The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey (Compass) [Paperback]

Taisha Abelar (Author), Carlos Casteneda (Author)

Book Description

Series: Compass | Publication Date: November 1, 1993

Taisha Abelar's mesmerizing account of her apprenticeship with a female colleague of don Juaa training which used mental and physical exercisesrather than psychoactive plants. This virtual sorcerers' manual is a pioneering work of women's spirituality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Abelar's mesmerizing account of her training in paranormal perception by a group of sorcerers led by Yaqui Indian Don Juan Matus.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Abelar presents a fascinating personal account of her initiation into the world of sorcery. Although sorcery has negative connotations, her activities involve spiritual growth and personal empowerment rather than black magic. The author receives training in Mexico by a group of teachers connected with Don Juan Matus, the mentor of Carlos Castaneda. Under their guidance she learns various breathing, movement, and contemplative techniques. Her goal is enhanced perception and ultimately a shift in awareness from the concrete to the abstract. The author's struggle to overcome inner resistance and her efforts to understand abstract concepts are miraculously detailed. The book holds one's interest throughout and should be a useful addition to library collections on personal growth and women's spirituality . Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/92.
- Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140193669
• ISBN-13: 978-0140193664
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Witchcraft
  • #71 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Wicca

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very practical perspective into the world of sorcery, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey (Compass) (Paperback)

This is maybe the most practical book written about nagualism, as first described by Carlos Castaneda. It took me a long time to read this book, not because it was slow or dense, but because there are so many descriptions of practical exercises (often reminiscent of certain aspects of Tensegrity, but not always), that it took me five times as long to practice the maneuvers than to actually do the reading.

That said, it is a very good book, even if you're not planning to recapitulate or anything like that. For people who haven't read any Castaneda, it will probably seem a little off-the-wall, especially given that Taisha Abelar doesn't really provide a wealth of explanations as to what she experienced -- only descriptions -- which is perhaps a sign of why Castaneda described her as such a stupendous stalker.

This book is a good entry point into sorcery, especially so for women who have had a hard time getting into Castaneda, because of his inherently male bias. This book also works really well in conjunction with "Being in Dreaming" by Florinda Donner -- together, the two books cover the companion disciplines of stalking and dreaming.

Finally, if you're serious about freeing up energy and breaking the barriers of perception, Taisha Abelar's book has the most detailed account of the recapitulation out of any of the related works. You'll learn a lot by listening to what she is told.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me think and opened up a new world, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey (Compass) (Paperback)

Once I started reading this book, I stayed up all night to finish it. It was like a mystery--and showed me such a difference slice of human experience that I had to find out how it ended. Taisha's book was more satisfying to me than Castaneda's works, althought it travels in the same world. Maybe it's just the way she writes, or the fact that it is a woman's perspective, but I was totally captivated by this story. It showed me a way of life unlike anything I had imagined possible. Each person must decide for themself if her story is true. For me, I believe it.

When I finished this book, I was left with several new ideas that didn't fit into my old way of thinking. Over the last year, I have been working them through, and have discovered the answers for myself. For a while, I wished that I could go to live with some scorcerers and have a similar growth experience. What I have accomplished is to find my own mystical path in the midst of everyday living, paying ! ! the rent, and keeping the fridge full. It's a solution that works for me. Taisha's book gave me a jump start into an area I didn't even know existed, and I'm grateful for that experience.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taisha Abelar's book provides a woman's insight into sorcery, July 13, 1998

By 

"jisom2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey (Compass) (Paperback)

Taisha Abelar's book provides a woman insight into sorcery and this is important, because as wonderful and significant as Castaneda's books are, they are from a male perspective, and men think or order reality in a way that is fundamentally different from women. Women are synthesizers, men categorisers. Men are experts on gathering inventories and splitting hairs, women on making a coherent whole. Both are obviously useful and necessary ways of dealing with the cosmos, but Abelar's book shows for one thing how much more direct is women's dealings with life than men's. She does not have to engage in endless dialectics in order to reach the place where she can simply give herself permission to try. Her rationality was not as much of a bar to her in exploring these revolutionary concepts and her book is therefore direct and candid. Try it. If you like Castaneda, you'll find this one equally delightful and insightful and important.