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Rating: 
Summary: All the information I was looking for, in one book!
Review: I am Peruvian and have been for some time researching on Andean mysticism, but written sources in my country are not easily available. After all, the Inca culture had no written language. I was looking for reliable sources that could help me in the serious study of Andean mysteries - not just a picturesque description for outsiders of life and customs in the Andes. And then I found Joan Parisi Wilcox's "Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge". In all truth, this book has been Heaven-sent! It clearly and directly describes the basics of Andean mysticism, vividly portrays the personalities of the paqos she interviewed, and even gives you hints of how to start practicing the mysteries on your own! In being Peruvian, I can somewhat easily spot the true thing from the "merely folkloric" - and I can confirm that this is serious research. I fully recommend this book to anybody who wants to truly dive into the realm of Pachamama and encounter an extraordinary experience."Keepers..." has been a great teacher for me, and I will have it as a permanent study text.
Rating: 
Summary: If you want to help the Qero, don't buy this book
Review: I couldn't agree with the previous reviewer more. Although I've never been to Peru, I've been exploring Native healing practices for over 10 years, in several other countries. I've cooresponded by email with the author, and stopped when she accused me of taking a position I never took about healing practices, and refused to provide evidence that I had done so. This book romanticizes the Qero, and her role in telling their story. Conversations I've had with a Peruvian curandero who has studied with the Qero confirm that she has made errors in her book. Given her lack of both Spanish and Quechua, and all the above, she is clearly not interested in accuracy.
Rating:
Summary: Keepers of the Ancient (Mystical) Knowledge
Review: I have been a student on the path of mystical knowledge for over 20 years. This is one of the most detailed and enlightening books I have read. The knowledge for true seekers is what this world needs and Joan has not only done a remarkable job at reseaching the subject, her clear and detailed explanations are right on.
This is one book that any true seeker will gain from. The exercises included, when performed, bring lasting and enlightening results.
Any seeker on the path of truth will tell you there is a lot of "shallow" materal on the market today. This book is anything but shallow. Joan's depth takes you places few have journeyed and I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. Make sure you "DO THE EXERSICES". Do not just read them, and I am certain you will be recomending this book to others too. Great job Joan.
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Summary: An Honest Account of the Way Things Really Are
Review: I have been searching for a book such as this ever since my pilgrimage to Peru and Bolivia. I could not put this book down. It gives one a greater understanding of the traditions of these widsom keepers, and explains honestly what I experienced there, but could not fully understand because of the language barrier. Written with great integrity, and without a "western twist". A must read for anyone travelling to Peru. Much gratitude to the author for this gift.
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Summary: Returning to a Ancient Home
Review: I have known since the 6th grade that Peru was home spirituality for me. I have had the opportunity to go there twice in the last five years. The first time I got on a plane from Lima to Cuzco the words "I am going home," poured forth - a huge smile on my face. I have been searching spirituality for a path to go back to Peru and experience what is real to my soul. I recently read Joan's book and had the opportunity to spend some time with her. The book is a gift allowing contact with the Q'ero and their traditions - a path to the soul of the most sacret traditions. Her contact with these special people allows her to give explainations in their words through their thought processes which brings full circle for me my quest for the deepest meaning of the Inca traditions. It is powerful, insightful, and to the core of what I needed to touch with and the practices to open up the doors. Not a story of instant insight but the steps on the path to make going home the next time a deeply meaningful spiritual experience. I can not recommend this book enough . Thanks Joan
Rating:
Summary: Returning to a Ancient Home
Review: I have known since the 6th grade that Peru was home spirituality for me. I have had the opportunity to go there twice in the last five years. The first time I got on a plane from Lima to Cuzco the words "I am going home," poured forth - a huge smile on my face. I have been searching spirituality for a path to go back to Peru and experience what is real to my soul. I recently read Joan's book and had the opportunity to spend some time with her. The book is a gift allowing contact with the Q'ero and their traditions - a path to the soul of the most sacret traditions. Her contact with these special people allows her to give explainations in their words through their thought processes which brings full circle for me my quest for the deepest meaning of the Inca traditions. It is powerful, insightful, and to the core of what I needed to touch with and the practices to open up the doors. Not a story of instant insight but the steps on the path to make going home the next time a deeply meaningful spiritual experience. I can not recommend this book enough . Thanks Joan
Rating:
Summary: An unfortunate case of not doing ones homework
Review: I was disturbed but unsurprised to see the average customer review at 5 stars. My review is not meant to put down the author or the book in question, rather, to express my deep interest in a factual portrayal of friends of mine, their lifestyle and spiritual traditions. I have lived in Cusco, Peru for over two years and have become close friends with a dozen or so paqos-- shaman-mystics-- from Qeros. I speak Spanish and Quechua. I am the godfather of a six month old boy from Qeros. My house has become the place of lodging for five Qero shamans when they are visiting Cusco. I share these statements as a reality check.
