(Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit) is a system of ideas about supposedly real, special spiritual, invisible entities (most often doubles) that control the bodily existence of a person and all the phenomena and forces of nature. In this case, the soul is usually associated with a specific, individual carrier: a person, animal, object, plant, and the spirit is presented as an independent being, separated from a specific carrier, capable of influencing various objects. The term A. was first introduced by the German scientist G. Stahl (1708), who called A. his doctrine of the impersonal beginning of life - the soul, which, in his opinion, is the basis of all life processes, “the sculptor of the body.” In 1871, the term A. was used in ethnographic science by Tylor, who interpreted it not only as a belief in souls and spirits, but also as a theory of the genesis of religion, considering spirits, separated from the body, to be the basis, the “minimum” of religion created by a reflective “ wild philosopher” about the causes of dreams, death, etc. Other scientists (R. Marett, Fraser, L. Sternberg) believed that A.’s predecessors were ideas about the material “bodily soul,” the magical power of man and the life-giving power of all nature (animatism). Initially, in the minds of primitive people, spirits and souls were associated with material things and even shared fate with them. There is every reason to believe that before the world was populated by wild souls and spirits, it endowed with supernatural properties those very objects and phenomena that doubled and subsequently became these souls and spirits. Currently, A., being a form of ancient beliefs and having gone through a complex path of evolution, is preserved in one form or another in all modern religions, and is also preached by representatives of theosophy, occultism, spiritualism, etc. A.A. Round… watch
Direction used
Based on his studies of child development, Jean Piaget theorized that children are born with an innate animistic worldview in which they anthropomorphize inanimate objects, and that only later do they grow out of this belief. On the contrary, Margare and Mead, in the course of their ethnographic research, found that children are not born with an animistic worldview, but become accustomed to such beliefs because they are raised by society. With the development of cattle breeding, agriculture and crafts, demons appeared, who were already considered the patrons of the corresponding areas of social practice. Naive A. eventually receives a communal-patrimonial education. In a slave-owning society, where relations between people and society became antagonistic due to developed class relations, a new form of agriculture arose: matter was considered animate, but no longer anthropomorphic; old animistic mythology was transformed into natural philosophy. Elements of A. have been preserved in world religions. However, complex modern
English dictionary
from lat. anima - soul) - among primitive peoples, belief in the existence of souls and spirits as the causes of natural phenomena, belief in the animality of all nature, the belief on which natural religion is based; in a metaphysical sense, a worldview according to which the soul is elevated to the principle of life. G. E. Stahl (“Theoria medica”, 1737), as well as Paracelsus and Carrino, who reduce life to a soul-like dynamic “spirit” (“Spiritus”), like Aristotle, considered the soul to be the sculptor of the body. Animal – animal related to animals; figuratively connected with the feeding instinct and sexual instinct (“animal needs”). … watchHe explains that animism is a “relational epistemology” and not a Tylorian failure of primitive reasoning. That is, animists identify themselves based on their relationships with others, rather than on the basis of some distinctive personality trait. Instead of focusing on the essentialized modernist self (“the individual”), part of which includes “supermen” (i.e. non-humans).
Awakening the Spirits
This way of thinking can become overwhelming. Suddenly you find that there are a billion more spirits around you than you are used to, and that is quite a big change in consciousness. However, it is important to understand that many of these spirits are dormant. They lived for a long time with people who ignored them, and therefore fell into an unconscious state. To work with many of these spirits, they must be awakened.
This is quite easy to do and gives good benefits to your magic. Awakening the spirits of your spell's ingredients and reminding them of their magical abilities adds power and potency to your spells. Instead of using all the energy for a spell, you can go to a plant, stone or other object and ask it to help you, since this spirit is working with exactly what you want to do.
How to awaken these spirits? It's so simple that it might even seem stupid. All you have to do is ask them to wake up. Afterwards you will be able to easily communicate with these spirits, just like with any others.
However, there is an important point in all of this: “waking up” things left and right without thinking about it is a bad idea. It may seem fun to have a house full of spirits, but they can keep you awake, demand offerings, interfere with rituals, antagonize your cats, and change the energetic state of your home. Save yourself the trouble by awakening only those spirits with whom you are ready to do serious work.
Animism in the modern world
Animism (from the Latin anima - soul) is a worldview in which not only animate, but also inanimate objects (as defined by modern science) are perceived as living and animate. An element characteristic of A., in contrast to animatism, is the idea of the existence of spirits (souls) separated from the body, which are presented anthropomorphically or zoomorphically. The English anthropologist E. B. Tylor (see English anthropological school), who put forward the idea of animatism, believed that animatism was the simplest and most primitive form of religious consciousness that arose in primitive times; one of the proofs of the simplicity and primacy of A. was, according to Tylor, the fact that animatism was also characteristic of children (see Children's animism). (B.M.)
. See Thus, both Islam and Buddhism have animism. For example, in Islam there are such entities as jinn. This is somewhat similar to demons in Christianity, but there is an important difference: they are not presented as some kind of evil beings who can only harm. In Islam, this issue is considered more broadly and gives the idea that all demons are a little angels, and all angels are a little demons, which, of course, sounds blasphemous for those who are used to dividing the world into black and white.
