Animism - Tumblr Posts
Do I know the names of each moon phase? No. But do I know where the moon is in her cycle? Do I glance up at her every night just to check in? Do I keep in mind if the shadow we cast on her is growing or decreasing right now? Can I predict when the full or new moon will be based on where she is in her current unnamed phase? YES! And that's the thing, humans have named natural phenomenon a million different things a million different times. None of which matters to the phenomenon itself. To have a relationship with nature, the universe, the earth. You don't need to spend all this extra time memorizing scientific names. Instead, spend that time and effort observing. Noticing. Tracking. Even if you make up your own words on accident, the moon can't tell the difference. Even if you falter, and forget to check in for a week, a month, a year. The moon never leaves. She'll always be up in the sky, either shrouded in darkness invisibly watching over us or brightly lit up like our other friend the sun. Whenever you want to reconnect and glance up she'll be there. Stressing about tracking her every move will only strain your relationship. Stressing about memorizing just one set of the many names people have put onto her cycle will only strain your relationship. Stressing about full moon celebrations that may or may not fit into your schedule or come naturally to you is only going to strain your relationship. Do what feels natural, do what makes sense for you and makes you happy. There is no right way to be pagan. There is only what you feel in your heart to be true. This goes for literally everything btw
Talk to me (If you want!)
My dms and asks are open to anyone, especially those who want to discuss their craft and beliefs!!
I'd also love to find some friends who worship/work with nature deities!!
I made this blog to help connect to others, even those with different views and beliefs, so please don't be afraid to reach out and ask me a question or comment about similiar experiences etc!!
hii, do you have any books or even blogs and youtube channels to recommend? I'm looking forward to learning more about Mother Nature, but most sources don't seen safe
thank you! I'm @magiquinha (side blog)
So, Mother Nature as I worship her isn't exactly a pre-existing deity. She is not from a certain religion or culture though most religions/cultures have had a deity that represents her in some way (e.g. Gaia in Hellenism). This means that there isn't a lot of "source material" on Mother Nature as a deity and there definitely aren't many guides or books on her worship! She has no "canon lore" because there are so few myths about her, and any stories that use her as a character use her as a literary device!!
However! Mother Nature is all around us - she is the world, the wind, the rain, she is the plants and insects and mammals, she is us and the sky and the earth. Personally, so much of my knowledge and connection to Mother Nature has come from my studies of the natural world. I'm a zoology student and I'd 100% recommend looking into ecology, evolution, animal behaviour, foraging, herbal medicine (tho be very cautious with these) etc!
Also, check out tags like #animism, see how people revere and respect the natural world, see how people who worship Demeter worship her, read about how Celts used to revere trees etc!
I haven't seen many other blogs worship her in the way I do, many worship a Earth-Deity such as Gaia or Ceres, or they'll work with nature and nature spirits without identifying Nature as a goddess! This might be largely because I'm new to tumblr so I'm always happy to hear blog recs!!!!
I'm happy to provide any resources you might want about Natural Sciences (and I'm also happy to help you find foraging guides or learn about local and native ecology in your area!!) so feel free to message me or send me another ask!
if I don’t believe everything is literally alive but it feels alive and I treat them as such can that still be animism? what if I don’t know if I believe in souls/spirits. can they still have some kind of spiritual essence?
"Animism is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence."
For some people, this means that they have a 'soul', for others it's a 'spirit' or consciousness, and for some it is simply a 'feeling' of life in them.
Animism is a very broad belief, and the specifics may vary between people so you can absolutely refer to your belief as animism, even if you're not sure about souls/spirits specifically!!
I'd say go and do some research on animism and maybe even check out the #animism tag here on tumblr as you'll be able to see other animists beliefs and how they interact with the world and spirituality! 💚🪲🌿
"I can't connect to nature because I live in a city" Incorrect.
"I can't connect to nature because I can't travel" Nuh-uh.
"I can't connect to nature because I-" Wrong.
Anyone can connect to nature. Please, remove the mindset that nature is something *out there*. Nature is all around you.
The dandelions peeking through pavement cracks, the birds you don't notice on your windowsill, the brambles in the alleys, the storms and sunshine.
