Spirit Stones – Growling Bear

May 7, 2007 at 10:37 am (Animal Magic, Divination, Native American cultures, New Age)

Spirit Stones
Growling Bear
Journey Editions, 1997
128 pages

Note: This book apparently initially came with a set of stones with animals on them, but I just had the book. The stones look easy to make, though.

“Spirit Stones” is one of a number of modern divination systems that are supposedly based on older traditions. It caters to those of the animal totem variety, featuring stereotypically “Native American totem” animals like Wolf, Bear, Snake and Frog, as well as other mostly Big, Impressive North American Birds and Mammals and other Traditional Native Animals. The book is meant as a guide for using stones with thes eanimals painted (or printed) on them.

I really have mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, the author does cite some tribe-specific examples of relationships between humans and animals. However, he doesn’t cite his sources, giving only a list of recommended reading, most of which seems to be on Native American cultures in general. And he throws around a lot of talk about “Native American spirituality” without making tribal distinction, and falling into the “noble savage” stereotype that all Indians are close to the Earth spiritually and ignoring the very real problems facing them today. He does bring in some historical information about various tribes, to include not glossing over the fact that the U.S. government basically screwed them over.

Functionally, it’s an interesting system, all cultural appropriation issues aside. The author includes a few sample readings that really flesh out the concepts he talks about, and he does include a decent amount of information on his interpretation of each animal. It’s something I’d recommend to a beginner looking for a simple, easy animal-based divination system.

Overall, it’s getting two and a half pawprints. I like the idea and the inclusion of research on Native cultures, but there’s just enough plastic shamanism to make me cringe every couple of pages.

Two and a half pawprints out of five.

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Man and Beast – Reader’s Digest

April 8, 2007 at 5:47 pm (Animal Magic, Anthropology, Cryptozoology/Paranormal, History, Mythology, Paleopagan Cultures)

Quest For the Unknown: Man and Beast
Reader’s Digest
1993
144 pages

I originally bought this book as a single copy rather than part of the entire series. As is normal for the type of book collections that Reader’s Digest, Time/Life and other magazine publishers put out on “odd” topics, this one is a nicely designed hardcover with a good mixture of text and pictures. The cover, in fact, has an awesome picture of an eagle mask on it.

But enough about the cover. Let’s go inside.

The book covers a wide variety of mystical aspects of animals, starting with a solid introduction to cryptozoology, then seguing into shapeshifter lore, and finally heading into the worship of animals and animal-based deities. Each section devotes well-researched text about its topic, punctuated with many full color illustrations, all captioned to show relevance.

It is a pretty basic book, of course, as it’s meant for the general public. Those who are already well-versed in animal-based mythology, cryptozoology and related topics will find most fo the material familiar. On the other hand, if you’re new to any of these topics, or just want a basic reference book around, this is a good choice. Additionally, if you’re a parents and want to introduce your teenaged child to animals in mythology and ritual, this would be an excellent guide as the language isn’t particularly difficult and most intelligent teens (even preteens) should have no problem with it.

Overall, a really nice coffee table book. Nothing really outstanding in the pagan/occult realm, but a good introduction.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

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Shamanism Volume III: Animal Medicine Powers – Dolfyn

March 19, 2007 at 4:12 pm (Animal Magic, Native American cultures, Paleopagan Cultures, Shamanism)

Shamanism Volume III: Animal Medicine Powers
Dolfyn
Earthspirit, 1992
30 pages

This little booklet of 30 pages was published way back in 1992, before the current glut of totem animal dictionaries settled itself into the market. It’s a precursor to Shamanic WIsdom II, which was a full sized book that Dolfyn wrote a couple of years later with Swimming Wolf.

The Good: The author’s interpretations of various totemic qualities are largely based on actual animal behaviors. They’re quite innovative, and it’s rare for me to say that about Yet Another Totem Animal Dictionary. There’s also a wide variety of animals, not just the Big Impressive North American Mammals and Birds. And the author is very ecologically-minded, talking about why it’s important to give back to the Nature we take from and supporting a balance.

