C.G. Jung anticipated that ‘Man’s procreative power is only a special instance of the procreative nature of the Whole.’ This deeper procreation and conception process is described in the Hermetic alchemical 'coniunctio' as the sexual unification of the goddess and the god that leads to new creation and incarnation in the universe. However, the human body was not sufficiently included in Jung’s theory. Melina Costello has the courage to face this deeply introverted process and shows us that the Holy Wedding is constellated as the unification of the god and the human being. By surrendering to the allegedly destructive demons instead of fighting against them as in Active Imagination, she extends the methodology of Jungian depth psychology and experiences the coniunctio of Hermetic alchemy, which, according to Jung, symbolically represents the unsolved task of Analytical Psychology and the challenge of the 21st century.--( Remo F. Roth, Ph.D author of Die Gottsucher (The Quest for God))

Boldly venturing into the soul's inner domains, Melina Costello brings to consciousness the reunion of opposites at the heart of the feminine mysteries: the taboo marriage of sensuality, corporality, lust, the drives of the body—with sacredness. By sharing her discoveries in Seeking the God of Ecstasy, she has done us a great service.--( Sandra Lee Dennis author of Embrace of the Daimon )

Living fully as an embodied soul is the great invitation of human existence, but often we find its realization frustrated by a myriad of influences. Indeed, it often seems there is little wisdom in our culture—even in its religious traditions—that addresses how to facilitate the integration of body, psyche and spirit necessary to realize our fullest potential. In Seeking the God of Ecstasy, Melina Costello details her courageous journey of integration and individuation through profound inner work with archetypal characters, who reveal to her the deep-seated fears and disenfranchised parts of herself. By honestly facing these inner forces and what they represent about herself, she is able to reclaim repressed potentialities, as well as discover gifts of creativity and vitality that deeply enrich her life.--( Philip St. Romain author of Kundalini Energy & Christian Spirituality)

Melina Costello has entered the winepress and produced from her own alchemy of soul a rare wine to savor. Through bridging the sacred and commonplace, she candidly and intimately fleshes out her dramatic initiation into the paradoxical realm of 'ek-stasis'—the fall into the breathable dance of opposites that is the fragmenting fate of soul—which merges us with the divine madness that is Dionysus. The archetypes, as Melina makes clear, are the openers of mysterious doors, leading to terror, wonder, wisdom and transformation. Creative dialogue with them requires a shamanic kind of inner strength, shrewdness, imaginal power and moral courage. When approached with the author's brand of creative fire, reverence and vulnerability, this can be a perilous yet exuberant dance at the rim of the Abyss: too much or too little control and we risk being overwhelmed. Melina discerningly avoids either extreme. She both gives herself fully to a raw merging with the rending joy of Dionysus and at the same time wisely distances herself in order to reflect. This is a god we cannot, dare not face till we have ourselves become many faces, many masks, all of them forged through successive deaths and rebirths that render us as fluid as nature's elements and changing forms. Melina makes all this viscerally real and alive in this uniquely exuberant, timely and deeply personal work.--( Maureen B. Roberts, Ph.D Soul-centered Psychiatric and Shamanic Therapist, Co-founder: Mental Health ReEducation and Human Rights Network Australia, Inc.)