Wizards and Witches

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C4315
From: catlady_de_los_angeles
Subject: Re: Wizards and Witches
Reply To: [Yahoo! #4308] Wizards and Witches
Date: 7/15/00 12:52 am  (ET)

> Witches are always females, whereas warlocks are "male" witches,
correct? Why are wizards only males? warlocks:witches::wizards: ? What,
if any, is the difference between a warlock and a wizard? Why can't a
female be a wizard?

This whole thing is because JKR believes that the word for a woman
who uses magic is 'witch' and the word for a man who uses magic is
'wizard'. One of the newspaper article described young Jo Rowling playing
with a gang of kids including her sister Di and Ian and Vicki Potter. The
kids liked to play 'make-believe' games and often the girls dressed as
witches while the boys dressed as wizards. Gender is the only difference.

I'm glad the kids had fun, but if their parents or TV had read them
different storybooks, they might have been witches and warlocks instead
(like on the Bewitched TV show), or wizards and wizardesses. In my frpg
life, I'm used to calling magic users (regardless of gender) 'mages' or
'MUs'. I haven't yet had a chance to say "I'm not a mage but I play one
in frpg.

'Warlock' is actually a nasty word, meaning 'oathbreaker', and I don't
know why Chf. Warlock is one of Dumbledore's titles on his letterhead.