All of this is nature. You are surrounded by it. Notice it, learn about it. Write down when you notice the days getting longer, when more butterflies appear and when ripen blackberries ripen. Connect to the nature that lives outside your window, just past the boundary of your front door.
Watch nature documentaries, build a small windowsill garden, let the spider in your room corner stay for a while.
Connection is not determined by proximity, but by effort.
You're just a mammal. Let yourself act like it. Your brain needs enrichment. Your body needs rest. You feel hunger and grow hair. You need to pack bond with other sentient things so you don't become unsocialized and neurotic. You are biologically inclined to seek dopamine and become sick when chronically stressed. "Hedonism" is made up to place moral value on taking pleasure in sensory experiences. I am telling you that if you don't let yourself be a fucking mammal, as you were made, you will suffer and go insane. No grindset no diets no trying to be above your drive for connection. Pursue what makes you feel good and practice radial rejection of the constructs meant to turn you into a machine. You're a mammal.
The importance of knowing why you do what you do in witchcraft
At first we tend to see a spell like a recipe you have to follow to achieve something, however when we have seen multiple spells for one purpose we can make our own version of them taking into account the common elements that those spells have.
We can even achieve a higher efficacy and creativity knowing what means each aspect of our spells or rituals, creating specific ones that will fit ourselves and our needs better. It is important not to forget that witchcraft isn't a science but an art in which there are multiple ways to get the same result.
From the perspective of my own practice every plant or stone we use is more than a tool, it is in some way a being, a spirit that can assist our craft with its essence. That's in what correspondences are based, in the nature of the spirit that embodies that element.
Correspondences also have the power, even in some way a part of the spirit, of all the ancestors that have been using those elements with the same meaning. We can believe from our modern perspective that those associations were just a coincidence, nevertheless, everything suggests that they really understood the powers behind the items in our craft, for example in the case of the plants where their spiritual meaning correlates in some way with their fisical properties.
To conclude, we shouldn't try to turn into a mere recipe something that works with different powers and spirits, because, if these forces have taught me something over time, it is that witchcraft is, more than anything, learning another way to see.
Disclaimer: this point of view is highly influenced by an animistic perspective, remember that this is far from being the only valid approach to witchcraft. Besides, correspondences aren't universal and this doesn't invalidate the different ones that may exist.
Working with Collective Spirits: Plants and Animals
UPG Warning: Content is based on personal experience.
Individual vs Collective
The difference between an individual spirit and a spirit collective is pretty simple. Working with an individual involves connecting with a being who has their own personality traits and motives. Some are well-known (like the Witch Father), some are spirits of the dead or specific ancestors, some are tied to certain individuals, families, and locations, and some are Nameless or long-forgotten.
A spirit collective is sort of like a current that runs through all living beings and objects. It can be as broad or as narrow as you wish. For example, you can work with the spirit of all trees or you can work with the spirit of Maples.
This is easy to conceptualize if you're an animist who believes that all life is connected and there is spirit in all things. Imagine the life force that runs through us all is a large river, and specific spiritual collectives are the tributaries.
To put it simply, if you are leaving offerings to the spirit of a dead rabbit that you found on the side of the road, you are engaging with an individual. If you are leaving an offering for all rabbits in your immediate area you are working with a collective.
Overlap
Sometimes a spirit can exist both as a collective and an individual. For example, the spirit of your house or local river may be made up of several different spirits and go by many names.
Additionally, if I'm working with the spirit of Apple Trees, one could assume that I'm working with millions of apple tree spirits formed into a single collective.
Connecting with Collective Spirits
If you're like me, you need to have an emotional and physical connection to certain spirits before you begin involving them in workings. This usually means that I'm working with plants and animals that exist in my own local biosphere.
Here are some ways to start getting to know plant and animal spirit collectives:
Meet them in their own environment: For example, if you want to work with the spirit of Oak Trees, start by spending time where they are known to grow. You can take a walk through a local forest or visit individual trees in a park or your own backyard.
