Carlos Castañeda [1925-1998] at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore

The thing to remember about Carlos Castañeda is that he was an anthropologist. He indeed accomplished what Margaret Mead had once attempted (and failed) to do, which is to embed the anthropologist in a native culture, becoming a member of that culture, and then reporting the internal workings, the seeming strangeness of that culture to the Western academic community. For that is what Carlos did: He trained for and became a Yaqui shaman or sorcerer or brujo, one of the practitioners of the perhaps dying nagual tradition.
His reportage, though often mis-represented in popular media, opens up the notion that there are unknown worlds on this planet that you and I would not otherwise access.

        Carlos Castañeda claimed that he was born in Brasil in 1931; however, immigration records show that he was born in Peru in 1925.
        His first three books were written as course-work while a student in anthropology at U.C.L.A. {B.A. 1962, PhD 1970}. His works were criticized against strict standards of academic procedure, but were wildly popular with the public. He remained extremely secretive most of his life; photos and interviews are rare, though Time Magazine published a cover story 5 March 1973 (see below). Carlos sued his ex-wife in 1997 to prevent release of her book on their marriage; the suit became moot when Carlos died.
        The overlapping tales in the books describe many years of study by Carlos under the tutelage of don Juan Matus, a practicing nagual shaman in rural Mexico, and a coterie of older and younger sorcerors. The often-trying, often-funny don Juan teased Carlos and shocked him and pressed him to break thru his 'civilized' barriers to see what don Juan and his companions were able to experience, to visit the worlds that they did, and ultimately to achieve the Yaqui 'way of knowledge', a very distinct and separate reality indeed. Psychotropic drugs such as peyote and cannabis were often used in the nagual rituals. These were also widely popular recreational drugs in the late Sixties and early Seventies, perhaps in part due to Carlos's works giving them some legitimacy. Carlos later disavowed such drug use as potentially damaging to the luminous ball of energy within each human.

The death of Carlos Castañeda was also mysterious. He supposedly died of liver cancer on 27 April 1998 in Westwood, California; no services were held, and his ashes were sent to Mexico. (Part of Toltec teachings on impeccability require erasing one's personal history.)
Carlos Castañeda wrote twelve books, and also helped make 3 videos thru his direct apprentices at ClearGreen. Whatever the truth about his career and his life, he intended that his written works be his legacy.

	"Teachings of don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" [1968] Pocket 6¾x4 pb [6/85] for $6.29 Univ of CA Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/98] for $22.75 Audio Lit ABR audio [4/98] for $16.95
	"A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with don Juan" [1971] Edited by Jane Rosenman Pocket 8x5 pb [8/91] for $11.20 S&S hardcover [6/71] out of print/used Audio Lit ABR audio [7/91] out of stock/used
	"Journey To Ixtlan" [1972] Washington Square Press 8¼x5¼ pb [7/92] for $14.00 Buccaneer Books hardcover [11/90] out of print/used
	"Tales of Power" [1974] Pocket 8x5 pb [2/92] for $11.20 Buccaneer Books hardcover [1/91] out of print/used
	"The Second Ring of Power" [1977] Pocket 8x5 pb [4/91] for $11.20
	"The Eagle's Gift" [1981] Pocket 8x5 pb [12/91] for $11.20 S&S hardcover [1/83] out of print/used
	"The Fire From Within" [1984] Pocket 8x5½ pb [10/91] for $11.20 BookThrift hardcover [8/86] out of print/used
	"The Power of Silence" [1987] Edited by Jane Rosenman Pocket 8x5 pb [6/91] for $11.20 S&S hardcover [5/91] out of print/used
	"The Art of Dreaming" [1993] HarperPerennial 8x5 pb [7/94] for $11.20 HarperCollins hardcover [8/93] out of print/used
	"The Active Side of Infinity" [1998] HarperPerennial 8x5 pb [1/2000] for $10.40 HarperCollins 6¾x10 hardcover [12/98] out of print/used Harper Audio [1/99] out of stock/used

	"Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castañeda" [2002] by Amy Wallace Frog Ltd. 9x6½ hardcover [5/2003] for $18.98
	"I Was Carlos Castañeda: The Afterlife Dialogues" [2001] by Martin Goodman Three Rivers Press 8x5 pb [4/2001] for $9.60 author's website
	"Carlos Castañeda: Academic Opportunism & the Psychedelic Sixties" [1996] by Jay Courtney Fikes Millenia Press 8½x5½ pb [12/96] for $19.95
	"A Magical Journey with Carlos Castañeda"[1996] by Margaret Runyon Castañeda iUniverse 9x6 pb [2/2001] for $15.95
	"Teachings of don Carlos: Practical Applications of the Works of Carlos Castañeda" [1995] by Victor Sanchez, translated by Robert Nelson Bear & Co. 8x5½ pb [6/95] for $11.20
	"Creative Victory" [1995] by Tomas Samuel Weiser 9x6 pb [9/95] for $10.36
	"Filming Castaneda: The Hunt For Magic & Reason" [2004] by Gaby Geuter the author and a pal stalked Carlos Castañeda over the course of two years, collecting a handful of grainy photos and this over-written report; not recommended – included here only for completeness. Authorhouse pb [3/2004] for $16.95 Authorhouse 9x6 hardcover [3/2004] for $27.95

	"Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey" [1992] by Taisha Abelar [forward by C.C.] Penguin 7¾x5 pb [11/93] for $11.16 Viking hardcover [6/92] out of print/used
	"Being-In-Dreaming: An Initiation Into the Sorcerer's World" [1992] by Florinda Donner-Grau HarperSF 8x5 pb [10/92] for $11.20
	"The Witch's Dream: A Healer's Way of Knowledge" [1985] by Florinda Donner-Grau [forward by C.C.] Penguin 7¾x5 pb [1/97] for $11.20 S&S hardcover [8/85] out of print/used
	"A Toltec Path" [1995] by Ken Eagle Feather Hampton Roads Publg 8½x5½ pb [8/95] for $10.36
	"Don Juan & The Art of Sexual Energy: The Rainbow Serpent of the Toltecs" [2001] by Merilyn Tunneshende Inner Traditions Intl 8x5½ pb [3/2001] for $12.00

	"Magical Passes: Unbending Intent" [video 1999] Directed by Haley van Oosten Terra Ent. color VHS [6/99] 2 tapes out of stock/used with Spanish subtitles
	"The Wheel of Time" [1998] Washington Square Press 8x5 pb [1/2001] for $11.16 La Eidolana Press 8¾x5.9 hardcover [6/98] for $25.00
	"Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico" [1998] HarperCollins 9x6 pb [1/99] for $11.20 HarperCollins hardcover [2/98] out of print/used

	"Magical Passes: Unbending Intent" [video 1999] Directed by Haley van Oosten Terra Ent. color VHS [6/99] 2 tapes out of stock/used with Spanish subtitles
	"Carlos Castañeda: Enigma of a Sorcerer" [indep Feb 2004] Written, produced & directed by Ralph Torjan The only valuable content is a few minutes of audio interview with Carlos Castañeda; the rest ranges from silly to abominable – included here only for completeness. Indican color DVD [12/2005] for $22.99 full credits from IMDb; official movie website

Maison d'Être Philosophy BookstoreCarlos Castañeda

Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Carlos Castañeda