Soul



Souls are the life essences that constitute part of the definition of an individual; they contain a being's conscience—that is to say, their instinctual capacity to be governed by the traditional human philosophies of "right" and "wrong."

Origin
The origins of souls are never made clear. Angel and Darla's son, Connor, was presented with a soul some time before birth, although it was was not stated whether or not this was due to Connor's special status as the child of two vampires, or whether he was a unique example. There has also been at least one recorded case of a human boy born without a soul.

Good and Evil
"When you become a vampire the demon takes your body, but it doesn't get your soul. That's gone! No conscience, no remorse... It's an easy way to live. You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done... and to care."

- Angel

Souled beings are defined by possessing the moral capacity to be governed by the differences between right and wrong. As such, they are commonly associated with good, while soullessness is associated with evil; however, this is a rather fallacious statement, as ensouled creatures are still capable of acts of great evil, and traditionally soulless beings possess the capacity for ethicality and even virtuousness under the right set of circumstances. It is therefore more accurate to affirm that while souls do grant a creature that ability to accept morality, they do not govern that creature's decision to abide by it.

In general, soulless beings—namely vampires—identify as completely immoral, and are able to kill, maim and torture without the restriction of remorse. Still, they have been shown to understand the nature of evil. It is perhaps more factual to state that they simply don't concern themselves with it. There has been at least one case of a vampire denying his soulless instincts; though he was in large-part aided by the behavior chip that restricted him from acting out through physical pain, he remains proof that a strong enough motivation to do good can partly overcome simple soullessness. Once re-ensouled, vampires become haunted by their past sins; the returning of a soul can therefore be a very traumatic event for demons, as was witnessed in the cases of all four former members of the Whirlwind.

Angel/Angelus
Angel's soul was cursed upon him by Gypsies as a punishment for brutally murdering one of their clanswoman. He was forced by his restored conscience to reconcile with his sinful past; however, the curse came with an additional danger: Angel could never experience true happiness, as it would result in the removal of his soul. Angel has lost his soul twice: first, when he slept with Buffy Summers, and again, with a spell. On both occasions, he reverted to his identity as the murderous and twisted Angelus, and sought to sadistically punish the people around him until his soul was restored again. Unlike Spike or Darla, Angel seems to possess two distinct personalities that surface depending on the state of his ensoulment; Angelus, is distinctly evil and takes pleasure in his victims' suffering, while Angel remains constantly drive by his conscience to help people in need. The two typically share memories and experiences, but his confrontation with the the Beast—during which only Angelus could recall information related to the demon—suggests that Angelus does not exist to some extent when Angel is in control of his body. Still, Angelus has stated on numerous occasions that he is always within Angel, trapped by the presence of Angel's soul. Most other evidence leads to this conclusion, as Angelus was briefly able to take control of Angel's form without having his soul removed while he was being driven to derangement by the addition of Rupert Giles' soul in his body.

Darla
When Darla was resurrected as a human by Wolfram & Hart, she returned with her soul intact. Although it took her time to fully aknowledge the presence of her soul, she became increasingly guilt-ridden as a result of her vampiric history. Just as she had managed to accept her human fate and embrace her soul, Lindsey McDonald had Drusilla sire Darla once more. Sometime later, Darla returned to Angel and his friends pregnant with Connor, the son she and Angel had somehow managed to concieve. She became increasingly influenced by the soul of her unborn child, and developed the ability to express genuine emotion once more. Afraid she would be incapable of loving her son after his birth and unable to naturally deliver him, she staked herself in one final act of redemption, and placed him in Angel's care.

Spike
As opposed to Angel or Darla, Spike proved capable of doing good even without his soul. Immediately after he was turned, he retained affection for his mother, and formed a strong connection with Drusilla, whom he viewed as his savior. Much later, he purposely regained his soul to prove his worth to Buffy, and while it tested his sanity at first, he was able to recover and become a Champion in his own right. While Spike's possession of his soul did not significantly alter his core persona, he did begin to doubt himself more often, and lost much of the confidence he had maintained during his years as a soulless vampire, becoming somewhat insecure. Naturally, he was also more prone to spells of depression and guilt, though not to the extent of Angel. Faith Lehane even commented that he had become more like Angel since the regaining of his soul, much to his irritation. One could say that Spike did not achieve redemption because he won back his soul, but rather, he earned redemption on his own and was prompted to regain his soul to reassure both himself and others of his integrity. If Spike were to lose his soul (as briefly occurred when he was in Las Vegas), he was shown not become purely evil and sadistic, as he had overcome his demonic nature to a certain extent without a soul. Still, he proved more willing to make questionable decisions. Despite the general balance between his soulless and souled selves, Spike appears to fear losing his soul again.

Drusilla
Drusilla became ensouled by Willow Rosenburg in Las Vegas per Spike's request; however, the restoration of her conscience proved to be too traumatic for her damaged mind. Drusilla was so tormented by the guilt of her victims that Spike decided to take his soul back from her, as she was more stable without it.

