John Lamb Lash, Nemeta.org
“Sophianic Animism (SA) in 500 Words”

“Animism” denotes the action of life not merely as vital force, but more fully and deeply, animating force. “Sophia” denotes what upholds and directs that animation.

Pervading the spectrum of all that lives is a super-force that imparts direction and diversity of expression. Sophianic Animism is recognition of that supernatural force and bonding with it. If the animating matrix of life is intelligent, willful, and responsive to what it produces, it is appropriate to name it and treat it as a living creature having those attributes. The planetary animal called “Mother Earth” is the central figure in Sophianic Animism, rather than an off-planet father god or any other type of creator (authoritative, punitive) in Abrahamic religions. The mother goddess is a grounded presence accessible to the human mind and senses. The aim of Sophianic Animism is to interact with that presence, not through faith or fantasy, but experimentally, via a path of learning called Gnosis.

Sophianic Animism draws its founding elements from the Gnostic movement of antiquity, the most repressed, persecuted, and vilified body of knowledge in human history. Like Gnosis, Sophianic Animism is a heresy: “that which is chosen” (from Greek hairein, to choose). As a heresy it stands against all other religions. Gnosis is an alternative to religion, an option to forgo religious beliefs of all kinds, cultures, and periods. It is direct knowing of the natural and supernatural dimensions of existence, including the self-reflecting intellect and psyche in its sensuous, emotional, imaginal aspects. Sophianic Animism asserts that the soul-life of human creatures unfolds as an event in the natural world, produced by the same forces that cause the seasons, the tides, the growth and decay of natural forms.

Although it draws upon Gnosis and shares many of its features, Sophianic Animism stands alone as a unique exercise of faith that can be verified, supported by evidence and confirmed through shared experience. The basic faith of every human creature is: the power of life that puts you here keeps you alive. As long as you desire to live, you naturally hold faith in the transcendent life-force that produced you.

Sophianic Animism takes the name of the natural and supernatural matrix of life on earth from Gnosis: Sophia, the Greek word for wisdom. She is the planetary animal mother (PAM). The narrative of the Mysteries derived from primordial Gnosis describes her status by three Ss: source, story, setting. As the Aeon Sophia, a divine power from the galactic center, She is the source of life, the intelligent deity that designed the human species, the anthropos. Her story, the Fallen Goddess Scenario, is the myth that guides the races of the anthropine species. Finally, Sophia is materially present in the setting of life, the natural world, comparable for her to the body you experience when acting in a dream. The world-drama on earth is the product of Sophia’s Dreaming.

In summary, Sophianic Animism is immersion in the wisdom of life by choosing to bond with its divine source. It is a calling to existentially engage the Sacred.

– j l l D25 of Tantra Mother Shift 2019

Opening Music:
Song: Maze
Artist: Mari Boine and Liu Sola
Album: A Week Or Two In The Real World

Additional Music:
Song: Bless This Morning Year
Artist: Helios
Album: Eingya