What is your power animal?

One of the most fabulous things about shamanism is finding your own power animal. When you ‘journey’ into the other worlds you can meet guides who can offer help, advice, healing. In the ‘lower’ world these tend to be animals or birds and occasionally (though less commonly) reptiles or insects.
When people read Walker they often assume that the animal guides (Comer, Goss, Adante, Herniman etc) are akin to the daemons in the Philip Pullman books. They’re actually quite different. Animal guides are quite autonomous – although they may have an affinity with us, they are not part of us. Also, they don’t always stay with us forever. You can lose an animal through neglect or simply because times have changed and it’s time for a new energy to come into your work.
When I first learned about shamanism, I took a beginner’s course with The Sacred Trust. One of the first things we did was a journey to find our power animal. I had been looking forward to this more than anything. I was pretty convinced I knew what my animal would be – a big black panther, full of power and with thick soft fur.
But it wasn’t to be. When my creature came to find me it turned out to be a slim swift snake. My power creature wasn’t big but she was darn scary and the first thing she did was to bite me. Rather like Goss chews up Hunter and spits him out. I soon learned to love my snake (forgive me if I don’t share her name – it’s between the two of us) and spent a lot of time talking and listening, and dancing – yes spirit animals love you to dance and play with them. She also helped me navigate around the lower world and assisted me with healing.
Over the years, I have met many other power animals and certain allies will help me with certain tasks.

• What kind of power animal do you think you might have?
• Which animals do you like most? What are the qualities you like in them? Could you cultivate those qualities in yourself?
• Which animals do you fear? Do you know why? What qualities do THEY have? Do you think these are qualities that maybe you avoid in some way in your life?
• Do you ever dream of animals? Which ones and what are they doing? If an animal chases you in a dream, it’s usually trying to show you something or to change you in some way. Instead of running, try turning round and seeing what it wants.

Note: Just recently I have been gifted a new power animal and he is totally beautiful. :)

Why did I write Walker?

Why does anyone write a book? Because they have a story to tell, I suppose.

But there are several reasons why I wanted to write this particular book.

Exmoor: When I was a child I used to stay with my grandparents at the other end of Somerset, in a small town called Castle Cary. We would go on coach trips to the seaside but the trip I really wanted to go on was to a place called Exmoor. It just sounded wild and magical. When I finally went there, many many years later, I realised it was all that and more.

I have lived on Exmoor for about twelve years now - firstly right out on the wild moor, and now on the edges of the National Park, in a (very) small town called Dulverton.

Exmoor is packed with legends and with wildlife. At our old home we would watch the wild red deer come within yards of our house. We followed the progress of fox cubs, observing their earth about twenty yards from our kitchen window. Buzzards circled overhead and at night we would hear owls - tawny and barn. At one point we even had a family of stoats living just outside the front door...

It's not just the animals. On Exmoor there are hills supposedly built by fairies. There are strange beasts and ghosts and places people won't go after dark. It is an ancient place, with wild open moors, deep combes (steep valleys), fast-flowing rivers and isolated villages. The perfect setting for a spooky story...

Shamanism: Many years ago I met a shaman called Leo Rutherford and he sparked my interest in this most ancient of practices. Intrigued, I went on courses run by The Sacred Trust, both in London and in Devon. Here I learned how to 'walk between worlds' for myself. I met spirit guides and was taught how to do healing; how to practice 'soul retrieval' and how to help the dead to transit over into the afterlife. All the practices you will read about in Walker, actually.

I wanted to write a book that was steeped in real magic - not just make-believe. Pretty well every shamanic technique you read about in Walker is real - and I've done them all. Okay, I took a bit of liberty with the shape-shifting in this reality - but you can indeed take on the characteristics of an animal guide. For example, if I'm driving my car on a difficult journey, I often call on the power of the far-sighted eagle. If I'm in a tricky situation, with sneaky people, I will summon up the characteristics of the smart coyote or cunning fox.

Good old-fashioned storytelling: When I was young I was entranced by the books of Alan Garner and Susan Cooper. They were authors who wrote about strange things happening in this world, in the everyday world. I have always loved the idea that the world of magic or the supernatural is really there all the time, if you know where to look for it. I am fascinated by things you see out of the corner of your eye; by the mood or atmosphere of places; by the spooky and uncanny.

This is just a few opening thoughts. If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them...just leave a comment.