Article written by Adrenia (c) 2012

This Article is also a part of the Pagan Blog Project.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself surrounded by forests, rivers, mountains, flora, and fauna. Your eyes see a boulder by the river bank in which you walk over to, your bare feet feeling the soft touch of the earth. As you sit, you take a deep breath, relax, and watch as the beauty of the Earth lives out its moments. You see the life in everything all around you, from the tree’s moving in a silent dance with the whispers of the wind as it brings words of the spirits all around you.

First let’s talk about the history of animism. According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the definition for the word animism is:

“1: a doctrine that the vital principle of organic development is immaterial spirit

2: attribution of conscious life to objects in and phenomena of nature or to inanimate objects

3: belief in the existence of spirits separable from bodies”

The word animism comes from the Latin word “anima”, which means “breath” and “soul”. It is the spiritual belief and understanding that there is a spirit, a life, in everything, both animate and inanimate. It is the belief there is a soul, an entity, inside each and every creation here on Earth besides humans, such as the rocks, rivers, animals, and plants, all have a soul within its vessel of its physical form. It is a belief that has surpass time and the oldest, and original spirituality of all humans. The term English term animism, is still only recent, a word first developed in the 19th century by British anthropologist, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor. In his 1871 book Primitive Culture, he coined up the term and defined it as “the general doctrine of souls and other spiritual beings in general.” It is “an idea of pervading life and will in nature”. He associated this term with primitive people who still practiced a simple way of life, being hunter gatherers, and having primitive beliefs such as the belief in spirits.

Wicca and other Pagan paths have animistic elements in its beliefs, such as the belief that there is a soul in all animals besides us humans. When we stare into our beloved pet’s eyes, our dear companions, we see emotion there, feelings, a soul that stares right back at us. We know how our canine Scruffy is different from other dogs through his personality and behavior. We know how our beloved feline friend has her quirks about her and lets us know that she is her own being. Most Pagans today know this and don’t think to question this, they know that other animals on this planet have a soul in them and we see that everyday with our pets. They eat and breathe just the same way as we humans do and although we can’t speak the same language, we know they are alive and have a soul.

Just like how we believe, no, more like know, that all animals have a soul, most Pagans believe there is a soul in plants as well. Yes they don’t have eyes that we can look into, but it is still a living thing, regardless of it not showing emotions that one would think would associate with having a soul. As Pagans it is often taught that before harvesting any plant and tree for whatever purpose we must ask permission beforehand. Once given, it is good to leave out offerings for the plant, thanking it for giving up its life so we can use its physical form for our intents.

But what of non-living, inanimate creations such as rocks, shells, grains of sand, and domains of nature like rivers, lakes, oceans, volcanoes, and mountains? Even natural phenomena such as rain, snow, the wind, thunder and lightning? Some Pagans don’t go as far as believing there is a spirit in one, most, or if not all of these things, only believing that all living things have a spirit. This concept is what defines animism in tribal and primitive beliefs. The belief that there is life in everything, regardless if it’s living or not, it is still a creation of the Earth, of the Universe, and thus has a life.

Overtime the simple animistic belief of life in everything evolved into the belief that they should be honored and it is our responsibility to work with them, giving them offerings and prayers, to help with harvests, ask for forgiveness for wrongdoings done onto them, and blessings. You can see these in rituals in the indigenous tribal people all over the world, especially in South America, Asia, South East Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and the aborigines of Australia.

In my own personal beliefs I am a hard animist, believing that there is life in everything both nonliving and living as well as natural phenomena. I follow the beliefs of my ancestors and the tribal peoples that have retained their old beliefs, standing strong through colonialism, and foreign influences of Christianity and Islam, from the Philippines. The beliefs that there is a spirit in every tree, every river, every animal, plant, mountain, ocean, and that the natural phenomena here on Earth possesses a spirit in itself. I honor these spirits by giving them daily offerings and my respect. The belief that there are both beneficent and maleficent spirits that live along side of us, not in another realm, but with us, is a core belief. By giving offerings we appease these spirits so not to receive their tricks and punishments, and receive their blessings. Even though there are maleficent spirits, they are not evil, but are here to balance the world for without both sides of good and bad, it would upset the balance of nature and the universe itself. One can’t be without the other.

The belief in the Anito and Diwata, or the ancestors and spirits of the land, is prevalent and even today in a country full of Roman Catholics or Muslims, the old beliefs are still alive in a form of folk Christianity and Islam, the mix of our animistic beliefs with the new Western beliefs. The meanings of Anito and Diwata differ if you are from the North to the South of the archipelago and from the various number of languages found here. Anito is generally used in Luzon and parts of the Visaya’s while Diwata is mainly in Mindanao and part’s of the Visaya’s. More information on these two terms in another post, but in regards to this article, all you need to understand is that it is the belief that the spirits of the land, our dead ancestors, and the deities are with us. We may not see them but we know they are there.

Now what does it mean to be an animist? Depending on the cultural beliefs it differs however what is most common is the respect and honoring of the spirits, from the tree’s, animals, and rivers. An animist knows with every inch of their being that they are not alone in this planet and just because we can’t physically see them, we know they are there. We know there is a soul in every creation and that we are a part of this universal creation. Our human intellect is not superior to other creatures and creations and should not be considered any different from qualities that another being has that we don’t. We try not to upset these spirits and if we do we do our best to appease them with offerings. We work with them to help make our lives better and in return give them the respect they deserve.

Today the indigenous people’s of the world still hold on to old animistic beliefs. There are those people who aren’t tribal but are in every way modern, but yet still have animistic beliefs that haven’t changed much throughout time. A good example of this is the Japanese people and their native, highly animistic religion, Shinto. It is an old religion with no founder that is one of the only forms of animism found today that is practiced by a great number of people and is one of the country’s official religions. The Japanese respect and reverence for nature is shown in the Japanese culture and way of life. You see shrines both indoor and outdoor that are dedicated to the Kami, the spirits of the land, ancestors, and deities. There is an infinite number of Kami and the belief that they are all around especially in nature is one of the reasons why the Japanese have such a strong reverence for nature. Their practices, beliefs, and rituals are old, yet they hold strong to this beautiful spirituality and it is what has made up the Japanese people’s identity, from their culture to even today in their modern and technological success.

In Hayao Miyazaki’s movies Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, you can see the animistic spiritual beliefs of the Japanese clearly. From Haku in Spirited Away, who was revealed to be the spirit of the Kohaku River that was destroyed, to the cute little Kodama, or tree spirits from Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki’s stories is influenced from Shinto, and the belief of the Kami.

Being an animist myself, a lesson that I believe everyone can learn from animism whether they believe only living things have a soul, or every creation and natural phenomena has a spirit, is that all life deserves respect and are mutually equal to us. The life of a ant, though may be a pest to most, is still a divine creation that deserves equal respect and is no more greater or less than us. We are all a part of this one big universe, created from the same source of energy that began creation, and no matter the physical form, we all have a part of that universal energy. We all have a spirit, a soul, a life.