Animism: When Everything Is Alive
Before starting shamanic practices or rituals of subtle connection, there’s a foundational understanding without which nothing else really holds up: animism, this idea that every object, every plant, every thing has a soul, that life, light, the creative fire, universal consciousness, are present in all things.
I came to it through cacao, actually, without looking for it. The first time I really felt its presence, even before drinking it, something in me recognized a being rather than an ingredient. In the Mesoamerican traditions it comes from, people don’t talk about a plant you consume, but a spirit you enter into relationship with, sometimes called Mama Cacao, or associated with the goddess Ixcacao. I’ve felt this presence as sometimes feminine, sometimes masculine, but it’s most often a maternal energy that reveals itself first, at least that’s what happened for me. And this spirit of cacao accompanied me, without my even knowing it yet, on my entire journey of reconnecting with my ancestors: it opened the door, even before I understood what I was learning.
This worldview, common to all the traditional cultures I’ve encountered along my path, helped me find my place again in the great circle of the living, to finally feel connected to something bigger than myself.
In the West, we’ve largely lost these notions and practices, but elsewhere they remain very much alive: in China, in Indonesia, there’s still an altar to the deities and ancestors in homes, and you may have already noticed the small shrine placed at the entrance of many Asian restaurants. All traditional societies worked, and still work, hand in hand with these invisible forces.
What exactly is animism
Animism is a way of approaching life that emphasizes relationship. You see the world as filled with persons, human and non-human, and you try to live consciously and respectfully with all of them. These “others” can be animals, plants and trees, mountains and stones, fire, rivers and oceans, the spirits of the wind, deities, ancestors of all lineages, the guardians of a place. The spirit of cacao is part of that family, for me: it’s one of these “others” I’ve learned to dialogue with.
It’s not a religion in itself. You can very well be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and at the same time be deeply animist in your relationship with the living world. In many ancestral traditions, the Earth is honored as a living, teaching being, a relationship the spirit of cacao personally helped me rediscover, almost in spite of myself.
A spectrum, not a box
I don’t really like the idea that you’re either animist or you’re not. I prefer to think of it as a spectrum, where your position simply depends on how wide your relational field with the living world is.
On one end of the spectrum, nature is mostly seen as a resource, and the relational circle stops at humans who resemble us. The further along you go, the more that circle widens: you start appreciating humans in all their diversity, connecting with animals, respecting wild beings as intelligent beings in their own right. And at the other end, you bond deeply with other forms of life, you dialogue with plants, you feel the invisible forces of nature, you honor the cycles and seasons without even thinking about it, it just becomes obvious.
Simply sitting with the spirit of cacao, speaking to it inwardly, asking for its help before a meditation, before a ritual, is already a real step on this spectrum. It was mine, in any case.
The connection with ancestors
Almost every culture on Earth has kept some form of reverence for their ancestors. And I’ve noticed, digging into my own path, that learning to connect with your family ancestors is often the best starting point for understanding animism as a whole. Our lineage ancestors are, in a way, the guardians of our families, and there are necessarily, somewhere in our lineages, ancestors who were deeply respectful of the Earth. Connecting with them gives a strength I find hard to describe other than through what I’ve lived: a support, a vitality, something that really helps us move forward in what we came here to do.
And the spirits of the place where you live
Beyond the work with blood ancestors, there’s also all the living world around us every day, in our homes, on our land. Our most ancient ancestors were, out of necessity, people deeply connected to their environment: they dialogued with the animals of their territory, the plants that healed and fed them, the rivers, the seasons, all the forces their survival literally depended on. This reconnection felt, to me too, surprisingly accessible once I started engaging with it. I go deeper into this in the article Ancestors of the Land: Why Connect With the Guardians of a Place, where I explore this relationship with the spirits inhabiting the place where we live.
For your first connection
Prepare your sacred cacao, or simply settle into stillness near your altar. Take a moment to welcome the presence of its spirit before bringing it to your lips, then, if you wish, use this prayer to open your space:
I invite my healed, wise, and healthy ancestors to be with me now. I ask for their presence and support as I strengthen my connection with them. Thank you so much for being here with me on this journey of life. I am deeply grateful.
Then, take out your journal, and let whatever needs to be written come through. What was new for you in all of this? Are there things in your life that suddenly make a little more sense? And on this spectrum we just talked about, where do you feel you stand today?
In daily life
It doesn’t need to be complicated. Greeting the trees during a walk, thanking your food before eating it, speaking gently to your plants, noticing the changing seasons and the small synchronicities that show up, all of that already counts for so much. You can go further by meditating outside, building an altar with natural elements found around you, tuning into lunar cycles, or simply making it a habit to thank the Earth each morning, a cup of cacao in hand.
Animism isn’t some exotic belief from elsewhere, it’s a return to our most natural way of being in relationship with the world. And finding my way back to this vision, for me, has been a real way of healing this feeling of separation I’d been carrying for a long time, without even knowing it.
A large bell tent is taking shape on our land, designed for cacao ceremonies & wellness gatherings. Right next to it, we’re building a wooden cabin, for those who’d like to come slow down here with us, even if just for a few nights.
So, depending on where you are, here’s how to stay close to what’s happening.
Are you nearby, or planning a trip to Portugal? Follow me on Instagram, that’s where I’ll be sharing ceremonies and cabin availability.
Are you further away? You’ll find me on the Insight Timer app, with meditations, sacred chants, and cacao journeys, wherever you are in the world.