Witches

Witches
A witch casting a spell
Species Information
Status	Extant
Related Species	Mortals Psychics Ghosts Whitelighters Whitelighter-Witches Necromancers Demon-Witches
Distinction	Humans born with magical powers.
Episodes
First Seen	Pilot
Last Seen	I Dreamed a Dream…

“	Throughout history, strong women were called witches and they are... we are.	”
	— Mel about witches[src]

Witches are human beings who are born with the ability to perform magic. Witches can be either good or evil, depending upon their moral alignment. Good witches are tasked with protecting innocents, as well as fighting and ultimately vanquishing demons. For this task, neophyte witches were originally granted magical guides and protectors called Whitelighters.

Appendices

Witches are born with a primary active or passive power, such as telekinesis or empathy, but their powers can grow as they age. In addition to their powers, witches also have the ability to cast spells and create potions to amplify their magic. They live by the rule that they are not to use their magic for personal gain, and doing so causes unforeseen consequences. Witches must decide within the first forty-eight hours of their powers awakening if they wish to renounce their magical powers, however doing so will reverse all acts involving magical intervention.

History

The exact origins of witchcraft are unknown. Throughout history, witches became the target of persecution by mortals in events known as Witch Hunts. These events might be the reason why modern witches have to practice their craft in secrecy and heavy efforts are taken to conceal the existence of magic and the supernatural from humans.

The Ancient Times

In the ancient times, a group of female witches called the Elders was formed. These witches took control over the world of magic and held power over other magical creatures.

Three thousand years ago, an ancient Elder crafted a spell in a language taught only to Elders by their own, that could extract the power of the Source of All Evil.

The Charmed Ones

Since the dawn of time, the Charmed Ones were a sisterhood of three witches chosen to wield the Power of Three and use it to protect the world from destruction. The Charmed Ones are known to be the world's most powerful witches. However, no matter the time, place or realm, every generation ended with the death of one sister, thus the destruction of the sisterhood. Once a sisterhood was gone, a new one would be chosen. This continued as an endless cycle for eons, well into 2021 when the latest Charmed Ones were destroyed.

Powers and Abilities

Basic Powers

• ​​​​​Spell Casting: The power to cast spells and perform rituals.
• Potion Making: The power to brew and concoct potions, remedies and elixirs that have supernatural properties.

Other Powers

• Individual Powers: Most witches possess individual supernatural abilities that are varied depending on their own skill, lineage or level.
• Immunity: All witches without exception are immune to the effects of pixie dust, the sirens' songs and to being frozen in time.

Weaknesses

• Distraction: Preventing a witch from concentrating or giving full attention to their spells, may render them ineffective. Since most spells are spoken verbally and take time to take effect, witches are vulnerable to being subdued before their completion. Additionally, certain spells may require prerequisites (e.g., select items, tools, and/or special events) during their casting, and therefore they can't be invoked on mere whim.
• Emotions: A witch's magic is subject to the influence of their emotional state and may fluctuate according to them when untrained. For example, anger prevented Mel from properly accessing her power to freeze time whereas Macy was too overly analytical of her telekinetic power and had difficulty using it. Maggie also needed to trust her inner voice in order to prevent herself from being overwhelmed by the thoughts of others.
• Mortality: Despite their mystical attributes, witches are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural humans (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.). However, witches can get around this weakness through the use of magic.
• Magic: Witches are still susceptible to the effects of magic. This is inclusive of mystical objects, such as the Amulet of Archangels and enchanted rosewood rings.
  • Power Binding: A witch's powers can be neutralized by binding spells, however, this can be reversed.
  • Power Stripping: Witches can be stripped of their powers, effectively becoming mortals. Usually, it cannot be reversed.
  • Magical Renouncing: A witch can willfully renounce their powers and become human. However, they can only do so during the first 48 hours after they discovered the magical world and doing so will reverse all acts involving magical intervention.
  • Aura Stripping: A witch can be stripped of their aura, preventing them from being magically detected while also rendering their active witchly powers dormant; they can still access the basic powers of a witch (i.e., spell casting) and Macy, a witch with demon-blood, retained her demon capabilities. Aura stripping presumably only renders a witch's current powers dormant, as Maggie and Mel were able to receive a new power after having her aura stripped.

