Within animist worldviews, storms, earthquakes, and droughts are not regarded as blind, mechanical forces but as the visible gestures of spiritual beings inhabiting sky, earth, and water. Winds, clouds, mountains, rivers, and the very ground beneath the feet are understood as alive or indwelt by conscious or semi‑conscious spirits. A storm may thus be read as the movement, anger, or play of a sky or thunder spirit; an earthquake as the stirring or shifting of powerful earth beings or subterranean entities; a drought as the withdrawal, displeasure, or absence of rain and water spirits. These events are interpreted as purposeful, with intention and meaning, rather than as random accidents of nature.

Because of this, many animist traditions frame such phenomena in relational and ethical terms. Human communities stand in a web of reciprocity with land, animals, ancestors, and local spirits, and disturbances in this web can be mirrored in the environment. Disrespect toward the land, broken taboos, social disharmony, or neglected obligations may be understood as upsetting the spirits, resulting in destructive storms or withheld rain. Conversely, when relationships are tended with care, the spirits are more likely to respond with gentler weather and fertile conditions. Natural events thus become a kind of communication, signaling the state of the bond between humans and the more‑than‑human world.

Ritual practice follows from this relational understanding. Offerings, prayers, dances, and other ceremonies are undertaken to address the spirits associated with wind, rain, earth, and sky, seeking to appease, calm, or redirect their power. In times of drought, rainmaking rituals may be performed; after earthquakes or severe storms, divinatory practices might be used to discern what the spirits are “saying” and what changes in conduct or ritual are required. Specialists such as shamans or ritual leaders often serve as intermediaries, interpreting these signs and guiding the community in restoring balance.

Underlying these patterns is a vision of reality as an interconnected community of beings, where humans, spirits, animals, ancestors, and landscapes participate in ongoing relationship. Each place—particular mountains, rivers, groves—may be associated with its own distinct spirits, with their own temperaments and expectations. Natural phenomena then appear as expressions of these local and cosmic relationships, reminding human beings that their lives are inseparable from the spiritual agencies that animate the world.