The great myth of the origin of the West is the book of Genesis, which narrates the creation of the world and humanity, with an emphasis on three critical moments: the harmony and fullness of the original paradise existence; disobedience and fall; and - finally - the possibility of recovering the lost paradise.

Nostalgia for origins shows that there are four great ways to return to said origin: the shamanic path, which seeks to merge the different worlds and planes in the person of the shaman; the Gnostic way, which is the path of esoteric knowledge that leads to the completeness of the beginnings; the monastic path, which is the one that seeks salvation through asceticism and renunciation; and the mystical way, which is the one that focuses on the union with the Absolute or the Divine.

Despite the apparent differences between the shaman, the gnostic, the monk and the mystic, Prat shows us how these figures pursue the same goal: to revive that golden age and initial plenitude. The methodology used skillfully combines theoretical aspects with anthropological fieldwork, presented through microethnographies and participant experiences. The present text is the culmination of the theoretical-ethnographic interests that have animated the research throughout the author's life.