Spiritual Tattoo
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Spiritual Tattoo by John Rush
Say "body modifications" and most people think of tattoos and piercings. They associate these mainly with the urban primitives of the 1980s to today and with primitive tribes. In fact, as this fascinating book shows, body mods have been on the scene since ancient times, traceable as far back as 1.5 million years, and they also encompass sacrification, branding, and implants. Professor John Rush outlines the processes and procedures of these radical physical alterations, showing their function as rites of passage, group identifiers, and mechanisms of social control. He explores the use of pain for spiritual purposes, such as purging sin and guilt, and examines the phenomenon of accidental cuts and punctures as individual events with sometimes profound implications for group survival. Spiritual Tattoo finds a remarkable consistency in body modifications from prehistory to the present, suggesting the importance of the body as a sacred geography from both social and psychological points of view.
JOHN A. RUSH, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology at Sierra College, Rocklin, California, teaching a popular course in Magic, Witchcraft, Myth, and Religion and courses in physical anthropology. He and his wife maintain a large herb garden where students and faculty learn about the cultivation and preparation of numerous medicinal and magical herbs and the myths that surround them. Dr. Rush is also a retired clinical anthropologist and was a medical hypnotherapist in private practice from 1972 to 2008. Dr. Rush's academic publications include Witchcraft and Sorcery: An Anthropological Perspective of the Occult (1974), The Way We Communicate (1976), Clinical Anthropology: An Application of Anthropological Concepts within Clinical Settings (1996), Stress and Emotional Health: Applications of Clinical Anthropology (1999). He has also written many books on spirituality, ritual, and the use of entheogens. The author lives in Orangevale, CA.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781583941171 |
| ISBN 10 | 1583941177 |
| Title | Spiritual Tattoo |
| Author | John Rush |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | North Atlantic Books,U.S. |
| Year published | 2005-03-17 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |