Carlos Castaneda

Peruvian-born anthropologist and writer of popular books on shamanism

• Born: December 25, 1925
• Birthplace: Cajamarca, Peru
• Died: April 27, 1998
• Place of death: Los Angeles, California

Castaneda is the author of a series of books that explore shamanism and sorcery and significantly influenced the New Age movement. The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968) and its sequels became popular with readers throughout the world.

Early Life

Carlos César Salvador Arana Castañeda (KA-stah-NAY-dah) was born in Cajarmarca, Peru, on December 25, 1925. His parents were César Arana Burungaray, a goldsmith and watchmaker, and Susana Castaneda Navoa. Castaneda grew up in Cajamarca and Lima, Peru. He graduated from the Colegio Nacional Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Lima and studied painting and sculpture at the National Fine Arts School of Peru. In 1950, his mother died, and Castaneda locked himself in his room for three days; he refused to attend the funeral or to eat. In 1951, he immigrated to the United States. While immigration records support the above facts, Castaneda also told a number of contradictory stories about his early life. He claimed to have been born in São Paolo and reared by his grandparents; to have been born in Italy; to have lived with a foster family in the United States; and that his mother died when he was six years old.

From 1952 to the summer of 1955, Castaneda lived in Southern California, where he did odd jobs in order to save enough money to attend college. In the summer of 1955, he enrolled in Los Angeles Community College, where he took classes in literature, philosophy, creative writing, and journalism. On June 21, 1957, Castaneda became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Two years later, he received an associate of arts degree in psychology from Los Angeles Community College, and in September, 1959, he became a student at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

On January 27, 1960, Castaneda married Margaret Runyan, whom he had met in 1955. Castaneda and his wife separated less than a year after they were married, although their divorce was not finalized until 1973. Their marriage produced one child, Carlton Jeremy Castaneda, born August 12, 1961. Carlton’s paternity has been called into question, however, as Castaneda reportedly asked a friend to father a child with his wife. During this time, Castaneda pursued studies at UCLA and developed an interest in shamanism and hallucinatory plants as a result of an anthropology class he took with Professor Clement Meighan.

Life’s Work

In the spring of 1960, as part of his research for a term paper on the datura plant for Meighan’s class, Castaneda began traveling into the Arizona desert to interview American Indians about plants and their medicinal uses. During the summer after the class ended, he continued his trips. On one of these research trips, he supposedly met a Yaqui Indian named Juan Matus. Although initially Castaneda simply wanted to interview Matus, whom he later referred to as Don Juan, the meeting resulted in an apprenticeship from 1961 to the fall of 1965. During this time, Don Juan introduced Castaneda to the use of plants such as peyote, datura, and psilocybe mexicana mushrooms as a means of experiencing a different reality and gaining knowledge.

Castaneda quickly found the process of becoming a sorcerer or shaman (man of knowledge) so stressful that he feared a mental breakdown. He abandoned his apprenticeship and returned to UCLA, where he received a B.A. in 1962. Castaneda then wrote a master’s thesis based on his experiences with Don Juan. In 1968, he published his thesis as The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge; the book was acclaimed by major scholars in the field of anthropology and also became a best seller within the counterculture movement of the 1960’s and eventually with the general public. Castaneda returned to the desert to serve two more apprenticeships with Don Juan (1968 to 1971 and 1971 to 1973) and then wrote three more books based on his experiences. He was awarded a Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA in 1973 for Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972).

That year, Time magazine published a cover story on Castaneda. Discrepancies between the facts known about Castaneda’s life and his claims in the interview prompted questions about his credibility. Soon, critics and scholars began questioning the truth of the incredible nonreality experiences that Castaneda had recounted in his books. Psychologist Richard de Mille found chronological errors in the books. Various critics pointed out other problems, including the fact that Yaqui Indians did not use peyote, to which Don Juan introduced Castaneda; that Castaneda could not produce any field notes for his work; that no one else had ever seen Don Juan; and that most of what was contained in the books could be found in various sources in the UCLA library. Novelist Joyce Carol Oates, Jesus Ochoa of Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology, and others stated that the works revealed Castaneda’s imaginative and storytelling skills and were good fiction rather than well-researched scholarly studies.

Castaneda defended the veracity of his work but became a recluse at his home in Westwood, California. He continued to publish books detailing his experiences as a sorcerer and surrounded himself with devoted followers including three women known as “brujas” (witches). In 1993, Castaneda began giving workshops in tensegrity, a program of activities leading to the perception of pure energy. In 1995, he founded Cleargreen Incorporated to promote tensegrity workshops and serve as a publishing house. His life remained shrouded in mystery. Castaneda died on April 27, 1998, of liver cancer. His death was not publicly announced for some two months; many of his followers disappeared.

Significance

Although Castaneda was dogged by controversy over his credibility, by 2011 his works had sold more than eight million copies and been translated into seventeen languages. For those who believe in shamanism and sorcery, they are a source of inspiration and guidance; for skeptics, they can be seen as well-written entertainment. Castaneda also is an important figure in the development of the New Age movement and its exploration of human consciousness and spirituality.

Bibliography

Castaneda, Margaret Runyan. A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda. Victoria, B.C.: Millenia Press, 1996. This memoir by Castaneda’s estranged wife concentrates on the 1960’s and describes the couple’s experiments with psychotropic mushrooms.

de Mille, Richard. Castaneda’s Journey: The Power and the Allegory. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Capra Press, 1976. One of the first books to question the veracity of Castaneda’s account of Don Juan.

Fikes, Jay Courtney. Carlos Castaneda: Academic Opportunism and the Psychedelic Sixties. Victoria, B.C.: Millenia Press, 1993. Questions the accuracy of Castaneda’s accounts of his experiences with Don Juan. Points out possible errors and discrepancies.

Patterson, William Patrick. The Life and Teachings of Carlos Castaneda. Fairfax, Calif.: Arete, 2008. Well researched and documented. Excellent summary of Castaneda’s teachings. Thorough investigation of his life and work, both negative and positive aspects.

Wallace, Amy. Sorcerer’s Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda. Berkeley, Calif.: Frog Books, 2007. Details life with Castaneda at the Westwood compound, his relationship with his “witches” and followers, and his ways of controlling them.

Wolf, Felix. The Art of Navigation: Travels with Carlos Castaneda. San Francisco, Calif.: Council Oak Books, 2010. Written by a student of Castaneda, this resource describes and analyzes Castaneda’s beliefs, methods, and goals.