Bkwyrm reviews The Art of Ritual: A Guide to Creating and Performing Your Own Ceremonies for Growth and Change by Renee Beck and Sydney Metrick in the Bkwyrm archive.
Subtitled “A Guide To Creating and Performing Your Own Rituals for Growth and Change”. This is the work I use most extensively to provide framework and ideas for ritual design, and the book I recommend to everyone who is starting to design their own rituals. While it occasionally reads like it might be someone’s dissertation, this book is easy to understand and enjoy. This work covers just about everything: what a ritual is, the myths, symbolism, and history of ritual, types of rituals, the process of ritual, the elements of ritual, the tools needed (and how to make/find them), how to build a personal altar, and the application of ritual in everyday life. It can be used as a workbook, instruction manual, inspiration source, and reference text.