Alejandro Jodorowsky Books

What does God, Theatre, Zen, Chamanism, Magic, Psychology, Tarot, Crazyness, Love, Movies, Parents, Trips, Friends, Dreams have to do together???? I discovered it in this amazing book, by this great Teacher...It took me form laugh to tears, from conciousness to observation, from love to hate... Highly recomendated if you want to take a peek of what's inside you...

Alexandro Jodorowsky tells the most intimate details of his life, leading up to the creation (or discovery?) of PsychoMagic. His life is very intriguing and interesting, full of twists and surrealism. Highly Recommended.

It's a shame this book does not exist in English. Thankfully Spanish was my first language and I was able to read through this excellent source for Tarot studies. Of course having been written by one of the great minds of symbolic philosophy makes an acceptable for those studying Tarot. This book is for the more advanced Tarot reader. I would recommend reading Learning the Tarot to get a gist of this art. Read Jodorowsky's book (or have it translated) if you are curious about the symbolism and psychology involved in reading cards. It is written in Jodorowsky's paced but fluid style and helps you embrace what every symbol and aspect of each card represents. The book itself is very beautiful and if you're lucky enough to be able to read it, I highly recommend it.

Forget everything you've learned about Tarot up to now - this is the Zen Slap of Tarot books. Don't wait for it to come out in English, this may never happen. It is well worth struggling through the Spanish - I hear this book is also available in French and Italian, if you find one of those is easier.

Jodorowsky has obviously been contemplating symbols all his life, not only reading Tarot but as an artist and a film maker. He sees the deck as a mandala of consciousness and each card in a spread as notes in a piece of music. This is Tarot de Marseilles, the old-style deck. (Jodorowsky did a restoration with Philippe Camoin, which a friend of mine described like this: "It's like they blew the dust off the Conver!" This book does that, as well. The Jodo-Camoin deck is what is used in the book, but this book is useful for any Marseilles deck.) The cards are interpreted numerologically, by the pictures, colors, by the little leaves on the pips - he finds meaning in all of it, it is consistent, well-reasoned, very insightful - it's a beautiful thing, unlike any other Tarot book, it feels RIGHT....

My only "problem" is that it's spoiled me for everything else on Tarot. I can live with that.

This book, published in the author's native Spanish two years ago, is a personal and surprisingly sober autobiography of one of the most intriguing and creative renegades of the second half of the 20th Century. From his native Chile to Paris, where he worked for Marcel Marceau, to Mexico and through worlds only an enlightened imagination can contain and create.
A precious introduction to his thought, to his triumphs and his mistakes, to the childhood which broke him and obliged him to make himself into what he became, with a wealth of detail and feeling that help this work stand apart from his myriad creations in the world of bande dessinées, theater and movies.
His production is neverending and varied, turning around the theme of how we must make of this life and its infinitely succeeding instants the expression of our being.
At once rich, confrontational, archetypal in the extreme and vibrantly questioning, with the sort of information we can apply to the understanding of our own beginnings.
We've only got one lifetime to give ourselves a life.
Need I add I recommend it highly?
I read the French translation.

una breve recopilacion de cuentos, Sunies, Chinos, Persas, Indues. Acompannados de la mirada e interpretacion imaginativa y profunda de Jodorowsky

I do not know the background of the author, but it is obvious that he is NOT a specialist of Jodorowsky. Nor is he aware of elementary cinematographic or cultural terminology. At one point, mentioning the 'peplum' movies, he translates the word (peplum) as 'sandals.' His inability to speak French and Spanish is adversely affecting the very quality of the book. Instead of interviewing Jodorowsky in one of these two languages, he forces the director to kill English with the obvious effect of making him look childish and ridiculous (which he is not). Worse, three quarters of the book are copy-and-paste built using scripts of Jodorowsky's movies and Internet texts. I had hoped to find interesting things about Dune. I was disappointed to discover that I had already read the same text on Internet. Same thing for the description of the Sacramental Melodrama. Overall, I can hardly understand why the publishing house decided to print such an inferior book.

