The teachings of don Juan is the story of a remarkable journey: the first awesome steps on the road to becoming a "man of knowledge" -- the road that continues with A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan.

"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel, looking, looking, breathlessly." -- Don Juan

Castaneda first met Don Juan in the early 60's, before the hippy movement, before psychodelic drugs became popular. He was studying anthropology in Los Angeles, and Don Juan served as a field source for some fading knowledge of tribal and shamanistic rituals in Northern Mexico. Castaneda was specifically interested in peyote, a plant that gives its users hallicinations and mixes the senses in strange ways, and which LSD was meant to be a chemical reproduction of. Castaneda's first book presents a very detailed scholastic interpretation of his experiences. All books after the first simply focus on Castaneda's experiences with Don Juan.

Castaneda's drug experiences are different from other accounts I have read, because they are intimately tied with the Yaqui philosophy and mythology. The drugs only serve as a means to an end, not as the end in themselves. The first 2 books in the series describe Castaneda's drugs experiences with Don Juan, but from the 3rd book on, the drugs disappear forever and Carlos' experiences are actually more fantastic, more amazing, more unbelieveable as he slowly becomes a practicing sorceror, traveling to alternate dimensions and battling other sorcerors. Many of the books seem to reach a definitive conclusion, only to have Castaneda's perceived understanding of Don Juan's teachings completely destroyed in the next volume. Again these experiences do not in any way compare to magic and sorcery you might find in pagan, christian, or celtic mythology, nor does the "world-philosophy" of Don Juan resemble in any way the wholistic ideals of Eastern religions like Hinduism or Buddhism. How can you describe things most people have never seen before? Castaneda does a good job, considering the fantastic nature of some of his journeys. However, while the visions and magical feats are mesmerizing to read, I often found that Don Juan gave his most profound knowledge while simply talking to Castaneda.

Do to its subject matter, most Christians will find these books offensive, but I promise you that nothing in any of these volumes will turn you onto the path of Satan :) There is a certain participation required from the reader - Castaneda repeatedly affirms that everything he has ever written is absolutely true, but intelligent readers will be constantly wondering if such fantastic things could possibly exist. By turning off this little nagging "naysayer" in my own head and allowing myself to simply sink into the mood of the work and believe, I found that I was better able to intuitively understand the very abstract concepts that overwhelm you. However, because these accounts are SO unbelieveable, SO fantastic, SO unlike our everyday life here in the US, I found that I never confused my world with Castaneda's. It's like reading a book about walking on the Moon - you can understand and appreciate what it must have been like, but you don't start wearing a spacesuit to work!


a sad day in anthropology....   July 23, 2001
 49 out of 76 found this review helpful

My original review of this book was this:

....a sad day in anthropology when such outlandish claims are taken for some kind of highly evolved truth.

I have nothing against writing about mystical, magical experiences so long as the author makes plain that they are offered in a spirit of "take it or leave it." But to lay them out as objective, empirical, SCIENTIFIC fieldwork without providing some kind of corroboration is scientifically dishonest.

Maybe the miracles in Castaneda's books really happened. But he should not be in the position of expecting us to believe them without proof.

It doesn't surprise me that he hid from the public. He'd have been asked embarrassing questions like: why all the inconsistencies throughout your books, some of them really rather flagrant? Are your writings scholarship or fiction? Why have you not informed the reader of the genre in which you believe you work? Why did you play such a dumb Watson to don Juan's Sherlock Holmes of the spirit? Where is your field documentation?

When seers in good faith offer descriptions of their unusual journeyings, we all benefit. But when authors so conceal themselves that we aren't even sure when they were born, then proceed to pass off supposedly nonordinary happenings as scientifically objective, we're obliged to suspect salesmanship.

A more recent addition:

A friend just told me that one of Castaneda's lovers has outed him in print as the perpetrator of a fraud.

I haven't read what she wrote, but what angers me about books like Castaneda's is that their secrecy and shoddy scholarship make all "alternative" accounts of reality suspect. Another outstanding example is Gurdjief, who after bragging at length about his ability to flummox people turns around and asks for belief in the mystical brotherhood he supposedly encountered in the mountains. Selling cars that stop working in a week would be more honest--and less damaging to those voices from the margins trying to tell us about "the farther reaches of human nature" and nature itself as a mysterious spiritual realm we have scarcely begun to explore.

