Can Animals and Machines Be Persons? – Justin Leiber

December 24, 2006 at 3:38 pm (Animal Magic, Philosophy, Psychology)

Can Animals and Machines Be Persons?: A Dialogue
Justin Leiber
Hackett Pub. Co. Inc., 1985
70 pages

Here’s yet another member of my Top Ten Most Underappreciated Books on Animal Magic.

This is a book I think should be required reading for being human. Set up as a very plausible fictional United Nations debate, it presents a philosophical dialogue concerning whether or not animals and technology (especially artificial intelligences) are people, and therefore possess intrinsic rights (such as the right to live). The debate centers on a chimpanzee and an AI who are on an otherwise abandoned space station that scheduled for destruction–with them still on it.

It’s a very quick read–I finished it in less than an hour. However, that’s because the writing is exceptionally well-done; the points are solidly made, but the format–conversation–allows them to flow smoothly. Every one of the seventy pages conveys the importance of the ideas at hand.

The author doesn’t favor one side or the other; he argues both viewpoints well, showing both the merits and flaws in each. In addition, some interesting parallels are brought up–for example, how in many cultures women weren’t even considered “people” until recently. And there are some excellent ruminations on the nature of consciousness.

This is probably one of my favorite quotes:

“The multicellular organism is just an extreme example of [a collective individual]. Each cell carries on a miniature life, but the collective is so obviously the subject of biological generalizations that we see it as an organism much more than we see the individual cells as organisms.” (p. 48)

Overall, this is a necessary addition not only to the animal magician’s library, but anyone else who has the capacity to read English.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Medicine Cards – Sams and Carson

December 24, 2006 at 3:31 pm (Animal Magic, Books I Didn't Care Much For, Divination, Native American cultures, New Age, Paleopagan Cultures)

Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals
Jamie Sams and David Carson
St. Martin’s Press, 1999
240 pages plus cards

Note: This review primarily covers the book itself, since the book is necessary for deciphering the meaning of the cards as the authors created them.

Now I know why people warned me about this book.

This is one of the worst cases of cultural appropriation I’ve seen yet. From the overuse of “Medicine” and “Great Spirit” to the assertion that this is genuine Native American spirituality, the whole book is one big hyperromanticization of the “Noble Savage”. This is the idea that all Native Americans were and are still completely entwined with nature in everything they do, and everything is mystical and amazing and there’s of course NO problem whatsoever and everything is hunky-dorey (just ignore the problems on the reservations and in the U.S. legislature, folks!)

One of my biggest problems is that the authors keep referring to “Native American” this and that. However, they’re not specific about what tribe they’re talking about. On page 221, where the bios are, the authors have between them (or so they say) Cheyenne, Crow, Sioux, Seneca, Mayan, Aztec and Choctaw learning and/or influence. Well, that’s a pretty wide variety of individual cultures there, not to mention the subdivisions within each of those tribes! I don’t believe I saw one single instance in the entire book where they referred to a specific tribe. There is no such thing as “Native American” anything–each tribe is a separate culture, not one big homogenized mass.

Of course, not only is the book lacking in-text citations, there’s not even a bibliography. How are we supposed to know where they’re getting their information? Just saying that “I learned it from so-and-so” isn’t good enough.

Additionally, there’s no indication that any of the tribes whose beliefs the authors are supposedly writing about are actually benefitting from the book and deck. Plastic shamanism as its best.

Feel free to read on for some specific examples….

“Every person has nine power or totem animals” (18)

Of course, they don’t say where they got this piece of rather generalized information.

Page 23 has a bunch of questionable mythology about how Native women are all incredibly intuitive and only men have egos.

p. 27 has a *Druidic* card layout (or so they say). What is this doing in a book that’s supposedly on “Native American totemism”?

“Thoth, the Atlantian who later returned as Hermes” (61)

I think that speaks for itself.

“Long ago, in tribal law…” (69)

Which tribe?

“This operation [of always paying for magical servies] is known as the law of the Lynx people, and is practiced by Native American. Gypsy, Sufi, and Egyptian cultures, among others. (109-110)

I’d say where they’re getting their information, but it wouldn’t be polite.

“All of our petroglyphs speak of the Motherland, Mu, and the disaster that brought the red race to North America…” (201)

Again, going to let this speak for itself.

I think you get the picture.

I do have to say that within the individual entries on different animals there are some motes of really good information. However, they’re buried in so much questionable material that I had to stop myself from throwing this book across the room a number of times. If you can swallow pseudo-Native garbage, go for it. Otherwise, avoid.

One plastic-coated pawprint out of five.

