Dear Boss Warlock,
Just out of curiosity: Is there such a thing as a half-witch?
All-Witch in Albuquerque
Dear Al:
No.
Oh, the word halwich—pronounced HAL-itch—exists, and has existed for a long time (it comes from the Old Hwiccan healf-Hwicce), but it exists as a term of schoolyard invective only. Witch kids, alas, can be just as nasty as any other kind.
If you have one witch parent, you're a member of the tribe. That's Witch Law. “The Old Blood will out,” the old ones used to say, sometimes adding: “One drop is all it takes.”
Usually, of course, they would cackle as they said this.
Oh, you can opt out, of course; or you can try to pass.
(Cartoon: Boss Warlock Tries to Pass. Scene: Boss Warlock standing in convenience store, surrounded by puzzled-looking crowd. Boss Warlock: “Blessed be, my fellow cowans.”)
But when the bristles hit the breeze, it's be or don't be.
There is no “half.”
Boss Warlock