Common Questions This Animist-Witch Gets
In my mystery school series, The Mystery Mentorship, the current Prayers + Devotions in Animism series, as well as my topical courses, I hold space for Q&As and relevant tangents. Many of the folks enrolled in the courses and series have shared how much these discussions have nourished and supported them in their spiritual journey and return-to-self.
When I was asking the spirits what they would like to convey through me for June’s newsletter, they led me again and again to the Q&As. A few of the most commonly asked questions (and a few personal faves) are below.
Can you elaborate on the term “The Unseen” and your personal relationship with it?
“The Unseen” is the term I use to describe the Great Mystery; the reality that lies beyond our three dimensional reality. The Unseen refers to what we know in our heart of hearts to be real and true, even though we’ve been told it is merely fiction. The Unseen is primordial wisdom and ephemeral fullness; it holds power, beauty, magick, healing, potential, synchronicities, the indescribable, and the timeless. The Unseen refers to what is living within and alongside us, and what exists beyond us. It is a reminder to us that humans are simply part of existence, not the centre of it.
When did you know that this work was your path?
I still don’t “know”! Haha! Rather, it’s more about showing up to each moment, and responding to its intelligence. It makes sense right now, and who knows what the future will bring me?
How to tell the difference between our “imagination” or “fantasies” from what the spirits are actually saying?
Three points on this:
If you feel seen, supported and generally more in touch with yourself and the Unseen, then the defining of whether something was “real” or “imagined” is no longer relevant, and this need to validate “realness” can hinder.
Everything comes from the imagination, anyway. Every human invention, every materialization, they all come from an idea that was birthed through the imagination. All the more with spirit communication– the messages are often subtle and enter us through the inner voices / imagination. It’s rare that there is an apparition in the 3D when a spirit provides us wisdom.
I recommend staying open and curious when you are communicating with spirits, engaging in journey work, channeling, or practicing inner visioning. When you resume your more conscious, everyday state, it’s then helpful to reflect and discern the messages that came through, and filter out what could be your ego / wild ideas from what the spirits really are saying.
Why is it rare that there is a spirit apparition in the 3D?
Spirits are energy, and for the same reason why you can’t see wind or often cannot see heat or electricity, their constitutions are not set to physicality. Plus it would likely disturb or frighten us immensely if they were to materialize in a tangible way.
What are the best practices around spiritual protection when working with spirits?
Instead of protective spells against "evil" or harm, what if one of the most protective acts we can engage in is to form authentic relationships with spirits? In other words, spirits ARE protection.
In my experience with magick, summoning and compelling spirits to fulfill banishing rituals or magickal shields are not nearly as effective as simply forming allyship with spirits who naturally want to be with me, support me, and by extension, can be protective. Sort of like “you mess with my sis, you mess with us” sort of thing.
Creating allyship takes time, of course. It involves me letting myself be known by them, and me taking the time and care to meet them, learn to recognize their voice, witness their ways of being, co-creating a relationship or another way of putting it, a sense of intimacy. This is explored in my current live-stream series, Prayers + Devotions in Animism (enrolment is open and on-going).
Back to spiritual protection. Keep a clean conscience and walk with integrity. Form allyship with spirits based on honour and respect. Be discerning, use common sense, know your limits, and practise physical and energetic hygiene. One more thing, if you are extra sensitive or have an overactive imagination, don’t watch horror flicks (Totally serious; screens, much like mirrors, are often portals to unwanted energies).
How to tell if the messages are from the spirits or your ego?
Expanding on my response from the last question, sharing a closeness with the spirits does not mean the spirits say yes to everything, or that I am in agreement with everything they say. I think there is often confusion around the term “alignment” in new age spiritual circles - alignment does not mean “never disagree” or “always comfortable” or “you always get what you want”. Same thing with intimacy, it does not mean that the spirits and I are always seeing things eye to eye, or that we 100% know each other. What intimacy does mean is that we mutually trust, are vulnerable to talk about things, and mutual respect exists.
In other words, if the spirits you hear only say yes to you or only say things that you are comfortable with, then it’s most likely your ego, which can be potentially a dangerous way to spiritually bypass yourself (or others, if you’re sharing those ‘spirit messages’ with them).
In addition to this, spirits are not our genies, fairy godmothers, or submissives. There is nothing spiritual about manifesting when it involves the exploitation of humans, resources, energies or spirit beings.
Should you always trust a spirit?
I am not the type of spirit worker that believes only “light and love” exist. There are energies that are heavy, unwell, unhelpful, and even harmful. That doesn’t mean that one should avoid spirit communication, as that’s like saying that we should never use the internet because some shitty sites exist.
In my work, it’s all about relationship, common sense, and discernment. If a spirit is saying something that feels creepy or does not feel right for you in another way, then you have the agency to make choices and set boundaries. Creepy guy talks to me at the club? I walk away. Same thing with spirit work.
Can the term spirit and ghost be used interchangeably? And what kind of spirits exist?
In the context of most animist and witchcraft traditions, the world is alive with spirits. The term “spirit” is a category of energetic, conscious beings that may have / have had a physical form or not.
The term “ghost” is a spirit of a deceased human who still lingers in a specific geo-location, often seeking closure or some form of resolution. This is different from an ancestral spirit, the animating force of a human who came before us, that shares our 3D world, and often also lives in another world that is also layered with our physical world.
A spirit may also be the unique energy force of a plant, of an animal, of aspects of nature / elements (such as Fire Spirit or a specific Ocean Spirit). These nature spirits live alongside us in the 3D, are usually invisible to the human eye, though often felt by intuitives, psychics, and occultists. Some nature spirits live in natural locations, and others even with us in our homes, which are a category of domestic spirits while also being nature spirits. Some of these spirits may also behave as a familiar or daemon, spirit beings who are often earth-based, and are with us as form of spirit companions and guardians of sorts.
There are also beings that are the consciousness of concepts, abstract energies, or even collective energies forming a larger whole. They are more subtle, and are more about resonance rather than occupying a specific geo-location or space. In my work, the spirit of money, the spirit of time, and even the divine can often be related from this category.
There are also spirits that act as chaperones when spirit traveling / journeying or escorts to Otherworlds, called psychopomps. They oftentimes are spirit beings from any of the categories listed above (with the exception of ghosts) that also take on this role; meaning “psychopomp” is more of a role for spirits to take on rather than a category of spirits.
This is not an exhaustive list, as new spirits are formed as new occurrences and inventions are materialized. There are also ancient, land-based traditions that honour spirits that are not discussed here.
What’s something that is commonly said / practiced by intuitives that is a form of spiritual bypassing or simply harmful?
Offering your opinion and claiming it’s a spirit message and offering unsolicited spirit messages.
Can what we eat impact our intuition?
Intuition and psychic skills are often first experienced through our somatic bodies. From personal experience, my body’s biology responds to what I eat, and can also inform my food choices, making it a feedback loop. Two big considerations when it comes to diet and intuition:
Eating ancestrally heightens ancestral spirit communication. (I will be exploring more of this in the upcoming 2-part live-stream Managing Our Energy + Psychic Bodies on June 7 + 9.)
Over-activating foods, caffeine and refined sugar in particular, can be so stimulating that we can easily confuse adrenaline with energy and anxiety for intuition.
I love your glossary of esoteric terms that you provide on your website. Could you share why you felt defining these terms was important?
I find so much language in New Age / healing / spirituality circles to be vague and lacking substance; a dishonoring of these ancient esoteric practices. Defining some of the terms allows for others to know my reference points, for us to mutually speak coherently, and helps them ask themselves the important question of what and why they are practising / seeking to practise.