March 23, 2024 • 20 mins
Embark on an enlightening odyssey as we uncover the ancient threads of animism and its profound ties to paganism, where every whisper of wind and rustle of leaves is believed to hold a spirit. With me as your guide, we'll traverse a narrative that views the universe not merely as a space filled with objects, but as a sacred canvas painted with the life breath of a selfless creator. This episode promises to illuminate the interconnectedness among all things, inviting you to revere the natural world in its entirety. Listen closely, as we connect celestial events to the veneration of deities, and explore how these timeless beliefs shape our interaction with the living tapestry that surrounds us.
As we journey further, I'll share moments of personal connection with the world around us, revealing how even in the heart of the city, one can find a thread linking them to the grand web of life. From the rituals that honor the changing seasons to the meditative practice of Uteseta, learn how animism fosters a harmonious existence with our environment. This episode is not merely a discussion; it's an invitation to discover the myriad ways to pay homage to the spirits of nature, beckoning you to manifest your own rituals of respect and reciprocity. Join me, and together we'll explore the vibrant realm where every stone, stream, and star is alive with ancient wisdom.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's episode will cover animism.
By the end of the episode, youwill have a basic understanding
on what it is, how does it fitinto paganism and the old gods,
and also some answers to somefrequently asked questions that
I receive.
Okay, so what is animism?
(00:34):
Basic definition of animism isthe belief that all things have
a soul, spirit or divine energy.
Animism originates from theword anima, meaning soul or the
breath of life.
It's a belief that the spiritsthat inhabit things are actual
(00:58):
living beings with moods and thecapacity to either help or to
wreak havoc on day-to-day life.
Animism is also the belief thatearthly events typically have
some sort of a spiritual cause.
It's one of the well, it is theworld's oldest belief system or
(01:20):
religion, and I use the wordreligion very loosely here.
Animism is a core belief ofpaganism.
It's a nature first beliefsystem and provides less focus
on the gods themselves and othermetaphysical beings and puts
more emphasis on nature and lifeas we interact with it on a
(01:45):
daily basis.
One of the core tenets ofanimism, and for animists like
myself, is that animists have amassive respect for nature and
all things that accompany it.
They consider all that's aroundus as sacred, in a way, and
everything that has a soul.
(02:05):
Animism is a belief that thesame life force that flows
through us, our spirit, also canflow through everything else.
Animists often believe in asingle creator or great spirit,
but respect all things as ifthey are part of that creator or
(02:25):
spirit.
Every being is part of thedivine or part of the creator.
One creation story of many, onethat I personally like myself,
is the idea of this selflesscreator.
Basically, this one entitysacrificed themselves think of
(02:48):
it in the concept of the BigBang to bring everything into
being.
So when they will say Big Bangthemselves, all the matter that
was of them and all the spiritthat was of them is now a part
of everything.
So that's one of the corereasons why many animists will
(03:11):
respect everything, from a rockto a mountain tree, animal and
other people.
So, with that being said, let'sgo into how animism fits into
paganism and some of the oldgods.
One thing that they definitelyboth have in common is they're
(03:32):
both a nature-first beliefsystem, makes it kind of the
core of paganism.
To expand on animism intopaganism, there is one theory
out there of, say, like areligious evolution starting out
as animists, moving to pagans,to polytheists and eventually
(03:56):
into monotheism.
Now that theory, that idea, hassome problems with it, namely
because many pagan beliefs,animist beliefs, never evolve,
so that kind of cuts off theidea that evolution was part of
it at all.
But to use that theory as anexample of how animism fits into
(04:21):
paganism, is that evolutionarytheory.
So we have say, you know, ifancient people lived in the
mountains they would havemassive respect for a mountain,
especially if it was a volcanoand it had some life to it of
sorts.
You know, you hear the rumblingand the tectonic plates and all
the natural parts of thatparticular volcano or mountain
(04:44):
moving.
That people would attribute itto some type of a living being a
soul inside that mountain andthey would try to appease that
soul and over time they wouldattest like a personality to
that mountain and then maybepersonify it in some way and
give it a name and create a Godout of that particular mountain.
