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Phoebe: "A Whitelighter. What exactly is a Whitelighter?"
Leo: "Well, we're really just messengers. Guides. Think of us as guardian angels for good witches."
— Leo explaining who he really is.[src]

A Whitelighter is a guardian angel who protects and guides good witches and future Whitelighters to protect and nurture them for their intended destiny. A person can become a Whitelighter when he or she is destined to be one and fulfills their destiny in life, thus given the choice to be reborn as Whitelighters or move on to the afterlife upon their death.

The Whitelighters are led by the Elders, a council of powerful and experienced Whitelighters that serve the greater good. The Elders manage Whitelighters and assign them to charges, although sometimes this connection happens naturally.

Description

"Look, all I'm saying is that someone always told me that Whitelighters are the glue that keeps the magic world working."
Wyatt talking about Whitelighters[src]

Whitelighters are "guardian angels". They watch over their charges, given by the Elders and intervene when necessary to help them along their path and keep them safe; they can also be called by their charges. They can constantly hear the lives of their charges in their heads, and if one of them calls their Whitelighter's name, they can usually show up at a moment's notice. They also serve as messengers between witches and the Elders. Additionally, Whitelighters and the Elders have their own language.

Leo Wyatt has stated that a Whitelighter is connected to their charge naturally, and the Elders don't always assign them.[1]

Conception

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Whitelighters—warriors or guides?

When Whitelighters were first conceived there was much debate over what role they would play. Some saw them as avenging angels, warriors in the fight against evil, while others felt they should only serve as guides and mentor the good beings of the Magical Community (namely good witches and future Whitelighters). The debate nearly tore the heavens apart until finally it was decided that Whitelighters would be guides instead of warriors.[2]

Becoming a Whitelighter

Whitelighters are people who were previously somehow connected to the magical world or who were generally good people that have died. These future Whitelighters were given the choice to either become Whitelighters or move on to the afterlife.

BecomingAWhitelighter

Mikelle becoming a Whitelighter.

If they do choose to become one, they are then given the powers of a Whitelighter. Their bodies are replicas of their former human bodies, but are composed of orbs which are described as white lights that have a healing sense to them[3]. If struck by a power that would be fatal to other beings, such as Molecular Combustion, their bodies will explode into orbs then reform relatively unharmed[4]; they can, however, be knocked unconscious.[5]

After becoming a Whitelighter, the person's DNA will have a triple helix like that of witches and demons, not just two like mortals.

Romance

Though the two species are capable of interbreeding, Whitelighters are not normally allowed to have romantic relationships with witches, as it is deemed to be too complicated and dangerous by the Elders. There are several half-Whitelighters due to this rule being broken or lifted in special circumstances by the Elders. The eight known half-Whitelighters are Simon Marks, Paige Matthews, Wyatt Halliwell, Chris Halliwell, Melinda Halliwell, Tamora and Kat Mitchell and Matthew Halliwell. The first four of them, display most of the abilities of a Whitelighter. Wyatt is able to heal, and when Paige was new to her powers, she could channel Leo's power of Healing through her. When Paige got more experienced with her powers, she gained the ability to heal by herself after experiencing a strong sense of love which is the trigger to healing someone.

Pacifism and Combat

Because they are pacifists, Whitelighters traditionally avoid fighting, except when desperately needed to protect their charges, but are absolutely not allowed to kill. Leo tried to force Chris into a hearing with the Elders after he suspected that Chris killed two warriors in Valhalla.

Despite this rule, Leo has killed on occasion: while the Charmed Ones were trapped in the past, he vanquished the Grimlocks, however, the Elders may have let that one go as he was all that was there at the time and had no choice.[6] The second time, he vanquished the Siren with Piper's Molecular Combustion power, but, at the time, he had no choice as Piper had his powers and they didn't have another method.[7] He also aided the sisters in several vanquishes, not vanquishing demons himself, but usually aiding in some manner. In one instance, Leo teamed up with Cole and due to his lacking his own offensive powers and Cole unconscious, Leo was directly responsible for a demon vanquish by tricking another one into vanquishing his partner.[8]

This rule doesn't occur in the comics: Leo fought the Darklighter Rennek for decades as he was killing multiple white magic practitioners. Upon finally vanquishing him (or so he thought), Leo was rewarded by being made Whitelighter to the three sister witches who would eventually become the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches in the world.[9]

Book of Shadows

Whitelighters

Entrusted with protecting witches and future
Whitelighters, these guardian angels guide their charges in the
use of their magic. Mortals in life, they are given the choice
to become Whitelighters or move on to the afterlife upon their
death. Among their many powers, Whitelighters can teleport
through a process known as orbing and they
possess a healing touch.[10]

Tips For Future Whitelighters

In 2005, Leo wrote this entry to his sons, Wyatt and Chris, afraid that he might not be around for him to teach them himself due to his new destiny as an Elder.

The entry provides useful information about a Whitelighters powers (even though Wyatt had already proven at his young age to be very skilled at them), the Elders call, the importance of family and meditation and that love is the key to healing hands.

Even though Leo fell from grace and became a mortal, the entry remains in the Book.

