The Power of Silence

1. Sorcery is Awareness Beyond Ordinary Perception

Sorcery, properly speaking, is simply the ability to use energy fields that are not employed in perceiving the ordinary world we know.

Expanding Perception. Sorcery, as defined by don Juan, isn't about spells or rituals, but about expanding awareness beyond the limitations of everyday perception. It's the capacity to tap into energy fields and perceive realities inaccessible to the average person, who is bound by the "modality of the time" – the specific set of energy fields deemed relevant by society.

Energy and Perception. Don Juan emphasizes that humans are born with a finite amount of energy, most of which is used to navigate the ordinary world. Sorcery requires saving and redirecting this energy to perceive other realms. This isn't about learning new information, but about shifting the focus of one's awareness.

A State of Awareness. Sorcery is a state of awareness and the ability to perceive something which ordinary perception cannot. It's about convincing oneself of the hidden power within and reaching it. This access to formerly unavailable energy fields allows one to "see" – to perceive something else as real and concrete, and to know without words.

2. Energy Conservation Unlocks Sorcery Worlds

Rather, what you're learning is to save energy. This energy will enable you to handle some of the energy fields which are inaccessible to you now.

Saving Energy. The path to sorcery isn't about acquiring knowledge, but about conserving energy. This saved energy can then be used to perceive energy fields beyond the ordinary, allowing access to sorcery worlds.

Finite Energy. Don Juan explains that humans are born with a finite amount of energy, systematically deployed from birth to navigate the world. This deployment leaves little energy to perceive other energy fields.

Shifting Perception. By saving energy, one can shift the assemblage point, the point where perception is assembled, to light up new groups of emanations, making them perceivable and canceling former perceptions. This shift allows the perception of an entirely different world, as objective and factual as the one we normally perceive.

3. Intent: The Universe's Unseen Connector

In the universe there is an unmeasurable, indescribable force which sorcerers call intent, and that absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.

The Pervasive Force. Intent is described as an unmeasurable, indescribable force that connects everything in the cosmos. Sorcerers aim to understand and employ this connecting link, cleaning it of the numbing effects of everyday life.

Cleaning the Link. Sorcery, at its core, is the procedure of cleaning one's connecting link to intent. This process is difficult to understand or learn, requiring instruction in both everyday and heightened states of awareness.

Direct Knowledge. In heightened awareness, sorcerers obtain knowledge directly from intent, bypassing the limitations of spoken language. This direct knowledge, passed down through generations, is the foundation of sorcery.

4. Abstract Cores: Blueprints of Intent's Manifestations

Abstract cores, then, were blueprints of complete chains of events.

Underlying Order. Abstract cores are described as blueprints for events, recurrent patterns that appear every time intent gives an indication of something meaningful. They represent a basic abstract order of knowledge.

Recurrent Patterns. Every detail of every abstract core has re-occurred to every apprentice nagual. Each apprentice nagual encounters the abstract cores, creating accounts woven around those cores, incorporating the details of each apprentice's personality and circumstances.

Manifestations of the Spirit. The first abstract core, "The Manifestations of the Spirit," tells the story of a man oblivious to the spirit's attempts to connect with him. The spirit gives him three signs, but the man is too self-concerned to notice.

5. The Nagual: Conduit and Guide to Intent

Because of their extraordinary energy, naguals are intermediaries. Their energy allows them to channel peace, harmony, laughter, and knowledge directly from the source- from intent- and transmit intent to their companions.

Energetic Intermediaries. Naguals are individuals with extraordinary energy, serving as intermediaries between intent and their companions. They channel peace, harmony, laughter, and knowledge directly from intent.

Providing the Minimal Chance. Naguals are responsible for supplying "the minimal chance" – the awareness of one's connection with intent. They guide apprentices through unimaginable areas, molding them and fostering awe and wonder.

The Bird of Freedom. Naguals remind their apprentices that the bird of freedom has little patience with indecision. When it flies away, it never returns.

6. Stalking: The Art of Controlled Folly

The art of stalking is the riddle of the heart; the puzzlement sorcerers feel upon becoming aware of two things: first that the world appears to us to be unalterably objective and factual because of the peculiarities of our awareness and perception; and second, that if different peculiarities of perception come into play, the very things about the world that seem so unalterably objective and factual change.

Controlling Behavior. Stalking is the art of controlling behavior, using it in novel ways for specific purposes. It involves breaking from routine to create unusual effects on one's total being.

Four Moods of Stalking. The four moods of stalking are ruthlessness, cunning, patience, and sweetness. These moods must be practiced and perfected until they are smooth and unnoticeable.

Stalking Oneself. The first principle of stalking is that a warrior stalks himself. He stalks himself ruthlessly, cunningly, patiently, and sweetly.

7. The Spirit's Descent: A Point of No Return

Sorcerers believe that until the very moment of the spirit's descent, any of us could walk away from the spirit; but not afterwards.

An Act of Revelation. The fourth abstract core, the descent of the spirit, is an act of revelation. The spirit reveals itself to us, lying in ambush and then descending on us, its prey.

Cutting the Chains. The spirit cuts our chains of self-reflection, freeing us from the concerns of the daily world. However, this freedom is also undesirable, as it separates us from the shared concerns that bind us together.

The Beggar at Nightfall. The poem "Is it I who walks tonight in my room" captures the mood of impotence and bewilderment that accompanies the realization of aging and the anxiety it produces. The poet intuits that there is some unnamed factor, awesome because of its simplicity, that is determining our fate.

8. Ruthlessness: Sobriety Beyond Self-Pity

Ruthlessness is the opposite of self-pity or self-importance. Ruthlessness is sobriety.

The First Principle. Ruthlessness is the first principle of sorcery, not to be confused with the first effect of sorcery apprenticeship, which is the shift between normal and heightened awareness. It is the opposite of self-pity.

The Place of No Pity. The place of no pity is the site of ruthlessness. It is a specific position of the assemblage point, shown in the eyes of sorcerers as a shimmering film.

Masking Ruthlessness. Naguals mask their ruthlessness in different ways. Don Juan masks his with reasonableness, while his benefactor masked his with an easygoing, practical joker persona.

9. The Third Point: Freedom of Perception

The third point of reference is freedom of perception; it is intent; it is the spirit; the somersault of thought into the miraculous; the act of reaching beyond our boundaries and touching the inconceivable.

Beyond Two Dimensions. The world of daily life consists of two points of reference, creating a two-dimensional perception. Sorcerers, however, perceive their actions with depth, a third point of reference.

Here and Here. To reach the third point of reference, one must perceive two places at once. This split perception, called "here and here," allows for a more complete understanding of reality.

The Portal of Intent. Heightened awareness is the portal of intent. It is the means by which sorcerers access the spirit and manipulate their perception.

10. The Ticket to Impeccability: A Warrior's Death

The sorcerers' struggle for assuredness is the most dramatic struggle there is. It's painful and costly. Many, many times it has actually cost sorcerers their lives.

Invalidating Continuity. To have complete certainty about their actions, sorcerers must invalidate the continuity of their old lives. This process is called the ticket to impeccability, or the sorcerers' symbolic but final death.

The Eagle's Emanations. The Eagle's emanations are the energy fields that make up the universe. They are the source of all awareness and perception.

The Warrior's Way. The warrior's way is a code of behavior that prepares sorcerers by enhancing their sobriety and thoughtfulness. It is a path of impeccable action.

Last updated: April 13, 2025