Old Gods and New Pagans
"Old Gods & New Pagans" is a welcoming space for new and curious pagans, heathens, and animists to explore the basics of paganism. Rooted in an Animist perspective, this podcast takes an inclusive approach, covering topics relevant to a variety of pagan paths. Each episode breaks down complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand language, with guest discussions, stories, and insights. Whether you're just starting your pagan journey or looking to learn more, join us as we dive into the wisdom of the old gods and the practices of modern pagans.
Old Gods and New Pagans
Ep: 2 Harmony with the Environment A Journey Through Animistic Practices
Embark on an enlightening odyssey as we uncover the ancient threads of animism and its profound ties to paganism, where every whisper of wind and rustle of leaves is believed to hold a spirit. With me as your guide, we'll traverse a narrative that views the universe not merely as a space filled with objects, but as a sacred canvas painted with the life breath of a selfless creator. This episode promises to illuminate the interconnectedness among all things, inviting you to revere the natural world in its entirety. Listen closely, as we connect celestial events to the veneration of deities, and explore how these timeless beliefs shape our interaction with the living tapestry that surrounds us.
As we journey further, I'll share moments of personal connection with the world around us, revealing how even in the heart of the city, one can find a thread linking them to the grand web of life. From the rituals that honor the changing seasons to the meditative practice of Uteseta, learn how animism fosters a harmonious existence with our environment. This episode is not merely a discussion; it's an invitation to discover the myriad ways to pay homage to the spirits of nature, beckoning you to manifest your own rituals of respect and reciprocity. Join me, and together we'll explore the vibrant realm where every stone, stream, and star is alive with ancient wisdom.
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Today's episode will cover animism. By the end of the episode, you will have a basic understanding on what it is, how does it fit into paganism and the old gods, and also some answers to some frequently asked questions that I receive. Okay, so what is animism? Basic definition of animism is the belief that all things have a soul, spirit or divine energy. Animism originates from the word anima, meaning soul or the breath of life. It's a belief that the spirits that inhabit things are actual living beings with moods and the capacity to either help or to wreak havoc on day-to-day life. Animism is also the belief that earthly events typically have some sort of a spiritual cause. It's one of the well, it is the world's oldest belief system or religion, and I use the word religion very loosely here. Animism is a core belief of paganism. It's a nature first belief system and provides less focus on the gods themselves and other metaphysical beings and puts more emphasis on nature and life as we interact with it on a daily basis. One of the core tenets of animism, and for animists like myself, is that animists have a massive respect for nature and all things that accompany it. They consider all that's around us as sacred, in a way, and everything that has a soul. Animism is a belief that the same life force that flows through us, our spirit, also can flow through everything else. Animists often believe in a single creator or great spirit, but respect all things as if they are part of that creator or spirit. Every being is part of the divine or part of the creator. One creation story of many, one that I personally like myself, is the idea of this selfless creator. Basically, this one entity sacrificed themselves think of it in the concept of the Big Bang to bring everything into being. So when they will say Big Bang themselves, all the matter that was of them and all the spirit that was of them is now a part of everything. So that's one of the core reasons why many animists will respect everything, from a rock to a mountain tree, animal and other people. So, with that being said, let's go into how animism fits into paganism and some of the old gods. One thing that they definitely both have in common is they're both a nature-first belief system, makes it kind of the core of paganism. To expand on animism into paganism, there is one theory out there of, say, like a religious evolution starting out as animists, moving to pagans, to polytheists and eventually into monotheism. Now that theory, that idea, has some problems with it, namely because many pagan beliefs, animist beliefs, never evolve, so that kind of cuts off the idea that evolution was part of it at all. But to use that theory as an example of how animism fits into paganism, is that evolutionary theory.
Speaker 1:So we have say, you know, if ancient people lived in the mountains they would have massive respect for a mountain, especially if it was a volcano and it had some life to it of sorts. You know, you hear the rumbling and the tectonic plates and all the natural parts of that particular volcano or mountain moving. That people would attribute it to some type of a living being a soul inside that mountain and they would try to appease that soul and over time they would attest like a personality to that mountain and then maybe personify it in some way and give it a name and create a God out of that particular mountain. This goes into kind of a debate amongst a lot of pagans and polytheists whether or not the gods are actual, true metaphysical beings that live in another realm, say Asgard, or if they are simply personifications of both the natural world and human nature as it exists among us, so things like love and wisdom. So let's talk a little bit about gods as personifications. The gods of paganism, no matter the pantheon, are all really symbols of certain natural phenomenon or human nature. Using the animist first approach, it makes sense that the names and personas would be added to the natural world over time, like I said with that mountain. Using this approach does not negate the gods, but really empowers them with all the forces of nature and human inspiration. So to say that just because this particular God is a personification of this natural force doesn't mean that that God is any less, because that natural force still exists and that God that we attest to, that is still alive, even if it's within your own mind. Just because it's in your own mind does not mean that it's not real.
