Andrews - Animal-speak: the spiritual & magical powers of creatures great & small

About the Author

Ted Andrews was a full-time author, student, and teacher in the metaphysical and spiritual fields. He conducted seminars, symposiums, workshops, and lectures on ancient mysticism, and focused on translating esoteric material to make it comprehensible and practical for everyone.

Ted was certified in basic hypnosis and acupressure, and was involved in the study and use of herbs as an alternative path in health care. He was active in the holistic healing field. Trained in piano, Ted also employed the Celtic harp, bamboo flute, shaman rattles, Tibetan bells, the Tibetan Singing Bowl, and quartz crystal bowls to create individual healing therapies and induce higher states of consciousness.

Ted was a clairvoyant and worked with past-life analysis and synthesis, aura interpretation, dreams, numerology, and the tarot. He was a contributing author to various metaphysical magazines, and published articles on various topics including Occult Christianity, Working with Our Angelic Brethren, and the Metaphysical Mirrors within Our Lives. He passed from this world in 2009.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Animal Speak. 1993 by Ted Andrews

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Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition 2010

E-book ISBN: 9780738717630

Cover design by Lisa Novak

Cover art by Victoria Lisi FR

Photography by Margaret K. Andrews

Book design and editing by Constance Hill

Interior illustrations by Winston Allen on pp. 5, 6, 14, 16, 42, 41, 70, 84, 90, 92, 98, 103, 105, 107, 109, 215, 369

Interior illustrations by Hrana Janto on pp. 72, 83, 87, 143, 235

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Dedication

So often we are touched in ways that seem small and insignificant at the time, but which prove to be wonderful catalysts and blessings later. It is with great joy, love, and gratitude that I dedicate this book to the following:

To Quenda Healing Woman for her love, her very dear and treasured friendship, and her sharing of Owl Medicine,

To Ann Konik who with contagious enthusiasm opened the splendor and joy of hawking to me,

To Kin Quitugua who shared with me the power of HAWKQUEST and the magic of birds of prey in educating the public,

To Brukners Nature Center and all who work there for the opportunity of more intimate contact and educational experiences with animals and nature. To them also goes a special thanks for permission to photograph the animal residents and use the photographs in this book.

A special thanks goes to Mark Mazzei, Debbie Brill, and Terri Menoche of Brukner Nature Center for their help and guidance.

To my sister Theresa for her love for and work with animals.

To Pagan Alexander for her indexing assistance and input on such short notice.

To Constance Hill for her creative designs and editorial work.

Especially to the one who knew that the white bear on this book would take you East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

On Learning Animal-Speak

SYMBOLS IN THE NATURAL WORLD

The Spiritual and Magical Roles of Nature

Awakening to Your Spirit Totems

The Mystery and Magic of Predator and Prey

Reading Signs and Omens in Nature

Augury and the Meaning of Landscapes

WINGED ENCHANTMENT

Bird Totems and the Initiation of Air

Working with Bird Medicine

The Mystery of Feathers and Flight

Feather Magic

Dictionary of Bird Totems

UNDERSTANDING ANIMAL MEDICINE

Honoring Animal Totems

Animal Rites

Dictionary of Animal Totems

THE EXOTIC LANGUAGE OF INSECTS AND REPTILES

Insight into the World of Insects

Dictionary of Insect Totems

The Magic of the Reptile World

Dictionary of Reptile Totems

Totems in a Civilized World

If you talk to the animals

they will talk with you

and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them,

you will not know them,

And what you do not know

you will fear.

What one fears one destroys.

Chief Dan George

INTRODUCTION

ON LEARNING ANIMAL-SPEAK

Nature has filled my life. I was fortunate in spending most of my childhood among woods, ponds, creeks and fields. Animals have always come to me in dreams and in waking. They have guided me in life decisions and they even spoke to me of my fathers death.

I have seen the wolf in the wild, eye-to-eye, and I have encountered moose, bear, porcupines, and otters. I have held hawks, owls, and even a golden eagle upon my arm, and I have been nipped by a fox. I have fed vultures and marveled at the bellowing of elk on a distant hill.

Crows call to me every morning, and ravens guided me once when lost. I have held a fragile seahorse in my hand, and followed a great green moray eel to a depth of 150 feet, and hawks always watch over me when I travel.

And with it all, I am always amazed at the wonder of nature, its multiplicity, and especially at what it is saying to me about my own life at the time of such encounters. I look for what it is trying to teach me. I know nature speaks to us if we listen. Every animal has a story to tell. Every flower blossoms with reminders to be creative, and every tree whispers with its rustling leaves the secrets of life.

As a life-long student of mysticism, with a formal background in literature and linguistics, I have found within most scriptures and mythologies of the world a vein of lore surrounding the spirit of animals and the belief that the divine forces speak to humans through the natural world. Humans were as much a part of the natural world as the natural world was part of them. Animals and Nature are not the domain of any one society or segment of society. All peoples are touched by them.

Today it is not uncommon to hear people speak of trying to get back to nature, to get in touch with the Earth once more. The truth is, we have never been out of touch. We are always connected to the Earth and it to us. Everything we do repercusses upon it, and everything within it repercusses on us. Unfortunately, most choose to ignore it or are unable to recognize it. The saddest part is that when we fail to reverence any aspect of nature and our intimate connection to it, we are failing to reverence intimate aspects of our own self.

I am part of the natural world. As part of it, I have a responsibility to know as much about the environment in which I am living. The more I understand it, the more I understand myself. I have made a point of trying to understand my environment and all lifehuman and animalwithin it. To some, this may make me an amateur naturalist, but I am simply trying to speak the language of life.