Other books by Carlos Castaneda
The Teachings of Don Juan
A Separate Reality Journey to Ixtlan
Tales of Power The Second Ring of Power
The Eagle's Gift The Fire from Within The Power of Silence The Art of
Dreaming
Magical Passes The Active Side of Infinity
CARLOS CASTANEDA
THE WHEEL OF TIME THE SHAMANS OF ANCIENT MEXICO, THEIR
THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE, DEATH AND THE UNIVERSE
THE WHEEL OF TIME
Introduction
This series of specially selected quotations was gathered from the first
eight books that I wrote about the world of the shamans of ancient
Mexico. The quotations were taken directly from the explanations
given to me as an anthropologist by my teacher and mentor don Juan
Matus, a Yaqui Indian shaman from Mexico. He belonged to a lineage
of shamans that traced its origins all the way back to the shamans
who lived in Mexico in ancient times.
In the most effective manner he could afford, don Juan Matus
ushered me into his World, which was, naturally, the world of those
shamans of antiquity. Don Juan was, therefore, in a key position. He
knew about the existence of another realm of reality, a realm which
was neither illusory, nor the product of outbursts of fantasy. For don
Juan and the rest of his shaman-companions - there were fifteen of
them - the world of the shamans of antiquity was as real and as
pragmatic as anything could be.
This work started as a very simple attempt to collect a series of
vignettes, sayings, and ideas from the lore of those shamans that
would be interesting to read and think about. But once the work was
in progress, an unforeseeable twist of direction took place: I realized
that the quotations by themselves were imbued with an extraordinary
impetus. They revealed a covert train of thought that had never been
evident to me before. They were pointing out the direction that don
Juan's explanations had taken over the thirteen years in which he
guided me as an apprentice.
Better than any type of conceptualization, the quotations revealed an
unsuspected and unwavering line of action that don Juan had