Customer Reviews

Towards an Archeology of the Soul

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I found this book to be an engaging, in-depth exploration of how rituals work without dogma that includes a comprehensive design for applying its numerous techniques. Though the focus is chiefly group ritual dynamics, I found many of the movement forms and exercises to be equally effective when I did them by myself. However, the results varied wildly which seemed to parallel more of my own commitment (or lack thereof) to the work, rather than the material itself. What you get out of this work equals what you put into it. No bedside reader, this is an "action book" that I strongly recommend to those already engaged in a movement discipline, dance or ritual approach. What strikes me most about this "paratheatrical workbook" is how firmly rooted Alli's ritual technology is in the body's own vital instincts, rather than the mental diagrams and dogmas that tend to act as a wet blanket to creativity in general and living ceremony in particular. The back end of the book features interviews with other ritualists and performers that offer an instructive spectrum of visions regarding the voice, directing groups, solo performance and other artistic concerns. My favorite part is the section on the dangers of ritual which should be mandatory reading for novices and adepts alike. All in all, one of the best books I've come across on the preparations and processes of creative ritual and its potential for real transformation. Highly recommended.

This has to be my favorite of Alli's books so far, because it's the most practical of what he's written. In this book, he explains what paratheatre is and how it works, as well as letting others write case studies of their own experiences using this technique. What I like the most is that it combines concepts of acting with magical practices to get the best of the two different disciplines. I've already found implementing the concepts to be very useful in my own practices and recommend this work to anyone who wants to take a new approach to their ritual and ceremonial magic practices. Readers will find the material easy to approach, but the real gem is found in applying the concepts actively to your own work.