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Concept
Witches (Discworld)
Summary
A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. The three main witches introduced in 1988's Wyrd Sisters — crone Esme Weatherwax, mother Nanny Ogg and maiden Magrat Garlick — are a spoof on the Three Witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, and a tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of the Neopagans' Triple Goddess. The three witches are portrayed as more sensible and realistic than the often-foolish residents of the Discworld, and Granny Weatherwax "especially tends to give voice to the major themes of Pratchett's work."
Witch magic is very different from the wizard magic taught in the Unseen University, and consists largely of finding the right lever that makes everything else work. Witches rarely do any magic, in fact, relying more on common sense, hard work, and a peculiar brand of psychology known as headology. This can be taken very far—a witch's way of magically setting fire to a log of wood consists of staring at the log until it spontaneously combusts from pure embarrassment. As a result, it is less energy-intensive, which means that a witch can technically do more than an equally-powerful wizard. The same zen-like knowledge that gives them this ability generally discourages them from making a big deal about it beyond refusing to take wizards seriously. Headology is more commonly used on people, like the placebo effect. Witches unironically acting with melodrama, of which cackling is an early sign, is often an indication of "going to the bad" and becoming a stereotypically wicked witch.
Another later addition to witch skills, established in Maskerade, but first named in the Aching books, is First Sight—seeing what's really there instead of what you hope to, expect to, or what others see—and Second Thoughts—thinking about the way you're thinking.
There is also the art of making a "shambles," a kind of magical handmade device or construct used by witches for such uses as detecting or amplifying magic, for protection (like a "curse net"), or for sending out a spell; the device itself is not magical ("Not exactly [magic].
Official source
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