Magical Passes: The Second Series - The Series for the Womb.
Magical Passes ©1998 by Carlos Castaneda.
The Second Series - The Series for the Womb.
- The First Group: Magical Passes Belonging to Taisha Abelar.
- The Second Group: A Magical Pass Directly Related to Florinda Donner-Grau.
- The Third Group: Magical Passes That Have to Do Exclusively with Carol Tiggs.
- The Fourth Group: Magical Passes That Belong to the Blue Scout.
According to don Juan Matus, one of the most specific interests of the shamans who lived in Mexico in ancient times was what they called the liberation of the womb.
He explained that the liberation of the womb entailed the awakening of its secondary functions. The primary function of the womb under normal circumstances is reproduction, but sorcerers are solely concerned with what they consider to be the womb's secondary function of evolution.
This evolution is the awakening and full exploitation of the womb's capacity to utilize direct knowledge by apprehending sensory data directly, and interpreting those perceptions directly without the aid or need of the processes of interpretation with which we are familiar.
The women practitioners are transformed from beings that have been 'socialized to reproduce' into beings 'capable of evolving' at the moment they become conscious of perceiving energy as it flows in the universe.
The womb's characteristics allow females to perceive energy directly more readily than males. However, in spite of this facility, under normal social conditions it is nearly impossible for women, or men for that matter, to become deliberately conscious that they perceive energy directly. The reason for this seeming incapacity is something which shamans consider to be a travesty; the fact that there is no one to point out to human beings that it is natural for them to perceive energy directly.
Shamans maintain that women, because they have a womb, are so versatile and so individualistic in their ability to see energy directly that this accomplishment, which should be a triumph of the human spirit, is taken for granted. Women are almost never conscious of their ability.
Since it is more difficult for men to see energy directly, when they do accomplish this feat, they do not take it for granted. Therefore, male sorcerers were the ones who who tried to describe the phenomenon.
"The basic premise of sorcery," don Juan said to me one day, "discovered by the shamans of my lineage who lived in Mexico in ancient times is that we are perceivers. The totality of the human body is an instrument of perception. However, the predominance of the visual in us gives to perception the overall mood of the eyes. This mood, according to the old sorcerers, is merely the heritage of a purely predatorial state.
"The effort of the old sorcerers, which has lasted to our days," don Juan continued, "was geared toward placing themselves beyond the realm of the predator's eye. They conceived the predator's eye to be visual par excellence, and that the realm beyond the predator's eye is the realm of pure perception, which is not visually oriented."
On another occasion, he said that it was a bone of contention for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico that women, who have the organic frame, the womb, that could facilitate their entrance into the realm of pure perception, have no interest in using it. Those shamans viewed it as a woman's paradox to have endless power at her disposal and no interest whatsoever in gaining access to it. However, don Juan had no doubt that this lack of desire to do anything was not natural; it was learned.
The aim of the magical passes for the womb is to give the female practitioners of Tensegrity an inkling, which has to be more than an intellectual titillation, of the possibility of canceling out the effect of this noxious socialization that renders women indifferent. Nevertheless, a warning is in order; don Juan Matus advised his female disciples to proceed with great caution when practicing these magical passes. The magical passes for the womb are passes that foster the awakening of the secondary functions of the uterus and ovaries, and those secondary functions are the apprehension of sensory data and the interpretation of them.
Don Juan called the womb the perceiving box. He was as convinced as the other sorcerers of his lineage that the uterus and ovaries, if they are pulled out of the reproductive cycle, can become tools of perception, and become indeed the epicenter of evolution.
He considered that the first step of evolution is the acceptance of the premise that human beings are perceivers. It was not redundancy on his part to insist ceaselessly that this realization has to be come before anything else.
"We already know that we are perceivers. What else can we be?" I would say in protest every time he insisted.
"Think about it!" he would reply every time I protested. "Perception plays only a minute role in our lives, and yet, the only thing we are for a fact is perceivers. Human beings apprehend energy at large and turn it into sensory data. Then they interpret these sensory data into the world of everyday life. This interpretation is what we call perception.
