Most of the action that takes place in Avatar: The Last Airbender has its roots in the Spirit World, from the art of bending to the Avatar cycle. It is composed of a rather unique natural environment, with bizarre lifeforms calling the place their home. Although it is nearly impossible for ordinary people to access the Spirit World, there are a few who are capable of doing so.
The specific nature of the Spirit World is unknown, especially how it is interconnected with the real world, but it's evident that both locations rely on each other in different ways. As such, viewers have tons of questions about this mystical dimension.
10 The Changing Of The Spirit World By Avatar Wan
Wan is born into a world with no firm boundaries between the physical and the mystical, but his mistake in freeing Vaatu and consequently becoming the Avatar ends up reshaping the two dimensions forever.
Once the Dark Spirit is captured and trapped within the Tree of Time, Avatar Wan uses the power of Harmonic Convergence to force the Spirit Portals at the North and South Poles to shut shop, preventing free mixing of elements between the Spirit and Human worlds.
9 The Subversion Of Physical Laws
The Spirit World doesn't abide by many laws of physics, implying that it is set in a universe based on a different set of constants. This is probably why gravity has little meaning in Wan Shi Tong's upside-down library.
Korra experiences a rather drastic alteration during one of her trips to the Spirit World when she becomes a toddler version of herself. Whether this change is real or an illusion is an irrelevant question because there's no answer.
8 The Power Of Guided Meditation
The Spirit World cannot be accessed by normal means, and certainly not by, for lack of a better term, spiritually unenlightened individuals.
As such, there are very few people who can travel to the dimension by means of intense meditation, a process that presumably takes years to master. There are also those capable of guiding visitors to the Spirit World, as shown when Jinora chaperones Korra despite Tenzin's objections.
7 The Complex Diversity Of "Life"
The inhabitants of the Spirit World are, obviously, spirits, but there are so many varieties and subtypes that it becomes a thriving ecosystem all on its own. There are entities based on plants, mammals, reptiles, and any combination, thereof.
The spirits' environmental interactions are not very well studied, partly because it's impossible to scientifically analyze a dimension with no regard for rules. A few famous examples include Bumi's "pet," Bum-Ju, the Dragon Bird, the Painted Lady, Wan Shi Tong, Koh the Face Stealer, among others.
6 The Tangible Bridges To The Spirit World
With the closure of the Spirit Portals, there are two main locations from with the Spirit World can be reached more easily. The first is the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole, a sacred space protected by the Northern Water Tribe.
It houses La, the Ocean, and Tui, the Moon, explaining why it's so mystical and otherworldly — Aang meditates himself into the Spirit World by the pool in the Spirit Oasis. In the graphic novels, the Forgetful Valley is an area that can be used to contact the Mother of Faces.
5 The Terrifying Nature Of Some Of Its Locales
The Spirit World is hardly as enchanting as its name sounds; to the contrary, there are places that are beyond terrifying. The underground hole that Koh lives in gnarled and eerie, while the Hai-Riyo Peak is perennially capped by unnerving thunderclouds.
The most uneasy locale, however, is the Fog of Lost Souls, where humans are "imprisoned" to walk around in the mist of their most painful memories. Zaheer tossing Aiwei into the Fog of Lost Souls proves that a simple accident is all it takes to have one's soul doomed for eternity.
4 The Necessity Of Harmonic Convergence
Harmonic Convergence appears simplistic — the alignment of the planets, the opening and combining of the Spirit Portals — but the forces that it unleashes can have world-changing effects.
The Spirit of Darkness, Vaatu, shatters the metaphysical walls between the two worlds around 20,000 years ago, and Raava takes Wan's help to recreate the broken barriers ten thousand years after that. The unending cycle of Raava and Vaatu is dependent on Harmonic Convergence, and, more importantly, is essential for the maintenance of universal harmony.
3 The Nullification Of Bending
In order to meditate into the Spirit World, a person is forced to leave their body behind, allowing only their souls or consciousnesses to travel.
Since the act of bending requires a physical body and life aura, people are unable to bend the elements in the Spirit World. This rule does not apply to those entering through the Spirit Portals, because there is no astral projection involved in this form of transport.
2 The Third Spirit Portal
The North & South Pole Spirit Portals are locked until Tonraq of the Northern Water Tribe tricks his niece, Korra, into reopening them. These doorways remain for anyone who wishes to enter the Spirit World, but that would mean traveling to the literal ends of the world.
Instead, travelers could go through the Spirit Portal in Republic City, created when Kuvira recklessly uses her vine-powered spirit beam in the battle against Avatar Korra.
1 The Role Of The Spirit World In The Afterlife
Nobody knows what happens to people when they die in the Avatar universe, except that death is not the culmination of a soul's journey. A few people are able to manifest in the Spirit World after their corporeal death, such as Uncle Iroh. It is also implied that spirits like the Painted Lady and General Old Iron were once humans.
There is also the question of the Avatar, who has several dead people taking up residences in their mind. Does the Spirit World have anything to do with this? Yes, but nobody knows what.
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