“In the Egyptian notions, as in those of all other faiths founded on philosophy, man was not merely, as with the Christians, a union of soul and body; he was a trinity when spirit was added to it. Besides, that doctrine made him consist of kha – body; khaba – astral form or shadow; ka – animal soul or life-principle; ba – the higher soul; and akh – terrestrial intelligence. They had also a sixth principle named Sah – or mummy; but the functions of this one commenced only after the death of the body. After due purification, during which the soul, separated from its body continued to revisit the latter in its mummified condition, this astral soul “became a God”, for it was finally absorbed into “the Soul of the world.” It became transformed into one of the creative deities, “the god of Phtah”, the Demiurgos, a generic name for the creators of the world, rendered in the Bible as the Elohim.
In the Ritual, the good or purified soul, “in conjunction with its higher or uncreated spirit, is more or less the victim of the dark influence of the dragon Apophis. If it has attained the final knowledge of the heavenly and the infernal mysteries – the gnosis, i.e., complete reunion with the spirit, it will triumph over its enemies; if not, the soul could not escape its second death. It is ‘the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone’ (elements), into which those that are cast, undergo a ‘second death’” (Apocalypse). This death is the gradual dissolution of the astral form into its primal elements, alluded to several times already in the course of this work. But this awful fate can be avoided by the knowledge of the “Mysterious Name” – the “Word”, says the kabalists.
And what, then, was the penalty attached to the neglect of it? When man leads a naturally pure, virtuous life, there is none whatever; except delay in the world of spirits, until he finds himself sufficiently purified to receive it from his Spiritual “Lord”, one of the mighty Host. But if otherwise, the “soul”, as a half animal principle, becomes paralyzed, and grows unconscious of its subjective half – the Lord – and in proportion to the sensuous development of the brain and nerves, sooner or later, it finally loses sight of its divine mission on earth. Like the Vourdalak, or Vampire, of the Servian tale, the brain feeds and lives and grows in strength and power at the expense of its spiritual parent. Then the already half-unconscious soul, now fully intoxicated by the fumes of earthly life, becomes senseless, beyond hope of redemption. It is powerless to discern the splendor of its higher spirit, to hear the warning voice of its “guardian Angel”, and its “God”.
It aims but at the development and fuller comprehension of natural, earthly life; and thus, can discover but the mysteries of physical nature. Its grief and fear, hope, and joy, are all closely blended with its terrestrial existence. It ignores all that cannot be demonstrated by either its organs of action, or sensation. It begins by becoming virtually dead; it dies at last completely. It is annihilated. Such a catastrophe may often happen long years before the final separation of the life-principle from the body. When death arrives, its iron and clammy grasp finds work with life as usual; but there is no more a soul to liberate. The whole essence of the latter has been already absorbed by the vital system of the physical man. Grim death frees but a spiritual corpse, at best an idiot. Unable either to soar higher or awaken from lethargy, it is soon dissolved in the elements of the terrestrial atmosphere.”
H. P. Blavatsky
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 