Among the non-human animals prominent in world mythologies, wolves have played an out-sized role. Wolves are both physical species-- interacting for better or worse, as predators and prey, with human societies-- as well as cultural archetypes, interacting with the human psyche, as long as two-legged and four-legged creatures have cohabited this earth plane. Rachel S Roberts’ new book Wolf is a manual, of sorts, for appreciating the breadth of meaning of wolves as physical species and what she calls “wolf essence.”
In her “About the Author” page, Roberts describes herself as “a glittery and very fluffy variety of wolf that lives and roams in North Wales, U.K.” She published an earlier (2023) Pagan Portals book, Lupa, about the mythology of the wolf goddess Lupa in the history of Rome. (Link goes to our review of that book.) Roberts is educated in history and religious studies and now leads a Wolf Woman Rising Wisdom School, where she teaches meditation, dance and nature alchemy. She calls Wolf “an introduction to working with the energy, essence, guides and archetype of the wolf.”
As an introduction, Wolf is wide-ranging. Roberts writes at length about how physical, or what she calls “earth bound,” wolves offer inspiration on themes of family, teamwork, and communication. That’s because wolves are social animals, and within their packs, individuals play complimentary roles, as leaders, as bonded mates, as mothers teaching pups, as the “lone wolf” who “reminds us of the necessity of time on our own and the creation of our own unique identity.”
Wolves are best known for their unique vocalizations: barks, growls, whimpers and, of course, the howl. A howl is a social communication, a rallying cry, a GPS signal, an alarm, an expression of joy for recreational choral singing. Next time one of my 13-pound, rescue dog boys lifts his head to the sky to let out an ear-shattering howl, I’ll try to remember that he’s doing it for what Roberts calls the “acoustics,” to project his voice as far as possible – because it’s fun. All animals desire joy and play.
More seriously, as Roberts writes, “one of the most celebrated characteristics of wolves is their courage.” Wolf courage includes that of the lone wolf who leaves the pack to find a partner or to defend the pack’s turf. For a human to embody wolf courage might mean overcoming one’s fear of social interaction or “enforcing boundaries with an overbearing work colleague.” Roberts is pointing to the benefit of observing, and then embodying for ourselves, the noble qualities of our fellow creatures.
As an introduction, there’s plenty in this book about Wolf in folklore. Roberts acknowledges that her research on wolf archaeology, deity, and history has been mostly “European bound,” and that Wolf “holds great significance in other parts of the world,” including the entire western hemisphere as well as, for example, Shinto spirituality in Japan. She covers the presence of Wolf in Greek and Roman mythology, in Russian folktales, in Celtic and Norse myth.
Gratefully, for those who love and live with dogs, she writes at length about dog-wolf linkages. Both Dog and Wolf are connected with the Moon, though Roberts notes that the connection between dogs and the Moon may be even stronger than the wolf-Moon connection. Dogs, she writes, “could be considered one branch of wolf essence.” Dogs carry a gentler energy and, yet, in terms of spiritual experience, dogs are often an “emissary” that lead one to want to work with Wolf essence.
A major part of the book consists of practices for invoking various features of Wolf essence. One approach is to understand the relationships between wolf energy and the elements. For each element, Roberts lists a type of wolf, a corresponding deity, places, elemental tools, and an affirmation.
There’s also a section on Wolf Gods and Goddesses, with a short description of each deity, correlating elements and archetypes. Lupa is the She-Wolf of Rome and Mother of Destiny, the subject of Roberts’ 2023 book. The Morrigan is the Grand Mother Wolf, associated with fire and air. Artemis and Diana are “maiden” wolves. Pan and Mars are the Grand Father Wolf. I don’t know that there’s anything hard and fast about the correlations Roberts presents. The point is to integrate what Roberts calls “Being Wolf” with a variety of spiritual practices including, by the way, specific colors. I learned from this book something that validates my personal experience: that it’s common for wolves to appear in dreams and visions as blue or with a blue aura, reflecting a connection to the throat chakra and to the healing vibrations of the color blue.
This book is a manual, but even more so, it reads like a tribute to one of the great life forms: the wolves, who live, walk, howl, and manage to survive in many unknown physical locales, as well as in the dreamscapes of human consciousness.
~review by Sara R. Diamond
Author: Rachel S. Roberts
Moon Books, 2024
280 pp. $17.95
