3 comments about Plant Spirit Healing: A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness.

1. A wonderfully written book, explores herbal healing well beyond the modern paradigm of plant chemistry and herbal analogues of pharmaceuticals. The spirits of the plants as healers and teachers through the ages is brought to life here by a talented writer who obviously walks the walk while talking the talk. Thank you Ms. Montgomery for this gem



2. This accessible yet comprehensive book is a tremendous gift of both wisdom and practical application on how the universe actually works and how to tap in and play a part yourself. Plant Spirit Healing is about the difference between knowing about a plant (available through book learning and use) and experiencing its spirit - where you merge with it, communicate through an exchange of insights, and achieve a full and lasting relationship. This book benefits from Pam Montgomery having taught and honed this material many times. If you cannot take Montgomery's apprenticeship program and experience her own ebullient spirit, this book is the next best thing.
   
   Emphasizing that each person's knowing and experience of different plants may be different in what is really a Both/And, rather than an Either/Or, universe, Montgomery guides you to find your own plant spirit guides appropriate for this time in your life journey. Chances are who they are will surprise you.
   
   This remarkable book takes the reader on a journey from (possibly) skeptical interest in plant spirits, to plausible, to possible, to practical. At no point does the journey include religious overtones or spacey far-out suggestions.
   
   Montgomery builds a foundation based on physical and energetic qualities of both people and plants. Each new parcel of knowledge is presented in a flowing sequence based upon previously explained information. The trip is full of "of course" moments where you recognize that you already knew what she is presenting, but perhaps did not know where to place it in your established body of knowledge. As much as anything this book greatly expands and updates your established body of knowledge.
   
   Fine-tuning gathered from years of teaching workshops and apprentice programs has honed Montgomery's understanding of the pace and paths by which people can not only learn, but can experience and assimilate deeper knowledge. Her expertise allows her to lead the reader through these layers of knowing in the transparent, uncluttered, way that characterizes the best of guides.
   
   The Theme is Relationships.
   Despite years of loving plants, I would not have thought that there were so many ways to understand plants, or so many tools for deepening my relationships with them. Indeed, relationship is what this book is all about, including establishing, fostering, and nurturing actual relationships with plants. This includes being open, observant, respectful, and enjoying. It involves appreciating plants and learning from them and moving those relationships on to partnerships. This carries on the theme of Montgomery's previous book, Partner Earth (1997) in which she encourages humans to take responsibility and action to be co-creators and partners with Earth, rather than passive children of Mother Earth.
   
   At one point in Plant Spirit Healing Pam likens establishing a new relationship with a plant to a relationship with a potential lover. Just think about that. It includes breath exchange, attention, respect. One is open, observant, eager to learn all one can about this person who suddenly seems to glow with light. One is gentle and respectful and wants to spend every available moment with the new love, gently growing knowledge and love and a shared history, exploring all facets and aspects of the beloved.
   
   Organization and arrangement
   The book's organization is clear and accessible. Different learning modes are accommodated as each chapter presents the material in three modes. Chapters begin with a journal entry from Montgomery's daily interactions with nature and how it feeds her developing wisdom. We catch a glimpse of her slipping into communication with plants and the landscape. Next, the bulk of the chapter is a descriptive exposition of the topic. This is followed by examples which illustrate the ideas and techniques just presented with experiences Montgomery has had with her clients, or that her students have experienced.
   
   The book is divided into three parts, The Theoretical Basis for Plant Spirit Healing, The Practical Application of Plant Spirit Healing and Plant Allies, a section on specific plants. Christian Hummel recently wrote "We are living in a time when ancient principles that have been espoused for ages from Vedic texts to Native American philosophies are being validated by science - a meeting point between science and spirituality where these principles are being tested and proven to be true." [July 2007 Wisdom magazine p. 28 "Accessing the Creative Matrix: The Secret to Healing the Earth" ] Montgomery presents much of this material in Part One by distilling and presenting the essence of a large and varied body of new scientific information in an accessible format that relates to plant spirit and communication. She has gleaned knowledge from others - both ancient traditions and recent science - and incorporates it straightforwardly for easy absorption without being academic. Part Two is a practical journey where actually meeting and getting to know plants is facilitated with a range of different techniques. Part Three introduces the plants as their fully embodied selves giving a sense of the expansive beings they are.
   