(05:07):
This goes into kind of a debateamongst a lot of pagans and
polytheists whether or not thegods are actual, true
metaphysical beings that live inanother realm, say Asgard, or
if they are simplypersonifications of both the
natural world and human natureas it exists among us, so things
(05:34):
like love and wisdom.
So let's talk a little bitabout gods as personifications.
The gods of paganism, no matterthe pantheon, are all really
symbols of certain naturalphenomenon or human nature.
Using the animist firstapproach, it makes sense that
the names and personas would beadded to the natural world over
(05:58):
time, like I said with thatmountain.
Using this approach does notnegate the gods, but really
empowers them with all theforces of nature and human
inspiration.
So to say that just becausethis particular God is a
personification of this naturalforce doesn't mean that that God
(06:21):
is any less, because thatnatural force still exists and
that God that we attest to, thatis still alive, even if it's
within your own mind.
Just because it's in your ownmind does not mean that it's not
real.
(06:45):
So how does one practice animism?
It's really just one sentence,but I will expand on that a
little more.
It's simply just showingrespect for all things, whether
it's a rock, a tree or a personyou know, and you can show
respect to specific spirits, theritual or custom, make
(07:09):
offerings to appease them.
So in the ancient world theymade offerings to elves just to
keep them from, you know,wreaking havoc on their day to
day life, or they leave incenseor smell or food offerings to
the gods to appease them, sothat the people would have a
nicer, better harvest, nicerlife.
(07:31):
Other ways that animus practiceis to show respect to the living
, the deceased, ancestors,future children, animal totems,
rivers, mountains and so muchmore.
The specifics, of course, candepend on the geographical area
and local customs.
Customs will touch back to thatin just a moment.
(07:56):
But when I say the geographicalarea, so a tribe that lives
near a river, that uses thatriver for food, transportation
etc.
Is going to honor that river.
Say another tribe that theriver is not very useful for
those sorts of things and it'sonly dangerous.
You know, say rapids andwaterfalls, and people who end
(08:16):
up in the river usually end updying.
They're going to revered in atotally different way.
Same as a culture that isaround a mountain as opposed to
one that's around a volcano,they'll have different ideas and
different practices and customsregarding around that.
So customs You'll likely hearthis several times throughout
(08:40):
this entire podcast, thisepisode and many more.
That's something that I try touse instead of the word religion
, because when it comes toanimism and paganism, the idea
of a central religion reallyisn't there.
A lot of people try to turnpaganism into a religion and
(09:03):
create these texts that say thisis how you do it and there's no
other way around it.
But that is really not the waythat one paganism was practiced
in the past and the way that alot of people are trying to pull
it into the present.
But granted, however you wantto practice, whether you want to
treat it like a religion orjust simply a set of customs,
(09:25):
neither is wrong.
But the way that I practice andthe way I will teach throughout
this podcast is along the morethe customs route and less so
much about the religion.
So let me kind of get into alittle bit of the customs.
Things You'll hear from meagain say many times that
paganism and an animism is not areligion but just simply a set
(09:48):
of customs that people adheredto.
Some people make those rules andzealously go after anyone and
correct anyone who doesn'tpractice with absolute
historical accuracy.
But realistically, customsvaried from village to village,
region to region and evenbetween families.
In the same village I'm sureyour family has some small
(10:11):
custom they practice, whetherit's knock on wood or leaving,
you know, pouring out a littlebit of your wine or your beer
for your ancestors, or quote mydead homies.
So those little practices andthings like that are really what
builds the backbone of paganpractices.
(10:31):
Whether they're religious ornot practices, it's still part
of your pagan practice.
I still know many religiousChristians who will sage, smudge
their homes.
They'll light incense, notnecessarily for any spiritual or
metaphysical reason, butbecause their parents have just
always done it and they do it.
(10:52):
These types of customs andpractices are usually passed
down and shared between families.
Sometimes they're adopted byothers.
Let's say, that person Imentioned that about smudging
the Christian that told youabout smudging their home
started and they, you know, weredoing it for their own reasons,
but then they shared that witha friend and the friends like,
oh, that's cool, I want to dothat too.