Window of Opportunity

A witch can decide to accept their fate as witches within forty-eight hours after her powers awakened. If the witch refuses to accept her fate, she will revert to human and lose all magical powers and memories related to magic.

Known Witches

Vera Family

Witch	Description	Status	Power(s)	Alignment
Melinda Warren	Melinda Warren was a legendary witch born of two mortals. She is a possible ancestor of the Vera Family, as there was an entry on her in the original Vera Book of Shadows.	Deceased	Telekinesis Temporal Stasis (presumed) Foresight	Good
Macy Vaughn	Macy Vaughn was a witch and also the eldest sister of the most recent incarnation of Charmed Ones. She also had demon blood infecting her that empowered her, due to the circumstances of her resurrection after being stillborn. Macy was a brilliant scientist and the owner of SafeSpace, Seattle before she ultimately sacrificed herself to save the world from the threat of the Whispering Evil.	Deceased	Pyrokinesis Pain Resistance The Evil Sight Demonic Translation Voice Manipulation Telekinesis Advanced Telekinesis Telekinetic Energy Generation Telekinetic Immobilization Energy Beam Emission	Good
Mel Vera	Mel Vera is a witch and also the middle sister of the Charmed Ones. She is a professor of Women's Studies at Seattle State College.	Alive	Temporal Manipulation Molecular Manipulation	Good
Maggie Vera	Maggie Vera is a witch and also the youngest sister of the Charmed Ones. She is a manager of SafeSpace, Seattle and a student at Seattle State College.	Alive	Aura Stripped Foresight Emotional Inception	Good
Marisol Vera	Marisol Vera was a witch and the mother of the Charmed Ones. She was a professor at Hilltowne University and a member of the Elders. She was killed by fellow Elder Charity Callahan while unbinding her daughters' powers.	Deceased	Prophecy	Good
Josefina Reyes	Josefina Reyes is a witch and the second cousin of the most recent incarnation of Charmed Ones.	Alive	Nature Manipulation	Good

Other Witches

• Season 1
• Season 2
• Season 3

Witch	Description	Status	Power(s)	Alignment
Jada Shields	Jada Shields is a Whitelighter-witch and a former member of the Sisters of Arcana.	Alive	Electrokinesis Electrokinetic Orbing	Good
Charity Callahan	Charity Callahan was the CEO of a business investment company and a former member of the Elders. She was killed by her own sister Fiona Callahan.	Deceased	Muting (stripped) Disintegration (stripped) Portal Creation (stripped) Energy Channeling (stripped)	Neutral
Ravyn Ribera	Ravyn Ribera was a member of the Elders. She was killed by fellow Elder Charity Callahan.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Merant Arnaud	Merant Arnaud was a member of the Elders. She was killed by fellow Elder Charity Callahan.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Fiona Callahan	Fiona Callahan was the younger sister of Charity Callahan and a former charge of Harry Greenwood. She was killed by igniting The Sacred Flame.	Deceased	Portal Creation Telepathy Telekinesis Voice Echo Swirling Power Mirroring Sensing	Evil
Cyd	Cyd is a witch that made a deal with a Necromancer named Knansie to resurrect her boyfriend. However, she had to vanquish him when he turned demonic.	Alive	Sonic Ball Generation	Neutral
Priyanka Bari	Priyanka Bari was a member of the Elders. She was killed by fellow Elder Charity Callahan.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Medusa	Medusa was a former witch in ancient Greece that was raped by the god Poseidon and cursed to become a demon known as a gorgon by Athena.	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Devorah Silver	Devorah Silver was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Teleportation Remote Teleportation Pocket Dimension Creation	Good
Cate Monroe	Cate Monroe was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Hathaway	Elder Hathaway was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Keilani	Elder Keilani was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Robinson	Elder Robinson was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Zaragoza	Elder Zaragoza was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Wade	Elder Wade was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Connor	Elder Connor was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Elder Chen	Elder Chen was a member of the Elders. She was killed by Hunter Caine.	Deceased	Unknown	Good

