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Wizard Definition: wizard — noun
One who practices magic; a sorcerer or magician.
A skilled or clever person: a wizard at math.
Archaic. A sage.
Wizard & Witch’s Story
The classic image of a wizard is an old man with a long white beard, flowing robes, and a pointy hat. This image is depicted in Harry Potter’s Dumbledore, Tolkien’s Gandalf, and most modern images in print and film. There are many different types of people who have historically said to practice magic. They also studied alchemy, astrology, herbology, occultism, and other arcane arts. Wizards are just one example. This page will include wizards, witches (not as practitioners of the Wiccan religion), sorcerers, mages, and occultists. Wizards are defined as males who are lore-masters of arcane and esoteric knowledge and practitioners of magic. Witches are female versions of the same. Sorcerors are similar but are usually associated with dark magic and call upon the powers of evil spirits to do their deeds. A mage is a person who is able to utilize the powers of nature to bring about transformations. Occultists are people who study and utilize occult or supernatural knowledge.
The practice of magic (not as in stage show illusionists) dates as far back as the African, South American, and Asian shamans and Greco-Roman times. It was also practiced widely in the Mediteranean basin and the Middle East in the first centuries BC. They became most popular in Medeival and Renaissance times as assistants to kings and researchers. Everyone has heard about Merlin the Magician from King Arthur legends. The Merlin we know today first appeared in 1135 AD as a synthesis of a British tale of the “wildman of the woods” and a fatherless baby named Ambrosious who made prophecies. He has morphed into a combination wizard and druid in modern cinema and books.
The most popular place to find wizards in present times is in fiction. Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons are filled with magic spells, potions, and weaponry. Elminster was the wizard from Forgotten Realm’s many books. Similarly, there is much wizardry in the popular card game “Magic:The Gathering.” There are many books that tell tales of wizardry and magic. And of course, film is full of wizards as well. A personal favorite is “Wizards,” an animated tale by Ralph Bakshi. Emperor Palpatine , considered a sorceror, is balanced by Obiwan Kenobi’s white wizardry in the Star Wars movies.
Addendum from Louie:Wizards are a tricky bunch. You never really know what you are going to get until you take a bite. Ha Ha Ha! Just kidding (…or am I?…) There are so many types of wizards and I’ve run into them all. I remember a night in Grubelavia when I met this guy in a bar. Went by the name Rhoquegar Nafgar Danworver. I called him Dan. He said he was a wizard so I bought him a round. Always pays to be nice to wizards. He turned out an okay guy… sent me a special potion he mixed up to help with this itch I had. Worked like magic. Then there was the witch I met in Spain… Sozetera Casaroco…. mmmmm……. But you gotta be careful! They aren’t always nice people. Ten cups of gold bullion and 3 large rubies it cost me to get patched up after running into one sorceror. He was called Turtor Abdiel Furfur Pytho, a name which definately should’ve tipped me off to the fact that he was no good. Sometimes I’m just too trusting
