The Evil Enchantress

"Nobody tells me what to do."

—The Enchantress to Lady Julia.^[src]

The Evil Enchantress (fl. 12th Century^[1]) was an evil witch with the power of telekinesis, as well as the power to conjure the elements (fire, water, air, earth and electricity), before they were bound. She came into her powers late, but learned the Craft very quickly, choosing to use it for evil. She was the most powerful witch of her time, as well as one of the most powerful evil witches in history.

However, desiring more power, the Enchantress plotted to become the mother of the Prince's heir, thereby making her the Queen of the kingdom after killing the Prince. As he was betrothed to the Lady Julia, the Enchantress made a potion containing a lock of his true love's hair in order to appropriate his love for her to herself instead. She succeeded in this, but her future life, Paige Matthews, accidentally summoned the Prince to the future. The Enchantress followed, and eventually brought the Prince back to their time, where she proceeded to seduce him. Once again, Paige and her half-sisters foiled her plot by binding her powers, undoing her dark magic on the Prince.

She was presumably punished or imprisoned for her crimes against the monarchy afterwards and, due to unknown circumstances, died. Her soul was reincarnated as Paige.

History

Early Life

The Enchantress may have been born to "carriers" with latent witch genes, like Billie and Christy Jenkins^[2], as, in her early years, she possessed no magic and lived as a mortal in the kingdom.

At an unknown time, she came into her powers of moving objects with her mind alone, and conjuring air and electricity. She was also skilled at potion making. She chose to use her magic for evil and adopted the title of "the Evil Enchantress".

Plotting

Enchantress Constellation — The Enchantress awaiting the constellation.

"Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince who was about to marry a beautiful maiden. But an evil Enchantress with dark powers wanted the Prince for herself, so she could become Queen and rule the entire kingdom."

—Paige Matthews telling "the fairy tale".^[src]

The Enchantress, seeing that the Prince was to marry Lady Julia, began to hatch a plot. She planned to take the Prince for herself, give birth to his heir, dispose of him, and then rule the kingdom under her hard rule of dark magic. However, she had to first wait for the stars to align and show her when her powers were at their darkest. For a length of time, she waited for the astrological event to occur from her castle.

When the stars finally aligned in the shape of a prince with a sword, the Enchantress told her men to bring Lady Julia to her. They did so in the night, though she came unwillingly and unafraid. The Enchantress proceeded to lock her behind bars while she concocted a dark potion to appropriate the Prince's love for Julia to herself.

Enchantress Prince — The Prince holding the Enchantress at sword-point.

After the potion was complete, the Prince arrived at the Enchantress's castle and ordered her to release Julia, rightfully suspecting that she had kidnapped her. She then used the potion on him, combined with a spell to make him fall in love with her. The dark magic was successful, and they proceeded to attempt to conceive an heir.

Time-Traveling

Lady Julia: "If good magic rescued my Prince from you, what makes you think he'll return?"

Enchantress: "I don't. That's why I plan on following his footsteps and bringing him back. After I destroy the good magic that intervened, of course."

— The Enchantress before going to the future.^[src]

However, just as they were about to consummate their relationship, the Prince was transported away. Enraged, the Enchantress proceeded to use a lock of Julia's hair in a potion to follow his footsteps and bring him back. She then created a portal which transported her to the attic of the Halliwell Manor in the year 2001, right in front of Piper and Phoebe Halliwell. She demanded to know where the Prince was, but they did not answer and ran around the house while the Enchantress shot electricity at them. Eventually, she realized that they did not have the Prince, and left.

Enchantress Paige — The Enchantress with a picture of Paige.

Following her heart's pull, the Enchantress journeyed to South Bay Social Services, where Bob Cowan mistook her for Paige Matthews. She then found a picture of her, and saw immediately that she was her future-life. She was initially gratified, believing that her evil had carried on through the centuries. She found Paige in a street near her apartment. Paige tried to drive away in her car, but the Enchantress used her powers over wind to stop her from moving, and causing a tire to burst. The Enchantress was not at all pleased to find out Paige was good. Paige then threw a potion at her, which she destroyed with lightning before knocking Paige out with a gust of wind.

Enchantress Portal — The Enchantress returning to her own time.

The Enchantress then entered Paige's apartment, where she saw Piper and Phoebe with the Prince. After using her powers to incapacitate the sisters, she made another portal and left with the Prince. The sisters then followed, jumping in the portal after them, but the Enchantress had her guards chain them to a wall while she and the Prince went to her bedroom.

Defeat and Later Life

Enchantress: "How could you do this to me? To us?"

Paige: "I didn't do it. We did it."

— Paige referring to her half-sisters and whitelighter.^[src]

Enchantress Bound — The Enchantress with her powers bound.

However, before the Enchantress and the Prince could have sex, Paige arrived and channeled the Enchantress's powers against her. A brief battle ensued in the chamber, ending only when Paige used wind to knock her on the floor before binding her powers using a potion. Lady Julia and the Prince then kissed, breaking the spell.

It is unknown what happened to the Enchantress later. She was presumably imprisoned or, at the very least, punished for her crimes against the kingdom.

Post-Mortem

Due to unknown circumstances, the Evil Enchantress perished. Her soul was reincarnated in 1977 as Paige Matthews. Due to how the Enchantress abused her powers over the elements, Paige did not inherit them.

At some point after her death, Melinda Warren or a descendant of hers wrote a brief entry on the Enchantress in the family's Book of Shadows. They also included the spell she used on the Prince.

Physical Description

Enchantress Appearance — The Evil Enchantress.

The Evil Enchantress had wavy long dark brown hair, brown eyes, and white skin. She wore a sort of tiara, and dressed in black and green, along with gold trimmings and jewelry.

However, it was very likely she only looked like Paige because the sisters and Leo recognized her soul as that of Paige, although Paige's boss, Bob Cowan, confused her for Paige.

Personality and traits

"I'm petty and evil and vindictive. But most of all... I'm determined."

—The Enchantress describing herself.^[src]

Described by the Book of Shadows to be "defiant, clever, and independent", the Enchantress was an evil, ambitious, and scheming woman. She herself also confirmed that she was "petty, evil, vindictive, and determined".

Powers and Abilities

"She was gifted with the power to conjure the elements and was also skilled at creating potent potions to achieve her goals."

—The Book of Shadows on her powers.^[src]

Basic Powers

Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and performs rituals.
Potion Brewing: The ability to brew potions. The Enchantress was described as being particularly skilled in this fundamental ability, for she was able to create "potent potions to achieve her goals".
Scrying: The ability to scry for a person or object by the use of a scrying crystal and a map.
Mediumship: The ability to see and commune with spirits of the dead.

Active Powers

EvilEnchantress1 — The Evil Enchantress firing lightning.

Telekinesis: The Enchantress displayed it when she opened and closed Lady Julia's cell.
Conjuring the Elements: The Enchantress possessed the power to conjure the elements. The full extent of her power was never fully explored, as she was only shown conjuring wind and lightning. Her main offensive power was to generate powerful gusts of wind from her hands.

Other Powers

Divination: The ability to gain insight through special methods. The Enchantress was capable of divining through star gazing. This is not defined as a supernatural ability, but a trained method.

Book of Shadows