Empathy

Empathy is the ability to read and feel exactly what another person is feeling, and for the same reasons, without direct contact with them. It can be channeled through the hands or eyes, the latter being the most common way to use the power.

It's very versatile and vast in nature, with many abilities stemming from it. Both Phoebe and Prue have only shown aspects of the power, never it's entirety.

Control over the Power
Usually, in the early stages of gaining this power, it's very uncontrollable and most users receive empathic vibes automatically. They can be overwhelmed by the emotions and feel compelled to act them out. As one embrace their gift, they will gain control over it and will be able to turn it on or off at will. If the empathic energy is strong enough, users will automatically receive an empathic hit, overriding their control and will.

Reading Emotions
Users simply activate their power an concentrate on the person or creatures (ie) dragons, who's emotions they want to read. You can also read the intent or desire behind emotions, and know exactly what a person want or truly desire. Other begins with malevolent intent will worried when they are around you; due to the fact that the you can find out any secrets that they are trying to keep hidden.

As your empathic range expands, you will be able to read, sense and maintain contact with beings from within a vast city wide distant, and in between dimensions. You will also be able to hear thoughts and feel emotions, like a telepath. As emotions are your tools, if you are even trap in a alternate reality created by desires, you will be able to escape by channel your desires into a desire to escape.

The only way someone can block you from reading their emotions is with an empathy blocking potion. However, it's hard to make as the ingredients are extremely rare. The effects of the potion is temporary, because as your range expands you will be able to break through the effect and read their emotions.

Chris and the sisters used the potion to temporarily block their emotions. Mordaunt (unseen) found a way to block his feelings and in-effect his true intentions from being readed, either by using a spell or potion. Cal Greene didn't take anything to block the power, but his feeling still could not be read.

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

- Leo telling the sisters about Empaths.

Empaths have a unique healing ability. They are said to be able to use their power to heal people, by using their intimate knowledge of what the person is feeling or has gone through and offering them advice or comfort. They may also possess the whitelighter form of healing, to heal physical wounds with their hands. Father Thomas told the sisters that he tricked Vinceres, by laying his hands on him as if to heal him, but gave him his powers instead.

Channeling Powers


The ability to manipulate the powers of others, by controlling them or using them as if you copied the power. As powers are tied to emotions, channeling powers through empathy works by feeling the same emotion that others feel, and then accessing their powers to deflect them, or temporarily use them as if the power was your own. Users can channel powers through their hands or with the power of their mind. This is the most powerful ability stemming from this power.

High Resistance


The ability to withstand and be resistant to lethal powers from other magical beings. It's activated as soon as you start channeling a power. The channeled power will have next to no affect on you. As one of the worlds most powerful witch, Phoebe had a limited form of this power. But with empathy, she gained a more powerful version, as it allows her to withstand any power that she channels. It's the most useful ability stemming from the power.

Augmentation


The ability to increase the strength of your own powers by channeling a massive amount of emotions into them, which will advance your powers, make you vastly more powerful. Prue's powers greatly enhance when she temporarily gained the gift. Her telekinesis powers advanced to a point were Vinceres, a demon who was immune to witches magic, was no longer immune to it. It also allowed her to perform gravity-defying maneuvers, and her power of astral projection evolved into Cloning. It's the most desirable ability stemming from the power.

Strength and Control
This power has been shown having varying strength, depending on the user. As a person grows stronger their empathic range will expand. However, having a greater strength and control of this power is only developed by empath's born with the gift and those destined to have it.

Phoebe, a destined empath, has shown that her empathic gift is very strong. while at home, she felt a large empathic burst of pain and fear from people within the city, who were being attacked by a dragon. While confronting the dragon, she used her power read the creatures emotions.

Later, she used it to sense and feel her sister Piper, who was on a different plane of existence, the ghostly plane. She would also be able to sense if her sister was dead, even if she wasn't there or even on the same plane. Phoebe meditates to control her gift and is the only witch that can use it to control and replicate other people's powers. As her power grows stronger she will eventually gain every ability within it.

Insanity and Demons
"I'm afraid that your in danger, you weren't meant to recieve this gift. You can't handle it."

- Leo expressing concern over Prue gaining empathy.

It can drive a person insane if they are not destined to have it, as it's a psychic ability, which requires the user to be mentally strong. Demons can never gain this power naturally, due to the fact that they can't handle human emotions. It would destroy them or eventually drive them insane.

Prue accidentally received this power from the powerful demon Vinceres through the use of a spell. Although she was fine with it at first, eventually, as it's range expanded, she was unable to control it developing to the point where she was constantly taking in the emotions of the entire city. However, with the help of a former empath, Father Thomas, she was able to get a grip on the incoming emotions, channelling them into her other powers in order to help her battle Vinceres.

To Release an Empath from his Gift

 * Free the Empath,
 * Release his gift,
 * Let his pain be cast adrift.


 * (It is important that when casting the spell there is no physical contact with the Empath as the power will transfer in the caster of the spell ("Primrose Empath").