'Anima' was a substance, as in, a quantifiable attribute responsible for who awakens what natal treasure or awakens at all.
If you had anima beyond a certain threshold, you could awken your natal treasure and become a spirited.
Else, you're a spiritless.
While the concept was simple, the design and structure was not. After all, it needed to work for an entire race. Not just the first generation of Palarians, but their children, grandchildren and the generation that would come after a million years.
It's an exceedingly difficult thing to design and incorporate into a new race. But All Mother Asherah was hailed as one of the most influential gods for a good reason.
There were others who created stronger races or more talented ones. There were even a few who built species that start directly from celestial ranks. As in, a child of that species would be born as a celestial.