Taoism holds that a person has three souls and seven spirits.
The three souls refer to the Heavenly Soul, the Earthly Soul, and the Human Soul. In ancient times, they were called "Taiguang", "Shuangling", and "Youqing". They are also known by other names such as "Main Soul", "Conscious Soul", "Vital Soul"; or "Primordial Spirit", "Yang Spirit", "Yin Spirit"; or "Heavenly Soul", "Cognitive Soul", "Human Soul".
The seven spirits are respectively Shigou, Fushi, Queyin, Tunzei, Feidu, Chuhui, and Choufei. Some people believe that the seven spirits represent the seven emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire. It can also be said that the spirits are a kind of biological instinct, such as appetite, sexual desire, the urge to escape danger, as well as unconscious reflexes. Therefore, the spirits must attach to the physical body to function. Once the physical body dies, the spirits dissipate into nothingness along with the demise of the body. Hence, the ancients had the saying that "the form and spirits return to the earth".
The three souls exist in the spirit, and the seven spirits exist in the material. So when a person passes away, the three souls go their separate ways, and the seven spirits disappear along with the physical body. The Heavenly Soul returns to the path of heaven, the Earthly Soul goes to the netherworld, and the Human Soul lingers around the cemetery. It is not until reincarnation that the three souls reunite, and the "seven spirits" emerge along with the new physical body.
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This article is part of our comprehensive guide covering all core Taoist philosophies, concepts, and practices — curated from the classic Encyclopedia of Taoism.
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