A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be shamanism = technique of ecstasy.
Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy
I will always highly recommend this book, but will make a small point of clarification. I do believe that “ecstasy” may be the wrong word, and maybe this can be chalked up to English not being Professor Eliade’s first language. Because in a modern sense, ecstasy has connotations of pleasure which is not always the case. Many of these techniques involve discomfort and outright pain. From an Asian perspective the word ecstasy may have some validity in that from a certain Taoist point of view, all experiences can be judged pleasurable in the mind of the participant. But I think what comes closest is the chaos magick definition of “gnosis.” Which is, of course, a borrowed word itself and not entirely synonymous with the original meaning of the word. So English really doesn’t have a good term for what is being described, which in a general sense encompasses all altered states of consciousness.
According to a common definition, animism is the belief that ‘everything has spirit’. You hear people talk about ‘the spirit of the tree’ or ‘the spirit of the river’.
This might make it sound as though animists believe that there is a spirit entity attached to, say, a tree, that is somehow separate. An inhabitant of the spirit world that looks after the tree.
That’s not how I see it. The spirit of a tree is the deepest reality of the tree itself. It reveals itself in the shape of its branches, in its flowers and fruits. It is the tree in all its aliveness, connected to the soil that holds it and the air that feeds it.
The spirit of the tree is also part of the spirit of the place where it grows. Each locality is filled with spirit, which is made up of the life and presence of everything there.
If the tree is old, if it has shared in the life of that place for a long time, it may have become a guardian. Its spirit will be very noticeable as part of the spirit of place, like a repeating melody in a piece of music, or a dominant colour in a painting.
But everything there, from the tiniest pebble to the quality of the light, contributes to the spirit of the place. It all sings together of the magic of life as it expresses itself in that particular place.
The room you are in right now has its own spirit. If it is your room, your own spirit will have created much of it, choosing objects and furniture according to your taste and personality.
Each of those objects, the materials they are made of, the fabric of the building and its history also contribute to the spirit of your room.
I am writing this in the tiny flat we have made in our house while it is being renovated. Fire is burning in the wood stove. Some washing is drying next to it. The oven is cooking our dinner. My husband is doing something on his own laptop. This is the house he grew up in, and we are still living with some of the furnishings his parents left behind. The spirit of this room has many stories to tell.
What spirits are sharing your space right now? How do they combine to make up the spirit of the place? How can you acknowledge them?
(picture from pixabay.com)
Reblogging this as a prelude of things to come. Old Frater T will be starting a new blog soon (in addition to Scroll of Thoth). Watch for it!
