CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR CONTEMPORARY RELIGION
CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR CONTEMPORARY RELIGION

Central European Journal for Contemporary Religion is a scholarly journal published both by the Hussite Theological Faculty of the Charles University and Karolinum Publishers, which aims to serve as a publication platform for Comparative Religion and related disciplines. It focuses mainly on contemporary religious phenomena with special (but not exclusive) focus on Central and Eastern Europe. It should serve both as a source of information on te religious life in the region and as a supply of scholarly studies focused on contemporary lived religion at large. It is published semi-annually both in print and online (free access). Its goal is to bring thought-provoking contributions related not only to current established religions and religious movements new and old, but also to contemporary spirituality in its wider context, including the New Age milieu, Neopaganism and pop-cultural spirituality. The journal also covers the latest theoretical and methodological trends in Comparative Religion, Ritual Studies and other disciplines. The editorial board consists of scholars from most Czech Comparative Religion departments, as well as experts on the most important religious traditions across the globe.

CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR CONTEMPORARY RELIGION, Vol 3 No 2 (2019), 75–90

The Reflection of Carlos Castaneda and His Work in the Milieu of Contemporary Czech Shamanism

Helena Dyndová

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/25704893.2020.1
published online: 02. 10. 2020

abstract

The article deals with the analysis of Carlos Castaneda’s legacy in the contemporary Czech shamanic milieu, with his literary successors, and with continuity of his teachings explained in famous decalogy about shaman-sorcerer don Juan. The first part is dedicated to the zeitgeist of Castaneda’s writings, focusing on Mircea Eliade’s and Michael Harner’s influence. The second part analyses more narrowly the reflection on Castaneda’s personality and work from the current shamanic point of view. The following part introduces Castaneda’s literary impact within the specific Czech context and discusses his more successful followers. The last part compares the message of Castaneda’s work and current Czech shamans’ teachings considering the similarities and differences, namely the relationship with nature and with spiritual allies, following with shaman’s image, purpose, and responsibility. The article concludes that despite respecting Castaneda’s importance in the history of shamanic revival, the contemporary Czech shamans share little with the original Castaneda’s teachings.

keywords: Contemporary shamanism; Czech shamanism; Neo-Shamanism; Contemporary Spirituality; Czech Spirituality; Carlos Castaneda

Creative Commons License
The Reflection of Carlos Castaneda and His Work in the Milieu of Contemporary Czech Shamanism is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

157 x 230 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 180 czk
ISSN: 2533-7955
E-ISSN: 2570-4893

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