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
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
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. 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 given the choice to become Whitelighters or either move on to the afterlife.
If they do choose to become one, then, they are 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. If struck by a power that would be fatal to other beings, such as Energy Balls or Molecular Combustion[3], their bodies will explode into orbs then reform relatively unharmed; they can, however, be knocked unconscious. 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 tries to force Chris into a hearing with the Elders after he suspects that Chris killed two warriors in Valhalla, and Leo, himself, brings balance back into the world of magic by doing a "Great Evil" in killing Gideon. Despite this rule, Leo has killed a few times as the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter: while they 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 and he vanquished the Siren. That one he personally did 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. 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.[4]
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. [5]
Book of Shadows
- (Book of Shadows Comic text:)
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.
Powers and Abilities
- Basic Powers
- Spell Casting: The ability to cast a spells and perform rituals.
- Potion Making: 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.
Notable Whitelighters and Hybrids
- Whitelighters
- Sam Wilder
- Danny
- Marcus
- J.D. Williams
- Mikelle
- Sara †
- Natalie †
- Kyle Brody †
- Leo Wyatt (formerly)
- Hybrids
References
- ↑ As witnessed in the season 8 episode, Still Charmed and Kicking
- ↑ As mentioned in the season 9 issue, The Heavens Can Wait
- ↑ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, Exit Strategy
- ↑ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, Muse to My Ears
- ↑ As mentioned in Season 9, The Heir Up There