Animism is an incredibly potent belief system to adopt for the deliberate causation of miracles. Let’s talk about how we can apply ancient philosophy for fun and profit to modern-day living. My name is Anna Bellisma. I’m an extremely powerful magician as of course are you and I’m here to explore a prehistoric tradition of wisdom that you can adopt today. If you’re whip smart but prone to distraction, adjust my speed to 1.5 or even faster and buckle up because here we go.

To start at the very beginning, Animism is the venerable belief that everything we can perceive from a place to a pebble to a star in the sky possesses a soul. It comes from the Latin root anima meaning breath or spirit and perhaps the level of our most basic makeup as meaning making animals there’s that Latin root again it’s the ancient instinct that still today sees a young child wave hello to the moon. As a practice I highly recommend saying hello to the moon whenever you’re lucky enough to see her. I’m going to give you lots of ideas of how you can work with these spirits and some expected outcomes in a minute but first let’s define our terms.

Wise people who study these things tell me that animism is a contender for the world’s first religion and seems to have developed independently around the world rather than spreading from a single point of origin, which might lead some of us to speculate whether this indicates divine intervention. Moreover, it just feels true that we, with our beautiful big brains and love of spotting patterns and finding interpretations, would ascribe meaning to the objects and phenomena we experience as we move through life. It’s desperately sad, genocidally tragic, that this spiritual tradition declined in many parts of the world under the brutal march of colonization and the enforced rejection of animism to make way for monotheism, the belief in one true God. Happily, truth is tenacious; though contained in pockets or forced underground, animism has held out against the tide and, like other ancient traditions, has enjoyed something of a revival.

I consider it my duty as a thinker and connoisseur of magic to present these ideas to you outside of their most usual context. As you know by now, animism emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things, which is particularly visible and obvious as it relates to nature, earth magic, and green witchery. Naturally, any belief system that inspires action born from respect and responsibility toward our planetary home, this fair Terra, is to be embraced and cultivated as very desirable and highly commendable. And it must be said, it is a rather limited view of the possible applications for this profoundly effective magical belief system.

So if I may move us on a little from beautiful nature, I am sure you are already reaching the conclusion that animism speaks to our current predilection for mindfulness and presence, because to live in the certainty that we move through a sentient environment in constant communication is to be wholly and completely attentive to our incarnated body and the environment in which we find ourselves, with hearts wide open to the principle and perspectives of others whether they are animate, inanimate, or etheric. Adding animism to mindfulness pushes the felt sense of peace further along the scale toward inspired, the most holy of all.

Head out for a long walk and decide before you head out that you will encounter knowing nods from the sentient universe and note your results. The presence of spirit is not limited to objects you can touch and hold. You can experiment with applying this principle to individual and collective thought forms or egregores, to social structures, countries, regions, anything you can name. Using language to describe anything is inherently limiting, but animism goes a long way toward giving expression and individuality to the things we love to identify and therefore pretend that we understand.

Another exceptionally fun experiment is to identify an object or situation that frequently causes you anxiety or frustration. Give that object an affectionate name, broad strokes of a personality, and speak lovingly to it every day and again note your results. If you want to learn about using animism alongside divination and free yourself from inner critics and other demons, I will put a link in the description for you. Recommended viewing if you want a shortcut to untying knots such as procrastination, fear of failure, fear of success, and other such gnarly blocks to your ambitions.

In brief, what I want you to understand is this: animism is an easy-to-grasp framework for witnessing the interconnectedness of all things, and the clever trickster does not take long to learn how to influence all things by virtue of that interconnectedness. Isn’t that funny how that goes? I want you to know that this magic is yours to use for your own benefit as well as for the benefits of Mother Earth. It is not disrespectful to get what you want. It does not dilute the magical resources available for global healing. In fact, the reverse is true. The more we milk magic, the more becomes available.

From an animist perspective, within a 20-foot radius of your body right now I’ll wager you have at least 300 potential spirit allies to call upon. The sky and the earth of course, but also water and fire, your ancestors and guides, your personal angels and demons, the ever-present archangels, and then we have the ancient local dead whose dust and bones you walk upon every day. And that’s before we even begin to name all of those thousands of potential allies in the mineral realm, the plant realm, the animals, the fungi, the insects, all of these intelligences waiting to be networked to your own.

Among them live the local land spirits. They will take nourishment from sacred smoke, Mr. Kipling’s French fancies, crystals ready to return to the earth, rum or milk or honey water. Prioritize small regular offerings over ornate rituals. For example, each morning light a joss stick and mentally list an itinerary of all the spirits you can name within, say, a three-mile radius from the weather systems to the bones in the soil, the birds, the rocks, the moss, the slime. Scatter a palm full of rose petals onto the swollen river. Use a rattle in the woods. Leave a couple of hairs from your head and a copper penny from your pocket as an offering to a mighty tree.

Small and regular acts of generosity like this will build an incredible relationship with the spirits in your immediate surroundings wherever you may find yourself. And wherever you feel the electricity of magic or awe or inspiration, leave a little something at the spot you feel drawn to. Your food offerings will of course be consumed by wild or feral animals, so please be mindful of local wildlife. But if an animal does appear while you are making your offering, that is of course an important sign. Likewise, if the world goes silent, be absolutely clear about what you want, and if you want to say your message out loud or sing or pray for a minute, do so.

Through the pathways worn by millennia, making devotions in this way builds a relationship of trust and reciprocity, and the more you nurture the relationship, the more you will also receive, as is the way of all things. The golden rule applies: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And then the trick is to hold your magical attitude always. Be open to signs and symbols and omens. Practice regular augury and divination. Record your dreams. Take bold steps daily towards creating your desires and watch my video on signs and synchronicities, which I will also link for you below.

And maybe nothing will happen at all, but it was a very respectful and kind gesture and that is a great start to a relationship. It turns out the way you interact with the world is the way the world will interact with you. Be surprised and delighted and it will surprise and delight you. Treat all things as spirits and they respond in kind, so that when you pin your heart and soul to a desire and perform the spells and bold actions, the spirits around you are already turned toward you, attuned to your will.

I remind you beloveds once again that magic is not for the faint of heart, but neither is life, and here we are. Practice discernment as you may experience some very weird stuff, and if you aren’t looking for spirit companions, be clear on that from the outset. This is your opportunity to practice holding strong boundaries around the type of interaction and relationship you want. This will be a learning experience, so trust your intuition and do what you feel comfortable with. Even just leaving out an offering every now and then is a respectful and honoring gesture and indicates to the local spirits and thus to the multiverse that you recognize them. Common sense rules apply. If a local spirit appears to you, a verbal contract is binding, so negotiate any deals very carefully. You don’t have to offer your soul in exchange for your dream, you know. A bottle of good scotch might be just as welcomed.

Naturally, any powerful magic creates unique challenges along with desired outcomes. I have already alluded to the necessity of making peace with the new reality and coming to terms with ourselves as magical beings in communion with unseen realms. But at the same time, any suggestion of our desires being overlooked or ignored is eradicated. Once you notice that the land you dwell on, the space within a few miles of your home, is reflecting magic back at you, beautiful soul, there is so much more information in the text below, and I truly hope this lesson will further you on your path to unstoppable power.

I can’t wait to see what you will unleash on the world. Thank you so much for watching. I love you and I will see you next time.