Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ANIMISM

One of the oldest forms of Pagan religion, typical of pre-literate, nomadic and hunting tribes, incorporating the concept that all objects in nature possess souls and are controlled by spirit guardians.

Athropologists claim that Animism predates the belief that individual personalities separate us, irreversibly, from the rest of the world and assumes that everything is part of a constantly veering and altering chain.

Animism is an important pillar of the Neo-Pagan Witches' world. The word means that the "Life Force" is immanent within all creation: rocks and trees, deserts and streams, mountains and valleys, ponds and oceans, gardens and forests, fish and fowl; from amoeba to humans and all things in between.

Every object, living or inanimate, is a link in the chain, but the links are fluid and can drift into one another. All is infused with and participates in the vital Life Force or energy, and therefore the entire earth is a living, breathing organism. All is sacred; all is to be cared for and revered. The earth is a (or the) manifestation of the Goddess (and God). "Sacredizing" the world and animating nature, Neo-Pagans view all reality as a continuum of consciousness and being. Thus, Neo-Pagans seek to live in harmony and be psychically in tune with nature.

Some hold that it is both possible and, at times, necessary for a human being to become a bird, an animal to become a rock, or a bird to metamorphose into a cloud. Moreover, a spirit-being can transmute into an object of daily life, or into another natural form. It can become a reindeer, a tree, a log of wood, a stone or even a cloud.

Thus every object, at the whim of its spirit guardian, can take on another self.

NOTE: Incidentally, whatever else Neo-Pagan Witches may believe and do, because of these views they are not involved in animal or human Sacrifices.

see also BLOOD

RESOURCES FROM OTHER CHRISTIAN SITES:
Opens in a New Window
see also:
THE WORLD OF ANIMISM at Probe Ministries

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one defintion may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differring practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc