Being a Witch in India

- Swapnil Desai

“Witch” – The one word that is as fearful or dreaded as a Demon. Wicca – A religion shunned by the New World. Witchcraft – A subject more feared than accepted. 

When I was asked to write on this subject, I willingly and promptly accepted, not because of any “folklorish” elements of this topic that I will be addressing, but its because Who I am and What I believe is hugely misunderstood. 

As much as the origin of the word “witch” is still debated, One popular etymology for witch maintains that it is related to the English words wit, wise, wisdom [Germanic root *weit-, *wait-, *wit-; Indo-European root *weid-.*woid-, *wid-]. ¹   Another theory claims that witch is derived from a root meaning “holy” or “sacred” and thus reflects the witch’s ancient religious role [Germanic root *weih-, *waih-,*wih-; Indo-European root *weik-, *woik-, *wik-]. This appears in the Modern German word for Christmas, Weihnacht, literally “holy night,” and is behind a set of Germanic words which indicate a magical (and possibly originally religious) practice related to divination. 

The word witch also derives from the “Old English” noun wicca  "sorcerer, male witch" and wicce "sorceress, female witch". The Middle English word wicche did not differentiate between feminine and masculine, however the masculine meaning became less common in Standard English, being replaced by words like "wizard" and "warlock". The modern spelling witch with the medial 't' first appeared in the 16th century. In current colloquial English "witch" is almost exclusively applied to women, and the OED has "now only dialectal" for the masculine.

The difference between Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism can be summarized simply: Wicca is a religion whereas Witchcraft is a practise. Paganism is an umbrella term used to apply to a number of different earth-based faiths. Wicca falls under that heading, although not all Pagans are Wiccan. As if that wasn’t confusing enough, not all people who practice witchcraft are Wiccans, or even Pagans. There are a few witches who embrace the Hindu gods as well as a Wiccan goddess. There are also people out there who practice Jewish mysticism,(for e.g) or "Jewitchery", and atheist witches who practice magic but do not follow a deity.

Traditional witchcraft is a practice of magic that encompasses many different types of activities including astrology, divination, spell casting, spirit communication etc. It includes the practices of many nations, cultures and religions as well as many books and writings from ancient times. Wicca is a religion which restricts adherents with the Wiccan Rede, which admonishes them to do no harm.  Spell casting within Wiccca is always benign, they will not harm even someone who wants to harm them. Furthermore, many Wiccans believe that the power of magic is absolute and natural and, therefore, neither black nor white. However, for our understanding on this subject we describe them seperately. Generally speaking, white magic serves others, whereas black magic serves the magician.  But, black magic has its place, even in the practices of good witches. 

How much is the Wiccan religion different from Shamanism? 

Shamanism gets a mention here as it was the 1^st “religion”. It is a practice that involves reaching altered states of consciousness to interact with the spirit world. Shamanism is a practice found in many religions particularly indigenous ones such as the native Japanese religion of Shinto, Eskimo groups, Native Americans, etc. Shamanism is a practice wherein the shamanic practitioner helps people deal with “soul loss” and spiritually heals them using a specific tool sets that varies somewhat depending on the type of shamanism being practiced.

Wiccan, in this sense a shamanic religion, in very general terms teaches that no person has any special elite powers and that the source of all energy and power is natural – from Nature. It doesn't originate outside of the natural world in some supernatural spirit plane. Even our Gods dwell in the natural world with us not in some alternate reality. Wicca is practiced by doing specific Wiccan rituals, honoring at least one Pagan God and Goddess and by celebrating the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, which are the 8 Sabbats (quarters and cross-quarters).

Once again to reiterate :- One can be a witch and not a wiccan.

So now that we have addressed Who a “Witch” or a Wiccan is I would like to now address a difficult topic of how “Magic” is used in the practise of “Witchcraft”.

Scott Cunningham ²  defines Magic as :- “Magic is the projection of natural energies to produce the desired effects. There are three main sources of this energy – personal power, earth power and divine power. Magic is natural. If you wish to practice magic, all thoughts of it being paranormal or supernatural must be forgotten.”

Personal Power :- is what powers our bodies – the life force. We absorb energy from the Moon, Sun, food and water. We release it consciously during movement, exercise, sex, childbirth etc. In magic, this personal power is aroused, by the practitioner, infused with a specific purpose – via thoughts, spells, prayers, released and directed towards its goal. 

Earth Power :- is what is contained within our planet and its natural products – stones, trees, wind, flames, water, crystals and scents – all possess unique powers that can be used for rituals with practice. For e.g. A Wiccan may sprinkle herbs around a burning candle infuse it with spells or prayers and produce a special magical effect. 

