The Sorcerer's Crossing

In Arizona in the late 1960s, the author, a jobless 20-year-old, estranged from her family and generally disillusioned with life, met Clara Grau, an enigmatic woman who invited her to her home in Sonora, Mexico. Abelar accepted, unaware that her visit would be permanent and would change her life completely. She learned she had been chosen by a group of sorcerers trained by Yaqui Indian Don Juan Matus--mentor of Carlos Castaneda--to join their search for ways to alter normal perceptions and enter other realities. The culmination of this training is the ``crossing'' of the title: the ``abstract flight'' from the concrete, physical world to its ethereal, abstract counterpart. To accomplish this requires spiritual energy built up through rigorous mental and spiritual training, including, for the author, acquiring a doctorate in anthropology. Abelar's account of her training is mesmerizing; the overall mood of events taking place in the Grau home is dreamlike. The book is a good choice for readers interested in mysticism and spiritual matters. (June)