(The DC comic super-powered heroine Supergirl)
E-mail question from a visitor to Supernatural World --
This inquiry was excerpted from an e-mail sent to me by a college student taking a course in African psychology taught by a Liberian animist. The teacher had made the assertion that Supergirl is a spirit who can be evoked by magical means. Naturally the student was a bit skeptical, and wrote to get my view on the matter. The e-mail falls into the category of quirky questions that at first glance seem silly, but are worth serious consideration. It is quite legitimate to wonder if any of the popular heroic characters of fiction that have been created in modern times have a real existence, in a nonphysical form on some subtle plane of reality. Writers, in particular, have puzzled over whether the individuals they bring to life in the pages of their books exist apart from their own imaginations. As a novelist myself, it is a matter I have considered at length. Below are some of my own conclusions.
It has been many years since I followed the saga of Supergirl from month to month, so I am hardly qualified to comment on her various changes of appearance and personality, let alone her recent incarnation as a fiery angel. Those who may be interested in the development of this character will no doubt find all they ever wanted to know on sites devoted to the Supergirl phenomenon.
Thanks for writing. Your animist teacher wasn't too far wrong in saying that Supergirl is a spirit, though we usually don't think of comic book characters in quite this way.
There really are such things as spirits. In their natural condition, separate from human consciousness, they are so alien to us, we would not be able to recognize them as independent beings to whom we could attach a name or form.
All spirits, whether they be low nature spirits or high celestial gods, get their names, shapes, qualities, powers and personalities as a result of human interaction. That is to say, what we can recognize in these beings is made manifest by our collective involvement with them.
It is possible for an individual to "create" a spirit that did not previously exist. The essence, or vital force, is not created, but it clearly defined by the mind of the individual, so that to the individual it seems that the spirit was created from nothing. Really what happens is that an individual can, if properly focusing his mind and will, create a vessel or container that a spiritual essence can flow into and occupy. In the modern Western occult tradition such created spirits are sometimes known as telesmatic images -- spirits deliberately built up from various symbolic visual parts. This word comes from the Neoplatonic tradition, and the technique is ultimately based in the magic used in Egypt during Greco-Roman times.
Another way to accomplish the same end is to make a statue, and then induce a spirit to dwell in the statue. This is referred to as "god-making" in the Hermetic writings. What is not explicitly stated in these books is that the outward, physical statue is less important than the vessel constructed within the imagination by the focused will of the person or persons involved. Such statues really do become animated. This was well known in ancient times, but has been forgotten in modern times by most persons, even though it still goes on today in both conscious and unconscious ways. Church statues and icons often become animated, when a spirit is induced by the faith of worshippers to descend and dwell within them.
The gods and higher spirits are a result of the focused will and emotion of many individuals over generations of time. They attain more permanence and more power than the spirits induced by solitary magicians to dwell in images that are either wholly mental, or both mental and physical. Gods are "created" consciously by priest casts, and unconsciously by general worshippers. The priests use the power of the faith of the worshippers to add strength and permanence to the gods. Or they did, before these techniques were forgotten or dismissed with contempt by the so-called enlightened members of society.
Which brings me to Supergirl. If enough energy of an emotional-mental kind is focused on any fictional being, that being will attain a measure of independent existence, and will come to life, so to speak. Mind is life-force. Such fictions are products of mind, and exist within mind, so they are naturally a part of the universal life-force.
In practical terms, what happens is this -- any object we focus intense emotion and thought upon becomes lit up like a Christmas tree on the astral level. Our emotions have certain specific "colors" that attract spirits of a similar type, who find these emotions harmonious with their own nature. These spirits put on the objects of our passion like suits of clothing, and to us, they become those objects. This is true of simple physical objects that are venerated (or loved, or feared, or hated), such as a rock, a tree, a fountain, and so on. It is also true of mental constructs, such as fictional characters. When we focus passionately with our thoughts and feelings upon a fictional character, a spirit in harmony with out thoughts and feelings will assume the identity of that character, and will seek to communicate with us and to interact with us. It becomes, for us, that character.
This is not a deception on the part of the spirit. Before the spirit enters the vessel of the fictional character, it has no shape, no identity. After it enters the character, it really does become that character. It knows itself in no other way than as that being.
Since a great many children have focused thoughts and emotions on Supergirl over many years, I have no doubt that she exists on the astral level. She has more solidity and permanence than a telesmatic spirit given form by a single individual. She is an egregore -- a spirit shaped and brought forth by collective human consciousness.
You may, if you wish, worship her by focusing your thoughts and feelings strongly and regularly on her image. I use the term "worship" in a broad sense, in its true but seldom understood meaning. I don't mean worship as in grovel before, but worship as in devote your mind and heart. You can establish a communication with this spirit by talking to her image, mentally, and at the same time projecting your feelings of interest and affection through the image, as through a window, to the conscious spirit that lies beyond it.
The eyes are the windows of the soul. This is literally true. You must focus your attention through the eyes of the image -- not at the eyes, but through the eyes. To complete this psychic link, it is absolutely essential that the eyes of the image look outward from the image into your own eyes. Your eyes must meet the eyes of the image of the spirit with whom you wish to communicate, or no link will be established.
I don't know if you wish to establish a communication with Supergirl, or to animate one of her images with this spiritual being, but I thought I would tell you how to do so, if you wish. Once her image has been brought alive in this manner, you will find it quite easy to mentally communicate with the spirit whenever you desire, merely by gazing fixedly at the eyes of the image. However, to establish the link may require weeks or even months of ritual work, which involves projecting your thoughts and emotions into and through the chosen image of Supergirl. This must be done each day at the same time for a period of an hour or two. It is very hard work, requiring intense concentration and a command of the will beyond the level of the average person. However, if it happens that you feel a very powerful bond with this spirit, your intense emotions can act as an aid to help focus your will and sustain your concentration, making the process of forging a link possible.
You will not be creating Supergirl from nothing -- all those besides yourself who have thought about her and dreamed about her have already given her existence, on the level of the group mind of humanity. But you will be bringing her forth into your own life, and making her aware of your existence. And in a small way, adding to her power and sense of self.
This sort of thing can't be done as a game. It is too difficult. it requires all your faith, all your strength, all your will, to succeed. And often success is not swift at all, but very slow. That is why spirits usually enter religious statues -- the intense power of religious faith is the sort of concentration of the will and emotions that is required to bring forth a spirit into manifest being.
Donald Tyson