Characters from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Character details
Full name:	Esmerelda Weatherwax
Description:	A witch who rarely needs to use magic
Associations:	Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick, Agnes Nitt
Location:	Lancre
Story appearances
First seen:	Equal Rites
Also in:	Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, The Sea and Little Fishes, Wintersmith
Other details
Notes:	Sister of Lily Weatherwax

Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax (usually called Granny Weatherwax) is a character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. Granny Weatherwax, if she can help it, wears a plain black dress, a somewhat battered black cloak and wears a tall, pointed witch's hat, skewered to her 'iron-hard gray bun' hairstyle with multiple hatpins. She's thin, and, while not really that tall, has such a commanding presence that she seems tall. She gives her weight as "9 stone" in Lords and Ladies (exactly 126 pounds or approximately 57.27 kilograms). Many references are given to her blue eyes and penetrating gaze. Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... Lancre (pronounced Lanker) is a fictional country from Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels. ... Equal Rites is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett. ... This article is about the novel. ... Witches Abroad is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, originally published in 1991. ... Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld book by Terry Pratchett. ... Maskerade is the eighteenth novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. ... Carpe Jugulum is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty third in the Discworld series. ... For The Wee Free, see the Free Church of Scotland. ... A Hat Full of Sky is a novel written by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, written with younger readers in mind. ... The Sea and Little Fishes is a short story by Terry Pratchett set in his Discworld universe, and featuring Lancre witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. ... Wintersmith is the title of the third Tiffany Aching novel in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series, published on the 21 September 2006. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ... Lancre (pronounced Lanker) is a fictional country from Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels. ... Coven or covan was originally a late medieval Scots word (c1500) meaning a gathering of any kind, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. ... Lords and Ladies can be: Lords and ladies (arum maculatum), a flowering plant. ...

From the triple nature of a coven (maiden, mother and crone), Granny Weatherwax is officially the crone. In fact, it has been suggested that she embodies all three, but the Crone is the most obvious (she has difficulty matching the classic appearance; despite her best efforts, she still has perfect skin, not a single wart and all her teeth, although she has picked up a penetrating stare and plenty of worry lines). In the books, the triple nature of the coven is always referred to as "the maiden, the mother and... the other one" in her presence. She probably has not known physical love as demonstrated by her ability to capture unicorns, traditionally only possible to virgins. There have however been romances in her life. Commonly a synonym for Hag. ...

She is a very powerful witch, and is reckoned to be more powerful than the most well-known witch on the Discworld, Black Aliss (real name: Aliss Demurrage) who is responsible for any number of witcheries in fairy tales, such as putting a castle to sleep and getting pushed into her own oven by naughty kids. It does seem that her teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher was Black Aliss. ("I learned my craft from Nanny Gripes, who learned it from Goody Heggety, who got it from Nanna Plumb, who was taught it by Black Aliss..." – Granny, in Lords and Ladies). Black Aliss, or Alison Weatherwax, was an incredibly powerful witch in Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ... Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld book by Terry Pratchett. ...

Granny Weatherwax's reputation even extends beyond species barriers – the trolls of the Ramtops call her Aaoograha hoa ("She Who Must Be Avoided") and the dwarf name for her, K'ez'rek d'b'duz, translates to "Go Around the Other Side of the Mountain" (Maskerade). Maskerade is the eighteenth novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. ...

Granny Weatherwax nursed her mother until the time of her death, and is a distant cousin to Galder Weatherwax, a former Archchancellor of the Unseen University. As a young woman, she was briefly romantically involved with Mustrum Ridcully. It has been hinted that she married him in an alternative reality and had several children. Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in the fictional Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork, staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. ... Mustrum Ridcully is a fictional character in the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. ...

She has recruited at least one apprentice in her time, Eskarina Smith, who became the first female wizard and was subsequently never mentioned in canon again. Magrat Garlick, Agnes Nitt and Tiffany Aching were officially taught by other Witches, but also learned from Granny Weatherwax from time to time. This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ...

