Reincarnation cycle

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The reincarnation cycle is the process souls go through when their current body dies. They spend some time in the inbetween before reincarnating as an entirely different person, with no memories of their past lives.

Inbetween

Souls do not reincarnate immediately after their previous lives end. They have to wait for their "turn" to occupy a new life, and they spend that time waiting in a plane of existence higher than the Mindscape called the inbetween, a place that not even the strongest beings in the multiverse (including Dipper Pines) can go. They can choose to stick around in the inbetween longer than necessary in order to visit other souls. The inbetween houses an unfathomably large pool of souls, some of whom are reborn more often than others, and some of whom choose to never be born at all.

Souls in the inbetween can remember everything about all of their past lives. They can visit the mortal plane and do small things like stereotypical ghosts such as move objects. They can also visit the Mindscape, and thus visit Dipper. In this state, they can appear as any of their past lives, and talk as if they'd never died.

Memories from past lives

Occasionally, memories or feelings from previous lives can resurface in a soul's current incarnation. This can be achieved through applied use of magic and therapy, but it can also occur spontaneously when a person comes into contact with something a past life had strong emotional ties to. This phenomenon is more likely to happen with memories from more recent preincarnations. However, this phenomenon is extremely rare, and only occurs with one in a million (if not one in a billion) individuals.

For most people, when past memories do resurface, they exhibit themselves subtly, such as through unfocused nostalgia, a general sense of displacement, or even unexplained attachments to certain strangers. Officially, this condition is known as reincarnation malaise (or, more colloquially, 'the déjà blues'). However, some individuals, such as Ian Beale and Fang Wu, are able to remember specific memories from their past lives.

Discovery and public reaction

The discovery of the reincarnation cycle is a gradual process, but the transition into common knowledge does occur within Mabel's lifetime, as many preternatural and mythical beings were aware of it. Information about the process is acquired through various means and pieced together by scholars, however this knowledge remains limited throughout the majority of humanity's history.

Initially, many groups deny the reality of this discovery. With time, as the reincarnation cycle becomes more accepted by the general populace, methods to uncover one's past incarnations become widely available.