   Plant Spirit Healing teaches about how sprit moves in the world, thus bringing spirit into reality, instead of keeping it in the abstract realm of religion. We are given a handbook to understand the wonder of plants, and a guidebook of practical techniques and exercises to form personal, intimate, real relationships with plant beings whose importance, variety, beauty, gifts and outright wisdom are usually ignored. The result reminds me of my joy at the animal tracks revealed by the first snowfall in what has been a gray and lonely November landscape. The joyful feeling of not being alone. The deep knowledge that I share this landscape with other beings who are aware of themselves, who live full and interesting lives, and who are open to knowing me and interacting with me.
   
   Plants have been calling to many of us for the past several decades. Chances are they are somehow calling you as well. This is a guidebook to answer that call, probably in a deeper way than you ever imagined. By the time you have read it you will have established relationships with plant beings, taken a deep journey and found missing parts of yourself.



3. Beautiful, hopeful, how to in a world filled with strife. Pam reminds us all to take the time to walk among the creatures who are there in our backyards. We don't have to travel far, but instead realize that each plant on our earth has purpose. When we befriend them, opening our spirit to encompass their's a new strength is formed. Thank-you Pam for this powerful reminder.....Dona

5 comments about The Four Insights: Wisdom, Power, and Grace of the Earthkeepers.

1. I have just finished reading this book, and my plan is to read through it again, slowly, and work with the exercises associated with each insight. I know that I have only begun to absorb the lessons, and that this will take more study and practice. This is some of what I have gleaned so far:
   
   Insight #1: The Way Of The Hero.
   This is a concept I relate to, since the book I wrote is in the form of a (shamanic) hero's journey.
   We can be the heroes of our own journeys, regardless of the stories we have been telling ourselves up to this point; we can re-write our own myths. To begin again from a new paradigm, that of the hero, and to look at our journeys in this empowered way, we will heal, by recognizing that we have triumphed by surviving our challenges. As spiritual adults, we can honor our ancestors, without having to repeat their karmic patterns; we can learn to do our own journeys, the ones we originally incarnated for. With a new perspective, we begin to respect the heroes that we are; the ones who learned, adapted, & evolved as we walked our paths.
   
   Insight #2: The Way Of The Luminous Warrior--the power of fearlessness.
   To practice fearlessness is to simply be what we truly are, which is love. This is the only way out of the dark and into the light. When fear settles into the body, the lifeforce is clouded & darkened to the point of affecting our DNA. We're essentially inviting death to come visit that much earlier, by holding fear inside our bodies.
   In this insight, the exercise given is to look at three former lifetimes; the one where we suffered the most, the one where we misused our power, and the one where we used our wisdom to serve others. This practice helps to clarify & release old patterns.
   The path to fearlessness requires that we let go of the war within, and the way to do this is through the practice of Nonengagement. It is not necessary to engage in outside battles, which of course only reflect inside battles. What needs to be healed is our inner woundedness.
   I agree with the Practice of Certainty; if we do not fully commit to a path, we will not succeed. I also agree with the concept of Nondoing; we're not machines that run the world, we're human beings moving through life.
   
   Insight #3: The Way Of The Seer
   This insight is about being aware of the dreams we are dreaming. What have we bought into, from the media & from other people's standards, that we have incorporated into our own dreams? And how do we each view the dream that is our life? This insight is about visioning, manifesting and the law of attraction. The energy we carry around determines what we will encounter in our respective dreams. So if we let go of expectations and our own current mindset, there is no telling what the universe might offer to us. Villoldo used the example of Nicola Tesla and the expression of his own genius, which was only possible because he wasn't stuck in what had already been "proven" to be real.
   
   Insight #4: The Way Of The Sage
   I take this insight to be about wisdom & the responsibility of knowing that we have designed our own paths to learn from. I think that by working with the first 3 insights, we will energetically come to a new place inside ourselves, a type of surrender, knowing that we are love, peace & abundance--we don't need to create these attributes, we just need to BE them.
   This is also about paying attention to what the dream is telling us, because the dream is paying attention, too! Witnessing our thougths, the constant running commentary that occupies our minds, witnessing our reactions to physical pain and/or inconvenience and recognizing these as projections, is the work of the sage.
   I found the part about owning our projections to be very interesting. I did shadow work a few years back, which was transformative, and out of which came several chapters in the book that I wrote.
   