The author --apparently-- speaks neither Spanish nor Quechua, and has as her primary source of information, translation, and spiritual guidance two shamans who are decidedly Non-Qeros, these being Ñunez del Prado and Yabar. Rather than state my bias towards these two purveyors of Andean shamanism-mysticism, I would simply use this space to state the obvious-- that the author presents an unresearched and uninformed portrait of the Qero through the eyes of her mestizo teachers. It should come as no surprise, then, that when interviewing her Qero informants, she often realizes that they have no idea what she is talking about. Her statement of the westernized so-called Andean traditions lacks true Andean character. See, for one shocking example, the supposed Quechua names for the chakras-- these are Inventions of Ñunez del Prado!!
There are parts that save face for both the author and her westernized teachers, like the biographical interviews she conducts. Even so, I was generally saddened to find yet another book written from the point of view of a relatively ignorant foreigner who has decided to share an idiosyncratic, romanticized and westernized image of the Andean spiritual universe. In my experience, when we strip the Qero tradition and other autoctonous traditions of comparative mysticism, or of our western cosmovision, we do ourselves a tremendous favor.
If you want to learn about the Qero or Andean mysticism, come to Peru. If you want to learn about one North American woman and her (mis)conceptions about these people, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A True Voice Speaks Out
Review: Joan Wilcox has done an exceptional job not in capturing the essence of the Q'ero (it is something that cannot be held prisoner) but at taking down the curtain between their tradition and ours. In a time when many profess to be in possession of a sacred knowledge that flows from them, Wilcox has managed to truthfully allow it to flow through her, acting as a conduit and empowering that ancient wisdom to make its own twists and mysterious turns as it will, and as it has for eons. Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge accurately chronicles the inner story of the Q'ero in all that can be spoken, and at the same time allows for all that cannot be told outside of personal experience to begin to shine its light as well. These are words and experiences from the mouths of the Elders, healers and masters themselves, and I deeply admire the objectivity with which she and her cohorts have chronicled the Q'ero's energetic journey. Reading the book was like uncovering an overgrown ruin, where on the outside the crumbling walls do not meet your lofty expectations, but on the inside the simple truth emerges as something one could have never quite imagined.
There is an immense amount to be said for the starkness and grace with which she has presented such valuable knowledge at such a dire time of need. Any who take the time to read Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge will only be moved positively on their path of understanding, energy work, and enlightenment, and will be aided with extraordinary tools gifted from the Elders, made manifest by catching a privileged glimpse into an ancient tradition, for which Wilcox has provided here an incredibly clear window.
Rating:
Summary: A True Voice Speaks Out
Review: Joan Wilcox has done an exceptional job not in capturing the essence of the Q'ero (it is something that cannot be held prisoner) but at taking down the curtain between their tradition and ours. In a time when many profess to be in possession of a sacred knowledge that flows from them, Wilcox has managed to truthfully allow it to flow through her, acting as a conduit and empowering that ancient wisdom to make its own twists and mysterious turns as it will, and as it has for eons. Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge accurately chronicles the inner story of the Q'ero in all that can be spoken, and at the same time allows for all that cannot be told outside of personal experience to begin to shine its light as well. These are words and experiences from the mouths of the Elders, healers and masters themselves, and I deeply admire the objectivity with which she and her cohorts have chronicled the Q'ero's energetic journey. Reading the book was like uncovering an overgrown ruin, where on the outside the crumbling walls do not meet your lofty expectations, but on the inside the simple truth emerges as something one could have never quite imagined.
There is an immense amount to be said for the starkness and grace with which she has presented such valuable knowledge at such a dire time of need. Any who take the time to read Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge will only be moved positively on their path of understanding, energy work, and enlightenment, and will be aided with extraordinary tools gifted from the Elders, made manifest by catching a privileged glimpse into an ancient tradition, for which Wilcox has provided here an incredibly clear window.
Rating: 
Summary: Get the latest edition - Masters Of The Living Energy
Review: This work is a serious research into the Q'ero mystical tradition of Peru. There are a few folks out there who claim that everything we read in English on the Q'ero is just wrong. They decry even mixed bloods (mestizo) who are the current leaders of getting the Q'ero ways out into the world. Problem is, most of the complainers are not explicit in what is 'wrong' with the material presented and do nothing themselves to promote understanding. It's easy to complain, not so easy to communicate mystical or spiritual truth. And in today's world pure-bloods are disappearing and so too would all their spiritual traditions if not for works like this.
What the author has done is to document her experiences in talking directly with the Q'ero who represented a genuine lineage behind an ancient tradition which probably reaches back to the Inka. This book is a combination of interviews and reliable information on Q'ero worldviews. The challenge here is that to really step into a living tradition such as that of the paqo/shaman, you need something more than a book, you need some face time, not necessarily in Peru, and not necessarily speaking Quecha, but time with someone who knows their stuff. The author presents information in this book that she knows hers.
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