A medical anthropologist’s account of fortune-telling and management of one’s own destiny in Peru • Explains the fortune-telling naipes cards and how Amazonian shamans use them to diagnose clients’ ills • Looks at the Sacred Mystical Order of Septrionism and its techniques for managing destiny While studying Amazonian shamans who use ayahuasca and Peruvian coastal healers who use mescaline cactus to treat psychological illness, Marlene Dobkin de Rios learned about the naipes cards--fortune-telling cards similar to the tarot used as part of the healers’ method of diagnosis. Immersing herself in their culture, she began telling fortunes with the naipes cards and was surprised by the intimacy it induced in the native people she was trying to study as well as the profoundly accurate results she encountered. Finding herself pulled further and further into Peruvian culture, in 1977 Dobkin de Rios was initiated into the sacred mystical order of Septrionismo, which emphasizes specific techniques--such as meditation, ritual, and reflection--to manage one’s future rather than depending solely on fate and fortune. Explaining how to use the naipes cards as well as examining the practices of the Septrionic Order, Dobkin de Rios explores her experiences with both traditions through the lens of her anthropological and psychological training, describing how these diverse encounters opened her mind to the powers of divination as well as taught her the means of directing her own destiny.

A medical anthropologist’s account of fortune-telling and management of one’s own destiny in Peru • Explains the fortune-telling naipes cards and how Amazonian shamans use them to diagnose clients’ ills • Looks at the Sacred Mystical Order of Septrionism and its techniques for managing destiny While studying Amazonian shamans who use ayahuasca and Peruvian coastal healers who use mescaline cactus to treat psychological illness, Marlene Dobkin de Rios learned about the naipes cards--fortune-telling cards similar to the tarot used as part of the healers’ method of diagnosis. Immersing herself in their culture, she began telling fortunes with the naipes cards and was surprised by the intimacy it induced in the native people she was trying to study as well as the profoundly accurate results she encountered. Finding herself pulled further and further into Peruvian culture, in 1977 Dobkin de Rios was initiated into the sacred mystical order of Septrionismo, which emphasizes specific techniques--such as meditation, ritual, and reflection--to manage one’s future rather than depending solely on fate and fortune. Explaining how to use the naipes cards as well as examining the practices of the Septrionic Order, Dobkin de Rios explores her experiences with both traditions through the lens of her anthropological and psychological training, describing how these diverse encounters opened her mind to the powers of divination as well as taught her the means of directing her own destiny.

Curandero: Ethno-Psychotherapy & Curanderismo Hispanic Mental Health in the 21st Century, is the product of more than 50 years of the study of curanderismo and Hispanic mental health. In this book, Dr. Zavaleta examines curanderismo and the folk beliefs carried by immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. In the United States, the Hispanic population is notoriously underserved in both physical and mental health care. In Curandero, Dr. Zavaleta reviews the history of curanderismo, beginning with pre-Columbian populations, and traces the development of curanderismo over the past 500 years. He also examines the history and practice of psychiatry and the emergence of ethno-psychotherapy as well as psychiatry’s historic failure to incorporate culture in the treatment of the mental health of Hispanic populations. Dr. Zavaleta seeks to introduce curanderismo to psychiatry with the intention of incorporating its important aspects in the treatment of Hispanic mental health.

A full-color guide to fortune-telling with the Lenormand oracle • Explores the meanings of the 36 Lenormand cards and their playing card insets to help build a resourceful, interpretative vocabulary • Provides instructions for many spreads, starting with 3 or 5 cards and building to the Grand Tableau spread, which uses all 36 cards • 416 pages and full-color throughout • Reveals the origins of the Lenormand oracle from both coffee-ground symbols and playing card cartomancy More than 200 years old, the 36 Lenormand cards are an oracle combining standard playing cards with images from the everyday world, such as key, book, animals, and flowers. Their simple, predictive, and non-esoteric nature opens the realm of fortune-telling to all, offering a traditional cartomantic divination where card combinations fuse together to give clear answers. In this complete guide to Lenormand card reading, Caitlín Matthews explains the multiple meanings for each card, providing keywords so the reader can quickly build an interpretive vocabulary for Lenormand fortune-telling. She details how to lay spreads, starting with 3 or 5 cards and building to the Grand Tableau spread, which uses all 36 cards. She explores the significance of the playing card pips and suits on each card and how cards combine to create a variety of meanings. Matthews enables readers to learn the Lenormand card keywords so they can both read for themselves and express their interpretations to clients. Providing real case histories for readers to interpret, she also includes self-tests and practice exercises with answers to check at the end of the book. In addition to her comprehensive practical introduction to the Lenormand oracle, Matthews delves deeply into the history of cartomancy to reveal the mythic blueprint that underlies this simple deck, the key to which lies not in their imagery but in their connection to playing cards.

This book summarizes Ismael Apud’s ethnographic research in the field of ayahuasca, conducted in Latin America and Catalonia over a period of 10 years. To analyze the variety of ayahuasca spiritual practices and beliefs, the author combines different approaches, including medical anthropology, cognitive science of religion, history of science, and religious studies. Ismael Apud is a psychologist and anthropologist from Uruguay, with a PhD in Anthropology at Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Having been mistakenly perceived as a follower of Salvador Dalí, Catalan surrealist painter and writer Àngel Planells (1901–1989) has passed through the history of art practically unnoticed. Yet his work suggests an influence on a number of works by Dalí, proving that a fairer way to define their relationship is as an artistic dialogue. His participation in the groundbreaking International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936 is in itself a marker of his quality as an artist, but Planells’ contribution to surrealism is remarkable for his use of astronomy, fantastic scenes redolent of Edgar Allan Poe’s narrative as well as ludic elements and meta-pictorial techniques that contest Fascism.

An intimate glimpse into the world of ancient Peruvian spiritual practice and cosmology • Reveals the mysteries of the world of living energy (kawsay pacha) through intensive in-depth interviews with six Q’ero mystics • Explores the energetics, spirits, tools, and practices of Andean mysticism--the real story behind the fictionalized accounts in The Celestine Prophecy Known as the “keepers of the ancient knowledge,” the Q’ero Indians of Peru are the most respected mystics of the south-central Andes. In 1996 Joan Parisi Wilcox traveled to the Andes and was able to record the mysteries of kawsay pacha, the multidimensional world of living energy, through more than 40 hours of intensive interviews with six Q’ero paqos, masters of the ancient spiritual traditions of Peru. The Q’ero are known for having preserved the Inca spiritual tradition more purely than any other indigenous population in the Andes. The in-depth interviews presented in this book recount the direct words of these masters so readers can discover for themselves the mind and heart space of these people. Four new chapters of this revised edition focus on the work of the mesa, the Andean form of a spiritual medicine bundle, and its use as a conduit for the healing energies of nature. The mesa is called the “heart’s fire” because it represents the finest energy--the energy of compassion--that a paqo cultivates while walking the sacred path. Wilcox provides instructions on how to make, activate, and work with a mesa, as well as other practical exercises showing how we can use the power of the Andean spiritual tradition in our own lives.