Originally published: Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1972.

"An important book which deserves the careful attention of serious students of religion." Religious Studies Review

Anthropologist and spiritual explorer Felicitas Goodman offers a "unified field theory" of religion as human behavior. She examines ritual, the religious trance, alternate reality, ethics and moral code, and the named category designating religion."

"Quite an interesting book... " -- Religious StudiesReview

"It is by far superior to anything else on demons wehave seen in the past few years." -- The AmericanRationalist

..". Goodman is to be commended for a stimulatingand wide-reaching treatment of a compelling and much-debated subject." --Journal of Folklore Research

Rich in detail derived from theauthor's fieldwork and the anthropological literature, this work paints a picture ofpossession as one of the usually positive and most widespread of human religiousexperiences. It also details the ritual of exorcism, which is applied when things gowrong.

"The book is clearly written for the general reader and includes many descriptions of trance experiences. It may serve as a good introduction to the nature and appeal of the shamanic revival in modern Western cultures." Theological Book Review

..". a case study in experiential anthropology that offers a unique mix of autobiography, mythology, experiential research, and archaeological data to support a challenging thesis that certain body postures may help induce specific trance states." Shaman s Drum

"This is a spellbinding and exceptionally readable book by an extraordinary woman." Yoga Journal

"And suddenly the understanding of my own vision washed over me like a mighty wave... For life or for death, I was committed to that mighty realm of which I was shown a brief reminder, the world where all was forever motion and emergence, that realm where the spirits ride the wind." from the Prologue

Goodman reexamines our notions of the nature of reality by studying the ritual postures of native art assumed by her subjects during trance states. For readers desiring to discover this world of ancient myths, she has included a practical guide on how to achieve such ecstatic experiences."