bLoG SeVen

Blog 7

Going along with my theme of finding other sources that help me understand what a particular animal symbolizes, I did some research on what the lizard symbolizes. I still am not sure what to make of the rituals involving lizards. I totally agree with Danny, I felt bad and uncomfortable reading about the lizard’s “torture”. I think I was most uncomfortable with it because I didn’t see it coming. I guess I surmised this was a personal quest for knowledge, and a personal journey, and I was surprised when the lizards came onto the scene, as influencers. However, don Juan makes it very clear that the lizards have very specific purpose, and give direction in the sorcery. So then I started thinking about the lizard like creatures floating around in the hallucinogenic images of Other Worlds. I picked up on a clear and interesting connection between the book and the movie: the lizards were supposed to give insight, and they were portrayed as messengers, with the ability to answer questions. Like a wisdom creature. I was expecting to read Castaneda’s descriptions of seeing lizards in his visions, but he didn’t relate such an experience.

Since there was a huge emphasis on the lizard, I decided to seek another source to see what it symbolizes. They are reported to be the symbol of searching for the soul’s “self-awareness”, and a symbol of death and resurrection. Furthermore, some cultures believed if someone stepped on a lizard the sky would fall… but another disparity must also be considered. While Roman mythology, many ancient cultures, and even present day cultures revere the lizard as a creature with “godlike wisdom”, early Christianity has associated the lizard with the devil and evil. Snakes (another repetitive creature in the hallucinogenic visions of Other Worlds) are also a symbol of Satan, as the devil shows up in the guise of a reptile, most obviously in the Garden of Eden. The “power” of the lizard undoubtedly lies in one’s beliefs and connotations.

Lastly, on the topic of the lizard, I was deeply disappointed on how chapter 5 ended… and let down on how chapter 6 started!! Don Juan tells Castaneda to find the two specific lizards (that have been released) and if he does, Castaneda will never have to use them again in the practice of sorcery. I was expecting a hunt for the lizards or an indication, at least, if Castaneda ever found them, but his narrative doesn’t touch on them again. Readers are left with wondering if he ever found the two lizards? I suppose if later on the journey Castaneda uses lizards again, we can surmise he never found them?

There was one specific part of the reading that reminded me of The Field. When don Juan wants Castaneda to smoke from the pipe (which the story has been leading up to since the beginning) I was really surprised with Castaneda’s reaction: “I sat on the floor next to him and frantically tried to get sick and pass out—to do anything to put off this unavoidable step (105).” Castaneda alludes to not feeling he was ready to take the smoke, and I wonder if he set himself up for a bad trip. Like The Field talked about the power to influence a good or bad day by our thoughts, I kind of felt like because Castaneda was so apprehensive about smoking from the pipe, maybe that related to his bad (possibly near death, as don Juan relates it) experience.