Granny's broom is famous for being old and temperamental. It's a hand me down "borrowed" from her colleague Hilta (Equal Rites). It has been repaired so often that little of the original broom remains, and it often requires the user to pick up speed by running along the ground with it before it will start. It is, however, considerably faster than most brooms once it gets going. Equal Rites is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett. ...

Personality

Granny Weatherwax has a near-unshakeable belief in her own abilities, which has thus far proved accurate, and an extreme distrust of stories. She was intended by nature to be a "wicked witch" but, at an early age, realised she had to be "the good one" to balance her sister, Lily (Lilith). Ironically Lily, who became a fairy godmother, was convinced she was the good one, because she gave people what she thought they wanted. Granny Weatherwax gives people what they know they really need. As Pratchett would put it, being Good and Right doesn't make you Nice, and she isn't. She prefers to be respected. No one, with the possible exception of Nanny Ogg and Tiffany Aching, genuinely likes Granny Weatherwax. But when she is needed, she always appears and does what is required of her, because that is Right. Granny appreciates practicality and hard work over the bells and whistles of so-called "magick". She intensely dislikes witches such as Letice Earwig who dabble in chants, pendants and crystals. However, after learning about her from Tiffany Aching, she claimed she would have liked to meet her Granny Aching, who never claimed to be anything more than a shepherdess despite commanding all the respect and power of a witch. A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ... “Lilitu” redirects here. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ... Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ...

Granny Weatherwax feels little need for personal possessions and keeps most of them in a single wooden box. This box is known to contain a few keepsakes, including a bundle of letters (some, or all, of which are believed to be from a young Mustrum Ridcully) and a phoenix feather in a glass bottle. Aside from these, her only other notable possessions are a clock that she inherited from her mother and a silver tea service (later melted down to make horseshoes for a Unicorn during the events of Lords and Ladies). Mustrum Ridcully is a fictional character in the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. ... The phoenix from the Aberdeen Bestiary. ... The gentle and pensive maiden has the power to tame the unicorn, in this fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 For other uses, see Unicorn (disambiguation). ...

In an apparent test to unearth her softer side, Tiffany Aching recently made her the reluctant custodian of a small white kitten, for which Granny has so far managed to show affection in a completely unaffectionate manner. In keeping with her personality, she christened it "You", as in "Hey You, get off the shelves!" or "Come inside, You!" You was recently discovered sleeping on Granny's head, underneath her hat. She claims it keeps her head warm. You is the only known cat on the Discworld to have intimidated Nanny Ogg's battle-scarred, possibly demonic tom Greebo, who hides in fear whenever You is in the same room, however, so she may be compatible with Granny Weatherwax in temperament after all. Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of... Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... This article refers to the Discworld character. ...

(The name and personality of Granny Weatherwax are possibly a reference to "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter) Katherine Anne Porter (15 May 1890 – 18 September 1980) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. ...

Headology

Despite her power, Granny Weatherwax rarely uses magical power in any immediately recognizable form. Instead, she prefers to use headology, a sort of folk-psychology which can be summed up as "if people think you're a witch, you might as well be one". For instance, Granny could, if she wished, curse people. However it is simpler for her to say she's cursed them, and let them assume she's responsible for the next bit of bad luck that happens to befall them; given her reputation this tends to cause such people to flee the country entirely.

Headology bears some similarities to psychology in that it requires the user to hold a deep seated understanding of the workings of the human mind in order to be used successfully. However, headology tends to differ from psychology in that it usually involves approaching a problem from an entirely different angle. Psychology (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, spirit, soul; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ...

It has been said that the difference between headology and psychiatry is that, were you to approach either with a belief that you were being chased by a monster, a psychiatrist will convince you that there are no monsters coming after you, whereas a headologist will hand you a bat and a chair to stand on. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the mind and mental illness. ...

