Carlos Castaneda resources page

Carlos Castaneda [Carlos César Salvador Arana Castañeda] started his career as a famous anthropologist and the author of various bestselling non-fiction books. The first of them, The Teachings of Don Juan [download pdf] took the 1960s by storm, generating both the highest scholarly praise and the admiration of the general public. About a decade later, Castaneda was exposed as a fraud and his research was put in doubt, generating major disillusion and bitterness both in anthropology and neighboring disciplines. However, by that time, the genre of his books was already switching from academic to popular/spiritual, creating an unswerving following among alternative spirituality enthusiasts of the late 20th century. In other words, while the social sciences were still loudly criticizing Castaneda’s counterfeit research in the 1980s-1990s, the man himself had already abandoned academia to become a spiritual teacher and the charismatic leader of a new religious movement. It is therefore surprising that while there is a great amount of literature on Castaneda-Anthropologist and Castaneda-Fraud, very little has been written about Castaneda-Guru. Specifically the late works remain essentially untouched by scholarly interest. However, as the concept of Toltec spirituality attests, Castaneda’s importance reaches far beyond the confines of his 1990s group of followers. In this sense, I believe a large re-contextualization is needed – both of Castaneda’s life and writings.

Zuzana Marie Kostićová, Castaneda’s Mesoamerican inspiration: the Tonal/Nagual, the cardinal points and the birth of contemporary Toltec spirituality (pdf)

Books

Although academics have dismissed Castaneda’s books as works of fiction, they contain great wisdom and provide many insights.

The books are listed below in chronological order (1968–1999):

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (pdf of entire book)
A Separate Reality
Journey to Ixtlan
Tales of Power (pdf of entire book)
Second Ring of Power
The Eagle’s Gift
The Fire from Within
Power of Silence
The Art of Dreaming
Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico
The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Mexico — Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe
The Active Side of Infinity