Clearly wizards would smoke, because nothing is quite so dignified or contemplative then smoking, nor anything so quintessentially magical. I think they would smoke tobacco or pipeweed, though you could make a case for cannabis. But witches, possesing a very different magical framework/persona/paradigm, would they smoke? Historically it was unseemly for ladies to smoke, but would a witch wish to flout these cultural norms? Or maybe, being closer to the healing magic of the elements witches would know how destructive smoking is? Just shoot out any ideas really, it's all free game here.
You decide. They're your witches. Who says all witches in all stories have to behave the same way? Not all witches ride broomsticks; who's to say all witches don't smoke (or do smoke)? You can have your witches do anything you want them to do. We won't tell the Witch Police.
I'm really more interested in hearing what other people think. I can chat with a mirror all day. Yes they are my witches, and yes, it is ultimately my decision. But I'd like to hear other ideas then my own for awhile.
Magrat doesn't smoke. She's well into that cycles-of-nature hug-a-hippy stuff and thinks it's bad for her chakra. Gytha smokes because she enjoys it and she's never much cared what anyone else thinks. If they don't like it they can open a window. Esme doesn't like smoking, but she does it anyway because those wizards think they're so damn special, like they're the only ones who are entitled to do magic, and they sit there puffing on those stupid pipes all day. Screw those guys. Agatha doesn't smoke, because she's a witch in iron age Britain, and they had a surprising lack of tobacco outlets. There's not really a sensible answer to 'do witches smoke'. It'll depend on the philosophies you've given them and on the world they live in. If you tell us a bit more about your witches, we might be able to tell you if it makes sense that they would.
That's what I was going to say. Anyway, I don't think the questions is whether all smoke or none of them. It would depend more on the personality and lifestyle of each one.
I can imagine them smoking pipe while conjuring up trouble - think opposite of peace pipe. What about Witches taking snuff, probably a secret concoction they brewed up themselves.
I guess it would depend on which flavor of witch she is. They've been reinvented as many times as have wizards. Does she belong to a tradition of born witches, magic from the womb, or is she a trained witch, the kind who has to learn her craft, or is she a naturopathic witch, all wiccanie and listening to Bauhaus even this day? How we see both wizards and witches, historically and currently, is a thing deeply intrenched in the gender rolls and prejudices we are given. Wizards as wise sages and witches as evil plotting crones is about as sexist as it gets. Put a pipe in a traditional wizards mouth and the tobacco is of a rare and wonderful variety, smelling of memories and time, clouds of smoke taking on fanciful shapes dancing in the air. Put that same pipe in a traditional witch's mouth and it's filled of a vile concoction collected from the lowest, darkest places in the heath, its smoke burning the nose with pitch and bitumen. Now turn the clock to modern times and we have Harry, a wizard, and Hermione, a witch, a more fresh and plummy pair never did walk the earth. They have been scrubbed clean of the politically incorrect past, given wands of equality and perfectly proportioned pearlescent smiles with which to tally forth and pwn all baddies. A pipe for either of them? Are you mad? Those teeth cost a fortune! So, feel free to put that pipe in her mouth, but know that if you don't paint a direction for us in which to view that pipe, histories will guide us instead.
Ditto what Wreybies said. In my novel the Wyches did not smoke but most of the Wycks (male Wyches) did...but that was just because it was set in a more Victorian era where that was the social/cultural norm and they had to blend in with regular people. I see smoking as very much a cultural thing, so I would think it would depend more on the society of the world they exist in than the simple fact that she is a witch--unless the witches have their own separate culture within the world. In which case, (no pun intended) they are whatever you make them (or discover them) to be.
I don't think I'd even blink if there was a pipe/ciggie/cigar smoking witch in a book. Maybe I just haven't ever attached the habit to any particular magic thing, be it wizards, werewolves, vamps, etc. Well, maybe vamps, Spike smokes, but he isn't a character in a novel...
Smoking witches is Rowling parochial - like Emma Thompson perhaps. I feel that a new witch would not smoke. Precisely: a modern witch has white teeth, is 153 years old, muscular, blonde - attends corporate rock festivals. This would need development, an evolution piece.
Yes, when they are tied to a post and lit with torches. By the way, I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw the question was posed by Jack Asher.
Better yet: someone named Phoenix was the first person to "Like" your comment In all seriousness, what Wreybies said.
As far as I know, historically speaking, quite a few witches were actually men, and the notion of a warty old spinster on a broomstick is something of a modern cliche, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if witches of olden times did smoke something. I've written one "real" witch (lives in contemporary USA) and she smokes, at first just for shits and giggles, later on regularly. I've also written a shaman into a world that's semi-steampunk, semi-medieval fantasy, and she doesn't smoke at all, but burns a lot of insence.
Do witches smoke? ...when burned at the stake, i'd assume they would... [sorry, couldn't resist the obvious]
Depends on the time period / cultural norms / availability of things to smoke / personality of the witch. Unless there is some kind of reason in your story that witches should / shouldn't smoke, that is. I don't feel that being a witch has any inherent effect on the likelihood that one takes up smoking.
I've read through a few of the comments, but in all honesty, I think you're asking the wrong question. The question you should ask is: Does your witch smoke in your story, and is there any meaning behind it or ways that you're planning to use her smoking?
To be honest I'm not sure if she would smoke because she is a radical badass, or if she would view smokers with contempt because she's a radical badass. What I have figured from the replies is that no one has a preconceived notion about whether witches smoke. Unlike wizards who, as everyone knows, smoke. Thanks guys.
Pop quiz! People who think they're so clever. No search engines or Wikis allowed. 1.) How many people (accused witches) were burned after the Salem witch trials?
