During an annual spiritual ritual held in Lima as 2025 comes to a close, Peruvian Shamans offered their predictions for the year ahead, foreseeing continued global conflicts, potential political change in Venezuela, and a call for greater peace and stability worldwide.
Dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and ceremonial headdresses, a group of Shamans gathered atop San Cristóbal Hill in Lima in the final days of the year to perform a centuries-old ritual rooted in Perú’s ancestral spiritual traditions.
During the ceremony, participants predicted that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be removed from office and that ongoing international conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, would continue in 2026.
“We have asked for Maduro to step down, to leave his position,” said Shaman Ana María Simeón during the ritual. “We have envisioned that this change will happen in the coming year.”
Shamanic practices in Perú date back thousands of years, long before the arrival of Spanish colonizers. Ancient pre-Incan cultures such as the Chavín, Moche, and Nazca relied on priest-Shamans to interpret the future through close observation of nature – including the stars, climate, and animals – as well as through the ceremonial use of sacred plants.
Ahead of the ritual, Shamans gathered to drink traditional plant-based brews derived from native species such as ayahuasca and the San Pedro cactus, substances believed to aid spiritual insight and foresight.
The ceremony itself featured traditional music and dance, along with offerings of flowers, coca leaves, and incense.
These rituals, Shamans explained, are intended to promote peace and encourage wiser decisions by world leaders. Participants also warned of the possibility of natural disasters in 2026, including earthquakes and extreme weather events.
