This is why they didn't teach us our 30 human rights; they now can play the shell game with us.
Educate yourself as much as possible
The US right now:
"Human bodies are wildly unpredictable. Your now-fading memories of the terrifying might and power you recently embodied will make for a depressing comparison to the unreliable form you're now piloting. You might be able to run a mile and feel great, but then somehow dislocate your neck while you're sleeping."
—excerpt from The Demon's Guide to Human Possession
#agreed
Magic broken down:
Back before modern science, it and magic were the same thing; an incantation/blessing held as much water as making salt of tartar (K2CO2).
Remember, too, not literacy wasn't as high in Europe as it was in other places, so the act of just writing showed you knew stuff many didn't.
Also, geometry (simply a way to measure things using shapes and the relationships they can make [e.g. two circles; one inside and on outside an equilateral triangle have a ration of 1:2, 1/2, or .5]) was thought to show the secrets of the universe. Stone masons in Europe used geometry as a measurement tool, which was a large component for this train of thought. The topic of geometry is for a different post
Also, spells can be anything from charms, hexes/curses/jinxes, enchantments, or blessings.
Divination: the past, present, and future are already written somewhere, depending on the topic in question; be it in the stars (astrology), the hand of the person (palmistry), the dregs in a teacup, the endtrails of an animal, a casting of chicken bones or ruinstone, or the reading of playing cards (tarot); cold reading (a psychology trick of reading people), trances (commonly used by oracles), and dream reading are all valid methods
I'm not covering witch doctors, voodoo, and other categories because this is already going to be long enough.
Oracle: someone who goes into a trance via gases, psychedelics (fumes or consuming), etc, to predict the future.
An enchanter/enchantress: Those that mainly do enchantments
Witch: herbal based studies. They're basically the doctor of the group. It's not limited to just women.
The stereotypical witch in the woods is a result of the person rejecting the city and living in isolation and rejecting the beauty standards of that day so they focus more on their studies.
Their studies were kept in a book called a Grimoir/ book of shadows.
Wizard: Academic. You're more likely to find these people pouring over a library of books with multiple charts out, dividers in one hand, and a quill in the other
These people (mostly men, but women can be wizards) study just about everything with magic: astronomy/astrology, alchemy/chemistry, or geometry itself
Warlock: someone who devoted their life to a being far more powerful than man (eldrich beings or the like), letting the being grant them magic.
This is not a cleric.
Sorcerer: naturally gifted with magic.
Cleric: the priest. Devoting their life to a deity, which grants them forms magic.
Yashwa of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) was a cleric by this definition.
Druid: a nature cleric mixed with a witch. Their spirits are of nature, and they speak to Mother Earth.
Don't confuse these with shamen, which are druids mixed with oracles
Paladin: the priest with a sword.
These are my current findings.
you punch nazis!
(requested by anonymous)
Wizard: *casts fireball, exploding a small room of enemies* And I'm out of spells
Barbarian: i can cast magic, too, Ya know
Wiz: really?
Bar: yeah, watch this. Separate! *slits an enemy in half with their ax* it's a cantrip touch spell.
Wiz: but -
Bar: *points to ax* spell focus. Ooh, and it's an occasional ranged, too. *throws ax 10 feet, nailing another enemy in the head* see?
Wiz: have you been reading my books?
Bar: No, just looking at the pictures. You need more pictures in them.
More medieval dyes for y'all!
Immortality is an interesting thought experiment. Yes, looking young while being shockingly old is a fun thing to suprise people with, but the concept of time itself would be so terrible that everything would be a blur. Your friend would have to correct you on what happened when.
"That happened in the 60s,"
Really? What century?
"1960's."
Was that during speakeasies?
"No, that was during the 1920's. The 60's had hippies and Woodstock."
Oh, yeah. Everything's been a blur since everyone got a car.
They'd also probably forget EVERYONE'S name because the immortal has been around for so long. So it'll feel like you're doing with your great grandparents all the time.
Henry?
"No, I'm Steve."
Oh. You remind me of Henry.