HIGHLIGHTS: 1. INTENT: - Intent is the power that upholds the universe. - It is the force that gives focus to everything. - It makes the world happen.
2. DUALISM: - We are convinced that dualism exists in us; the mind is the insubstantial part of ourselves and the body is the concrete part. - This division keeps our energy in a state of chaotic separation and prevents it from coalescing.
3. DIVISION: - Our division is not between the mind and body, but between the body, which houses the mind or the self, and the double, which is the receptacle of our basic energy.
4. TRUE PURPOSE: - We die because the possibility that we could be transformed hasn鈥檛 entered our conception鈥nd to succeed in this task is the only true purpose a human being can have.
5. ENERGY FLOW: - Sex ensures a continual flow of energy from women to men. - Men leave energy lines inside the body of women. They are like luminous tapeworms that move inside the womb, sipping up energy鈥ines of energy are established through sexual intercourse, collecting and stealing energy from the female body to benefit the male who left them there鈥� ensuring man鈥檚 permanent bond to the same woman.
6. VOICE OF SPIRIT: - What we call the voice of spirit is more of a feeling. - It can be an idea that suddenly pops into your head. - It can be like a longing to go somewhere vaguely familiar, or a longing to do something also vaguely familiar.
7. WOMB: - Secondary function of the womb: Serve as guiding unit for the double鈥emales have at their disposal a powerful source of energy with an abundance of mysterious attributes and functions all designed to protect and nurture the double. - Must rid yourself of all the encumbering energy men have left inside you.
8. CHANGE: (1) announce out loud our decision to change so that intent will hear us. (2) Engage our awareness over some time. We can鈥檛 just start something and give it up as soon as we become discouraged. (3) View the outcome of our actions with a sense of complete detachment; can鈥檛 get involved with the idea of succeeding or failing.
Fascinating reading. The book was given to me by a dear friend... It tells the story of a young woman, who joins a group of sorcerers in Mexico and starts lengthy physical and mental training to prepare her to become a sorcerer. It's very interesting to see that the opinion of readers is so divided - some say it's fiction and lots of nonsense, and the others believe the story and start practising themselves. Up to you to decide.
"Donde cruzan los Brujos" es el nombre de la versi贸n en 别蝉辫补帽辞濒 de "The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey". Interesante desde el punto de vista del contenido de la narrativa, donde la trama gira en torno a la historia del encuentro de Taisha con Clara. Taisha es una mujer com煤n, con sus luces y sombras, miedos y pasiones que un d铆a se encuentra con Clara, una maestra bruja que la conduce por los intrincados caminos de la iniciaci贸n. Taisha recurre a la recapitulaci贸n mediante los "pases brujos" para llegar a ser parte de aquel selecto grupo de seres que caminan sin tocar el suelo.
I read this book when it came out years ago, and I still remember it vividly. It is one of those life-changing books if you are following a magickal path. I highly recommend it!
Taisha Abelar supposedly worked alongside Carlos Castaneda under the tutelage of Don Juan, an old, Indian sorcerer.
It is difficult to describe why this book is a failure; I am very enamored with Castaneda鈥檚 work. As such, it will be difficult to keep the two authors separate since they supposedly worked together to discover the totality of themselves, so I will preface by saying this: I have put Castaneda鈥檚 ideas to work; I have practiced inner silence, losing self importance, dreaming, the magical passes, not-doing, etc., and found the teachings of Don Juan to be real.
If you have not read any of these works鈥搘orks by either Abelar or Castaneda鈥搕hen you can鈥檛 possibly conceive of this situation, and that鈥檚 fine, but there are many out there familiar with Castaneda鈥檚 work; many believers and many skeptics, and yet it appears that neither the believers nor the skeptics put into practice the teachings, but this is a different point for a different conversation. What I can say here is that Castaneda openly admitted in his works that he did not provide the sorcerers鈥� real names nor did he disclose the actual location where anything took place- he blatantly states that in his novels. That being said, the characters; Don Juan, Don Genaro, Vicente, Pablito, LaGorda, LaCatalina; they are so vastly dissimilar that they are either real people or the product of a wonderfully talented author; the former is my belief because as I stated: I鈥檝e practiced the ideas and they work for me, however, the ideas, people, and situations presented in The Sorcerer鈥檚 Crossing are not real.
