THE BOOK OF ANIMALS

John Lloyd and John Mitchinson   

Faber & Faber • 978 0 571 24513 0

This 'pocket edition' is a handy resource of man's allies, big and small. Thumbing through reveals two pages (black and white throughout, with small line-drawings & clever cartoons) dedicated to each animal and their eccentricities. It's amazing to find out how alike we actually are to animals. Learn about earthworms and how they can bizarrely become addicted - and even suffer 'terrible withdrawal symptoms' - to nicotine as humans do. Did you know that those often pesky albatrosses are able to fly a total of 10 years without stopping? I certainly didn't and I'm sure this book will pleasantly surprise.

ALEX & ME   

Irene M Pepperberg   

Scribe • 978 1 921 37272 8

What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. On 6 September 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age 31. His last words to his owner, Irene, was 'You be good. I love you'. Over the years of Alex's life, Irene proved many things - Alex could add; sound out words; understand concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer and none, and was capable of thought and intention. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures. This is their story.

ANIMAL VOICES, ANIMAL GUIDES: Discover Your Deeper Self through Communication with Animals   

Dawn Baumann Brunke   

Bear & Company / Real Books • 978 1 59143 098 8

This book aims to inform the reader of ways in which to tune in to the 'universal language' of life and reconnect with the animal kingdom in a more conscious, meaningful way. Through exercises, meditations, stories and experiments, through to myths, shamanic journeys and dreams, Dawn teaches how to access the subtle whispers of nature and expand one's awareness. Learn what sled dogs may teach us about team work, how llamas see themselves as teachers of the world, and how it feels to inhabit the skin of a shark. From the chapter 'The Art of Shapeshifting': 'I was in many shapes. I was an eagle. I was a snake on an enchanted hill. I was a viper in a lake,' Taliesin (Celtic Bard & Shaman).

THE PHILOSOPHER & THE WOLF: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death & Happiness   

Mark Rowlands   

Granta •  978 1 84708 102 5

When Mark was 27 and a young professor of philosophy at the University of Miami, he bought a wolf cub. It was the beginning of a relationship that would come to define Mark's life, and shape his thinking. Beginning with Brenin's exuberant, destructive puppyhood, and ending with his passing, 11 years later. This book is an account of a friendship that transcends the species barrier, and is an examination of joy, strength, and the essential nature of the human mind. Mark is also the author of The Philosopher at the End of the Universe and Everything I know I learned From TV. Visit www.markrowlandsauthor.com for more.

ANIMAL PRAYERS   

Margaret Roberts   

Spearhead • ISBN 0 86486 557 0

Amid the sometimes uncaring world of ours, there are those who do care, who love their animals deeply and who rely on them for companionship in sickness, loneliness or old age. Margaret was inspired to write this heart-felt book by her grandmother, among others, who sympathised with a cart horse one day and prayed out aloud for it, with remarkable results. There are 50 prayers compiled, and even one for the flea: ..'Am I a vicious little beastie Lord? Am I delighting in their ineffective and furious slappings and scratchings too much Lord? What discomfort I can bring. Sorry Lord. Amen'. This book will make a welcome addition to home libraries of both young and old.

ANIMAL DREAMING  

Scott Alexander King   

Blue Angel Gallery • 9 780980 398304

This information-rich book is all about the symbolic and spiritual language of the Australasian animals, but that doesn't mean that its message and ideals are not universal. The author, who is a teacher and animal psychic, has put this book together in a very concise and structured fashion; rather than diving straight into the subject matter (which is still fairly underground), King puts us through the paces of what dreamtime really means and then goes on to explain the different ideas around guided visualisation for all four corners of the Australasian continent. From there we are treated to a listing of the animal kingdom (separated into legged, winged, creepy-crawlies, water-based and even indigenous reptiles), each with a simple sketch and an attribute to the human world to find your own Australian animal totem. This book is an invaluable resource for those interested in the animal kingdom, sacred Earth wisdom and Shamanic lore.

HEALING WITH THE ANIMALS: Animal Dreaming Guided Meditative Journeys

Scott Alexander King   

Blue Angel Publishing

Features music by Sacred Earth - Jethro & Prem Williams from Australia. Shamans and medicine men and women of tribal tradition believed that to experience an animal by chance and to have that animal share its wisdom on a spiritual level was like being offered aspects of its strength and power, or its 'medicine'. 'Calling in' the medicine of certain animals, they believed, would banish illness, fevers and disease. Scott is a zoomancer - someone who examines the habits and appearance of animals to help reveal a client's future path. His publications include the Animal Dreaming book & card set, Kids - Indigo Children & Cheeky Monkeys and the Creature Teacher Cards.

