In the hypothesis of animals not existing in the spiritual world, the spiritual world would be clearly secondary during the entire long process of animic evolution during the animal phase, which would end up being a contradiction of the text of "The Book of Spirits", when it states that, if it were to choose, the spiritual world would be “more essential” than the corporeal world.

Anyway, the understanding that there would be no animals in the spiritual world generates very strange reasoning.

In the case of humans, at least, it is known that the number of disincarnated on Earth is much greater than the number of incarnates on our planet. Let's see what Andre Luiz tells us, in the “Spiritist Yearbook” of 1964 (republished in the Spiritist Yearbook of 1992 and 2009):

"1. What is the approximate number of spiritual inhabitants – of rational age – that are presently developing in the surroundings of the Earth?

A. One could calculate the population of disembodied creatures of rational age, in working circles, around the Earth, to more than twenty billion, noting that a high percentage is still in the primary stages of reason and this number is subject to constant changes due to the migratory currents of Spirits in transit in the regions of the Planet”.

With regard to animals, would it be the other way around? Would there be more animals incarnated than disembodied? Or, what would be even more drastic, are all animals always reincarnated, with no animal left in the spiritual world? How is it?

Would there always be a fertilization taking place at the exact moment of the disincarnating of an individual of the same species? Would the number of new fertilizations be exactly the same as the number of new disembodiments at all times? Ever?

Let's look at the situation in which a species goes into extinction. Would spiritual mentors, without a minimum preparation in erraticity, reincarnate these “disincarnating” individuals in other species? Or would they take the “disincarnates” to another planet, to reincarnate in a species identical or very similar to the terrestrial species? And in this “other abode of the Father” would an appropriate number of new “conceptions” already be taking place (exactly at the same time when the disembodiments occur) so that no “disincarnate” would remain in the spiritual world?

Considering that Kardec had little time to delve into this issue and that Spiritist thought evolves, in accordance with its scientific aspect, it would be the case to assess what kind of information on this topic the subsidiary works would present.

Ernesto Bozzano, in his work “Do animals have a soul?”, evaluates one hundred and thirty (130) cases of manifestations of “haunting, apparitions and supernormal phenomena with animals”. Bozzano states in the first chapter of this work that, among the various phenomena studied, the appearances of animal forms constitute a subsidy to "support the hypothesis of the survival of the animal psyche."

In “Memories of a Suicide”, Camilo Candido Botelho narrates the presence of different species of animals in the spiritual world. On the penultimate page of the chapter entitled “The Valley of Suicides”, the author comments on horses. Let's see:

“...small stagecoaches tied together and surrounded by very thick shutters, preventing the passenger from checking the places where he should pass. White, light, as carved in specific materials, skillfully lacquered, they were pulled by beautiful teams of horses also white, noble animals whose extraordinary beauty and unusual elegance would arouse our attention if we were in a position to notice something...”.

In the subsequent chapter of “Memories...”, entitled “Os Réprobos” (The Reprobates), Camilo confirms the presence of horses:

“Our vehicles were now light and graceful, like light and comfortable sledges, pulled by the same admirable pairs of Norman horses...”.

In that same chapter, on the following page, the spiritual author mentions another animal species (pigeons) present in the Spiritual World. Let's evaluate:

 “...while tame birds, a flock of graceful pigeons flitted lightly among lilies”.

In “Nosso Lar” (Our Home), in chapter 33 called “Curious Observations”, Narcisse comments on dogs, mules and birds, which acted helping the expeditionary work of the “Samaritans” in regions of suffering. Let's see:

- “Dogs facilitate the work, mules support loads patiently and provide heat in areas where it is needed; and those birds – she added, indicating them in space – which we call ibis viajores, are excellent helpers of the Samaritans, because they devour the hateful and perverse mental forms, entering into a frank struggle with the umbraline darkness”.

