Don Juan Matus

Don Juan Matus was a leader of a group of sorcerers (spiritual warriors), who lived in 20^th century in Mexico. This group represented a spiritual School which possessed esoteric knowledge and methods of a very high level.

Juan Matus and His companions are described in the books of Carlos Castaneda that became worldwide bestsellers.

It must be noted right away that in his books Castaneda describes the period of his relationship with don Juan that lasted for about three decades. Over this period, it was not only Castaneda who advanced in his development, but also don Juan himself. Reading Castaneda’s books, one can see both the early and the later personal spiritual quest of don Juan, which was not free from mistakes. This is why the spiritual concept of the School must be evaluated not based on what don Juan said and did over these decades, but on what he attained by the end of his earthly life.

So, the future author of bestsellers about the School of Juan Matus, Carlos Castaneda was an undergraduate student at a university in USA, majoring in anthropology. He had to collect material for his thesis, so he went to Mexico in order to study the experience of Indians of that area in using medicinal and psychotropic plants. Upon arrival to Mexico, he started searching for people competent in this issue. He was introduced to an Indian, whose name was Juan Matus and who agreed to provide Castaneda with the data he needed free of charge.

So, they got acquainted, and their joint work began. In due course, Castaneda discovered that don Juan possesses the knowledge not only about qualities of plants, but also about the ancient art of the Toltec Indians’ sorcery. Moreover, don Juan turned out to be a sorcerer himself. For the first time in his life, Castaneda came across the miraculous phenomena that were absolutely beyond the scope of his usual secular and religious notions. Castaneda found himself captivated by all this and also increasingly interested as a scientist in this, new for him, area of knowledge.

In such a way Castaneda, who at the beginning was very proud of his being a learned and civilized person, became increasingly convinced that the true wisdom belongs not to him, but to this old Indian, a great spiritual Seeker and Teacher, who lived a life of a spiritual warrior in harmony with the world around him.

The philosophical conception of these Teachings is described in detail in the book by Vladimir Antonov The Teachings of Don Juan Matus.
 

Main books by Carlos Castaneda:

See also:

• Places of Power

• Assemblage Point

• Tonal and Nagual

• Bubbles of Perception
 

External links:

• The Teachings of Don Juan Matus
 

Recommended literature: