August 1 ushers in the Lughnasadh the celebration and the first harvest which is a reaping of grain. What grains or produce are ready for harvest in your area? What gifts are ready to reap in your life? The moon on Lughnasadh this year will be a waxing gibbous. If you go by the moon for doing magick, it would be a good time to create energies for gifts you wish to reap on Mabon or Samhain, our second and third harvest sabbats. Also known as Lammas, this is a day when breads are baked and blessed. To learn more click https://w-icc-a.blog/2024/07/25/lughnasadh-differing-perspectives. A personification of grain is about John Barleycorn, and there is folk song about how he would die. Pagans sometimes sing this song in honor of this first harvest. In this song he is turned into whiskey. Whisky, bread and ale can be made from barley. Lughnasadh is a time to honor the sacrifice of the grain so that we can eat and live. We sing about John Barleycorn as if he is a being and not just barley. As a child I remember the ruckus about anthropomorphism when Jane Goodall gave the chimpanzees she studied names instead of numbers. I was in favor of giving them names, but my dad wanted her to give them numbers in the name of scientific objectivity. I said that we give our pets names, so naming the chimpanzees is only natural. Why am I talking about personification and anthropomorphism? Because many Wiccans, Witches, Pagans and those who honor the Goddess and/or the God take an animistic viewpoint of our world.
In our society many of us are taught that we have dominion over and are superior to our natural world. But really we are animals like other animals that inhabit our world. We are good at manipulating our environment to make it work for us. But really we are too good at that and are ruining our natural world now, but that is a story for another day. We are also good at trying to make sense of life. My cat is my companion and I can feel her spirit. If people have souls and are animals, why should not other animals have souls? If my cat has a soul, why would not a snake, dragonfly, bee or slug and more have souls too? Animism is an answer for those suffering from the disconnection with nature. Animism is the viewpoint that the spirit or soul resides in beings like animals, trees, plants, bodies of water, rocks, and the Universe. Even manmade objects can be considered. The etymology of the word “animism” is anima from Latin which translates as soul or breath. People who practice animism often contend that these beings are our relatives. Animism is about being in the right relationship with these beings. Animism is also about respect to all of these beings and for having gratitude for their presence in our lives.
To be transparent, I love trees. Many of us have learned that trees in a forest compete with each other in a race to get to the light. However, there is growing evidence that trees also cooperate and communicate. They do not talk like we do, but their support and communication with surrounding trees is sustained through a below ground network of roots and fungi called the mycorrhizal network. The fungi act as a conduit for shuttling resources like carbon, water, sugar and phosphorus from tree to tree. Trees support each other and may even impart tree wisdom. Forester, researcher and author Suzanne Simard coined the term “mother tree.” Mother trees are the largest trees in the forest that in a very real sense mother saplings. Saplings which are not big enough to reach the light and are unable photosynthesize properly get nutrients from the mother tree via the mycorrhizal network. Mother trees send the most resources to saplings which are related to them. To learn more visit https://youtu.be/NOFPqbvD-vE?si=P64081nKrkXBuQB. To check out Suzanne Simard’s exciting book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest click https://a.co/d/bHg8dIb. Another forester and author, Peter Wohlleben observes that in a forest in which trees have been allowed to grow together for centuries they can become like friends. Sick trees are kept alive by other trees. He even observed a stump that has been kept alive by other trees for centuries! Trees also warn each other about dangers like insects eating their leaves through the release of chemicals into the air. There is a story about acacia trees that pump tannin into their leaves when giraffes start munching on them. The tannin can sicken and even kill giraffes. The trees warn other nearby trees through the release of ethylene gas into the air. The giraffes have learned to munch into the wind to avoid warned trees. There is also growing evidence that trees react to injuries and feel pain. They do not have a nervous system like ours, but the organization of their root systems have been compared to the organization of our nervous systems. There is so much more we are just beginning to learn about trees. They have wondrous survival strategies, social networks and many ways to sense their environment! To learn more click https://smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084.