"The shamans of ancient Mexico, as you already know," don Juan went on, "were convinced that interpretation took place on a point of intense brilliance, the assemblage point, which they found when they saw the human body as a conglomerate of energy fields that resembled a sphere of luminosity.
"The advantage of women is their capacity to transfer the interpretation function of the assemblage point to the womb. The result of this transfer function is something that cannot be talked about, not because it is something forbidden, but because it is something indescribable.
"The womb," don Juan continued, "is veritably in a chaotic state of turmoil because of this veiled capacity that exists in remission from the moment of birth until death and which typically is never utilized. This function of interpretation never ceases to act and yet it has never been raised to the level of full consciousness."
Don Juan's assurance was that the shamans of ancient Mexico, by means of their magical passes, had raised among their female practitioners the interpretive capacity of the womb to the level of consciousness, and by doing this, they had instituted an evolutionary change among them; that is to say, they had turned the womb from an organ of reproduction into the tool of evolution.
Evolution is defined in the world of modern man as the capacity of different species to modify themselves through the processes of natural selection or the transmission of traits, until they can successfully reproduce in their offspring the changes brought about in themselves.
The evolutionary theory that has lasted to our day, from the time it was formulated over a hundred years ago, says that the origin and the perpetuation of a new species of animal or plant is brought about by the process of natural selection, which favors the survival of individuals whose characteristics render them best adapted to their environment, and that the evolution is brought about by the interplay of three principles: first, heredity, the conservative force that transmits similar organic forms from one generation to another; second, variation, the differences present in all forms of life; and third, the struggle for existence, which determines which variations confer advantages in a given environment. This last principle gave rise to the phrase still in current use: "the survival of the fittest."
Evolution, as a theory, has enormous loopholes; it leaves tremendous room for doubt. It is at best an open-ended process for which scientists have created classificatory schemes; they have created taxonomies to their hearts' content. But the fact remains that it is a theory full of holes. What we know about evolution does not tell us what evolution is.
Don Juan Matus believed that evolution was the product of intending at a very profound level. In the case of sorcerers, that profound level was marked by what he had called inner silence.
"For instance," he said, when he was explaining this phenomenon, "sorcerers are sure that dinosaurs flew because they intended flying. But what is very difficult to understand, much less accept, is that wings are only one solution to flying, in this case, the dinosaurs' solution. Nevertheless, this solution is not the only one that is possible. It is the only one available to us by imitation. Our airplanes are flying with wings imitating the dinosaurs, perhaps because flying has never been intended again since the dinosaurs' time. Perhaps wings were adopted because they were the easiest solution."
Don Juan was of the opinion that if we were to intend it now, there is no way of knowing what other options for flying would be available besides wings. He insisted that because intent is infinite, there was no logical way in which the mind, following processes of deduction or induction, could calculate or determine what these options for flying might be.
The magical passes of the Series for the Womb are extremely potent, and should be practiced sparingly. In ancient times, men were barred from executing them. In more recent times, there has been a tendency among sorcerers to render these magical passes more generic, and thus the possibility arose that they could also be of service to men. This possibility, however, is very delicate and requires careful handling, great concentration, and determination.
The male practitioners of Tensegrity who teach the magical passes have opted, because of their potent effect, to practice them by brushing the energy that they generate only lightly on the area of the genitals themselves. This measure has proven to he enough to provide a beneficial jolt without any profound or deleterious effects.
Don Juan explained that the sorcerers of his lineage, at a given moment, allowed males to practice these magical passes because of the possibility that the energy engendered by them would awaken the secondary function of the male sexual organs. He said that those sorcerers considered that the secondary function of the male sexual organs is not at all similar to that of the womb; no interpretation of sensory data can take place because the male sexual organs hang outside of the cavity of the body. Because of these particular circumstances, their conclusion was that the secondary function of the male organs is something which they termed evolutionary support: a sort of springboard that catapults men to perform extraordinary feats of what sorcerers of ancient Mexico called unbending intent, or clearheaded purpose and concentration.
The Series for the Womb is divided into four sections which correspond to the three female disciples of don Juan Matus: Taisha Abelar, Forinda Donner-Grau, and Carol Tiggs; and to the Blue Scout, who was born into don Juan's world.
