Warlock

Warlocks are, among historic Christian traditions, said to be the male equivalent of witches (usually in the pejorative sense of Europe's Middle Ages), and were said to ride pitchforks instead of broomsticks which normally witches would ride. In traditional Scottish witchcraft, "warlock" was and is simply the term used for a wizard, or male witch. [McNeill, F. Marian, "The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland", Glasgow: William Maclellan,1957, vol 1; also Chambers, Robert, "Domestic Annals of Scotland", Edinburgh: 1861, and Sinclair, George, "Satan's Invisible World Discovered", Edinburgh, 1871] A synonym is sorcerer. [Huson, Paul, "Mastering Witchcraft": A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens", New York, G.P.Putnams, 1970, 2006, ISBN 0-595-42006-0]

Etymology

The commonly accepted etymology derives ' from the Old English ' meaning deceiver, or "oathbreaker". [Old English "unicode|wǽr-loʒa" weak masculine (="traitor, enemy, devil, etc.") = Old Saxon "wâr-logo" weak masculine (=? "deceiver") (once, Hêliand 3817, in plural "wârlogon" applied to the Pharisees). The first element is probably Old English "wǽr" strong feminine (="covenant") = Old High German "wâra" (="truth"), Old Norse "várar" strong feminine plural ("solemn promise, vow") (cf. "Vǽringi" = "confederate, Varangian"); cf. Old Slavic. "věra" ("faith). This is a derivative from the adjective represented by Old English "wǽr" ("true") (once, Genesis 681; ? a. Old Saxon.) = Old Saxon, Old High German "wâr" ("true"): - Old Teutonic "unicode|*wǣro-": - Pre-Teutonic "unicode|*wāro-" = Latin "vērus". The second element (an agent-n. related to Old English "léoʒan" ("to lie belie, deny") occurs also in the similar comps. "unicode|áþ-loʒa", "unicode|tréow-loʒa" (Old Saxon "treulogo"), "unicode|wed-loʒa" (Middle English "wedlowe"), ("an oath-breaker"), etc. - [http://dictionary.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)] ] A derivation from the Old Norse "varð-lokkur", "caller of spirits" has also been suggested, [cite web| url=http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/witch/warlock.txt| title=WARLOCK| publisher=Ladyoftheearth.com| accessdate=2006-04-30| format=TXT] however the Oxford English Dictionary considers this etymology inadmissible. ["ON. varðlokkur wk. fem. pl. ... incantation, suggested already in Johnson, is too rare (? occurring once), with regard to the late appearance of the -k forms, to be considered." — [http://dictionary.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)] ]

The Oxford English Dictionary also provides the following meanings of the word: "Warlock" v¹ "Obs". (ex. "dial".) "rare", also "warloke": To secure (a horse) as with a fetterlock. "Warlock" v²: To bar against hostile invasion. ["The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary", volume II, Oxford University Press, p.3688]

Modern witchcraft

Although some modern practitioners of witchcraft identify themselves as 'warlocks', many avoid this term and/or find it offensive. Wiccans in particular consider it to be a pejorative term, meaning "oath-breaker". [Walker, Wren (1999). [http://www.witchvox.com/basics/wfaq.html "Witch/Wiccan FAQ"] from [http://www.witchvox.com The Witches' Voice] . Retrieved 2007-03-12.] Wiccans use the term "warlock" to mean one who has been banished from a coven, either for revealing secrets, or for breaking coven laws. [Gerald Gardner, "The Meaning of Witchcraft", London: Aquarian Press, 1959] However, in many forms of Traditional Satanism, with its strong association to histrionics and counter-cultural "shock value," [cite book |author=Kocsis, Richard N. |title=Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crimes |publisher=Humana Press |location=Totowa, NJ |year=2007 |pages= |isbn=1-58829-685-7 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=] the term "warlock" is embraced and employed as the primary title for a male member of the coven.

In popular culture

Warlocks appear in a number of fantasy and science fiction novels, movies and games. They may be portrayed as humans who have attained magical or mystical powers, often evil, such as in the fantasy television series "Charmed", in which warlocks are the evil counterparts to good witches. Elsewhere, the distinction between 'warlock' and 'witch' may be purely one of gender, such as in the television series "Bewitched" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Alternatively, warlocks may be portrayed as a separate species or alien race, such as in the comic book series "Nemesis the Warlock". Occasionally the term is used to refer to technological wizardry rather than magic, such as in Christopher Stasheff's "Warlock of Gramarye" series of novels, or in the film "Live Free or Die Hard", where 'W4rl0ck' is a computer hacker.

See also

*Magician (paranormal)

References

External links

* [http://www.boudicca.de/warlock-e.htm What is a Warlock?]