This page groups realms by the specific role a faith gives them in its own teaching. Wikipedia notes that "in the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam, and some schools of Judaism, as well as Zoroastrianism, heaven is the realm of afterlife where good actions in the previous life are rewarded for eternity." Browsing by doctrinal status lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions rule on the same realm.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingOtherworlds that are neither heavens for the blessed nor underworlds for the dead. In practice the group is dominated by the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, joined by the Celtic otherworlds; it is a residual heading rather than a comparative category with a subject of its own. 2 Peoples and Traditions CoveredNorse and Celtic cosmology. The two are unrelated and the Norse material is the great majority of the group. 3 Learn More
The Worlds
This group gathers the worlds, the realms that make up the layered cosmos of the various mythologies, such as the nine worlds of Norse tradition strung upon the world-tree, or the multiple worlds and planes of other cosmologies. These are the ordered divisions of the whole of existence.
The browser will find the worlds the atlas gathers from across the traditions. The entries describe each realm's inhabitants and place in its cosmology, reporting each tradition's own scheme.
Doctrinal Status
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001s.v. cosmogony and cosmologyView the Source 3. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. CosmologyView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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