The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Creator of El topo (review)

Few artists have had as strong a message to be delivered in as many mediums as Chilean born Alejandro Jodorowsky. After exploring his various works one can see that he never truly adopted society's norms and his marginalized existence served to facilitate his personal quest and exploration of questions of identity. Now at eighty years old and living in Paris, Jodorowsky has developed a lucid understanding of who he is and who we all are. His search has sent him down many paths including that of the Tarot card, martial arts, shamanism, psycho-shamanism, many of the world's great religions, and the development of his own brand of therapy called Psicomagia (Psychomagic)—all of which are represented in his work.

Best known in popular culture for his movie El topo (The Mole) (1970), which started the midnight matinee movie phenomena in New York, Jodorowsky is difficult to classify or order into one or a group of mediums or genres. In his early years he worked alongside Marcel Marceau and wrote the mimodramas "The Cage" and "The Maskmaker" for the world-renowned French mime. Later, while living in Mexico City, he directed more than 100 plays and began his film career. However, this is far from being the extent of his work. His written body of work has been a diverse, abundant, and accurate reflection of his journey in the search of the true self. Many of his works take on occult topics such as Tarot: La vía del tarot (2004); Yo, el tarot (2004). Others such as Sombras al mediodía (1995), No basta decir (2000), and Solo de amor (2008) present us with lessons of Zen Buddhism in the form of poetry. He explains the importance of genealogy in the formation of identity in Donde mejor canta un pájaro (1994), and he continued his exploration of the self in La danza de la realidad (2001) where he explains parts of his spiritual foundation. Jodorowsky complemented this contextual sort of autobiographical work with El maestro y las magas (2006). In 2005 he published Psicomagia which is a series of interviews where the author answers questions about his ideas, history, and experiences that converged to spur the creation of his method of therapy, psicomagia.

More recently in The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Creator of El topo—translation by Joseph Rowe of El maestro y las magas (Madrid: Editorial Siruela, 2005)—brings his philosophy of life to an English speaking audience. The title hopes to remind the potential reader of his most well-known previous work in the English speaking world: his film El topo. To this end the book includes color photos from the production of two of his movies (El topo, The Holy Mountian) that the original publication does not include. The text seems to want to bridge the gap in time between El topo's release in 1970 and the current endeavors of the author. Although the title and extra photos capitalize on his previous success in the English market, the text itself remains faithful to the Spanish version. Its translation of the stories and anecdotes keep the same feelings that Jodorowsky conveys in the Spanish version. The spiritual lessons also carry the same sentiment and wisdom in the English translation as the Spanish. The translation is clear, accurate, and readable; Rowe's own writing style isn't obvious as he remained loyal to the author's voice rather than rewrite the text.

The text recounts his work with various women who are shamans, diableros, and mystics. He also alternatively chronicles his time spent with Japanese Zen Buddhist master Ejo Takata and his process of spiritual enlightenment. Throughout the text Jodorowsky and Ejo Takata explore the author's life events and their deeper meanings. Drinking warm sake and discussing the nature of solving the mysterious koans that are used as a teaching tool by the master as well as long periods of meditation...