(Frog)
Nicki Scully opens the second edition of her book Power Animal Meditations with, “In its first edition, this book was published as The Golden Cauldron, which refers to the internal alchemical process used for connecting to our power animal totems in a safe and effective way. Although the title has changed to emphasize the animal guides, I have retained the use of the Cauldron in the text as a symbol of the alchemical healer that we access within ourselves when we journey into the spirit world.” This statement sets the tone of the book for learning about various Animal Teachers.
The author divides the book into eight parts. First, she discusses what she meant by “the Cauldron”. Then Nicki Scully groups various animals into Journeys for the reader to meet them. Her Journeys are “Foundation”, “Awakening”, “Transformation”, “Healing”, “Exploration”, “Celebration and Honoring”, and “Liberation”. Ms. Scully offers a wide variety of animals to learn from. Camel, Cobra, Honeybee, and Walrus are some of the featured animals.
The author includes plants and other things in her meditations. They include Crone, Tree, Rose, Poison Oak for “Foundation Journeys”; Crystals, Gold, Goddess Kuan Yin for “Healing”; and Cedar Tree for “Exploration”. She concludes with “The Garden” to teach “Gratitude and Looking Beyond.”
On the plus side, the illustrations for each of the animals are beautiful and inspiring. Each picture has the animal in a typical pose, integrated with symbols of various folk traditions of that animal. The symbols are easy to understand and add content to the picture. The author explains the illustration, and what the animal is teaching.
The teaching for Frog is “Cleansing”. The author places Frog in “Healing Journeys”. The illustration for Frog has a frog over a rainstorm with Chinese and Mayan frog fetishes bordering the picture. First the author discusses Frogs in various myths. She writes, “When he appears in mythology, Frog evokes either great respect or revulsion. Stone figures of frogs were found in the mouth of the dead in ancient burial grounds of the Chinese and the Mayans, for whom Frog is a reincarnation symbol. Associations with rain are attributed to Frog primarily in India and South Africa.” Then the author gives Frog’s teaching. An excerpt from the book follows. “Indispensable for our forests, frogs are very magical creatures who call in the rain. Frog brings the rain, and with the rain comes cleansing. Their call is not a cry of desperation but, rather, an acknowledgement honoring the waters of life.”
Since Power Animal Meditations contains a variety of animals from Africa and Asia, two areas often ignored by “animal wisdom” books, the book is useful. The illustrations make for a beautiful book. Nicki Scully’s explanations of the animals are different from other books and are interesting to read.
(Blue Jay)
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Purchase this book and meditations from Amazon.com.
Va. Carper
August 9, 2005