The first is composed of three magical passes belonging to Taisha Abelar; the second is composed of one magical pass directly related to Florinda Donner-Grau; the third, of three magical passes that have to do exclusively with Carol Tiggs; and the fourth, of five magical passes that belong to the Blue Scout. The magical passes of each section are pertinent to a specific type of individual. Tensegrity has rendered them capable of being utilized by anybody, although they are still slanted in the direction of the type of person that each of those four women is.
Magical Passes: The Second Series: First Group - Magical Passes Belonging to Taisha Abelar.
Magical Passes ©1998 by Carlos Castaneda.
The Second Series: First Group - Magical Passes Belonging to Taisha Abelar.
The three magical passes of this group are geared to gathering energy for the womb from six specific areas: the left and right front of the body, the left and right sides of the body at the height of the hips, and from behind the shoulder blades and above the head. The explanation that The shamans of ancient Mexico gave was that energy especially suited for the womb accumulates on those areas, and that the movements of these magical passes are the appropriate antennas that gather that energy exclusively.
1. Extracting Energy from the Front of the Body with the Index and Middle Fingers
The first sensation that a Tensegrity practitioner seeks while executing this magical pass is a pressure on the tendons of the back of the hand, a sensation which is obtained by opening the index and middle fingers as far as possible while they are fully extended. The last two fingers are curled over the palm of the hand, and the thumb holds them in place (fig. 95).
The magical pass starts by placing the left foot in front of the body in a T position, perpendicular to the right one. The left arm and the left leg make a series of synchronized forward circling movements. The leg circles by first lifting the ball of the foot, and then the whole foot, and a step is taken that rolls forward in the air and ends on the heel, with the toes up, as the body leans forward, creating pressure on a muscle on the front of the left calf.
In synchronization with this movement, the left arm rotates forward over the head, also making a complete circle. The index and middle fingers are fully extended, and the palm faces to the right. The pressure on the tendons of the back of the hand has to be maintained with maximum stress during the entire movement (fig. 96).
At the end of the third circling movement of the arm and foot, the entire foot is placed on the ground with a forceful stomp, shifting the weight of the body forward. At the same time, the arm shoots out in a stabbing motion, with the index and middle fingers fully extended and the palm of the hand facing right; the muscles of the entire left side of the body are kept tense and contracted (fig. 97).
An undulating movement is made, as if drawing, with the two extended fingers pointing forward, a letter S that is lying on its side. The wrist is bent so that the fingers point upward once the S is completed (fig. 98).
Next, the wrist bends so the fingers again point forward and the S is cut in half with a horizontal stroke of the two fingers from right to left. Then the wrist is bent so the two fingers point upward once more, and a sweeping movement is made from left to right with the palm turned toward the face. The palm of the hand is turned to face outward, as the arm sweeps from right to left. The left arm is retrieved to the level of the chest, and two forward stabbing motions are executed with the fingers fully extended and the palm of the hand facing downward. The palm of the hand is turned toward the face once more, and the hand sweeps again from left to right and from right to left, exactly as before.
The body leans back slightly, shifting the weight to the back leg. Then the hand, with the two fingers curved like a claw, reaches out at waist level in front of the body as if to grab something, contracting the muscles and tendons of the forearm and hand as if forcefully extracting some heavy substance (fig. 99).
The clawed hand is retrieved to the side of the body. All the fingers of the hand are then fully extended, with The thumb locked and the fingers separated at the middle and fourth fingers, making a letter V, which is brushed over the womb, or over the sexual organs, in the case of men (fig. 100).
A quick jump is made to shift legs, so that the right foot is in front of the left one, again making a T. The same movements are repeated with the right arm and leg.
2. Jumping to Stir Energy for the Womb and Grabbing It with the Hand
This magical pass begins by placing the right foot perpendicular to the left one in a T position. A tap is made with the right heel; this tap serves as an impulse for a small hop of the right foot which ends with the right toes pointing forward, followed immediately by a one-step lateral hop of the left foot that ends with the left heel on the ground, perpendicular to the right foot. The rest of the left foot touches the ground, shifting the weight to the left leg, as the left arm moves in a grabbing motion to clasp something in front of the body with a clawed hand (fig. 101).