Learn about them: Find reading material about the species you're interested in. Learn about their native habitat, behavior, diet, growth rate, myth and folklore, the time of year that they're present, etc. I find that engaging with a plant or animal on a scientific and material level helps you get to know them more personally and will therefore strengthen any spiritual relationships you wish to pursue.
Care for them: If you're looking to work with the spirit of Lilac, plant and care for a lilac shrub. If you want to work with the spirit of Hummingbirds, install a feeder. If you're interested in the spirit of cats or dogs, start fostering or volunteering for a rescue.
Observe them: If the collective that you want to work with is that of an animal, take some time to watch them from a safe distance in their natural environment. If you're working with a plant, feel free to get up close and personal as long as it's safe and you are not disturbing a protected species.
Veneration
I want to start by saying that veneration is not something that is required when working with spirits and in some cases can actually be a bit of a hindrance. However, it is beneficial if your goal is to emotionally connect with spirits, gain favor with them, and establish highly personal ongoing relationships. My workings boast a higher success rate and rich personal meaning when I am working with a spirit who I have developed a connection with through consistent offerings and acts of kindness.
Physical offerings
The most common form of veneration is a physical offering. They can be left at an altar or outdoors in the natural habitat of the collective spirit that you plan on working with.
Outdoor offerings should be left with great care for the local ecosystem. For plants I usually leave compost or fresh water. I will also drop specific food items in my compost bin as an offering to whatever plant spirit I'm working with that day.
For animals, things can be a bit more complicated. When offering food, it's crucial to be 100% certain that it is safe for wildlife to consume and that you aren't leaving so much so often that animals start to rely on you for food. I usually stick to birdseed, acorns, peanuts, fresh fruit and greens, unsalted sunflower seeds, and cat food for the strays. Keep in mind that food is left only in my own backyard (never, like, the woods) and never in high abundance. When in doubt, a bowl of fresh water is a more than sufficient offering.
Indoor offerings allow much more room for variety. Food items that cannot be left outside (like meat, cheese, confections, and alcohol) can be safely offered this way. You also won't be limited to compostable items and will be free to leave assorted trinkets, jewelry, or whatever you find appropriate.
Acts of Kindness
Personally I feel that acts of kindness are the best way to venerate plant and animal collectives. Not only are you building real-life relationships and connections, but you are making an active difference in the lives of actual living beings and this will always be well-received from a magical perspective. In my practice, how I interact with the physical world is in direct relation to that of the spirit world, so this is an important step for me.
Some acts of service can overlap with physical offerings such as leaving bowls of water for the wildlife on a hot day, filling a bird feeder, or watering a plant, but there are countless other options to choose from, including activism, rewilding, rescue, volunteering, and habitat restoration.
For example, if I want to work with the spirit of Monarch Butterflies, I may start a monarch waystation full of milkweed and nectar-producing native plants. If I'm venerating the spirit of Black-Eyed Susan, I could scatter some seeds on the roadside. If I'm working with the spirit of domestic dogs I might feel compelled to volunteer at a local shelter. Perhaps the spirit collective that I want to work with is fresh-water dwelling and I opt to help clean a local river.
In addition to physical offerings and acts of service, some ideas include constructing miniature altars and spirit houses, creating devotional art, and wearing devotional jewelry.
Working with Collective Spirits
There are many benefits to working with spirit collectives. They can be involved in spellwork, called directly during divination, and petitioned to help advance certain skills. This is where knowledge gained through study and observation are put to use. Plant and animal collectives come with their own folklore and symbolism, natural skill-sets, and physical and behavioral qualities which are useful in magical workings. Once you have a handful of spirit types that you're familiar with you can start putting everything into practice.
One way to begin choosing which collectives you incorporate into which workings is through divination. Break out your cards or bag of charms, call upon the spirit of your choosing, and ask them what their skills are. If you have researched the plant or animal in the past or already have a rough list of correspondences, you can compare the answers to your existing notes.
Petitioning spirits in magical workings is a great introduction to spirit work and can be easily executed by beginners. For simple workings, it's enough to just call upon the spirit, leave an offering, and ask for assistance. Here are a few simple ideas for getting started:
Divination: Call upon a specific plant or animal collective that corresponds with your question or possesses skills related to the subject at hand. Ask for them for their wisdom and guidance.