(11:12):
This is kind of how a lot ofthose customs were spread from
person to person, village tovillage.
You know, somebody maybe in onevillage started worshiping and
honoring Thor in one way andthen they shared how they did it
and other families said that'sa really good idea.
You know, we need to honor Thortoo.
So we'll adopt that practiceand continue on.
(11:33):
And these practices, you know,as they pass from one family to
another.
This family may have onlysacrificed goats, and then this
other family over here says well, we don't have goats, so we'll
do sheep.
And again these practices, youknow they're not just about the
sheep, they're about the sheepand again these practices kind
of change and evolve over time.
So kind of going back into thementality that you have to
(11:55):
practice with historicalaccuracy, the thing is like even
historically a lot of thesepractices changed from family to
family and we only have a veryfew documents that even show
what was done, let alone, youknow, documents from several
different families or villagesthat explain their practices.
So it's important to considerthat again that paganism and
(12:19):
animism as a whole is not meantto be taken specifically as a
religion, as it is a set ofcustoms and practices that all
come together that form anoverall belief system.
And just because a greatermajority of people practice some
custom or system doesn't meanthat you have to do that too.
(12:43):
Just because they do a veryspecific thing for a very
specific deity doesn't mean thatyou have to.
And also the opposite is truejust because you or I do
something and we feel this isthe right way of doing it,
doesn't mean that others have todo it too.
Okay, so we're going to getinto some of the frequently
asked questions that I receiveas a pagan animist.
(13:04):
These questions specificallyrevolve around animist practice.
One of the things that I hear alot is so you believe that
rocks are alive and you talk tothem.
Well, no, not really A lot ofthe animus practice, and this is
kind of coming from some.
(13:25):
Even the Norse have words forit.
I believe the Hindus havedifferent words for it.
But overall it's a belief thatdifferent entities have
different levels ofconsciousness.
You can say the highest levelwould be humans, or maybe even
the supernatural world,metaphysical beings like the
gods.
Those people would have a body,they would have thought,
(13:48):
emotions, wisdom, soul, etc.
And they would be able to doall sorts of things.
And then you kind of go downthat level of consciousness to
say animals.
You know animals, they have abrain, they think, they have
instincts, they have a soul,they have a body, but they might
not have, say, the artistictalent that humans or the
(14:09):
supernatural do, and but they'restill alive.
And then you go down that levelto plants they're alive, they
don't think, but they may havesoul down to a river, a mountain
and then down to a rock, say.
A rock doesn't necessarily havea brain, doesn't have thought
patterns, doesn't really have abody or the ability to move and
(14:34):
have emotions, but that rockstill kind of has a soul.
It was all part of that onecreator.
If you want to go thatdirection, so it should still,
you know, have that respect.
That rock has been around a lotlonger than we have and just
the thought of disrespectinganything that's of this world is
kind of silly.
(14:55):
Another question is do animistshave a God?
Well, no, and yes, we have theidea of the creator, a great
spirit, unless you are acompletely atheist, animist,
which does exist.
But most animists are moreagnostic.
(15:17):
We recognize there's somethingout there, we just don't know
what it is.
So we honor everything, just incase.
But just because you're animusdoesn't mean that you can't also
be a theist, you can't alsohave gods.
For example, again, I'm animus,I believe that everything is
(15:38):
sacred, has a soul and is worthrespecting, but also believe
that the possibility again beingagnostic that there are
supernatural, metaphysicalbeings out there that are on a
realm that's outside of ours andthat so gods can exist.
(15:59):
So, does animism have a God?
Yes and no, it depends on theindividual.
Is there a Bible or a place ofworship?
No, so animus don't have anytype of like biblical texts, any
doctrine or anything like that.
And when it comes to places ofworship, it's everywhere Animus
(16:21):
usually feel at home out innature, the woods, desert,
forest and will intentionallytake much of their practice
outside with the purpose ofpracticing their customs.
So does animus have a place ofworship?
Yeah, it's everywhere,everywhere that the natural
world touches.
And just I've asked, you know,just been asked what are the?
(16:46):
I've also been asked what aresome specific practices or
rituals that animus have?
