Marlene Dobkin de Rios's blog

The French tarot was believed to have been adapted from a medieval card game known in Italy as naibi. By 1377, in Spain, naipes cards were in wide use. To this day, folk healers in Peru use the naipes as a diagnostic tool in the treatment of psychosomatic disorders. (more)

Shamans are able to transform themselves into powerful animal figures whom they send to do their bidding, to rectify evil or redress harm caused to their clients. The effigies of animals and birds found in the massive earthworks of the Americas represent these shamanic familiars. (more)