“The The Horned Lord once said that sorcery is a sword without a hilt. There is no safe way to grasp it.”

- Dalla to Jon Snow, A Storm of Swords, Chapter 73, Jon X

Welcome to Sword Without a Hilt, a fan blog dedicated to magic, religion, and gender in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels and related writing, as well as in HBO’s adaptations Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

I’m Diana Dunlap, an actor and writer with a lifelong passion for the histories of magic, witches, and gender. I’m downright obsessed with every facet of A Song of Ice and Fire, Fire and Blood, and the HBO adaptations - and what’s more fascinating for a witchcraft historian than the mysterious magical landscapes of Westeros and Essos, with their many and varied religious perspectives?

Whether you’re fascinated by woodswitches or maegi, disturbed by Melisandre’s illusions or can’t wait to find out what Bloodraven is up to next, you’re invited.

Join me. The shadows await.

“Magic is playing with forces you don’t completely understand. And perhaps with beings or deities you don’t completely understand. It should have a sense of peril about it.”

— George R. R. Martin, Meduza: ‘Fantasy needs magic’ An interview with George R. R. Martin, August 22, 2017