   There is much wisdom in this book, far more than can be covered in one review, and I am looking forward to rereading The Four Insights and doing the exercises. The first book I read by Mr. Villoldo was Shaman, Healer, Sage, wherein he describes healing methods for the luminous body. Since then I have been reading all of his work, and anything else I can find that talks about our evolution into Homo Luminous.
   
   Blessings to Mr. Villoldo for performing the sacred task of bringing these insights to us.
   
   Louise Teresa StrongBear, author of: Journey By Night: A Solitary Journey
   Journey by Night: A Solitary Journey



2. I was so pleased to find this book in print! Alberto has a gift of combining story telling and grounded reasoning in such a way that these new concepts to the average western mind are easily understood. Anyone who wants an thorough introduction to the spiritual practices of the medicine wheel and the Laika people will enjoy this book.
   
   If you are or have been a student of Alberto's Healing the Light Body School, you will want this book on your shelf as a textbook. It is a wonderful review of the practices of each of the Four Directions.



3. Every time i read a chapter, i felt truth jumping out to me from each page, so much so, that my eyes would well up with tears from inner knowing. It was an easy read, the suggestions in the book are very easy and practical. I loved it so much, i bought a few copies for my friends. Even for people who have never learned about Shamanism, this book will help you appreciate Mother Earth and your special role in the Universe.



4. This is a book that everyone should read more than once. Alberto Villoldo's insights and suggestions are fabulous. His books are just like hearing him in person. He is a born story teller, and a gifted shaman, teacher and writer. This book describes how we would all like to live our lives, and why we should try.



5. An excellent book for anyone on a spiritual journey that's wants some concrete actions they can take to become an Earthkeeper. I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas.

1. This book it's been very helpful to me!! It gives you a good description of each of the chackras potentials when it's working properly, how does it look when it's wounded, how you can heal. It gives cases, examples that needed healing and how he performed this healings. Alberto Villoldo narrates in this books his adventures while learning to be a Shaman, with the Shamans in the Amazon of Brazil and the Andes in Peru, Machu Pichu and others!
   He teaches in this book how to open Sacred Space, and how to practice your second attention so you are able to see the luminous body, and other exercizes to help you find your wounded self, so you can heal!!! It was a quick read!!!



2. my first intro to shamanic practice was with a person trained by villoldo. she was amazing, but after taking a short workshop w/ villoldo and reading his books, I now believe that the effectiveness of her work had nothing to do with him. I still believe that villoldo offers something to the field, even if his claims about where his techniques come from have turned out to be untruthful. after much work in this area my belief is this: everyone has abilities - EVERYONE. so, yes, just like everyone, villoldo has skills and talents in this area. the real question to ask whenever one meets a healer or a spiritual teacher is not "are their skills legitimate?" but "what are their ethics?" one's skills are only as good as the filter they come through (e.g., the personality and the ego issues of the healer/teacher.) villoldo, in my opinion, has serious ego and personality issues, and even if he is skilled, I believe these issues impact his work and his teaching. this is an interesting book, but I don't believe that it is necessarily true. also, his method for soul retrieval is way too structured for me -- I prefer sandra ingerman's approach.



3. I am rereading this book now for about the fourth time since I first bought it in 2001. I undertook the Medicine Wheel trainings offered by A. Villoldo through the Four Winds. He does a wonderful job in this book of capturing the beauty of this healing path. If you read this book simply for information on techniques, you will miss the point. The actual practice and ceremony is what brings this healing path to life. And once you have been through the initiaions, rereading the book recaptures the emotions and experiences of seeing through new eyes the world around you and inside you.
   I remember what initially caught my attention was his statement that to the shaman, you are your body. It holds all your history, your emotions, your traumas, joys and experiences. As a massage therapist, undertaking my own healing quest has made me more sensitive to my clients and have found that the body always tells the truth.
   I am happy that this work is made available to us.



4. This book is not a one time read. Purchase it with the expectation that you will want to read it again and again. I learn something new from it every time I flip through the pages. And, guess what? This is not a simple "read it and be done with it" book. The techniques require application!



