Terra Electrica

Nature’s allies

The spiritual bond between animals and humans

Terra Electrica imagines a world in the near future where the polar ice caps have melted. It is set in the Arctic where the melt has not only transformed the world physically, but also socially and culturally. But Mani has saved something from the past – an ancestral mask, and when she wears it she is transported back into the world of snow and ice. This ‘other’ world is populated by the spirits of her ancestors in the form of Arctic animals. It is through the animals that she encounters here that she gains an understanding of herself and the changing world around her. In a life of unimaginable hardship, it is a bright place of solace and empathy.

I have always been fascinated by the notion of spirit animals. When I was about 12, my best friend’s mum was learning about Jungian psychology and became interested in the idea of animals as archetypes – her investigations led her into looking at different shamanistic practices across the world that engage with spirit animals. My friend would come to school with stories her mum had told her – of animals that could be encountered in another realm, of going on journeys into another world where you could meet your own personal spirit guide animal. I was hooked – which animal might I find on such a journey? I longed to find out.

At the time, I was fully committed to a diet of animal-based literature (favourites included Tarka the Otter and Watership Down) and adventure stories (Swallows and Amazons and The Famous Five), alongside a splash of magic (The Folk of the Faraway Tree and The Chronicles of Narnia) – the idea that there might be another realm where humans could connect with animals at a fundamental level was always a pull for me. The animal stories I was reading packed the highest emotional punch – the sacrifice of Aslan the lion, the mortal battle of Tarka and the otterhound Deadlock, the heroic quest of Hazel and his band of rabbits to find a new, happier place.

I was convinced I had a profound connection with our family dog. Iggy (a tri-colour corgi) was my soul mate. From him waking me up each morning as he charged up the stairs and bounded into my bed, to evenings where he snuggled next to me as I did my homework or watched telly – we were inseparable. We went on daily walks – sometimes routinely round the block, but other times I would take a backpack with survival sandwiches and we’d go further afield. I would talk to him and invest him with all my teenage angst – and he was receptive, loyal and committed, when so much of the world around me felt incomprehensible.

As a parent, seeing my own children engage with the ‘animal’ in our family has been a source of wonder. Playing with Conker (a corgi-basset mix!) when they were little was simple unfettered joy – they would leap, charge, tumble together ‘like nobody’s watching’ – and I would often find Conker at the end of the day, carefully wrapped fajita-style in a duvet, slumbering alongside one child or another. There is something about the ease, the lack of judgement, the simplicity of a family pet that gives children a powerful, authentic connection with the world – with nature – away from screens and toxicity of the social demands that these have created. Perhaps this connection with animals in children’s stories is more important than ever.

Today, my encounters with animals still enchant and transport me. As I walk through the fields and forests in north Essex with Starsky (another corgi!), fleeting encounters feel like a privilege. The hare that startles on the path ahead, the group of deer that stand and watch silently as we pass, the fox I catch sizing up the rubbish bin, the red kite that tracks us along the path. We see each other – and it feels more than just two species engaged in the quest for survival. We share this planet. It feels like a common understanding. We get it.

Terra Electrica presents a dark world – one in which the lights have literally been turned off – but there is hope. In the mask world, where the pure connection with animals is possible, Mani finds empathy, resilience and courage. Through her connection with her own animal spirit guide, she is able to step out of the darkness and effect change – book 2 will continue this journey. I hope young readers will draw hope from this – and reflect on our ability and responsibility as humans to work with our world and all its wonderful animals, not against them.

Terra Electrica – The Guardians of the North by Antonia Maxwell – published by Neem Tree Press.

Our thanks to Antonia and her publishers for this wonderful and insightful Blog.