In "Evolution in Two Worlds", Andre Luiz, in the third chapter, entitled "Evolution and Spiritual body", makes an important assessment of the soul evolution that would require internships both in the physical and in the Spiritual plane, depending on the needs of modulations/modifications of the perispirit. It seems reasonable to think that reincarnations between different species would require a deep and complex work of perispiritual preparation in erraticity. Below is the analysis by Andre Luiz inserted in the item entitled "Unknown links of evolution":

"Understanding, however, that the divine principle arrived on Earth, emanating from the spiritual sphere, bringing in its mechanism the archetype for which it was intended, like the acorn of an oak enclosing within itself the venerable tree that will be in the future, we cannot circumscribe the experience to the physical plane simply considered, because, through the birth and death of form, it undergoes constant changes in the two planes in which it manifests itself, and that is why various links of evolution escape the research of naturalists, as they represent stages of consciousness fragmentary outside the carnal realm itself, in extra-physical regions, where this same incomplete consciousness continues to elaborate its subtle vehicle, then classified as a human protoform, corresponding to the evolutionary level in which it finds itself” (my emphasis).

It is possible to infer, based both on the work of Allan Kardec and on the subsidiary works of Spiritism, that there are very likely animals in the spiritual world and that, when it comes to a reincarnation process in the same species, the period of erraticity tends to be shorter than that, on average, observed in the reincarnation processes of human Spirits, especially those of reasonable or superior Spiritual evolution. In cases where the soul of animals goes through a transition between species, the process is probably much more complex and time-consuming, as it involves deep perispiritual changes. In any case, it is worth remembering that animals can present very diverse conditions of animic evolution, requiring substantial in-depth study of the subject to assess the spiritual condition of the most varied subgroups of animal species.

Note:

This article is focused on the issue of the existence and possibility of permanence in the spiritual world of the soul of animals, without entering into the merits of their modus vivendi. Starting from the analysis of question 600 of “The Book of Spirits”, which has been interpreted in a questionable way, in our view, we evaluate the implications of denying the existence of animals in the spiritual world. Only from this analysis, we resorted to information from the so-called “subsidiary works of Spiritism”. However, despite being important books, few works and small quotes were made, within a very wide universe and excellent Spiritist works. Texts such as the one by Manoel Philomeno de Miranda, through the mediumship of Divaldo Pereira Franco, among other books, could be cited as additional sources of information about animals in the spiritual world. In addition, it is not possible to underestimate important reports arising from mediumistic experiences and the emancipation of the soul of mediums such as Francisco Candido Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, among others, which strengthens the perception that this information about the existence and significant permanence of at least some species of animals in the spiritual world have significant support, tending to be ratified by the so-called “control of universal agreement on the teaching of the Spirits”. In this context, it is recommended to read excellent articles and analyzes of the present issue prepared by the confreres Euripedes Kühl, Astolfo Olegario, Irvenia Prada and Paulo Neto, which were published in the electronic magazine “O Consolador”. With regard to the modus vivendi (covering the possibility of intra- and/or inter-species relationship life, the environment of the spiritual world associated with animals or groups of animals, the "physiological" and/or fluidic characteristics of the animal perispirit and its implications and so on) of animals in the spiritual world, it is important to emphasize that this approach was not the purpose of this article. In any case, any considerations in this area also require the general corroboration of quality mediumistic information, aiming at the “universality of the teaching of the Spirits”. In fact, all information considered original and/or unusual requires support from other quality mediumistic information, in order to be admitted as a reasonable hypothesis within our studies of doctrinal value.

Bibliographic references:

Kardec, A. The Book of Spirits. Trans. Evandro Noleto Bezerra. Third Commemorative Edition of the Sesquicentennial. Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF. 2007.

Luiz, A. Interviewing Andre Luiz. (insert in) Spiritist Yearbook 2009. Spiritist Diffusion Institute (IDE) Publisher. Macaws-SP. 2009.

Bozzano, E. Do animals have a soul? (translation and preface by Francisco Klörs Werneck). Second edition. Eco Publishing.

Pereira, Y. A. (by the Spirit Camilo Candido Botelho) Memories of a Suicide. First Special Edition. Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF. 2004.

Xavier, F.C. (by the Spirit of Andre Luiz). Our home. First Special Edition. Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF. 2003.

Xavier, F.C. and Vieira, W. (by the Spirit of Andre Luiz). Evolution in Two Worlds. 27th edition. Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF. 2014.