Micromegas Posted November 6, 2007 The name says it all: 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hebrew Posted November 6, 2007 nice one micro can you talk about the spanish divination cards? i got a set exactly like that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) Yeah I don't know a whole lot about them other than what I saw... They are called 'Naipes' in Peru I think and consist of 40 cards. The divinations I saw (but chose not to participate in) were conducted by Curandero Maximo Diaz (as in the photo) in the 'magical' town of Salas, and were quite spectacular, Maximo seeming to be quite connected to the source. There are various cards relating to illness/health, money, love, romance, home and most importantly the 'flowering' or blossoming. (Fleur dis mientos?) Initially four or five main cards are selected and given to the participant: home, health, money, love, I believe, and laid face down on the table... they are then selected randomly by the participant and the order chosen gives a general insight in that person's current and future situation, i.e. coming wealth, poor health, affliction due to witchcraft etc. this is fairly general but was, for the five people who participated, quite accurate regarding their recent personal unheavals... What came next was far was more impressive by degrees: Maximo took the four main cards and shuffled them into the pack, after which he began to lay all forty down on the table in front of him from left to right, 10 cards to a row, talking very quickly in Spanish quite matter-of-factly relating the future of the person in question: periods of illness followed by health, love, money etc. sometimes making exclamations at points of excessive good or bad luck. When finished, after detailing entire life stories with hardly taking a breath (and seeming as if the knowledge was flowing from somewhere other than inside of him) 40 cards lay on the table in pictorial essay of part or the entirety of that person's life. Of particular comment were the periods of the 'flowering' represented by, for example, groupings of 'wealth' or 'romance' cards, either horizontally or vertically, but more specifically the cards picturing daggers, in particular card number 4, with 4 daggers pointing towards the centre (which is unfortunately in the bottom right corner of the photo provided, just visible). However the whole system seemed quite complex and due to Maximo's quick speaking hard to decifer, the interrelatedness of different cards and the changing meanings of symbols dependent on their location in respect to others was evident. Overall the reading was quite astounding, typified by the feeling that some mystical knowledge was being adroitly manifested through the cards and symbols arranged effortlessly on the table... The humility and gracefulness with which it was done was even more magnetic. I believe Maximo is also a San Pedrero of high order... Naipes are found all the way through Peru (they are for sale at the Belen market in Iquitos for example) and I believe the symbology is standardized... learning the complexity of meaning is, however, another challenge. But well worth the effort I imagine... Overall the diagnoses focussed on whether a person's luck was 'good' or 'bad' followed by positive reinforcement that things will change and that eventually, either after hardship or without, the blossoming will occur... That's about the extent of my understanding, wish I could help you more... Edit: It appears that naipes is the spanish name for playing cards, however this particular set of cards is common in Peru with the same pictures etc. throughout... Edited November 6, 2007 by Micromegas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PD. Posted November 6, 2007 Im gonna hafta come and rape you now micro, you got me too horny wif all that porn ya bastid. JESUS FUCKIN CHRIST. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted November 6, 2007 Haha, yeah Huachuma sure does grow big and beautiful up high in the Andes... these photos were taken at over 11,000 feet. And here I am back in Oz tilling the soil at sea level Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sascacheuan Posted November 6, 2007 These cards are the common "Spanish cards", These drawings was design by so famous person called Heraclio Fournier. They are used to play several card games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M S Smith Posted November 6, 2007 Wow, even though I am currently at a dial-up connection and the pictures take a bit to load they are well worth waiting for. I currently have a collection of over 200 photos of purely T. pachanoi and T. peruvianus plants photographed in Peru. I've posted quite a few in this thread if you have membership at The Nook. Thanks Micromegas! ~Michael~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M S Smith Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) ps - Any way you can tell us where each of these pictures were taken...specific or general? Department? Province? Town? Do you have more Trichocereus photos you can share from your travels? I'm just so captivated by seeing these plants in habitat. ~Michael~ Edited November 6, 2007 by M S Smith Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenny Blister Posted November 6, 2007 I used to play several games with a deck of those cards in high school. Although it was the Italian lads laying claims to their origin. Sweet pics Micro, did you go back to Peru recently? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted November 7, 2007 1,2,3: Chiclayo, Witches Market 4: Tucume Pyramids, Lambayeque 5,6,7,8,9: Salas (Northern Coastal town off the tourist map, famous for San Pedro shamanism) 10,11,12,13,14: Chavin de Huantar, birthplace of Andean civilisation I had some other great trichocereus photos from Huancabamba near Las Huaringas where there were some wonderful stout Peruvianus' but after my camera took a dip in a stream the memory card - taken out to dry - was thereafter lost in the back of a taxi... camera works fine now! Driving up the coast to the Andes there are remarkable cactus forests with non-trichocereus varieties, but hard to photograph from a public bus. From a glance at a book (attempting to make myself look cleverer than I actually am ) and from memory i'd guess Haageocereus sp., Neoraimondia gigantea (certainly at Tucume), Espostosa, Browningia, Armatocereus sp. and seemed to be quite a few old man cacti around (oreocereus). I'm far from an expert though, but I sure did want to get out and have a look... The valleys around Huarez (11,000 feet), leading up to galciers and snow-capped peaks are just full of stunning Pedros, but the most magnificent are those growing at Chavin... I've added a photo of the mountain at Tucume, which is home to all the cacti growing in picture 4 and especially Neoraimondia gigantea... amazing place... Yeah I got home about a week ago after a 7 1/2 week adventure in Peru... Glad you enjoyed the photos, I enjoyed taking them Micro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hebrew Posted November 7, 2007 thanks micro, i can say those cards are popular divining cards and playing cards in spain and the whole of south america. they are rally nice cards, i play around with them sometimes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mu! Posted November 7, 2007 Nice pics. Musta been good travellin Micro What was it like gettin around the place? You say you were takin shots from a bus, did you do most of your travel that way? And what kind of trip/holiday was it, like was there any particular motivation behind why you went to Peru (gotta be the cacti I reckon)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted November 7, 2007 Nice pics. Musta been good travellin Micro What was it like gettin around the place? You say you were takin shots from a bus, did you do most of your travel that way? And what kind of trip/holiday was it, like was there any particular motivation behind why you went to Peru (gotta be the cacti I reckon)? It's fairly easy to get around Peru by public bus and plane, although it can be arduous at times. I have to say, however, that I travel with a guide and interpreter which makes things easier this has given me access to understanding and local knowledge I would otherwise have had to work harder to acquire (especially without knowing a word of spanish past hello). My motivation in travelling to Peru is pretty much as you would imagine for someone on an enthnobotanical forum, and yes I love the cacti, Andes and the coast but the amazon is equally special and together they form a magical mystical matrix which, seen from the right perspecive, simply boggles the mind. What marvels nature has for us indeed! At home in Australia I can sense and feel the energy too, equally profound but different, complementary. That Peru has helped me get in touch with my own country is a paradox of sorts, plants being great teachers and healers when free and legal, but after all it's really a state of mind. I guess that answered your question in a roundabout sort of way, I'm sure you get my drift... Micro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M S Smith Posted November 25, 2007 Bump! See page six! ~Michael~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