Animism - interesting facts
It should be noted that many views characteristic of animism are widely used in various esoteric theories existing in the modern world. Indeed, not only world religions, but also various practices recognize the existence of spirits, the possibility of communication with them and their influence on the material world. The key postulate is the division of the world into physical and spiritual, which, along with primordial animism, is recognized by almost all esoteric schools (the concept of the astral plane, information field, etc.). In the narrow sense, a teaching that explains life through the presence of a soul in every body. Thus, animism is opposed to materialism (which explains life by the existence of inanimate matter) and differs from vitalism (which refuses to explain it at all). Why do we need him?
Many anthropologists stopped using the term animism, finding it too close to early anthropological theory and religious polemics. According to certain criteria, they were identified as “animists,” who were identified as “animists.” So he began to rely on various scientists who began to use the term differently, using it “differently,” “focusing on knowledge about other people, about how to behave towards other people.” As religious scholar Graham Harvey has stated, while the definition of “old animism” is problematic, the term “animism” nevertheless “has considerable value as a critical, academic term for a style of religious and cultural world.” “ANIMISM, -a, m. The religious belief that in every person, animal or plant (in primitive religions also in every thing) there is an independent spirit, soul, and that a person can freely communicate with his spirit, soul. II ave. animistic, -aya, -oe. Cm.
About nature
Animism is a religion that gives souls to everything around it. For example, the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands believed that natural phenomena and nature itself (sun, sea, wind, moon) had enormous power. However, according to their opinions, such spirits were most often evil and always tried to injure a person. For example, the forest spirit Erem-chaugal is capable of injuring a person or even killing him with invisible arrows, and the evil and ferocious spirit of the sea can strike his person with an incurable disease. However, at the same time, nature spirits were also considered the patrons of individual tribes. So, some considered the sun their patron, others considered the wind, etc. But other spirits also needed to be respected and worshiped, although for a particular village they could be less significant.
Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
(from Latin anima, animus soul, spirit) belief in souls and spirits. The term was introduced into scientific use by the English ethnologist E. Tylor to designate an early stage in the history of the development of religion. Tylor considered A. “a minimum of religion.” Although many scientists, following Tylor, consider A. to be the initial stage of religion, the opinion of G.V. Plekhanov and others is more correct that A. is a necessary element of every religion. Animistic images are the spirits of deceased ancestors, the souls of living people, the personification of the forces of nature, as well as a particularly diverse and numerous group of nature spirits. Elemental spirits can be beneficial, but they can also threaten the well-being of people. Therefore, when necessary, small sacrifices were made to them. Characteristic is the belief in many souls and in “disembodied” souls. With the development of belief in spirits and souls, generalized terms appeared to denote the supernatural properties of things (or people), such as “mana”, “oyrenda”, and later “grace”. (in Christianity). Elements of A. have been preserved in modern world religions.... see Totemism is similar in nature to animism. People attached souls not only to the objects around them, but also to the animals that lived nearby. Some tribes believed that all animals had souls, others believed that only certain animals, the so-called totem animals, were worshiped by the tribe. As for the souls of animals, they are said to also be able to migrate. An interesting fact was that many believed that the souls of the dead could move not only into a new person, but also into a totem animal. And vice versa. Very often, a totem animal acted as the guardian spirit of a particular tribe.
Multi-spiritedness
Having already learned that animism is a belief in spirits, it is also worth saying that some tribes also believed that a person can have several souls that have different purposes and live in different parts of the body: in the top of the head, legs or arms. As for the viability of these souls, it could be varied. Some of them could remain in the grave with the deceased person, others went to the afterlife for further residence there. And some simply moved into the child in order to animate him. An example is the Yakuts, who believe that a man has eight souls, and a woman has seven. In some beliefs, at the birth of a child, parents gave him part of their soul, which again can indicate multi-spiritedness.
Principle in Taylor theory
Animism is the belief in the existence of spirits, souls, and the spirituality of nature. The term animism comes from the Latin word anima and means “spirit, soul.” This term was first proposed by the English ethnographer E.B. Taylor. According to Taylor, animism is a primitive form of religion. The religious beliefs of animism are that there are certain deities that control the processes of less developed living beings, there are ghosts, souls and numerous lives through which something indestructible passes, changing forms. According to the scientist, animism is rooted in the “philosophizing of the primitive savage,” who became interested in phenomena such as sleep, dreams, death, and so on. The development of society and science, the understanding of many processes have given us answers to many questions, but this does not negate the importance of the basic idea of animism, which is that the world around us is alive, especially since modern scientific discoveries only confirm this.
Animatism
Knowing that animism is a belief in the power of spirits, it is necessary to say a few words about such a belief as animatism. This is a belief in a huge faceless force that gives life to everything around us. This could be productivity, human luck, or livestock fertility. We can say with confidence that these beliefs were inherent not only to ancient people, they are still alive today. For example, in India they believe that there are many different spirits that live in the mountains, forests, and fields. Bongs (Indian spirits) can be both good and evil. And in order to calm them down or appease them, even now they bring them various gifts and arrange sacrifice ceremonies.
Comments and questions
from lat. anima - soul, spirit - an early form of religious beliefs, the spiritualization of natural objects and phenomena, leading to the idea that in the minds of animists the whole world is filled with spiritual beings, not only acting in nature, but also influencing and even settling in human life. Elemental spirits can be both evil and benevolent, so if necessary, small donations are made to them. The attitude of spirits is not fixed and can change depending on the behavior of people.WatchWord Formation. Comes from the Latin anima - soul. Category. Worldview system. Specificity. It is based on the assumption that almost all objects that have any connection with human activity have an individual soul. look
