Whereas a Wizard Classic will have his head in the clouds, always watching the stars, a witch will be Closer to Earth, watching the seasons turn and advising people when to plant their crops. Association with Nature and the Earth: Witches are often portrayed as very knowledgeable in the workings of nature, especially plants and weather.When a witch doesn't have a cat, other animals they might have include owls, crows, toads, and mice. The animals being able to communicate with their owners through Telepathy, or just being able to speak to all humans, is common. The animal is usually a Familiar that aids in spells in some way or is sometimes magic in their own right. Animal Companions: Witches are often seen around animals, especially nocturnal ones, although cats are the most common by far, especially black ones.In works with low amounts of fantasy, this may be omitted, but broomstick flying is something that is relatively unique to witches and not strongly associated with other types of magic users. Broomsticks as a Transportation Method: Witches are known for using broomsticks for flight (and sometimes fight).This is not (always) an artistic convention to allow depiction of nudity but has been found in religious traditions going back to Jainism (where the term skyclad came from) and Hesiod's Works and Days however, the association of witchcraft with ritual nudity, as opposed to, say, just a lack of inhibitions, only goes back to the foundation of Gardnerian Wicca in the 1950s.

Goth clothing is also associated with classic witches, as is the New-Age Retro Hippie's typical style of flowy garments.Īlternatively, they may appear naked (or 'skyclad'). The Hot Witch especially tends to dress more wildly while the Wicked Witch is almost always traditionally attired. Often they dress normally, especially if they want to blend in, and the traditional clothing only comes out for spell casting or ceremonies. Traditional Witchy Attire: Black medieval or colonial period dresses and a black pointed hat are the most traditional, but not every witch buys into the uniform.While witchcraft beliefs - the folkloric that people work malicious magic on their neighbors - are found in virtually every culture, being absent only in certain hunting and gathering societies and modern industrial ones, the details of the trope as it appears in Western works is almost exclusively derived from Western folklore. While the term witch itself is often applied as a catch-all word for female magic users in fiction, the witch, as it has evolved out of Western traditions and folklore, has a number of distinct trappings and tropes.

Saniime witch riding broom