Plant and Fungus Totems: Connect with Spirits of Field, Forest, and Garden

221 Pages·2014·1.29 MB·English

by  Lupa

About the Author
Lupa is a neoshaman, artist, and sustainability geek living in Portland, Oregon.
She has been working with nature-based spirituality in various forms since the
mid-1990s, and while her path has wended through various experiences over the
years, she has spent most of her recent time developing Therioshamanism, a self-
created and spirit-directed neoshamanic path with a strong bioregional focus.
She possesses a master’s degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis on
ecopsychology, as well as her Wilderness First Responder certification, and
integrates elements of this education into her practice and writing. She has
several publications on shamanism and related topics under her proverbial belt,
such as 2012’s New Paths to Animal Totems, and various writings all over the
Internet. When not breaking keyboards with her furious typing, Lupa is most
likely hiding in the Columbia River Gorge, making ritual tools and other art out
of hides, bones, and other such things, and finding ways to make her apartment
greener without making the rental company look askance. She may be found
online at http://www.thegreenwolf.com and http://therioshamanism.com.
Llewellyn Publications
Woodbury, Minnesota
Copyright Information
Plant and Fungus Totems: Connect with Spirits of Field, Forest, and Garden ©
2014 by Lupa.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
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First e-book edition © 2014
E-book ISBN: 9780738741079
Book design by Bob Gaul
Cover art: iStockphoto.com/16368212/Jeja iStockphoto.com/26447776/imv
iStockphoto.com/25412165/Risto0
iStockphoto.com/3181161/anilakduygu iStockphoto.com/4117463/portishead1
iStockphoto.com/3933690/JodiJacobson Cover design by Kevin R. Brown
Editing by Laura Graves
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Manufactured in the United States of America
This book is dedicated to all of those who helped me to connect to the land
here in Oregon. To Scrub Jay and Steller’s Jay, Douglas Fir and Western
Hemlock, Beargrass and Sword Fern, Black Morel and Black Mold, the
mighty Columbia River and Mount Hood, and all the meandering trails that
led me to discovery and adventure. To all the people who work to protect
this place from overzealous development, and to those displaced by such.
And to those who weave the magic of wonder
that still wends its way through the world we
live in, and share it with our fellow beings.
And to my beloved S., for teaching me greater compassion for myself and
others, for being able
to reframe even the worst of my faults in a positive light, and for being more
adorably hirsute
than any muse has any business being.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Christopher Penczak A Note to Readers
Introduction
One: What Are Plant and Fungus Totems?
Two: What Makes Plant and Fungus Totems Different from Animals?
Three: The Bioregional Model Four: The Correspondences Model
Five: The Archetypal Model Six: Combining the Three Models
Seven: Leaves and Caps—The Sacred Remains of Plants and Fungi
Eight: Giving Back to the Totems Conclusion
Appendix A: Plant and Fungus Totem Guided Meditation Appendix B: Beneficial
Nonprofit Organizations Appendix C: A Bit of Recommended Reading Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
To Elysia Gallo, for walking me through the process of making yet another book
happen, and dealing with surprise deadlines with enviable grace. Thank you
again to Laura Graves for once more attending to the details of proofreading and
related maddening minutiae. To Christopher Penczak, for responding to my
tugging on his sleeve at PantheaCon by writing a foreword of such beauty that it
almost needs to have its own introduction. To the many and sundry and awesome
Pagans and festival folk and fey beings in Portland and beyond who have been
cheering me on as I maintain a careful balance among three and a half careers.
And to you, the reader, who has chosen to give this book a try, for whatever may
come of it.
[contents]
Foreword