Speaker 1:So how does one practice animism? It's really just one sentence, but I will expand on that a little more. It's simply just showing respect for all things, whether it's a rock, a tree or a person you know, and you can show respect to specific spirits, the ritual or custom, make offerings to appease them. So in the ancient world they made offerings to elves just to keep them from, you know, wreaking havoc on their day to day life, or they leave incense or smell or food offerings to the gods to appease them, so that the people would have a nicer, better harvest, nicer life.
Speaker 1:Other ways that animus practice is to show respect to the living, the deceased, ancestors, future children, animal totems, rivers, mountains and so much more. The specifics, of course, can depend on the geographical area and local customs. Customs will touch back to that in just a moment. But when I say the geographical area, so a tribe that lives near a river, that uses that river for food, transportation etc. Is going to honor that river. Say another tribe that the river is not very useful for those sorts of things and it's only dangerous. You know, say rapids and waterfalls, and people who end up in the river usually end up dying. They're going to revered in a totally different way. Same as a culture that is around a mountain as opposed to one that's around a volcano, they'll have different ideas and different practices and customs regarding around that. So customs You'll likely hear this several times throughout this entire podcast, this episode and many more.
Speaker 1:That's something that I try to use instead of the word religion, because when it comes to animism and paganism, the idea of a central religion really isn't there. A lot of people try to turn paganism into a religion and create these texts that say this is how you do it and there's no other way around it. But that is really not the way that one paganism was practiced in the past and the way that a lot of people are trying to pull it into the present. But granted, however you want to practice, whether you want to treat it like a religion or just simply a set of customs, neither is wrong. But the way that I practice and the way I will teach throughout this podcast is along the more the customs route and less so much about the religion. So let me kind of get into a little bit of the customs. Things You'll hear from me again say many times that paganism and an animism is not a religion but just simply a set of customs that people adhered to.
Speaker 1:Some people make those rules and zealously go after anyone and correct anyone who doesn't practice with absolute historical accuracy. But realistically, customs varied from village to village, region to region and even between families. In the same village I'm sure your family has some small custom they practice, whether it's knock on wood or leaving, you know, pouring out a little bit of your wine or your beer for your ancestors, or quote my dead homies. So those little practices and things like that are really what builds the backbone of pagan practices. Whether they're religious or not practices, it's still part of your pagan practice. I still know many religious Christians who will sage, smudge their homes. They'll light incense, not necessarily for any spiritual or metaphysical reason, but because their parents have just always done it and they do it.
Speaker 1:These types of customs and practices are usually passed down and shared between families. Sometimes they're adopted by others. Let's say, that person I mentioned that about smudging the Christian that told you about smudging their home started and they, you know, were doing it for their own reasons, but then they shared that with a friend and the friends like, oh, that's cool, I want to do that too. This is kind of how a lot of those customs were spread from person to person, village to village. You know, somebody maybe in one village started worshiping and honoring Thor in one way and then they shared how they did it and other families said that's a really good idea. You know, we need to honor Thor too. So we'll adopt that practice and continue on. And these practices, you know, as they pass from one family to another. This family may have only sacrificed goats, and then this other family over here says well, we don't have goats, so we'll do sheep. And again these practices, you know they're not just about the sheep, they're about the sheep and again these practices kind of change and evolve over time. So kind of going back into the mentality that you have to practice with historical accuracy, the thing is like even historically a lot of these practices changed from family to family and we only have a very few documents that even show what was done, let alone, you know, documents from several different families or villages that explain their practices.
Speaker 1:So it's important to consider that again that paganism and animism as a whole is not meant to be taken specifically as a religion, as it is a set of customs and practices that all come together that form an overall belief system. And just because a greater majority of people practice some custom or system doesn't mean that you have to do that too. Just because they do a very specific thing for a very specific deity doesn't mean that you have to. And also the opposite is true just because you or I do something and we feel this is the right way of doing it, doesn't mean that others have to do it too. Okay, so we're going to get into some of the frequently asked questions that I receive as a pagan animist. These questions specifically revolve around animist practice. One of the things that I hear a lot is so you believe that rocks are alive and you talk to them. Well, no, not really A lot of the animus practice, and this is kind of coming from some. Even the Norse have words for it. I believe the Hindus have different words for it.
