The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. - Eden Phillpotts, British author, poet and dramatist
James Hillman (American, 1926 – 2011), father of archetypal psychology, suggested that we are a part of the world psyche or world soul and therefore part of the anima mundi: the world, ensouled.
According to Wikipedia, Anima mundi (Greek: ψυχὴ κόσμου psychè kósmou; Latin: anima mundi) is, according to several systems of thought, an intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet, which relates to the world in much the same way as the soul is connected to the human body.
Paulo Coelho, Brazilian novelist and lyricist, in his book, The Alchemist, refers to the Soul of the World as a spiritual force, sometimes equated with God, that binds all of us together and governs all things and that speaks with us in the language of signs or omens.
"Everything that we are now, and everything that we might someday become; everything that we see, hear, smell, imagine – all of these things are unique expressions of the anima mundi, captured in a particular time and place." - Sharon Blackie, PhD; writer and teacher whose work sits at the interface of psychology, mythology and ecology
Briana Saussy, writer, teacher, and ritualist dedicated to the Sacred Art and author of Making Magic" writes about the "Holy helpers", who have always been present, if not seen.
Learning how to speak to these holy helpers means learning the language of nature. This is the language of the wild and natural world, the language of the wind through trees and birdsong at dawn...for in knowing nature, we also come to know ourselves. All magic originates in the natural world."
Briana Saussy's signposts for "making magic" are:
Dream true.
Listen to your dreams.
Ask a question.
Seek an answer.
Be purposeful.
Bring an offering.
Discern with care who is worth listening to.
Go into the wild.
Show kindness to strangers.
Accept that the journey will take as much time as it takes.
Do not rush.
Do not dawdle.
Pay attention.
Find the cave.
Ford the river.
Be willing to wait for what is worthwhile.
Sit by the fire.
Make it your own.
Stay as long as it takes.
Laugh.
Love.
Tell stories.
Say thank you.
Know your true name.
Remember what matters.
Live life so that others can remember too.
Dare to speak to bears.
And I would add, childlike wonder!
"As we recollect our magic, many ideas and notions that we uncover might sound far out and radical at first. Doors are magical. Time can be bent, expanded, and collapsed. Inanimate objects sing to our souls. The extraordinary not only exists but also is available here and now if we are willing to look...but nothing is as radically transformed and pushed to the edges by remembering our magic as our relationship with the natural world. The view of a world that is ensouled, animate, unfolding in dynamic relationships, and possessing essence changes us from the inside out."
Briana Saussy, author of Making Magic
As we connect with and develop our relationship with the anima mundi - the "holy helpers" - remember “There is a place of imagination, and it is entirely real.” - Robert Moss, Australian historian, journalist and author and the creator of Active Dreaming,
Resources:
Neuroscience and Psi: "Henry Corbin’s Mundus Imaginalis, Sufism, neurological damage, psychic opening, and imagination gone awry" by Barbara Croner & Sheila Joshi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_mundi
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