Book review: Way of the Witch by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
The Wiccan way
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 lays it all out in this book, as clear as the crystals Wiccan use in their practice.
Dedicating the work to the chausat (64) yoginis, Ipsita takes us through a set roadmap: how witches have garnered a bad, even terrible, reputation over the centuries; the tradition of witch torture in England and 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. Hint: it has much to do with the male ego under threat.
In between recounting a capsulated history of witches through the ages, Ipsita also tells Wiccan readers how to set up their altar, spells out some words of immense power, gives them a peek into the world of Wiccan portals.
The practice of Wicca is demystified, the great Wiccan festivals are enumerated. Light is thrown on the pagan stones used by Wiccans and in a very interesting chapter, Indians witches are intently examined. Ipsita 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 some use to practicing and wannabe Wiccans, where the lay reader is concerned, 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, tortured, stoned, beheaded across the world because their otherworldliness, their defiant way of treading a different path, poses a threat to organised religion, to those who would conform, those who would obey without question. Nine million women were executed between the 14th to the 17th century, we are informed, and almost as many demonized through art and literature.
The book has an arresting opening line: “You may find it hard to believe…but the truth is, real, honest-to-goodness witches have been around for a long time.“ Ipsita 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 author takes into the Wiccan fold the twelfth century poet Khona/Khana of Bengal, as well as Princess Jehanara. She also makes clear that Wicca celebrates the Crone…as a wise old woman.
`Every strong woman is a witch`
Interestingly, the word which is almost always used to decry a witch, `heresy,` comes from the Greek and ironically enough, means `free choice.` Ipsita tells us that dark is not necessarily evil. Witches, we are informed, live in harmony with time, with the consciousness of the universe, witches aim for strength to dive into and surmount the painful battering waves in the ocean of life.
The tone of the book is knowledgeable and confident, and all through, Ipsita 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.
Way of the Witch is an unvarnished, exultant celebration of feminine power. Towards that, I give you this line from the book: A witch is hated because she stands alone. If she is successful in life…you would find that she has made her own way with the grace of a goddess. She has a power all her own. She is a witch.
Way of the Witch. By Ipsita Roy Chakraverti. HarperCollins Books. Rs 399. 222 pages.
This appeared in the Sunday Express Magazine of 22 January 2023.
Sheila Kumar • January 22, 2023