Fundamental topics within paganism can be difficult to approach with fresh eyes. Yes, every "witch's 101" book is written in a distinct voice and shares the author's approach, but if you've read many of them you could probably sketch out the table of contents of a new 101 book without ever seeing it and at least get close. Pantheons, divination practices, druidry... it's not impossible to present a new take on these kinds of subjects, but it's definitely a high bar to hurdle. Which is why S. Kelley Harrell's 2024 book From Elder to Ancestor: Nature Kinship for All Seasons of Life had me sitting up straighter as I dug into it; I've seen numerous books on animism in one form or another, but this very intentional exploration of animism as a path to healing yourself in one's context as a part of their community is a fascinating refocusing.
In general, texts on animism are going to focus on getting the reader in tune with what you might think of as "traditional" or "historical" living. After all, animistic practices were at the center of the earliest human culture (at least, as far as we can currently tell). Harrell has a gentler touch than some authors that I've read in explaining that the reader is likely going to have to de-condition themselves from how they've been brought up to see the world before they can actually redirect their thinking. Rugged individualism is antithetical to being in tune with your environment - certainly so at the depth necessary to bring yourself into contact with "kin" (this author's umbrella term for beings of a spiritual existence). Indeed, almost half of "From Elder to Ancestor" provides guidance and exercises to help the reader unpack the various trauma and bad education that they'd need to overcome just to get to the starting line (so to speak) of the journey towards understanding and embracing animism. It comes through clearly in her writing that Harrell has a deft touch with this work.
All that being said, the most fascinating part of this book is how it doesn't just consider a holistic approach to community building spatially but also *temporally*. Following through on the work outlined here is not only meant to put you, now, in a better frame of mind, but also to set up for success throughout this life and even, past the end of your life, as an asset to the future of your community. That may sound particularly "woo" but it doesn't have to be; at times, she points out, it is as simple as inventorying the lessons you've learned and working out how best, and with whom, to share them. After all, if you are in community with the world and people around you, what you've learned and what you can do are resource that rightly should be protected from the passage of time. It may be that I just need to get out more, but this was a new and fascinating way to see myself in context with my world.
From Elder to Ancestor is a somewhat tricky recommendation. It is not a thorough "animism 101" book, and I would suggest that you work through this book in concert with other reading to get a full picture. That said, for every gap in understanding that you might have from a solo read of this book it also opens a new vista in a way of understanding and being in the world that you otherwise might have missed. It's a worthy read to fire up some new synaptic pathways for you.
~review by Wanderer
Author: S. Kelley Harrell
Destiny Books, 2024
pp. 192, $18.99
