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Double
An exact replica of a
person in the form of an
apparition. They are usually encountered in a location
distant from the actual person. They may act strangely, or move mechanically (see
Bilocation).
A double can also be an object existing in two places at the same time.
In occult lore a double is a projection
of the 'astral
body', and is often
associated with the imminent death of the person.
In Irish lore a double is called a
'fetch'; in Germany it is
Doppelgänger, meaning 'double walker'. Many believe that it
is possible to see one's own double, as did the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, shortly
before his death by drowning.
Many cases of doubles, or bilocation, have been reported
throughout contemporary times. It was said that the German poet Goethe
(1749-1832) once met "himself" coming towards him up a garden path;
according to European folklore this should have been a sign of his imminent
death, but Goethe lived for some years after his experience. In 1845 a
French teacher named Emilie Sagée apparently was witnessed in two places at
the same time by several of her students; in the same year Lucy Eden, a
teenage girl from Warwickshire, England, was also witnessed in two places at
the same time by several of her peers. Lucy's double appeared again in 1847,
going throughout the house e meting everyone ― relatives, maids and friends
alike ― as she laid in bed with the mumps.
A pioneer psychical researcher,
Frederic W. H. Myers, one of the founders of the
Society for Psychical Research in England, along with others collected and
studied reports of
bilocation, or doubles, but the phenomenon has received little
interest in modern times.
Although uncommon, bilocation — sometimes
multilocation — is an ancient
phenomenon. It is claimed to have been experienced, and even practiced by will, by many mystics, monks and other holy figures through the ages, including famous
Christian saints such as
St. Martin de Porres,
St. Severus of Ravenna,
St. Gerard Majella,
St. Anthony of Padua,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
Padre Pio of Italy,
as well as
Pope Cyril VI of
Alexandria,
Egypt.
In one instance, in 1774,
St. Alphonsus Liguori
is said to have gone into a trance while preparing for Mass. When he came out of
the trance he reported that he had visited the bedside of the dying
Pope Clement XIV.
His presence is then said to have been confirmed by those attending the Pope
despite his being four days travel away, and not appearing to have left his
original location.
See
Out-of-body
Experiences,
Doppelgänger,
The Chakra Store,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Shepard, Leslie (editor),
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology,
Thomson Gale; (2)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing; (3) Steiger, Brad and Sherry Hansen,
The Gale Encyclopedia of
the Unusual and Unexplained,
Thomson Gale.
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