Capturing the Sonic Fire - A Shadow work through the album 'Boys for Pele' by Tori Amos

I have listened to Tori for a little over two decades. I first heard her back in the early 90s. It was the song 'Silent All These Years'. I remember seeing the video of this red headed woman singing and dancing, but I was young and didn't understand what was really happening in the song or video. Tori was filed away in the brain of a young child, and she didn't make another appearance for me until the video for the song 'Caught a Lite Sneeze.' I was mesmerized, and wanted- needed- to know more.

I ended up not being able to purchase any of her albums until 'From the Choirgirl Hotel'. I listened to that album on constant repeat for months. Then I slowly started purchasing her other three albums.
Being honest it was instant love for 'Little Earthquakes' and 'Under the Pink'. Yet, when I put on 'Boys for Pele' it was such a different sound I found myself unable to capitulate to it. I shelved it for many years.

I continued to follow Tori's career and listened to every album, and felt some form of connection to most of her later works. It was probably sometime between 'The Beekeeper' and 'Scarlet's Walk' that I decided to listen to 'Boys for Pele', and felt such a deep understanding and connection to what Tori was experiencing and recording in that album. She presented herself fully through her own journey to full acceptance of her shadow, and it can be truly unsettling when a casual listener is exposed to that type of energy.

Since connecting to the album so deeply that day I realized there would be a time I needed to peel my own skin back, and allow all the meaty, pulpy, bloody, and oozy parts to be exposed so that I can be fully comfortable in all that I am. After all, that is what underworld journeys are all about at the end of the day. Crawl through the darkness, find a tiny bit of light to illuminate the grotesque, once illuminated confront it and either destroy or assimilate it. That is what Tori did through this album, and that is what I am going to begin to do with the album as the framework for this journey.

Tori's  song writing is a tangle of culture, myth, personal experience, and divine spirituality. She seamlessly blends deities and myth of old with pop culture and occult undertones. 'Boys for Pele' plays out essentially like the hero's journey story.

I will be working from the beginning of the album to the end (18 tracks --  1 track a month). That is the goal, but as journeys aren't a linear concept totally it may change mid stream, and other songs from other albums may appear or some songs from 'Boys for Pele' may not make an appearance. I am going to explore the myths, characters, messages, and magic that flow through this album in order to capture my fire and heal my shadow.


Each song will be accompanied by mythology, images, and workings for the month focusing on the end goal. Every journey that the song takes me on will be from my interpretation and the inspiration of my understanding of the song.