I say this because the characters Abelar presents are one dimensional; they all talk the same way, act the same way- it鈥檚 obviously just Abelar鈥檚 fabrication. She is trying so hard to jam one book with the level of mystery that was elicited by Castaneda鈥檚 works, but he had to stretch it out over 12 or 13 books. It鈥檚 difficult, really, to explain this. I don鈥檛 know if Abelar did or didn鈥檛 ever work with Don Juan or what role she actually played in the new cycle, or she if ever practiced anything herself. Maybe she really did, but the book itself feels fabricated; the story of a silly girl trying to mimic the vast eternity that was Don Juan Matus.
In conclusion, I want you to make your own decision, but my suggestion is to not waste your money on The Sorcerer鈥檚 Crossing.
After reading all of Carlos Castaneda's work I found this book redundant. It doesn't add anything to the saga, it's a lower quality copy of Carlos' writtings. Also I found impossible to believe that something on it was true. One can argue if Carlos' books are fiction or non-fiction. I don't think it really matters. They portray a hard life of beautiful philosophy, true or not. This book just reads too fake and low quality to me.
Like many of the New Age books on what is described as shamanism, this is not a book to be taken as literal truth. Yet it holds meaning and useful inspiration for magickal and shamanic practitioners. I have used ideas from this book as a jumping-off point for experiment and speculation for many years now. Just don't take it TOO seriously! I would not recommend committing to lifelong celibacy for one example; (the Castaneda group authors, including Taisha, were not being honest in the books about their actual sexual habits).
if you have read any of carlos castaneda's books about his experiences with don juan, i would recommend this book. abelar writes about her experiences with the same group of sorcerers. her experience is much different from carlos'. i also enjoyed reading about a women's experience in this type of training. quite thought provoking, opens up lots of new consciousness expanding ideas.
El mejor libro que he le铆do en los 煤ltimos a帽os... De contenido profundo y conmovedor, el libro guarda un mensaje que traspasa las fronteras de lo ordinario... Es una invitaci贸n hacia los otros mundos de percepci贸n...
Me gusto mucho. Es una lectura muy distinta a las que suelo leer y me aporto un mont贸n de conocimientos que no tenia. Quiero seguir incursioando en este tipo de lectura
I love this book so much I have read it several times and given it away to several women. Though Taisha is part of the cohort of Carlos Castenada, her work stands on its own. It reveals several profound esoteric keys to women's mysteries.
Some of the keys are skeleton keys and some are to the safety deposit box of our inner treasures. I have successfully worked with several of the techniques hinted at here and further developed them much to the benefit of myself and others.
This book is for women who are deep diving into the profound mystery we call life plus for those called to the path of Castenada.
Taisha's book follows the teaching and writing style of Castaneda, though it's a much lighter and less dense read than your average Castaneda. The language is very easy to read but sometimes it's hard to comprehend. The biggest value of the book is that it gives you a step by step technique for recapitulation. And it is a powerful technique. The only thing I didn't like is the way it ends. It gets suddenly more and more interesting towards the end and then abruptly everything stops.
-Is it difficult to became a shaman? -Everyone working together with the tremendous concentration, years and years of training, have been able to make this feat reasonable, valid experience that there were men on the moon that now no one questions. But sorcery also takes years and years of training. You can鈥檛 just say, lie down and all of a sudden you鈥檙e a crow or something like that / Taisha Abelar
It was amazing at the time when I read it. That was a decade ago. I haven't revisited it lately, but the style seemed a little bit smarter than some Castaneda books. The author writes candidly but doesn't dumb it down to the degree that Castaneda did.