Are plants sacred beings as well? Some say yes. Many of us have been taught to refer to plants and trees as living things but no more than that. Indigenous people refer to them as sacred beings, recognizing their sacred spirits. In our Western culture we learned to view many objects such as tress, rivers, mountains, fire and manmade objects like drums as inanimate. The Potawatomi view these beings as animate. The Potawatomi view of the world is more alive than the Western viewpoint. To learn more check out the book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. To get it on Amazon click https://a.co/d/7su0tCq. Switzerland’s constitution maintains that the dignity of living things must be respected including plants. Researcher Florainne Koechlin contends that trees and plants can even learn. To learn more see her video and click https://youtu.be/i8YnvMpcrVI?si=oKvOVO3xBytRy6Rj. There is a lot we do not know and that science still has to teach us about plants. What we do know is that plants sense and reach for the light, and that plants like vines feel for supports on which to grow. Plants use chemical signals when they are in distress. For example the tomato plant puts out a perfume when insects are munching on its leaves. These chemical signals are meant to attract beneficial insects that prey on other insects that are eating the plants. This chemical signal also warns other tomato plants of danger. Remember that plants cannot flee danger and that they have to use other strategies to thrive. That smell of freshly mown grass is actually a distress call because the grass is being eaten by the mower. Think of that next time you mow the grass! I know people who have ground cover which grows low enough that they do not need to mow.
We all depend on water, and some hold our shared bodies of water as sacred. Bodies of water like rivers, lakes and seas have their own personalities and stories. Think about a babbling brook, languid lake or stormy sea. A body of water can be both nurturing with its precious gift of life and dangerous as a place where one might drown. Rivers can form protective boundaries which certain entities cannot cross. Sacred waters include wells which are associated with Brigid and Sulis Minerva. In Greek mythology the ferryman takes passengers across the river Styx. The god Hapi personifies the Nile with its annual life giving floods. Myths include creatures of the water such as selkies, water nymphs and sirens. Remember that a myth is a sacred story with elements of truth.
Can we go as far as to say that rocks and crystals have spirit? Like us rocks and crystals are made atoms which are full of energy. One thing that crystals are valued for is their vibrational energies which can help us change the here and now. Before picking up a crystal and taking it home for use with this energy, I as an animist would ask the crystal if it would like to go home with me. Ok, so how do I communicate with a rock? Either audibly or silently I ask the question and then pay attention to an internal yes or no within myself. It takes practice to listen for that internal response. The same form of communication can be used with trees, plants, lakes, mountains and other beings. The key takeaway here is respect of all beings and understanding that we are related to other beings.
Are the land, air, sky, sun, moon and the Universe filled with sacred spirit? Let us start with your home which has spirit. It is important to align yourself right with your home’s spirit. When you move in to a new home clean it, name it, introduce yourself to your home and let spirits who do not want to live in peace and cooperation with you know that it is time for them to leave. To show gratitude to spirits who will live in peace with you leave an offering to the spirits of the house like a plate of cookies, candy or donate to a shelter in the house’s name. To learn more check out this article about house blessing and click https://glassewitchcottage.com/2022/07/25/house-magick-beginning-the-relationship. The land on which your home is built is alive with spirit and should be honored. A simple way to honor the land is to pour a little libation onto the ground in a manner of reverence. Any drink friendly to the earth such as water, wine, apple cider, tea or coffee will do nicely. One way to honor those who came before you on this land is through a land acknowledgement. To learn about what indigenous people lived on the land on which you reside and see a world wide map click https://native-land.ca. The air has energy as in a gentle breath or a gale. The sky with all of its weather is alive. The sun and moon are honored as sacred beings. Often the sun is regarded as male and the moon as female in this culture. The Universe is alive with stars, galaxies and dark matter. Scientists are discovering that a lot of dark matter fills the “void” of space.
