrous). When gods are enshrined, sometimes two or more shrines or subshrines are built for each of that gods spirits.

* Professor Neil Price has theorised that in historical Norse Mythology there where four separate components of a person: ''hamr'' (shape), ''hamingja'' (luck), ''hugr'' (essence, in modern Scandinavian it roughly means state of mind) and ''fylgja'' (follower) which was a guardian angel of sorts that are inhereted in a family.

* In ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' -- in which [[OurLichesAreDifferent the Horned King]] is [[ResurrectedForAJob resurrected]] after the events of ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'' and half-forced on a RedemptionQuest --, the importance of a heart to an individual becomes one of the main themes. [[MoralityPet Avalina]] eventually asks the Horned King how he received his monstrous appearance. His explanation invokes this trope beautifully.
--> ''The heart is the messenger from the soul to the body, and keeps the two bound together as one. When the body fails, the heart ceases to be, and the soul is released from the body and sent elsewhere. You can see this in your elderly, however there is another scenario. After killing someone, the heart, the origin of all morality and emotion, begins to corrode. Slowly, but it is noticeable. [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil The more one kills, the more difficult the damage is to reverse.]] — After one has killed so much that the heart is gone and no longer holds the life in them, they begin to decay on the outside as well, as the heart binds the body and soul together, and without the heart, the soul cannot function properly. You see this with anyone who has killed before. They are alive, but they are not, and [[EvilMakesYouMonstrous their outward appearance begins to reflect what they have become on the inside]], and [[WalkingWasteland what they leave in their wake]]. I look like this because I am the embodiment of all that I have become. My heart turned to dust [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries ago]], taking all life with it, and left me merely in a state of existence, my soul unable to work properly without it, thus my appearance. For [[IAmAMonster I am a monster now]], and [[BeingEvilSucks I can never again regain what I have lost]]. Nothing can change that.''

* ''FanFic/Outcry'': [[spoiler:Ashburn kills Leviathan by crushing his soul, but in return her own is shattered as well. Several teams scatter to recover the soul fragments across Brockton Bay, unaware that many pieces made it to Drangleic as well. While Taylor's soul is successfully reassembled in the Abyss, due to the actions of one of the fragments and its interaction with the Scholar of the First Sin, she's now missing several memories and has some knowledge she didn't have earlier.]]

* '''{{Memor|yTropes}}ies --''' Past experiences that are kept in one's Mind for future recall. The loss of these would be a form of [[EasyAmnesia amnesia]], and they might also be [[TransferableMemory transferable]] or [[FakeMemories modifiable]]. [[PastLifeMemories May]] or [[GhostAmnesia may not]] last beyond death.

* In the MagicalGirl CrisisCrossover ''FanFic/ShatteredSkiesTheMorningLights'', [[ForScience Viluy]] has all manner of soul-analogues from across the multiverse in her lab, including [[Franchise/SailorMoon Pure Heart Crystals, Hostes, Dream Mirrors, Sailor Crystals, Star Seeds]], [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Heart Flowers]], and [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Linker Cores]]... and she's performing horrific experiments on all of them.]] It's later revealed that Viluy discovered an embodiment of the soul that's deeper and more pure than all of the above, called Seeds. Described as an "essence" by [[BigBad Joker]], everything with a mind of its own is supposed to have either a good-aligned Cosmos Seed or an evil-aligned Chaos Seed. To Joker's astonishment, [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Sakura's]] is [[TakeAThirdOption a perfect balance of both]].