Power

Because of her reluctance to openly use magic, other Discworld characters have, at various times, accused Granny Weatherwax of 'working by trickery alone', and of 'having little or no real power'. Both statements are wholly inaccurate. Though preferring not to use magic, Granny Weatherwax has, on several occasions, been seen to display several 'conventional' forms of power in abundance; including psychokinesis (Lords and Ladies), as well as a number of 'less conventional' forms of power; including the ability to fade into the background of a room, to defer physical injury to a later point in time (Maskerade), and to make people believe they have been turned into animals such as frogs (the ability to do it for real is in her repertoire, but why go to that much trouble?) During a duel with the Archchancellor of UU (Equal Rites, an early work not necessarily consistent with the later ones), Granny was shown to turn into a great number of different creatures. GURPS Discworld suggests that the apparent transformations of both parties were only special effects, as Discworld spellcasters would not so carelessly tinker with their own morphic fields; regardless, Granny Weatherwax was shown to be a match for the Archchancellor. In Wyrd Sisters she unleashed considerably explosive magic on a cart after losing her temper for nearly being run over by it, and sent the entire nation of Lancre forward in time fifteen years so that the exiled heir to the throne would be of age to liberate the country from its henpecked usurper sooner rather than later, albeit with considerable effort and after much manipulation by Nanny Ogg. GURPS Discworld is a role-playing game sourcebook set in Terry Pratchetts Discworld fantasy universe, and utilising the GURPS rules. ...

She is also highly adept at 'Borrowing' – the art of overlaying her mind on the mind of another creature so that she can see through its eyes and steer its actions without it being aware of her presence — and can tune her mind to the point that she can sense the underlying mood of her surroundings (including the mood of plants, animals and the earth) and the presence of 'stories' that are trying to play themselves out. She even can Borrow a bee hive in some of the books (though her wish to be able to is shown in others), considered to be the most difficult mind to Borrow because it is made up of multiple bodies. In Wyrd Sisters, her second appearance, she makes contact with the very mind of Lancre itself.

She has even been known to be able to detect the memories of Granny Weatherwaxes living in alternative realities, but only at points in time when the walls between her world and other worlds are particularly thin.

Limitations

Knowing what is Right is the bedrock of Granny Weatherwax and it is this that keeps her from using her considerable psychic and occult abilities and has, thus far, been the primary limiting factor on her power. As she explains in Maskerade, if she was a bad witch she could break people's bones where they stood and manipulate their minds at will, but she can't be that bad witch. She knows what's Right. This, of course, has not stopped her from becoming increasingly powerful, to the point where she even managed to not only resist the fatal embrace of a vampire's bite, but also reverse the curse, causing her assailant to become weaker from within while craving tea and biscuits. Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. ...

In addition to her moral limitations, it has been previously stated that there are some forms of magic that Granny Weatherwax cannot do, either through inability or aversion. These forms include some of those most commonly associated with Wizardry, including Pyrokinesis (Equal Rites). This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

She has, however, ignited a log by glaring at it until it combusted out of pure embarrassment. She also claimed it was impossible to catch a sword in your hand without being hurt but did just that shortly afterward (although there was an element of trickery involved; she moved the wound through time). It has been stated that when Granny says a task is impossible, she means it is impossible for anyone but herself.

The only thing which repeatedly defeats Granny is her flying broomstick. It refuses to start smoothly, despite dwarfs replacing both handle and sticks.

Bibliography

Granny Weatherwax is one of Terry Pratchett's most prolific recurring characters. She has starred in six Discworld novels (Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade and Carpe Jugulum), has acted as a significant supporting character in A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith, and was referenced in three others (she appeared briefly in Wee Free Men and was anonymously referenced in Thief of Time, and referenced in "Mort"). She also appeared in the short story The Sea and Little Fishes. Equal Rites is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett. ... This article is about the novel. ... Witches Abroad is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, originally published in 1991. ... Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld book by Terry Pratchett. ... Maskerade is the eighteenth novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. ... Carpe Jugulum is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty third in the Discworld series. ... A Hat Full of Sky is a novel written by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, written with younger readers in mind. ... Wintersmith is the title of the third Tiffany Aching novel in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series, published on the 21 September 2006. ... The Wee Free Men (published by Doubleday in 2003) is the 30th novel in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... Thief of Time is the 26th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett. ... Also a term referring to laying brick. ... The Sea and Little Fishes is a short story by Terry Pratchett set in his Discworld universe, and featuring Lancre witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. ...