Witch

**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.

## 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.

## History.

The origin of 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. Sheila Bennett had once stated to Bonnie that "witchcraft was rooted in psychic energy".

## Magic.

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. 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.

## Powers and Abilities.

### Basic Powersedit

The basic powers of every witch include:

* **Spell Casting:** The power to change and control events through the use of incantations.
* **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.

### Other Powersedit

* **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.

### Uncommon Powersedit

* **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.
* **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.
* **Illusions:** The power to alter the senses of others to perceive a false reality.
* **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.

## 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 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 their powers.
* **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 the 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 witches have 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 can 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, though it does not affect their ability to perform magic and cast spells.