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An
amazing book on Carlos Castaneda
(Review
by Michael Peter Langevin for the April issue 2020 of The Echo World, www.theechoworld.com) Those
of you who enjoy Carlos Castaneda and traditional shamanism, I got one for
you. This is an amazing book. Not since Peter Luce’s Getting Castaneda,
have I read such an insightful book. Sofia turned me on to Eriksson because
he has written of Nordic Runes and Seidr. However, I had no idea his
understated succinct Nordic writing style would cut so well and deeply into
aspects of Castaneda’s teachings which I have wondered about for many years.
Eriksson does not get caught up in any of the soap opera or drama which
distracts people from Castaneda. Rather, he tells the story of how Don Juan
warned Carlos about choosing the Coyote as his spirit guide. That that
explains who Carlos was and what his life consisted of. Eriksson
has studied shamanism and rune magic for over forty years. To prepare for
this book he reread all twelve of Castaneda’s books for two years. He states
that by distancing Castaneda from Castaneda we can see that his writings are
important in the cannon of shamanic literature. I had never thought to
compare Don Juan’s teachings to Nordic shamanism or Nordic myths. This book
does that wonderfully. It also hit many of the parts of Castaneda’s books
that seem important but challenging to grasp. How can a sorcerer defy death
for 800 years and still be alive? What is the Tonal and the Nagual? What
exactly is the assemblage point, how can we shift it and what can that
achieve? My favorite points are how Eriksson deals with death as an ally and
the ultimate importance of intent. |