Well, one, because animism isjust as diverse as there are
people.
There is a lot of diversity inanimist practices and rituals.
(17:06):
Typically it revolves around thechanging of the seasons and the
actions of celestial bodies.
So the changing of seasons youhave, like the solstices and the
equinox, because those hadgreat significance on the people
, you know.
So they knew that when the daysgot a certain length, that they
really needed to focus onharvesting their crops and
(17:28):
making sure they had enough foodand supplies for the winter, or
knowing when to plant andharvest.
That was a big part of theirlives.
So paying attention to thoseseasons was really important.
And then you know the actionsof celestial bodies, so the
phases of the moon, the lengthof the day with the sun, how the
stars moved, constellations.
(17:49):
Again, they put emphasis onthese things for one reason or
another.
A lot of it because it hadsomething.
We know now that the way thatthe earth and the solstice to
move through the galaxy, thesestars, tend to change, and
ancient peoples attested thesechanges to either the gods,
(18:10):
metaphysical beings, or theyjust use it as a way to keep
time and know what was going tohappen and know when to harvest,
know when to travel, know whenit was safe to be on the ocean
in their small boats.
So they had, they looked atthese things and they respected
these changes so that they wouldunderstand what was going on.
(18:30):
Some other practices meditationand mindfulness.
Me personally, I practiceUteseta, or as it's called,
sitting out.
It's a form of meditation.
Some people consider it a formof astral projection.
Could be inhabiting the bodiesof an animal, or just simple
meditation and listen till youhear no more.
(18:53):
This usually always happensoutside, as the name implies
sitting out.
Other practices would beoffering respects, a greeting or
some other type of offeringbefore entering a forest or
other area.
So when I go on a hike and I'mentering a forest, I usually
(19:14):
pour out a little bit of waterbecause it gives back to that
area or something along thoselines.
So if I'm going to takesomething from my garden, I like
to try to put something backinto it Again, just for that
exchange, for the respect, or,you know, even greeting the
(19:35):
forest as you walk up, sayinghey to a tree, there's no harm
in it and to respect that treeas a living entity, feels good
and kind of expand on that.
You know, for me living in arural area, you know going out
into the forest or sitting in afield is easy, but for those
(19:58):
that live in very urbanenvironments, a hand in a
practice could be as simple asgoing to your local park and
watching the squirrels, talkingto them or talking to a tree.
You might look a little funny,people might think that you're a
little off, but it doesn'tmatter, you do what feels right
(20:19):
for you.
Well, that concludes episodetwo Animism.
Please follow this podcast.
If you like the content andwant to hear more, check us out
on YouTube, all your podcastingchannels.
Thank you for listening.
Today's episode will cover animism.
By the end of the episode, youwill have a basic understanding
on what it is, how does it fitinto paganism and the old gods,
and also some answers to somefrequently asked questions that
I receive.
Okay, so what is animism?
(00:34):
Basic definition of animism isthe belief that all things have
a soul, spirit or divine energy.
Animism originates from theword anima, meaning soul or the
breath of life.
It's a belief that the spiritsthat inhabit things are actual
(00:58):
living beings with moods and thecapacity to either help or to
wreak havoc on day-to-day life.
Animism is also the belief thatearthly events typically have
some sort of a spiritual cause.
It's one of the well, it is theworld's oldest belief system or
(01:20):
religion, and I use the wordreligion very loosely here.
Animism is a core belief ofpaganism.
It's a nature first beliefsystem and provides less focus
on the gods themselves and othermetaphysical beings and puts
more emphasis on nature and lifeas we interact with it on a
(01:45):
daily basis.
One of the core tenets ofanimism, and for animists like
myself, is that animists have amassive respect for nature and
all things that accompany it.
They consider all that's aroundus as sacred, in a way, and
everything that has a soul.
(02:05):
Animism is a belief that thesame life force that flows
through us, our spirit, also canflow through everything else.
Animists often believe in asingle creator or great spirit,
but respect all things as ifthey are part of that creator or
(02:25):
spirit.
Every being is part of thedivine or part of the creator.