Witch	Description	Status	Power(s)	Alignment
Anya	Anya is a witch that met with Mel Vera about her missing Whitelighter.	Alive	Unknown	Good
Mary Chapman	Mary Chapman was a witch who owned a bed and breakfast with her partner. She was hanged by Rat Demons.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Kara Willis	Kara Willis was a witch who was killed alongside her partner, Mary, by Rat Demons.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Forest Witch	She was an unnamed witch who was poisoned by Jimmy. She was moments from dying when she ran into Macy and Harry, and told them to save Layla.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Layla Chapman	Layla Chapman was kidnapped by demons and rescued by the Charmed Ones.	Alive	Unknown	Good
Sara	Sara was a witch in Alaska, who was killed by demons.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Abigael Jameson-Caine	Abigael Jameson-Caine is a demon-witch and the daughter of the powerful demon, Alastor, and the witch, Francesca Jameson.	Alive	Telekinesis Pyrokinesis Mind Melding Smoking	Evil
Florence	Florence was killed by Lawrence Mortimer Chase. Florence cursed him and his entire family lineage.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Tank Witch	This young witch was captured by a demon and contained in a water tank before Mel and Maggie rescued her.	Alive	Unknown	Unknown
Cassie	Cassie is a young witch that once accidentally froze an entire town of people.	Alive	Telepathic Immobilization	Good
Ruby	Ruby is a witch who went into retirement when she was 18. She currently works at SafeSpace, Seattle as a bartender.	Alive	Unknown	Good
The Guardian	The Guardian was a former Charmed One before she died and her spirit became a guardian of the Command Center and the black amber tree located beneath it.	Deceased	Unknown	Good
Celeste	Celeste was a member of the Elders. She created Whitelighters and invented a pocket watch that was used to prolong her life for five hundred years.	Alive	Unknown	Good

Witch	Description	Status	Power(s)	Alignment
Eleanor Anderson	Eleanor Anderson is a witch that had been trapped by an ogre inside of a painting for an unspecified amount of time.	Alive	Unknown	Good
Kyra	Kyra is a witch who desperately tried to bury her mother's ashes on their ancestral land.	Alive	Unknown	Neutral
Willow	Willow is a witch who protects the Okanagan Valley.	Alive	Unknown	Good
Francesca Jameson	Francesca Jameson is the mother of Abigael Jameson-Caine and Waverly Jameson.	Alive	Translocation	Neutral
Waverly Jameson	Waverly Jameson is the daughter of Francesca Jameson, the half-sister of Abigael Jameson-Caine, and the mother of Lydia Jameson.	Alive	Telekinesis	Good
Lydia Jameson	Lydia Jameson is a presumably very young witch and the daughter of Waverly Jameson.	Alive	Eternal Beauty	Good

Trivia

• In the original series, witches were both female and male. It currently appears that there are no male witches in this version of Charmed, as there has yet to be a confirmed appearance of a male witch. The introduction of Josefina confirms that only biological women are born with powers, whereas transwomen must acquire powers through external means.
• Witches can be either good or evil. It is also possible that they can be morally neutral (neither good nor evil). However, witches are generally perceived as good, given Abigael's fear that the demon world would learn she is half-witch.
• Witchcraft in real life is mostly considered to be related to Wicca, a religion originating in England in the 1940’s by Gerald Gardner. Wicca is often characterized as a Neo-Pagan faith, emphasizing honor to both a Goddess and a God, as well as taking personal responsibility for one’s own actions, and many traditions will draw from different cultures for their own unique brands of honor and worship. Witchcraft is, as Harry has said, a craft that needs to be learned and not necessarily be based on faith.
  • The original Charmed series often made references to Wicca, such as in titles, the Wiccan Rede, and the writings by Doreen Valiente. Many aspects of Wicca have also been embellished throughout both series, mostly for the sake of plot.

See also

• Whitelighter-Witches
• Demon-Witches
• Psychics