I agree with other reviewers that the films didn't need a play-by-play for every scene, however, some of the insights provided through this obviously loving tome, were welcomed. The description of some of his earlier play work and aborted projects really make this book worth this small price! How exciting it would've been to be a part of or witness some of these events. An incredible volume of work accurately described by the author. One other complaint is the massive amount of footnotes sometimes distracting from the actual text. Great read, great subject!

Alejandro Jodorowsky's carrer is admirable, with 2 movies (El Topo - La Montaña Sagrada) he achieved what most directors took up to 10 movies to achieve and i don't mean Hollywood recognition at all, but Art, and for some of us, enlightment of conciousness.
Nowadays is really difficult to find a movie director to do what Jodororwsky did 3 decades ago, total freedom to do any creative idea that pass trough his mind, no restrictions and of course the budget to do so. Lynch came to my mind but after watching his last movie you wonder what could Jodorowsky do instead with that freedom now.
This book will take you to his carrer, since the Efímeros Pánicos later known as "happenings" to Marceau's teachings to his in production project "King Shot".
Also it includes info on what i assume it would be the best science fiction project of all time, Dune, for some stupid reason of production Jodorowky never completed it but was eventually completed as crap by Lynch, and probably it was the main influence (maybe copied?) for "Star Wars" and "Alien".
Great tribute for an artist who really deserves it. Great book.

I was so looking forward to this book,& what a disappointment! Perhaps this was intended as an introduction for the uninitiated? Even still,I have some specific criticisms: First,way to many pages needlessly rehashing each films synopsis - um,I can watch the movie right?This might have flown 10 years ago(when it was harder to find video copies),but we have DVD now.Right?
And thats my next criticism:much of the material is taken DIRECTLY from the various DVD supplements from the last couple of years!Again,I can watch/listen to the DVDs right? The text on his Panic days,the aborted Dune project,and the closing (very brief) interview are all that keep this from being a complete waste of my time.Disappointing.

This book seemed to have a release date that never came, but when it did, oh boy! :) Each film is broken down scene by scene, I was tickled to see this because I love both El Topo and the Holy Mountain, so to have them broken down like this with notes is a wonderful testament to the glory of Jodorowsky. It was like someone thought, "this guy is 75, we should give him a book of epic proportions!" and Creation did. Plus, they have the breakdown of Tusk, only found in French so us that have the film can translate it easily. The black and white photos are great, the projects that morphed or were dropped were great to read and the comparisons to David Lynch make me think that the girls in Inland Empire and the thief's women followers (to be nice and Victorian here) are symbols of the same thing, a sort of collective unconscious surrealism. The book itself is twice the thickness of any other Creation book I've owned (I own three, Moonchild being my favorite until this one blew into town) and it is deep in scale...it's a perfect reference for a fan and a great starter book for anyone getting into this artist and director. It's well worth the money...and the wait!

I have been a fan of Jodo's for years. This book is an updated version of one of his best sellers. It is an interview with Alejandro about his healing art which he named Psicomagia and it's origins and inspirations. Jodorowsky is a modern day shaman who prescribes artistic actions to individuals with a healing purpose. He is a master Tarot reader, a recognized film maker a writer and poet... There is no end to this man's talent. He works extensively with genealogy, claiming that a majority of our ills originate in our family tree. I hope they translate his books into English soon. Most of my friends here in the US are English speakers only and are missing out on some incredible talent and inspiration.

The one star is for Amazon, because I never got this book from them. NEVER. I waited for 6 months and finally I got and email canceling the order.
I am sure the book is great.

I would SO love to have this book in English translation!! I love the Jodowrosky's work. Why did I give this five stars, sight unseen? I had the pleasure of attending a Jodo signing at La Luz de Jesus gallery in LA. Jodowrosky was interviewed by the writer Jerry Stahl. Jodowrosky has lead a colorful life, to say the very least. This book, which I have flipped through, is packed with pictures and no doubt brims with amazing stories like the snippets I heard at the reading.