What do you think?
Rate this book
Fate, Fortune, and Mysticism in the Peruvian Amazon: The Septrionic Order and the Naipes Cards
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.
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.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2011
25 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2018
DO NOT READ. I expected an anthropological account of shamanism and the use of naipes cards in traditional healing practices. What I got was a superficial description of the use of naipes cards in one peruvian slum over 40 years ago (this part I did enjoy, hence the two stars). This is followed by an overly complicated and pushy description of her own personal spiritual beliefs. Her flimsy thesis is that the poor believe in fortune telling and the idea of destiny. Through the practice of septrionism the poor will gain self control (the lack of which is the reason they are poor in the first place) and will "transform the psychosomatic cause of the needy's ignorance, negligence, and indolence." Her thesis is poorly research, lacks evidence and reads like it is just her personal opinion.
May 7, 2018
Interesting start but feels self / sect-promotional by the end.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews