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Animism And Working With Spirits

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    Animism And Working With Spirits


    #2
    Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

    I find people tend to forget that within the Animism category there is also Animatism. Then that idea of Animatism crosses into the idea of Mana for instance where certain things or people can have so much of it that even walking in their footsteps can be lethal to others. So many conditions to both the idea of energy, spirit, life and at which point it is "Alive" and "Aware". That or which point it might be broken from the living entity and simply becomes force but no longer perceived as being alive or aware. Sort of like the seed or the tree is one of the green people, yet a broken branch is simply something that contain's an aspect of their energy but not alive on its own. Yet through that fragment you can connect to the Super Spirit of the Green People.
    I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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      #3
      Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

      You'll have to forgive me for not knowing what animatism is: 1) I'm Asian, raised in an Asian culture & 2) I dropped out of school.

      In our culture we don't call it "aminism." We don't call it anything because it's just an aspect of the culture. Terms like "animism" are Western academic designations for things which have existed long before such designations were applied. Long before human civilization. I don't get too caught up in the words. Words point at the Essence and often serve to obscure such essence.
      Last edited by paganus; 25 Sep 2019, 20:19.

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        #4
        Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

        Figure in Animism you roughly have two forms.

        In form A all creature's have a spirit or identity that is individual and unique. From the smallest particle to the largest item, each thing can have a unique spirit or identity. Some groups even believing that man made things could have a spirit contained within them. The Algonquin-speaking peoples of North American use the term Manitou (one of various spellings) which gives everything it's spirit and living force. Even those things that are man made. It is a force that is both placed under Animism and animatism.

        In form B you still have the potential to have a spirit but larger forms will have more defined identities. Smaller forms will have less developed or unique identities, even to the point where they may share group or a mass identity. Group B may also hold the idea of Super spirits where there is a group super spirit. Say a Super spirit for all deer within the Cervidae Biological classification that connection all deer types together while each individual deer as a creature has its own spirit as well. Not to say this idea can not be found in group A also though.

        In animatism it is recognized as a energy that typically has no identity or persona. It's usually impersonal, unseen but permeates through everything in varying amounts. Because of that different things will have different amounts of that "energy" found within it. As such a place might be seen as sacred because of the energy that is found there. A person might be seen as having so much energy flowing through them that they have to be carried so that another is not killed by walking in their footprints. Some Polynesian cultures believed that Mana (that energy) produced by a Chieftain could harm others if they walked in the foot prints left by him.
        I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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          #5
          Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

          Thank you Monsno. My culture (Southeast Asian) is probably the first one.

          We don't call it "spirit" though. We call it "Wynyan" or "Vynyan" (my phonetic spelling). That word is from the Pali word "Vyn~n~an" which means "mind, psyche, consciousness, awareness."

          Everything has a Wynyan, a mind/psyche. Roughly corresponding to the old Latin Animus/Anima. As a Theravada Buddhist culture, we don't believe in spirits proper. Everything has a mind, is aware, has chitta (roughly: psyche).

          I suppose a better designation to describe the "animism" of my culture is "panpsychism."

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            #6
            Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

            Yeah Spirit becomes a catch-all term many times. It's like for many Native American nation's "Spirit" or Great Spirit sort of means "The Great Unknowable" because it is something that is beyond everything yet is an awareness or consciousness that touches and fills everything. It's more than a god figure as it sits over everything, even the spirit world.

            I follow more of a shamanic like pathway so have lots of animism / animatism influences. Yet unfortunately have to use mostly recognized words to talk about things. But the words really do not properly express just what it is you want to convey. Lots of words to are being modified because people are using them now for everything and anything. You'll find that some of us on this site use term's the old way or have stopped using them for the most part while newer people will still use them.
            I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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              #7
              Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

              Yeah, the word "spirit" is over used

              Beyond words, what's important is the practice, the relationship with Nature, and the end results.

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                #8
                Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

                Last year I wrote an entire zine about the "animism" practiced in Southeast Asia, Cuba, China, and Latin America. Magic and Sorcery are universal elements in animism, and so the zine talks about those subject matters as well. The practice and end results are what are important. The word/label/designation is merely a finger that points to the essence.

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                  #9
                  Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

                  Originally posted by paganus View Post
                  Last year I wrote an entire zine about the "animism" practiced in Southeast Asia, Cuba, China, and Latin America. Magic and Sorcery are universal elements in animism, and so the zine talks about those subject matters as well. The practice and end results are what are important. The word/label/designation is merely a finger that points to the essence.
                  That was an interesting read. Still going through it as there is a lot of material contained within it.

                  A few thoughts though.

                  If your searching a lot of times subjects such as Hoodoo, Voodoo, Voudon, Santeria, etc will also be listed as African Disapora Religions vice ATR's (Africa Traditional Religions). Especially when it comes to how they have been changed and incorporated in the Caribbean, Southern United States and parts of Mexico.

                  A term I didn't see in your write up was "HEDGE RIDING" but in parts of Europe that is a form of Animism / Shamanism. How far back it actually goes in origin is hard to say. Crossing the hedge was seen as crossing the veil or crossing both the barrier of life and death but also crossing the boundaries between the dimensions or realities.
                  I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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                    #10
                    Re: Animism And Working With Spirits

                    I tackle old European animism midway in the Zine as well as Afro-Cuban stuff. And Taoist Sorcery

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