Speaker 1:But overall it's a belief that different entities have different levels of consciousness. You can say the highest level would be humans, or maybe even the supernatural world, metaphysical beings like the gods. Those people would have a body, they would have thought, emotions, wisdom, soul, etc. And they would be able to do all sorts of things. And then you kind of go down that level of consciousness to say animals. You know animals, they have a brain, they think, they have instincts, they have a soul, they have a body, but they might not have, say, the artistic talent that humans or the supernatural do, and but they're still alive. And then you go down that level to plants they're alive, they don't think, but they may have soul down to a river, a mountain and then down to a rock, say. A rock doesn't necessarily have a brain, doesn't have thought patterns, doesn't really have a body or the ability to move and have emotions, but that rock still kind of has a soul. It was all part of that one creator. If you want to go that direction, so it should still, you know, have that respect. That rock has been around a lot longer than we have and just the thought of disrespecting anything that's of this world is kind of silly.
Speaker 1:Another question is do animists have a God? Well, no, and yes, we have the idea of the creator, a great spirit, unless you are a completely atheist, animist, which does exist. But most animists are more agnostic. We recognize there's something out there, we just don't know what it is. So we honor everything, just in case. But just because you're animus doesn't mean that you can't also be a theist, you can't also have gods. For example, again, I'm animus, I believe that everything is sacred, has a soul and is worth respecting, but also believe that the possibility again being agnostic that there are supernatural, metaphysical beings out there that are on a realm that's outside of ours and that so gods can exist.
Speaker 1:So, does animism have a God? Yes and no, it depends on the individual. Is there a Bible or a place of worship? No, so animus don't have any type of like biblical texts, any doctrine or anything like that. And when it comes to places of worship, it's everywhere Animus usually feel at home out in nature, the woods, desert, forest and will intentionally take much of their practice outside with the purpose of practicing their customs. So does animus have a place of worship? Yeah, it's everywhere, everywhere that the natural world touches. And just I've asked, you know, just been asked what are the? I've also been asked what are some specific practices or rituals that animus have? Well, one, because animism is just as diverse as there are people. There is a lot of diversity in animist practices and rituals.
Speaker 1:Typically it revolves around the changing of the seasons and the actions of celestial bodies. So the changing of seasons you have, like the solstices and the equinox, because those had great significance on the people, you know. So they knew that when the days got a certain length, that they really needed to focus on harvesting their crops and making sure they had enough food and supplies for the winter, or knowing when to plant and harvest. That was a big part of their lives. So paying attention to those seasons was really important. And then you know the actions of celestial bodies, so the phases of the moon, the length of the day with the sun, how the stars moved, constellations. Again, they put emphasis on these things for one reason or another. A lot of it because it had something. We know now that the way that the earth and the solstice to move through the galaxy, these stars, tend to change, and ancient peoples attested these changes to either the gods, metaphysical beings, or they just use it as a way to keep time and know what was going to happen and know when to harvest, know when to travel, know when it was safe to be on the ocean in their small boats. So they had, they looked at these things and they respected these changes so that they would understand what was going on.
Speaker 1:Some other practices meditation and mindfulness. Me personally, I practice Uteseta, or as it's called, sitting out. It's a form of meditation. Some people consider it a form of astral projection. Could be inhabiting the bodies of an animal, or just simple meditation and listen till you hear no more. This usually always happens outside, as the name implies sitting out.
Speaker 1:Other practices would be offering respects, a greeting or some other type of offering before entering a forest or other area.
Speaker 1:So when I go on a hike and I'm entering a forest, I usually pour out a little bit of water because it gives back to that area or something along those lines.
Speaker 1:So if I'm going to take something from my garden, I like to try to put something back into it Again, just for that exchange, for the respect, or, you know, even greeting the forest as you walk up, saying hey to a tree, there's no harm in it and to respect that tree as a living entity, feels good and kind of expand on that. You know, for me living in a rural area, you know going out into the forest or sitting in a field is easy, but for those that live in very urban environments, a hand in a practice could be as simple as going to your local park and watching the squirrels, talking to them or talking to a tree. You might look a little funny, people might think that you're a little off, but it doesn't matter, you do what feels right for you. Well, that concludes episode two Animism. Please follow this podcast. If you like the content and want to hear more, check us out on YouTube, all your podcasting channels. Thank you for listening.
