From Diana Rajchel, pagan author, for the Beltane Papers:
Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone just howls for more quality experimental magic. From upstart UK publisher Immanion Press, this first-time offering by Seattle-based author Lupa sets a tone for the future of magical practice. Her composition of research, skepticism, and practical anecdotes give readers a rarely-offered 21st century look at magic at its dirtiest and most real.
From D. Tigermoon of The Pagan Review:
There is a wealth of information in a very readable format and a generous sprinkling of humor...a great one for beginners or more advanced practitioners.
From W. Lyon Martin, author of An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child, care of Magickware
This is an excellent book for people wishing to delve into the worlds of animal magics. It is far better than any other book I have read on the subject, avoiding the rote use of listing animal correspondences and getting down to the nitty-gritty of actual rituals and meditations fully accessible to even a novice.
This review also showed up in issue #101 of If... Journal, 4 stars out of 5!
Nicholas Graham, author of The Four Powers
Before I get started on the review proper, I feel the need to address something. I'm sure some folks will suspect that I'm only giving this book high marks because it's written by my very good friend, and/or because I'm a guest essayist in this particular volume. While both of those things are true, I believe that the book (and my review thereof) stands on its own as a fine addition to the literature of the field of magic. That being said, I shall carry on.
This book deserves to be handled chapter-by-chapter, as each chapter is really an independent and self-sufficient essay on a particular facet of animal magic. The entire book fits together as a complete manual on the subject but each chapter can certainly stand up on its own.
Chapter 1: Totemism
While the entire book is great, this chapter shines even amongst these gems. The reason is obviously that Lupa has much more experience with this aspect of magic than with any other and, thus, has a great corpus of information to draw from. I learned a great deal from this chapter, and the in-text citations provide a clear guide as to where to look next for more on a particularly interesting topic. The information is primarily theoretical, but it is written with a definite focus on practice. In other words, it's a font of ideas ready to be adapted to your own magical practice.
Chapter 2: Familiars
This chapter probably has the least experience behind it, but it's still incredibly important for the fact that there really are no books on the market which cover the subject of animal familiars. All of the books I've encountered (besides this one, of course) which mention the subject focus mostly on European witchcraft legends, perhaps making a foray into some psychological or anthropological theory or other behind the phenomenon. Lupa's book, however, gives one specific methods for working with animal familiars, both physical and spiritual. Anybody who has always wanted to experiment in this direction, but has never been able to find information on where to start (such as myself) cannot miss this chapter.
Chapter 3: Animal-based Evocation and Invocation
Chapter 4: Creating Animals in Magical Practice
Chapter 5: Shapeshifting
These three chapters, while all useful as stand-alones, seem to have been written as a unit. Chapter 3 provides the theoretical and ideological foundation upon which chapters 4 & 5 are built. Parts of chapter 3, as well as chapter 4, detail methods for totemic evocation and the creation of animal servitors. The creativity of the author really shows-through as she shares some valuable ideas on the construction of composit-animal servitors.
The remainder of chapter 3, as well as chapter 5, concern themselves primarily with invocation and illumination. The Hermetic approach is refreshing, showing respect for the aspects of spiritual beings which are macrocosmic ('objective', external) and microcosmic ('subjective', internal), and explaining how both angles are useful to the magician. This attitude is useful for anybody who works with spiritual beings of any sort, not just totems and animal spirits. The techniques of illumination are particularly interesting.
Chapter 6: Working with Animal Parts
Anybody reading this who doesn't know Lupa may not know how passionate she is about her animal parts! The majority of her personal magical practice is directly or indirectly related to crafting with animal parts. Many of her invocations and shapeshiftings involve dancing in a wolfskin, for example. This chapter is full of practical tips and advice on both the magical and 'mundane' end of this sort of work.
Chapter 7: Animal Sacrifice
I will be shocked if after a year's time in publication, Lupa does not receive some e-mails about this chapter. My essay appears here, but more important is Lupa's writing. She goes into historical and anthropological information of extreme interest which provide a theoretical and practical foundation for anybody interested in this aspect of magical practice. Even if you have no desire to utilize animal sacrifice in your own work, it's important to understand as many different magical techniques in as much depth as possible to truly call yourself a magician. Lupa's work in this chapter will certainly shed some light on this, the darkest corner of the occult.
The appendices and bibliography are extremely valuable additions to the book. Appendix A, the guided meditation for the discovery of totems, is simple and elegant, and could easily be adapted for a variety of related purposes. Appendix D was a brilliant addition, being a listing of, and brief commentary on, several suggested animal-based charities. In addition to the citations throughout the book, the bibliography provides a quick reference for anybody wishing to explore more deeply the author's background information.
All in all, this is an extremely well put-together manual of animal magic. Most books on the subject are encyclopedic descriptions of animals, and their 'traditional' symbolism and power. While some of those books are interesting, Lupa's Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone makes them useful. The best part is that the book is written from hard-won experience in the field; I can personally vouch for that.
Erynn Rowan Laurie, author of A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts
I finished reading Lupa's book, Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic today. Unlike pretty much everything else out there on animals and magic today, it's not a "totem dictionary" in any sense of the word. Instead, Lupa presents a variety of approaches and techniques ranging from a guided meditation suggested for finding a totem to a chapter on the legalities and practices of animal sacrifice. There's a lot of very good information packed into this small book, and it's quite well written. Lupa tackles things from a very practical and experiential point of view, and talks about her own practices and experiences, giving a strong grounding to what could have otherwise been a book largely on theory. She makes no claims to be doing work from any particular tribal tradition, but instead discusses a variety of practices and techniques from many different cultures and from her own intuitional discoveries. Well worth the money spent. Good job, Lupa!
From Daven of Daven's Journal:
When Lupa asked me to do this review, I was of two minds. I thought "well a GOOD book on animal magick would be a wonderful thing for the community." The other part of me thought "I doubt this is going to be that book."
I LOVE it when I'm wrong.
This is not a book that is an encyclopedia about the Spirit Animals or what they do or don’t do. There are tons of other resources for that.
This book gives you practical information on working with not only the Spirit Animals, but also with familiars and those who see themselves as being animals in some regard. It talks about things like lycanthropy and how to call a familiar to you. It also discusses things like combining your energy with that of the animals you are dealing and working with.
I am very glad I have a copy of this book and it will be one book I am sure to reference many times in my own works with my cats and with my Spirit Animals in the future.
From Shade Oroboros of Silverstar Magazine:
A thorough and practical guide to ancient shamanic techniques that are still valid today...The approach is empathetic and down-to-earth, clearly drawn from years of experience in internal, astral and physical practice...A deeply personal book.
From Masticina, in the January/February 2007 issue of VC Magazine:
Flipping through the book you'll notice how down to earth it is written, something that is refreshing to see...Lupa has written a very grounded book...She has written about the things most do not share easily and taken some hurdles there.
Site content © Taylor Ellwood and/or Lupa, 1998-present. Contact us.
