Pagan Book Reviews

Animal Spirit: Spells, Sorcery and Symbols from the Wild
Patricia Telesco and Rowan Hall
New Page Books, 2002
221 pages

It’s nice to see a book on animal magic that actually goes into new territory.

The authors start with some biology, a definite nice touch. They discuss how habitat, behaviors and physiological adaptations all contribute to an animal’s “medicine,” which is largely formulated from human interpretation of biological observations.

I did like the variety of areas of study and practice that were discussed. While totems and spirit guides were covered, so were such topics as animal-based feng shui and working with animal parts in magic, as well as the legalities thereof. This makes it a good 101 intro to the subject of animal magic.

I do have a few complaints. There are NO in text citations, and only a select bibliography. I want to know where they get evidence for “Shamans do this” or “The Ancients did that”–how about some qualifying citations? Or at least references to which culture(s) they’re talking about?

I also got tired of the usual lists of animal qualities in each section–that hits my Too Many Totem Animal Dictionaries button.

For the most part, though, it’s a good starter’s book, and unique in the field.

Four pawprints out of five.

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Animal Wisdom: The Definitive Guide to the Myth Folklore and Medicine Power of Animals
Jessica Dawn Palmer
Thorsons, 2001
368 pages

Normally I really don’t care for animal totem dictionaries, just because there are so many of them. But this book ended up on my list of the Top Ten Most Unappreciated Books on Animal Magic. I wouldn’t call it “definitive,” meaning “ultimate”, but it is very thorough.

This is an incredibly detailed animal totem dictionary. There’s no spellwork, no instruction–it is purely referential. However, it’s very well executed. Palmer starts with physical characteristics and environmental factors of the species, then discusses world lore and mythos surrounding it. Next she goes into more neopagan magical correspondences, and finally a paragraph or two of her obsrvances of people associated totemically with that animal. All in all, very thorough.

It’s not perfect; occasionally she gets a fact wrong or stretches an animal’s inherent magical qualities a little farther than I’d agree with. And the discussions of the people involved are just too limiting. I don’t recommend reading it cover to cover; after a while the format does get a little tedious, though her writing style is excellent.

Still, overall this is a high-quality book that any animal magician should own. It’s a really good exception to my “I’m tired of totem animal dictionaries!” rule, and I highly recommend it as a good reference book.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

Note: This should not be confused with Animal Wisdom by Susie Green.

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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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Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small
Ted Andrews
Llewellyn Publications, 1996
383 pages

This is pretty much the classic neopagan totem dictionary. It gets more recommendations to newbies looking for totemic reading material than any other, and there’s good reason for this. It’s a thorough introduction to finding and working with totem animals, and had, at the time of its publication, the most complete listing of animal totems available.

Rather than just sticking to Big, Impressive North American Mammals and Birds, Andrews gives the totemic qualities of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and even insects from around the world. He gives a number of excellent exercises designed to help the practitioner strengthen the bond with hir totem once the connection has been made, and the entire book is written with respect for this relationship.

I do think he sometimes goes overboard on specific details. For example, he makes a bigger deal out of the fact that certain animals have the color red on them instead of blue, and then pulls in the human associations of red. I interpret it instead as red being the best color for attracting a mate or scaring off predators, depending on what animal we’re talking about. But he does rely heavily on interpreting animal behavior, which I think is a much more solid area of study.

I also like that he didn’t pull a Medicine Cards and talk about how he was teaching “genuine Native American totemism” and throwing around “medicine” and “all my relations” and so forth. I have talked to at least one other person whose opinion I respect who thought that Andrews was still a little too much on the side of cultural appropriation, but I think this is still a big improvement over previous (and later) works that try to be “noble savage totemism”.  The cover is probably the worst of it, IMO, but I can see arguments otherwise.

Overall, it’s pretty easy to see why this book is so popular. It’s not the only alternative out there, and a lot of people have tried to copy it. I’d recommend it to beginners along with Yasmine Galenorn’s Totem Magic.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

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Totem Magic: Dance of the Shapeshifter
Yasmine Galenorn
Crossing Press, 2004
224 pages

This is definitely one of the best books on animal magic to come out in recent years. First and foremost, I want to commend Ms. Galenorn for breaking away from the totem animal dictionary format and creating something unique. It’s nice to see an author who trusts the reader to be able to figure out hir relationship to hir totem on hir own.

I’m also really pleased with the wonderful anecdotes that are used to support a variety of spiritual and practical material. I especially liked reading about the spirit who decided to take up residence in an elk skull on the wall, but Galenorn is a wonderful storyteller no matter what she’s talking about. Her writing style flows well and is very accessible without being watered down.

Pretty much my only complaint would be the pre-crafted rituals and spells, though this is more of a personal pet peeve, and other readers will quite likely find them useful, especially newbies. And the pre-crafted material is inventive, rather than being formulaic as in some books on this and other topics.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

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Magical Creatures
Elizabeth Pepper (editor)
The Witches’ Almanac, Ltd., 2000
96 pages

This is a collection of almanac entries on a number of animals from around the world, edited by the creator of the Witches’ Almanac. The variety is nice, rather than just being Big Impressive North American Mammals and Birds. Many, though not all, are “witchy” animals, associated with witchcraft lore. The writing is easy to read and conversational.

It’s not a particularly in-depth book because of its format. The essays are rather brief, and deal a lot with traditional folklore. There’s also not a lot of practical material. It’s basically a small totem animal dictionary, and so would be best for someone who wants to have several different sources to draw from when researching totemic and related traits.

As a collection of essays from the Almanac, it’s good. But as a standalone book, it’s really not worth the $12.00 cover price. There are more complete guides to be had for not much more than that.

Three pawprints out of five.

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Animals of the Soul: Sacred Animals of the Oglala Sioux
Joseph Epes Brown
Element Books Ltd., 1997
142 pages

This book is on my Top Ten Most Underappreciated Books on Animal Magic. It’s a wonderful guide to Lakhota totemism, both the structure of it, and why certain animals are considered sacred.

While it isn’t a full treatise on the traditional culture by far, Brown does a good job of explaining the background context for the specific beliefs. The variety of animals described is nice, too. Along with larger animals like Wolf and Deer, Rabbit and the other small animals of the field are also described. The significance of Buffalo to this culture is given particular attention.

There are some surprises, too. Most neopagan totem dictionaries see Deer as a wholly positive animal. However, according to Brown, for the Lakhota Deer is a dual creature being both capable of kind and malignant properties; this is attributed partly to the Deer’s forked horns. Also, Fox is described as the smaller, gentler, more feminine version of Wolf, which rang true for me.

Again, be sure to supplement this book with others on traditional Lakhota culture. But this is an excellent addition to any neopagan totemist’s book shelf.

Five pawprints out of five.

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