Since I became a reiki master, I’ve seen animals in my meditations, therapies, and so on. I meditate with them, have visions of them, find them in real life, and dream with them now and then. I’ve wanted to enrich my practice, incorporate them more in what I do and believe, and so found a book that gave a lot of guidance: Animal Magic: Working with Spirit Animal Guides, by Rachel Patterson, part of the Pagan Portals series. (Thanks to Moon Books for sending me a review copy!)
Just like the others that are part of this series, Animal Magic is brief but effective. Starting with an introduction on the different names one can encounter when starting to work with an animal’s energy, be it as a totem, animal spirit, guide, or any other, I really liked that the author specified which terms were more appropriate to avoid cultural appropriation.
I’ve seen this as a common topic every time I read about animal spirits, that people who do not have any kind of relation with Native American heritage or any Shamanism training use terms from those cultures with no respect. While it is true that Rachel Patterson leaves the door open for readers to pick, she also makes sure to name which belong or are mostly related to each culture and tradition.
The book also includes different meditations, spells, rituals, advice on how to discover an animal spirit to work with, and their respective meanings. What’s most interesting is that the book doesn’t stop there, but also explains what a “shadow animal” could be, animals’ relationship with gods, their symbolism, their elements, and so on.
More than just a dictionary filled with lists, it offers the reader a chance to understand how to work with this energy, how to incorporate it into their practice, along with offering some options to go further. I got several ideas on what else I could do, what to try. Having a rattlesnake vertebrae necklace became more exciting after reading this book!
I found that the section on divination and omens was particularly interesting, filled with history and lore regarding some animals and their uses. It might be useful to alert sensible readers that this section offers some graphic depictions of the practices; needless to say many of them are not legal or morally correct. Shapeshifting was another topic I wasn’t expecting when I picked up this book, a nice addition that gives a more complete approach on animal energies included in Witchcraft.
Patterson has a clear, concise writing style that doesn’t require much effort to follow or understand. She uses a simple language at all times with some doses of humor, making you smile and laugh while learning, just as if she was there with you giving you an in-person class.
I do think, however, that it would be useful to write a follow-up book with more animals, more practices, offer more examples, perhaps even some stories on how their energies can help a Witch, or develop a more complete system based on them. I would also have appreciated some recommended readings or bibliography.
In general, Animal Magic was an entertaining but useful reading I think many could benefit from. Working with animals is not for everyone, be it with their remains, their energies, or their symbolism. I struggle with astrology, and I could expect someone to feel the same way about this topic, but Rachel Patterson took care to make it as easy to understand as possible.
Animal spirits as guides and teachers have been a good part of my working as a therapist, but also as a witch. Animal Magic made me see more options as a Witch: how to incorporate animal spirits, honor them, but also be mindful of the cultures they belong to. I knew some of the meanings included, while others were better explained than I’ve seen in different sources, and some were total surprises. It’s going to be one of my recommendations for sure whenever anyone asks me about the topic!
I think the best part, overall, is that there’s no previous knowledge required. Rachel Patterson offers a solid starting point to start working with animals with an open window to let readers of any level experiment with whatever they need or feel inclined to do. Simple, clear, concise, full of useful ideas, and a pleasant style that makes the experience even better, many will love it from beginning to end. I know I did!
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