Dracula
Though Dracula's status in regards to the actual possession of his soul has never been elaborated on, he did once state that he "risked his very soul" to attain his unique abilities.

Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson was a human boy born without a soul. He was incapable of remorse or sadness, and was quick to anger. He was possessed by an Ethros demon, who became terrified of the boy's soulless nature, which he described as a literal "void."

Death
When an ensouled being dies, or when a human becomes a vampire, their soul leaves their body and is transported to another plane, originally referred to as the "ether" by Jenny Calendar. The actual location and conditions of this dimension are unknown, and it has never been made clear if a person's actions in life determine the state of their "afterlife." It has, however, been confirmed that Buffy Summers went to a heavenly dimension at the time of her death, and that Cordelia Chase completed her metamorphosis into a Higher Being in another dimension when she passed away. It is possible that upon being sired, a vampire's human soul is displaced to a state of limbo connected to earth's plane, as such souls are much more easily recalled and there has never been any evidence of them "moving on." When Rupert Giles died, his soul was dispersed between nine separate locations important to his past as a result of his connection to Ehygon the Sleepwalker.

Resurrection
A soul is the most necessary component to resurrection. As Spike aptly put it, the body is simply "the tip of the theological iceberg." A body can either be magically recreated (such as with Darla) or restored (such as with Buffy), but without a soul, there can be no resurrection, and a zombie is very often created as a result. Angel was able to collect the shattered fragments of Giles' soul with a magical item called the Tooth of Ammuk in an attempt to resurrect him.

Rituals of Resurrection and Restoration
Apart from the rituals of resurrection that involve a soul being returned to a deceased body, there are numerous other spells and rituals that also involve the manipulation of souls. The Algurian Body-Switching Spell causes two souls to switch bodies, though the body of the individual who did not cast the spell will apparently collapse after an extended period of time; the Ritual of Mok'tagar allows a Mok'tagar Demon to steal and use a human's soul, and the Ritual of Restoration allows a vampire's soul to re-enter his or her body, though Angel is the only vampire known to have been successfully treated with this spell.

After murdering Rupert Giles, Angel was able to use an item known as the Tooth of Ammuk to absorb the fragments of his soul; he visited different locations significant to Giles in order to assemble his soul in the hopes of returning him to life again. The pieces rejoined within Angel's body, causing him to take on Giles' habits (drinking tea, speaking in a British accent and wearing glasses). Giles' soul eventually began to cause conflict with Angel's other inner-beings, and his friends were forced to store Giles' soul within an object called the Essuary instead.

The demon Jenoff was known for making deals with others where he would acquire them particular merchandise in exchange for their souls at some future date, but it was never specified whether he used any particular ritual for this; the only shown example of this deal being made was with Charles Gunn and the only part of the ritual shown was the initial handshake to seal the deal, Gunn managing to escape the contract when the rest of Angel Investigations helped him defeat Jenoff when Jenoff sought to collect.

Destruction
The permenent destruction of a soul is seemingly possible. According to Alasdair Coames, Enders obliterate souls upon consuming them. Wo-Pang also claimed after extracting and temporarily housing Angel's soul in a glass jar that it would be possible for the soul to be destroyed, though the specific parameters for such a destruction were not made clear.

Other cases of supposed soul "destruction" are less clear, usually where soul 'consumption' is concerned. When Winifred Burkle was used as a host to restore the Old One Illyria, her soul was apparently consumed by the strain of resurrecting Illyria in her body, rendering it impossible for her to be resurrected or go on to an afterlife, at least according to Doctor Sparrow. Illyria possessed Fred's memories, and has even reverted to Fred's appearance and personality on more than one occasion, but these have been confirmed to be mere remnants of Fred rather than a sign that her soul still exists as an entity in itself.

Additionally, while Angel Investigations have confronted Soul Eaters on at least two occasions, it has never been specified whether the demon feeding permanently destroys the soul it consumes, or if the soul is eventually allowed to pass on after it is 'digested', or released intact or not when its consuming demon dies.

Black Market
Angel, Cordelia and Doyle investigated a case involving a demonic black market where souls were brought and sold, with 'rare' souls—such as the soul of an innocent child or a saint—being particularly valuable. This encounter also pitted them against Shug, the last of the demonic race known as the Kurgarru, who consumed the souls of other beings to survive; Shug, the last of his kind, survived by violating his species' most sacred rule and devouring the souls of his own family. Shug attempted to take Angel's soul so that he could consume it, but he was killed by his traitorous partner, who was disgusted at Shug's new state and preferred the possible financial opportunities that would be offered by the bidding war on such a unique soul as Angel's. It is presumed that the deaths of Shug and his business partner resulted in the end of the trade in souls as they were the key players in the black market, and showed no signs of having heirs to carry on their work.