Sense of live

Carlos Castaneda

The Eagle’s Gift – Whether or not Carlos Casteneda’s yarns are authentic representations of what is alleged to be Toltec is beyond comment. However, it’s rather curious to reflect that in this system there is an image of the creator as an Eagle that seems intent upon devouring what it produces. In purely psychological terms, that’s an image of the Evil Mother. Besides being a useful go-get-’um, i.e., reason for doing for all the occult gymnastics, the Eagle, in other words, the Mother Complex, is indeed a major challenge in every man’s psychological development. However, is the Mother Complex the same as the Creator, or, God? Which brings us to the other side of this Toltec coin: the so-called Human Form, which, don Juan assures us is our idea of God. This may, indeed, be a common idea of God, but it is altogether misleading to call this God, because what is commonly thought of as being God is not God, God having no image or form or name or whatever you want to ascribe to God unless, of course, you are talking about a god. It might be instructive for the credulous readers and fans of this very fascinating writer, Carlos Casteneda, to study such sources of the ancient wisdom tradition of the west as the writings of Plotinus or, God forbid, the Kabbalah. Perhaps, in the light of such readings, the wisdom and occult exercises of this don Juan character will appear in a richer and more balanced light. As for occult exercises, it would behoove the serious Student of Magic to look into the Golden Dawn system or something comparable. By the way, don Juan’s virtuoso feat of disappearing into the void is not the exclusive property of the Toltecs or Aztecs. This technique is known in other cultures, even ones that know nothing about devouring Eagles and such. Attachment to such images is a bigger obstacle on the way than the devouring Eagle itself. All that said, there is much that is valuable in Carlos Casteneda. Let his readers sort that out for themselves.

From amazon (comment)

Books of Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda