n our last blog, we discussed animism, the belief that the natural world is alive with spirit and intention. That foundation matters here because when we charge, cleanse, harness, or amplify energy, we have to understand the organic soul or power we're working with. We aren't just moving energy blindly. We're in conversation with it.

This understanding has many names across cultures: qi in ancient China, tonalli in Mesoamerican traditions, ashé in West African Yoruba practice, but the root idea is the same. Everything alive carries its own specific energy, and that energy can be worked with. The understanding that natural elements carry this energy, and that working with it intentionally is directly related to the effectiveness of your spellcraft, is at the heart of what witches do. Take roses, for example. We associate roses with love and passion, but historically, roses were prized for their beauty and skincare benefits. They are, at their root, the flower of attraction. That association didn't appear from nowhere. It was built over centuries of human experience, healers, shamans, witches, and priests all reaching for the same flower. Understanding a plant or element in both its current meaning and its historical context allows a witch to tap into that energy through many sources at once, and that layering is what amplifies spellcraft.

Honestly wasn’t a word I heard or thought of often before my spiritual journey into witchcraft. But the concept was something I often thought about. I inherently understood Earth and Nature as a living entity. Between being raised by Xichana gardeners, sitting in trees as a kid, and, of course, Disney’s Pocahontas (don’t cancel me for liking Pocahontas as a kid… and now too…), I knew very matter-of-factly that I was in a relationship with nature. To this day, I will talk to anyone who will listen about the consciousness of ants, bees, and trees. I think there is scientific evidence. They are sad when their kin dies. They show observable sadness. But I digress. I did not know that this belief had a name, and was called animism. 

Animism, from the Latin anima (soul, breath, life), is the worldview that all things possess a spiritual essence: animals, plants, rivers, stones, weather, and the dead. It's not a religion so much as a foundational orientation toward reality, and is arguably the natural and instinctive worldview of humans. 

Everyone has a money bowl right now. Some with green rice, a few coins, maybe a citrine tumble if they're feeling fancy. Hey, if it's working, keep at it. If you ain't broke, don't fix it. But seeing how everyone, even witches, is feeling the pinch of the economy, I'm guessing no, it's not doing what you need.

If it were, you wouldn't have clicked the link.

The oldest known altars date back tens of thousands of years. Long before organized religion, before written language, before anyone had a word for "witchcraft," humans were creating dedicated spaces to connect with something beyond the everyday. They were marking the sacred.

What is discernment in witchcraft? Learn how to think critically, trust your intuition, and navigate misinformation in modern witchcraft practice.