The Witch of Portobello (P.S.)

£7.26
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The Witch of Portobello (P.S.)

The Witch of Portobello (P.S.)

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Is the world of sight, sound, and touch—the rational world —sufficient for you? Or do you seek another kind of reality, the one, perhaps, that Athena offered? The Witch: The one who justifies her existence by going in search of complete and limitless pleasure. In some ways, the protagonist seemed selfish, but it derived from her longing for meaning – she had a destination; nothing would stop her from finding it.

The energy of love can never be lost-it’s more powerful than anything and shows itself in many ways.” People learn twenty-five percent from their teacher, twenty-five percent from listening to themselves, twenty-five percent from their friends, and twenty-five percent from time.” The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho I decided to read this as part of a string of Paolo Coelho novels in a sort of marathon. This is the fourth in a row, and I must say the worst, by far. I didn't always like Paulo Coelho's work. I tried to read The Alchemist in college and the novel just didn't do it for me. But a friend recommended Veronika Decides to Die to me while a loved one was in the hospital for depression and I was struggling to understand what might be happening in there, and ever since, Coelho has been one of my obsessions. She grows into a woman in search of answers to many questions that arise within a person. She had a life which many felt was content because she had a child of her own, money, and friends; everything but her mind was at peace, so she searches for the answer to the classical question of "Who am I?" through many experiences. In her quest, she opens her heart to intoxicating powers of mother and becomes a controversial spiritual leader in London.The Virgin (not speaking of sexual virgin): One whose search springs from her complete independence and everything she learns is the fruit of her ability to face challenges alone.

The Saint finds her true reason for living in unconditional love and in her ability to give without asking anything in return. Coelho is the founder of the Paulo Coelho Institute, a non-profit organization funded by his royalties that raises money for underprivileged children and the elderly in his homeland of Brazil. Athena had the secret desire to become a saint someday. She had everything one can ask for, and yet it didn’t satisfy her restless soul. Her adopted mother, who was always ready to take care of her, give her all the love and comfort she could and want to see her win in whatever she does though didn’t understand her. Early marriage to a man she meets at a London college, her son birth, leaves church on which she had deep faith from her childhood. While the underlying message of this book is exploring the answer to the question "What is Love?" (answer: Love IS.), I found the exploration of the feminine side of divinity, of God to be refreshing and timely in my own life. We have all heard stories of women in particular who possess "abilities." I call it intuition. But why can't we accept these things as natural and beautiful? And why can't we encourage girls and women to strenghten their abilities to serve mankind? And why does dogma seek to destroy the credibility of these gifts?

About BookQuoters

In this book, Coelho works with the return to the goddess religion, the interpretation of love, and the feminine part of the Divine within the theme of searching for one’s true self and opening to the energies of the world. [1] The question central to the story is "How do we find the courage to be true to ourselves - even if we are unsure of who we are?" YDSTIE: In fact, I think some scholars suggest the Virgin Mary and the veneration of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic religion is actually vestigial goddess worship. The Bible, which contains all the stories and all the guidance humankind needs. ( Bio and interview from Barnes & Noble.) Athena’s business/career side as a successful real estate agent in Dubai is only lightly referenced, mainly to explain how she financially supports herself in her multi-year-long journeys to different parts of the world in search of who she is through dance, calligraphy and ceremonies. Although Coelho, in an interview about the motivation for writing the book, noted he wanted to explore the feminine side of God, for me, its scope was even broader. It is a study into the personal and spiritual meaning of life, happiness and self-fulfillment in a society built on rules and conventions.

The narrator of the story tells us right off that he’s not going to try to write a straight-up biography, but that in the interests of objectivity (of a sort), he’s just going to put down verbatim the interviews he conducted on the subject of the alleged ‘witch.’ From the journalist who fell in love with her to the woman who felt betrayed by her, from birth mother to adoptive mother, from teacher to student, are all given a chance to tell how Athena, born Sherine and sometimes called Hagia Sofia, messed them over. Each one recounts how she waltzed into their lives with that restless spirit and those grey eyes, and began throwing around the carefully-arranged furniture (metaphorically speaking). And then she died.

Popular quotes

Athena was bringing to the surface the immensely rich world we carry in our souls, without realizing that people aren’t yet ready to accept their own powers. That’s why the writer describes her as a woman of twenty-second century living in the twenty-first, and making no secret of the fact either. That was her biggest problem. Our main character had aspirations for her life and thought she knew what would bring her happiness. Athena went off to college and found young love, then dropped out of college, got married, and had a baby – it was all part of her plan. But something was always missing. Athena was unsettled within her marriage and the restrictive rules of the church that inhibited her search for God and herself. While venturing to understand it all, she discovered spiritual guides along the way that brought her closer to the answers she was looking for. The writer elucidates the opinion that the Church has deviated by its stringent rules to the point where it no longer serves Jesus Christ, or as put in his words in one of the interviews: "It's a very long time since they've allowed me in there [the Church]". Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA15425 Openlibrary_edition

Andrea McCain, actress—I was used and manipulated by Athena, with no consideration for my feelings. She was my teacher, charged with passing on the sacred mysteries, with awakening the unknown energy we all possess. When we venture into that unfamiliar sea, we trust blindly in those who guide us, believing that they know more than we do.Mr. COELHO: I do believe that for many centuries, religion or the quest for the spiritual realm was linked to the male figure, so God is the father, God is the one who get to rule us. We forgot totally that above all, God is love, and love is, in my opinion, in my understanding, it is simplified because, of course, God has no sex, but love belongs to this feminine face of the Lord, of the divine energy. So "The Witch of Portobello," the main character, tries somehow to bring this love, this universal love to her life. But all I know is this...the protagonist of the book, Athena, follows a winding path to enlightenment in the form of a female deity. And along the way she struggles to transcend society's expectations of her. The book is about the power that everyone has to find their own spirituality and fight against the norm. And in spite of myself, the novel made me feel able to make my own decisions, both practical and spiritual. Love is not a habit, a commitment, or a debt. It isn’t what romantic songs tell us it is-love simply is.………………….No definitions. Love and don’t ask too many questions. Just love.”



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