5. I have never had a book touched my life and soul. Alberto Villodo is truly an amazing writer as well as teacher of shamanism. I would highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Animal Spirit Guides: An Easy-to-Use Handbook for Identifying and Understanding Your Power Animals and Animal Spirit Helpers.

1. Well let me tell you, I will never look at an animal the same way again. I'm not sure how true the messages of the animals in this book are it is still a fun read that everyone (believer or not)can get a kick out of. The other day I read this book about the eagle and later on I took a walk and I heard the scream of an Eagle! There are very few eagles in this area, but there she was flying just above me and when I told my neighbors about the sighting, no one believed me. Go figure, when you start reading stuff like this, strange stuff (cool stuff) starts to happen. Enjoy!



2. I absolutely love this book. I am getting so much more information now after I got this book. I have it easily accessible because I am constantly getting animal images I then look it up in the book and the messages are relevant to what is going on in my life.
   I had the earlier version of this book and felt guided to give it to a family member..And when I saw that he came out with this version with tons more animals I was SOO excited!
   
   HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!



3. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR ANIMAL TOTEMS AND SPIRIT GUIDES. STEPHEN IS AWESOME. HE IS AN AUTHENTIC SHAMAN. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO MEET HIM. GREAT GUY, GREAT BOOK! (HE IS DOREEN VIRTUE'S HUSBAND)



4. Received this book right away and really love it. It is well written and a wonderful addition to Animal Speak and Wise books by Ted Andrews



5. This is a great book for the beginner or the experienced. We carry the book, CD and cards at Facets of Healing. It's also one of our suggested reads for our shaman students or those just wanting to know more about animal guides, or energies. I personally love the Antelope section, being an antelope shaman.
   
   Namaste
   Antelope Medicine Woman
   AKA Jacuqeline Kennedy,
   Facets of Healing and The Reiki Energy Healing Center
   717 Vista Ave
   Boise, ID 83705
   208-429-9999

5 comments about Shamanic Reiki: Expanded Ways of Working with Universal Life Force Energy.

1. Shamanic Reiki is a perfect blend of the two energies. This book brought together the shamanic traditions I have learned and my reiki energy in a way that makes sense and works perfectly.Shamanic Reiki: Expanded Ways of Working with Universal Life Force Energy



2. As always, Llyn Roberts explains both perceived worlds of energy in a concise manner. The intuitive energy practice blends into a deep philosphy both for beginner and long-time practioner. Energy is energy--to be practiced without ego or personal interference.



3. I am grateful that this book was written! Alot of us are now practicing both Reiki and Shamanism, and this book integrates them perfectly.



4. I was excited when I took my Level 2 Reiki training earlier this year to discover that parts of it seemed to be similar to the shamanic journeywork I've been doing for almost 15 years. The more I've worked with my clients, the more I've found this to be true. Coming across this book was a little miracle - their suggestions and experience are amazing, and will help keep me from re-creating my healing wheel. What I especially appreciate is how they use their work to empower their clients, not to make their clients indefinitely dependent upon them. Great work. What a godsend.



5. The marriage between Reiki and Shamanism is so obvious that the thought never even occurred to me. My shelves are lined with books on various types of Reiki, a bunch of Joseph Campbell (Journey of the Hero) like books, and a nice selection of personal journey, self help titles. In my Reiki practice, I have always encouraged my clients to use Reiki as a tool to self understanding. My position is that true healing comes from self acceptance and resonance with the genuine self. I don't know why I didn't see the connection sooner.
   
   Reading Shamanic Reiki gave me a profound ah-ha moment. I've always felt that Reiki didn't quite describe what I do and what I believe that my clients need. In the past, I've been frustrated by individuals who simply want me to cure their ills. I know that the energies can relieve their pain. I also know that by continuing the same life patterns, these same individuals will soon find themselves in the exact same position. I've always thought that Reiki should be used not only to relieve the clients concerns but also as a way to understand the root of the problem.
   
   Now I see that the authors of Shamanic Reiki suggest exactly this. They seek to ask more of both the practitioner and the client. This involves a partnership of sorts, a commitment to healing and personal growth on the part of both parties. This is the kind of practitioner I want to be.

5 comments about The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.

1. My intent here is not to add to the many reviews that have been already written. I've read most of them, and every opinion, has been subjectively given.
   
   I will simply say, that having studied these books, back when I was in college, literally transfixed me, as they did to many other thousands of readers!
   
