The Rabbit Hole

Asked of every system

Twenty-two questions

The same questions, asked in the same order. Read down a question to see where they rhyme and where they do not. No establishment is rewritten to fit the others.

08 / 22

Where is consciousness between lives?

  1. Science01

    Not an established scientific category. Continuation after biological death is unestablished.

  2. Judaism02

    Not framed as an interval between lives in the general record. Later mystical streams that include reincarnation do not yield one agreed location here.

  4. Christianity04

    Not framed as between lives. The claim is death, resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny.

  5. Islam05

    Not framed as between lives. Judgment and continued existence are the claim.

  6. Hindu Traditions06

    Death changes embodiment or state. A single between-lives geography is not agreed across schools in this record.

  7. Buddhist Traditions07

    Continuity through dependent processes. Intermediate-state teachings exist in some traditions (for example bardo in Tibetan streams) but are not universal to all Buddhism.

  8. Daoist Traditions08

    Varied traditions concerning spirit and death; a single between-lives location is not recorded as shared doctrine.

  9. Ancient Egyptian09

    The postmortem journey (Duat and celestial realms) is extensive. It is a journey of the dead, not recorded here as a waiting room between ordinary lives.

  11. Norse Traditions11

    Several possible destinations. A between-lives interval is not a settled, shared claim in this record.

  13. Maya Traditions13

    Underworld and celestial journeys. A single between-lives location is not isolated here.

  14. Zoroastrianism14

    Judgment and continued existence — not a reincarnation interval.

  15. Latter-day Saint Tradition15

    Spirit world, then resurrection. This is not ordinary reincarnation, so “between lives” is the wrong frame.

  16. Scientology16

    The thetan survives bodily death and repeated embodiment is taught. A specific named interval is not isolated in this chart.

  17. Astrological Traditions17

    Depends on the host tradition. Astrology does not, by itself, locate consciousness between lives.

  18. Sumerian Traditions18

    The netherworld is a place the dead and a goddess enter. It is not described here as an interval between ordinary lives.

  19. Greek Traditions19

    Plato’s myths include an interval of judgment and choice. Mystery cults are less explicit. Homer does not describe a waiting room between lives.

  20. Jainism20

    The jīva transits to the next birth or to the summit of the loka if liberated. A narrative underworld between lives is not the center.

  21. Sikhism21

    The round of births is taught. A geography of the pause between them is not the scripture’s subject.

  22. Shinto22

    Not framed as between lives.

  24. Gnostic Traditions24

    Some myths describe the soul passing hostile powers. That passage is an escape, not a neutral lobby, and it is not in every text.

  25. Hermetic Traditions25

    The ascent through the spheres is the nearest picture, in the texts that have it. It is an ascent, not a karmic pause.

  26. Yoruba Traditions26

    Òrun is the unseen side, not defined here as a waiting room between lives. Lineages differ.

  28. Inca Traditions29

    The dead stay socially present. A between-lives realm is not the claim.

  29. Baháʼí Faith31

    Not a pause before another earthly birth. The soul’s further life is in the worlds of God, not a reincarnation interval.