Divine Magic • Core Spell Reference

Astral Projection

A protected ritual chamber as astral forms rise from their sleeping bodies and follow the Silver Road.

Astral Projection sends a traveller’s consciousness and astral form across the planes while the original body remains behind. The silver cord linking body and traveller can become the most important vulnerability in the adventure. Choose the correct edition before using the spell: the ritual time, companions, material costs, astral travel and dangers are not identical across editions.

Astral Projection at a Glance

5.5e (2024)	Level 9
5e (2014)	Level 9
Pathfinder 1e	Level 9
D&D 3.5e	Level 9
Browse	Cleric spells • Cleric class

Spell Rules

5.5e (2024)5e (2014)Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Astral Projection — 5.5e (2024)

Cleric spell level 9. Edition source.

Spell	Level 9 Necromancy (Cleric, Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time	1 hour
Range	10 feet
Components	V, S, M (for each of the spell’s targets, one jacinth worth 1,000+ GP and one silver bar worth 100+ GP, all of which the spell consumes)
Duration	Until dispelled

You and up to eight willing creatures within range project your astral bodies into the Astral Plane (the spell ends instantly if you are already on that plane). Each target’s body is left behind in a state of suspended animation; it has the Unconscious condition, doesn’t need food or air, and doesn’t age. A target’s astral form resembles its body in almost every way, replicating its game statistics and possessions. The principal difference is the addition of a silvery cord that trails from between the shoulder blades of the astral form. The cord fades from view after 1 foot. If the cord is cut—which happens only when an effect states that it does so—the target’s body and astral form both die. A target’s astral form can travel through the Astral Plane. The moment an astral form leaves that plane, the target’s body and possessions travel along the silver cord, causing the target to re-enter its body on the new plane. Any damage or other effects that apply to an astral form have no effect on the target’s body and vice versa. If a target’s body or astral form drops to 0 Hit Points, the spell ends for that target. The spell ends for all the targets if you take a Magic action to dismiss it. When the spell ends for a target who isn’t dead, the target reappears in its body and exits the state of suspended animation.

Astral Projection — 5e (2014)

Cleric spell level 9. Edition source.

Spell	9th-level necromancy
Casting Time	1 hour
Range	10 feet
Components	V, S, M (for each creature you affect with this spell, you must provide one jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp and one ornately carved bar of silver worth at least 100 gp, all of which the spell consumes)
Duration	Special

You and up to eight willing creatures within range project your astral bodies into the Astral Plane (the spell fails and the casting is wasted if you are already on that plane). The material body you leave behind is unconscious and in a state of suspended animation; it doesn’t need food or air and doesn’t age. Your astral body resembles your mortal form in almost every way, replicating your game statistics and possessions. The principal difference is the addition of a silvery cord that extends from between your shoulder blades and trails behind you, fading to invisibility after 1 foot. This cord is your tether to your material body. As long as the tether remains intact, you can find your way home. If the cord is cut—something that can happen only when an effect specifically states that it does—your soul and body are separated, killing you instantly. Your astral form can freely travel through the Astral Plane and can pass through portals there leading to any other plane. If you enter a new plane or return to the plane you were on when casting this spell, your body and possessions are transported along the silver cord, allowing you to re-enter your body as you enter the new plane. Your astral form is a separate incarnation. Any damage or other effects that apply to it have no effect on your physical body, nor do they persist when you return to it. The spell ends for you and your companions when you use your action to dismiss it. When the spell ends, the affected creature returns to its physical body, and it awakens. The spell might also end early for you or one of your companions. A successful dispel magic spell used against an astral or physical body ends the spell for that creature. If a creature’s original body or its astral form drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends for that creature. If the spell ends and the silver cord is intact, the cord pulls the creature’s astral form back to its body, ending its state of suspended animation. If you are returned to your body prematurely, your companions remain in their astral forms and must find their own way back to their bodies, usually by dropping to 0 hit points.

Astral Projection — Pathfinder 1e

Cleric spell level 9. Edition source.

School	necromancy
Level	cleric 9, sorcerer/wizard 9
Casting Time	30 minutes
Components	V, S, M (jacinth worth 1,000 gp)
Range	touch
Targets	you plus one additional willing creature touched per two caster levels
Duration	see text
Saving Throw	none
Spell Resistance	yes

By freeing your spirit from your physical body, this spell allows you to project an astral body onto another plane altogether. You can bring the astral forms of other willing creatures with you, provided that these subjects are linked in a circle with you at the time of the casting. These fellow travelers are dependent upon you and must accompany you at all times. If something happens to you during the journey, your companions are stranded wherever you left them.