One creation story of many, onethat I personally like myself,
is the idea of this selflesscreator.
Basically, this one entitysacrificed themselves think of
(02:48):
it in the concept of the BigBang to bring everything into
being.
So when they will say Big Bangthemselves, all the matter that
was of them and all the spiritthat was of them is now a part
of everything.
So that's one of the corereasons why many animists will
(03:11):
respect everything, from a rockto a mountain tree, animal and
other people.
So, with that being said, let'sgo into how animism fits into
paganism and some of the oldgods.
One thing that they definitelyboth have in common is they're
(03:32):
both a nature-first beliefsystem, makes it kind of the
core of paganism.
To expand on animism intopaganism, there is one theory
out there of, say, like areligious evolution starting out
as animists, moving to pagans,to polytheists and eventually
(03:56):
into monotheism.
Now that theory, that idea, hassome problems with it, namely
because many pagan beliefs,animist beliefs, never evolve,
so that kind of cuts off theidea that evolution was part of
it at all.
But to use that theory as anexample of how animism fits into
(04:21):
paganism, is that evolutionarytheory.
So we have say, you know, ifancient people lived in the
mountains they would havemassive respect for a mountain,
especially if it was a volcanoand it had some life to it of
sorts.
You know, you hear the rumblingand the tectonic plates and all
the natural parts of thatparticular volcano or mountain
(04:44):
moving.
That people would attribute itto some type of a living being a
soul inside that mountain andthey would try to appease that
soul and over time they wouldattest like a personality to
that mountain and then maybepersonify it in some way and
give it a name and create a Godout of that particular mountain.
(05:07):
This goes into kind of a debateamongst a lot of pagans and
polytheists whether or not thegods are actual, true
metaphysical beings that live inanother realm, say Asgard, or
if they are simplypersonifications of both the
natural world and human natureas it exists among us, so things
(05:34):
like love and wisdom.
So let's talk a little bitabout gods as personifications.
The gods of paganism, no matterthe pantheon, are all really
symbols of certain naturalphenomenon or human nature.
Using the animist firstapproach, it makes sense that
the names and personas would beadded to the natural world over
(05:58):
time, like I said with thatmountain.
Using this approach does notnegate the gods, but really
empowers them with all theforces of nature and human
inspiration.
So to say that just becausethis particular God is a
personification of this naturalforce doesn't mean that that God
(06:21):
is any less, because thatnatural force still exists and
that God that we attest to, thatis still alive, even if it's
within your own mind.
Just because it's in your ownmind does not mean that it's not
real.
(06:45):
So how does one practice animism?
It's really just one sentence,but I will expand on that a
little more.
It's simply just showingrespect for all things, whether
it's a rock, a tree or a personyou know, and you can show
respect to specific spirits, theritual or custom, make
(07:09):
offerings to appease them.
So in the ancient world theymade offerings to elves just to
keep them from, you know,wreaking havoc on their day to
day life, or they leave incenseor smell or food offerings to
the gods to appease them, sothat the people would have a
nicer, better harvest, nicerlife.
(07:31):
Other ways that animus practiceis to show respect to the living
, the deceased, ancestors,future children, animal totems,
rivers, mountains and so muchmore.
The specifics, of course, candepend on the geographical area
and local customs.
Customs will touch back to thatin just a moment.
(07:56):
But when I say the geographicalarea, so a tribe that lives
near a river, that uses thatriver for food, transportation
etc.
Is going to honor that river.
Say another tribe that theriver is not very useful for
those sorts of things and it'sonly dangerous.
You know, say rapids andwaterfalls, and people who end
(08:16):
up in the river usually end updying.
They're going to revered in atotally different way.
Same as a culture that isaround a mountain as opposed to
one that's around a volcano,they'll have different ideas and
different practices and customsregarding around that.
So customs You'll likely hearthis several times throughout
(08:40):
this entire podcast, thisepisode and many more.
That's something that I try touse instead of the word religion
, because when it comes toanimism and paganism, the idea
of a central religion reallyisn't there.
A lot of people try to turnpaganism into a religion and
(09:03):
create these texts that say thisis how you do it and there's no
other way around it.