The Bad: Lots of typos and spelling errors, which drove me nuts as I was reading. Also, it’s pretty white-light. I was reading the entry on Dolphin: “People who swim with Dolphins in the wild often report great emotional healing from Dolphin’s unconditional love” (p. 13). Funny how no one ever mentions how dolphins are also known to commit rape, both on other dolphins and, according to unsubstantiated rumors, human beings. Not that it necessarily has much bearing on totemism, but dolphins have been particularly romanticized by the New Age.

The Ugly: Very, very wannabe Native. Any animal-magic related book with “Medicine” in the title should raise warning flags. The author constantly refers to how “the tribes” or “Native American Indians” did X or believed Y. And, of course, there’s absolutely no bibliography, let alone in-text citations, showing where the author got the information.

Still, if you can overlook the bad and the ugly, the good is, well, pretty good. I’m hanging onto this to take to my totemism classes (along with a slew of other totem dictionaries) for people to use post-meditation to get some initial research on the animals they talked to.

Three and three quarters pawprints out of five.

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Animal Totem Astrology – Debbie Burns

March 19, 2007 at 9:34 am (Animal Magic, astrology, Books I Didn't Care Much For, Native American cultures, New Age, Paleopagan Cultures)

Animal Totem Astrology
Debbie Burns
Lansdowne, 2001
~78 pages

The concept for this book was really neat; the execution, on the other hand, fell far short of full potential. This was an attempt at a totemic zodiac, a combination of neopagan totemic qualities and traditional Western astrology, mixed in (supposedly) with some indigenous beliefs about the animals associated with certian birth months (though the source material pretty much confirms a basis in plastic shamanism.

The author explains the animals associated with each month (conveniently, they correspond to the twelve Western zodiac signs). She also brings in seasonal and time-of-day correspondences to try to show the qualities of people according to when they were born, all based on totemic qualities mixed with common astrological information.

Unfortunately, what could have been a really neat idea fell flat. I would love to see someone work with totem animals in association with Western astrology to create a new system–but I’d like to see it done in more depth. I highly doubt that what was described here is traditional to any tribe,a dn i think the author would have been much better off starting from scratch, studying both astrology and modern totemism, and then creating her own system based on these two areas of spirituality. Instead, she draws from some of the worst offenders of plastic shamanism, including Sun Bear and Jamie Sams, and perpetuates a whole bunch of drek. Her bibliography is barely over a dozen books, and almost all of them are New Age treatments of indigenous topics. She presents the whole thing as genuine “Native American” spirituality, in the grand tradition of her predecessors, and the whole thing ends up a train wreck.

I’m giving it an extra half of a pawprint, just because I like the concept (as long as it’s presented as a new system). But other than that, meh.

One and a half pawprints.
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Animal Spirit Guides – Steven D. Farmer

March 15, 2007 at 10:42 am (Animal Magic)

Animal Spirit Guides: An Easy-to-Use Handbook for Identifying and Understanding Your Power Animals and Animal Spirit Helpers
Steven D. Farmer
Hay House, 2006

Just another totem animal dictionary.

I’d read Farmer’s Power Animals a few months back, and given it high ratings because despite it being a totem animal dictionary for the most part, it really was a creative format. This is the followup, written by Farmer because people asked him about animals he hadn’t mentioned in the first book. It’s good, not great.

Okay, I know other readers justify that this isn’t a rip-off of Ted Andrews’ Animal-Speak because it has animals that the older book doesn’t. Okay, fair enough–I was happy to see, among others, Dragon and Lobster. I’ve seen mythical animals elsewhere, but not that commonly, and just seeing Lobster made my evening! But if I were to have someone choose between buying this book plus Power Animals, or buying Andrews’ Animal-Speak and Animal-Wise, I’d say “Well, do you want your animal definitions in great detail, or not so much detail?” Where Andrews spends paragraphs on each animal, Farmer gives a little bit of info on what to do if an animal comes into your life, and what to do if it’s your power animal.

