Animism, the Common Wild Tongue & Remembering Relationship with Rachel Fleming

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz is joined by Rachel Fleming, climate scientist, former Environment Agency policy advisor, writer, educator, and part of the Animate Earth founding circle. Together they explore modern animism, the remembering of the “common wild tongue,” and what it means to rebuild intimacy with a living, intelligent world. Rachel shares her journey bridging climate science, holistic ecology, and spiritual practice, reflecting on the limits of purely technical or policy-based responses to ecological collapse. Through stories of place, trees, and faithful return, the conversation traces the long human exile from belonging and the quiet emergence of a different way of being human rooted in listening, love, and relationship. Weaving themes of grief, beauty, ancestral memory, and hope, this episode invites listeners to remember that transformation rarely begins with grand solutions, but with simple, devoted acts of attention that restore our capacity to speak with and listen to the living world.

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: animate-earth.org
• Substack: The Common Wild Tongue

Mentioned in the episode:

• Stephan Harding pioneering Holistic Science
• Colin Campbell: colincampbell.co.za
• Monica Gagliano: monicagagliano.com
• Anna Breytenbach: animalspirit.org
• Oxford Real Farming Conference: orfc.org.uk
• Nathanial Hughs & The School of Intuitive Herbalism: schoolofintuitiveherbalism.weedsintheheart.org.uk
• Patrick MacManaway-The Land Whisperer: patrickmacmanaway.com
• Dr. Lyla June Johnson: lylajune.com

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 07:26 – Interview begins with invocation
• 10:18 – The mountain that raised Rachel
• 14:37 – How Rachel comes to this work through science
• 19:57 – Holistic science
• 21:33 – Animate Earth
• 25:59 – The common wild tongue
• 31:10 – Bridging “woo”
• 35:09 – It is actually simple
• 38:20 – Evolution is a spiral
• 42:49 – The importance of subtle work
• 44:48 – Needed medicine
• 47:19 – Interconnection goes so deep
• 48:42 – The heart field
• 51:55 – Neighbor ash tree
• 55:38 – Rachel’s work
• 57:54 – Invitation to advocacy
• 59:53 – Credits