Witch

**Witches** are human beings born with a piece of the All, which enables them to manifest magical powers. Like mortals, witches can be either good or evil, but only good witches serve as protectors of the innocent.

## History

The origin of witchcraft dates back to the beginning of the Earth itself. Since then, witches have existed for untold centuries, passing down their knowledge and skills through generations in family lineages. Contrary to popular belief, witches do not receive their powers from demons, nor do they worship the Devil. Instead, witches use their powers to hunt and vanquish demons in order to protect the innocent and to make the world a safer place. The term "witch" is not exclusive to females, and is extended to males as well.

* Origin of Witches
* Witch Trials

When the world was dark, a spiritual energy ran through everything that existed, neither Good nor Evil. The Elders called it The All. Thousands of years ago, a woman came across that Nexus. She alerted her mate of what she had found. At first they were afraid of it, but she pushed past that fear and tapped into this power. The woman was infused with more of the All than any human was supposed to possess. The woman shared that power with her mate and it changed them, making them immortal. It bonded them forever to one another and to The All. They ascended to a place of pure, utter bliss that they shared with the All, known as the Higher Realm.

However, their presence there affected the earth as The All was contained to the Higher Realm. As a result, the world started to die. The only way to save the world was for the woman and her mate to separate their powers and allow the power of The All to flow freely again. The woman and man were forced to abandon the Higher Realm, never to return again. Once back on Earth, the woman gave birth to a pair of twins that were conceived while she was in the Higher Realm. The first child was a female and had powers like her mother, though not as strong, and it was from this child that almost all witches descend from. The second child was a male born with the same abilities, but he used the magic for dark purposes, and that gave rise to warlocks. Their other children possessed no magic of their own, but they and their descendants could tap into The All as practitioners. In very rare circumstances, these non-magical descendants could give birth to a full witch. This is very likely how Melinda Warren was born a witch. Every time a witch or warlock was born, he/she inherits a tiny piece of the All that allowed them to develop an active power.

During the late 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts, several men and women were persecuted for practicing witchcraft. During this period in Colonial America, many of the Puritans who had settled in the Northeast believed that witches were servants for the Devil. These events became known the Salem Witch Trials, in which numerous people—witches and mortals—were hanged or otherwise killed.

One of these people was Melinda Warren, the founder of the Warren Line and ancestor of the Charmed Ones. She was burned at the stake after being outed as a witch by the warlock Matthew Tate.
## The Balance of Nature

The Balance of Nature is a spiritual belief system based around the observance of the Earth and reverence of Mother Nature. The goal of many witches is to honor the design of nature and to maintain balance within the natural world. The balance of nature is intimately tied to one's spiritual relationship with the Earth, and the idea that all living things (e.g. animals, humans, plants, etc.) are considered sacred, as they are all different aspects of nature. Contemporary witches would also agree that using modern ceremonies, rituals and shamanic practices is the best way to attune themselves with the natural rhythms of the universe in their efforts to obtain guidance and knowledge from wiser known witches called "The Spirits."

## Classification

* Practitioners
* Naturals
* Warlocks
* Evil Witches

Humans who practice witchcraft, but lack any true magical powers are known as "practitioners." It is more of a more religious experience than the sisters do and usually follow the Neopagan religion of Wicca. These witches are not immune to the power of Molecular Immobilization. However, it was revealed that some practitioners do have the fundamental Wiccan abilities of casting effective spells, brewing potions, and scrying, but lack an active power.

The term "Natural" is commonly used to define any person who has obtained their power from biological development. They are known to have been born with the ability to use magic. Their supernatural powers are passed on to them through blood from their ancestors, and are bound to their emotions, thoughts, and souls. A witch's magic is a genetic component that may skip a generation, making them mortals before their magic resurfaces.

Each magical witch would possess the fundamental Wiccan skills to cast spells and brew potions. Besides this, their magic will manifest itself in the form of one or more individual, personal powers commonly known as "active powers." These powers can be used at will and do not require incantations or potions. Magical witches are able to access their magic from an early age, but their powers can manifest from the womb and can be tapped into.

All and only good magical witches are assigned whitelighters by the Elders, and also have familiar when they first begin combating evil. Magical witches are also further classified as upper-level or lower-level. Upper-level witches naturally possess more strength and skill than lower-level witches, which allow them to perform more spectacular feats of magic, such as casting spells of supreme power and brewing potent potions to help achieve their goals. All good witches, regardless of their level of power, are immune to the effects of Molecular Immobilization. In a family of witches, the firstborn child is supposedly the strongest compared in its set of siblings. According to Gammill, good witches have the selfless instinct to help people in need.

A witch who betrays the Wiccan Rede, sells his or her soul to pure evil and kills another witch to steal his or her powers becomes a warlock. A warlock can be either male or female, just like a witch can be either gender.

They tend to strengthen their powers by killing other magical creatures and obtaining theirs. Upper-level warlocks possess the ability of blinking, which was originally a witch's power before it transcended into a warlock's.

