Working with living things

 As Pagans and witches and other spiritual types, nature is often a big part of our practice.  We call upon nature to find spiritual allies, for spell and ritual ingredients and as sacred space.  And even though many of us view the world in an animistic way, we sometimes don't treat non-human things as if they were anything other than tools for us to us however we choose.

I have always thought it really interesting that so many spiritual people become vegetarian out of respect for animals, but seem to forget that plants have spirits as well.  It's like a magnification of the cute animal concept, how even people who eat meat often are fine eating cows and pigs, but if an animal is too cute (like baby animals) or one we typically keep as a pet (cats, dogs, guinea pigs) or one we think is smart (horses), people suddenly get really squirmy about eating them.  

I mean I get that it's easier to empathize with critters we are more familiar with, it makes sense that the more we interact with a particular thing, the more it becomes important to us.  It's the same reason why we care more for our loved ones than strangers (though we do typically at least recognize that strangers are still human lol).

But, if we are going to work with the spirits of things, we should treat them with proper respect.  And this means considering things like consent, especially when the being we are working with is still alive.  Many early books talk about this a little bit, when referencing things like sourcing wood to make tools out of, reminding us that we should not only ask permission, but leave a token of gratitude behind.

When we consider our relationship with the living world around us, there is often a natural give and take already in play.  If we grow a garden, we give the plants under our care space, water and other nutrients.  We tend to them, pulling up weeds and treating any issues they might have, protecting them from other critters who wish to feast on them, and in return we reap of their harvest.  When we have pets, we likewise care for them, and they care for us, in their own way.

Once we get beyond our personal spaces, however, sometimes we forget about these things.  We might collect a nice acorn we find, without thinking to ask if it wants to come home with us.  Maybe we see some pretty flowers and pick them to take home without leaving a gift in return.  Or we treat our spirit allies as servants, always at our beck and call, making demands of them and never doing anything for them.

 

 This is one of those things that just takes practice.  The more you do it, the more you will remember to do it.  And if you do forget, don't fret too much, just plan on taking a bit of time to apologize and leave a gift (kind of like if you accidentally assume a friend is willing to do you a favor, but you realize later you never asked them you just told them what you needed them to do for you, you would probably want to say you were sorry for assuming and do something nice for them to show how sincere your words are and how much you appreciate them).

I think it's also worth pointing out here that we need to step outside ourselves, when working with other living beings, and not always think about things from a human perspective.  Things that may seem weird to other people might be natural to other living beings.  As people, killing another person is not an acceptable action, and yet in the animal world, consumption is a way of life (and often helps keep the balance, if not even prey animals are eaten, they might not have enough food, and more will end up starving).  Of course any individual animal (or plant) doesn't want to be consumed, but the act of consuming isn't innately wrong or evil.

My personal experience is that gratitude and appreciation are often quite the worthy gifts.  Obviously don't strip an area clean of any particular plant, always leave enough that it can regrow, but when you do harvest or gather, think about why you are doing it.  Let your intentions help express your gratitude to the plants for their help in your work.

We are blessed with many allies on our path, and even though a good number of them aren't human, we can still find ways to work together.  It can take some effort, but the more you learn to honor and respect the other living beings you work with, the more rich your practice will be.