Witches (Discworld)

A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. They are closely based on witches in British folklore, combined with modern Wicca and a slightly tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of the Triple Goddess.

Witch magic is very different from the wizard magic taught in the Unseen University, and consists largely of finding the right lever that makes everything else work. Witches rarely do any magic, in fact, relying more on common sense, hard work, and a peculiar brand of psychology known as "headology".

The role of witches has been defined as "smoothing out life's humps and bumps" and "helping people when life's on the edge", and they take this obligation seriously. They also never ask for anything in return.

(There are ways and ways of not asking for anything in return, of course. Nanny Ogg, for instance, insists that part of her job is to take the first pint of every brewing and the first cake of every baking, to prevent occult forces using them against people.)

The three main witches in the books are Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick.

Esmeralda Weatherwax

Esmerelda Weatherwax (usually called Granny Weatherwax) is the Crone. In fact it has been suggested she embodies all three, but the Crone is the most obvious. (In the books, the triple nature of the coven is always referred to as "the maiden, the mother and... the other one" in her presence). She is the most powerful witch in the Ramtops but, as mentioned above, powerful witches rarely do magic. While she can cast some extremely impressive spells if pushed, much of her power comes from headology, a sort of folk-psychology which can be summed up as "if people think you're a witch, you might as well be one". For instance, Granny could, if she wished, curse people. However it is simpler for her to say she's cursed them, and let them assume she's responsible for the next bit of bad luck that happens to befall them.

It has been said that the difference between headology and psychology is that a pychologist will convice you that there are no monsters, whereas a headologist will hand you a bat and a chair to stand on.

She has a near-unshakeable belief in her own abilities which has, thus far, proved accurate, and an extreme distrust of stories. She was intended by nature to be a "wicked witch", but at an early age realised she had to be "the good one" to balance her sister, Lily. Ironically, Lily, who became a fairy godmother, was convinced she was the good one, because she gave people what she thought they wanted. Granny Weatherwax gives people what she knows they need. As Pratchett would put it, being Good and Right doesn't make you Nice, and she isn't.

Gytha Ogg

Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is the Mother. She has been married three times and has seventeen kids, but that's incidental: what makes her the Mother is her mentality. People go to Granny Weatherwax for help when they have no choice, but they go to Nanny for advice all the time. Granny is respected, but Nanny is actually liked.

She's a lot cleverer than Esme in some ways, and one of these is people sense, so she generally doesn't let it show (since most people don't trust people who are more clever than them). Gytha Ogg is seen as "one of the people" in a way that Esme isn't. While Granny thinks there's no point in competing if you aren't going to win, Nanny reckons the sympathy you get for being a good runner-up is much better. Granny comes across as judgemental, whereas Nanny has a mind so broad she could tie it under her chin. She appears to be kinder than Granny, but is equally prepared to make tough decisions if necessary.

Amongst the duties of a witch are midwifery and laying out the dead. If possible, people call Nanny for the former and Granny for the latter.

Magrat Garlick

The Maiden was originally Magrat Garlick, who was best described as "a wet hen". She tends to believe in crystals, folk wisdom and cycles of nature, and is, in short, something of a gentle parody of New Age types. However, beneath this she is surprisingly practical. (In fact, it could be suggested that all the witches represent an alternate view of a different stereotype of witches: Granny is, as noted, the classic fairy tale witch, Nanny the village wise woman and Magrat the modern romantic Wiccan.)

She is technically a better doctor than the other two, since she actually believes in herbalism, whereas Granny tends to use whatever plant comes to hand and headology (in this case the placebo effect). She is now Queen of Lancre, and has one daughter, Princess Esmeralda Margaret Note Spelling. This unusual name was the result of an effort to ensure the naming ceremony didn't suffer the same mistake that led to her being saddled with the name Magrat.

