Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

life or soul kept outside the body

life_or_soul_kept_outside_the_body

A motif of the External Soul and Life-Token family, within the sub-family Souls, Life, or Strength Outside the Body. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


comparative

  • The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6928-6980 confidence: high

    In a Norse tale, a giant says his heart is in an egg inside a duck in a well in a church on an island in a lake; the hero obtains and breaks the egg, and the giant bursts.

    Several tales state that a giant’s, beast’s, or ogres’ heart, soul, or fatal vulnerability is kept in an external object rather than the body.

    read in the book