Loved the book. Read it again. It drew me and spat me out as I learned that Taisha suspectedly committed suicide. it was stranger than fiction. I am not a fiction reader. But what got me was that it seemed vaguely real. I loved the book and will read many more like it. It made me think.
Not the best written book. But the message had a profound and lasting effect on my life. This book is for anyone searching for something different in their lives!
I rode my bike 270 miles to rock climb at Smith Rock. You can't climb everyday or you'll get hurt. I walked the 18 miles round trip to the Redmond library when I found this book there. Then I went into the local bookstore and ordered it. I remember climbing up a boulder, eating lunch, and reading this book. Particularly "Manfred" when you meet him.
I celebrate the inclusion of women in the realm of magic, sorcery, and shamanism. I read Carlos Castenada, which was phenomenal, but very much an old boy's club. The content of Sorcerer's Crossing is fascinating, but the writing is of poor quality. One of her favorite devices is to overuse names, so each time the mentor is addressed her name is used too. "I see that, Clara." "What do you mean, Clara?" "Clara, can you tell me more about this?"
In general, it reads very much like someone reconstructing these events long after the fact, and from a radically different viewpoint. The alien viewpoint is part of my fascination with this book: the tone is different than straight fiction, but different than any other autobiography I've read. That's a compliment to her and her progress on the path, but an actual journal/journey/in the moment account would have been more engaging for me.
The book also cuts off at a random juncture in her training - after certain discoveries, before the great leap - that made it somewhat unsatisfying. But I keep going back to the fact that the content of the book really is fascinating!
I am more of a Harner reader and practisioner. I find all this "fantastical" books about shamanism far away from the core. For me shamanism happens every day, all day. I am connected and the communication with the spirits is often more on the practical side. Journeying is a different cup of tea. That's the part that many people try to live by taking trance inducing subtances. Lately I have come to believe that shamanism - especially the books of cc - have fucked up a lot of people. They see themselves as special or chosen by a higher being to save the world. That's far away from the purpose of shamanism. Shamans are healers and bound to nature and the spiritual world who help them to accomplish their work. It has nothing to do with egotistical aims (i.e. I am special) as found in all related books of cc or the new spirit hacking stuff.
A magical Realism autobiographical tale of the author's training in the Toltec system under the tuition of 'witches'. I enjoyed it back when I read it, though i would react differently to it now. it does impress though the dedication required for 'real growth', and how the self and the programmed mind is the real challenge. Good read as far as the 'story' goes, but for a learning resource, the later books by offer more.
Ovviamente l'ho letto in Italiano. il titolo 猫 tradotto con "Il passaggio degli stregoni. Viaggio di una donna" Mi 猫 piaciuto molto, come tutti gli altri di Castaneda. Se avete letto gli altri di Castaneda e siete donne, questo 猫 imperdibile. Racconta dell'iniziazione alla stregoneria di una ragazza ventiduenne. Questo titpo di letture non si affrontano per la ricercatezza del lessico o per la bellezza della trama (che in questo caso comunque c'猫) e le vicende narrate hanno punti incredibili, eppure, a me ha dato molti spunti di riflessione ;)
This book is indeed a sorcerer's handbook. The information on this book about the sorcery passes and breathing practices are very powerful and parallel to the practices of many ancient cultures whose expertise was to enhance awareness. Taisha and her group left this world to infinity and left us their books. No person of average perception and way of life would be able to comprehend or even like any of the materials.
I was once on a spirital journey myself, at a very young age of sixteen I was drawn to this book and immersed myself in its subtle teachings. I still refer to this book in times of need. Far more insightful than the Celestine Prophecy or the Secret because its of one womans true experience to a magical path.
Interesting look at this woman's account of her initiation in to a group of sorcerers. There are questions about the cultish nature of Carlos Castenada's inner circle. Six years after writing this book, and some days after CC dies, it is reported that she and Florinda Donner among others disappear.