'I can't remember it.'
'The lizards are never wrong; they take every thought as a question. The lizard came back and told you things about H— no one will ever be able to understand, because not even you know what your thoughts were.'
'How about the other vision I had?'
'Your thoughts must have been steady when you asked that question. And that is the way this sorcery should be conducted, with clarity.'
'Do you mean the vision of the girl is not to be taken serious-
ly?'
'How can it be taken seriously if you don't know what questions the little lizards were answering?'
'Would it be more clear to the lizard if one asked only one question?'
'Yes, that would be clearer. If you could hold one thought steadily.'
'But what would happen, don Juan, if the one question was not a simple one?'
'As long as your thought is steady, and does not go into other things, it is clear to the little lizards, and then their answer is clear to you.'
'Can one ask more questions of the lizards as one goes along in the vision?'
'No. The vision is to look at whatever the lizards are telling you. That is why I said it is a vision to hear more than a vision to see. That is why I asked you to deal with impersonal matters. Usually, when the question is about people, your longing to touch them or talk to them is too strong, and the lizard will stop talking and the sorcery, will be dispelled. You should know much more than you do now before trying to see things that concern you personally. Next time you must listen carefully. I am sure the lizards told you many, many things, but you were not listening. '
'What were all the things I ground for the paste, don Juan?'
'Seeds of devil's weed and the weevils that live off the seeds. The measure is one handful of each.' He cupped his right hand to show me how much.
I asked him what would happen if one element was used by itself, without the others. He said that such a procedure would only antagonize the devil's weed and the lizards. 'You must not antagonize the lizards,' he said, 'for the next day, during the late afternoon, you must return to the site of your plant. Speak to all lizards and ask the two that helped you in the sorcery to come out again. Search all over until it is quite dark. If you can't find them, you must try it once more the next day. If you are strong you will find both of them, and then you have to eat them, right there. And you will be endowed forever with the capacity to see the unknown. You will never need to catch lizards again to practise this sorcery. They will live inside you from then on.'
'What do I do if I find only one of them?'
'If you find only one of them you must let her go at the end of your search. If you find her the first day, don't keep her, hoping you will catch the other one the next day. That will only spoil your friendship with them.'
'What happens if I can't find them at all?'
'I think that would be the best thing for you. It implies that you must catch two lizards every time you want their help, but it also implies that you are free.'
'What do you mean, free?'
'Free from being the slave of the devil's weed. If the lizards are to live inside you, the devil's weed will never let you go.'
'Is that bad?'
'Of course it is bad. She will cut you off from everything else. You will have to spend your life grooming her as an ally. She is possessive. Once she dominates you, there is only one way to go — her way.'
'What if I find that the lizards are dead?'
'If you find one or both of them dead, you must not attempt to do this sorcery for some time. Lay off for a while.
'I think this is all I need to tell you; what I have told you is the rule. Whenever you practice this sorcery by yourself, you must follow all the steps I have described while you sit in front of your plant. One more thing. You must not eat or drink until the sorcery is finished.'
6
The next step in don Juan's teachings was a new aspect of mastering the second portion of the Datura root. In the time that elapsed between the two stages of learning don Juan inquired only about the development of my plant.
'It is a good practice to test the devil's weed before embarking fully on her path,' don Juan said. 'How do you test her, don Juan?'
'You must try another sorcery with the lizards. You have all the elements that are needed to ask one more question of the lizards, this time without my help.'
'Is it very necessary that I do this sorcery, don Juan?' 'It is the best way to test the feelings of the devil's weed towards you. She tests you all the time, so it is only fair that you test her too, and if you feel anywhere along her path that for some reason you should not go on, then you must simply stop.'
I brought up the subject of the devil's weed. I wanted don Juan to tell me more about it, and yet I did not want to be committed to participate.
'The second portion is used only to divine, isn't that so, don Juan?' I asked to start the conversation.
'Not only to divine. One learns the sorcery of the lizards with the aid of the second portion, and at the same time one tests the devil's weed; but in reality the second portion is used for other purposes. The sorcery of the lizards is only the beginning.'
'Then what is it used for, don Juan?'
He did not answer. He abruptly changed the subject, and asked me how big were the Datura plants growing around my own plant. I made a gesture of size.
Don Juan said, 'I have taught you how to tell a male from a female. Now, go to your plants and bring me both. Go first to your old plant and watch carefully the watercourse made by the rain. By now the rain must have carried the seeds far away. Watch the crevices [zanjitas] made by the run-off, and from them determine the direction of the flow. Then find the plant that is growing at the farthest point from your plant. All the devil's weed plants that are growing in between are yours. Later, as they seed, you can extend the size of your territory by following the watercourse from each plant along the way.'
He gave me meticulous instructions on how to procure a cutting tool. The cutting of the root, he said, had to be done in the following way. First, I had to select the plant I was to cut and clear away the dirt around the place where the root joined the stem. Second, I had to repeat exactly the same dance I had performed when I replanted the root. Third, I had to cut the stem off, and leave the root in the ground. The final step was to dig out sixteen inches of root. He admonished me not to talk or to betray any feeling during this act.
'You should carry two pieces of cloth,' he said. 'Spread them on the ground and place the plants on them. Then cut the plants into parts and stack them up. The order is up to you; but you must always remember what order you used, because that is the way you must always do it. Bring the plants to me as soon as you have them.'
On Monday 1 July, I cut the Datura plants don Juan had asked for. I waited until it was fairly dark to do the dancing around the plants because I did not want anybody to see me. I felt quite apprehensive. I was sure someone was going to witness my strange acts. I had previously chosen the plants I thought were a male and a female. I had to cut off sixteen inches of the root of each one, and digging to that depth with a wooden stick was not an easy task. It took me hours. I had to finish the job in complete darkness, and when I was ready to cut them
