Politics / Peru Shamans in Peru: Obama's Got It But astrologers say Mercury Retrograde could make things messy By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff Posted Nov 6, 2012 12:24 PM CST Copied Peruvian shamans bless President Barack Obama using a poster of him during a ritual to predict the winner of the presidential election in Lima, Peru, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Forget the pundits and statisticians: To find out who's really going to win the election, some are turning to shamans and psychics. In Peru, shamans have called a winner: President Obama. They came to the conclusion after chewing coca leaves, drinking a hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca, and putting flower petals on candidates' photos, AFP reports. Astrologers, meanwhile, are cautioning that things could get messy: Apparently, we're currently in Mercury Retrograde. The last time that happened on Election Day? The year 2000, according to the New York Daily News. (More Peru stories.) Report an error