Terms for magic users in Berserk

Here's a look at the different words used to refer to magic practitioners in Berserk. Starting of course with 魔女 (MAJO), meaning "witch", which we've seen before. That is how Flora and Schierke are often (but not always) referred to. It's also used in the title of episode 344 to describe the village in Skellig. In Japanese, like in English, 魔女 refers specifically to women, and in fact contains the kanji for "woman": 女.

MAGIC

Now, let's talk briefly about the word for "magic". Typically, in a fantasy setting, the word used is 魔法 (MAHOU). However it's seldom used in Berserk. It's in the title of episode 207 (Magic Sword), and it's how Enoch's villagers refer to magic. But Schierke and other magic users actually use 魔術 (MAJUTSU). It is by far the most commonly used in Berserk, and can be found among other instances in episodes 286, 344 or in episode 209's title (Magic). The fact magic users themselves favor this word isn't an arbitrary choice by Miura. It's likely meant to emphasize the knowledge and technique necessary to use magic in the series, as opposed to being an innate ability one can just call upon.

MAGICIANS

Consequently, the most common word for magician is also not used in Berserk. Just for reference, it has four possible spellings: 魔道士; 魔導師; 魔導士; 魔道師 but all are pronounced "MADOUSHI". Instead, in Berserk magic users are called 魔術士 or 魔術師. Here again, the pronunciation is the same for both spellings: "MAJUTSUSHI".

It's worth noting that in common usage, 魔術師 is typically used for prestidigitators (stage magicians). In Berserk however it just goes with Miura's choice for "magic", again emphasizing the technicality it requires. As for 魔術士, it's not a standard word but rather something Miura made by substituting the last kanji. It's something he often did in Berserk, usually to add specific connotations. In this precise case however I'm not certain there's meant to be a difference between the two terms.

Among instances of 魔術士, Flora uses it during dinner with the group, it's used throughout volume 25, Molda calls Schierke that in episode 344, Danan uses it for Farnese in episode 360, and Hanarr uses it for Gedflynn in episode 361.

For examples of 魔術師, Schierke calls Daiba like that in episode 270, Guts calls Schierke that in episode 272 (he even says 大魔術師, a great magician), Schierke uses it in episode 286, and we see Cucca and Schierke using it in episode 345.

VARIATIONS

Moving on, in episode 341 we have the rare use of yet another word that Silat uses refer to Daiba: 妖術使い (YOUJUTSUDZUKAI). 妖術 (YOUJUTSU) means "black magic" or "witchcraft". You'll note that Miura used yet another word at the end, which is again not standard. It has a variety of meanings, among which is that of a "charmer" or "tamer" of things (like familiars), which is of course appropriate for Daiba. The full connotation can't carry over in English, but to differentiate with 魔道士, one might translate this as "sorcerer".

We find the same suffix in episode 361, when Molda introduces Schierke to her teacher, the Volvaba. She describes her as 死霊使い (SHIRYOTSUKAI), which can be translated as a tamer/charmer/user of dead spirits. Both words are Miura's creations and can be seen as variations on 魔法使い (MAHOUTSUKAI), which can be translated as "magician", "sorcerer" or "witch" and literally means "magic user".

Molda also calls the Volvaba 呪いの達人 (NOROI NO TATSUJIN), meaning a "master of curses". Next, her title, ヴォルヴァバ (VOLVABA), is a pun on the Old Norse term "volva", which was a title for female magicians, and the Japanese word for "old woman", pronounced "baba". That name is applied as furigana over the kanji 呪い婆 (NOROI BABA), literally "old woman of curses".

GURU

Finally, we have the Gurus and Great Gurus. In Japanese, the word is 導師 (DOUSHI), which literally means... a guru. It's closely related to Buddhism (duh) and has the connotation of being a high-level teacher in that context. Think of a martial arts master who trained for 20 years in the mountains. This is also how it's used in Berserk: gurus are experts in their domain and serve as teachers to the students in Skellig. You'll also note that it shares two kanji with MADOUSHI that we saw above. Great Guru is simply 大導師 (DAI DOUSHI). They're addressed as 大導師様 (DAI DOUSHI SAMA) by the students.

MEDIUM

Did I say finally? Well there's still one more: medium. In Japanese, that's 巫女 (MIKO or FUJO). Sonia is the most prominent, and referred to as such several times in the series. Typically, the word refers to the "shrine maidens" of Shinto in Japan, but it also has the meaning of "medium" or "prophetess" when talking about Western concepts or in fiction. For example it's used for the sybils of Ancient Greece (oracles who gave prophecies like in Delphi).

Other than Sonia, we see that word in episode 363. Danan uses 姫巫女 (which we translated as "Lady Medium") to refer to the woman buried below her tree, and shortly afterwards Gedflynn uses 巫女 when he says Flora was one of the mediums serving under the Lady Medium when she was young. This would likely have played a role in explaining Sonia's powers and their relation to other forms of magic in the series.

It's worth noting that 巫女 is also used for Benedikte in the Grunbeld light novel, and while the book itself is terrible, we know the core story elements came from Miura.