2 4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 8 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 Brida has to be initiated into the “great mysteries of witchcraft,” she visits the “empty” church, says her silent prayers to a “seemingly silent simple God” without any “representatives” and feels for the first time that “[h]e was looking at her” and “understanding her words” (Coelho 2008, 174). The other witches in the novel too believe in God’s mercy and power and mention “Jesus and the Virgin Mary” during the commemoration of the “martyrdom of witches burnt at the stake” (Coelho 2008, 174). Rituals of both transformation and initiation central to witchcraft practice have been very explicitly drawn in The Witch of Portobello and Brida. Strangely, sex has been considered quite a significant ritual as a way of initiation into witchcraft; as Coelho puts it, “when mankind was closer to God, sex was the symbolic means of communion with the divine, a re-encounter with the meaning of life” (Coelho 2008, 112). In fact, erotic experiences and copulation with the devil leading to trials and judicial inquiry have been the subject of research within witchcraft discourse. However, with Coelho sex during the ritual is not related to the physical, sexual act but has to do with the force or the energy generated during the act: “pure forces of life” that are in “communication with each other.” This kind of force, argues Coelho, can also be generated “independent of the bodies” (Coelho 2008, 113); hence this force can be used by some even without having sex. The idea behind this act, as wicca explains to Brida, is to “use your ‘five senses’ at all times. If they all come together at the moment of orgasm, you will be accepted for Initiation” (Coelho 2008,114). Coelho’s view, hence, is that the combination of five senses is an extremely powerful agent of spirituality and that the profound feelings induced by the senses evoke feelings of closeness to the Creator Himself. This stance runs contrary to the perspective of established religious institutions of the East that advocate control of the “five external senses” or indriyas of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch through meditational practices. The subject of witchcraft, wicca, paganism and magic make an interesting and curious read but can the literary plots be relied for intellectual rigor in this area? Reliance on fictious work for understanding of a subject that finds no evidence in Science will undermine the scholarly worth of the article. Coelho in none of his interviews professes faith in this particular alternative spirituality and hence, it is left to the reader’s speculation whether to consider it as a historical work of witchcraft or a work of fiction and imagination. 5 Conclusion It is important to reflect on the future and scope of alternative spiritualties. In the process of negotiation of the boundaries between religion and magic or religion and science or religion and nature, would these alternatives only end up becoming a fad with the present generation? This is not to say that new forms of spiritualties should not replace the religious notions that are orthodox and dogmatic. Alternative spiritualities will continue to emerge if institutional religions persist in relying on external ritualism and not on intuitive contemplation. In fact, individual choice of new religious or spiritual identities, based on the awareness of the belief system one has been exposed to since birth, should be seen as a positive development. This author deeply appreciates the following nuances of Coelho’s scholarship: 1. The disengagement of religion from patriarchal conditions, external ritualism (The Zahir) and artificial, dogmatic restrictions (The Witch of Portobello, Brida). 2. Realization of signs as the direct correspondence with the Power (The Alchemist, The Zahir). 3. Nature and ownership of inquiry with regard to understanding of the concepts of spirituality and religion (in all of Coelho’s works). 4. Positive affiliations with nature leading to wellness of life and soul (The Alchemist, The Zahir). 5. Unexplained mystical experiences as evidence for the existence of God (The Alchemist, The Zahir). However, I would strongly repudiate breaking away from religion itself to find answers to the age-old questions surrounding soul, creation, and genesis and existence of mankind, and so on in the alternatives that are not at all rational and logical, including witchcraft, magic, and psychedelics. These are not life-conducive in a larger sense and revival of interest in them must be seen as a negative and alarming development.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzgxMzI=