Customer Reviews

Totems: The Transformative Power of Your Personal Animal Totem

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Practising Shamanism is a huge transforming influence on your life.

As far as I am concerned this book is a masterpeise! This is the first Shamanism book I have read that deals almost exclusively with Totem animals.

Totem animals serve the same duties as guardian angels to protect and guide.

I have some minor points readers of this book need to be aware of.

Page 18: "How should you go about selecting the totem that will represent your spirit helper?"

You shouldn't select a totem. The Totem that is right for you will make itself known. The Bear constantly entered my consciousness for about three weeks before I paid attention.

Page 32-35: Here this book goes into numerology.

I don't know why.

Page 64 - 70: This area explaims Tara Sutphen's method of Shamanic journeying.

This method is fine, but I would recommend for people to set up a medicine wheel before journeying.

Page 99-101: This teaches one method of setting up a medicine wheel.

All methods of the medicine wheel work, but there are much easier varieties. I use the Sioux medicine wheel. If you want to know the Sioux medicine wheel read my other reviews or E-Mail me.

Page 100. Mr Steiger talks of placing the 12 stones in his version of the medicine wheel representing the 12 moons. This is an error. There are 13 moons in a year.

Be sure to to read chapter 8 of this book. It does a masterful job im explaining evil and negative entities.

I recommend this book VERY highly.

I never thought I would find a book that would surpass "Shamanic Experience" Kenneth Meadows, or "Shamanism: As A Spiritual Practise For Daily Life" Tom Cowan, but this book has!

Please E-mail me if you have questions or comments about my review. Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

I saw this book a few times and finally talked myself into buying it and have never been disapointed since. This book struck such a chord within me. I can honestly say that this book has had an impact on my personal spirituality and the way I view religion and what I believe now as apposed to what I grew up with. It covered not only Native American mythologies on the Totem animals but also Eygptian and others as well, which I thought rounded the book out and made it possible for everyone to find something that applied to them in it.

Those who guide come in many guises, including nature's creations. I use the information in Totems both as a writer and personally because it is possible to transform your life; people can change their future.

Being in tune with your own force is the most intense sensation of peace that you can find. I have known my spirit guide for many years, and have found that other animals come into my realm, or totem, as my needs change. When my niece was four I began calling her Rabbit, and when she grew up, she asked me why. My brother's family had kept pet rabbits for years; based on what he saw, he disagreed with what I said of the rabbit. Several years later, in Totems, I discovered that my ideas were those of the Native Americans.

Animals are significant throughout history. The zodiac links human traits to fish (Pisces), bulls (Taurus), crabs (Cancer), lions (Leo), scorpions (Scorpio), and goats (Capricorn). Egyptians worshipped Bask, the Cat-Mother goddess, while South American tribes revered the leopard or panther, and animals represent all twelve years in the Chinese zodiac.

You do not pick your guides, but if you watch the animals that cross your path you will see the guide and can learn the messages they bring to you. Once you train yourself to not just see a cricket or a bee, but to see the messenger, then you discover the message. Butterflies land on me when I am going through changes, or should be. When I see hawks, I should pay greater attention to my dreams.

This book includes some details on relaxation and meditation; some numerology; some information about the Medicine Wheel, but none is as in-depth as the information about totems. This is a good primer, and I give Totems four stars.

Victoria Tarrani

I happened to pick up this book by chance back in junior high. Quite frankly I really had no idea what it was about, but I was intrigued by the idea of spirit guides. I am grateful that I got this book and it now sits dog-eared and well loved on my bookshelf. I am constantly taking it down and reading it again and again, practicing the techniques of connecting with your personal totem and going on vision quests.
This was the first book I picked up on anything of this sort of subject, and had never practiced meditation, and this book was easy to read, and their are some wonderful meditation techniques that are great for beginners. It also contains an extensive appendix on different animal totems, their powers, their stories, and the lessons they have to teach.
It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it! It will be sure to find an honored position on your bookshelf and be consulted repeatedly over the years. It will be sure to help you reach a new level of understanding with the world around you.

First, the animal totem dictionary at the back is terrific! It has animals that you might not find elsewhere (e.g. whale, antelope, tiger, spider, etc) and the descriptions are terrific. Others are also listed like wolf, rabbit, sheep etc. but i wanted to point out some of the more unusual ones - ones like the whale for me that came to visit in a dream. Very interesting. The rest of the book is terrific too. It introduces the idea of shamanic time, taking spirit journeys, understanding dreams (really excellent chapter), etc. There's also a great section on the "healing powers of totems". Excellent book - I definitel recommend it for anyone interested in shamanism, the great mystery and learning more about animal totems.

Steigers books are often not the most difficult reads, but are written in a delightful manner that leaves the reader wanting more.

This book is no exception. I have had it now for years, and it has been read and reread several times. Each time I seem to get something else out of it. You will look at animals differently after reading this book, and you will start to see meaningful messages in innocuous events. Steiger has a winning book here, that will resonate with you. You will not be disappointed.

You never know what's out there until it finds you. Such is how this came to me; I didn't go looking for it, it found me. Everyone has an angel that watches over them...sometimes it comes in the form of a cherub, a huminoid being with wings, and sometimes it comes in the form of an animal.
Nearly two decades ago, when I hit rock bottom, I was ready to take my own life, but some force physically wouldn't allow me. It was on that night, I met my own guardian angel...in the form of a she-wolf. Though I have traces of Blackfoot blood, I had no exposure of or to shamanism, of for that matter, Native American spirituality outside of the comedic attempts by Hollywood. For several years afterward, I struggled with this, then in a web search, I happened upon this book.
As "Two Bears" has claimed, the subtitle explains it all. It was this book that helped me understand and come to terms with my spirit guide. It is very rare that one can say a book has literally changed one's life, but personnaly, I have to say that about this book. For anyone who has had mysterious things happen to them, anyone who suspects that they have an animal spirit guide (Totem), this book is almost a textbook on allowing you to understand the world of totems...how to understand them, their (and your) sterngths and weaknesses, how to work with them and what is expected on both sides. With the help of both my totem and this book, a weak-willed, self-centerd, shy kid was transformed into someone with unshakable inner strength and power, a teacher and a leader. I'ts also helped teach the limits upon what my guardian is capable of as far as protection and what is expected of me in return. This isn't coming from a crystal-waving new ager, either. Other than an "I've experianced it and I (though with a healthy skeptisism) beleive it" devotion to investigating several aspects of paranormal and spritualism, I'm about as stright-laced and right wing as you can get.
If you've ever suspected that your guardian angel may be...a bit different, this is a must have text...it will be vital in coming to terms, understanding, and learning your strengths and weaknesses.

Brad Steiger writes an accessible introduction to totemism. I liked his guided imagery techniques and felt he did a good job of presenting the practice in pan-cultural terms. However, I did find some of the personal testimonials and use of language to be somewhat shallow and self-indulgent. But overall, a liberating volume.

I picked up a copy of Totems hoping to learn more about shamanic practices and totem animals. What I learned was something about myself.

A certain chapter of Brad's book really touched me; it brought up something from my past that I hadn't thought about for a long time.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I've read many books on the subject of shamanism since Totems, but none have affected me in the same way. I give it five stars for touching my soul.

While it is not as good as Animal-Speak (Andrews), this is a good begining becuase it has a number of exercises that may be useful to some (nothing is gaurenteed). It draws from many traditions, including some that don't seem to have much in the way of a shamantic core.

However, it seems a bit too "new-agey" for use a main reference. I would, however, loan it to someone who was looking for a basic primer.