The Marriage of Akasha and Animism

Akasha meets Animism
They assess each other.
Akasha feels a kinship with Animism.
Animism soars with Akasha.
It’s the perfect marriage really.

Confused yet?
Wouldn’t blame you if you are.

Let me clarify just a little bit by first saying, I am not Wiccan. I’ve studied it. I’ve worked with groups that were Dianic, Celtic, Egyptian, Norse and so much more. I’ve worked with Native American groups, Druids, Shamans of varying forms. The experiences were always enlightening but, well…you know when you have that light salad for lunch and you’re so happy because you know you’ve done something good for you but then by dinner you are so famished that your own leg looks like a tasty morsel? Yeah. That’s how I felt…wiser, better for the experience but not fulfilled.

See, I had the extreme blessing to be raised in a Spiritualist family right from the start. I had the extreme blessing of knowing my great-grandmother and the siblings of my grandparents. Lessons in the kitchen were handed down through generations, as were the wisdoms and superstitions of the garden, treasures about honouring life and the sacrifice everything makes for the survival of something else, the truth of Spirit, all of it ancestrally passed down…that was in me from the start. Of course I rebelled, thinking there was something more, some rules that HAD to be adhered to, some form that needed to be followed that my family didn’t know about, some enlightenment they could never know. In the end, I was wrong and (at least about that part of things) they were right. Family and family friends helped me “tap in” and “tune out” beyond the veil. My grandmothers taught me about the power of the hearth, herbs, of nature, of our place in it all, the traditions and histories. My father was king of the hunt and of the working the land, literally. This was a family tradition that had nothing to do with formal religion. This is a way of life, which explains why when I went looking for “religion” I was left so wanting.

What in the bloody blue blazes does this have to do with Akasha and Animism?  For me, absolutely everything.

We were sort-of introduced to Akasha through Merlyn’s blog the first week, when she spoke about the Akashic Library which is a specific belief by those who practice Theosophy. Akasha itself is different. It is the term given by multitudes of religions (mostly of the Eastern base) to describe the universal energy, the Universe, the one energy that unites every living being, that imbues us with life. It’s the start of the cosmos, the first element of creation (of the 5), the one that can not be perceived, the beginning of all material things. It is the very fabric from which all living things are made, the very point of the pentacle, that which fills the empty spaces and why those who are attuned with it feel a kinship with other living things. In science it’s the big bang and cells (the smallest building blocks of life, atoms are the smallest building blocks of matter).

Here is where we come to the first bump while riding the Akashic wave. The definition of “living” has changed over the years but what remains is that it must: feed, reproduce, “breathe”.  That drive is common to every living thing. That desire to live and thrive. That spark of life. That is where we find Akasha. In harmony and balance with the other elements, because without all five, we all die.

Without the Akasha, the macro, Animism, the micro, is so lonely. See, while we all share the common energy of Akasha, the belief that all living things have a soul is Animism. Now, naysayers and doubters will joke and laugh about plants talking back but really, that leads us to define what a “soul” is. This is where things get really hairy.

What is a soul? Some say it’s the spiritual core. I’ve heard claim that it is the heart of our lives- our deepest dreams and fears. Others say it is our intelligence, our wisdom, our subconscious existence. The argument has even been made that it is our emotional center. This is something we all must decide for ourselves but when I stop and think about it, I wonder…does it matter?

Here’s what I do know, all living things communicate needs, at least on a very basic level. Plants wilt, animals vocalize, some insects use body language…all life. Every living thing is dependent on another. We kill to survive, whether it’s an animal or a plant. It’s a basic, and sometimes unpleasant, truth. Everything living thrives on the dead but more than that, everything has the desire to live. No plant breaks free of it’s seeds and fights through the soil wanting to die. No animal is born with the desire to throw itself off a precipice. All living things have a natural survival instinct from birth. Akasha gives us that life, our souls keep it going.

My personal belief is that the soul lives in that primal place where those actions stem from. In our lives we add to that place. Each incarnation becomes farther from the rudimentary beginnings as more and more wisdom is collected. Depending on the place in the life chain, some living things seem to have more Akasha- more fight for life, some have more soul or spirit. Honouring those energies, tapping into those connections, that is what makes me the witch that I am- an Akashic, kitchen, ancestral, elemental pagan.

And for those wondering, I am an omnivore. I feel absolutely no guilt over eating meat because it would also mean I would need to feel guilt over eating plants- perhaps moreso because they are ones I grow from seed, ones that I nurture into strong maturity so that it may then nourish the lives of those I love. I do not believe in feeling guilt over being part of the cycle of life. I do not feel that any animal is more important and needing to be saved over any plant. Now, to be sure, I do not believe in or condone poaching (killing for the sake of “sport”), and I always use as much as possible if not all of whatever our food source is. I honour those lives above all others because they nourish my life, just as someday I will respond in kind. It is my belief that I can not be an equal part of something if I believe that either myself or any other creature is more important than the next, no animal is more important than any plant. No life is more worthy than any other because Akasha lives within us all, helping our souls to soar.

I will also say, I do not keep pets or house plants, they keep me. They would do well outdoors on their own but I don’t, for a moment, believe my life would be as rich and gratifying without them.

Always with blessings and kindess…