"Witchcraft was traditionally a form of occult knowledge: esoteric, hidden, available only to initiates. Now, though, with the widespread circulation of magic manuals, grimoires, and related compendia, witchcraft has taken an irreversible step into the exoteric realm."
"The learning process involves no textbooks, no exercises, no memorization, no facts. Indeed, barely any words are exchanged. As Lucie puts it, 'Their task was to observe me and, with all their being, with the whole of those little bodies born of mine, to internalize the arduous process of divination.'"
"Although the girls view their heritage with disdain ('No offense, Mama, but it's really all just so lame'), they acquiesce to long sessions of secret study in the basement, 'away from their father's eye.'"
Witchcraft, once an esoteric practice shared between initiates, has become widely accessible due to the proliferation of written materials. In Marie NDiaye's novel "The Witch," a mother, Lucie, attempts to initiate her twin daughters into these mysterious powers. The girls, initially dismissive, engage in secretive study without traditional learning methods. After eleven months, they acquire these powers, but their family begins to disintegrate. The narrative showcases the transformation of witchcraft and its effects on personal and familial dynamics.
Read at The New Yorker
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]