Personal Note XV

Yahweh in (יהוה‎):
Moses and the Burning Bush

Thoughts on Animism |
Sunday – November 23, 2025

Animism, the practice of feeling the universe in every fiber and every being, is as old as humanity herself and in many ways I believe that animism possesses that original quality that seems to be lost in the modern world. Animism is actually still practiced in many places around the world, perhaps most prominently in Africa, but often animistic rituals and traditions have been mixed up with other metaphysical influences such as with Christianity and Islam. I believe that both West African Voodoo (Vodun) and Haitian Voodoo are prominent examples of this. But for me animism is also important because it seems to me that the intent at which a man approaches animism is more pure than when he approaches more modern metaphysical traditions: it seems that when man reaches for meaning in what otherwise seems to be inanimate objects, he is also allowed to connect with the world on a very profound level, he is essentially able to see the light within the creation, without a need for further contextualization. Indeed, when the world moves further and further away from the original source, life gets taken up by the material order and gone are the simpler days of purely connecting with nature. What animal, besides humanity, can sustain itself without living in harmony with the creation? Only mankind choose to gain awareness, and with that awareness comes responsibility and much hardship. It is easy and quite simple for any other creature in the animal kingdom to understand the universe on a deep level, but for humanity there's a veil of civilization and materialism that has been placed on top of the world, and since man himself has placed this burden on his shoulders he likes to think of himself as his own master: yes an inanimate object is just that another means to produce something more and to gain a further material advantage. Of course, most animistic cultures and traditions place great importance on nurturing and protecting nature: after all we come from nature and without nature we may not sustain ourselves, but the hubris of modern man has completely upended this relation to the world, because after all man can construct away his material restraints, and this assumption will as it should be his downfall. I don't expect modern and so supposedly rational men to embrace animism, but it is important to note that everyone around today isn't depraved morally, and that there are still traditions around that exist to understand man as a part of the universe not the universe as a part of man. I do believe that the most common words in English are I and me and that's not surprising: of course a man in our age should consider himself before anything else. After all, we're all individuals and uniquely so? Of course not, you can't be an individual among other individuals and label yourself unique, and I believe that the many and numerous infantile disorders that exist in the modern world is an example of this. Why should a man not be tempted by his instinct to define himself in communion with other men? Well, it's not even that deep: often men define themselves simply by the greatest common denominator, and nothing else should be expected of them, unless of course the capitalist production base requires another arrangement, but I have partly covered this topic in my "Collectivism & Individualism series", which you should read. I like to imagine that animism was the first step towards gaining more awareness and I believe that actually this would be in keeping with most major metaphysical traditions today. I think therefore, that if one seeks to understand the world, the modern world, that it would be quite prudent to understand animism. For me religion is not merely about being right because you are a part of a group; for me religion is much more about metaphysics and that original metaphysics feels rather distant today but animism does make me feel closer to it.

    I cannot list all forms of animism and do allow me to clarify that I don't regard Vodun or Voodoo as animism, but I do regard them as prominent metaphysical traditions that still carry the animistic tradition and really original impulse, the original attempt to explain and understand the world. Of course, many modern men believe themselves to be superior and therefore they ridicule such things as religion in general and especially animism, but not all modern men do treat animism in this way: there is a certain interest in taking part of ancient rituals and in general I do believe that this impulse is fundamentally good, but I do believe that it is good to be weary of the growing capitalist and commercial interest in twisting these traditions into something that they are not. Indeed, paganism has been almost completely distorted by capitalism. Take Christmas for instance, which is really Jul or Yule: Santa Claus really had and has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, but people still have a hard time understanding this, because the serpent has polluted the informational landscape so much. If you are a Christian, then I believe that you are better off celebrating the birth of Jesus. Yes, you can do more than one thing at a time, but I don't believe that it is right to conflate Christmas with Christianity and really I prefer the term Jul or Yule instead of Christmas.

    Yes, I believe that animism still is closer to the original source, and I believe that much can be understood and appreciated about the world if one seeks to understand and respect the rich and profound traditions of many animist cultures.

Reginald Drax – November 23, 2025.