Manmade objects are considered by some to have spirit. I would especially like to focus on magickal tools. Wiccans, Witches, Pagans and those who honor the Goddess and/or the God love our tools. Tools we often use include a Book of Shadows, candles, wands, athames, crystals, herbs, chalices, jewelry, and bowls. We also use other items to manufacture tools like scissors, knives, twine and paint. These tools are cleansed of any energies we do not want and are charged blessed for their purpose. Care is taken when selecting the tools and items used to make them. For example in tree magick different trees are useful for different purposes. Click https://w-icc-a.blog/2025/04/10/beltane-and-ogham/ to check out my post and learn about tree meanings. I do not take a branch from the ground without knowing what tree it comes from. For example in the wand pictured above the wood is river birch. I also give an offering to the tree, usually water. I typically consecrate tools in sacred space and through the use of the four elements: air, fire, water and earth. For air I pass the tool through the smoke of incense or I wave a feather over it. For fire I pass the tool through or over a candle flame or put it in the sun. For water I plunge it into a bowl of water or sprinkle it with water. For earth I sprinkle a little soil or salt on it. Then I hold it skyward and consecrate it through the Goddess and proclaim its intended use. The tool can also be consecrated through God and/or the Universe. To learn more click https://pagansong.com/a-ritual-for-blessing-magical-tools.
Have an abundant first harvest and blessed Lughnasadh, and to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere have a meaningful and sacred Imbolc.
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Auburn Greene
Suggested Investigation:
Dordel, Julia and Guido Tolke. “The Hidden Language of Trees: How Forests Secretly Communicate.” Free High-Quality Documentaries, 2 months ago, https://youtu.be/NOFPqbvD-vEsi?si=TpwFotcoVmBbm9yp.
Glasse, Irene. “House Magick: Beginning the Relationship.” Glasse Witch Cottage, July 25, 2022, https://glassewitchcottage.com/2022/07/25/house-magick-beginning-the-relationship.
Grant, Richard. “Do Trees Talk to each Other?” Smithsonian Magazine, March 2018, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/
Hall, Nathan M. Path of the Moonlit Hedge: Discovering the Magick of Animistic Witchcraft, Llewellyn, May 8 2023. To obtain on Amazon click https://a.co/d/bbKRiwA. Also available on Kindle Unlimited, Audible and Goodreads.
Koechlin, Florainne. “Tomatoes Talk, Birch Trees Learn – Do Plants Have Dignity?” TEDx Talks, 9 years ago, https://youtu.be/i8YnvMpcrVI?si=MTRFId6IIN1xB_ow.
Krowommn, Marilyn. “A Ritual for Blessing Magical Tools.” Pagan Song: Music for Your Magic, November 11, 2021, https://pagansong.com/a-ritual-for-blessing-magical-tools.
Larsen, Celeste. “What Is Animistic Witchcraft?” Mage by Moonlight, June 9, 2023, https://magebymoonlight.com/what-is-animistic-witchcraft/.
Sedgwick, Icy. “Strange River Folklore: River Gods and Dark Spirits.” Icy Sedgwick, March 31, 2021, https://icysedgwick.com/river-folklore/.
Simard, Suzanne. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. Vintage, June 21, 2022. To get on Amazon click https://a.co/d/2K6dQS0. Available on Kindle, Audible and Goodreads.
Simard, Suzanne. “Our Economy Drives Deforestation.” Channel 4 News, 2 years ago, https://youtu.be/XztC7djNQpI?si=rgSX-PZENM_6EAH2.
Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Milkweed Editions, August 11, 2015. To purchase on Amazon click https://a.co/d/7su0tCq. Available on Kindle, Audible and Goodreads.
Wigington, Patti. “Consecrate Your Magical Tools.” Learn Religions, January 6, 2019, https://www.learnreligions.com/consecrate-your-magical-tools-2562860.
Wigington, Patti. “Lammas Customs and Traditions.” Learn Religions, July 2, 2019, https://www.learnreligions.com/lammas-customs-and-traditions-2561472.
Wilson, Maxwell W. What Is a Soul? Mind, Spirit, and the Mystery Within, Maxwell W. Wilson, June 10, 2025. To purchase on Amazon click https://a.co/d/16ZQ96z. Also available on Kindle Unlimited.
Wohlleben, Peter. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World. Greystone Books, September 13, 2016. To find on Amazon click https://a.co/d/2xZ3HGp. Also available on Kindle, Audible and Goodreads.
My Inner Wiccan 