This article is about a non-fiction entity related to the Astronist belief system or the Astronic tradition.
Any article relating to a fictional entity will be clearly marked as being part of the Spacefaring World.
Also visit this topic's official article page on Astronism.org: Transtellation
Transtellation, also known as astranthropy, is the Astronist term for the pre-Astronist belief that upon one's death one's soul transmigrates to the stars, either towards a particular celestial body, or an unspecified wholeness, usually referred to in an Astronist context as The Cosmos.
The belief in transtellation is granted its own school of thought by Cometan in Astronism, therefore uplifting the belief to particular prominence whilst simultaneously encapsulating it as part of the Astronic tradition. Transtellationism, which is the belief orientation of the occurrence of transtellation, is provided with its own school of thought alongside the naturalist and the transcensionist schools which form the foundations of the eschatology of Astronism, but the transtellationist school also encompasses other supernatural Astronic beliefs regarding death, the afterlife, and the destiny of humanity.
The belief in the stellar transmigration of the soul has existed for thousands of years, ever since the connection was made between human affairs and the affairs of The Cosmos. However, the organisation of this belief into a structured system has only just occurred during the founding of Astronism by Cometan as manifested by the belief orientation of transtellationism.
Energy transference
Terminology in the context of transtellationist belief remains ambiguous. The belief in transtellation typically involves the transference of a person's energy to the stars (or another celestial object, or to The Cosmos as a whole), however, others may refer directly to the transference of the soul to the stars. Distinguishing between these two concepts, the application of the term soul implies belief in sin, judgement etc., whilst the use of the term energy is markedly less traditionally religious in nature and typically does not involved concepts of salvation, redemption, sin or judgement. As such, many view transtellation as a product of the Pythagorean concept of metempsychosis (the transmigration of the soul).
Others, however, view transtellation not simply as the transmigration of the soul, but as a form of reincarnation (specifically referred to as astrincarnation). This involves a person reincarnating as celestial object such as in Astronism rather than a terrestrial one as is the tradition in other religions.
Location
Some whom believe in transtellation cite the souls or energy of individuals as existing either in stars, inside other celestial objects, or as part of The Cosmos as a whole. As such, a wide variety of beliefs exist within this tradition regarding the final exact location of the soul or one's personal energy upon death.
Others have described souls or our personal energy as possessing the ability to transport itself through different celestial objects through The Solar System and beyond. This is known as transanima.
The Ferryman
The Ferryman, also known as The Cosmic Ferryman, is the belief that a soul or energy of a person has been tasked with guiding the souls of humans and other animate beings through to their destined celestial locations upon completion of their transmigration.
Other uses of transtellation
Those whom do not necessarily believe in the literal occurrence of transtellation have cited a number of different power messages and themes presented by the concept of transtellation. Some of these are listed here:
- Transtellation is the manifestation of the concept of keeping those absent in our lives ever-present.
- Transtellation possesses significant poetic power, especially in approaching topics such as death or humanity's place and connection the wider cosmos hence evoking a sense of relatedness and belongingness (perhaps as a way of overcoming the locational issue of the astronomical world in Astronist philosophy).
- Transtellation's message is conceived through the idea of guardianship; the notion that our passed loved ones remain watching over us.
- Transtellation possesses an important usage for consolation, especially the consolation of children.
Discussions on transtellation
- Is it true that the stars are the souls of dead people?
- Why do we say that people who die become stars and watch us from above? Is this true?
- Why do we say that we become stars after death?