Spellwork: Before casting, call upon the collective spirit of your choosing and ask for them to assist you.
Glamours and Ambient Spells: Ask for the collective spirit to lend you some of their qualities, features, or skills, or ask them to bless a physical space or personal astral location with characteristics of their native environment.
Celebrations and Rituals: Invite the collective spirit of certain animals or plants to your ritual. For example, the spirit of Rabbits could be invited to join a Spring Equinox celebration.
Blessing or Enchanting Objects: Ask for the corresponding spirit collective to charm, enchant, or bless an object.
These are just basic concepts. Feel free to get creative and fine-tune some of these ideas to your personal practice. Working with collective animal and plant spirits is extremely rewarding and I've found that my magical skills have grown exponentially since doing so. My awareness of and connection to the natural world has also improved and I find that I notice and am able to identify significantly more plants and wildlife than I used to.
Hello, good person!
Happy to see you. I hope you are well.
I came with question about two particular Archetypes.
I saw you putting whole thing into words, what I am really grateful for, you may know my religious sideblog, on which I talk about it sometimes. Throughout my path there were 5 Archetypes I was worshipping/working with, now it came to two, which feels most closely to me. With others I still have good relationship, it's now just honouring and appreciation, rather than working.
Two Archetypes I want to ask about are: The Snake, which is pretty popular, but I want to know your opinion, because you are cool, and, the one I have most absence of information, The Deepsea Anglerfish.
Both are very dear to me, and, while, with Snake it's pretty easy find symbolism and role, with Anglerfish it's just nothing.
What would you say? What ways to connect and honour/worship/work with you would recommend?
Thank you very much for answer. I wish you very good day.
Hello!!
Thank you for calling me cool <3 I'm definitely not but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless ;)
Lets talk about these archetypes!
Starting with Snake because, as you said, they're super popular in myth and folklore and are just very well known spiritually. Snakes are associated with cycles, rebirth, poison, medicine and death (to name a few). This symbolism can vary between species (i.e. King Cobras obviously have a more royal association and venomous snakes are more likely to represent death than say a corn snake).
Snake, as an archetype, is really about transformation and transmutation - shedding skin, cycles, venom -> medicine, life -> death (and vice versa) etc. This is the basis of Snake as an archetype (in my experience).
This symbolism comes from the physical properties of snakes. They're one of the most common phobias in the world (there's interesting theories on why this is, relating to our primate instincts) making them symbols of death and fear, they can be venomous but that venom has been transformed into medicine. They grow and change and shed their skin, literally leaving their past behind.
An animal's archetype, their symbolism and their power is directly linked to their physical forms. With that in mind, let's look at the Deep Sea Anglerfish:
Most well known for their luminescent lure, Anglerfish have a illicium, or modified fin, that is alight with symbiotic bacteria. This lure draws in their prey in the darkness of the abyss. These guys have a lot of diversity but generally show quite high levels of sexual dimorphism with the most notable example being in species with "parasite males" - males are significantly smaller than females and attach to them like a sperm-producing parasite when they encounter one another, and males often die if they don't find a female.
When we look at these characteristics in the species, we can start to piece together the symbolism and archetype of the animal. These amazing fish are simultaneously representative of a light in darkness, unseen truth etc and also tricksters and manipulation. They're a sign of obsession and death, as well as survival against all odds.
If I, personally, were to work with Anglerfish, I would look to them for knowledge on finding hidden truths but also on finding what I need and getting by in difficult times. I would work with them perhaps as a trickster-hunter, as a spirit that knows darkness so well they would be blinded by any light that is not their own.
I've already rambled way too much so I'll wrap up!!! I'd say that for working with either of these Archetypes, the ways of connection are not too different from any other Archetype:
Create: draw, paint, write poetry etc that explores and celebrates these archetypes and their complexities
Read, watch documentaries etc, learn as much about them as you can! Understand their tangible forms and you will understand them better spiritually
Protect their physical, individual forms if you can! Look at how to protect native snakes, sign petitions to stop deep sea trawling etc
Include them in your life and practice as often as is sustainable for you!
