Witchcraft: Paulo Coelho style!

Ask someone to visualise a witch and most people would imagine a woman in a black gown and black hood, riding a broom. An ‘Indianised’ version would have scary, long nails, with bloodthirsty eyes and dishevelled hair thrown in for good measure. A witch has for long been an evil creature, and calling someone by that name would probably make her your enemy for life.However, modern day witches have come a long way from the three sisters in Macbeth, chanting, “Double, double toil and trouble/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble!” Instead, they are spiritual beings, looking to commune with the higher self, solving other people’s problems and leading them to the path of spiritual attainment. Surprised? Welcome to the real world of witchcraft, or Wicca, where being a witch doesn’t mean practicing black magic on unsuspecting people (or turning them into toads, for that matter). The above lines describe the “pagan” heroines of two of Paulo Coelho’s best-selling works — Brida and The Witch of Portobello. It’s always better to stick to fiction when exploring fantastic realms like this one: it allows you the comfort of exploring the topic without betraying any serious interest in it!Both of Coelho’s books are based on real people (real witches, to be precise), and their spiritual journey. It is advisable to read Brida first, as it progresses gradually into educating people about the ‘traditions’ of the sun and the moon, and how they are used to attain spiritual enlightenment. Coelho describes four pat­hs that a woman can take to reach this goal — the virgin’s path — total solitude, the saint’s — total giving, the martyr’s — through sacrifice, and the wit­ch’s — through li­mitless pleasure. Brida, a girl looking to get in touch with her soul and her soulmate, follows the path of the witch.A lot of misconceptions will be dispelled for you as you follow Brida’s quest. For one, witches practice the kind of magic that enables them to “tune into the wisdom of the world”, to discover the gifts hidden within. That’s not so difficult to grasp, given that we all have, at some time or the other, experienced something extraordinary in our lives, only we chose to brush it away. But perhaps the most emphatic thing you’ll come across is that this magic can never be used to make people act against their own will — even for a good cause. And if you do, it will certainly lead you to punishment. This is something the Magus, Brida’s teacher (and soulmate) discovers the hard way.The rituals followed by the witches are described in more elaborate detail in The Witch of Portobello, through the heroine, Athena. But here, too, you will discover that the power is not so much in specific rituals — they could be anything — but in your focus on the purpose. In essence, a witch is a woman who seeks a higher purpose in life, by completely immersing herself into life itself, rather than following the path of renunciation. The books also explain how witches came to be branded as ‘evil’, going back to the time in Europe when they were burnt for being ‘devil worshippers’, owing to their extraordinary gifts.By the time you reach the end of Athena’s or Brida’s journey, you might be convinced that you have a witch or wizard lurking within the depths of your soul. Don’t be amazed — it could just be another incarnation!