Everything you wanted to know about witchcraft, says the tagline, and India’s first Wiccan delivers on that promise. Long credited for bringing the practice of Wicca out of the fog of ignorance, superstition and calumny, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti lays it all out in this book, as clear as the crystals Wiccans use in their practice.
Dedicating the work to the chausath (64) yoginis, the author takes us through a set roadmap: how witches have garnered a bad reputation over the centuries; the tradition of witch torture in Europe; the feminism inherent in the practice of Wicca and more. The author asks if witches really deserve the bad rap they have acquired, and gives succinct answers.
In between recounting a capsulated history of witches through the ages, she also tells readers how to set up their altar, spells out some words of immense power, and gives them a peek into the world of Wiccan portals. The practice is demystified, the great Wiccan festivals are enumerated. Light is thrown on the pagan stones used by Wiccans and in a very interesting chapter, Indian witches are intently examined. The author concludes with some leaning-to-the-spooky and very atmospheric case histories from her diary, and then gives readers the tenets of Wicca.
While the book will be of use to practising and aspiring Wiccans, for the lay reader, it makes for an interesting study of ancient and modern feminism. It doesn’t take rocket science to deduce that witches are castigated, burned at the stake, stoned, beheaded across the world because their otherworldliness and defiant way pose a threat to organised religion, to those who conform and obey without question.
Nine million women were executed between the 14th and 17th centuries, we are informed, and almost as many demonised through art and literature.
The author opens with an arresting line: “You may find it hard to believe...but the truth is, real, honest-to-goodness witches have been around for a long time.” She then goes on to tell us about Lilith, the first wife of Adam, the Mother Goddess of ancient times, the Greek Medusa, Ishtar of Babylon, the Japanese dakini-ten, the pre-Vedic Durga and Kali, the Baltic Islands’ Baba Yaga, and others. She traces the origin of the word we hear often in India, dayan, to the Roman goddess Diana.
The tone of the book is knowledgeable and confident, and all through, Roy Chakraverti makes it clear that she is presenting to readers an understanding of the supernatural divorced from superstition. Wicca is an awareness, a calm and dignified practice, and every strong woman is a witch, proclaims the author.