Sorry this has got so long but please drop another ask or dm or whatever for other questions or futher discussion because I LOVE this topic!!!
I would love to hear about your take on animism!! Do you believe in souls? Do you believe everything has a soul? Does that apply to inanimate objects? To what extent?
How do you apply animism to your craft and practice!
💚🪲🌿
Hello-hello! Glad to see you!
I am grateful for question, because I now can summarise what I believe in and put it into words.
I am indeed an animist. I could even say, if that term exit, hard animist. I believe everything has if not a soul, then some kind of alive essence.
I don't know if my understanding of soul is universal. Soul feel for me like a spirit, that lives in all of us and around. Everything has a spirit, soul, energy, understandable it for us or not, familiar and easy it is or not.
I do believe that inanimate objects also have soul, it is our choice to notice it or not. My car surly isn't animate, but I greet her every time and thank and praise her for getting me where I have to be, and I say her to rest while I am gone and don't miss me and she was nothing but kind to me. When she is broken she makes it so I won't be stuck in the middle of the road, she fully breaks only at mechanics place, and in the time of car crash she made that I wasn't hurt. My house, my home sure isn't animate, but he waits every day on the same place for us to live, he makes sure that my loved ones and me are safe under his roof. He is mighty and steady, he was build with my father's love and he keeps it still after my father is in the skies. He keeps us safe in the earthquakes and doesn't let bad people stay, he keeps mother's plants on his territory and makes it our little place.
There could be many more examples, but those two are the most strong, that came to my mind firstly.
I really enjoy philosophy of shintoism on inanimate objects and also philosophy of Marie Kondo. Japan has it's own way of seeing spirits in animate and inanimate. There almost everything gets another life after 100 years old. Foxes become kitsune, inanimate objects gain life and become tsukumogami. Shintoism is fantastic in this way, it's whole philosophy on it's spirits, that is so unusual from what I used to see and I love it.
Kon Marie is from Japan, so her approach to it is similar to shintoism. She is not a spiritual teacher of any kind, but dhe teaches how to clean a tidy up. Not in typical way, but with love to every thing. She thanks the home, thanks every thing that made it's purpose, she gives her love go clothes. Her way is not capitalistically driven, her way is driven by love to both people and things. I learnt that in her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" gave me a lot with the way I look at things now.
As to which extent it goes, it depends on the object itself and situation. There could be a cap from bottle, and it's continuation of the bottle. It's spirit is one, shared between parts. If we will take this cap on it's own, it still will be having spirit of bottle. But what if we will do something with it? Paint it for our art project or add it into something more for another project, where many other caps are used? It starts to change. With art project it changes it's spirit to something new, with creating project it's spirit becomes shared with other caps to whatever we creating. Beauty of things. Fluid and solid at the same time. Beauty as animate and inanimate, different, but similar lifes.
Something like this. Thank you for your ask, I am really grateful.
This is a lovely explanation of Animisim, thank you.
What is animism?
Hey there! Long time, no see… I thought I’d make a post today about animism. It pops up now and again in the witchy and pagan communities on tumblr - but I haven’t always understood it. Recently, I started a research project for my archaeology degree, and it involves the idea of animism. Anyway, here is a little introductory post to the concept of animism.
Animism is simply the belief that plants, animals and natural phenomena possess a soul or spirit. It is present in many religions and belief systems, both past and present, and across the world. Some people take this further, perceiving many inanimate objects to have a spirit, such as language and words, or human creations like photographs.
In animism, all plants, animals, geographical features (such as rivers and mountains) and natural phenomena (such as fire, lightening or snow) all posses agency. That is, the ability to act or to exert their own will. Many also see all inanimate objects in this light.
As a belief, it is one of the oldest and most key belief systems. Evidence for animistic belief systems can be traced back to sites such as the Mesolithic site of Star Carr, and the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk. Many indigenous peoples today also practise animism in various forms, as well as many neo-pagans. Offsets of a belief in animism can include ideas of shamanism and totem worship.
