Pagan Book Reviews

Animal-Wise: The Spirit Language and Signs of Nature
Ted Andrews
Dragonhawk Publishing, 1999
438 pages

This is a pretty typical neopagan sequel. Once again, Andrews presents us with a totem animal dictionary with some supporting material. It’s basically Animal Speak all over again, except with new exercises and a whole new slew of animals.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Fans of his work will enjoy the new ideas to work with. And this time he goes into some pretty varied animals, including Mole, Lark, Woolly Caterpillar, and dozens more. As always, his writing is inviting and never confusing, though it is 101 material, of course.

It doesn’t really work as a stand-alone book for a newbie, just because some of the foundational information is in Animal Speak. However, they do complement each other nicely. The cover, again, is rather wannabe Native, but that’s marketing for you–many people still have the idea that totemism is primarily an American indigenous thing.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

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