Divine Power :- is the Manifestation of Personal Power and Earth power. This is the energy that exists within and is invoked from the Gods and Goddesses – the life force, the source of universal power that created everything.  This is ‘religious’ magic where the practitioner directs his / her personal power to the diety asking for a specific need to be met. 

The above powers, in combination, form the basis of Manifestation, in bringing about the desired change. 

Wiccans don’t perform destructive, manipulative or exploitative magic. As much as I could go on elaborating this practice, for practical introduction purpose, I am restricted to mentioning just the above.  

Next , I would like to briefly touch on the “Tools of the Trade”. Just like any other religion, certain objects are used for ritual purposes. These tools invoke the deities, banish negativity and direct our energy through touch and intentions for the desired result. 

1. The broom 
2. The wand
3. The Censer
4. The Cauldron
5. The knife infused with power
6. A Crystal sphere
7. A Cup
8. The Pentacle
9. The Book of Shadows
10. The Bell

I am sure, with all the conditioning from Disney movies, you find half of these folklorish and half of them amusing, but I will be covering the importance of each in the future articles of this magazine. 

So what is it like for me being a Witch? Or is it a Wizard? Or am I a Warlock? Unlike any Harry Potter movies, where male and female witches are divided – A Witch is called a Witch – male or female. They are not separately named. 

As much as there was taboo associated with this, somewhere it was like a calling – it is not what you become – it is you recognize your own spirit of who you really are.  This ‘practice’ did not ‘mandate’ me to set up any elaborate altar in my home – it was entirely optional on the path and method I chose to practice.  Some books do give importance to the “Initiation” process but some clearly define that the same is not mandatory – This craft just needs practice with the use of powers as mentioned above. 

It was a few years back that I started noticing something “unusual” when out of anger if I said something to someone – worse than what was said happened. It was later, I realized I suffered physically too – maybe as much as I had intended for the opposite person. There were times, when I cooked something, all the time intending something “not normal” - and it happened with the same desired (at times shocking) results. 

It was then I shared these thoughts with a close friend that he suggested that you might have some “different” power or ability – that you might just want to explore. He connected me on to someone he thought was “similar”. Today I consider her a Guru for my path – and she is also a practicing Witch.  She helped me realize :- 

1. The power of intentions and elements of Nature is not to be abused. 
2. The power of manifestation increases with practice
3. What you give out as a manifestation will return back to you – three folds the strength. 
4. You are what you are – A Witch connected closely with Nature – you do not need an initiation always or a declaration to the same effect. 

I surprisingly got quite a few supporters in friends who understood – there is no taboo in being a Witch. 

As a Witch I invoke my personal strength, intentions in combination with Natural powers, combine them with divine powers to help others – non commercially. Many come and speak to me, and if I know they come to me with an open mind, I suggest how they can “alter” Natural elements, like our ancients did to help them live better lives.  I do not have a Pagan diety at home, nor do I follow any Pagan rituals other than praying to our first Divine – The Sun and The Moon. It is from here that I derive my strength. 

My day starts each morning waking up praying to the Sun God with hands open and raised to Him and ends with praying to the Moon in the same way. I regularly smudge my home with Sage and five other herbs, as I believe like the ancient times – they have the power to cleanse, protect , heal and nurture us and our home. The power is infused with smoke, prayers and intentions to manifest good health, success and protection where we live.  Every Full Moon and New Moon, I have my own ritual of welcoming the new and burning the old with essential oils and burning candle flame. Yes at times, I use a “little help” when I am being bothered by someone, with some spell / ritual I do – to disconnect my self from the individual and not be a subject of harm anymore. 

There were times, when I challenged my ability to manifest, it is on those days that Nature reassures with signs. I would like to cite one such incident where I got my strength assured and given back. 

It was a usual day of smudging for me at my home, I burnt the 7 incenses of special herbs and went around smudging my home with the smoke, praying all the time to protect my home from any energy or negativity. It was as I went to the main door of my house suddenly – right in the centre of the door – all my incenses burst up into a huge flame. I was more perplexed than surprised as I had not seen such a thing. I continued praying – thinking it was probably the wind around – and I walked out of the main door. The flames went off. Then again when I walked in the centre of the main door the incenses went up in flames – indicating heaviness right at the entrance of my main door. This probably meant “something” was blocking my main door or some energy needed to be cleaned up. I then handed over the smoked incenses to my wife, to walk through the main door to check if the same thing happened. To my surprise it did not. But when I went there again, it was the same visual – the incenses flared again showing a sign. It is since then, my beliefs got reinforced that with practice, your powers to manifest your thoughts become stronger and more obvious. 

On an ending note – all I would like to add here is keep your intentions clear, believe in your personal powers to connect with Nature, do not abuse any gifts you have and see how your path illuminates for you. 

Blessed Be readers – May you forever Stay In Light ……and experience Magic !