Agnes Nitt

Following Magrat's marriage to King Verence II, the role of maiden has been (reluctantly) taken up by Agnes Nitt, a sensible young woman who suffers from a self-induced multiple personality disorder. Tired of being seen as someone with "a nice personality and good hair", she tried to create a new, more exciting persona for herself. Unfortunately, this persona, Perdita, developed an actual existence in her mind. Perdita is even more romantic than Magrat, although more Gothic than New Age.

As a consequence, Agnes Nitt is in two minds about everything. The first mind is herself; the second is Perdita. Agnes herself is short and chubby. Perdita is, of course, physically short and chubby as well, but doesn't think like someone who's short and chubby. (She is, essentially, the "thin girl trying to get out".) Perdita very rarely takes control, except in emergencies. Most of the time she's content to sit in the back of Agnes's mind and make sarcastic comments.

We first meet Agnes/Perdita in Lords and Ladies when she is one of the 'cool' new witches, led by Lucy "Diamanda" Tockley. And the only one other than Diamanda to have any real Talent. After the coven's break-up, she tried to become an operatic singer in Ankh-Morpork under the name of 'Perdita X Dream'. However her essential practicality couldn't cope with the world of Opera, and then Granny and Nanny arrived to complicate things further.

Due to her situation, Agnes is highly resistant to mental effects. Anyone trying to fascinate or hypnotise her will find the other personality breaking through at the worst moment.

Other Witches

Besides the Lancre Coven, other witches featured in the books include:

Tiffany Aching A very young witch (11 at her last appearance), from the chalklands Rimward of the Ramtops. Tiffany is a friend of the Nac Mac Feegle and has already earned Granny Weatherwax's respect. She's also very good at making cheese. Currently apprenticed to Miss Level. Tiffany is the main character in The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky.

Miss Tick A traveling witch who makes a living as a teacher, a role which has given her a habit of correcting punctuation and grammar. Since she often finds herself in areas where witches are unwelcome, she has a spring-operated hat that only points when she wants it to. She appears in The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky.

Mrs Gogol A Voodoo witch from Genua and the mother of Baroness Ella Saturday. She opposed Lady Lilith, but was on the very edge of being just as bad. Appears in Witches Abroad.

Old Mother Dismass A very old witch who has been fortune telling for so long that she is no longer able to keep her mind in the present. Appears in Witches Abroad and "The Sea and Little Fishes" (short story).

Gammer Beavis A witch who teaches school over the mountain from Lancre. She takes snuff and does her own shoe repairs, which makes her All Right in Nanny Ogg's book, but has a nasty habit of being reasonable when provoked. Appears in Witches Abroad and "The Sea and Little Fishes".

Mrs Lettice Earwig The wife of a retired wizard and a natural organiser, especially of things that don't really need organising. Mrs Earwig isn't actually bad, but is extremely snobbish, has very poor people skills, and tends to assume everyone would really agree with her if they weren't so stupid (so does Granny Weatherwax, of course, but at least she doesn't blame them for being stupid). She has written a book about "Magik" (the "k" is to distinguish what she considers the True Craft from the everyday stuff Granny Weatherwax et al. do) and is the chairwoman of the Witch Trials committee. She appears in "The Sea and Little Fishes" and A Hat Full of Sky.

Miss Level A witch who formerly worked in a circus and for whom the phrase "I've only got one pair of hands" was highly inappropriate, and is now only technically accurate. She appears in A Hat Full of Sky.

Diamanda Tockley Her real name is Lucy Tockley, but she thought Diamanda was more witchy. She was born in Lancre, but went away to school, and returned while the Coven were touring the Disc. She set up her own coven, insisting that the Wisdom of the Ancients was more significant than anything a lot of old people knew. How much wisdom she actually had may be illustrated by her willingness to summon elves. At the end of Lords and Ladies, Granny speculated she might have a relationship with the young wizard Ponder Stibbons, but he returned to Unseen University.

External link

• http://www.lspace.org/books/analysis/stacie-hanes.html is an in-depth look at the Lancre Coven and their role as aspects of the triple goddess.