Shadow Witch

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Witch **article** at the Vampire Diaries Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Species Information

### Status

* Extant (only Luna, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena Halliwell left)

### Related Species

* Siphoner
* Witch
* Vampire
* Werewolf
* Ghost
* Hybrid
* Psychic

### Season(s)

**The Vampire Diaries:*** 6

**The Originals:**

* 3, 4, 5

### Distinction

* Powerful witches imbued with extraordinary power.

**Shadow Witches** are a rare type of witch known for their shadowy forms and their ability to phase-shift. The first one was an ancient witch Amira Lightwood, the ancestor of Luna Halliwell. In death the shadow witches and their bloodline reside in the Shadow World, and only them and their bloodline can enter. They have created their own culture and civilization within human society.

Despite their ancestry, shadow witches are mortal and therefore vulnerable to old age and death; however, their mystical blood embeds them with more power than a regular witch and also has special abilities that allow them to achieve feats beyond what's humanly possible through the application of runes.

## 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 shadow witch to that of another.

*Main Article: Spells and Rituals*
* **Smoking:** Is a form of teleportation. Users of this power are engulfed in black smoke as they teleport to their destination.
* **Spell Casting:** One of the defining characteristics of a shadow 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 shadow 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.
* **Runes:** Shadow Witches runes can imbued them with extraordinary power.

## 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 shadow 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 shadow witch's magic is subject to the influence of their emotional state and may fluctuate according to them, especially when untrained. Strong emotions such as worry and anger can fuel a witch's power while emotions such as fear may prevent a shadow 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 shadow witch.
* **Witchcraft:** shadow witch are still susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical and dark objects. A siphoner can siphon the magic from a shadow 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, shadow witch 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.