The perispírito is the missing piece when someone asks how a spirit, which is immaterial, manages to connect to a body of flesh. It is the semi-material body that joins the soul to matter, a kind of subtle clothing of the spirit. Understanding what the perispírito is helps organize almost all of Spiritist doctrine: mediumship, reincarnation, healing, and life after death all pass through it.
This guide explains the definition by Allan Kardec, the place of the perispírito between the body and the spirit, its functions, and what happens to it when the physical body dies.
What is the perispírito
The perispírito is the semi-material envelope that connects the Spirit to the physical body. The word joins the Greek peri, "around", to the Latin spiritus, "spirit". In other words, that which surrounds the spirit. It was Allan Kardec who coined the term, used for the first time in 1857, in the first edition of The Book of Spirits, the work that inaugurates the Spiritist doctrine.
Kardec proposed a simple image to explain it. Just as the perisperma is the thin film that surrounds the seed inside the fruit, the perispírito is the film that surrounds the spirit. It is not the spirit itself, nor the body of flesh, but the link between the two. The entry on the perispírito summarizes it well: a fluidic body formed by a modification of the universal cosmic fluid.
Due to its fluidic nature, the perispírito does not have the rigid limits of dense matter. It radiates, expands, and forms a kind of atmosphere around the person, which thought and the force of will dilate or concentrate. It is a central concept, not a detail: without it, the Spiritist proposal of a spirit that lives, communicates, and is reborn would not be sustained.
Spirit, perispírito and body: the three elements of being
For spiritist doctrine, the incarnated human being is not made of two parts, but of three. This is called tricotomy, and the perispírito is precisely the middle term, what is usually missing from the count of those who only think of "body and soul".
| Element | What is it | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Physical body | The organism of flesh, animated by the vital principle | Material, perishes with death |
| Perispírito | The envelope that links the spirit to the body | Semi-material, fluidic |
| Spirit | The intelligent and immortal being, the essence that evolves | Immaterial, survives death |
Physical body is the temporary instrument, the coarsest garment. The spirit is the being itself, the one who thinks, feels and walks from life to life toward perfection. Between the two, the perispírito makes the bridge. It translates the spirit's wills to the body and carries back to the spirit the sensations of the body, in a constant two-way path.
It is important not to confuse the perispírito with vital fluid. Vital fluid is the energy that animates the biological organism, what keeps the machine of the body functioning. The perispírito is the envelope, the fluidic structure that carries individuality. They are linked things, but distinct: one is the energy of organic life, the other is the subtle body of the spirit.
The functions of the perispírito
The perispírito is not a spiritual ornament. It fulfills concrete functions within the doctrine, and knowing them clarifies many things. The main ones are:
- Link spirit and body: is the link that allows the immaterial spirit to inhabit and command a body of matter during incarnation.
- Transmit sensations and wills: it conducts from the body to the spirit the impressions of the senses and from the spirit to the body the impulses of will.
- Guard individuality: it carries the marks of the spirit, its history and its position on the long road of evolution.
- Model the body in reincarnation: it functions as a mold that organizes the formation of the new body in the process of rebirth.
- Vehicle for mediumship: it is through the perispírito that spirits act upon matter and communicate with the incarnated.
- Be the body of the disincarnated spirit: in the spiritual world, it is the clothing with which the spirit presents itself, moves, and recognizes itself.
“The bond, or perispírito, that binds the Spirit to the body, is a kind of semi-material envelope.” Thus Allan Kardec describes the concept in The Spirits' Book, establishing the idea that the doctrine would develop later.
Notice that almost all these functions touch on themes that the practitioner already knows. Where there is communication with the beyond, there is perispírito in action. Where there is rebirth, there is perispírito modeling the new body. It is the thread that sews the entire doctrine together.
Perispírito and mediumship
The mediumship only makes sense within the doctrine because the perispírito exists. A spirit, being immaterial, would have no way to move an object, imprint an image in the medium's mind, or produce a physical sensation. It is the perispírito, with its semi-material nature, that serves as the instrument for this action on matter.
In mediumistic phenomena, the perispírito of the communicating spirit interacts with the perispírito of the medium. This is the physical basis, so to speak, of the exchange. This is why the doctrine speaks so much about tuning and energetic care: the contact happens on this fluidic plane, and not just on the plane of ideas.
The same reasoning explains the spiritist spiritual pass and the disobsession ritual works. In the spiritual pass, there is a transmission of fluids that act on the perispírito of the recipient, helping to rebalance the field. In disobsession, the goal is to undo sick perispiritual connections between an incarnate person and a suffering spirit. In all these cases, the perispírito is the ground where the spiritual action actually occurs.
What happens to the perispírito after death
A common doubt is whether the perispírito dies along with the body. The doctrine's answer is no. Death only destroys the grosser envelope, which is the flesh body. The perispírito remains joined to the spirit, now as its garment in the spiritual world.
This is why the doctrine describes disincarnate spirits with form, with recognizable features, and with the appearance they had in life. This form is that of the perispírito, which preserves the traits of individuality. It is the fluidic body with which the spirit lives, moves, and relates during the period between one incarnation and another, the so-called erraticity.
When the time for a new rebirth arrives, the perispírito returns to connect to matter and begins to organize the formation of the new body. Thus, the cycle described by reincarnation is closed: the spirit is what evolves, the body is the temporary garment of each life, and the perispírito is the thread of continuity that crosses all of them. As the reference material on Spiritism recalls, this architecture is one of the pillars that Kardec organized starting in 1857.
Frequently asked questions
What is the perispírito according to Allan Kardec?
For Allan Kardec, the perispírito is the semi-material envelope that links the spirit to the physical body. He compared it to the perisperma, the film that surrounds the seed of the fruit. The term first appeared in 1857, in The Spirits' Book, and names the intermediate link between the immaterial soul and the body of matter.
What is the difference between spirit, perispírito, and body?
The body is the fleshly organism, temporary and material. The spirit is the intelligent and immortal being, the essence that evolves from life to life. The perispírito is the semi-material envelope that unites the two during incarnation, transmitting wills from the spirit to the body and sensations from the body to the spirit.
What is the purpose of the perispírito?
The perispírito links the spirit to the body, transmits sensations and wills between them, preserves individuality, and models the body during rebirth. It is also the instrument of mediumship and the body with which the spirit lives in the spiritual plane. In short, it is the structure that makes life, communication, and reincarnation possible.
Does the perispírito die with the body?
No. Death only destroys the physical body, the coarsest shell. The perispírito remains united to the spirit and becomes its attire in the spiritual world, preserving the traits of individuality. It only reconnects to matter when the spirit reincarnates in a new body.
What is the relationship between perispírito and mediumship?
Mediumship depends on the perispírito. Since the spirit is immaterial, it needs a semi-material instrument to act upon matter and communicate. In mediumistic phenomena, the spirit's perispírito interacts with the medium's perispírito, and it is in this fluidic plane that the actual exchange occurs.
Where to buy spiritist books and articles
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what you need to study the doctrine and cultivate faith at home:
- Spiritist books: the Codification of Kardec and study works to deepen concepts such as the perispírito
- White candles: for the gospel worship at home and moments of prayer
- Incenses and soft fumigants: to prepare the environment for study and seclusion (recolhimento)
- Cups and containers for fluidified water: support for home practices
- Spiritist frames and images: to compose the reading and prayer corner
Visit our physical store in Extrema, Minas Gerais and we ship all over Brazil. If you have questions about which book to start with, talk to us via WhatsApp and we will guide you with care.
References
- Wikipedia: entry on Perispírito
- Wikipedia: entry about Spiritism