The hand then rubs gently on the area of the left ovary.
A tap of the left heel serves as an impulse for a sequence of movements that is a mirror image of the preceding ones.
Energy stirred up by the motion of the feet in this magical pass bounces upward, is caught with each hand in turn, and is placed over the uterus and the left and the right ovaries.
3. Slapping Energy on the Ovaries
The third magical pass begins by circling the left arm over the head, to the back, in toward the shoulder blades, and out again to the front until it reaches the level of the chin; the palm faces up. The hand draws another circle that goes up and over toward the right; it continues downward, all the way to the right waist and then sweeps upward over the head, completing the figure of a number eight. The palm flips to face the front (fig. 102).
Then the hand descends forcefully, as if slapping the area just in front of the left ovary (fig. 103).
The hand then brushes gently on the area of the left ovary. The same pattern is repeated with the right arm.
Magical Passes: The Second Series: Second Group - A Magical Pass Directly Related to Florinda Donner-Grau.
Magical Passes ©1998 by Carlos Castaneda.
The Second Series: Second Group - A Magical Pass Directly Related to Florinda Donner-Grau.
In this group, there is only one magical pass. The effect of this magical pass is utterly congruous with the personality of Florinda Donner-Grau. Don Juan Matus regarded her as being very straightforward, so to-the-point that sometimes her directness became unbearable. Her activities in the sorcerers' world, as a consequence of her directness, have always been geared toward the goal of evolution, or the transformation of the womb from a receptacle and promoter of fertility to an organ of awareness, through which thoughts which are not part of our normal cognition can be processed.
4. Sphinx Paws
This magical pass begins with a quick, deep inhalation. The air is sharply exhaled with a forceful strike of the wrists to the front of the body. This is achieved with the hands turned downward sharply, at right angles to the forearms; the fingers point to the ground, and the striking surface is the backs of the hands at the wrists. The hands are pulled upward to the level of the shoulders, the palms facing forward, in a straight line with the forearms. A deep inhalation is taken. The hands are held in this position as the trunk turns to the left. The hands then strike, with the palms down, to the level of the hips (fig. 104).
The air is exhaled sharply. The hands are raised above the shoulders again as the trunk turns to the front, and a deep inhalation is taken. With the hands still above the shoulders, the trunk is turned to the right. Next both hands strike, with the palms down, to the level of the hips as the air is exhaled.
Both hands move then to the right of the body, with the palms slightly cupped and turned to the left, as if to scoop a liquid substance. Both arms move from right to left to right, drawing the figure of a reclining number eight in front of the body. This is achieved by first moving the arms all the way to the left, following a twist of the waist, and then returning back to the right, following a reverse twist of the waist. The slightly cupped palms are turned to face the right, as if to continue scooping a liquid substance in the opposite direction (fig. 105).
As the figure eight is completed, the left hand stops to rest on the left hip, while the right arm continues moving to the right; the arm goes up over the head and makes a big loop to the back that ends when the hand is brought back to the front, to the level of the chin; the palm of the hand faces up. The hand continues moving, making another loop to the left, going in front of the face, over the left shoulder. Next it moves in a straight line across the body at the level of the hip, cutting through the figure eight (fig. 106).
From there, the palm moves back toward the body and is made to slide over the right ovary, as if the hand were a knife that comes to rest in its sheath.
The exact same movements are performed, but striking to the right side of the body first, in order to allow the left arm to execute the last movement.
Magical Passes: The Second Series: Third Group - Magical Passes That Have to Do Exclusively with Carol Tiggs.
Magical Passes ©1998 by Carlos Castaneda.
The Second Series: Third Group - Magical Passes That Have to Do Exclusively with Carol Tiggs.
The three magical passes of the third group deal with the energy that is directly on the area of the womb. This emphasis makes these three magical passes extraordinarily potent. Moderation is strongly recommended in order to bring the sensations of awakening the womb to a manageable level. In this fashion the linear-minded interpretation of these sensations as premenstrual pangs or heaviness on the ovaries can be avoided.