   Countless books, throughout history, have been cloaked in the form of fiction, for the author's own reasons, either to do with their safety, or attempting to avoid controversy!
   
   A perfect example, in our own time, is Dan Brown's, "THE DA VINCI CODE".
   
   He wrote it in fiction form, only to be attacked for even discussing what he knew would be attacked, if written as non-fiction. It didn't seem to matter, as we have seen!
   
   We find Carlos Castaneda in a similar situation, in reverse! Someone will always find justification, to attack what doesn't fit our culture's definition of our own world view, especially if it can't be proven.
   
   A way will be found, as it's always been, to discredit anything beyond their grasp!
   
   Yes, maybe Carlos has played a trick, on all of us, but some have gotten it!



2. Carlos Castaneda creates an interesting scenario and has appealing characters in this, his first book, yet the title is deceptive. Castaneda meets Don Juan, a Yaqui sorceror, and is in some mysterious way drawn to him. Don Juan agrees to allow Castaneda to be his apprentice, and learn the ancient ways to become "A Man of Knowledge." Oddly, the way that Don Juan sees the path to becoming "a man of Knowledge" is through hallucinogenic drugs including Peyote, Datura and Mushrooms. Castaneda uses these drugs in order to "gain knowledge", and through these experiences, according to Don Juan, they assist him on this path. As the book progresses the author has more and more drug experiences but it is difficult to observe that he has gained knowledge about anything other than the effects of these drugs. No special insight into human nature is revealed by Castaneda or Don Juan, who reveals himself to be a devious misogynist. It is well known among shamanic cultures that plant drugs can induce visions and insight, but unfortunately, nothing of the sort is revealed in this book.



3. Great reading, no doubt. I read the first 4 of his books and loved them all. However, this is 20 years ago and i have studied many more paths of mysticism in the meantime. I can only warn anybody thinking in following the footsteps described in the book, as without a true spiritual master you will only succeed in screwing up your brain using hallucinogenics. There is also serious doubt that he ever actually experienced some/much of what he claims to have done.
   
   Furthermore, Carlos turned out to be NOT the guru he claimed to be in his later years. In spite of his statements that he would not die a normal death and leave the earth as a unit of energy and take his disciples with him he died a very ordinary death due to liver failure.
   
   A very interested BBC report on his life can be viewed on Youtube. The link is [...] for the first part.



4. I first read this book a few months ago before reading the rest of the series, and it was a mind-blowing read.
   
   "Teachings of Don Juan" is the first of many books by anthropologist Carlos Castaneda to which he revealed his teacher-student relationship and experiences with Yaqui Sorcerer by the name of Don Juan. The dialogues and experiences lay within this book are rather insightful read.
   
   This book is merely a starting point where readers begin to understand the warrior's way and how one would understand one's perceptions of the world and how they can be deceiving. The plants or substances discussed in this book is not the means nor the ends, but merely just a tool, rarely used, in order to shock the author to see what lies beyond and around himself. Merely a step towards being a "man of knowledge."
   
   Remarkably, as I read through the series, I cannot help but wonder who Don Juan really was and where the sources came from. I recently found the answers to these questions in William Patterson's The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda, which is a new profound perspective of the life of Castaneda and his work.



5. These books are just classics! Takes you on a journey of your own I first starting reading the series when I was 16...now 34 but I often get the urge to pick them back up I get something new out of it every time. Inspires me to see things in a new light.

4 comments about Courageous Dreaming: How Shamans Dream the World into Being.

1. A wonderful book that teaches us how to rethink and become whole in mind, body, soul & spirit. It is very well written and gives exercises that causes your brain to lay the neural pathways for you to achieve success in your life. It sets us free from old thought patterns that play out drama in our lives. This book helps teach us to recreate our life and our world, but we have to be willing to do the work. I also suggest Dr. Villoldo's book Shaman,Healer,Sage- how to heal yourself with energy medicine of the America's. I highly respect this man's body of work.
   
   S.A./ Arkansas



2. As with his other books, I'm enjoying this creative dreaming book by Alberto. I know that he understands so much more about life and death than I do and I continuously strive to learn from him. I'm only about half through the book and have completed the exercises he suggests along the way. One has to believe in the divine and the light energy field around and through the body in order to understand and participate in the creation Alberto describes. Hopefully, more and more of us will begin to do this. It has the power to change the world as we know it!