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The Once Unknown Familiar – Timothy Roderick

December 21, 2006 at 10:29 pm (Animal Magic, Psychology)

The Once Unknown Familiar: Shamanic Paths to Unleash Your Animal Powers
Timothy Roderick
Llewellyn Publications, 1994
218 pages

This is a wonderful break from the usual totem animal dictionary. It’s a heavily psychological viewpoint of physical and spiritual animal familiars, with a lot of emphasis on the inner animal. The guided meditations and the questions are worth the price of the book alone. It’s a wonderful pathworking tool, and I really enjoyed the trip.

And, miracle of miracles, not only was I blessed by a bibliography, but in-text citations!

I do have a few gripes. Roderick uses Margaret Murray’s now-debunked research, and he also tries to compare witchcraft and shamanism a little more closely than is really necessary.

There’s also a lot of filler in this book–it seems like he was really trying hard to break the 200 pages mark. Each question has a sizable chunk of blank space with it so you can write in those spaces instead of, say, a piece of paper. The chapters are divided by three to four blank, picture, or title pages. And the animal totem dictionaries and other listings of information are rather brief and seem more like an afterthought.

These don’t detract from the book too much. But the pathworking material, the exercises and meditations, are so good, and the rest of it just seems kind of thrown in there for the page count. I’d love to see a rewrite of the book based on the actual magical ideas, and less cliched, formulaic material–let’s see what can reaplce 50 pages or so of filler.

Four pawprints out of five.

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Totemism – Jean-Claude Levi-Strauss

December 21, 2006 at 10:23 pm (Animal Magic, Anthropology)

Totemism
Jean-Claude Levi-Strauss
Beacon Press, 1971

This was a vital source for the totemism chapter for my own book on animal magic. It’s a classic anthropological text on the subject as pertains to indigenous cultures around the globe.

Strauss spends much of the time explaining and exploring the various theories about totemism that developed in the first half of the 20th century. The book first came out in 1962, and it’s interesting to trace the deveopment of social anthropology through contemporary quotes.

The information itself is quite solid, and makes for good source material for traditional totemism. It’s not the easiest read in the world, and it comes across as very much an academic text. However, it’s well worth slogging through the lingo (if you aren’t already familiar) and the translation is excellent.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in totemism from any angle, particularly pagans who may yearn for more academic looks at totemism.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Cloisters Bestiary – Metropolitan Museum of Art

December 21, 2006 at 10:16 pm (Animal Magic, Mythology)

Cloisters Bestiary
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1960
60 pages

A rare find in a used bookstore, this is an assemblage of lore from medieval bestiaries,the collections of quaint and often fantastic natural histories of animals ranging from stags and wolves to unicorns and dragons.

“A Cloisters Bestiary” draws primarily from T.H. White’s “Book of Beasts” which itself combined material from a number of medieval texts. It is illustrated with photographs of contemporary sculptures, illuminated scripts and other artwork contemporary to the bestiaries, including some fine details from the Unicorn Tapestries.

It’s a quick read–60 pages, mostly pictures, more meant as an example than heavy reading material. Still, it captures the spirit of the medieval bestiary very nicely, and is good for a reference of that particular literary niche. The animal magician will find it useful as an example of where certain beliefs, particularly about mythical beasts, were derived.

Four pawprints out of five.

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The Personal Totem Pole – Eligio Stephen Gallegos

December 21, 2006 at 3:16 pm (Animal Magic, Meditation, Psychology)

The Personal Totem Pole: Animal Imagery, the Chakras and Psychotherapy
Eligio Stephen Gallegos
Moon Bear Press, 1990
183 pages

If I had to pick one book as the most important one in my Top Ten Most Underappreciated Books on Animal Magic list, this would be it.

The author had, prior to this book, no real experience with animal imagery, though he had some experience with meditation technique and the like. He discovered totemic animals associated with each of his seven primary chakras quite by chance, and created a wonderful system of it. The book deals not only with how to find these totems, but also how to interact with them and supports his findings with anecdotes from patients.

The real value here is that A) he acknowledges that these totems have independent existences rather than simply personifying the energies of the chakras, and B) describes pathworking that involves holding councils with the animals. Additionally, he notes that the animals evolve as the patient grows.

Be aware that this isn’t some spoonfeeding text. He doesn’t actually give a how-to, step-by-step procedure. However, it’s pretty apparent to anyone with any magical experience whatsoever what it is he’s describing in the text; both my husband and I were able to independently figure it out without any problem. If you’re looking for a totemism 101 book, check out some of the other reviews I have in the Animal Magic category on the left sidebar for suggestions. Then come back and get this book!

I have used this book to good effect, and I highly, highly, highly recommend it for pathworking. I’ve also used it as a source in my first book, and sincerely hope that the pagan and magical community recognizes “The Personal Totem Pole” for the true gem that it is.

