Animism for the People

Animism refers to an ethic or approach to life that understands humans as just one kind of person in a much wider network of kinship, culture, and community. In this 90-minute teaching, experienced ritualists and educators Daniel Foor, Bhola Nath Bansola, Shannon Willis, and Graham Harvey discuss the challenges faced by those reclaiming animist values as adults along with pragmatic and inclusive ways to embrace and work with those opportunities.
To learn more about animism and Earth-honoring practices, visit: ancestralmedicine.org/
#AncestralMedicine #DanielFoor #animism

[@Iyamileiyalode]

I thank my elders and ancestors who taught me to hug and speak to trees and to respect all of the universal architect creations. The others.❤

[@OrangeRoses6]

Thank you, this was really very insightful and opens up my learning on animism and more on non human persons. So thank you x

[@TITARNYA]

Thank you all for your contribution - so very interesting

[@ajt7899]

Thank you!❤

[@sharonannholt3335]

These are very interesting ideas, thank you. I kept waiting for a gender analysis to emerge. Have you all thought of what happens to the patriarchal gender system with a move toward animism? Since femaleness has long been identified with "earth," "body," "blood," "evil," etc. and through that identification were denied full humanity in so many ways. Having spent many centuries struggling to reclaim full humanity, modern women are in a difficult predicament with animism. How would embracing animism shape the situation of modern womanhood?

[@AncestralMedicine]

Patriarchy, racism, colonization, and grieving the losses involved are definitely recurring themes in our conversations and teachings. As well as the ways these play out in all bodies and genders, in different ways and to different degrees, and what all may be involved in reclaiming one's full humanity. Thanks for engaging, Sharon. Reach out to [e-mail] if you have any questions about the org or our offerings.

[@sharonannholt3335]

@@AncestralMedicine Thanks for this rapid response, but it doesn't really engage my question so I'd like to push a little harder. It matters that sponsors of reconnection with the Earth carry as little of the baggage of misogyny as possible. Feminists interested in positive environmentalism, queer people used to assignments of feminized identity as a form of oppression, women fighting for reproductive choice in an overpopulated human world, and so many others, could be strengthened by animism. But that won't happen if animists (female or male) casually traffic in tropes about Earth, blood, motherhood, etc without awareness and acknowledgement of the histories of these ideas as foundations for the oppression and murder of female people. Can you do better?

[@AncestralMedicine]

@@sharonannholt3335 Hi Sharon, Daniel here. We operate from a strong feminist and queer-celebrating, anti-oppression ethic with the organization, but I doubt anything I say or do on a KZbin thread will convey that. I would encourage you to check out the good people here: ancestralmedicine.org/practitioner-directory and I'm not like "the spokesperson for animism" or something, also just a person trying to contribute to the greater good. The courses, trainings, and directory are my current personal efforts to "do better". That and caring for my family and relationships. Not available really for further back and forth but wanted to encourage you to check out the practitioners and their practices. They're great people. Be well there.

[@sharonannholt3335]

I note that in his introduction, Bola failed to greet Shannon among the group in which he feels "honored" to participate.

[@AncestralMedicine]

The history they already share may have impacted how they mentally navigated their introductions, but of course always good to engage with presence and respect and notice what is missed.

[@FrogInPot]

Great start, I just wanted a nice peaceful start to something new, I didn't want political ideology to start it off with ie "occupied territory" how do you balance your contrition of wanting no borders, multiculturalism, yet some select indigenous peoples ie everyone except for indigenous Europeans and living outside of Europe, gets to claim everyone else an "occupier"? Then you make a virtue signal of having a "value set" that basically sees granting as much value to imaginary friends being as "real" as you or I as being the ideal. What's wrong with just honouring what is earth, living past or present? This it to a shared reality, rather than a merely subjective one that is all only in your head. Ps.. identify how you like, it won't change the reflection in the mirror. Leave the damb politics where they belong!

[@AncestralMedicine]

Wow, pretty sure we're not going to align here when you call the entire not-visible-to-you world "imaginary friends" or only in one's head. And yeah, land acknowledgments, like the actual history and present-time injustice, are messy and imperfect. Be well.

[@SR-mv2mf]

This is why America is going to tear itself in two.