3. Truly the most inspirational and informative book that I have ever read. It is full of knowledge that is useful to you every day of your life, changing your idea of what life is forever.



4. This book is wonderful...Alberto Villoldo expresses himself so clear and simple. Lots to learn from all of his books.

5 comments about Black Elk Speaks, New Edition.

1. I really hoped that this book was some kind of visionary look at what actually happened to the American Indians, but it is not that!
   
   Mostly it's just bad writing and a rather obvious con-job, and that makes me really sad, because what the American Indian has endured, is much more than this..the metaphors that are needed to really understand what happened to native humans in this country, are NOT in this book...



2. This book is very different from many others that I have read about Native Americans. It feels as though Black Elk is there having a conversation with you. A very personal book. Provides valuable insights to life no matter what your ethnic background.



3. I have to disagree with some people's assessment of this title. I found this book to be very insightful and very intimate in nature. I suppose for non-fiction I do tend to a have preference for books that have an approachable, if not conversational style. And that is really what this feels like. Black Elk recounts his life and spiritual experience with beautiful imagery that proves to be quite profound in its simplicity. While the Native American culture is highly romanticized through many works by people not of that ethnicity, I think this book gives readers something that the others don't. A look into the lives of Native Americans through their eyes. Real, flawed, but genuine. While many might think that Black Elk may despise the white man for his ways and the treatment of his people, there is a great understanding that underlies his words that displays a great respect for his fellow man regardless of skin color. Neihardt and Black Elk were kindred spirits and this comes through. In the end, like Chief Seattle said before him, Black Elk serves to remind readers of man's connection to the earth and to one another.



4. I purchased this new, and expected it to be sealed. Not only was it not sealed, but a couple of pages were folded. I would have returned this item. However, I bought this as a gift and was on a timeline. I also purchased a new CD which came in a busted case. I have always trusted Amazon, and been very satisfied in the past.
   Very disappointed.



5. It's nice to read a book these days that's actually well written.
   Easy to read. Love Black Elk's sense of humor!

5 comments about Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals.

1. Everyone seems to refer to the cards as well as the book. But according to the product detail, it only refers to the book. Please let me know whether this one (# ISBN-10: 0312204914 # ISBN-13: 978-0312204914; List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77 ) includes the cards as well as the book. Thank you.



2. Excellent book. It has been a very good source in my spiritual work. Thank you Jamie Sams and David Carson.



3. When I wrote about animal medicine in Practically Shameless: How Shadow Work Helped Me Find My Voice, My Path, and My Inner Gold, it was to this book I was referring, as it was my introduction to this form of spirituality. Animal medicine has since become a meaningful part of my daily spirituality, keeping me in touch with the Divine through my encounters with the animal kingdom. It has helped me see which creatures are lifelong totems (spider, frog, bear) and which other creatures are sent to teach me something I need to know during this particular time in my life. For several years I used the cards at each new moon for guidance. I have since expanded my collection to include several books by Ted Andrews, including Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small and Animal-Wise: The Spirit Language and Signs of Nature. I purchased the latter to explore several African animals that may have been totems of my father's. But Jamie Sams' book contains a rare depth of wisdom that reflects the long history of her people. I recommend this book highly to every person wanting to know more about Native American spirituality and seeking the presence of the Divine in nature.



