Born and Practicing Magic

There are two different terms that witches of United Britannia and Hibernia use to describe their magic: their Born Magic and their Practicing Magic.

Born Magic

Witches are born with a certain type of magic; that is known as their Born Magic. This magic is the one that the witch will be most competent at and typically will feel the most comfortable using.
Born Magic types do tend to run in families, but that is not always indicative of what type of magic someone will be born with. A family finds out a family member's Born Magic when they are seven days old, at the child's Arbitrium. At the Arbitrium, a person's Born Magic is registered with the Council by a Sensitive. 
It is considered taboo to ask someone's Born Magic, as it is an intimate question. However, witches are, of course, free to share this information if they choose to do so (some are more open with their Born Magic than others).
Although it's expected that someone's Born Magic be strong, sometimes that's not always the case. This is a cause of embarrassment for families. Sensitives can be incorrect in sensing a witch's potential power at their Arbitrium, so it's not until Exams that parents truly worry about the level of their child's power. (For example, Phineas Glass's parents were told at his Arbitrium that Nature Magic was his Born Magic and that it was weak. The Sensitive was correct about the former piece of information, but not the latter.)

Practicing Magic

Besides their Born Magic, witches are often expected to be proficient in many other types of magic. When this happens, it is said that that branch of magic is a witch's Practicing Magic. This is not official or registered with the Council, but it is just a way to differentiate between a witch's Born Magic from the other magic they practice. Typically, someone's Practicing Magic(s) are also the subjects they studied at the Institute and Athenaeum.
A witches' Practicing Magic is always weaker than their Born Magic, but sometimes the difference is practically negligible (such as the case of Vesper Cross, whose Illusion Magic, which is technically his Practicing Magic, is almost as good as his Born Magic; in fact, it's so good he can hide his true Born Magic).
It's expected that someone practices at least one more type of magic than their Born Magic, but it's not required. The more Practicing Magics someone is capable of may be a source of pride, but it's rarely a source of judgment to not have too many as long as the witch has strong proficiency in their Born Magic.

Exception

The only magic that doesn't work this way is Psychic Magic. One cannot just practice Psychic Magic; one must be born with it in order to practice it. The reason for this is unknown.

More terminology

If someone is open with whatever magic they were born with, they are often called that type of witch (e.g., Vesper Cross would be called a Dark witch if people knew about his Dark Magic, and his sister, Celia, would be called an Illusion witch.)

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