WCCP Witch Information
WITCH
Witchcraft and the belief in its existence have existed since the dawn of history. They have been present or central at various times, and in many diverse forms, among cultures and religions worldwide, including both "primitive" and "highly advanced" cultures, and continue to have an important role in many cultures today. Witches live freely within today’s society, at least to the point that they do not need to fear being actively hunted. But they still hide their knowledge from the human world as a whole, knowing that sharing such things will lead to fear of persecution or worse those that would make them use their powers for unspeakable evils against the world. It for these reasons and many more that true witch’s keep their abilities and lineage a secret. Their ability to control others’, and affect the world around them inspires fear and mistrust. Ordinary people who find out what a witch or warlock can do either want to learn his secrets, too, or want a ritual performed for them, or want to kill them due to their misunderstanding of what they really are. In fact the murder of suspected of witches still takes place in certain areas of the world. But this sort of prosecution has been know all throughout the witch’s history. Witches who are open about their abilities have been known to cause uproars that have led to tradgeity, hence when this occurs they are swiftly dealt with by the leaders of their kind. So no all witches keep their abilities secret from the human world. Some who uncover the secret attempt to blackmail a mystic or beg to learn their secrets, but witches are forbidden to do so and the human must be dealt with accordingly. Other beings that do not have a blood connection to a witch’s linage cannot become a witch. The magic is passed down through generations, though it might skip a few, there is still always a link to it somewhere within a person’s family tree. One of the keys to the survival of many hedge witches -- especially the poor or members of religious or ethnic minorities -- is information. In addition to using their own craft to keep track of people's feelings and actions, many possess familiars as companion’s, protectors, lovers, friends, any number of reasons that a Shapeshifter is chosen. But this link provides them with a connection between the two and has been of common practice for centuries. It is where the commonly known ledge of witch familiars came from. Familiars are linked to their witch’s is a unquie bond, the link allows them to not only feel each other when apart, they can in ways communicate and always know where the other is. Most often this links provides a great deal of comfort and closeness between a witch and her familiar. Witches usually don't find their abilities until their mid-teens, when they must be trained by an elder witch or warlock to harness the powers. it's mentally and physically draining and takes a great deal of practice to get things right. Learning on one’s own can be done, but it takes a great deal longer and has its own dangers. Thus when a witch is found or felt to have her powers he or she is taken in under the guidance by a mentor. Strength
Weaknesses
Social StructureWitch's have a strong connection to each other and usually form a social and magical community where ever they go. Though their a lone witch's they tend to feel as if they are missing that sense of community or connection. They also lack the protection of the rest of the coven and all the education and resources that they can provide. And are watched closely by the council as they are believed to be more a risk to themselves and others of their kind for various reasons. Each area or state will have a witch upon the council to represent their needs within the area (GM CONTROL character or npc for now). These witch's see to keeping the community connected and looked after, and see to dealing out punishment to any witch that breaks the set rules of their kind. IC Rules
Interaction With Other SpeciesHumanThey remain watchful of the humans due to the history of their percussion. And keep the truth of what they are what they can do a secret from those not within the supernatural haven. But they don't intentional have ill towards all humans. After all you can not blame them all for a few the choices made by other people. Still trust is something they must earn. ShapeshifterShapeshifters and witch have a long history of working together and living in a state of symbiosis. Centuries ago it became common practice to take a shapeshifter as a familiar. Binding them together for as long as the witch lives or deems such. Breaking this link is not easy, and will leave both with a physical and emotional scar. As this link does go as deep as the souls within the pairing. They are able to feel each other no matter the distance (though if far away it may feel weakened). They also have the ability to feel or know where they are, or at least have the general understanding of such. They can also feel the emotional state of each other, the stronger the emotion the clear it feels. VampireThey can also companions to Vampires as they are still human as well. A human's body is warm and vampires crave the warmth that its own body has lost. Though there is one drawback, a vampire cannot feed off a witch’s blood as it is poison, tainted by their ability to touch the nexus' energy. FaeThey have a mutual understanding between them, as they are not simply human but beings of magic as well. They fae have a rumor that in ancient times a human bred with a Fae and allowed them to obtain their magic. The witch's of course say this is nothing but a rumor, in the end that time is lost and no one really knows the truth anymore. Types