Why and How Artifact Spirits Awaken
Oct. 19th, 2012 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
paleo(I came to the conclusion that talking about artifact spirits is a *very* complex issue, so I've decided to tackle the topic in separate pieces. Maybe if I ever have my own blog I'll weave all these essays together into one whole, but for now I wish to share my ideas like this. I'm certainly not done with talking about this topic, but for now I give you this. Please do feel free to direct trusted people you think would benefit from reading this to here, but I would prefer it not be linked elsewhere. I'd probably be open to it being posted somewhere with credit, though.)
Animists hold the belief that all things contain individual spirits or souls. Even though this extends beyond the beings scientifically classified as living, most modern animists tend to hone in on animals and plants. Most also work with mineral beings, especially crystals and stones. And probably a majority pay honor to the beings of landscapes and weather. A good number also work with place spirits, even some human-created ones such as houses, temples, cemeteries, stores, and campgrounds.
One class of beings that are widely overlooked are items that were fashioned by human hands or human machines. Two notable exceptions to this rule are sacred tools and the works of crafters and artists. This is due to the fact that both sacred tools and art are used and/or created with specific focus and intent. Thus these objects contain a very strong field of energy that is already used to interacting with humans.
I would like to take a moment to explain a few definitions I use for easier communication. The term I use for the spirits of human-created objects is "artifact spirit". The truest definition of artifact simply means "anything altered or created by humans". I prefer this rather than man-made because, while the objects may be man-made, sometimes the spirits in them aren't (but sometimes they are).
I use the term "awakened" to mean the certain state a spirit can achieve where it is at least somewhat self aware and self determining and able to interact with (and possibly communicate) with humans. All objects are ensouled, but for various reasons they can become dormant or never awaken in the first place. Some objects find a need to enter a dormant state very similar to sleep. They may decide to "sleep" as little as a few hours to as long as a few centuries. Sometimes artifact spirits enter dormancy after a trauma.
It may seem odd to imagine non-organic beings experienced experiencing trauma but, in my experience, they can. Especially if they are used to being surrounded by respect and love and then suddenly encounter callousness or violence. A hypothetical situation would be a cherished wedding ring stolen from the finger of a murder victim and pawned. After being exposed to the fear and death of its owner and going from a status of treasure to junk it may shut down. Hopefully, it will catch the eye of a buyer who will once again turn it into a symbol of love and happy memories which may convince it to awaken again.
Artifacts that were created to be disposable often never awaken. Why would, for example, a plastic spork, wish to awaken when it was created impersonally to be identical to millions, used once, and then sent to a landfill? It is possible to help the spork awaken although it would be hesitant to do so once it begins comprehending its usual life cycle and will probably choose to go back into dormancy. (Please don't awaken disposable objects as an experiment unless you will be keeping them for some period of time. Awakening something and just throwing it away is a very cruel thing to do. I did it to an empty coke bottle and only realized the callousness of the action after I had tossed it in the dumpster, for which I still feel bad about.)
An artifact spirit may awaken on its own or a person may initiate the process. It is completely unnecessary for a person to be an animist or have a belief in ensouled objects for them to cause an artifact spirit to awaken. One of the most common ways for an artifact to awaken is for intent, focus, and strong emotion to be placed on it. It is extremely common for children's plushies and toys to awaken. Many people often name their cars, boats, firearms, and computers. This personification is at least a subconscious acknowledgement of the spirit inside the object and a strong bond often forms between said object and its owner.
Technology is *very* easy to awaken and often they are "born" awakened. This is due to many reasons. Computers, phones, gaming consoles, and other tech are often literally an extension of ourselves. Sometimes we even partially merge together temporarily (or in the case of some technophiles, permanently). Technology is also getting closer and closer to mimicking human intelligence and most of society is anxious for the day this finally happens. Thus, many people are already starting to view computers as children to be taught. Of all of the objects that surround us in our daily lives, technological objects evoke the strongest emotional responses, good and bad.
I've already mentioned artwork, but I feel it is worth expanding on. Artistic objects and tech objects, in my mind, tie as the best artifacts for an animist to work with if they are just starting to explore the idea of communicating with artifact spirits. Art, by its nature, communicates with humans. Artists and artwork reflects the archetypes of Creator and Creation which are two of the most powerful archetypes to evoke. Art is always born out of emotion and meant to be an object of communication (even if the artist keeps the piece of art, it is still a form of communication from themself to themself). Thus, the spirits of objects of art are nearly always born awakened with a sense of purpose and a knowledge of how to communicate to humans (or at least a select group of humans).
