Jun 5 • Practices and Rituals
Animism and our Spiritual Ecosystem
What is animism? This topic is paramount to changing the worldview we hold in today's modern society, to one more tuned to the understanding of the old cultures. Animism is the term we use for the vision to see all life force. Spiritual, physical, temporal, all things, all life forms and even seemingly inanimate natural materials. And what do we have to prove it exists? Science!
When you look through a microscope so powerful that you can see the building cells of an object, there is energy. There is a force binding each of these molecules to one another. Creating a blueprint of the object it forms. Keeping it's shape despite the infinite forces around the cosmos. That force isn't gravity. It is a perfect combination of many forces. Science would call them astatic, or the processing of energy. Animism calls them living sentient forces, fully aware of their duty.
In Quantum mechanics, we can see that nothing is defined alone but in relation to everything around it. This is core to animism as well. What entity exists that doesn'thave a purpose or interaction with what is around it? We have a physical ecosystem in nature. It is measurable in various ways. Nature itself is loaded with sentient energy. Every tree, flower, blade of grass, herb, weed, all co-exist in an ecosystem that connects them. They give off chemical reactions and can recieve them as messages.
A spiritual ecosystem isn't so different. But to be aware of it, means giving into your own energy. You are an energetic being inhabiting a physical body made up of earthly materials. Your body is physiologically bound to everything else. Your energy is what animated the flesh. Your energy isn't just animating your body but it connects you to all the spiritual energy around you.
Learning how to sense energies requires stripping your mind of everything you consider "reality" and recognizing that you can't see air. But that doesn't mean it isn't there! So, the spiritual energetic ecosystem is no different! And one day if we are lucky, we might lift the veil over our mind's eye and see once again, what is on the other side of that spectrum!
Spell casting is something that MAJORLY benefits from understanding an animistic worldview. When you learn how to reciprocate a relationship with a deity, you multiply your power. They lend sustainability to spells, embue purpose and intention with stronger will, they also take the burden of you having to give all your energy to it. But you must have just cause to ask for this kind of help. And you may want to be selective on who you choose to ask.
Spirits that have never been human, that have been always tied to nature since the first plant grew on a rocky molten world, they are deeply tied to your environment. If you disrespect them, you will often find misfortune. These are called by various names across cultures, but the most basic words we can use are fairies, nature spirits, elemental spirits, even Elves.
In Norse Pagan beliefs, the Alfar were beings that came from Alfheim, a separate realm to Midgard. These beings are known to possess the ability to affect human health. They can direct pestilence and disease toward us if we fail to appease them. In late October or early November, it was custom for private rituals to be made for honoring the Alfar with offerings and sacrifices to garner good will! This was known as Alfablót.
The Fae are known in Celtic beliefs to be very tricky and also have dominion over disease and how it affected humans. They had a belief in changeling children. This was a complex way of dealing with loss and grief for the people of Scotland and Ireland. Fairy hills are even to this day HIGHLY regarded.
Think about it. Disease was invisible. In more modern religion, often times violent illness was misdiagnosed as demon possession or spiritual attack. But long before that, people believed that the invisible enemy had a shepard who would pick and choose which families would get sick, which would live and which would die! How else did we explain how it would wipe out one village but never hit another. How did they explain when it suddenly went away? Suddenly came on?
They didn't know what we know about germs or disease. But what we still don't know is, why at all? Why now? Why this disease, why that virus? And in some cases, how do we kill it for good? We still have no cure for the common cold. But, maybe we aren't supposed to. Maybe these things exist for the very reason science says. To strengthen the species and weed out the weak. Natural selection. Process of elimination. Even that feels like something someone has to be in charge of.. because what would stop it from killing everyone on earth?
Animism helps us see there is something in the works behind the scenes. Many things we can't see both on a spiritual and physical level.
We have to be amazed at these forces that keep everything going despite all the odds in a vast ever changing and chaotic universe! We have to thank them for keeping us in one piece! For building us up, and creating an environment of beauty and danger, life and death, recurring life and cyclical nature of our planet's very being. We have to thank the greatest forces and the very tiniest ones. Without them, we simply couldn't exist!
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Animism and our Spiritual Ecosystem
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