Hebrew legend has it that in the Seventh Heaven, the Tree of Life blossoms with new souls. It has produced all the souls that have ever been and is destined to create all the souls that ever will be. After sprouting, the blossoms fall from the Tree and descend into the Chamber of Guf—the Hall of Souls—where they await birth in the World. It is said that sparrows can see these souls and that they sing when a soul finds its place in the Guf. When the last blossom blooms, the World will end and the Messiah will come. In this way, every soul is special and has an important purpose in the Universe.

When I see the Soul nebula, it reminds me of this legend—and it reminds me how lucky we are to be alive, and to be alive in the stelliferous era of the universe where we can see stars, nebulas, and galaxies and know what they are. As Carl Sagan would say, "The Universe made aware of itself." I don't know whether the Guf really exists, but if it does, I don't see how it could be more beautiful or engaging than the Soul nebula. It's also a reminder that as the beneficiaries of these souls, we have an obligation to nurture the Tree of Life and keep it blooming for as long as possible.

I can't count how many times I've shot something in this region 6,500 light years away in Cassiopeia. And I certainly can't keep track of how many images of this I've seen both as a Submitter for Astrobin and also in the normal course of my life. But it's a very compelling region filled with so many wonders, so it never gets old—and every picture of it is special indeed.

It's also a scientifically important region, having contributed a great deal to our understanding of star formation. The Soul nebula supports the theory that the stellar winds emanating from giant, hot stars within a gas cloud cause the surrounding gasses to compress and initiate the birth of new stars. This support comes from the observations that stars near the central regions of the Soul nebula, which have been cleared of much of the gas in the nebula, are older, while stars near the more dense edges are younger. If every new star has the potential to someday harbor life, then surely the Soul nebula is indeed a Hall of Souls.