Don Juan Matus told his three female disciples that the secondary functions of the womb, upon being awakened by the appropriate magical passes, give the sensorial input of discomfort, but that what takes place at an energetic level is the influx of energy into the vortex of the womb. Energy which has, up to this point, remained unused and on the periphery of the luminous sphere is suddenly dropped into that vortex.
5. Packing Energy on the Womb
The first magical pass begins by bringing the two hands to the area of the womb. The wrists are bent sharply, and the hands are cupped, the lingers pointing to the womb.
The two hands are extended so that the tips of the fingers point inward each other. Then they make an ample circle, first going upward and out, and then down, with both hands together, ending right over the womb (fig. 107).
Next, the hands separate to the width of the body (fig. 108),
and are brought forcefully toward the center of the womb as if thick ball were being squashed. The same movement is repeated, and the hands are brought closer together, as if the ball were being further squashed. Then it is torn apart by a powerful movement of the hands, which grab and rip (fig. 109).
The hands are then brushed over the area of the uterus and the ovaries.
6. Stirring and Guiding Energy Directly into the Womb
This magical pass begins with an exhalation as the arms are stretched out in front of the body, with the backs of the hands touching. A deep breath is taken as the arms move laterally away from each other, drawing half-circles which end with the forearms touching in front of the body at the level of the chest, and the arms extended forward with the elbows slightly bent. The palms face up. Then the trunk bends forward slightly as the forearms move backward so that the elbows are moored on the solar plexus with the forearms still touching, side by side (fig. 110).
Next, a slow exhalation begins, which must last through the following movements. The back side of the left wrist is placed on top of the inner side of the right wrist, maneuvering the arms to make the figure of the letter X; the wrists rotate so that the palms circle in toward the body, and then back out to face front, without losing the X shape of the wrists; the left hand ends up on top of the right one (fig. 111).
The hands are made into fists and separated vigorously (fig. 112),
and then brought to the area of the left and right ovaries as the exhalation ends.
7. Squeezing Out Injurious Energy from the Ovaries
The left hand is held in front of the body with the palm up. The elbow is bent at a right angle and tucked against the rib cage. The index and middle fingers of the left hand are extended while the thumb holds the other two fingers against the palm. The two extended fingers of the left hand are grabbed from underneath by the right hand, and squeezed as if drawing something from the base of the two extended fingers of the left hand and making it move to the tips (fig. 113).
Then the right hand shakes vigorously whatever it drew from those two fingers with a backhanded, downward striking motion on the right side of the body. The left thumb releases the other two fingers, and the hand is held in a letter V shape, with the index and middle fingers together, and the fourth and fifth fingers together. The palm of the hand is lightly brushed over the area of the left ovary. The same movements are repeated with the right hand.
For the second part of this magical pass, the trunk is bent sharply forward. The left arm hangs in between the legs, the elbow cushioned against the umbilical region. Exactly the same movements performed in the first part of the magical pass are executed again, except this time the two extended fingers of the left hand are grabbed by the right hand from above (figs. 114, 115).
The same movements are repeated on the right.
Magical Passes: The Second Series: Fourth Group - Magical Passes That Belong to the Blue Scout.
Magical Passes ©1998 by Carlos Castaneda.
The Second Series: Fourth Group - Magical Passes That Belong to the Blue Scout.
The magical passes of this group are the natural conclusion of the whole series. An impersonal mood is the driving force of this group of passes. The inhalations and exhalations are sharp, but not deep, and the movements are accompanied by an explosive hissing sound of air being expelled.
The value of the Blue Scout's magical passes resides in the capacity of each of them to give the womb the hardness that it requires in order to arrive at its secondary functions, which can be easily defined, in the case of the Blue Scout, as the ability to be alert without pause. The criticism of sorcerers about our normal state of being is that we seem to be perennially on automatic pilot; we say things that we do not mean to say, we ignore things that we should not ignore. In other words, we are aware of what surrounds us only in very short spurts. Most of the time, we function on sheer momentum, habit, and that habit is, in essence, to be oblivious to everything. The idea of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico was that, in women, the womb is the organ that can resolve this impasse, and for that, it needs to acquire hardness.
