What sort of animist are you?

[moonvoice]

Hi folks, and welcome (or welcome back) to the_animist

Here's some quick questions to get everyone started off and familiar with each other.

Are you an animist? And if so, what sort of animist are you? Do you believe that everything has a soul or spirit, or just some things? Do you go as far as believing that individual words or names have souls, or do you restrict it to 'animal/plant/mineral?'

Has your beliefs in animism changed over time, or have you expanded or contracted your view of animism because of experiences or different encounters with theory or philosophy? Do you know many other animists in person or on the internet, or is it something that you experience in a more solitary way, or a bit of both?

Comments

[herlander_refugee]

I don't know what the categories of animism are, to be honest. But since I do generally believe every thing in nature has a spirit, I think I am one! Furthermore, I believe that even inanimate human created objects might develop spirits over time...perhaps by a process akin to what ceremonial magician sorts call 'thought form creation'.

Pretty much all of my spiritual life, such as it is, is online. So I am solitary except for "virtual" encounters places like this.

[ariestess]

I believe everything has a soul. I have issues sometimes with remembering that with some inanimate objects, but that's usually when I'm reminded by some sort of divine force. I don't know that words or names have souls, but I believe they have power. But I suppose power can be seen as a form of soul. Hmm... I hadn't thought about that.

[elialshadowpine]

I believe that everything has the capability to have a soul, whether or not they necessarily do. Considering my collection of mouthy-as-fuck household objects...... >_<

I don't know if I'd go so far as to describe myself as an animist, but from everything I've seen, animism describes at least part of my practice.

I am mostly solitary though I have a few friends online I converse with about such matters. :)

[athousandstars]

I believe animals, plants, people, and minerals have souls. :)I don't know many/any other animists.

[moonvoice]

Thanks for your response, and it's great to have you here. :D Animists can be hard to find, especially offline, but we're around. I hope you can find more on your journey. :D

[barbary]

This is a good place to start before I reply to the other two entries... :D

I could be classed as an animist, yes, and animism plays a massive role in my worldview and my spirituality. I do think all living things have souls and that everything (animate and inanimate) has the capacity to have a soul, and I generally take the approach of "be respectful and assume it's ensouled" when interacting purposefully with objects as well as living critters. I don't consider words/names as objects to have souls--more like windows into the Universal Soul? That one's hard to describe; I'll have to chew on it more.

My beliefs definitely evolve and expand as I grow, learn, and experience more of the Seen and Unseen worlds. The different philosophies and practices that I study and/or engage in usually inform my sense of animism and serve to hone and broaden it, rather than retract or narrow it.

I know a handful of animistic folks online, and have met one or two in person in a few different places. Being a hermit introvert, I don't tend to seek out more than a couple of people at a time. ^^; My experiences and practices tend to be solitary, but I do have two (occasionally more) people with whom I share most everything emotionally and intellectually.

[moonvoice]

Heh, you'll find a lot of other hermit/introverts here. :) I think most of the practicioners at this community tend to be solitary in their practices (with a few exceptions), which is why I think it's good to have a community like this. A sort of touchstone, so some of us can emerge, blinking, owl-like into a community. Though this one has been pretty inactive of late, so I'm going to try and get a weekly question thing going. :)