of PracticesThese types of practices are available to PC's. Things like Necromancers are only for GM use. Also as a note, these descriptions are interpretations that fit within the setting and are no way meant to perfect representations of the different types or meant to insult anyone's beliefs. They are simply interpretations worked to fit within the setting. DruidSince Druidry is a spiritual path – a religion to some, a way of life to others – Druids share a belief in the fundamentally spiritual nature of life. With this thinking they will favor a particular way of understanding the source of this spiritual nature, and may also feel themselves to be animists. Druids believe that Deity does not exist as one or more personal gods, but is instead present in all things, and is everything. The greatest characteristic of most modern-day Druids lies in their tolerance of diversity: a Druid gathering can bring together people who have widely varying views about deity, or none, and they will happily participate in ceremonies together, celebrate the seasons, and enjoy each others’ company – realizing that none of us has the monopoly on truth, and that diversity is both healthy and natural. Nature forms such an important focus of their reverence, all Druids sense Nature as divine or sacred. Every part of nature is sensed as part of the great web of life, with no one creature or aspect of it having supremacy over any other. Unlike religions that are anthropocentric, believing humanity occupies a central role in the scheme of life, this conception is systemic and holistic, and sees humankind as just one part of the wider family of life. Druid Spells
ShamanThe word shaman originated from a word in Siberia and came to be applied to all medicine men and women of indigenous cultures who’s practice includes the flight of the soul. Anthropologist studying indigenous cultures throughout the world, began to find that for different cultures, there were similarities in the way the medicine men and women worked with healing and connecting to the spiritual aspect of people and the world. While there were differences specific to culture, there were specific practices that could be found in most cultures.
As a healing practice, shamanism has been very powerful for both the people of today and those reaching back into the beginnings of recorded history.Shamans work with the spirit or the soul. They heal illness at the soul level. They gain knowledge and insight from working with the spirits of nature such as rocks and trees, the land, and they gain knowledge from working with spirits of animals and humans such as their ancestors. For the shaman, everything is alive and carries information. You can call this spirit, energy, or consciousness. In order to communicate with the spirit or consciousness of these things, the shaman will shift his or her own state of awareness. Shamans can do this through various means, such as meditation, repetitive sounds such as that of the drum or rattle, or through the help of hallucinogenic plants. The shaman will then “see” through a new set of eyes, they will see what is going on with you on a spiritual level. Shaman Spells
Techo PaganModernists in every sense of the word, the Techno Pagans claims neither ancient texts nor links to the ancient practitioners of their craft. Instead they forge ahead feeling that Humans have touched on the supernal through modern ideas, science and technology. By learning these ideas the Techno Pagans hopes to change the face of magic and revitalize it for the modern age. Techno Pagen's use of modern-day devices in magical ritual. This can include the substitution of technology for traditional magical tools, such as using their oven for a hearth, keeping a "Disk of Shadows" instead of a "Book of Shadows", and using a laser pointer as a wand. In other practice, technology is the target of the magical work, such as the use of stones and other charms to help improve the performance of mundane items or online role-playing avatars. Techno pagen's do not use the traditional energy's or lines of communication that humans do. So they do not use the internet, radio waves, cell phone signals and so forth when preforming their magic.(when not doing magic they use normal technology as they normally would). In fact they connect and use the lay lines that run all over the world to work their magic's. Their devices connect to this and preform similar actions as if they were connected to the humans networks. No you can't search google on your tablet dedicate to your craft. But you can communicate with others witches, cast spells with them as if they were standing next to you, use a gps as a scrying map, use a camera as a tool to see magical energies and entities and so forth. But all of this is done using the spiritual lay lines in the witch's area. There are even spells in place to protect a witches chosen tools (table, phone, camera....) if it is compromised or someone that is not the actual witch tries to steal or use the item it is prevented. In fact in most cases becomes utterly useless or returns directly to the witch it belongs to. This makes hacking or stealing from the techno pagans impossible. But this does not mean that it can not affect modern technology or things, as they are using their devises to cast a spell over something. But the link can no be reverse because the tech being affected has not been adapted to tap into the lay lines used by techno pagans. Techno Pagan Spells
information from any technological device on the standard human network. (OOC NOTE: If the item being 'hacked' belongs to another player's character, they must be contacted and asked permission via PM before this spell is used in game.)
