what is animism?

colourwater by weaver © 2022

​Animism is the belief that all objects, places, and creatures possess a distinct spiritual essence and everything is alive and holds spirit. It is a ancient belief system that is shared by many indigenous cultures around the world. Animism is based on the idea that all things are alive, interconnected, and fundamentally connected to the spiritual realms. 
​
Animism holds that everything in the universe has its own spiritual essence, and all these spiritual essences, from the rocks to rivers to plants and animals, are part of an interconnected web of life.  

I feel we have lost our connection and right relationship to Mother earth, nature and all Her living beings—for we wouldn’t be her without Her… We wouldn’t be here on our Mother without the sacred elements of air, fire, water and earth.  Without the living and breathing trees, we as humans could not breathe… which is a sacred ‘right’ relationship.  Without the sacred waters or fire or the earth Herself… We could not survive for long.  So what is your relationship to the sacred elements, the plants and animals—all of it?  Do you offer your thanks and gratitude for these relationships—your life?

I had the privilege of growing up on a dairy farm out on the Delta/mud flats just south of Vancouver on unceded lands of the Tsawwassen Territory.  I was lucky i was able to roam and hang out on the land by myself, a lot of the time.  I would fly kites, lay on my back watching and dreaming with the clouds and sky beings… i also built campfires, communed with the critters and birds that lived and migrated through—all held within sweet Mount Baker as my backdrop… i know that sweet spirit held my back…she helped keep my feet on the ‘ground’.

Being and growing up on that beautiful flat land and big blue sky taught me to see in so many ways that i assumed that everyone saw the same as i did.  Becoming an adult, i soon realized that not everyone does.  I feel as a child growing up there, helped me to build a strong relationship with everything below, around and above me—that everything held as much value as i and, they (the spirits of the land + sky) and the land taught me that everything is beauty, alive and breathing, just as i am.
​
Animism emphasizes respect for all living things and the interconnectedness of life.  Animism also connects one to the sacred relationship of all things and the power one holds to that relationship or right relationship.  It’s not about ‘power over’, though asking instead, what is one’s relationship to the power or essence-spirit of that relationship or how do you both work together within relationship spiritually?

with brightest blessings,
weaver x (((o)))

---