𝔅𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔷𝔞𝔯

#animism question: Lots of people I see around the more spiritual corners of the fediverse identify as some kind of "animist". I'm curious, what do you mean exactly by animism? Are spirits different from human souls, and if yes, in what way? Do they all possess personhood or is it reserved for humans (and maybe other "biological" entities)? Do spirits inhabit things like a home they can go in and out of, or like a body they are bound to until its destruction? How do you interact with non-human spirits? Are there spirits at all, or do you define animism in a completely different way and reject the label "spirit"?

@syd@pagan.plus Thank you for taking the time to answer! This somewhat reminds me of my own worldview. I have trouble coping with the fact that I percieve things outside of my self but I can't access their perception of reality in the same way I can access my own. There is no reason to assume that I or "my species" are special in any way so if I have a soul then everything else I can think of should have one too, even if I can't access their perception. And since I can't access their perception the next best thing I can do is treating them in a way I'd want to be treated in their place even if I can't be sure it makes sense for their mode of being. The fact that it makes me happy when someone cares for me even if they express it in a way completely inconprehensible to me gives me hope that it matters when I do the same.

@juniperdivination@pagan.plus That's interesting, I didn't know chaos magic uses the word 'gnosis', I thought it was incompatible with its whole philosophy. In the ancient stuff I read gnosis typically refers to knowledge obtained by directly experiencing truth without reason mediating (and distorting) it, and one seeks to "turn off" reason to be able to have this direct experience. It surprised me that chaos magic uses an entirely different definition but as I think about it more it actually makes sense. If there is no truth, only belief, then the only thing you can experience once you turn off reason is whatever you bring with yourself: your own intent.