8. Drawing Energy from the Front with Insect Antennas
The index and middle fingers are held by the sides of the chest in a letter V position, while the thumbs press the other two fingers against the palms; the palms are up (fig. 116).
Next, the palms turn downward, and the two fingers strike out in front of the body, as a sharp exhalation is made, with clenched teeth and a hissing, whistle-like sound (fig. 117).
A deep inhalation is taken as the hands are retrieved with the palms up to the sides of the chest. The same movement is repeated one more time, and the palms of the hands are brushed on the area of the ovaries, with the fingers separated between the middle and fourth fingers.
9. Drawing Energy from the Sides at an Angle
This magical pass begins by pivoting on the right foot and putting the left leg in front, at a forty-five-degree angle. The right foot is the horizontal bar of the letter T, and the left foot, the vertical. The body rocks back and forth. Then the left elbow is bent, and the hand is brought to The level of the chest with the palm up. The index and middle fingers are held in the shape of the letter V. The thumb holds the other two fingers against the palm (fig. 118).
A strike is made, leaning the body forward sharply. The palm of the hand turns down as the fingers strike. The air is exhaled with a hiss (fig. 119).
An inhalation is taken as the kind retrieves to the side of the chest with the palm up. The palm of the hand is then lightly brushed on the left ovary, with the fingers separated between the middle and fourth fingers.
A jump is taken to switch feet and face a new direction to the right, still at a forty-five degree angle. The same movements arc repeated with the right arm.
10. Drawing Energy Laterally with an Insect Cut
The hands are held on the sides of the chest, with the index and middle fingers of each hand in a V shape and the thumbs holding the other two fingers against the palms. The palms face up. Remaining at the level of the chest, the hands are pivoted on the heels of the palms and brought to face each other. Next, a hissing exhalation is made as both arms are fully extended laterally, with the palms facing the front. The index and middle fingers are moved with a cutting motion as if they were indeed scissors, as the exhalation ends in a whistle-like fashion (fig. 120).
An inhalation is taken as the arms are retrieved; the elbows are down, and the arms come to rest on the sides of the body by the chest hands pointing sideways (fig. 121).
Next the hands are pivoted on the heel of the palm so the index and middle fingers point to the front The fingers are then separated at the middle and fourth fingers, and a hissing exhalation is made as the palms of the hands brush over the area of the ovaries.
11. Drilling Energy from Between the Feet with Each Hand
A deep inhalation is taken. A long hissing exhalation follows while the left hand descends with a rotating movement of the wrist, which makes the hand resemble a drill that seems to perforate a substance in front of the body between the legs. Then the index and middle fingers make a two-pronged claw and grab something from the area between the feet (fig. 122)
and pull it upward, with a deep inhalation, to the level of the hips. The arm moves over the head to the back of the body and the palm is placed on the area of the left kidney and adrenal (fig. 123)
The left hand is held there while the right hand performs the same movements. Once the right hand is placed on the area of the right kidney and adrenal, an inhalation is taken. The left hand moves over the head to the front of the body, and brushes, with the fingers separated at the middle and fourth fingers, over the left ovary. This movement of the arm from back to front is accompanied by the whistle-like sound of a sharp exhalation. Another deep inhalation is taken, and the right hand is brought to the right ovary in the same fashion.
12. Drilling Energy from Between the Feet with Both Hands
This magical pass is similar to the preceding one, except that instead of performing the movements separately, the hands execute the drilling movements in unison. Then the index and middle fingers of both hands make two-pronged claws, and grab something from the area between the feet at the same time.
They return to the level of the hips, and then circle around the sides of the body to the area of the kidneys and adrenals; a deep breath is taken as the palms rub those areas (fig. 124).
Then an exhalation is made as the arms draw another circle around the sides of the body to the front to brush the area over the left and right ovaries with the fingers of each hand separated at the middle. Again, this movement of the arms from back to front is accompanied by a whistle-like exhalation.