Empath

"They use their sensitivity to guide mortals, ease their pain, even heal them."

- Leo to the Charmed Ones.

An Empath is a reincarnated mortal being, reborn with the ability to feel other's emotions, the power of Empathy. When mortals are reincarnated as Empaths, they often enter fields enabling them to heal and guide others; usually become priests, counselors, teachers, psychiatrists, etc. Their power allows them to help others, such as healing someone's emotional pain. While Empaths are a separate race of magical being, other beings can also receive the power of empathy.

To find one's strength as an Empath, one must embrace the emotions and not fight against them. This is why only a few beings are chosen to become Empaths, which makes the gift very rare.

Demons and Empathy
Demons are the only beings who cannot possess the power of Empathy, due to the fact that they can not handle human emotions, and the power will drive them insane, eventually destroying them.

Empath as a Species
In late 2000, Prue Halliwell met a young man named Vince. He at first seemed like a man cursed with the power of Empathy, unable to handle all the emotions he felt. Trying to help an innocent, Prue cast a spell that released his power.

Prue and her sisters soon found out that Vince was actually a demon named Vinceres. He was cursed by Father Thomas, an Empath, who had given his Empathy power to the demon. Father Thomas knew the power would make the demon insane and unable to set one foot outside and thus not being able to kill. However, after losing his ability, Father Thomas felt he had no reason to be. He had a nervous breakdown and was eventually committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Since Vinceres had touched Prue's hand while she was casting the spell, the power had gone into her, making Prue an Empath. However, since Prue was not destined to be one, she also became insane. With the help of Father Thomas, Prue learned to channel all the emotions she felt into her own powers and vanquished Vinceres, losing the empathic power in the process. Father Thomas thus didn't regain his ability, however, he realized that he did not need magic to help people, and returned to his church.

Empath as a Title


"I am an empath. That's my new power. Or at least an advancement of my premonition power, I don't know."

- Phoebe to Piper after discovering her new power.

Other beings than the reincarnated Empaths were shown to be capable of gaining the power of Empathy. Those beings are sometimes reffered to as empaths, too, regardless of their species. Phoebe Halliwell is the only known witch of the Warren line of witches to have this power. Since Phoebe was able to feel the emotions of the people in her visions, her power advanced into a full Empathy in late 2003. Phoebe, as a columnist, used her gift to help the people who wrote to her.