Basically, I have always been interested in witchcraft and that interest is what inspired me to write a character who is a witch. I have done some research on witchcraft and its history, however, there is still much that I don't know about the culture. Therefore, I would like some pointers in the right direction on how I can write this character without being offensive or stereotypical. Any help would be highly appreciated.
hi, I just had to click as your profile pic is so cute. un-stereotypical magic: how about the character taps into that world where u get sleep paralysis. u evr had that ? its pretty "occult"
Thank you . I think the title for this pic was "Owl Knight" or something along those lines. Anyway, yes, I could maybe have him experience something similar to sleep paralysis when communicating with spirits. Or, maybe if the spirit wants to speak through him to someone else, it can possess him, and that is when he will experience something like sleep paralysis.
What kind of a witch? Like a hedgewitch? Potions and charms and that sort of thing? What is considered 'witchcraft' varies from culture to culture, so the best thing you can probably do is look into the folklore of the area where your story is set, see what their beliefs are about witches and witchcraft and see if you can work any of that in. Of course, if you're dealing with Puritans then a witch is just 'anyone I don't like'.
Since I'm creating a world from scratch, I guess 'witchcraft' for my character's people would involve healing, communicating with the Divine, and so on. Would this moreso qualify him as a shaman or would he still be a witch? Also, what is a hedgewitch? I've heard of term at some point, but I've never understood what it meant.
A shaman is a sort-of priest who communes with God or gods. A witch is basically an alchemist who chants incantations while doing so (perhaps IRL this created the illusion of witchcraft). I'm not sure about historical witchcraft, beyond it essentially being communion with the Devil (literally), speaking "in tongues", and perhaps reading backwards or something. I know Devil-worship is common amongst historical witches (or supposed-witches). As you probably already gathered, half of all accused witches were male so "witch" isn't female-specific (at least historically). What you describe though sounds like a "Witch Doctor" or shaman (or a mix of the two) since it sounds mostly plausible (except for communicating with the divine, of course, although I'm sure plenty of real witch doctors take/took drugs to trash their brain into thinking they were/are).
Thank you. I tried searching for a few sources about witchcraft, and I found this page that lists different types of witches and their practices. I'll compare what I've found on there with this other website that discusses shamanistic practices and such.
Keep in mind that shamanism and witchcraft differ from country to country. Like in Ancient Japan, the Shaman-Queen Himiko (I think) had visions from her dreams. Meanwhile in South America shamans brew some kind of brain-masher and... drink it? Anyway, point is, shamanism can range from simple dreams analysis to the use of drugs as well as ritualistic prayer.
Alright, I'll keep in mind that there is no one version if either a witch or a shaman. Thank you for your help .
First, is what you've already done. You've researched. The culture, though varies. Every culture has a variation of witches and they're all different. So you got a great start But I think the most important thing is what do you want. If you had no restraints, what would you do with this witch character? Then put restraints on and see if you can work something else.
That's a good question. If I had no restraints, I guess I would have my character able to communicate with spirits and the gods, have a vast knowledge of herbs and their use, and possibly be a housebound-nudist (or, dang near). Then, with those restraints, I will still have him able to communicate with and the gods, and he will still have that vast knowledge of herbs and their use. However, I won't make him a nudist. But, it would be nice if he liked gardening, and he kept a journal of some sort for learning about new and foreign herbs that could be used in healing salves and such.
I've actually never heard of it until now. Thanks for the tip, I'll try to find it at a cheap price .
