sorcery

Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – What is Tensegrity?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 5 minutes of reading

Castaneda explains Tensegrity’s origins as a modernized version of “magical passes” from don Juan Matus’s lineage. He recounts don Juan’s teachings about ancient sorcerers who could perceive energy directly (‘seeing’), which revealed the human ‘assemblage point’ where perception is assembled. By studying this point’s movement, they developed the ‘art of dreaming’ and the magical passes. Castaneda notes that after learning these passes in secret, he and his fellow disciples decided to make them public as Tensegrity, a name signifying the tension and integrity that are the driving forces of the movements.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – What is Intentionality?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 3 minutes of reading

Castaneda begins with a note on his use of language before exploring “intentionality,” seeking to move beyond standard philosophy. He traces the term from the medieval Scholastics to the 19th-century philosopher Franz Brentano, who defined it as the unique characteristic of mental phenomena to be directed toward an object. Castaneda then connects this to the sorcery concept of “calling intent”. From a sorcerer’s perspective, he explains, intent is not a mental product but a tangible, energetic force that exists outside the physical body and can be engaged with.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – Queries about the Warriors’ Way: When am I going to see? Are you doing something to me?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this section, Castaneda addresses two common questions. The first concerns when a practitioner will achieve “seeing,” the direct perception of energy. He explains that while practices are important, the crucial element is to “intend” the outcome—the state sorcerers call “stopping the world,” which is achieved by obliterating self-importance. The second question is about fear over strange physical sensations during Tensegrity. Castaneda recounts how don Juan Matus explained such feelings not as external manipulation, but as natural physiological responses or a product of one’s own victim mentality. Don Juan’s advice was to counter fear by being “impeccable”.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – The Second Principle of the Warrior’s Way: We Are What Our Inception Is

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 8 minutes of reading

Castaneda presents the second premise of the warriors’ way: “We Are What Our Inception Is”. He relays don Juan Matus’s difficult teaching that one’s energetic makeup is profoundly shaped by the conditions of one’s conception. Don Juan used the term “bored fuck” (B.F.) for those conceived without genuine parental excitement, who are consequently energetically weak and needy. Don Juan’s practical advice for a B.F. was to become a “miser of energy” through abstinence from draining behaviors. The ultimate goal, he explained, is to remake oneself by “intending the inconceivable,” using any available emotional or sensational spark as fuel for transformation.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – Readers of Infinity

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 3 minutes of reading

In this author’s note, Castaneda reaffirms the journal’s goal: to disseminate the ideas from don Juan Matus’s cognitive world. He recounts his early, unsuccessful attempts to publish the work, which was rejected for not fitting conventional formats. He then announces a significant change: the journal’s name is changed from “The Warriors’ Way” to “READERS OF INFINITY”. This new title is inspired by don Juan’s concept of “reading infinity,” a state of perception achieved through “inner silence” where a seer can read the infinity that reveals itself on the horizon. The journal is presented as an invitation for everyone to take up this challenge.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – What is Phenomenology?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 3 minutes of reading

Castaneda explores the philosophical method of Phenomenology, as developed by Edmund Husserl. He explains its core concepts, particularly the “epoché” or the “suspension of judgment,” a reduction intended to get back to the origin of experience. However, Castaneda argues from his experience with don Juan Matus that this suspension of judgment is impossible to achieve as a purely intellectual exercise. For sorcerers, suspending their interpretation system is not a philosophical choice but a practical necessity for survival required to perceive the unknown. He therefore proposes to correlate the intellectual propositions of Western philosophy with the pragmatic accomplishments of sorcerers.

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Silent Knowledge – The Magical Passes

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda recounts his first in-depth discussion with don Juan Matus about the “magical passes,” which began with a criticism of his physical condition. Don Juan reveals he had been teaching Castaneda the passes all along, disguised as his habit of “cracking his joints.” He explains that these movements are not mere exercises but are truly “magical” because they can halt the mind’s normal “lines of similarity” and interrupt the mundane flow of reality, which is perceived as fixed and unchangeable. Don Juan also makes the startling claim that the mind is a “foreign installation” and that the passes help to overcome its influence. He reveals that the origin of the passes lies in the *dreaming* practices of ancient sorcerers, who discovered them as a way to recreate states of well-being and prepare for their “navigations into the unknown.”

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Silent Knowledge – The Center for Decisions

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda explores the second topic of interest for the ancient sorcerers: “the center for decisions,” located in the “v” spot at the base of the neck. Don Juan explained that this is one of six main energy vortexes in the body, but its specific, fluid-like energy is displaced early in life, resulting in the human inability to make decisions. He also reveals the sorcerers’ view of the center at the top of the head, which they believe has been taken over by a “foreign installation”—the mind. The magical passes, or modern Tensegrity, serve to strengthen the other five centers by redistributing energy that has been scattered to the edges of a person’s luminous being. This redistribution of energy, especially to the center for decisions, restores the capacity to decide and overall vitality, overcoming the indecisiveness and exhaustion caused by the wear and tear of daily life.

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Silent Knowledge – The Recapitulation

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda details the third pillar of sorcery practice: the “Recapitulation.” He describes it as a procedure for reliving one’s entire life with two main goals. The first is cosmological: to satisfy a universal force called “the Eagle,” which seeks a being’s life experiences, not its life force. By offering a detailed account of their lives, sorcerers can retain their life force at the moment of death and embark on a journey of perception as inorganic beings. The second goal is pragmatic: to acquire “perceptual fluidity.” Reliving memories forces the “assemblage point” to shift to its past positions, and this repetitive movement grants the practitioner the flexibility needed to face the unknown. Castaneda also describes the practical method taught by don Juan: making a list of all known persons and using a specific breathing technique to inhale recovered energy and exhale unwanted feelings associated with each memory.

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Silent Knowledge – Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda explores the “art of dreaming,” which he defines as the sorcerers’ technique for breaking the parameters of normal perception to travel into the unknown. Don Juan explains that sorcerers’ dreaming (*ensoñar*) is different from ordinary dreaming (*soñar*) and is based on the deliberate displacement of the “assemblage point” from its usual position. This practice originated from the ancient sorcerers’ observation that the assemblage point moves naturally during sleep. The key to this art is the development of “dreaming attention,” a focused awareness that allows the practitioner to control the dream state and enter other real, energy-generating worlds. The art of dreaming is complemented by the “art of stalking,” which is the ability to hold the assemblage point fixed in its new position, allowing for a full exploration of these other realms.

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