Disc 1 includes: Guided Visualisations, Honouring your Power Animal, Seeking Counsel of a Particular Animal, Creatures of Prophecy, and so on; Disc 2 features: Smudging, Reweaving the Web of Life, Celebrating your 'Re-birth' day; Healing the womb & reclaiming Feminine Power, Sacred Diengagement, Healing your Past (with the help of the snake), and Sending Energy to the Planet, People & Animals.

MEDITATIONS WITH WYNTER: Guiding You in the Subtle Art of Animal Communication

Wynter Worsthorne is well known in South Africa and the UK for her ability to communicate with animals. She believes that this ability is available to everyone - all we need is an open heart and open mind. She has written these meditations (Releasing Negativity, Meeting Your Animal Guide, A Journey Into Light, Being a Cat, Grounding Yourself, and so on) over the years to assist listeners still their minds and become aware of the subtle energies around them. Music by Chris Tokalon (flute, sax, hanging chimes and overtone). Features special'purr-over' artist Nanooks the cat. Visit www.animaltalk.org.uk for more.

ANIMAL DREAMING ORACLE CARDS   

Scott Alexander King   

Blue Angel Gallery • 9 780980 286533

This quaint little package includes 45 cards and a 132 page booklet that interprets the drawn oracle card, allowing you to give and receive inspirational readings. This uniquely Australian set embraces the ancient concept of a seeker requesting knowledge from someone skilled in communicating the energies of nature, but in a far more modern and practical way.

MESSAGES FROM YOUR ANIMAL SPRIT GUIDES ORACLE CARDS   

Steven D Farmer   

Hay House • 978 6 56629 00578 2

With many varieties of oracle and guidance cards on the market, there are bound to be sets that match each person's particular tastes and requirements. This set offers instructions for conducting oracle card readings for yourself and others, giving brief descriptions of how to interpret each card's general meaning and an extended message from each of the 44 spirit animals represented in the pack. Dedicated, collectively, to all our ancestors, this pack represents yet another step in the process of people from Western-based cultures reclaiming the almost-lost heritage of both First Peoples (Native American, in this case) and that of their own ancestral roots. If working with animal spirits and allies appeals to you, this one is perfect for your next step towards mastering your own self-development.

THE AMAZING POWER OF ANIMALS

Gordon Smith   

Hay House • 978 1 84850 008 2

Gordon Smith is well known, not only in the UK but on these shores and elsewhere around the world, as one of the most accurate and reliable voices for those who have passed across the veil of life and death. Sometimes, though, it is not only human messages from departed loved ones and friends that are conveyed to the living through him - often enough the messages come from the animals we have loved, and which have loved us. In part, these messages are sometimes conveyed through animals we've known because there is just too much pain around the loss of a human loved one - somehow, the animals can get through our defensive shields far more effectively in such cases. Other times, the animals want to help us through our lives just because they loved us, and still love us, unconditionally. Touching, powerful and, if you are into animals, a real gem that will warm your heart, encourage your spirit and help you heal.

ANIMAL SPIRIT GUIDES   

Steven D Farmer  

Hay House • 978 1 4019 0733 4

For some entrenched in a Westernised worldview, the whole idea that animals can act as 'spirit guides' - conveying their wisdom to help us live our lives more fully and happily - seems 'alien' or strange. But the truth is that most of humanity has for most of its history engaged with animals, animal spirits and the natural world as part of our collective experience of our own spirituality. Through the oppressive influence of some of the world's largest mainstream religions, much of this ancient tradition, and the wisdom that it carries, have been all but lost. The author - who's no backyard babbler, but rather a recognised and respected figure with impressive credentials that include shamanic practitioner, ordained minister, psychotherapist and former professor with more than 30 years' of experience to draw on - has in this book followed on from the huge success of his best-selling work Power Animals. Inspired by inquiries from readers of that work about the meaning and role of animals not included therein, Farmer has provided in this book a concise picture of the significance and meaning of more than 200 animal spirit guides. If you're into animal spirit guides, or just want to find out what this system of knowledge is all about, then this is the book for you.