Gods and Goddesses are supreme magical beings that possess vast magical powers. They are the most powerful forces in the universe and might be responsible for the creation of the universe itself.
There are various kinds of Gods and Goddesses with different origins. While Shakti and Shiva are presumably truly divine, it was revealed that the Greek Gods were given their powers by the Elders from the essence to fight the Titans. However, the true nature of the Gods and Goddesses remains a mystery.
History
Creation of the Universe
Shakti, the Goddess of Creation, and Shiva, the God of Destruction, existed before the universe, which they created by consummating their love. This supports the theory that the Grand Design is the gods' intended nature of the universe, which was hinted at by one of the Angels of Destiny while negotiating with the Charmed Ones.
The Greek Gods
In the days of Ancient Greece, the Titans ruthlessly ruled the Earth. In fear of these beings, the mortals worshipped them as Gods in the hopes of appeasing them. To stop the Titans, the Elders infused a group of mortals with a tremendous amount of power, in the hopes they would be strong enough to stop the Titans. However, once these mortals had entombed the Titans in ice, their power consumed them and they lost their humanity. They declared themselves as gods and forced the world to worship them. These mortals then became the Greek Gods of mythology, such as Zeus, Aphrodite and Athena. After the Elders succeeded in taking back the essences of the Gods, they swore they would never allow this to happen again. They had put the essences in a sacred vase and locked it in a vault in the Heavens.
Pandora's Box
At some point, the Gods gave a box to a man named Prometheus. The box contained all the sorrows of the world that should never be released. A mortal girl named Pandora opened it, releasing the sorrows onto the world. She eventually reclaimed the sorrows and became the first guardian of Pandora's Box.
The Golden Belt of Gaea
The goddess Gaea gave a magical belt as a gift to the mortal Hippolyta. The belt possessed transcendent powers and she tried to use it to unite the sexes. However, her plans backfired and retreated to an island of women, killing all men who dared to enter. Eventually, the demi-god Hercules butchered her and the belt found it's way to another female.
Ancient Egypt
The mage Anubis was worshipped as a God of Death and Rebirth in ancient Egypt. He led a revolt against the Avatars when they attempted to create Utopia and created a vanquishing potion for them, forcing the Avatars to retreat and delay their plans.
Return of the Greek Goddesses
The Greek Goddesses
In 2003, an Unidentified Demon freed the Titans from their emtombment to claim power of the Underworld. However, the Titans vanquished him and sought to exact their revenge on the Elders. After the Titans nearly slaughtered all remaining Elders, Leo Wyatt entered the vault containing the essence of the Gods and granted its powers to the Charmed Ones, transforming them into Goddesses in order to increase their strength in the upcoming battle.
Piper Halliwell became the Goddess of Earth and her sisters Phoebe and Paige became the Goddess of Love and Goddess of War respectively. However, the Titans still proved too powerful to stop until Piper lost herself in anger and pain after discovering Leo had become an Elder. She then single-handedly vanquished the Titans by opening a large chasm in the earth, swallowing them as whole. Piper then went on a rampage until Leo managed to calm her down and she willingly released the essence.
Shakti and Shiva
Shakti and Shiva
While attending a Hindu wedding in 2004, Piper and Leo became possessed by the essences of the Hindu Gods Shakti and Shiva. These Gods were said to have created the universe by consummating their love and it was warned they would destroy it if they consummated their love once more. However, the Gods are later expelled from their bodies with a spell.
Spells
To Release the Essence of the Greek Gods and Goddesses
- Eccere, oh, gee,
- Ac mando ma mento.
To Remove Gods From Mortals
- We call upon the mortal ways,
- And Gods who guide but may not stay.
- We seek those of divinity,
- To separate from and set them free.
Powers and Abilities
The Gods are supreme magical beings and as such, possess vast magical power. These vast powers are transferred to a host when the essences of the Gods possess a body. Aside from gaining power and knowledge, taking in an essence may also grant physical changes such as gaining additional arms or a change in hair style and color. Additionally, the host may receive new clothing and even weapons depending on the essence.
According to Leo's explanations, the bond between a host and a divine essence seems to be based on that person's personality and history.[1] Despite once losing herself to the darkest of loves, Phoebe managed to return from it, which was why she became the Goddess of Love. Though she had a constant desire to become a stronger witch, Paige never let herself become consumed with power, which was why she became the Goddess of War. Piper became the Goddess of Earth because she was—in Leo's eyes especially—everything that was good and beautiful in this world as well as the mother of his son.
Taking in a divine essence comes with great danger, as the host will be tempted to use the seemingly unlimited powers for personal gain, which could lead them to become completely lost in their desires. Besides this, one can only channel the true power of the Gods by declaring themselves divine, meaning that they will lose their humanity. As demonstrated by Piper, being consumed by severe emotional pain is another method of unleashing the true power of the divine essence, and unless said essence is extracted from the host, it is possible for the pain to lead the host to destroy the world.
- Active Powers
- Teleportation: The ability to teleport from one location to another. All Gods are shown possessing some form of teleportation.
- Vast Magical Powers: The Gods naturally possess a great number of supernatural powers, but were also shown to specify in certain unique abilities that were dependent on their respective natures. For example, the Goddess of War possesses the ability to project holograms, and could fire bolts of lighting from her trident (as shown by Paige). The Goddess of Love possesses the power of luring men (as shown by Phoebe), and the Goddess of Earth had dominion over the earth and the air (as shown by Piper).
- Other Powers
- Immunity: The ability to be immune to certain powers, spells or potions.
- Invincibility: The ability to be able to withstand any amount of physical or magical harm.
- Immortality: The ability to possess an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process.
Notes
- Out of the four Charmed Ones, Piper is the only one to become a Goddess thrice: the Goddess of Earth, a Demi-Goddess (when she wore a Valkyrie Pendant), and Shakti.
- Although not they were not true Gods, the Titans are thought of as God-like beings due to their tremendous amount of powers.
- Mercury was the self-proclaimed Roman God of Thievery. All that was revealed about him was that the Mercury Demons once worked in his service.
Trivia
- In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hecate is a Wiccan Goddess. In Charmed, she is a demon. In reality, Hecate is a Greco-Roman Goddess associated with magic and crossroads. She is also sometimes associated with the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess in Paganism.
References
- ↑ As mentioned by Leo Wyatt when he explained why he granted the sisters the essences in "Oh My Goddess! Part 2".