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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lupa's book is exactly as it says: practical and straight-forward with no hand-holding exercises. Don't expect prefab spells or "this is the way you should do it." She gives you ideas, starting places, and the results from her own work, then turns you loose with the knowledge to do it your own way. No stone is left unturned with chapters on the standard totemism and familiars, moving on to invocation and evocation of animal entities, the creation of animal entities, shapeshifting, and even the heretofore taboo subjects of the use of animal parts in magic and animal sacrifice. Even these branch off into subsections dealing with everything from mythology to cryptozoology and therianthropy.
The art is beautiful and the writing is clear and easy to read; I devoured it the night I got it (something I almost never do with any book). Elements of paleopaganism, neopaganism, and pop culture (including a guest appearance by Moro no Kimi and mentions of such seemingly random and unrelated subjects as "Pokemon" and "Star Wars") blend together to bring something completely new to the standard fare currently ascribed to books on animal magic. Even the chapter on totems alone is well worth it, going far more indepth than any I've read so far.
In short, for those of you (be you magician, witch, whatever, or not) tired of reading the same totem dictionary in fifteen different covers by thirty different authors, this book is for you.
The art is beautiful and the writing is clear and easy to read; I devoured it the night I got it (something I almost never do with any book). Elements of paleopaganism, neopaganism, and pop culture (including a guest appearance by Moro no Kimi and mentions of such seemingly random and unrelated subjects as "Pokemon" and "Star Wars") blend together to bring something completely new to the standard fare currently ascribed to books on animal magic. Even the chapter on totems alone is well worth it, going far more indepth than any I've read so far.
In short, for those of you (be you magician, witch, whatever, or not) tired of reading the same totem dictionary in fifteen different covers by thirty different authors, this book is for you.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hooray! Lupa manages to write a coherent book about animal magic without pigeonholing animals into stereotypes of "animal behavior/trait X always means Y" and without limiting the possibilities and variations open to practitioners. Sources are cited for information she gathered from others, and Lupa shows respect for the practices of indiginous cultures without loopy "all Native Americans did such-and-such" nonsense.
This book is not meant to describe to the reader everything that s/he may do with animals, but it does give a really good overview of the most common (and some less common) mechanisms for dealing with animal magic. Appropriate for beginners, even the experienced can find some worthwhile material in the author's personal accounts of her own efforts and might additionally find a few tidbits they'd not yet considered.
I was happy to actually find a book on animal magic that isn't fluffy, doesn't rely on stuff like "Owl is always a harbinger of death and means you're all spooky bad/goth/powerful/etc. if you have an owl spirit guide!" While I'm not sure I personally would label some of the workings she discusses as "animal magic" instead of "fantasy-based magic", I understand why she does so and consider that to be a matter of semantics and personal preference.
Most of the book is well written, including throughout important cautions regarding ethical treatment of animals; but the next to last chapter seems to ramble somewhat, as though the author were tired and running out of stuff to say at that point (or alternately was early in the writing process and had not yet organized her thoughts very well). That's really a minor point considering that the book is good in general, though.
This book is not meant to describe to the reader everything that s/he may do with animals, but it does give a really good overview of the most common (and some less common) mechanisms for dealing with animal magic. Appropriate for beginners, even the experienced can find some worthwhile material in the author's personal accounts of her own efforts and might additionally find a few tidbits they'd not yet considered.
I was happy to actually find a book on animal magic that isn't fluffy, doesn't rely on stuff like "Owl is always a harbinger of death and means you're all spooky bad/goth/powerful/etc. if you have an owl spirit guide!" While I'm not sure I personally would label some of the workings she discusses as "animal magic" instead of "fantasy-based magic", I understand why she does so and consider that to be a matter of semantics and personal preference.
Most of the book is well written, including throughout important cautions regarding ethical treatment of animals; but the next to last chapter seems to ramble somewhat, as though the author were tired and running out of stuff to say at that point (or alternately was early in the writing process and had not yet organized her thoughts very well). That's really a minor point considering that the book is good in general, though.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lupa's book is an excellent piece of writing and magical methodology: extremely intelligent but never dry (and in fact quite fun!), syncretistic but never sloppy, clear and concise in its simplicity without being watered-down or patronizing. Rather than attempting to create complex systems of belief and moralizations around animals, totems, and the use of such entities in magical operations, hir approach is practical and experiential, and never portrays itself as anything otherwise; and the "amorality" of the book is an asset in this enterprise as a result. Not unlike the subject sie is dealing with, the forthrightness and openness with which sie proceeds places the metaphysical and the physical on equivalent planes, and true to hir animal nature, there is no hiding behind the precepts of tradition or common propriety when statements need to be made on a variety of topics. The focus in the therianthropy chapter on more metaphorical and spiritual forms of shapeshifting rather than physical shifting (which had far too much focus in a certain recent book) is not only useful and practical, but also avoids the value judgements inherent in the inability to perform or even espouse belief in such possibilities. Animal sacrifice and the use of animal-derived materials for magical and artistic purposes are handled sensibly and sensitively, and the constant emphasis on taking full responsibility for one's actions in these areas of practice is well-founded. My only critique of the book is that there are a number of typographical errors, the style of references was unusual, and the formatting of the bibliography seemed a bit strange in terms of its spacing, but none of these factors detracted from what was an enjoyable reading experience. For anyone interested in these matters, I feel that this book goes quite beyond the basic 101-level style, and I would highly recommend it!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
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Just what I would have expected from this author and publisher. If you aren't one of those "spell a day" witches who want to use animal magick, this is the book for you.
Published 22 months ago by Christy Leigh Stewart
Fairly fluffy
A little New Agey wiccan for me. I am able to pick out the good out of a sea of bulloney though and she does have a few gems. Read more
Published on November 24, 2009 by Rowan
Bought it for the curiousity of `shape-shifting' lore
Historical creatures I've encountered in literature outside Lupa's text include the North American Man-bear/Werebear, and the European Werewolf. Read more
Published on September 22, 2008 by E. Hansen
Excellent look at the bones!
Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic - Lupa
The author of this book wrote it in an effort to stay away from the more common sort of handbook on... Read more
The author of this book wrote it in an effort to stay away from the more common sort of handbook on... Read more
Published on January 25, 2008 by Teresa Huddleston-garcia
Controversially Amazing
In this wonderful book, Lupa gives us a fantastic insight into the arts of animal and totem magick. This incredibal resource goes beyound a simple guide to totemic interpretations,... Read more
Published on September 28, 2007 by Aradian
Just... Amazing
This book, honestly, got me to actually take into consideration the animal magick paradigm. This book does not leave me speechless; it has me yelling at anyone I can about it's... Read more
Published on August 31, 2007 by C. Allen
Warning! Not for Sheep.
If you're looking for a totem 101 book + dictionary that will tell you exactly how you should be conducting your spiritual life, this book is NOT for you. Read more
Published on March 5, 2007 by Jokami
Better than Puss-in-Boots
Lupa tames the animal kingdom for magickal workers. In a no-holds barred manual, the author explores all aspects of utilizing animals in ritual and life works. Read more
Published on February 19, 2007 by W. Martin
Excellent book on the subject
I read this one some time ago and am still impressed with it.
This book is well beyond the 'what's your sign/animal' type of book. Read more
This book is well beyond the 'what's your sign/animal' type of book. Read more
Published on February 7, 2007 by dart99
Good Book
this book has a unique angle when teaching. Instead of telling you hwo to do soemthign it teaches you how to find yoru own way to do it. If that makes any since. Read more
Published on February 1, 2007 by Mid Minnesota Federal Union
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