Although a warlock is usually originally a witch, some are also born that way. They can also be converted through a dark wedding ritual with a warlock, which will convert the witch in hours. The very first warlock to walk the Earth was the male of the twins born to the first witch, Neena.
An evil witch, sometimes confused with a warlock, is a witch who renounces the Wiccan Rede, and redirects to using his/her powers for personal gain and evil means. They typically do not kill witches for their powers, but if they desire so, they use other methods to obtain them. They also do not sell their soul to the devil. When witches turn evil, they renounce their right to a Whitelighter.

## Covens

A coven is a community of witches who commonly gather together for celebrations of ceremonies of worship, practices of witchcraft, and more.

All covens must have at least one or two leaders, known as the High Priest and/or High Priestess. These witches are accountable for a number a different responsibilities, such as creating the laws of their coven that every member must abide. Each coven has its own set of laws and punishments created by the leader(s) of that group. While some covens have only a few laws, others have many.

* Halliwell Family

## Powers and Abilities

A magical witch possesses the basic powers but the additional powers are depended upon one's own level of skill, lineage or bloodline. Their powers also seem to grow depending on their character and emotional state, making them more powerful as they age. Lower-Level witches possess little to no active powers, but still show the basic abilities.

Natural witches born into a blood siblinghood inherit their powers based on seniority: the firstborn usually displays the strongest power in comparison to their younger ones.

**Basic Powers**

* **Channeling:** The act of invoking extra forms of energy by focusing on external forces.
* **Potion Brewing:** The act of brewing and concocting potions and elixirs that have supernatural properties.
* **Spell Casting:** The power to change and control events through the use of incantations and more.

**Other Powers**

* **Individual Powers:** Powers within each witch is varied depending on their own skill, lineage or level.

## Weakness

* **Disbelief:** The act of denying or disbelieving in one's potential could cause a witch to inadvertently suppress their magical power.
* **Distraction:** Denying 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 attack before their completion. Additionally, certain spells require items, tools, and/or special events during casting, 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. According to Prue Halliwell, strong emotions such as worry and anger can fuel a witch's power while emotions such as fear may prevent a witch from properly accessing their powers.
* **Herbs:** Ingestion of certain herbs can cause a witch to lose consciousness and prevent them from using magic for an undetermined amount of time. The Lobelia flower prevents concentration and the practice of magic and can be used to weaken a witch as one would weaken a vampire with Rosaceae or a Werewolf with wolfsbane.
* **Magic:** Witches are still susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical objects such as Dark Objects.
* **Mortality:** Despite their mystical attributes, witches are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.).
* **Overexertion:** The excessive use of magic could lead to disorientation, nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and if taken to the extreme, death.
* **Nature:** It is said that nature will always find a balance when witchcraft is performed and spells will always have loopholes. This means, among other things, that no being can be truly immortal.

## Tools

* **Amulets:** An object that is used to protect its wearer from harm.
* **Athames:** A ceremonial dagger with a double-edged blade that is commonly used to direct energy.
* **Book of Shadows:** A family journal is documented with magical recipes, rituals, and spells, and can also be used as a Talisman. These journals can be passed along different bloodlines for generations increasing the magical knowledge contained within.
* **Candles:** A block of solid wax with an embedded wick that is commonly lit to to amplify a witch’s spell.
* **Cauldrons:** A large metal pot that is commonly used to hold the ingredients for elixirs and potions.
* **Crystals:** Crystals are natural materials which can be used to magnify an individual witch's magic.
* **Herbs:** Various flora used as ingredients to be incorporated into spells as binding agents.
* **Stones:** Various minerals and ores used to boost or bind a witch's spell.
* **Symbols:** Seals drawn or written used as physical representations of spells.
* **Talismans:** An object that is used to magnify a witch's power and or represent them supernaturally.

## Notable Witches

**Halliwell Family**

* Prue Halliwell
* Piper Halliwell
* Phoebe Halliwell

## Notes

* Vampirism is an evil curse created from Dark Magic. Some humans are unfit to become vampires due to their gentle nature. Since vampirism is known to enhance the characteristics and magnify the emotions of a person, humans who are naturally benevolent will become even more benevolent as a vampire. However, since the basic nature of a vampire is to kill, many kindhearted vampires struggle to fight their urges to murder and more often than not, fall off the wagon by cutting off their humanity and going on a killing spree.
* Halliwell witches are well-known in the witch community. Considered one of the most powerful lineages of magic, many powerful spells have been seen to be linked to the blood of a Bennett witch, requiring a Bennett witch to successfully perform them.
* The term "Seer" is a titular name for witches gifted with seeing into the past, present and future, more than a sub-set of witches. In other words, all Seers are Clairvoyant Witches (witches gifted with seeing into the past, present or future) but not all Clairvoyant Witches are Seers (specialize in the field). e.g. Many people are gifted in singing, but not all of them are Singers (they do not sing for a living or even specialize in it).
* Witches commonly form covens, but this is not a necessity. They are also often social, and meet with other witches.