Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards

It should be noted that Wicca is actually a religion still practiced in the world today. Perhaps the misunderstanding of this religion has been the result of such outrageous folklore, stories, and tales to frighten people away from these beliefs and practices and to label them as evil and scary. However, over the years, there have been many depictions of wizards and witches. The most popular wizards of today, Gandalf and Harry Potter, present us with the opportunity to reinvestigate out notions about the world of witches, warlocks, and wizards.

The World of Magic

Witches, warlocks and wizards are beings (thought to be human) that possess magical powers and are able to command supernatural forces. These legendary characters, many times said to be evil and dangerous, appear in the myths and folktales of many cultures around the world. Over the centuries, legends, myths, books and movies have enhanced the belief in these mysterious creatures and their supposed powers. In many cases they are deemed evil and feared because they use their magical powers to bring harm to humans.

History depicts eras where people believed witches were Devil worshippers and that fear brought about the hunt for and execution of hundreds of people accused of being an evil witch, wizard, sorcerer or shaman. The persecution and death of many innocent people occurred when evil intent or activity was never factually substantiated in many cases.

Some magical witches have been associated with White Magic and deemed to be good in modern times. These supernatural characters include: Glinda, the Good Witch in the ‘Wizard of Oz’, Aunt Clara from the TV Show, “Bewitched,” “Sabrina,” the TV teenage witch. These good witches in myth and legend are usually depicted as dressing in white and are beautiful. The warlocks and wizards of good are said to be handsome persuasive men who strive to help people and are mentors to kings, lords, and warriors.

The Wizard of Oz

The human fascination with witches and wizards seems to revolve around their magical powers. The history of these beings is very old and is seen on every continent. These supernatural beings are found in the Hebrew Bible, in the Greek epic ‘Odyssey’, the legends of King Arthur (of which there are hundreds of stories and a variety of television and movie interpretations), Slavic folklore, ancient African Shaman tales, Native American stories about the “ Adilgashii”, Hindu sorcerers, Pacific Island dream-seekers and more.

Perhaps you are familiar with these stories and tales surrounding these characters: Nimue (Morgan Le Fay), Circe, the Lady of the Lake, Baba Yaga, the Warlock of Gramarye,  Marie Laveau, Elphaba, Nessarose, Elvira, Esmeralda, Tammy Blee, Joan Wytte, Galadriel, Jadis of Charn, The Witch King of Angmar,  Aunt Hagatha (Bewitched),  Medea, Freyja, The Witch of Endor, Aradia, Fautus, St. Germaine, Edward Kelley, “La Voisin”, Taliesin Europe, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, lbus Dumbledore.

Warlocks, Witches, and Wizards UK Stamp Collection

Witches, Warlocks and Wizards have played an active part in human history since ancient times. The tales, myths and documented facts about these mystical magical and mysterious characters continue to fascinate the ordinary people of today.  Modern fantasy novels, movies, TV Shows and video games are abundant in every corner of the world. Perhaps it is the theme of each tale and the battle of good vs. evil, or it may be just the human fascination with the dark mysterious forces of magic that keep the presence of these beings ever active in our imagination and life.

Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings