Don Juan Matus was a spiritual guide (or brujo) in the series of books by Carlos Castaneda. Don Juan is described as a Yaqui Indian and made his first appearance in The Teachings of Don Juan. In the book, Castaneda writes that he first met don Juan at a bus depot in Yuma, Arizona, in the early 1960s. Don Juan considered himself to be a “Man of Knowledge” from a Toltec lineage of seers, who imparts much of his wisdom and clarity through his “connection” with Castaneda.
Real or fictional?
There has long been speculation that Don Juan was a fictional person, something that evidence presented in later years has supported. William Patrick Patterson and others make clear that much of what Castaneda presented was based on re-interpretation of Fourth Way ideas as well as concepts from other sources; these were modified and incorporated into Castaneda’s fictional narratives. It is also known that Castaneda knew several people who may have served as spiritual teachers, and there may also be others we don’t know about. As such, Don Juan may well be a composite character, based in part on persons Castaneda knew, in part on sources he read, and in part purely on his imagination.
The Cassiopaeans had the following to say (Session 23 August 2001):
Q: (L) Was there really a guy named Don Juan Matus who was the teacher of Carlos Castaneda?
A: Close.
Q: (L) Was he a “composite person” as some have suggested?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Was he a composite of several people who Carlos actually knew, as in 3rd density humans?
A: Yes.