Carlos Castaneda became a bestselling writer in the ’70s. Famous around the globe for his Don Juan books, he was (and is) a New Age icon, despite being later called out for fabricating these stories. He then disappeared from the spotlight, bought a compound in Los Angeles, and formed a cult, which consisted of dozens of followers—mostly young women who identified as witches called chacmools, a term for ancient Mexican warrior statues that protected the Toltec gods. Shortly after Castaneda’s death in 1998, six of these women disappeared. For Alta Journal, Geoffrey Gray investigates what happened, tracing their steps and imagining their journeys. It’s a deep dive into Castaneda’s weird world and a twisted tale set against the backdrop of Los Angeles and the California desert.
At my desk, I began to delve into the Castaneda mystery. Given the headlines about efforts to legalize mushrooms and psychedelics, why not trace the history of Castaneda and his witches, early advocates for their use? But the more I read of their activities, the more I found myself trying to decipher accounts laced with supernatural spirits, other dimensions, and New Age babble. I needed a guide to enter this world.
Jennifer Stalvey seemed perfect. She was a forensic accountant and a private investigator. She also had expertise in cults. She had done work on the Castaneda case and was once tapped to participate in a hunt for the missing chacmools.
I sent her an email, requesting an interview. She agreed to speak with me but had a condition.
“Due to the nature of your request, I’d rather meet in person,” she wrote back. And so I booked a flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles, where Stalvey worked, and where Castaneda had formed his cult, and the place where Dee Ann and the other witches were last seen alive.