But that is really not the waythat one paganism was practiced
in the past and the way that alot of people are trying to pull
it into the present.
But granted, however you wantto practice, whether you want to
treat it like a religion orjust simply a set of customs,
(09:25):
neither is wrong.
But the way that I practice andthe way I will teach throughout
this podcast is along the morethe customs route and less so
much about the religion.
So let me kind of get into alittle bit of the customs.
Things You'll hear from meagain say many times that
paganism and an animism is not areligion but just simply a set
(09:48):
of customs that people adheredto.
Some people make those rules andzealously go after anyone and
correct anyone who doesn'tpractice with absolute
historical accuracy.
But realistically, customsvaried from village to village,
region to region and evenbetween families.
In the same village I'm sureyour family has some small
(10:11):
custom they practice, whetherit's knock on wood or leaving,
you know, pouring out a littlebit of your wine or your beer
for your ancestors, or quote mydead homies.
So those little practices andthings like that are really what
builds the backbone of paganpractices.
(10:31):
Whether they're religious ornot practices, it's still part
of your pagan practice.
I still know many religiousChristians who will sage, smudge
their homes.
They'll light incense, notnecessarily for any spiritual or
metaphysical reason, butbecause their parents have just
always done it and they do it.
(10:52):
These types of customs andpractices are usually passed
down and shared between families.
Sometimes they're adopted byothers.
Let's say, that person Imentioned that about smudging
the Christian that told youabout smudging their home
started and they, you know, weredoing it for their own reasons,
but then they shared that witha friend and the friends like,
oh, that's cool, I want to dothat too.
(11:12):
This is kind of how a lot ofthose customs were spread from
person to person, village tovillage.
You know, somebody maybe in onevillage started worshiping and
honoring Thor in one way andthen they shared how they did it
and other families said that'sa really good idea.
You know, we need to honor Thortoo.
So we'll adopt that practiceand continue on.
(11:33):
And these practices, you know,as they pass from one family to
another.
This family may have onlysacrificed goats, and then this
other family over here says well, we don't have goats, so we'll
do sheep.
And again these practices, youknow they're not just about the
sheep, they're about the sheepand again these practices kind
of change and evolve over time.
So kind of going back into thementality that you have to
(11:55):
practice with historicalaccuracy, the thing is like even
historically a lot of thesepractices changed from family to
family and we only have a veryfew documents that even show
what was done, let alone, youknow, documents from several
different families or villagesthat explain their practices.
So it's important to considerthat again that paganism and
(12:19):
animism as a whole is not meantto be taken specifically as a
religion, as it is a set ofcustoms and practices that all
come together that form anoverall belief system.
And just because a greatermajority of people practice some
custom or system doesn't meanthat you have to do that too.
(12:43):
Just because they do a veryspecific thing for a very
specific deity doesn't mean thatyou have to.
And also the opposite is truejust because you or I do
something and we feel this isthe right way of doing it,
doesn't mean that others have todo it too.
Okay, so we're going to getinto some of the frequently
asked questions that I receiveas a pagan animist.
(13:04):
These questions specificallyrevolve around animist practice.
One of the things that I hear alot is so you believe that
rocks are alive and you talk tothem.
Well, no, not really A lot ofthe animus practice, and this is
kind of coming from some.
(13:25):
Even the Norse have words forit.
I believe the Hindus havedifferent words for it.
But overall it's a belief thatdifferent entities have
different levels ofconsciousness.
You can say the highest levelwould be humans, or maybe even
the supernatural world,metaphysical beings like the
gods.
Those people would have a body,they would have thought,
(13:48):
emotions, wisdom, soul, etc.
And they would be able to doall sorts of things.
And then you kind of go downthat level of consciousness to
say animals.
You know animals, they have abrain, they think, they have
instincts, they have a soul,they have a body, but they might
not have, say, the artistictalent that humans or the
(14:09):
supernatural do, and but they'restill alive.
And then you go down that levelto plants they're alive, they
don't think, but they may havesoul down to a river, a mountain
and then down to a rock, say.
