These
are a little more interesting in that they don't
necessarily originate from the animate, and some are
anthropomorphisations of non-life origins. We
better start at the start!
SPIRITS are generally collective consciousness
formed, but may also be of an individual (but not a
ghost), incarnate or passed. Spirits of
individuals are the form of the first outer mind.
Spirits of non-life origin (countries, mountain
ranges etc.) tend to form more as a humanised
(anthropomorphic) projection over obtains enough
energy to be a self sustaining spirit of that thing.
The spirit of a group collective is the singular
mind of the many.
Often
it will be a singular spirit encountered on a
journey that represents an entire species.
Mentioned previously, when an 'old' shaman
negotiated with the spirit of barramundi for
food, he was not relating to a singular fish,
but the essence of the awareness of that fish as
a part of a greater group consciousness.
That the spirit of barramundi allowed the taking
of an individual is not unusual, the fish knows
of competition and predation, being a predator
itself; it knows that the shaman would also
impose a ban on taking barramundi if the fish
asked too. This is actually a common
feature of almost all shamanic societies,..
shamanic 'bag limits' when requested by a spirit
from a population under pressure.
A
spirit of an incarnate (alive and physical)
individual may be projected or found during a
journey. To differentiate, a ghost is a
'trapped' consciousness, whereas a spirit is a
deliberate manifestation from a point of origin.
Calling on a specific spirit of a passed individual
requires much effort on the part of that spirit as
its natural state is without linearity (outer mind).
A ghost, on the other hand, is essentially trapped
in or contained mostly within linearity.
One
other spirit to be considered in the shamanic
reality is that of the spirit of objects. When
a true craftsman builds a bow, he should be singing
to the spirit of the bow so that it remains a
focussed and intent-filled weapon. Most of us
have handled tools that have served masters for
generations - the spirit of that tool is clearly
'palpable' when so much intent has been focussed
through it.
When
preparing food, focussed intent for the food to be
delicious and nutritional and satisfying ALWAYS
tastes better. Many traditional societies'
craftsmen and women sing to the thing they are
making, and to the spirit of that thing, so that the
item is made with more care and will serve its
purpose better.
ELEMENTALS are the anthropomorphic personifications
of things. The sea has been given many
different identities, Neptune and Poseidon to name
two, but their natures have almost always been the
same. When dealing with Salt Water, you are
dealing with the elemental natures of that thing.
Wind,
Fire, Fresh Water, Death, Old and New Metal are just
a few of the 'menagerie' of elementals.
Invocation of elementals must be with focussed
intent and clear task,.. they have no concept of
time wasting and can get 'grumpy' quickly if their
time is wasted.
Dealing
with elementals should be left for a time when you have
good guidance and much experience as elemental's minds
are not formed of conscious thought, but rather,
projections of personality and can be difficult and
confusing to deal with.
