In a space cleared in the middle of Om Book Shop, a small group was gathered around a sprightly, grey-haired woman. Shuffling a pack of cards, she held the person sitting opposite her in a trance, talking in a low, albeit excited, voice that commanded the complete attention of the person addressed.
Stella Dupuis, who was at the bookstore for the launch of her new book “The Yoginis’ Oracle”, left deep impressions on a few people with the soothsaying sessions that were a part of the launch. Based upon her nine years of research on yoginis in temples across the country, the volume comprises sixty-four cards and an explanatory booklet, which enables the cards to be used as a divinatory tool. The cards, along with the clairvoyance, are meant as tools to deal with difficult situations.
Invoking the power of yoginis, women dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual knowledge or mystical insight, the cards, says the author, channel the foresight of the oracles to offer ways to react to situations. Having previously published novels in Spanish, the author has studied the 10th century temples of Yoginis in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Fluent in Sanskrit, she has translated the “Kaulajnananirnaya”, an ancient manuscript associated with Yoginis.
Using the cards, Stella answered particular questions posed by individuals about themselves.
The fervid questioning notwithstanding, it was unclear how accurate the readings turned out to be in individual cases.
