We conclude the devilish and mysterious story surrounding the disappearance of a group of women involved in a small cult run by new age author Carlos Castaneda.
Not many are aware that one of the most successful New Age authors, Carlos Castaneda, lead a cult. The women that made up the inner circle of his cult were called “the witches” and five of them disappeared after Castaneda’s death in 1998. In an all too familiar trope, Castaneda’s mythology was built on lies, narcissism, hypocrisy, and abuse, yet the witches remain missing. Did they commit mass suicide, or are they still in control of the cult’s workshops (Tensegrity) and publishing empire?
With Special Guest Mariah Klapatch!
Theme Music by Matt Glass https://www.glassbrain.com/Instagram: @astudyofstrange Support the Show! astudyofstrange.substack.com/ Website: www.astudyofstrange.com Hosted by Michael May Email stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com! ©2025 Convergent Content, LLC LINKShttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8088.Carlos_Castaneda
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APXVFG
https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a60923618/carlos-castaneda-cult-geoffrey-gray/
https://deleuze.cla.purdue.edu/people/carlos-castaneda/
Dive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/a-study-of-strange/donations
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.