A very good way to experience and understand the various ways artifacts may be awakened, what personalities they develop, and how they choose to communicate with (or ignore) humans is to visit various museums. Art museums are obvious choices that tie in with my last example, but don't limit yourself to that. I once challenged myself to open up to the spirits that might be found in a military history museum despite my ambivalence towards the topic. I was very surprised by what I felt and what greeted me. I ended up talking to a tank, a rifle, and even a WWII canteen. I met many more spirits who were kind but not interested in talking. And, yes, I met a few who were snobby or even malicious. I encountered many different personalities among those artifact spirits. Pride, sorrow, victorious joy, weariness, boastfulness, love, and hate. I was especially touched at those who still had a connection to the humans they worked with and wanted their stories to be remembered (the canteen was one of these).
I've also sprit-walked (my term for entering a light trance at a place to communicate with the spirits that might be there) in a few different museums holding Native American artifacts. These artifact spirits, in my experience tend to be more reserved and many of them give a message of "I won't talk, but you're welcome to sit with me quietly". Some do wish to share their stories, but some are resentful both of being in the museum and especially of the fate of the peoples they originally lived with. And sadly, quite a few of those artifact spirits had gone dormant. Perhaps it is a form of mourning. Perhaps through ignorance or malice they had been disrespected. Perhaps some of them felt that being in a museum display is a form of captivity that they don't want to experience. I also feel that some of the objects were completely empty of souls, and my theory is that they left to follow the souls of the people they first lived with.
I wish to leave this section on how artifact spirits awaken with something that ties in very well with the topic, something to contemplate. It is a clip from one of my favorite movies, "American Beauty". In it one of the characters, Ricky, shares with his friend a film he made of a plastic bag being blown around by wind. This moment that he filmed had caused a sort of spiritual understanding in him. Whether that understanding was purely pantheistic or also included animism is up for interpretation. In my opinion, what he says leaves it open enough for both to be argued validly.
The reason why I include it here is because it is a very moving and poignant example of a communication between a person and an object that is normally ignored. The focus Ricky gave the plastic bag, the emotions it stirred in him, and the fact that he felt it important enough to immortalize on film would, in my experience, all but guarantee that either the bag was already awakened for some reason, or that it awakened at the moment both it and Ricky decided to communicate with each other.
The theme of "American Beauty" is about reexamining life on your own terms, and while it is full of amazing moments, this scene especially touched me as an animist. I'm by no means perfect when it comes to recognizing and respecting all the artifact spirits around me, but Ricky and the plastic bag opened me up to become much more receptive to the idea. If you have a moment to watch the clip, perhaps it will do the same for you.
Animists hold the belief that all things contain individual spirits or souls. Even though this extends beyond the beings scientifically classified as living, most modern animists tend to hone in on animals and plants. Most also work with mineral beings, especially crystals and stones. And probably a majority pay honor to the beings of landscapes and weather. A good number also work with place spirits, even some human-created ones such as houses, temples, cemeteries, stores, and campgrounds.
One class of beings that are widely overlooked are items that were fashioned by human hands or human machines. Two notable exceptions to this rule are sacred tools and the works of crafters and artists. This is due to the fact that both sacred tools and art are used and/or created with specific focus and intent. Thus these objects contain a very strong field of energy that is already used to interacting with humans.
I would like to take a moment to explain a few definitions I use for easier communication. The term I use for the spirits of human-created objects is "artifact spirit". The truest definition of artifact simply means "anything altered or created by humans". I prefer this rather than man-made because, while the objects may be man-made, sometimes the spirits in them aren't (but sometimes they are).
I use the term "awakened" to mean the certain state a spirit can achieve where it is at least somewhat self aware and self determining and able to interact with (and possibly communicate) with humans. All objects are ensouled, but for various reasons they can become dormant or never awaken in the first place. Some objects find a need to enter a dormant state very similar to sleep. They may decide to "sleep" as little as a few hours to as long as a few centuries. Sometimes artifact spirits enter dormancy after a trauma.
It may seem odd to imagine non-organic beings experienced experiencing trauma but, in my experience, they can. Especially if they are used to being surrounded by respect and love and then suddenly encounter callousness or violence. A hypothetical situation would be a cherished wedding ring stolen from the finger of a murder victim and pawned. After being exposed to the fear and death of its owner and going from a status of treasure to junk it may shut down. Hopefully, it will catch the eye of a buyer who will once again turn it into a symbol of love and happy memories which may convince it to awaken again.
Artifacts that were created to be disposable often never awaken. Why would, for example, a plastic spork, wish to awaken when it was created impersonally to be identical to millions, used once, and then sent to a landfill? It is possible to help the spork awaken although it would be hesitant to do so once it begins comprehending its usual life cycle and will probably choose to go back into dormancy. (Please don't awaken disposable objects as an experiment unless you will be keeping them for some period of time. Awakening something and just throwing it away is a very cruel thing to do. I did it to an empty coke bottle and only realized the callousness of the action after I had tossed it in the dumpster, for which I still feel bad about.)
