Living tradition
Coca leaves
Andes of Peru and Bolivia; the yatiri reads the leaf before sowing or travelling.
Leaves are dropped onto a woven cloth; those landing green side up say yes, those face down say no, and their shape tells the how.
How it's done
- 01Choose whole leaves and blow on them.
- 02Let them fall from heart height.
- 03Count green and reversed; look at the broken ones.
With your own tools
Outside the Andes the leaf is not available: respect that it is a plant of its land and its people.
With Ocluna
I let seven leaves fall on the aguayo for you: I count the green-side-up and the broken ones, and tell you whether the leaf says yes, no, not yet or which way.
Your reading
Grandmother Xóchitl does your Coca leaves reading
What Grandmother Xóchitl tells you
- The coca leaf has been sacred in the Andes for 8,000 years; the yatiri reads it on a woven aguayo and shares it before asking.
- In Bolivia leaf reading is part of the cultural heritage; in La Paz yatiris work beside the witches' market.
- Before the reading the leaf is offered to Pachamama and to the apus, the guardian mountains, by blowing over it with a prayer.
- Coca was declared cultural heritage in Bolivia in 2009 and its ritual reading is still alive in La Paz, Cusco and Puno.
This reading is symbolic self-knowledge and entertainment content based on folk traditions. It does not predict the future, is not medical, legal or financial advice, and does not replace qualified professionals.