Carlos Castaneda

Information regarding Castaneda’s marriage is highly disputed. While some believe that he was married to Margaret Runyan in 1960 in Mexico, his death certificate lists him as a bachelor. Adding more to the confusion is the birth certificate of Runyan’s son wherein Castaneda is listed as the child’s father.

Whether Castaneda and Runyan’s marriage hit the rocks or sailed through is also a matter of contention. While some say they separated in 1960 or 1973, others believe that they were never divorced.

In 1973, he purchased a compound in Westwood wherein a group of his female companions resided. Following the philosophy of ‘erasing personal history’, they took new names. Regina Thal became Florinda Donner-Grau, Maryann Simko became Taisha Abelar, Kathleen Pohlman became Carol Tiggs and Patricia Partin became Blue Scout.

Carlos Castaneda was born on December 25, 1925 in Cajamarca, Peru.

He moved to United States in 1951 with an aim to become a sculptor. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Lima. To meet his expenses, he took up odd jobs.

In addition to his training at the School of Fine Arts, he took classes at Los Angeles Community Center in philosophy, literature and creative writing. In 1957, he became a naturalized citizen of the USA.

Upon completing his elementary education, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles for a Bachelor degree in Arts. Graduating in 1962, he took to studying anthropology. He attained a doctorate degree in the subject in 1973.

While studying at the University of California, Castaneda interviewed and interned under Don Juan Matus, a Yaqui sorcerer. Castaneda was strongly influenced by Don Juan.

It was under the tutelage of Don Juan that Castaneda acquired the position of ‘nagual’, leader of a party of seers.

Based on the meetings with Don Juan, Castaneda penned three books, ‘The Teaching of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge’, ‘A Separate Reality’ and ‘Journey to Ixtlan’, all of which were basically research log describing his apprenticeship with Don Juan. The books introduced to the world new concept of being inaccessible, erasing personal history and stopping the world.

In his fourth book, ‘Tales of Power’ which released in 1974, he published the end of his training under Don Juan. The book shows how Castaneda’s affirms his deep-seated will to become a full-fledged sorcerer by jumping into the abyss upon the instruction of his trainer. He penned eight more books of which six were published in his lifetime and two posthumously.

Castaneda’s books were highly lauded and praised by the world over so much so that he became one of the best-selling nonfiction authors in the country. Readers were captivated by the sense of mysticism which dominated in his books. Interestingly, he received renowned fame within the sorcerer community and psychedelic counterculture as well.

Castaneda’s greatest work has been his inaugural book, ‘The Teachings of Don Juan’. The book is written in first person and puts forward dialogues exchanged between Juan and himself. Awards & Achievements

His 12 books have sold more than 28 million copies in 17 languages. Interestingly, despite being decades old, none of his books have ever gone out of print which itself says much about the author’s achievement.