Powers and Abilities

Basic Powers
  • Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
  • Potion Brewing: The ability to brew potions.
  • Scrying: The ability to locate an object or person by use of a crystal and a map.
Active Powers
  • Orbing: The ability to teleport through the use of orbs.
  • Hovering: The ability to rise a few feet in the air, with or without orbs.
  • Glamouring: The ability to change one's appearance to look like another human being.
  • Healing: The ability to heal physical wounds and different injuries.
  • Photokinesis: The ability to create and manipulate light and orbs.
  • Thermokinesis: The ability to mentally control and manipulate heat.
  • Mind Manipulation: The ability to enter one's mind via telepathic charge connection.
Other Powers
  • Sensing: The ability to locate and find their charges.
  • Cloaking: The ability to hide yourself or others from magical detection. Limited to charges.
  • High Resistance: The power to be resistant to potentially lethal powers.
  • Reconstitution: The ability to reform the body after it was destroyed.
  • Regeneration: The ability to instantly heal oneself after being injured.
  • Immortality: The ability to have an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process.
  • Omnilingualism: The ability to understand, speak, and read any language without training in it. Limited to the language of their charges.
  • Mediumship: The ability to see and commune with spirits of the dead.

Weaknesses

Whitelighters are immortal and invulnerable to many human weaknesses such as aging, diseases, external fatal threats (for example, drowning). It has also been shown that most magical powers do not take them, however, there are several ways to kill Whitelighter.

  • Darklighter Poison: The origin of this poison is unknown, but it is the most common way to kill Whitelighters. The poison causes the keepers to weaken and lose strength, the effects are different for everyone, but no one has survived with it for more than one day. However, the healing power of another Whitelighter is able to heal the victim until a fatal outcome has occurred.
  • Molecular Inhibition: Piper and Phoebe, who took the path of evil, froze Leo and broke him into pieces, thereby killing him. Fortunately for Leo, when the influence of evil on the Charmed Ones stopped, all the atrocities they committed were corrected and their Whitelighter returned to life.
  • Sucking out all their magic: Ramus was killed by Arnon in this way. Later, the Titans caught and petrified two Whitelighters in order to completely absorb their magical powers in order to get to the Upper Regions and deal with the Elders. When the absorption was completed, the stone bodies of the Whitelighters crumbled into pieces without the possibility of recovery.
  • Electrokinesis: This power is fatal for them as well as for the Elders.

Notable Whitelighters and Hybrids

Whitelighters

List of Known Whitelighters
Image Name Notes
Leostill22 Leo Wyatt Former Whitelighter, assigned to the Charmed Ones. Leo died in WWII and has been with the Halliwell family since before the 60s. He married Piper Halliwell and is the father of Wyatt, Chris and Melinda Halliwell.
SamWilder Sam Wilder Whitelighter assigned to Patty Halliwell, who he fell in love with. Father of Paige Matthews, a Witch-Whitelighter hybrid.
Danny whitelighter Danny Whitelighter temporarily assigned to the Charmed Ones after Leo was rumored to have killed an Elder named Zola. Danny got attacked by the Charmed Ones when the Blue Moon turned them into beasts.
Marcus whitelighter Marcus A Whitelighter noted for being somewhat cowardly and worrisome. He was the bait for the Blue Moon beasts.
J.D.Williams J.D. Williams A Whitelight-to-be who Sam Wilder had to guard. J.D. got trapped inside a photograph by the demon Vaklav in the 50s and was freed decades later in 2005. J.D. sacrificed himself to save Sam, which presumably made him a Whitelighter.
MikelleHealsPaige Mikelle A Whitelight-to-be who Paige had to guard. Mikelle became a Whitelighter after being killed by a Darklighter.
5x22-22 Sara A Whitelighter who was petrified by Meta and turned to dust by Demitrius when he absorbed her powers.
Natalie and Leo discussion Natalie Close friend of Leo Wyatt. Natalie was very strict and temporarily assigned to the Charmed Ones when the warlock Eames was hunting witches and Whitelighters. She ultimately got killed by Eames in 2001.
7x11-KyleOrbing Kyle Brody Ex-boyfriend of Paige Matthews. Became a Whitelighter after being killed by an Avatar in 2005.
Dead whitelighter Rennek's victim † Killed by Rennek and his powers stolen in 2008.

Hybrids

"That is so great! I am now Paige Matthews, Whitelighter-Witch. I'm a hyphenate."
—Paige after The Elders assign her her first charge[src]

Throughout the series' television run, there have been eight Whitelighter hybrids shown on-screen.

List of Hybrids
Image Name Notes
Paige at magic school Paige Matthews Daughter of witch Patty Halliwell and her Whitelighter Sam Wilder.
8x15P22 Simon Marks The Marks line of Witches worked closely together with the Warren line during the Salem Witch Trials.
Wyatt Pumpkin Wyatt Halliwell Son of witch Piper Halliwell and her Whitelighter Leo Wyatt.
Baby Chris Chris Halliwell Son of witch Piper Halliwell and her Whitelighter Leo Wyatt.
Melindayall Melinda Halliwell Daughter of witch Piper Halliwell and her Whitelighter Leo Wyatt.
Tamora&KatMitchell Tamora and Kat Mitchell Twin daughters of Whitelighter hybrid Paige Matthews and her husband Henry Mitchell.
Matthew Halliwell Power3 Matthew Halliwell The eldest grandchild of Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt.

Notes and Trivia

  • In the rebooted series, there is a former Whitelighter named Diana who was supposedly from this world. She was sent into an astral-like plane called Infinite Home Video fifteen years prior to her appearance and stayed there until her mission was accomplished.

References

  1. As witnessed in the season 8 episode, "Still Charmed and Kicking"
  2. As mentioned in the season 9 issue, "The Heavens Can Wait"
  3. As seen and confirmed in "The Jung and the Restless"
  4. As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "House Call"
  5. As witnessed in "Exit Strategy"
  6. As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "All Halliwell's Eve"
  7. As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "Siren Song"
  8. As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Brain Drain"
  9. As mentioned in Season 9, "The Heir Up There"
  10. From the season 9 comic issue, The Sourcebook
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