A rock doesn't necessarily havea brain, doesn't have thought
patterns, doesn't really have abody or the ability to move and
(14:34):
have emotions, but that rockstill kind of has a soul.
It was all part of that onecreator.
If you want to go thatdirection, so it should still,
you know, have that respect.
That rock has been around a lotlonger than we have and just
the thought of disrespectinganything that's of this world is
kind of silly.
(14:55):
Another question is do animistshave a God?
Well, no, and yes, we have theidea of the creator, a great
spirit, unless you are acompletely atheist, animist,
which does exist.
But most animists are moreagnostic.
(15:17):
We recognize there's somethingout there, we just don't know
what it is.
So we honor everything, just incase.
But just because you're animusdoesn't mean that you can't also
be a theist, you can't alsohave gods.
For example, again, I'm animus,I believe that everything is
(15:38):
sacred, has a soul and is worthrespecting, but also believe
that the possibility again beingagnostic that there are
supernatural, metaphysicalbeings out there that are on a
realm that's outside of ours andthat so gods can exist.
(15:59):
So, does animism have a God?
Yes and no, it depends on theindividual.
Is there a Bible or a place ofworship?
No, so animus don't have anytype of like biblical texts, any
doctrine or anything like that.
And when it comes to places ofworship, it's everywhere Animus
(16:21):
usually feel at home out innature, the woods, desert,
forest and will intentionallytake much of their practice
outside with the purpose ofpracticing their customs.
So does animus have a place ofworship?
Yeah, it's everywhere,everywhere that the natural
world touches.
And just I've asked, you know,just been asked what are the?
(16:46):
I've also been asked what aresome specific practices or
rituals that animus have?
Well, one, because animism isjust as diverse as there are
people.
There is a lot of diversity inanimist practices and rituals.
(17:06):
Typically it revolves around thechanging of the seasons and the
actions of celestial bodies.
So the changing of seasons youhave, like the solstices and the
equinox, because those hadgreat significance on the people
, you know.
So they knew that when the daysgot a certain length, that they
really needed to focus onharvesting their crops and
(17:28):
making sure they had enough foodand supplies for the winter, or
knowing when to plant andharvest.
That was a big part of theirlives.
So paying attention to thoseseasons was really important.
And then you know the actionsof celestial bodies, so the
phases of the moon, the lengthof the day with the sun, how the
stars moved, constellations.
(17:49):
Again, they put emphasis onthese things for one reason or
another.
A lot of it because it hadsomething.
We know now that the way thatthe earth and the solstice to
move through the galaxy, thesestars, tend to change, and
ancient peoples attested thesechanges to either the gods,
(18:10):
metaphysical beings, or theyjust use it as a way to keep
time and know what was going tohappen and know when to harvest,
know when to travel, know whenit was safe to be on the ocean
in their small boats.
So they had, they looked atthese things and they respected
these changes so that they wouldunderstand what was going on.
(18:30):
Some other practices meditationand mindfulness.
Me personally, I practiceUteseta, or as it's called,
sitting out.
It's a form of meditation.
Some people consider it a formof astral projection.
Could be inhabiting the bodiesof an animal, or just simple
meditation and listen till youhear no more.
(18:53):
This usually always happensoutside, as the name implies
sitting out.
Other practices would beoffering respects, a greeting or
some other type of offeringbefore entering a forest or
other area.
So when I go on a hike and I'mentering a forest, I usually
(19:14):
pour out a little bit of waterbecause it gives back to that
area or something along thoselines.
So if I'm going to takesomething from my garden, I like
to try to put something backinto it Again, just for that
exchange, for the respect, or,you know, even greeting the
(19:35):
forest as you walk up, sayinghey to a tree, there's no harm
in it and to respect that treeas a living entity, feels good
and kind of expand on that.
You know, for me living in arural area, you know going out
into the forest or sitting in afield is easy, but for those
(19:58):
that live in very urbanenvironments, a hand in a
practice could be as simple asgoing to your local park and
watching the squirrels, talkingto them or talking to a tree.
You might look a little funny,people might think that you're a
little off, but it doesn'tmatter, you do what feels right
(20:19):
for you.
Well, that concludes episodetwo Animism.
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