The abstract cores
Description:
“For sorcerers, establishing a point of reference means getting a chance to examine intent” he replied. “Which is exactly the aim of this final topic of instruction. And nothing can give sorcerers a better view of intent than examining stories of other sorcerers battling to understand the same force.” He explained that as they examined their past, the sorcerers of his lineage took careful notice of the basic abstract order of their knowledge. “In sorcery there are twenty-one abstract cores,” don Juan went on. “And then, based on those abstract cores, there are scores of sorcery stories about the naguals of our lineage battling to understand the spirit. It’s time to tell you the abstract cores and the sorcery stories.” I waited for don Juan to begin telling me the stories, but he changed the subject and went back to explaining awareness. “Wait a minute,” I protested. “What about the sorcery stories? Aren’t you going to tell them to me?” “Of course I am,” he said. “But they are not stories that one can tell as if they were tales. You’ve got to think your way through them and then rethink them – relive them, so to speak.”
Exhibition:
Silent Knowledge - Alliance Française de Pretoria - 2026