An artifact spirit may awaken on its own or a person may initiate the process. It is completely unnecessary for a person to be an animist or have a belief in ensouled objects for them to cause an artifact spirit to awaken. One of the most common ways for an artifact to awaken is for intent, focus, and strong emotion to be placed on it. It is extremely common for children's plushies and toys to awaken. Many people often name their cars, boats, firearms, and computers. This personification is at least a subconscious acknowledgement of the spirit inside the object and a strong bond often forms between said object and its owner.
Technology is *very* easy to awaken and often they are "born" awakened. This is due to many reasons. Computers, phones, gaming consoles, and other tech are often literally an extension of ourselves. Sometimes we even partially merge together temporarily (or in the case of some technophiles, permanently). Technology is also getting closer and closer to mimicking human intelligence and most of society is anxious for the day this finally happens. Thus, many people are already starting to view computers as children to be taught. Of all of the objects that surround us in our daily lives, technological objects evoke the strongest emotional responses, good and bad.
I've already mentioned artwork, but I feel it is worth expanding on. Artistic objects and tech objects, in my mind, tie as the best artifacts for an animist to work with if they are just starting to explore the idea of communicating with artifact spirits. Art, by its nature, communicates with humans. Artists and artwork reflects the archetypes of Creator and Creation which are two of the most powerful archetypes to evoke. Art is always born out of emotion and meant to be an object of communication (even if the artist keeps the piece of art, it is still a form of communication from themself to themself). Thus, the spirits of objects of art are nearly always born awakened with a sense of purpose and a knowledge of how to communicate to humans (or at least a select group of humans).
A very good way to experience and understand the various ways artifacts may be awakened, what personalities they develop, and how they choose to communicate with (or ignore) humans is to visit various museums. Art museums are obvious choices that tie in with my last example, but don't limit yourself to that. I once challenged myself to open up to the spirits that might be found in a military history museum despite my ambivalence towards the topic. I was very surprised by what I felt and what greeted me. I ended up talking to a tank, a rifle, and even a WWII canteen. I met many more spirits who were kind but not interested in talking. And, yes, I met a few who were snobby or even malicious. I encountered many different personalities among those artifact spirits. Pride, sorrow, victorious joy, weariness, boastfulness, love, and hate. I was especially touched at those who still had a connection to the humans they worked with and wanted their stories to be remembered (the canteen was one of these).
I've also sprit-walked (my term for entering a light trance at a place to communicate with the spirits that might be there) in a few different museums holding Native American artifacts. These artifact spirits, in my experience tend to be more reserved and many of them give a message of "I won't talk, but you're welcome to sit with me quietly". Some do wish to share their stories, but some are resentful both of being in the museum and especially of the fate of the peoples they originally lived with. And sadly, quite a few of those artifact spirits had gone dormant. Perhaps it is a form of mourning. Perhaps through ignorance or malice they had been disrespected. Perhaps some of them felt that being in a museum display is a form of captivity that they don't want to experience. I also feel that some of the objects were completely empty of souls, and my theory is that they left to follow the souls of the people they first lived with.
I wish to leave this section on how artifact spirits awaken with something that ties in very well with the topic, something to contemplate. It is a clip from one of my favorite movies, "American Beauty". In it one of the characters, Ricky, shares with his friend a film he made of a plastic bag being blown around by wind. This moment that he filmed had caused a sort of spiritual understanding in him. Whether that understanding was purely pantheistic or also included animism is up for interpretation. In my opinion, what he says leaves it open enough for both to be argued validly.
The reason why I include it here is because it is a very moving and poignant example of a communication between a person and an object that is normally ignored. The focus Ricky gave the plastic bag, the emotions it stirred in him, and the fact that he felt it important enough to immortalize on film would, in my experience, all but guarantee that either the bag was already awakened for some reason, or that it awakened at the moment both it and Ricky decided to communicate with each other.
The theme of "American Beauty" is about reexamining life on your own terms, and while it is full of amazing moments, this scene especially touched me as an animist. I'm by no means perfect when it comes to recognizing and respecting all the artifact spirits around me, but Ricky and the plastic bag opened me up to become much more receptive to the idea. If you have a moment to watch the clip, perhaps it will do the same for you.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-20 09:41 am (UTC)First, it reminds me of the story of the Talking Yam, in which (spoiler alert!) the punch line involves a talking *chair*, and pretty much everything else in the story from the yam to a dog to a fishing pole also talk (which starts a great deal of ruckus among the human community). I mean, why the hell can't a well-loved throne have a spirit if a freshly-dug yam can? Perhaps the origin of the spirit is different, and that's another discussion altogether. But if you're going to be an animist, be an animist!