You project your astral self onto the Astral Plane, leaving your physical body behind on the Material Plane in a state of suspended animation. The spell projects an astral copy of you and all you wear or carry onto the Astral Plane. Since the Astral Plane touches upon other planes, you can travel astrally to any of these other planes as you will. To enter one, you leave the Astral Plane, forming a new physical body (and equipment) on the plane of existence you have chosen to enter.

While you are on the Astral Plane, your astral body is connected at all times to your physical body by an incorporeal silver cord. If the cord is broken, you are killed, astrally and physically. Luckily, very few things can destroy a silver cord. When a second body is formed on a different plane, the silver cord remains invisibly attached to the new body. If the second body or the astral form is slain, the cord simply returns to your body where it rests on the Material Plane, thereby reviving it from its state of suspended animation. This is a traumatic affair, however, and you gain two permanent negative levels if your second body or astral form is slain. Although astral projections are able to function on the Astral Plane, their actions affect only creatures existing on the Astral Plane; a physical body must be materialized on other planes.

You and your companions may travel through the Astral Plane indefinitely. Your bodies simply wait behind in a state of suspended animation until you choose to return your spirits to them. The spell lasts until you desire to end it, or until it is terminated by some outside means, such as dispel magic cast upon either the physical body or the astral form, the breaking of the silver cord, or the destruction of your body back on the Material Plane (which kills you).

When this spell ends, your astral body and all of its gear, vanishes.

Astral Projection — D&D 3.5e

Cleric spell level 9. Edition source.

School	Necromancy
Level	Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9, Travel 9
Components	V, S, M
Casting Time	30 minutes
Range	Touch
Targets	You plus one additional willing creature touched per two caster levels
Duration	See text
Saving Throw	None
Spell Resistance	Yes

By freeing your spirit from your physical body, this spell allows you to project an astral body onto another plane altogether.

You can bring the astral forms of other willing creatures with you, provided that these subjects are linked in a circle with you at the time of the casting. These fellow travelers are dependent upon you and must accompany you at all times. If something happens to you during the journey, your companions are stranded wherever you left them.

While you are on the Astral Plane, your astral body is connected at all times to your physical body by a silvery cord. If the cord is broken, you are killed, astrally and physically. Luckily, very few things can destroy a silver cord. When a second body is formed on a different plane, the incorporeal silvery cord remains invisibly attached to the new body. If the second body or the astral form is slain, the cord simply returns to your body where it rests on the Material Plane, thereby reviving it from its state of suspended animation. Although astral projections are able to function on the Astral Plane, their actions affect only creatures existing on the Astral Plane; a physical body must be materialized on other planes.

Material Component: A jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp, plus a silver bar worth 5 gp for each person to be affected.

Using Astral Projection in Play

This is expedition magic rather than a shortcut with no consequences. The group must protect the bodies left behind, choose where it expects to arrive, and decide how to return. A secured sanctum and trusted guards are as important as the spell slot when travelling to a hostile plane.

Counterplay and GM Rulings

Body safety: adjudicate what happens to the physical bodies and where they are left under the chosen edition’s exact rules.
Silver cord: do not treat the cord as an ordinary length of rope; use the spell’s own rules and specific threats capable of harming or severing it.
Ending the spell: distinguish a voluntary return, ending the magical effect, the loss of an astral form, and damage to the original body. They need not produce the same result across editions.
Counterspell/Dispel Magic: an opponent can interrupt casting under its edition’s counterspelling rules; the effect of later dispelling must follow that edition’s astral-travel text.

Related Magic and Planes

Plane Shift offers a different method of planar travel. Etherealness operates through different planar rules. Browse the Witch Spell Lists for this spell’s historical archive placement.

Rules Sources and Licensing

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 and/or 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC. The original documents are available at D&D Beyond and are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Presentation and formatting have been changed.

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Mythical Context

In Egyptian funerary belief, the ba could be represented as a human-headed bird able to leave the body yet remain connected to the deceased’s identity. That image makes a useful mythic parallel to an astral traveller whose sleeping body remains vulnerable elsewhere. See The Metropolitan Museum’s ba-bird shabti.

Historical Context

Surviving copies of the Egyptian Book of the Dead record spells intended to aid a deceased person’s journey through the afterlife. Papyrus fragments made for the scribe Roy, dated to around the late second millennium BCE, are an archaeological witness to such beliefs. They do not establish literal out-of-body travel. See the Metropolitan Museum’s papyrus fragments of the scribe Roy.