4. Ever since I heard that in the Native American Spiritual tradition the universe may be sending us a message when we have an unusual experience with an animal I saw my own significant contacts with animals in a new way.
   My favorite source for verifying my experiences is Jamie Sams and David Carson's cards called "Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power through the Ways of Animals." They believe that each animals' medicine relays a life lesson.
   Sams and Carson's helped me better understand some unusual animal experiences.
   My first experience involved six baby ring neck snakes that suddenly appeared in our cabin when our friend from South Africa was visiting. Since my husband and I had lived there for five years we decided it was an omen. We did a "Pathway Spread" on our friend with Sams and Carson's animal medicine cards and learned that the snake is a symbol of change, transmutation, death and rebirth. We were stunned as she, after a two-year separation, was about to ask her husband of 29 years for a divorce.
   On another occasion I heard the sneezy-snorts of some white tail deer. I looked out the dining room window and froze. Three deer snorted and pawed the ground within a couple of feet of where Lady, our golden retriever, lay in her dog pen. Sensing something was wrong I dashed over.
   Lady got up, staggered and collapsed. My husband and I took her to the vet but it was too late; she died shortly thereafter. The vet said she had cancer. We were heartbroken. Wondering about the deer I consulted the medicine cards and learned that the deer is a symbol of love and gentleness. I like to think that the deer were trying to comfort Lady and alert us about her distress.
   A friend and I were charmed when an otter circled our canoe on a river in Florida. We became nervous when it tried to climb the canoe's bow and stern. I shrieked when it hoisted itself into the boat at my feet via my dry bag. Luckily my friend was able to scoop the otter out of the boat with her paddle. We were amazed when the otter chased our canoe as we raced off but ignored two other canoes a few moments later.
   When I checked the significance of an otter in the medicine cards I learned that it is a symbol "woman medicine." Sams and Carson said an otter tells us to become the playful child, to allow things to unfold, to stop worrying and to not hang on to material things that become a burden. They said the otter teaches us to look at the joyousness of the receptive side of our nature, to give freely and to move gently into the river of life, "By flowing with the waters of the Universe we balance, honor female receptive energy and discover the power of woman."
   Since I've been struggling to find the right balance in giving and receiving and work and play I saw otters' medicine as a sign to be more generous and have fun.
   My fourth experience involved a musk turtle that sat in one of our creek's pools for a week. Since there was a drought and the turtle seldom moved as the water retreated I became concerned. When I told my husband at breakfast that I thought the turtle was dying we decided to relocate it in a larger river after lunch.
   My husband appeared a few hours later and said, "Your `dying' turtle is sitting at the front door of our cabin." We were shocked. The turtle had climbed a steep hill and found our front door. We immediately drove the turtle to a nearby river and released it.
   The medicine cards said the turtle is a symbol of Mother Earth. It asks us to honor our creative source, to be grounded, to flow harmoniously between the water and the earth and to go inside ourselves for protection.
   Feeling depressed about the drought the turtle's presence gave me the gift of gratitude.
   I believe there is a presence among all of creation, the earth, people, animals and plants that is healing and draws us ever closer to God. It was said in the Book of Job; ask the beasts, and they shall teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you.
   Animal Medicine and the use of the medicine cards not only helped me identify and resolve issues but better appreciate their gifts.
   All I need to do is pay attention.



5. An excellent source of councel, support, enlightment and wisdome in an interestingly written book and beautifully painted cards. A real joy! Merit

5 comments about Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small.

1. The Alchemical Woman A Handbook for Everyday Soulwork
   
   For the past 25 years, the Skunk has been my animal totem - serving me as a guide to self-respect in all I do. Just this morning in my meditation I realized I no longer needed the personal protection of my totem the Skunk and gratefully released it from responsibility to me. I then invited the Grizzly Bear to walk with me on my journey. As soon as I finished my meditation, I immediately turned to my copy of Animal Speak and read through the pages on the Bear. It was amazing to me how perfectly it fit into the new work I'm embarking on - it even mentions alchemy, which as you can see from the book I'm promoting above - The Alchemical Woman - is amazingly connected to this Bear energy.
   
   I often refer to this book when particular creatures show up and catch my attention. It's very helpful to raising my awareness of things I'm too busy to pay attention to and have great significance in my life. It's a stop and smell the roses guide.
   
   Thank you, Ted Andrews, for your diligent study and the beautiful book you brought into my life.



2. I use this book as a reference. When I frequently run into certain animals in my dream or in nature I look up the book for potential meanings. It is well written and very meaningful.



3. It is one of those kind of books that you always keep handy and take on trips. I know that with time it will have curled pages, yellow highlights, and frayed edges from all of the frequent use as a resource of information. The more you study the meaning of the animal, the more it will come to visit you! I have hummingbirds visiting me often!



4. I found this book to be most interesting and yes at being almost an inch thick..and being a busy mom and not the fastest reader..Im still reading. If one is simply wishing to fill a bookshelf then that would be a major waste..but for really wishing to learn new things and go for improvement and appreciation of life ..of all it's intended richness..this is a great book.



5. The book was recommended to me by an animal totem reader. Explains the totems in depth. Good reference book for those seeking additional information regarding animal totems.