Table of Contents
Introduction xi
1 Bear Shamans And Plant Healers 1
Understanding the Nature of Animals 2
Animal Allies 7
The Plant Healers' Teacher 12
The Bear Spirit Posture 18
2 Bear Caves And Neanderthals 21
An Enigmatic Woman 25
Stone Age Hunters and Bear Shamans 31
3 Bear Ancestors 39
Osborn (Asbjøm), the Divine Bear 40
Bear Children 42
Golden Bears 44
4 Forest Maidens And Feral Mountain People 51
Glutton and Gourmet 54
Bear Love and Matriarchy 58
5 Meeting Up With Maheonhovan 61
A Bear Is Not a Tail-Tucking Dog 62
Shining Light in the Bear's Soul 64
6 Grandmothers' Stories 67
7 The Cave, The Bear, And The Woman 75
The Strength of Those Raised on Bear's Milk 77
A Bear-Like Mother Hulda, or Mother Goose 80
8 The Vital Spirit of The Vegetation 83
Bloody Sacrifices 84
"Straw-Bear" and "Pea-Bear" 86
9 The Bear King Of The Celts 91
The Wheel with Eight Spokes 94
The Festival of Light 94
May Joy and August Fires 97
Modraniht (Mother's Night) 99
10 The Guardian Of The Treasures 103
The Croesus of the Animal Realm 109
Krishna Humbles the Bear King 111
Zalmoxis and Immortality 113
Master of Fire 115
11 Berserkers And Guardians of The Threshold 117
Interpretations 125
12 The Heavenly Trail Of Ursa Major 129
The Power That Moves the Heavens 130
The Guest from the Twelfth Heaven 132
The Forbidden Name 134
Artemis's Children 136
The Once and Future King 141
13 The Warrior Bear 143
Berserkers and Ulfhedinn 144
Fylgia, the Follower Spirit 149
The War of the Animals 151
The Chieftain of the Animals 153
14 Bear Saints And Devils 159
A Messenger of the Age of Pisces 160
The Bear as a Porter and Plowman 162
The Bear Goddess in Nun's Attire 165
Forest Demons and Malicious Wild Animals 167
Brother Klaus's Bear of Light 171
15 Bear Plants, Bear Medicine 175
Plants That Induce Sleep 176
A Master of Botany 177
Bear's Garlic, Bear Leek, or Ramsons 180
Ciubmoss 181
Bearberry 182
Burdock 183
Bear's Milk, Licorice, and Hogweed 184
16 Bear Fat And Bear Gall 187
The Bear's Charisma 188
The Cure-All 193
Bear Fat 195
Amber 198
17 Rituals Of Departure; Reconciliation With The Bear Spirit 199
A Bear Is a Love-Hungry Woman 207
18 Places Of Bear Power 211
Smokey Bear and Yellowstone 212
Salmon Gourmets on the McNeil River 216
A Guest from Heaven 217
Visiting the King of the Forest 224
19 Bear'opolis-Berne (City Of Bears), Switzerland 229
Bears Who Have Become Human 231
Duke Berchtold and Noble Lady Mechthildis 234
The Patron Saint 237
20 Teddy Bear And Winnie-The-Pooh 243
The Dumb Bear 245
The President and the First Teddy Bear 249
The Wise Bear of Little Understanding 253
21 Encyclopedia Of Famous Bears 257
Aloysius 258
Baloo 258
Bamaby Bear (Rasmus Klump) 260
Bart 261
Ben (Bozo) 261
The Berliner Bear 263
The Bernese Bear 264
Care Bears 265
Dancing Bears 265
Ewoks 266
Fozzie Bear 267
Gentle Ben 267
Goldilocks and the Three Bears 267
Gummy Bears 269
Paddington Bear 270
The Russian Bear 270
Smokery Bear 272
Winnie-the-Pooh 273
Yogi Bear 273
Afterword: Hope For The Bear's Return 275
Notes 279
Bibliography 289
Index 293
About The Author 305
