The Chinese Zodiacs are the twelve magical guardians of Buddha's Mystical Staff, which they use to protect and maintain the eternal cycle. Each Zodiac wields the staff for an entire year, projecting their personality to those born in that year.
The Zodiacs gather each Chinese New Year in the Sacred Garden, where they perform a ceremony to pass on the staff to the next Zodiac in line. When the staff is missing or stolen after the death of its current bearer designated to wielding it for an entire year, the other Zodiacs will stop at nothing to retrieve it, though no Zodiac may wield it unless it is their year; usually, the Zodiac who is next in line to the last one who wielded the staff would and must be involved in the staff's retrieval, if not even leading the search for it. This is offset by the fact that the receiving Zodiac nor the others cannot touch it themselves, at least until the present year ends into the next.
The Zodiac are immortal guardians, but can be killed by evil. In this case, this death weakens the collective until a new Zodiac is selected in their place. The Zodiacs are; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
History[]
The demon Novak had been attacking the Zodiacs at New Year for decades in his attempt to take the staff. However, he failed each year. In 2006, his minions followed Lo Pan to learn the location of the sacred garden. Novak confronted the Zodiacs once again and he and his minions managed to kill Rooster. However, he was interrupted by the arrival of Piper Halliwell and Billie Jenkins, who protected the staff.
The Zodiacs confront Piper
Lo Pan asked Piper to protect the staff while Billie remained at the garden. Piper unknowingly projected her obsessive nature on Paige, causing her to run off to deal with Henry instead. The Zodiacs then confronted Piper at the manor, believing that she stole the staff, and attacked her. When Piper threatened to break the staff, they stopped and learned Piper was protecting the staff at Lo Pan's request. Piper offered to hand the staff back to the Zodiacs, but they refused, for handing the staff to any one of them before the year ends will disrupt the eternal cycle. When Novak and his minions arrived, Dog guided Piper outside while he and the others engaged the demons in battle.
Lo Pan becomes Rooster.
Novak and his minions eventually retreated and Novak captured Piper instead. Using the staff, he projected his evil on the sisters and sent them to kill Lo Pan. However, Billie used her power of projection to return them to normal. They then confronted the demons and vanquished them all using the staff. When Piper returned to the garden, she learned that Lo Pan had been appointed as a Zodiac to replace Rooster. He then passed on the staff to continue the cycle.
Powers and Abilities[]
Zodiacs shielding.
- Active Powers
- Enhanced Agility: The ability to magically enhance one's agility.
- Force Fields: The ability to project protective force fields. The Zodiac were seen using this power only as a collective.
- Power Granting: The ability to grant powers to another being. When a Zodiac dies, a new person is chosen to take his place.
- Sensing: The ability to sense the location of other beings or objects. The Zodiacs can sense the location of Buddha's Mystical Staff.
- Shredding: The ability to teleport by dispersing one's molecules and reforming elsewhere. By shredding into a cloud of molecules, they could move through the air and fit through extremely small spaces such as the crack of a door.
- Other Powers
- Immortality: The ability to possess a possibly infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process.
The Sacred Garden[]
The sacred garden.
The Sacred Garden is a mythical place that rests in another realm, which can be accessed through a portal or through teleportation. The location of the garden changes every year for safety. The garden serves as a sanctuary for the Zodiacs, where they hold their ceremony each new year. Lo Pan and his family has served as guardians of the garden for generations. According to him, the garden is a magical place where questions have answers.
Notes and Trivia[]
- Despite there being 12 Zodiacs, only 6 are present in the episode (7 if Lo Pan is counted), despite the episode being named "12 Angry Zen".
- Lo Pan mentions Piper is a Buffalo, which is not actually a Zodiac sign. However, the Water Buffalo replaces the Ox in the Vietnamese calendar.
- Billie Jenkins is a Tiger, meaning she was born in the year that Tiger carried the staff.
- Piper Halliwell is an Ox, meaning she was born in the year that Ox carried the staff.
- In the episode "Witchstock", Phoebe mentioned that Paige was also born "in the year of the Ox" and therefore is a natural leader. This is a mistake because Paige was born in 1977 and should be a Snake.
- Rose McGowan actually was born in 1973.
- Although it was never mentioned, but according to the chronology, Prue Halliwell was born in the year of the Dog and it is ironic enough that in "Look Who's Barking" she was transformed into a real dog.
Appearances[]
The Chinese Zodiacs appeared in a total of 1 episodes over the course of the series.
| Charmed, Season 8 | |||||
| #01 | "Still Charmed & Kicking" | #09 | "Hulkus Pocus" | #17 | "Generation Hex" |
| #02 | "Malice in Wonderland" | #10 | "Vaya Con Leos" | #18 | "The Torn Identity" |
| #03 | "Run, Piper, Run" | #11 | "Mr. & Mrs. Witch" | #19 | "The Jung and the Restless" |
| #04 | "Desperate Housewitches" | #12 | "Payback's a Witch" | #20 | "Gone with the Witches" |
| #05 | "Rewitched" | #13 | "Repo Manor" | #21 | "Kill Billie: Vol. 2" |
| #06 | "Kill Billie: Vol. 1" | #14 | "12 Angry Zen" | #22 | "Forever Charmed" |
| #07 | "The Lost Picture Show" | #15 | "The Last Temptation of Christy" | ||
| #08 | "Battle of the Hexes" | #16 | "Engaged and Confused" | ||