The late and excellent Gordon White issingle-handily responsible for the popularity of the word 'animism' over the past 10 years. It's all the rage now.
For English speakers, unless you grew up in a Catholic or a New World sorcery culture it may be difficult making the flip. GW does a very good job here as an intro to what for most modern secular people is a totally alien worldview.
For background info start with his book 'Star.Ships' (not here) and
Ani.Mystic: Encounters with a Living Cosmos
Gordon White’s sequel to his acclaimed Star.Ships is a book of adventure and encounter, of optimism and healing. Ani.Mystic: Encounters with a Living Cosmos is, explicitly, a magician’s book, a dreaming book, one which aims to fundamentally shift the discourse within the western magical...
wizardforums.com
Just to add a few practical tips here.
There is no singular class of spirit. They are highly local, relative to you, your life, the culture you are in, the local biosphere, your expectations, the mythic framework you're using, and the ritual materia you are using, or lack thereof.
Since you are or were an atheist, you can still approach them in a Chaos magic intellectual framework. When starting out with spirit magic is not required to even think of them as spirits. Be gentle with your brain.
You do not need to flip your intellect to an animist viewpoint, which may be hard for someone from a modern secular culture. It might limit them becasue you set the rules of your life. So you of you start thinking hey can only change your mental psychology, then that is true too.
Use their traditional rites, incantations, and prayer... and if and when they show up and start doing things, flipping stuff around, and doing stuff, you can flip to an animist "model" and try talking to them. Most of pre-1875 Western Magic is animist, and assumes a universe that is alive with consciousness.
Most of magic here is getting their attention, then the western system provides pointers for what to do when they show up. Again, no need to totally mind-fuck your intellectual left-hemisphere brain with all this. It is very hard until you have these experiences to believe it.
I will say give of warning. Always keep you promises to any "hot" spirit you conjure . While may not believe in the demon you conjure, they will act with an apparent intelligence and volition that can shock you. They can be relentless. And often not forgiving in lapses of protocol. I can even translate why it works that in chaos magic or cool sounding and modern quantum viewpoint, but after a while it just easier to flip to a traditional view, at least when in ritual , and then having a relationship with them and weaving them into the fabric of your reality (and the reality of other people, when necessary)