Previously, those studying animism saw it as a belief system of people who had no understanding of scientific principles, or who were less advanced. The study was inextricably tied up with ideas of colonialism and racial disparity. As such, many academics have since dropped the term due to it’s negative connotations. However, it has been used by many indigenous groups and neo-pagans to self-identify their own beliefs.
In neo-paganism, those who call themselves animists do so in the assertion that they acknowledge and respect the wide ranging spirits within nature and the earth - with which humans share the world. For some, these are depicted as (or understood through) deities or fairies. For others, they are simply the spirits of living beings, or non-human persons. Because of this, many pagans have a deep respect for the earth (seeing it as a living entity) and do not wish to harm it. Many pagans express these beliefs by thanking these spirits, working with them in their magic; or by being vegetarian/vegan or campaigning for a more environmentally friendly future. Alternatively, it may involve the use of animal products in spells to imbue them with that animals spirit, for instance.
For many witches or magic practitioners, their belief in animism is the source of their magic practise. Rather than seeing humanity as outside of, or opposed to nature and the earth (or owning it), we are inextricably part of the earth, and share in it’s spirit.
For me, animism means that I acknowledge the unique essence of every plant, animal, and natural phenomena. It is not that I believe there is an anthropomorphised spirit living within each tree, for instance. But that a tree expresses it’s unique spirit by how it lives within the landscape, and I can respect this by the way I perceive and interact with the tree. We all share in a common spirit or essence that is the earth, but we all express this in a way that is unique.
I know this whole post has made me sound like some crazy hippy sort, which I probably am, but please don’t think I believe these things because I am ignorant or stupid - this is the way I choose to perceive my world. Anyway, let me know what you think of this post!
Remember when I started this blog as a place to share lokean content, hence the title and everything?
Well, this is a good reminder, just so you know.
My first RWS deck (2nd tarot deck in total) had been damaged over use so I had got another one a few months ago, now I am using the cards from the first to like. Decorate altar.
And by that I mean using them for the spirits around my house, almost iconography if I'm using the right word??? Identifier cards! Ykyk.
So far it's just the plant spirits (rose, rosemary, nettle, and lavender) but I'm probably going to give some cards to the various house spirits (I think the oven spirit wants one) too now that I think of it.
Anyway I am very Happy™️ with this lol
be the kind of person that sings all the parts of this song.
Science is literally agreeing plants and mushrooms and animals all communicate to one another idk why Animism is such a wild concept for some people like.
I do know why, because most religions say only humans have souls but like, also shut up we're literally animals.
Saints/Plants/Animism in Christian/Catholic Witchcraft
Does anybody else think of plants (especially when used in witchcraft) kind of like saints?
I think when I was first starting out in my practice I was really nervous about what I was allowed to include, not wanting to be accidentally practicing idolatry and all that other scrupulous stuff (which I now understand has a totally different definition than what I thought, lol)
But what's there to worry about? I don't think this plant is a god. I mean, maybe in the way that the Holy Spirit is in every living thing. But generally I think of them like saints: I am asking this rosemary for assistance in presenting my petition for cleansing my space to God. I am asking for this cinnamon stick's support in seeking God's protection.
They're mediators, symbols, sacramentals, go-between-ers.
Go hug a tree or something
hoping you can feel my essence through this video.
I love this. Religion and spirituality is cool af when it's not mixed with imperialism and capitalism imo
Was reading on wikipedia about how lots of ancient cultures had beliefs and traditions where you had to offer prayers and/or sacrifices if you wanted to cut down a tree because you were basically killing the spirit that lived within the tree and if you did that without good reason bad stuff would happen to you
we should bring that back. if you want to clear cut a forest you have to pray and sacrifice on behalf of every single tree
Hrukjan/Elegiac
Two book releases from the man behind Sacrificial Sounds Records/Elegiac.
One contains lyrics, essays, and artwork regarding his Elegiac solo project.
The other is a guidebook to runes- their meanings, how to use them, etc.
Both are available via Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R53WMD5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_rh3cGbVW0X41B?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088B4MFFM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_vo3cGbBQ8HW5V?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1