But it’s still just another totem animal dictionary. This book doesn’t really have much in it beyond Farmer’s interpretations of what the animals mean–he tries to justify its uniqueness by saying that he went to the animals themselves, but the thing is, totem animals give us each personalized messages. This is why the dictionaries are limited in their usefulness–no matter how well written, you’re still getting the author’s interpretation of the animal’s traits. And the material in Power Animals is pretty much the standard how-to-work-with-totems/etc. fare that you find in Andrews and other authors’ works.

That being said, this isn’t a bad book. It’s just a different approach to the usual material. I do commend it for having Lobster in there, and for having another unique format, but in the end there’s really nothing here that makes it stand out from the dozen-plus animal totem dictionaries out on the market.

Three and three quarters pawprints out of five.

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The Power of Animals – Brian Morris

March 15, 2007 at 10:32 am (Animal Magic, Anthropology, Paleopagan Cultures)

The Power of Animals: An Ethnography
Brian Morris
Berg Publishers, 2000
288 pages

Brian Morris spent a number of years living among the indigenous people of Malawi in southeast Africa. His focus in this, and a companion volume that I’ll be reading soon, “Animals and Ancestors: An Ethnography”, is the relationship between the various cultures in Malawi, and the native fauna. “The Power of Animals” specifically focuses on relatively more mundane aspects, such as the hunt and other everyday interactions with animals, as well as touching on moeity in relation to animal-symbolized clans.

The book is divided up into four primary chapters. The first goes into great detail about the basic social structure common in Malawi cultures, and describes its matrilineal nature. Central to this structure is the sedentary village-based lifestyle that primarily involves women, children, and elders, and the mature men who are considered outsiders, and who may have several families in several villages among whom they divide their time. This segues into the next chapter which goes into greater detail on hunting traditions. Not only are older traditions covered, but the changes wrought by European invasion and the rise of capitolism, as well as the overhunting of wildlife by European hunters and the ivory trade in general, are examined as well. Folk classifications make up the third chapter. The taxonomy of animals in Malawi is quite different from Eurocentric taxonomy, and the differences in relationship between humans and animals is made quite clear per culture in this respect. Finally, there’s a chapter dealing specifically with the attitudes the Malawi tribes have towards animals, based upon the research done in the previous three chapters.

This is an incredible look at one particular set of cultures’ views towards animals, and nature in general. The difference in worldview between these people, and people in post-industrial countries, is at times astounding. Reading this also reminded me of the detachment that American culture has from nature in general. For instance, Morris pinpointed the erroneous argument that meat-eating, and the pleasure derived thereof, is primarily a Caucasian corruption, by exploring the eagerness to procure meat that the people around him studied. Additionally, Morris is careful to point out that his research was done in the field, while digging mice up or otherwise participating in day to day activities with his “subhects of study”, and his close relationship shows in his work, which lacks the detachment, Eurocentricism and condescension often found on anthropological work.

The writing is quite academic, and those who aren’t used to this style of writing may take a bit to get used to it. However, it is far from being a dry read, and once I got into the rhythm of Morris’ writing style I really enjoyed myself. I will say there are a number of typos and grammatical errors, but content-wise this book is excellent.

This truly is a wonderful look at a very complex series of human-animal attitudes. I’m looking forward to reading “Animals and Ancestors” to see what the rest of his research on this says.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Meditations With Animals – Gerald Hausman

March 15, 2007 at 10:25 am (Animal Magic, Meditation, Native American cultures, Paleopagan Cultures)

Meditations With Animals: A Native American Bestiary
Gerald Hausman
Bear & Company, 1986
144 pages

This is a unique little book; part of it is traditional Native American chants and stories from various tribes, taken from interviews for The Bureau of Ethnology Reports. However, the author also provides his own meditations on these tales. The meditations are mindful of the ecological disasters that are destroying the world, piece by piece, as well as humanity’s increasing detachment from Nature, and the importance of renewing that relationship before it’s too late.

The book is divided up by region–tribes of the plains, of the Pacific coastline, the woodlands, etc. Interspersed among the meditations and stories are piece of information about the tribes themselves. It is a sensitive conveyance of tribal lore without being New-Age-crystally (with the exception of one tiny mention of the Natchez being a possible remnant of the Atlanteans, though the mention of it is rather ambiguous, more of a “By the way” kind of thing).

