- The Source: "I need more power. The ultimate power."
- The Seer: "But that is forbidden!"
- — The Seer and the Source of All Evil on the Hollow.[src]
The Hollow is an ancient vapor and the most powerful magical force of unknown origin, which absorbs all forms of magic it comes in contact with, whether it be good or evil. It appears in a swarm of black vapor-like particles floating in mid-air that constitutes a power similar to a black hole, and it can also reside inside a magical living being, thus possessing their corporeal form. It cannot be destroyed by any known means, rather, it can only be contained when powerful representatives from both sides of Good and Evil join forces and combine their power. It actually possesses no mind or personality but rather acts like a virus in a vacuum, mindlessly consuming all magic it touches, thus is always referred to as the "void" by the Seer and the Avatars. It is kept in an ancient burial ground as a pact agreed upon by both sides and is heavily guarded by powerful beings. It has been said that this is the "ultimate power" that will be the end of good and evil, therefore, creating a void as a reality. The Hollow's only desire is to absorb power. If a demon or witch is possessed by the Hollow, they will only be able to control it for a short time after which they fall victim to its insatiable hunger for more power, thus doing what ever it takes to attain more power and in return, take the powers of every magical creature in the magical community both good and evil and eventually destroy the world.
History[]
3500 years ago, the most powerful representatives from the sides of both Good and Evil took the responsibility of guarding The Hollow by casting an incantation to contain it in an enchanted box, which would be kept in an Ancient Burial Ground existing outside of space and time. Both sides then chose a Guardian to protect the Hollow.
The Source of All Evil[]
The Source of All Evil broke the agreement between good and evil when he stole the Hollow to use against the Charmed Ones. The Seer advised him against doing that as it would exterminate all beings from both sides, and forewarned that the future will become a void if the Source continued his madness. The Source insisted, and he killed the Angel guarding the Hollow, and sent the Devil to absorb Piper Halliwell's powers. Piper managed to vanquish him after he accomplished the task, and the powers were sent to the Source. He later sent a Darklighter to poison Leo Wyatt and steal Paige Matthews's powers.
Cole taking in the Hollow.
The Seer knew that the Source had gone mad, and, after she herself planned to establish a future of a new order for evil, tricked Cole Turner into taking in the Hollow to help the Charmed Ones vanquish the Source while the Source's power inhabited his inner void previously occupied by his demon-half. After the Source is vanquished, the Hollow is returned to its box with the Seer and Phoebe Halliwell reading a spell. All the powers of the Charmed Ones, which were absorbed by the Hollow, are returned, and the other powers assimilated by the Hollow went into Cole, making him the embodiment of the vanquished Source of All Evil.[1]
The Ultimate Battle[]
The sisters infected with the Hollow.
In the series' final season, the Triad are not satisfied with having fought the Charmed Ones to a draw. As part of their plan to use another pair of powerful sister witches, Billie and Christy Jenkins, to kill the Charmed Ones, they decide to have the Jenkins summon the Hollow. However, Nomed, a younger demon who had previously worked with the Triad, got wind of this and persuaded the Charmed Ones to summon it in order to even the odds. The Hollow's infection of the Source and Cole is still very fresh in the minds of Paige and Phoebe, and they are initially skeptical about taking this step. However, Piper fears it is even riskier to let the Jenkins get the Hollow first, and eventually convinces Phoebe and Paige to go along.
The Ultimate Battle.
Summoning the Hollow requires a very powerful force. The Charmed Ones were thus able to use their own magic to summon it, but the Jenkins had to get Wyatt Halliwell to hold hands with them so they would have enough power to do so. Both sets of sisters summon the Hollow at the same time, and it splits into two vapors and goes into all five girls. The Charmed Ones then use their Hollow-enhanced powers to vanquish the Triad, while the Jenkins steal Wyatt's powers so they would be evenly matched with the Halliwells. When the Charmed Ones return to the Manor to confront the Jenkins, both sets of sisters are surprised that the other neither has or needs vanquishing potions. The Jenkins throw fire and the Halliwells reply with lightning. The power is so strong, that it blows the Manor to bits, killing Phoebe, Paige and Christy. Piper goes back in time to fix the present, and seeks the help of Patty and Grams, both summoned from the past, to recreate the "Power of Three" and extract the Hollow from the sisters, thus sending it back to the ancient burial ground.[2][3]
The Guardians of the Hollow[]
The Guardians of the Hollow
The Guardians of the Hollow are two high-ranking, powerful beings from both sides, an Angel and a Devil, who are tasked to watch over the Hollow which is eternally kept in its enchanted box in the Ancient Burial Ground. They appear to be thousands of years old as they were chosen to guard The Hollow as early as 3500 years ago, as it has been agreed by both sides that it is forbidden for anyone to even visit the burial ground of The Hollow. After the guardians are killed, they later reformed.
Book of Shadows[]
The Hollow page in the book
The Hallow[]
Ancient beyond measure,
The Hallow is the most powerful and unstable force known
to magic. For an eternity, both good and evil have guarded
the release of The Hallow's un-stoppable, all-consuming hunger
for power.
Summoning Spell:
Ultirusque A Profugus
Addo Is Hic, Addo Is Iam.
Nos Dico Super In Concessus Vox
Bonus Quod Malum.
Spells[]
To Contain the Hollow[]
- This spell requires being cast by both a force of Good and a force of Evil in order to work.
- Aboleo Extum Cavium Du Eternias
To Summon the Hollow[]
Billie and Christy summoning the Hollow.
- This spell requires the Power of Three.
- Nos Dico Super In Concessus
- Vox Bonus Quod Malum
- Ultirusque A Profugus
- Addo Is Hic, Addo Is Iam.
- Translated to English
- This is not an exact translation.
- We call upon the power granted to
- Good and evil
- To the remotely banished
- Bring it here, add it now.
To Banish the Hollow[]
- This spell requires the Power of Three.
- Iam Is Addo,
- Hic Is Addo
- Malum Quod Bonus,
- Vox In Conssesus,
- Super Dico Nos
- Translated to English
- This is not an exact translation.
- It is brought here
- It is brought now
- Evil with good
- In concession to the voice
- Upon which we speak
Notes and Trivia[]
- The inscription to contain the Hollow is written on the box.
- The Book of Shadows page spelled the Hollow as the Hallow.
- Prue Halliwell is the only Charmed One not to have dealt with the Hollow.
- The Source called the Hollow "The Ultimate Power" in "Charmed and Dangerous". This title is also used to describe Billie and Christy's union years later.
- "The Hollow" is also a name of a movie, ironically, starring Kaley Cuoco who portrayed Billie Jenkins.
- In "Charmed and Dangerous", it required good and evil working together to banish the Hollow, while in "Forever Charmed" the power of the Halliwell witches was enough.
- Cole also called the Hallow's box as "Pandora in its box." The real Pandora's Box appears in the season 7 episode "Little Box of Horrors."
- The Hollow only absorbs active powers, seeing as in "Charmed and Dangerous", Piper and Paige were able to cast the spell "To Call a Witch's Power" despite not having their active powers. In addition, the Power of Three also continued to work.
- This is also evident by Piper being able to create a potion that replicated her combustion power.