Five pathworking pawprints out of five.

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Animal Spirits – Nicholas J. Saunders

December 21, 2006 at 3:01 pm (Animal Magic, Mythology)

Animal Spirits: An Illustrated Guide
Nicholas J. Saunders
Little Brown and Co., 1995
256 pages

Here’s another book that ended up on my Top Ten Most Underappreciated Books on Animal Magic list.

It’s not aimed specifically at pagans; rather, it’s a more general audience text on the symbolism and folklore surrounding various animals from around the world. While a lot of the information is historical rather than modern, it’s still rather easy to translate it into practical usage.

The text itself is easy to read without being fluffy, and is punctuated well with a variety of lovely full color pictures. The material is preossionally presented and well-organized.

I’d really recommend this as a more high-quality totem dictionary of sorts; while it doesn’t have the same formulaic feel, it’s good basic information on both wild and domestic animals that animal magicians may find useful in their studies. It’s a part of the “Living Wisdom” series, and there are several other books in this series I’m looking forward to reading.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Familiars – Anna Franklin

December 21, 2006 at 2:55 pm (Animal Magic)

Familiars: Animal Powers of Britain
Anna Franklin
Capall Bann, 2001
400 pages

This is an exploration of familiars (the British term for totems/power animals). Franklin weaves in a variety of mythology–mostly British and Irish Celtic, but a bit of other areas as well–and includes biological information, superstitions, totemic info, and for some, guided meditations. Each section is very thorough.

She also has a wonderful writing style, very easy to read, and she has a good variety of animals that are particularly relevant to the U.K. There’s a good variety, and it’s apparent that Franklin has really enjoyed this area of study and practice.

I do have a few complaints. Occasionally she repeats herself, which gets old after a while. The book not only has no citations, but completely lacks a bibliography! That takes it down a few points in my opinion, because how are readers supposed to know where she gets information that isn’t her own? And where can newbies find more reading material?

Still, overall, I’m keeping my copy, and using it as a reference guide for my totemism classes.

Three and three quarters pawprints out of five.

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Of Wolves and Men – Barry Holstun Lopez

December 21, 2006 at 1:56 pm (Animal Magic)

Of Wolves and Men
Barry Holstun Lopez
Scribner, 1979
320 pages

You may wonder why I have this in the animal magic category since it’s a “mundane” book. However, this is an incredibly valuable text because it pinpoints the relationship between humanity and wolves, one which has had an incredible number of ups and downs. Additionally, Lopez’ research reveals a lot of observations that teach us to rethink how we consider other animals, and this is exceptionally valuable information to the animal magician.

This is THE classic book on wolf behavior. Even more recent books, such as The Wolf Almanac, draw heavily from it.

The first part discusses wolf biology and behavior, and disproves many of the myths–including the idea that nobody has ever been attacked by a healthy wolf in North America (nobody, apparently, thought to check with American Indian experience in history). It’s an incredibly thorough look at the wolf as a physical being and its natural history.

Then Lopez goes into the tangled thornbush of wolf mythology and folklore, how our stories shaped our attitudes, adn how these manifested into the reality of wholesale slaughter.

There’s a lot of heartbreaking information about wolf hunting, and just how devastated the wolf population has been. We are left amazed that the wolf has even survived. The final pages are a reminder that we are responsible for the effects we have on others, even if the “others” aren’t human.

Our treatment of the wolf mirrors our treatment of the wild; this is a must-read, and I highly recommend it to all people, regardless of path.

Five pawprints in the snow out of five.

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Power Animals – Steven Farmer

December 21, 2006 at 1:45 pm (Animal Magic)

Power Animals: How To Connect With Your Animal Spirit Guide
Steven Farmer
Hay House, 2004
267 pages (plus CD)

This book was excellent; I really enjoyed it! (The review is ONLY for the book, by the way, not the accompanying CD, which is a guided journey for finding your power animal). The author provides the basic info on working with power animals–while it could be more in-depth, it’s sufficient for a 101 level text. Don’t take it as traditional totemism, though–he seems to draw a lot from Medicine Cards-style New Age totemism, though he doesn’t cite his sources so I’m not sure where each piece of info comes from. Still, as a reference to neopagan totemism it’s a good one.

This one also avoided my “Just Another Totem Animal Dictionary” ire, as it at least presented the material in a creative way. He starts with a meditation-derived quote from the animal, then traits of people who resonate with that animal, and further ideas for strengthening the bond. In addition, the illustrations are absolutely lovely!

While it’s not the only totemism 101 book out there, it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen. Additionally, if you like his work he has a second book on the topic out, Animal Spirit Guides, which is a much larger dictionary with a lot less how-to info.

Four pawprints out of five.

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