This is a good book for opening up your mind a bit more to the idea of all things being interconnected, particularly in regards to other animals. While occasionally it romanticizes the lives of various tribes, it lacks the “Hey! Look! We’re really Indians!” feel of writers like Brooke Medicine Eagle. I would also recommend the idea of using some of the chants and meditations in here for personal totemic work and animal magic in general.

Four pawprints out of five.

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Shamanic Wisdom II : The Way of the Animal Spirits – Dolfyn and Swimming Wolf

March 7, 2007 at 10:41 am (Animal Magic)

Shamanic Wisdom II : The Way of the Animal Spirits
Dolfyn and Swimming Wolf
Earthspirit Inc., 1996
131 pages

This is one of a number of basic totemism 101 dictionaries out there. While there’s nothing that really makes it stand out, it’s nowhere near the worst I’ve seen. The authors offer the basics of totemism, including what totems are, how to find them, and how to work with them. It also includes a basic dictionary, which while it includes the usual suspects (Wolf, Bear, Buffalo) it also has a few lesser-known totems (Camel, for example). It’s well-written, brings up some really good points about how animal behavior affects totemic qualities, and adequately covers the introductory information one needs for working with animal totems.

I suppose my biggest complaint (other than it being a rather unremarkable book compared to similar ones of its genre) is that the authors do indulge in some suspected plastic shamanism. They don’t really give any evidence for being part of any authentic indigenous tradition, yet they throw around “medicine” and “shamanic peoples” left and right. Given some of the other titles that Dolfyn has published (more neoshamanic work, crystals, etc.) I’d wager that they’re coming from primarily a New Age background.

This is a good book if you want the basics of neopagan/New Age totemism; take the plastic parts with a grain of salt, and make sure you read more than just this book, but you could definitely have worse introductions to the topic.

Three and three quarters pawprints.

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Zuni Fetishes – Hal Zina Bennett

February 21, 2007 at 9:38 pm (Animal Magic, Native American cultures, Paleopagan Cultures)

Zuni Fetishes: Using Native American Sacred Objects for Meditation, Reflection, and Insight
Hal Zina Bennett
HarperSanFrancisco, 1993
192 pages

This is a unique book. It combines history and lore about fetishes, tiny stone carved animals, with modern spiritual practices to create a modern paradigm.

Bennett is careful to remind us that what he is teaching is NOT necessarily Zuni tradition, but is inspired by it, and he cites some good sources. His interpretation is practical and spiritual all at once, and is quite accessible by modern pagans.

The author goes over the background of fetishes, emphasizes that they are not merely decorative, and explains the ways that he and others of non-Zuni background use the fetish spirits in evderyday life. He then has a dictionary of tradition-inspired lore about eat fetish, though he does suggest throughout the book consulting the individual fetishes themselves.

A lot of the material may be 101 to those of you who have done a lot of animal magic, particularly that dealing with fetishes and other ritual spirit houses. However, it’s a great book to start out with, and also worth a read even if you’ve some experience. Veyr thorough and well-written, and a unique take on animal totemism.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Personal Power Animals – Madonna Gauding

February 21, 2007 at 9:31 pm (Animal Magic, Books I Didn't Care Much For)

Personal Power Animals: For Guidance, Protection and Healing
Madonna Gauding
Godsfield, 2006
144 pages

This is one of those books that really just doesn’t stand out from the crowd of books on totems and related topics. There’s really nothing original, and what is covered has been explored more thoroughly by other authors.

The first part of the book talks about various systems of animal symbolism, such as both the Western and Chinese Zodiacs, as well as some very basic totemic information. Then the rest, a little over half, if I recall correctly, was just another totem animal dictionary, and not a very good one at that. The information was sparse and not very detailed, dabbling a little in several puddles rather than diving deeper into the surface. A short paragraph on mythology. another on what a person under that totem is supposedly like personality-wise.

Unimpressive. If you happen to be a beginner, it will introduce you to a few concepts, for which I gave it an extra star, but that’s about it. There are much better, more thorough alternatives.

Two pawprints out of five.

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