VoodooThe widely held image of Voodoo in the Western world is one of wax dolls with pins sticking out of them and black magic. It is, however, one of the world’s most ancient religions. Voodoo arrived in the West during the slave trading days, and the basis of the religion came from Africa. The practice as it is most widely known was structured in Haiti, where a variety of different ethnic groups amalgamated their traditions into this form of the religion. Voodoo is a West African word meaning "spirit," and comes from term vodun. The basic ethos of the religion is that everything in the universe is connected. Nothing happens by chance in this world, and there are no accidents. Everything that one person does to another, he is doing to himself, because he is that person. Religious ceremonies contain prayers, dancing, and rituals, as well as animal sacrifices. The figure of the snake plays a major part in the rituals, and the high priest or priestess will embody the serpent’s power. Spirits of wealth, nature, and happiness possess the bodies of believers at the ceremony. Dancing and music are also major elements. In the West, the dancing has often been portrayed as sexual, but that is not its main purpose: it's a way to connect with spirits and the spirit world. Practitioners also use spells, most of which are performed to evoke good, not harm. There are healing spells, love spells, and spells to celebrate joy. The image of black magic and harmful spells was mainly founded by Europeans who had a distrust of anything African. Voodoo SpellsVoodoo Oils - Knowing how to make Voodoo oils is a big first step in mastering the finer art of Voodoo spell casting. Oil types - Youth, Sleeping, antidote, fertility (to give or take), truth, enhance the body for a limited time(only in one way at a time IE Speed-strength-stamin....)have no dreams, have good dreams, have bad dreams, euphoria, healing and beauty(mainly for dem old witchs :P) Voodoo Dolls - The function is that the doll represents a certain person and helps you direct your energy and intentions to them specifically. Sticking pins into your voodoo doll isn’t going to necessarily cause a surge of pain. (OOC NOTE: The player of the character the voodoo doll has been made to represent MUST agree to all actions taken against their character via PM before it occurs in game. If any god-modding happens because of this spell the victim of the modding is to come directly to the GM staff and report the occurrence. The GM staff will then take action.)
WiccanWiccan views on theology are numerous and varied and there is no universally agreed-upon religious canon, but Wicca is traditionally revlovling around the belief in spirits energy or deities such as the Triple Goddess associated with the moon, stars, and often the Earth, and a Horned God associated with the sun, forests and animals. For most Wiccans, the God and Goddess are seen as complementary polarities in the universe that balance one another out.Many traditions hold a belief in the five classical elements. These five elements are invoked during many magical rituals, notably when consecrating a magic circle. The five elements are air, fire, water and earth, plus aether (or spirit). There are many rituals within Wicca that are used when celebrating the Sabbats, worshiping the deities and working magic. Often these take place on a full moon, or in some cases a new moon, which is known as an Esbat. In typical rites, the coven or solitary assembles inside a ritually cast and purified magic circle. Casting the circle may involve the invocation of the "Guardians" of the cardinal points, alongside their respective classical elements; air, fire, water and earth. Once the circle is cast, a seasonal ritual may be performed, prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked. These practices are filled with tradition and history passed down from generation to generation, as such even today modern wiccan's use the tools and ideals that have been in use and believed in for centuries. Wiccan Spells
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