The Ladies’ Oracle – A Book for My “Girlfriends”

Bibliotherapy – The Ladies’ Oracle – Guide on Matters of Love and Life

THE LADIES ORACLE

A Fascinating Book 

By  

VIKRAM KARVE

BIBLIOTHERAPY

Reading can be fun. 

Reading can also be therapeutic. 

Bibliotherapy may be defined as the use of books to help people solve problems.

Yes – you can benefit from bibliotherapy – use books to solve issues that you may be facing at a particular time  

Many of us use bibliotherapy without realizing it. 

Reading is ameliorative in nature – and – an enjoyable read always cheers you up – and puts you in a good mood.

Whenever I am in a blue mood – I browse through my bookshelves and pick up a good book.  

For me – reading is the greatest of all joys.

The moment I start reading a book – I enter a different world – and this change of environment has a positive effect on my mood and emotion – and lo and behold – my spirits are uplifted. 

Those who do not have the habit of reading remain imprisoned in their moods and immediate surroundings.

I have just picked up a delightful little book called  “The Ladies Oracle”  by Cornelius Agrippa from my bookcase.

Here is a picture of the title page of my copy the book: 

THE LADIES’ ORACLE By Cornelius Agrippa

THE LADIES’ ORACLE By Cornelius Agrippa  

Let me tell you about this intriguing book The Ladies’ Oracle and you will see how this book can cheer you up and lifts your spirits too – an ideal book for BIBLIOTHERAPY .

Whenever I buy a book – I write down the date and place of purchase on its first page. 

I have duly recorded that I bought The Ladies Oracle on 14 February 1989 – on Valentine’s Day – more than 28 years ago – on the pavement bookstalls opposite the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) near Hutatma Chowk (Flora Fountain) at Fort in Mumbai (then called Bombay).

I don’t remember what prompted me to buy The Ladies Oracle. 

Maybe – I wanted to present the book to my darling wife 

Or maybe – because there was no such book as “The Gentleman’s Oracle” – at the pavement bookstall.

But that is not important now.

So – let’s talk more about this amusing little book.

HOW TO USE THE LADIES ORACLE FOR BIBLIOTHERAPY

Let’s get down to using this delightful oracle.

First choose a question from the ninety five listed in the book from pages (v) to (viii) numbered 5 to 100

(I wonder where the first five questions are?)

I select question number 35: 

Shall I always enjoy good health...?

Now as per the the instructions – I turn to page (i) – I close my eyes – and I put my finger on the “Table of Signs”

I open my eyes and I see that – I have placed my finger on the “sign” representing a single square.

Now – I consult the table starting from page 10 – I follow the line marked by the number of the question (35^th  line) – till I arrive at the column which has the chosen “sign” over it – and this figure gives me the number of the page (74) on which the answer is written.

I open page 74 – and I look the “sign” traced by my finger (a single square) – and alongside the “sign” I find my answer: 

You will always have joy, health and prosperity...!!!

Fantastic...!!! 

I am feeling good already. 

Bibliotherapy seems to be working.

Now the next question, number 15: 

How many lovers shall I have...? 

I follow the same earlier procedure as stipulated in the instructions – and – the Oracle gives me the answer: 

You will have a great many lovers – but those that have so many lovers – they generally choose the worst...!!!

Hey – I have to be careful in love…!!!

The next question, number 91: 

What opinion has the world of me...?

The Oracle answers: 

You are thought to have had more than one adventure...!!!

Wow...! 

Have I really sown my wild oats that much...?

I ask the oracle: 

Shall I be happy in love...? 

And the oracle says: 

You will find more pain than pleasure...!

Oh, Dear…!!!

I better steer clear of falling in love...!!!

So I ask the oracle: 

Will my reputation be always good...?

The oracle answers: 

It will always be as you make it...!!!

  

I must take care to build up a good reputation!

I ask the oracle: 

Shall I go many long voyages...?

The oracle answers:

You will do well not to voyage farther than round your own room...!!!

Great...!!!

That puts an end to all my travel plans...!!!

All I am going to do my entire life is go round and round in my room...!!!

What a gloomy answer...!!!

And I thought browsing books was supposed to lift my spirits...!!!

Okay – just one last question – and the answer better be something good to cheer me up – or else no more ‘bibliotherapy’ for me...!!!

I select question number 74: 

What is the person that I am thinking about doing at this moment...? 

and the Oracle answers: 

She regrets not being with you...!!!

Really…? 

My, My...!!!

It seems to good to be true…!!!

So I call her up (the “girlfriend I am thinking about at that moment)

She says in her sweet loving voice:

“What a coincidence. I was just thinking of you and the good times we had together – I wish you were here with me…”

Wow…!!! 

Bibliotherapy really works.

I feel thrilled, jubilant, ecstatic, on cloud nine, in seventh heaven – and right on top of the world – as I rush off to surprise my beloved sweetheart.

And just imagine – I thought that she never even thought about me...!!!

It looks like it is the end of what I thought was my one way unrequited love – and the beginning of a new exciting romantic relationship with her. 

Yes – things are looking up…!!!

Long live The Ladies Oracle

Oh, Yes – The Ladies Oracle is a delightful little book you can consult from time to time on matters of love and life.

Believe me – you will enjoy reading and using this marvellous book.

It may be called The “Ladies” Oracle – but I feel that even men can consult it with satisfying results. 

Dear Reader – why don’t you try it out…?

I am sure you can easily get a copy of THE LADIES ORACLE online or at your bookstore.

