Practical Versus Mystical, the Magic of Granny Weatherwax

Though she is capable of stupendous feats of magic, from telepathy, animal possession, large scale illusions and delusion, and outright incendiary offense, Granny Weatherwax prefers a practical approach to magic. She wears no fancy occult jewelry, does not own a deck of cards, and has barely cracked a book about magical practice. When judging the action of other witches, especially young witches like Magrat Garlick, she places higher value on clear-headedness and action than on magical prestidigitation. If one needs to knock down an enemy, one could certainly expend a lot of magical energy conjuring a localized air disturbance to do the trick. But why not simply place one's foot behind the enemy's legs and give him or her a strong push? If one is asked to knock a witch's hat off, as Granny asks the young witch aspirants to attempt...