Witch

"They are mostly considered as "freaks of nature". They are like us, but they are more powerful." - Lucien to the Mason's about The Witches of New York

**Witches** are supernatural beings who are born with the power to affect change by magical means, known as witchcraft. While many witches are the self-proclaimed "Keepers of the Balance," other witches have been known to work against the Balance and use their power for personal gain.

#### History

The origin of witches, and by extension witchcraft, remains unknown, however, witches have existed for many centuries passing down their knowledge and skills through generations of family lines. Contrary to popular belief, witches do not receive their powers from demons, nor do they worship the Devil. Instead, witches consider themselves "the Servants of Nature," as they make it their duty to maintain balance within the world.

## Witchcraft

*Main article: Witchcraft*
Witchcraft is the practice of magic. However, before a witch has come into their power, they're considered "untapped", and their magic is considered pure. Prior to tapping into their magic they are, for all intents and purposes, "human", and before the destruction of the Other Side, would have passed on to their destined afterlife. After awakening their power, witchcraft can encompass many different types of activities including astrology, divination, spell casting, and spirit communication. It includes the practices of many cultures, nations, and religions as well as many books and writings dating back to ancient times. Depending upon the individual, some witches practice their power by certain belief systems, such as Shamanism, Voodoo, Wicca, or any number of other magical practices from countries and cultures all around the world. Although the majority of traditional witches are commonly portrayed as being kind and selfless humans who use their powers to maintain balance within the world, some witches are not and go directly against the Balance of Nature by practicing their powers for dark and sinister or selfish deeds. A few darker witches go so far as to subvert the very laws that govern Nature.

## The Balance of Nature

The Balance of Nature is a spiritual belief system based around the observance of the Earth and reverence of Mother Nature. The goal of many witches is to honor the design of Nature and to maintain balance within the natural world. The Balance of Nature is intimately tied to one's spiritual relationship with the Earth, and the idea that all living things are considered sacred, as they are all different aspects of nature. Contemporary witches often use ceremonies, rituals, or shamanic practices to attune themselves with the natural rhythms of Nature in their efforts to obtain guidance and knowledge from wiser known witches called "the Spirits" or from their ancestors. However, according to Gloria, who referred to herself as an "old-school voodoo" practitioner, not all witches follow this belief system and have free will to choose how they practice their power.

## Classification

While witches, in general, are numerous throughout the world and thrive in various cultures, they're often referred to by other names. Though these cultures are not elaborated upon, they include "Strega" of Italy; "Aje" of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, West Africa; "Häxa" of Sweden, as well as Latvian (of Latvia), Santería (of Morocco), and Obi (or Obeah of Nigeria) witches.

Witches with special abilities or gifts can further distinguish them; those being siphoners, Travelers, Seers, pyromancers, and muses. Siphoners, or siphon witches, are few in number and born without the ability to generate their own magic but they possess a rare power that allows them to siphon magic from external sources through touch. Traveler witches were cursed a millennia ago and forced to become nomadic or face destruction while developing their own brand of magic. Seers and Oracles are witches specializing in the practice of divination, typically without the aid of spells. Oracles, when they change the outcome of their visions, they change and become a Fury, which grants them a connection to the minds of gods. Pyromancers, of unknown origins but found mostly in East Asia, are another unique and rare type of fire-breathing witch; however, only a couple dozen are said to remain. Muses are another unique witch with the special power of inspiration and born under extremely rare circumstances; i.e. the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.

## Powers and Abilities

Witches can achieve a variety of powers or abilities through their use of witchcraft and spell casting; however, age, experience, knowledge, or power can limit the capabilities of one witch to that of another.

*Main article: Spells and Rituals*
* **Spell Casting:** One of the defining characteristics of a witch is their ability to cast spells; a "spell" being a word, a verse or incantation, ritual action, or any combination of these to carry out a magical action. On rare occasions such actions can be performed without the use of a verbal spell.
* **Channeling:** The power to invoke extra forms of energy by focusing on external forces.
* **Potion Brewing:** The power to brew and concoct potions, remedies, and elixirs that have supernatural properties with varying effects.

* **Telekinesis:** The power to move objects and persons through mental influence.
* **Pain Infliction:** The power to create excruciating migraines or aneurysms through supernatural means.
* **Elemental Control**: The power to control and manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire, and water.
* **Divination:** The power to divine future, past, and present events based on extrasensory perception.
	+ **Clairvoyance:** The power to divine future, past or present events through instinctive knowledge.
	+ **Intuition:** The power to divine future, past or present events through the use of instinctive knowledge.
	+ **Premonitions:** The power to divine future, past or present events through the observation and study of dreams.
	+ **Psychometry:** The power to divine future, past or present events through contact with or proximity to a certain object or person.
* **Projection:** The power to separate from one's body and project the mind to another location or to instantaneously travel from one point to another.
* **Transmogrification:** The unique power to alter the physical structure of objects living or dead, changing their form through spells.
* **Telepathy:** The power that allows witches to access the minds of others through spells.
* **Possession:** The power to jump one's spirit into the body of another, taking control of said host body through spells.
* **Illusions:** The power to alter the senses of others to perceive a false reality through spells.
* **Dream Manipulation:** The power to control people's dreams through spells.
* **Resurrection:** The power to bring someone or one's self back from the dead through spells.

## Weaknesses

* **Disbelief:** The act of denying or disbelieving in one's potential could cause a witch to inadvertently suppress their magical power.
* **Distraction:** Denying a witch from concentrating or giving full attention to their spells, may render them ineffective. Since most spells are spoken verbally and take time to take effect, witches are vulnerable to attack before their completion. Additionally, certain spells require items, tools, and or special events during casting, therefore they can't be invoked on a mere whim.
* **Emotions:** A witch's magic is subject to the influence of their emotional state and may fluctuate according to them, especially when untrained. According to Sheila Bennett, strong emotions such as worry and anger can fuel a witch's power while emotions such as fear may prevent a witch from properly accessing them.
* **Herbs:** Ingestion of certain herbs can cause a witch to lose consciousness and prevent them from using magic for an undetermined amount of time. The Lobelia flower prevents concentration and, therefore, the practice of magic and can be used to temporarily weaken a witch.
* **Huntress' Blood:** The supernatural huntress' blood can suppress all magic of a witch when consumed, as well as prevent magic from working on said witch, as seen when the Armory could not perform a locator spell on Bonnie Bennett. Prolonged ingestion is toxic and ultimately leads to the death of the witch. Once black scabs start appearing on their body, the infected witch has less than a week of life. There is no known cure to combat this disease.
* **Witchcraft:** Witches are still susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical and dark objects. A siphoner can siphon the magic from a witch and prolonged exposure is said to lead to death.
* **Mortality:** Despite their mystical attributes, witches are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.). However, witches can temporarily get around this weakness through the use of protection spells.
* **Overexertion:** The excessive use of magic can lead to disorientation, nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and if taken to the extreme, death.
* **Nature:** It is said that Nature will always find a balance when witchcraft is performed, thus spells will always have loopholes. This means, among other things, that no being can be truly immortal.
* **Mystic Falls Founders Bell:** An indestructible bell that amplifies the effects of the Staff of Arcadius when combined with the Maxwell Striker. When struck, it produces a high frequency that has some minor effects on witches and siphoners, giving them painful headaches. Apart from this, it does not affect their ability to perform magic and cast spells.