Warlock

For other meanings of the term, see warlock (disambiguation).

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. In traditional Scottish witchcraft, "warlock" was and is simply the term used for a wizard, or male witch. A synonym is sorcerer.

In a Wiccan context, the word was originally used, maybe coined, by Gerald Gardner as a verb meaning "to bind", as with cords during an initiation ceremony, or prior to a ritual scourgingbut modern Wiccans now appear to use the word in a pejorative sense, considering it to be a derogatory term for "oath-breaker".

In some pop culture TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bewitched warlocks are simply male witches; in the TV show Charmed a warlock is an evil witch, a "traitor to an oath" who steals other witches' powers, while any good witch, male or female, is a "witch".

Etymology

The most commonly accepted etymology derives warlock from the Old English wǣrloga meaning deceiver, or "oathbreaker". However, one source suggests that the word may come from the Old Norse varð-lokkur, "caller of spirits". Varðlokkur is also translated by some as 'ward-locks' or 'protections', and is an invocation chant used in spæ (scrying).

The Oxford English Dictionary also provides the following meanings of the word, which is possibly where Gerald Gardner found his Wiccan usage of the term: Warlock v¹ Obs. (ex. dial.) rare, also warloke: To secure (a horse) as with a fetterlock. Warlock v²: To bar against hostile invasion.

A highly speculative etymology interprets 'wærloga' as 'the man of the logs' alluding to the pieces of wood the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian priests and wise men (called bards and skalds, respectively) used to divine by means of the runes. This etymology seems to have been created to support neopagan beliefs about the past, inasmuch as warlock then appears to be a slang word of Christian coinage pejoratively used for those who remained Pagan and practising the art of the runes. However, its dependence upon sarcastic Christians referring to small pieces of wood as 'logs' makes it extremely unlikely, especially since the etymological roots of 'log' are believed to refer to felled trees or equally massive objects.

Warlocks in books and comics

In the Sword of Shannara books by Terry Brooks, the Warlock Lord was Brona, a druid who delved too deeply and quickly into forbidden knowledge and was corrupted by it.

Christopher Stasheff wrote a series of science fiction/fantasy novels about a technological warlock, beginning with The Warlock in Spite of Himself.

Warlocks are an alien race in the comic book series The New Mutants, which was adapted into a Commodore 64 video game. There, a warlock possesses the ability to alter his body to become different objects, and he finds sustenance by absorbing the energy from organic materials, leaving a lifeless husk in its wake.

Warlock is Monster in My Pocket #51. In the comic book series, he led the evil monsters and his portrayal hinted at Magneto. In the video game, he was immediately established as the villain and was the final boss, who attacks in a completely different way after being defeated once. In the second attack, he produces Windigos from his eyes. In the 2003 animated series, Warlock became the hero, and his evil brother Morlock became the villain.

In JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. As Dumbledore is one of the chief protagonists of the series, the term seems to have no negative connotation here.

In Mollie Hunter's Thomas and the Warlock, Hugo Gifford is a wicked and fearsome warlock with black eyes who casts no shadow due to a trick he played on the devil.

In the book "Warlock" by Wilbur Smith, the Egyptian slave Taita becomes "The Warlock", after spending years in the desert, studying and praying.

Adam Warlock is a popular character in the Marvel Comic Universe.

The Warlock is a powerful magician in "The Magic Goes Away" by Larry Niven

Warlocks in games

In the Shadowgate series, the Warlock Lord, Talimar, betrayed the Circle of Twelve and summoned the Behemoth, but was unable to control it.

In the Warcraft series, warlocks are evil sorcerers, drawing their powers from demonic sources in exchange for their souls. In World of Warcraft, a warlock is a cloth-wearing, spellcasting character class who uses a combination of shadow and fire magic (They have the three different talent paths; affliction, demonology and destruction). By dispelling Soul Shards, they can summon minions to aid them against their foes. There is 5 different demons to summon and control. An imp, a voidwalker, a succubus, a felhunter, Inferno, Doomguard and a felguard. They also have the ability to enslave or banish nearby demons; however, after a while these enslaved and banished demons will turn on the warlock and begin to attack surrounding allies. A warlock's true power doesn't lie in burst damage, but in their ability to cast DoT (Damage over Time)curses and spells that damage enemies over a period of time. The Warlocks is powerful in single combat against most foes, but World of Warcraft, developer Blizzard Entertainment, balances PvP combat around a group confrontation.

There was a game called Warlock for the Sega Genesis that involved a powerful warlock attempting to gain a series of rune stones that the player (a Druid) is pressed to seek out first. The game is known for its extreme difficulty and unique yet solid control scheme.

In the Shadowbane MMORPG, warlocks are psychokinetic telepaths that attack and defend themselves using only the will of their minds, utilizing self-awareness and intense focus where other classes would rely on magic, armor, or physical strength and dexterity. In Shadowbane, Warlocks can be mage or fighter-based, and are known somewhat for their rare damage type, (mental), and for their ability to take on a wide variety of foes without the help of others.

In Dark Age of Camelot, the warlock is a spellcasting character class in the realm of Midgard. Norse, Frostalf, and Kobold are the races capable of becoming a warlock. Warlocks in DAoC are unique casters in their ability to cast and land two spells at once, although they trade longer casting times for this ability. Their other defining trait is the ablitity to "chamber" spells: they can cast and hold spells to trigger for instant effect.

