MARY MORENO

"I have candles, statues, waters and herbs," says Mary Moreno. "But I'm not a doctor. I'm not a curandera either. If something works for you, then stay with it. If something doesn't work for you, then you need to find another solution.

"I tell all my customers that they are responsible for themselves. Some say they are bewitched, but they aren't. They want an excuse for their irrational actions. There are those who are truly bewitched, but they don't want a cure. They like being manipulated by forces outside themselves."

Hierberia Mercado is near the corner of 12th and Adams next to Joyeria Zak across the street from
Market Square. Moreno says her store is like a home to her. She surrounds herself with images and altars that pay homage to death and eternal life.

"My grandmother was a curandera," continues Moreno. "She was raised in the Soto de la Marina area. She was extremely ill when she had a vision. From that moment until she died she had a gift. She believed her powers came from La Virgen de Guadalupe and Don Pedrito Jaramillo. She had a rock from the spot La Virgen first appeared.

"She lived on a ranch. People came from many miles away to ask for her intercession. She could perform operations and extract tumors. The people were poor and couldn't pay her. They would bring her pigs and hens instead. She was much loved. See that picture I have hanging over my desk? Didn't she look like Mother Teresa?"

Morena doesn't make her money on her products. She reads cards. She uses both the Tarot and the Hispanola, but she prefers the latter. She says that Hispanola cards are a smaller deck and allow her to perceive better.

In a typical session an individual sits before Moreno and shuffles the deck seven times. Moreno taps the deck in a ritual fashion. She lays the Hispanola cards on a handkerchief in four rows of ten. She reads the past. The same procedure is followed and she reads the present. She repeats the cycle a third time and reads the future.

"I never receive more than one person at a time," she says. "I am very honest and frank. If I had a couple sitting in front of me and I discovered that one of the two had a lover, I would be in an uncomfortable predicament. I cannot lie. I would not be faithful to my gift. I would not be true to myself. I promote the faith. I live by the faith."

Hierberia Mercado opens Monday through Friday from nine to five. Readings range from $10 to $15. Appointments aren't required.