A witch, in the universe of The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches, is a human born with the ability to sense and control spirits. Witches may have other preternatural abilities, including telepathy and telekinesis, and may or may not understand the nature or extent of their powers.
Characteristics[]
The ability to practice witchcraft is to some degree genetic, and witches from a long or inbred line of other witches may be more powerful. Witches are usually women, though it is also possible for men to be born and use the abilities of witches. Julien Mayfair is a notable male witch, and his descendant Quinn Blackwood speculates that he may also meet the definition. Witches are more likely to have specific physical characteristics, including red hair, tall height, or a small sixth finger on one hand.
Though many witches have the DNA required to conceive a Taltos, it is unclear whether this is a trait of the Mayfair Witches primarily, or if this is the genetic source of the ability to command spirits.
Witchcraft[]
Witchcraft is the ability to evoke and to control spirits, though a witch's control over any spirit is based on their own relationship with the spirit in question, and witches may be manipulated or lied to by the spirits they work with. Throughout history, many witches called upon spirits to control the weather, find lost objects, create illusions, and learn secrets. Some witches can summon the spirits of the dead and communicate with them, but these ghosts may actually be different spirits pretending to be ghosts to achieve their own ends. Witches can use their powers to acquire wealth, manipulate or kill other humans, or provide their services for the good of their community.
It is not uncommon for witches to have additional supernatural powers that are not directly tied to spirits, including the ability to see the history of objects by touching them, the ability to read minds, or telekinesis. Several witches, including Charlotte and Merrick Mayfair, demonstrate some ability to spellbind or magically seduce, though the exact nature of this power is ambiguous. Some of the Mayfair Witches kept body parts of their dead relatives, presumably to be able to contact that person's ghost, or to see their history using a form of touch telepathy. Spirits may also enter and take control of the body of a witch, though spirits have some ability to do this with other humans as well.
The rituals and practices of witchcraft depend on the spirit the witch communicates with, and the individual witch's personal religious or spiritual beliefs. Lasher primarily communicates with his witches fairly directly and in English, communication with other spirits is shown to incorporate elements of voodoo or Catholic religious practices.
Though witchcraft exists within the universe of The Vampire Chronicles, the historical persecution of witches is somewhat separate from the actual existence of witchcraft, likely resulting in the deaths of powerless women with only the occasional witch being tried for witchcraft. Suzanne and Deborah Mayfair were both killed for practicing witchcraft, but it is implied to have occured because their witchcraft no longer benefited their communities or families as it once had.