In the RTS Battle Realms, the warlock is the third-tier unit of the Lotus Clan. Warlocks are powerful sorcerers, striking with bolts of destructive magic at their enemies. They are feared for their Battle Gear "Soul Chill", which is a stackable Area of Effect magic attack. Warlocks are also unaffected by speed reduction from terrain and are often the fastest when moving up slopes. However, they have a disadvantage when fighting at units on cliffs, as their attacks often strike the cliff face instead of their intended tragets. Massing warlocks is a tactic often used by beginners, and they are effective even at few numbers. Warlocks can further be trained into Master Warlocks, who are spiritual beings of arcane might.

In Tactics Ogre, a Warlock was a scholarly type of magician who researched ancient languages. They could boost the power of nearby golems and help troops out with support magic, slow down enemies with status-inducing magic, or use Dragon Magic to attack all enemies at once. They were very fragile and easily killed, however. In Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, Warlocks were changed from a pure spellcaster to a hybrid of an attacker and a spellcaster. Their preferred weapon was a sword and they could use their ability, Barren Soul, to attack an enemy with a sword of the opposite element. (It did not work on enemies of the Virtue or Bane elements, however.) If they weren't aiding the front lines, they were in the back slowing down the enemy with status-inducing spells or aiding allies with spells.

In Dungeons & Dragons, Warlocks are an alternative arcane spell-casting Core Class introduced in the Complete Arcane sourcebook. Warlocks do not learn or gain spells like other mages. Instead, they have access to a small pool of Invocations, special Spell-Like Abilities that suffer some of the drawbacks of conventional spells, such as the ability to be interrupted and the requirement of somatic components. They also have other special abilities, such as their primary weapon, the Eldritch Blast. What makes them a match for other mages is that their Invocations can be used an unlimited amount of times per day, so they do not run the risk of running out of spells. Warlocks gain their power through ties, forged intentionally or unintentionally, with alien, chaotic forces, primarily fiends.

In Rifts, Warlocks are spellcasters who join into a pact with Elementals, and bind themselves to their power. Warlocks have a kind of brotherhood with both Elementals and other Warlocks, and will treat each other cordially and with respect, even if they're about to battle each other.

There is an online game server, Warlocks, which is based on the game Spellbinder by Richard Bartle.

In The Legend of Zelda, Ganondorf is a warlock who does morph into another form a.k.a Ganon.

In Eternal Champions and its follow-up, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side, the character Xavier Pendragon's backstory shows him to be a warlock.

In the Myth series, mainly in Myth II: Soulblighter and Myth III: The Wolf Age, there are the Warlocks of Scholomance, they cast powerful fireballs as their main attack.

In Halo 2, it is a small, 8-player multiplayer map.

In Lineage II, its one of the three advanced jobs that can be chosen by a player who has taken the Human Wizard path, after completing the quest "Mark of the Summoner". Warlocks are mages specialized in summoning magic, using the "arcana" (the path to other realms) to make a vow with extradimentional beings, which become their "servitors", and to call for magical spirits known as "cubics". Warlocks can summon player controlled servitors, as well as non-controlled spirits that assist the player.

In role-playing game Mage: The Awakening, Mages walking the Mastigos path are often referred to as Warlocks. These Mages are connected to the Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet in the Realm of Pandemonium, and use magic as a means to gain personal power. The Arcana they're assosiated with are Mind and Space, subtle Arcana used to gain control over others.

The majority of these, as well as many other computer role playing games, share a fundamental contradiction in that they allow players to create their Warlock character as a female, contradicting common folklore and mythology which predominantely elaborate the Warlock as a male witch.

In the new Korean (also English closed betas) MMORPG Granado Espada, a warlock is one of the few classes you can be. Warlocks are designed to be the Nuke class of the game.

Warlocks in film and television

• Warlock is a 1959 film based on a novel by Oakley Hall.
• The movie Warlock, from director Steve Miner, shows a warlock as being the son of Satan.

• In the television series Dark Shadows two warlocks make their presence known. In 1968, the evil warlock Nicholas Blair appeared. Later, in 1970, the decapitated head of warlock Judah Zachery unleashed terror upon the Collins family. Both warlocks received their powers from a diabolic source.

• The television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a number of warlocks, which were depicted as being the male analog to witches. A notable example includes the warlock Rack.

• Warlocks were common villains in early seasons of Charmed, depicted as evil witches.

• The movie The Covenant (film) featured Warlocks as the central characters.

Music

In music, the guitar company B.C. Rich, has an electric guitar body design called the Warlock. Warlocks are commonly seen with the widow headstock, but occasionally have a standard electric guitar headstock. Mick Thomson of the band Slipknot used to play a signature solid black warlock B.C. Rich electric guitar, but he switched over to Ibanez.

The Warlocks was also the original name of the San Francisco-based 1960's rock band that came to be known as the Grateful Dead. The band's original core members included Jerry Garcia (lead guitar), Bob Weir (rhythm and lead guitar), Phil Lesh (bassist), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (organ and harmonica), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums).

Warlock is the name of a late '80s rock band, whos lead singer is Doro Pesch.

Warlocks is the name of a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers featuring a guest appearance by the late Billy Preston.

Worlock is the name of a song by Skinny Puppy from their 1989 album, Rabies. Besides being a top fan favorite, the song is somewhat 'infamous' for several reasons; primarily the gruesome x-rated music video which is a collage of hundreds of violent clips from horror films (Making it essentially banned due to complete copyright infringement) and also in regards to an incident involving a group of young boys beating and torturing another to death while forcing him to listen to the song on repeat. Due to the abstract nature of singer Ogre's lyrics, it would not be unreasonable to assume the theme of the song compares his 'betrayal' of his girlfriend due to substance abuse to that of the betrayal undertaken by a Warlock.

Warlock Records released Colonel Abrams "Music is the Answer" as well as several other seminal house music classics.

See also

• Kalku
• Magus
• Seid (shamanic magic)
• Magician

External links

• What is a Warlock?