My very first impression of witches involved simmering cauldrons surrounded by cape-wielding night-dwellers, cackling laughter, pointy noses and pointier hats, all on a quest for blood and magic atop flying broomsticks. That was only because it took me a while to discover Harry Potter.
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
— The Prisoner of Azkaban
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As any fan of JK Rowling’s classic book and film series will testify, Harry Potter casts an instant spell to draw you into its fictional world of wizards and wands. But revisiting pages of Expecto Patronum, Quidditch matches or Butterbeer don’t quite do the trick when you’re on a mission to find long-lasting magic in your life. That’s where Wiccan High Priest Lord Angel and his Sabbatical Coven step in, blurring the lines between reality and the realm of Hogwarts.
The Wiccan shop in Mumbai houses India’s only public Wiccan temple and commemorates the neo-pagan religion of Wicca. Run by Lord Angel Serrao, Sonal Bhosle and Zoya Lobo, who each feel a strong connection to the Wiccan Triple Moon Goddesses and have embraced a life of ‘magick’. The latter differs from the tricks and trade of a common magician by being more about spirituality and healing. Angel has been practicing Wicca for about 15 years and is a charismatic speaker spreading the Wiccan ideology of ‘Do what you will but you harm none’. Bhonsle has chosen the Wiccan name Ostara and relies on logic to interpret Wicca for us mere muggles, while Zoya is a young transgender who credits the Triple Moon Goddess with helping them figure out their identity and take control of their life.
Imparting his wisdom of Wicca, Angel essentially serves as the Dumbledore to his coven. “Harry Potter comes closest to actually representing what the Wiccan community is all about. Especially in India, people have so many misconceptions of Wiccans as the typical chudail or dayyan you come across in Bollywood movies; but Harry Potter has managed to portray what we do in a positive light. Except I constantly have young kids coming in looking for wands, muttering fictional spells they have picked up from the books. I have to then explain to them how the Wiccan wand is just a tool to focus your energy. You can even use your index finger or a fallen twig. There is no real power in the wand itself; the power is only within yourself and the energy you give out.”
To honour Harry Potter’s 38th birthday, we visited the Wiccan Shop in Mahim, Mumbai to dig deeper into what these real-life witches were up to. Using Harry Potter quotes to guide us of course.
“There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.”
—Professor Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
At the shop, I was welcomed into witchcraft by an eccentric fusion of bewitching music, burning sage and bright-eyed cats. It was stocked with a variety of magical solutions from oils that multiplied money, love and lust, quality herbs to cure insomnia to skull-shaped candles to replenish sex drive and desire. In an attempt to acquaint myself with the shop before the ritual began, Bhonsle gave me a private tour of all the Wiccan potions and paraphernalia, along with analogies that justified the oils as aromatherapy, wands as channels for the power within, and the red moon ritual as a recharging plug for Wiccan powers.
“ It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
—Albus Dumbledore, The Philosopher’ s Stone
While the shop stores their inventory downstairs, a narrow staircase leads to a cosy spot upstairs that’s dedicated to a variety of deities. Reigned over by the Wiccan’s main Triple Moon Goddesses, the idols take centre stage surrounded by representatives from every religion, including a Ganpati figure, a graphically explicit painting of the goddess Kali, and a dargah for Allah. Angel tells an almost post-modern prophetic story involving dreams of the goddess urging him to help the Wiccan community in India, and a mystical connection with his chosen spot to do so that compelled him to establish this temple.
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
—Albus Dumbledore, Chamber of Secrets
Decked out in a gold-lined cape, Angel tells us stories about people asking for spells for love, banishment, and better marks in subjects they were bad in. He points out that the Wiccans follow a three-fold rule which results in a karmic reaction that expands three times the original size for every spell they put out into the Universe. “I once used a spell to pass Marathi, a subject I absolutely hated. But while I successfully passed that exam, the spell resulted in me getting very poor marks in English, which was my strongest subject otherwise,” reminisces Angel. So although the shop’s spell-casting comes at a higher cost or compromise thanks to the three-fold reaction, you will still find yourself picking from a curated selection of imported Wiccan materials and assorted services —like casting specific spells based on horoscope readings to fulfil desires (everything from better erections to removing spirit possessions).
The shop lets you indulge in miscellaneous items of ‘magick’, but the coven is very particular about maintaining their mantra of only healing all and harming none, and therefore filter their members through a strict selection procedure. “We have spells like Separation and Do As I Say that have the ability to mess with free will, which goes against the craft that Wiccans stand for,” says Sonal. “We have to make sure these spells are used for the right reasons like abusive relationships or difficult divorces.”
“ Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
— Albus Dumbledore, Half Blood Prince
Pritam Shah* is a 19-year-old young Wiccan who discovered the religion by watching Harry Potter reruns on TV. He joined the group when he was 17. An engineering student who enjoys cooking, Shah’s foray into Wicca has come closer to pop culture expectations than one might think. “I study potionology and herbology,” he says. “I cast spells for abundance, prosperity and health. I even make my own kitchen cooking oil that I often sprinkle in my food to improve the lives of all those who taste it. My classmates used to laugh at me and question my sanity as a science student, but there is so much logic and reasoning in Wicca. I have learnt to stop getting bothered and become a more confident person. It has been the adventure of a lifetime. Even if we use our brooms to sweep away negative energy rather than fly.” He has grand plans of starting India’s first Wiccan restaurant, serving a menu that heals and benefits his customers—lavender and chamomile cocktails to help relax might feature heavily.
“ Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real? ”
— Albus Dumbledore, The Deathly Hallows
Celebrating a host of events from the Blood Moon to the first Lamas harvest, their rituals range from deep meditation to trances. Dealing with positive energy and the inherent belief that everyone with an open mind and an intuitive sense should embrace it, is an extraordinary setting for people leading ordinary lives. At the end of the day, it’s a group comprising a lawyer, an IT professional and an engineering student, divided by degree of practice but united in cause: A greater mission to harm none, heal all and establish a connection with not just nature, but all those who acknowledge the energy of the beyond. Mischief Managed.
*Name changed on request