I wonder if spirits thrive on meaning, if that's what keeps them alive, or at least awake? The empty Capri Sun packet sitting on the desk only had brief meaning for the time it took me to rehydrate myself with its contents, and now it's just refuse. But if I took the time to save all these up, clean them, and sew them together, I could have a pretty nifty bag. And that could take on its own spirit.
gah. Sorry if this is disjointed (this is why I'm trying not to comment because brain.)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 02:48 pm (UTC)I do think meaning is a HUGE part of how and why spirit artifacts awaken. Everything, in my view, has an animistic soul, but because the "bodies" of artifacts are created by humans they often need humans to help give form to their spirits.
*wicked grin* Perhaps it would be interested if you did experiment a bit with creating a sacred object or two out of "trash" and see how it compares and contrasts with helping skin spirits have a chance at being much more than "trash"?
no subject
Date: 2012-10-21 10:28 am (UTC)I'd probably be open to it being posted somewhere with credit, though.
Let me know if wildspeak.com counts as one of those places. It wouldn't be for a while anyway, but I've been thinking about slowly expanding the 'other spirituality' section again. Well, you know, as actively as I ever do anything on that site. *hangs head.*
I like the term awakened to indicate a spirit that is able to interact / communicate. I also like the concept of dormancy, though I have also met items where the majority of the functional soul is simply gone, or dead or has moved on. That's not just restricted to artefact spirits, but also to land spirits. The local Nyungah even have a term for it, which is 'mootch' land. Or land where the primary genius locii is essentially dead and waiting for new spirits to take its place.
Why would, for example, a plastic spork, wish to awaken when it was created impersonally to be identical to millions, used once, and then sent to a landfill?
I don't know this from experience (i.e. I haven't talked with a spork, though I have with other short-lived plastic objects), but I don't see why it wouldn't.
I mean, there are tiny animals that live only for a day, and they still take the time to awaken and then die. Just because we can't relate to the lifespan, or the purpose within the lifespan, doesn't mean that an item (or animal's) purpose is pointless because it is limited.
There are millions of flies and butterflies and lacewings and even smaller creatures that experience their winged life for a truly limited amount of time, sometimes only a few hours, but clearly there is enough of a point that it happens.
A spork might be sitting in a packet in a box for months of years (i.e. the 'larval' stage of a spork), to come to life for the minutes it is used to help enrich a person's nourishment, and then its end-stages when passed onto landfill. To me, that is just as meaningful as the tiny insects that we never see or notice, that come to life briefly and pass on again.
We might not understand the point because to us a life so short might seem pointless, but that strikes me as projection. It always used to seem a 'waste' to me that some cicadas spend far longer in their larval phase than their active winged phase, to be born in the millions, to just die after a brief mating period. But if it evolved, it has a point, even if that point is as simple as 'to exist for a few hours for reasons unknown to us'. The perception of time probably seems very different to a being with a tiny lifespan, compared to say, us. Just like we seem very different to a land spirit with a longer lifespan than ours.
We might want to keep something for a period of time because of our attachment to time and longevity and media's emphasis on 'living forever.' But what if sporks and other short-lived beings actually *don't* want that? Why do our goals need to be the same if we are not the same? I wouldn't ask a winged cicada to live for 10 years because I thought that might be more meaningful; and I'd still want it to awaken to its brief winged life. A few hours living out a purpose is still sacred, not wasteful, and certainly not pointless imho. I would say from the amount of pop culture that has derived from the spork, plenty of sporks do awaken and share their energies with others. They are one of the most popular and comically-viewed cutlery items in the market.
It is extremely common for children's plushies and toys to awaken.
This makes so much sense to me, and also goes a long way to explaining why there are so many narratives - both indigenous, entrenched in fairytale, and even now through the Toy Story movie series - about toys. So many profound books about plushies (The Velveteen Rabbit).
It also makes a lot of sense that technology is easy to awaken and often born awakened. Especially given how much interaction they get.
I love the clip, too. It's one of my favourite scenes in the movie.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 03:00 pm (UTC)About your thoughts about the spork-spirits (how cool is it to be talking about this!), I think one main difference between a spork and a lacewing is that a lacewing still lives on via genetics. And even if we can't see it, each lacewing is a unique individual.
A spork is made to be identical to all other sporks. It does have a purpose, but that purpose is normally taken for granted. In one sense, a spork's purpose is to be thrown away more than it is to help nourish us, if that makes sense. It is a convenient thing made to briefly suit our purposes and then be tossed in a trashcan or on the ground. Which, in my view, is a rather disdainful way to treat something.
So while I do believe a spork has a spirit, in my experience, it has no reason to awaken to interact with the world and certainly not to communicate and work with humans on a level beyond its quick use and disposal. This isn't to say that it can't be awakened. Even a brief "thank you" might do the trick.