The working theory of Emergent Animism breaks down spirits
into three general types. The type of spirit helps determine the general
approach and method of communicating with any particular spirit.
The three types are:
spirits of the dead, spirits of place, and alien spirits.
Spirits of the dead are spirits of dead human beings.
Spirits of animals and other entities that once had physical form can also be
included in this classification but may also be considered alien spirits
depending on how closely they still relate to the concerns of the physical
world. Dead humans may also transcend this category if the spirit becomes
something that personifies archetypal quality or has major concerns beyond this
plane of existence.
Spirits of the dead are by far the easiest spirits to
communicate with as they still have some working knowledge of physical form. Depending
upon their ability in life and how often they interact with the physical world
will determine how easily they communicate. Many maintain language skills and
an understanding of human symbolism.
The most useful spirit of this type a magus can interact
with will usually be ancestors. “Blood calls to blood,” is an axiom
almost universal in magical systems. There need be no reason why spirits would
suddenly lose the desire to procreate. By this I mean the drive to continue
ones imprint upon the world, be that genetically or spirituality. Your
ancestors want to live on and can only do this by effecting the physical plane.
They have a vested interest in the welfare of their descendants. Even an
ancestor who did nothing but spit venom at their family when they were alive
can quickly change their tune when they realize their descendants are the only
game in town. Okay, not the only game, but certainly the path of least
resistance. There persists plenty of stories featuring vengeful and angry
spirits. Some people never learn even when faced with the ultimate teacher. But
these spirits can be easily avoided by a competent magus. They can even be
exploited if a magus is so inclined. If they can’t learn to chill even after
they’re dead, fuck ‘em.
I could go on and on about ancestor spirits but a lot of it
is covered in the Emergent Magick book. Here’s a link to that chapter if you
want some more.
Spirits of place include any spirit co-locational in time
and space with a physical form. In a technical sense this includes all living
humans but magi mostly concern themselves with spirits of objects and
locations. The difficulty of interacting with spirits of this type lays
somewhere between spirits of the dead and alien spirits. They can relate to
physicality but otherwise can have quite different goals, motivations, and
modes of thinking.
Common spirits of this type include: spirits of a body of
water (rivers, lakes, etc), the spirit of a city, the spirit of a mountain,
spirits of plants, spirits of stones. The list is extensive, and just as we are
a part of a larger group (homo sapiens, primates, mammals, the universe),
spirits of place can be part of a larger whole. Like the spirit of a stone
which sits on a particular mountain, which is also a part of the spirit of that
particular mineral.
Spirits of this type interact with us all the time. Plant
spirits nourish us and provide other biochemical and spiritual effects. The
spirit of a place can affect our mood and our outlook. But most people seldom
communicate directly with these spirits like magi do. The first step in that
communication is interacting with the spirit’s physical form. You could contact
the spirit of Mount Fuji without having been there, but actually being on Mount
Fuji will help a lot. You can probably already think of the numerous reasons
why you would want to communicate with them, and I will get into that in a
later post.
The third type, alien spirits, can be the most difficult to
communicate with. When I say alien, I don’t necessarily mean from outer space,
but they can be. For the most part, they are alien because they spend most of
their time outside of our physical dimension. Types of alien spirits include
demons, angels, daemons, gods, and other really weird shit. Most of them never
had an original physical form, but some have the ability to possess a physical
form for a period of time.
Alien spirits are the most dangerous and the most powerful.
Dangerous because many of them have a limited understanding of human needs and
goals. The potential for miscommunication with these spirits is immense, never
mind that some of them are just outright greedy and hostile. Sure, some of them
may just be trying to communicate with you because they are curious. Some want
something out of it. What that something is may not be what you are looking
for. More than one demon I have contacted has given me the impression they are
just magi like myself trying to figure this shit out and maybe be better off
for it. But don’t assume they are benign.
We tend to look at power in these times like a video game,
as if these spirits have a long and full power bar that lets them deal or take
more damage. That’s a simplistic and silly way of looking at it. They are
powerful because they are simply capable of doing things other spirits can’t.
It’s not a measure of power (though some have immense resources to call on),
it’s that they interact with the universe in a way that beings defined by
physicality cannot.
It also seems that some of these beings, ones we usually
call gods, are the source of or the personification of ideals and or emotions.
It’s a chicken and the egg thing. Did we create the gods or did the gods create
us? Once you understand that time is not at all linear, that question has less
significance. But imagine if you will what a goddess of love would truly be
like. If her goal is love and to always promote love, to be in love, to be in
that moment when love burns brightest, is she really good to have around all
the time? Could you ever really trust her to have your best interests at heart?
No, you cannot.
But you can develop good relationships with these beings.
You can reach a level of understanding that works for both of you. Here’s what
worked for me.
Get to know those ancestors. Get on their good side. Have
them in your corner. They are your spiritual posse. They are your gang, and if
absolutely needed, your army. A lone magus approaching an alien spirit is just
asking to get worked over. A magus with ancestors that reach all the way back
to the dawn of the human race is a force to be reckoned with.
If you have been reading between the lines you already know
these categories are not absolute. The lines blur. An ancestor that becomes a
hero or a saint may later become a god. Spirits of place have been known to
take human form and vice versa. As I said, these categories only serve as a
guide to approach spirits, not define them. Whatever role a spirit currently
fulfills will inform the magus on how to communicate with them.