Soul Killing is the ability to destroy the soul or essence of a mortal or magical being. It is different from vanquishing, where only the physical form is destroyed and the soul/essence moves on to another plane while this power completely eradicates their existence. Reincarnation will not be possible unless the soul is restored.
Examples
Life Essences
The Life Essence Terra possessed a Businessman's body and later Piper Halliwell's. Their souls weakened as the possession went on. Terra explained that their souls would die the longer she was in their bodies. Terra killed the Businessman to possess Piper, who was later saved by Prue and Phoebe.
Witches
Witches can destroy a ghost with the spell To Vanquish a Ghost and Return Him to His Rest, though the caster needs to be a ghost themselves for the spell to be effective. Prue, Piper, and Penny have used the spell on three separate occasions.
In 2006, the Charmed Ones summoned the Hollow to strengthen their power, then collecting a multitude of powers and vanquished the Triad, all of whom were in spirit form after their bodies were destroyed. When Christy Jenkins and Dumain traveled back in time, the Charmed Ones followed and vanquished them again with potions they concocted with Penny's help.
In 2008, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige combined a potion, Excalibur, and a Power of Three spell to permanently vanquish the Source's essence.
The Ancient Athame
In 2010, Valen found a weapon called the Ancient Athame, which had the power to destroy souls. He activated the blade by mixing it with his own blood, a witch's, an innocent's, and a being hovering between life and death. Though he failed to vanquish the Charmed Ones, he managed to vanquish Cole Turner's soul.
After Cole's demise, the blade was used three more times: once to release the Old One inside Montgomery Knox, another to destroy Paige Matthews, and finally to destroy Prue Halliwell. When Piper stabbed Prue with the blade, the magic of the All in her body was released and saved Prue and Paige's souls from annihilation.
List of beings who use(d) Soul Killing
- Original power
- Through spell, potion, power stealing, etc.
Gallery
Notes and Trivia
- Soul Absorption worked in a similar manner where the user devoured their victim's soul for their own benefit. The victim's soul is considered "killed".