It is delightfully entertaining reading – guaranteed to lift your spirits. 

I always carry this oracle in my pocket to enliven my moments of waiting – waiting at airports, railway stations, while travelling. 

Take it with you everywhere and you will never be bored. 

It is a small book – pocket-size – easy to carry everywhere.

Get a copy of this interesting book – The Ladies Oracle 

By the way – while surfing the net – I discovered that The Ladies Oracle is available as a free download for your smartphone at the link -> http://the-ladies-oracle.soft112.com/ 

There is also THE LADIES ORACLE Google Play App for your Android Smartphone at the link -> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ideafarms.android.ladiesoracle&hl=en

(Please do due diligence before you download – and – download and use the oracle at your own risk – and – just for fun)

Then just ask the questions you always wanted to ask – and enjoy the answers…!!!

Do tell us whether you found the oracle useful in matters of love and life.

Long live Bibliotherapy 

VIKRAM KARVE

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All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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This Article was Written By Me more than 25 years ago in the early 1990s and first posted on my creative writing blog in the year 2004 at url: http://creative.sulekha.com/bibliotherapy_173419_blog and reposted a number pf times in my blogs including at urls: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/11/bibliotherapy-aka-book-therapy.html  and  http://creative.sulekha.com/bibliotherapy_173419_blog  and  http://creative.sulekha.com/the-ladies-oracle_290719_blog  andhttp://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/02/oracle-for-valentines-day.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2010/04/bibliotherapy-ladies-oracle-by.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/05/bibliotherapy-made-simple.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/08/bibliotherapy-ladies-oracle-guide-on.html  and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/08/a-book-for-my-girlfriends-ladies-oracle.html  etc

DO YOU BLINDLY FOLLOW MEANINGLESS RITUALS CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

DO YOU BLINDLY FOLLOW MEANINGLESS CUSTOMS TRADITIONS AND RITUALS

Food for Thought 

By

VIKRAM KARVE

In the name of tradition, we unquestioningly follow traditions and customs and perform all types of many rituals without understanding the spirit behind the ritual.

 

A ritual is an action performed purely for symbolic value.

 

In many cases there is no logic or rational explanation for the ritual. 

 

This apocryphal story from ancient wisdom “ The Mystical Cat ” illustrates how customs, traditions and rituals begin.

The story also tells you how due to repeated repetition over the years these customs and rituals are gradually established and become a part of culture. 

And then, once established, customs, traditions and rituals are blindly followed for years and years, despite the fact that, in most cases, these customs and traditions have lost their significance and the rituals have outlived their utility and meaning.

 

THE MYSTICAL CAT

An Ancient Wisdom Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE

A seeker joined a monastery to learn meditation and the art of living. 

Every evening all students and disciples assembled in the large meditation hall for a discourse by the Spiritual Guru followed by group meditation.

Just before the meditation session commenced the disciples would catch a cat, tie it up and place the tied up cat on the lap of the Spiritual Guru. 

The Guru would then start caressing the cat and begin the discourse and meditation session. 

After the meditation session was over, the cat would be untied and set free.

This was the established daily ritual.

The Guru would start the meditation session only after the tied up cat was placed on his lap and he was extremely particular about this.

Once when the cat could not be found, the Guru refused to start the meditation session and demanded that the cat be placed on his lap.

So the meditation session was delayed and all the seekers launched a desperate hunt for the cat.

The searched for hours till they found the cat.

The cat was duly tied up and placed on the Guru’s lap and only then did he start his discourse-cum-meditation session.

The seeker was quite perplexed at the mystery of the tied up cat. He could not understand the significance of this ritual and how it was connected to meditation. 

The seeker wondered: “What is the significance of the tied up cat placed on the Guru's lap and what is its correlation with meditation?” 

He asked around but no one knew the answer till someone told him to ask a wise old man who lived in a cave up the hills.

So our curious seeker trudged up the hills to meet the wise old man and ask him the significance of this time-honoured ritual.

“It is like this,” the wise old man said:

“one evening, many years ago, when the then Spiritual Guru and his disciples began their evening meditation, a cat that lived in the monastery made so much noise that it distracted them and disturbed their meditation pratice. 

So the Guru ordered that the cat be tied up during the evening discourse-cum-meditation practice. 

This practice of tying up the cat before meditation practice continued, so much so that even after the teacher died, the next Guru continued this tradition and a cat continued to be tied up during the meditation session.

When the cat died, another cat was brought to the monastery to be tied up during the evening meditation session.

And when that cat died too, they brought another cat to be tied up during meditation practice, and then as cats kept dying, they kept replacing the dead cats with new cats, and the practice of tying up a cat during meditation continued.

With the passage of time this has become such an established ritual that now no one can dare to question it. So it has become a custom, tradition and established ritual to tie up a cat during the meditation session.” 

Years later, the ritual of tying up the cat during the meditation session continued and continued.

Our seeker, who by then had become the Spiritual Guru, wrote a scholarly treatise about the significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice.


I wonder why we accept customs and traditions without understanding their significance?

Just like a blind man lead by others, why do we blindly follow rituals without examining the meaning, logic and significance of that ritual using our own intelligence and judgement?

Why do we follow customs traditions and rituals that are obsolete and have lost their significance and outlived their utility?
So, Dear Reader, if you see any ritual, custom or tradition being blindly followed and for which there seems to be no rational or logical explanation, remember this story of the Mystical Cat...and stop blindly following superstition which has become meaningless in the modern world of today.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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