If, as an author, you've been abducted by aliens or shown the glowing outlines of God's divine plan for the universe, then at least have the goodness to keep it all tentative: "Something happened to me that I cannot explain in the usual language. I'm not asking for belief, but only for a little space to discuss my account of what it was--which you don't have to believe...." would do just fine for most of us. Better yet, tell us exactly what you did--which means: tell us honestly without convenient gaps--so we can experiment with it ourselves and see if the same doors open for us. Anything else, and you're just adding to the list of unscrupulous opportunists fattening your bank account on stolen bits and pieces of genuine revelation.


good book, but lacks some data   August 8, 1998
 25 out of 47 found this review helpful

I read this book when I was 13 years old. I was fascinated by what Castaneda wrote in this book and his other titles. However, what mystified me about this book is the authors reference to certain secrets that a yaqi shaman named don juan knew. For instance in the teachings of don juan, Castaneda claimed that don juan knew certain secrets of plants that would give all kinds of secret knowledge to the one who knew how to use these plants. The jimpson weed for example was claimed by don juan to give infinite power. However, I found out in my twenties, that don juan was nothing more than an indian magician. That is, he used mind altering drugs to blow open the mind of Castaneda. The secrets don juan claimed to possess are not in the plants, but in ones own mind. As such don juans teachings are nothing more than an indian method of gaining enlightenment. Something hindus try to achieve through yoga, ritual magicians through magick, and buddhists and taoists through meditation. The whole book is devoted to the use of natural drugs. Peyote, jimpson weed, magic mushrooms that are detailed in the book, gives one the impression to go out and try these drugs to gain the power and knowledge that is detailed in Castanedas book. Or to go and look for a teacher of shamanism. These drugs are dangerous and there are far safer and saner ways to gain enlightenment such as meditation or ritual magick. But even these can be dangerous, if you dont know what you are doing. Good books and teachers are highly recommended. The mind of a human being contains the godhead, with all the infinite knowledge and power that goes with it. Castaneda should write disclaimers in his books, not only because of the drugs he describes, but because of ignorant people who might try what he describes.


Please avoid the writings of Carlos Castaneda.   May 10, 2000
 22 out of 48 found this review helpful

Mr. Castaneda used a vast amount of halucinogens (Datura, mushrooms, and Peyote) to name only three various halucinogens he used.

There is no need to to take halucinogens to participate in Shamanic journeying.

Here are four ways that are just as valid, and more importantly SAFER.

Drumming (listening to a real drummer or drumming tape), Fasting, meditation, or thirst. All three will move the brain into the Shamanic state of consciousness and open the doorways without adding toxins to your system.

Your body is a temple, treat it as such.


from an athropologist...   September 28, 2003
 21 out of 33 found this review helpful

another one star review because this book's rating NEEDS to come down (too bad they did not have half a star available). Before you buy and / or read this book please take into consideration a few things:
in anthropological circles this book, as well as it's author, is not taken seriously (for further reference you can check out Marvin Harris' critique in the last chap. of "Cows, Pigs, witches..." ). This is not because of some snobbish attitude towards alternative points of view or towards people practicing anthropology even though they don't have an "prestigious" background.
First off, the author had no athropoligical training to begin with, AT ALL. To make things worse, he never travelled to/through Mexico. This is were the real problem begins. If you want to read it, take it like regular fiction, since it all came from the imagination of the author (or maybe from a very bad trip). But do not take it as representative of anthropological studies, or memoirs of a true investigation. This is where the greatest misconception arrises: even though he became famous due to this book (he even got an honorary degree i beleive), the book was only lucky enough to come out while the interest in the drug culture, as well as in indigenous culture, was starting to peak.
When choosing what to read, who to read, it's always good to find out a little about the author and his/her background, the fact that he has become popular does not mean that he should be taken as seriouly as he is (it would be kind of like reading Illusions by R. Bach and thinking that bach actually met a traveling messiah who used to be a mechanic :D ).