Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lupa, author of New Paths to Animal Totems, Plant and Fungus Totems, and Nature Spirituality from the Ground Up. One of the common themes I see in books on animal totemism and similar practices is an emphasis on what we can get out of working with these beings. The language used can at times be pretty anthropocentric: "Harness the power of the totems to change your life!" sums it up well enough. Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting to improve your health, wealth, and wisdom with the help of totemic allies. After all, that's one of the strengths of spirituality—if it makes you a better person, you're using it right. What few of these

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lupa, author of New Paths to Animal Totems the new Plant and Fungus Totems. Many of you readers may be familiar with animal totems, archetypal beings that embody the qualities of a given species of animal and that watch over the physical animals themselves. But did you know plants, fungi, and other living beings have totems as well? Okay, so they’re not as popular as their critter counterparts, and we often see plants and fungi as scenery rather than active parts of nature. However, we have as much to learn from them as anyone else. It’s easy for us to be so animal-centric that we forget we’re not the only important ones here. It may

While summertime is the busy season for outdoor Pagan festivals and gatherings, it’s indoor Pagan conventions that dominate the calendar in February and March. Here is a quick run-down on upcoming events PantheaCon, Convocation, and Paganicon, and which Llewellyn authors you’ll be able to see there. PANTHEACON: February 15-18, 2013 The grande dame of indoor Pagan conventions, PantheaCon is held over President’s Day weekend every year and attracts more than 2,000 guests annually. This year Llewellyn will have a table just outside the vendor room for author signings and giveaways, so come by and visit us! I will also be chairing two panels; one on community (Friday afternoon) and one

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lupa, author of New Paths to Animal Totems. This is a quick guide for working with “found” animal parts—naturally shed fur and feathers from pets, farm animals, or wild critters; bones discovered in the woods; and so forth. It’ll work with other animal parts, too, but found ones are relatively low-impact, don’t cost anything, and are relatively easy to find. First, make sure what you have is legal; for example, in the U.S. it’s illegal to possess the feathers of almost every wild bird. You can check laws at my Animal Parts Laws page; contact your local game authority if you have questions on how to interpret the laws. Next,