In Brazil these days, fortune tellers, palm readers, astrologers and all types of future forecasters seem to have discovered the benefits of the fax and the computer. The crystal ball and the tarot card haven't been retired, but their role has decreased while seers are getting more and more space in the big cities and being admitted to the executive suites.

I see money in your future

Divya Shukla

Mysticism is big business in Brazil. Brazil's business capital of São Paulo managed to influence its corporate culture onto its mystics. Long gone are the days of fortune-telling booths, as nowadays astrologers, numerologists and tarot-card readers use high-tech equipment to enhance and solicit business. The new generation of mystics has overcome yesterday's skepticism and transformed their careers into a lucrative business.

A recent study done by José Guilherme Magnani, director of the Urban Anthropology department at São Paulo's state university, USP, entitled "Práticas Esotéricas na Cidade" (Urban Esoteric Practices) focuses on this very subject. Magnani told the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo that São Paulo's mystic society gained acceptance from businesses by incorporating aspects of the corporate world. The modern-day mystic provides everything from traditional readings to computer programs.

Also included in this study is the tarot card company Arkanos, located in downtown São Paulo, that now caters to businesses as well as its usual clientele, unmarried females. Arkanos also organizes mystic shows in high profile places such as the elegant convention center Maksoud Plaza. Another company, Magna Vita, has popularized organized tours to São Tomé das Letras, in the state of Minas Gerais, where its inhabitants talk about having spotted flying saucers.

It seems as if the rest of the world has noticed. Recent talks by Indian, American, Bolivian and Canadian mystics confirm this phenomenon as various experts visit Brazil. Bolivian Luis Espinosa, leader of the Andean community Janajpaja, toured São Paulo to promote his new book Oráculo Solar (Solar Oracle) which is based on mystic themes. A few weeks later, Canadian Dorothy Maclean spoke of her travels to the celestial world of Angels in a gratuitous presentation at the Anhembi Morumbi college.

Mysticism has become a profitable business. Just ask Fátima Kubrusly, owner of Clínica Sirius in Curitiba, who earns about $10 thousand per month, according to Veja magazine. Founded six years ago, Clínica Sirius, provides clients with a variety of services such as meditation classes, tarot readings, sales of crystals and incense.

Ex-businessman Leon Freire's salary doubled in a matter of one year after he replaced a marketing career with a consulting business that offers astrological services.

Solaris, an association of 12 astrologers, was founded after a study commissioned by its members showed that 17% of 190 businesses in São Paulo and Rio were already utilizing services from mystics and another 49% were open to the idea. José Antonio Pinotti Rodrigues, a partner at Solaris, told Veja that businessmen want results and this is precisely what astrology provides.

José Al Makul, director of Casa Fortaleza and the holding company HMK, admits that he doesn't entirely base his business decisions on cosmic forces but is open to suggestions. Makul represents those who aren't yet full-fledged believers but nonetheless solicit the services of these mystics.

The Brazilian media hasn't escaped this surge of mysticism. The soap opera A Viagem (The Travel) told the story of a man who returns from the dead to take revenge on his enemies. This after-death character isn't a ghost but a spirit waiting to be reincarnated. A Viagem captured the largest audience compared with its four predecessors on the same time slot. Telecommunications, as well, isn't immune to this recent trend. São Paulo alone is home to sixty telephone services that for approximately three dollars per minute offer the caller a variety of mystical services.

The Brazilian predisposition for the supernatural manifests itself in the sheer number of believers. According to the Brazilian Spiritual Federation, FEB, about 30 million Brazilians believe in the possibility of communication between the living and the dead.

Francisco Cândido Xavier, a retired employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, authored eighty books and is considered to be the foremost authority in the doctrine of spiritualism. Despite this success, Xavier, also known as Chico, chooses to live in a modest house in Uberaba in the state of Minas Gerais. Among his clients is Lisle Lucena, ex-girlfriend of President Itamar Franco and daughter of Senator Humberto Lucena. Lisle Lucena sought the services of Chico Xavier in order to communicate with a deceased two-year old nephew that had drowned in his grandfather's swimming pool. Xavier impressed not only Lisle Lucena but also other members of the Lucena family as these also became believers.

Among Xavier's best-sellers are Há 2000 anos (For The Last 2000 Years) and A Caminho da Luz (Towards the Light), each sold more than 150 thousand copies.

Some mystics distrust the information super-highway. Ex-businesswoman Carmen Vianna, for example, prefers to exclude all forms of machinery and equipment during her thousand-dollars-per-day sessions, due to the potential interference caused by machinery to the electromagnetic field. Vianna, equipped with only a pen and paper, guides her clients through a regression into past lives. The knowledge gained in these travels can help one cure residual mental and physical ills that may be present in the current life. Clients are also encouraged to spend a three to five day stay in her house in Rio where Vianna's consulting services are available day and night. Dorita Moraes de Barros, a client of Vianna, told the magazine Isto É that she considers Vianna's work analogous to a computer programmers' in that Vianna accesses spiritual memory files and makes them available as if on diskettes to be used in daily decision making.

Will this trend continue? What does the future hold for Brazilian mystics? Lets e-mail a fortune teller and find out.

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