And one way would be through consummation. But to be initiated into witchcraft, Brida should find a way to transcend her five senses. She finds that she has always been a witch and she ought to continue her destiny in her present life as well. Brida finds her gift in this phase of her life. Casting a hypnotic spell, Wicca also helps Brida look into her past life. At this juncture in her life, she meets Wicca, a witch who becomes her tutor. Here, the knowledge is imparted through books and treatises written ages ago.

Left with no choice, Brida begins to explore the Tradition of the Moon, which the magus had briefly spoken about. The next morning, she finds the magus gone. It doesn’t take her long to understand that the exercise is an experiential way of learning. Brida eventually learns to overcome her fears through faith.

Initially, she is tormented by her unfounded fears. In her first lesson–the Dark Night–Brida is left to fend for herself in a dark forest. The magus asks her–Given a choice between love and magic, which would you choose? Brida answers truthfully and the magus teaches her the Tradition of the Sun. He agrees to teach her magic on the condition that she answer his question truthfully. So, she approaches a lone magus residing in a forest. She believes that magic could help her find her soulmate. The titular protagonist Brida is a young Irish girl who finds herself drawn towards magic. Paulo Coelho’s Brida employs elements of magical realism and weaves together these seemingly disconnected aspects into a powerful tale. For, to walk alone to fulfil that purpose with only our vision to accompany us, is perhaps the hardest thing to do. And the ones who succeed in discovering their life’s purpose are then left with the ultimate choice of whether to tread on the chosen path or not. Along the way, many of us get sidetracked and lose direction. It is a convoluted path that tests our perseverance and willpower. Similarly, the road to find our life’s purpose too isn’t easy.

In the end, some of us find our ‘soulmates’, while some of us don’t. The path to true love, for instance, involves heartbreaks, disappointments and betrayals. For many of us, life often tends to revolve around two things–finding true love and finding life’s purpose.

Soulmate paulo coelho