The final chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes is often cited in this respect: 'Before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern.' Scherman, however, contends that the context points to this being merely a metaphor, comparing the body to a machine, with the silver cord referring to the spine. Judaic and Christian Origins Д¬arrington, Muldoon, Peterson, and Williams claim that the subtle body is attached to the physical body by means of a psychic silver cord. For example, ancient Egyptian teachings present the soul ( ba) as having the ability to hover outside the physical body via the ka, or subtle body. Similar concepts of soul travel appear in various other religious traditions. This image is based on an original found in The Book of the Dead. There is no scientific evidence that there is a consciousness whose embodied functions are separate from normal neural activity or that one can consciously leave the body and make observations of the physical universe, and astral projection has been characterized as a pseudoscience. Some individuals have reported perceptions similar to descriptions of astral projection that were induced through various hallucinogenic and hypnotic means (including self-hypnosis). It is sometimes reported in association with dreams and forms of meditation. The modern terminology of 'astral projection' was coined and promoted by 19th-century Theosophists. The idea of astral travel is ancient and occurs in multiple cultures.

Astral projection (also known as astral travel), is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an ' astral body' through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body and travel throughout the astral plane.

Astral bodies