Warlock

Warlocks are an evil race of magical beings that hunt, capture and kill witches for power. They are known to be ex-witches who have evolved into beings of pure Darkness through years of dedication to Evil in a manner comparable to how Good witches and Beings of Light are dedicated to Good. The term is not gender-specific and refers to witches who have gone down the path of evil, rescinding their humanity after committing an irrevocable act of evil – where one of their selfish main goals are to expand their own powers by killing witches and stealing their powers.

Powers and Abilities
Warlocks will often acquire the powers of witches they kill by absorbing their magical essence, therefore, a warlock will have all the basic powers of the witch i.e. Scrying, Potion brewing, Spellcasting etc. However they tend not to use these in favour of their active powers.

Warlocks sometimes like to barter with Good Witches, offering not to hurt them in exchange for their powers; The warlock Nicholas forced Patty to give him immunity and promise him the Charmed Ones' powers in exchange for her life. Another difference is that most Evil Witches carry a Grimoire, (Tuatha) the evil counterpart to a Book of Shadows, which contains dark rituals and spells, possibly information on forces of Good; Warlocks do not; Warlocks rather seek to steal a Good witch's Book and use it's contents against them for dark purposes, such as stealing their powers. (Bacarra)

A common warlock ability is a form of teleportation called Blinking. The ability is so prevalent in the warlock population that the Halliwells will assume that anyone with this power is a warlock. (In the episode Bride and Gloom, Piper and Phoebe spontaneously gained the power of Blinking when they were temporarily transformed into warlocks by Prue's forcible "marriage" to a warlock.)

Most Warlocks unlike Evil Witches are immortal and only meet an end via a spell or potion, where as most Evil Witches, like Good witches are mortal. In a sense, Warlocks are similar to Vampires or a Succubus; once lured to evil, both have to seal the conversion - be it mortal to Vampire/Succubus or human to Warlock - by destroying humanity, renouncing their Goodness.

Although Blinking is associated with all Warlocks, they have about the same variety of powers that witches do, although an individual Warlock is likely to possess a greater number of powers than any individual witch. In the course of the series, warlocks have demonstrated a large number of powers acquired through hunting and murdering witches, including Fire Balls, astral projection, pyrokinesis, telekinesis, freezing time, Glamouring, Cloning, Super human strength, Transformation and memory absorption. A warlock known for his acquiring of Wiccan powers is Eames after decades of witch killing.

They can be vanquished with their own athame or with a Power of Three spell and blinded with a potion or bright flashing light that prevents them from Blinking - ("Cat House") - Paige creates a potion to Blind the Familiar Hunter. This differs from the method of vanquish for an Evil Witch because sometimes a Good Witch will only disempower or bind an Evil Witch's powers rendering her completely human instead of destroying her; hence the "Disempower A Witch" and "To Separate A Witch From Her Powers" rituals/potions in the Book of Shadows. Another way of vanquish is potions or Piper's molecular combustion power.

Behaviours, Goals and Comparisons
Throughout the show, Charmed has never been completely clear on what the actual definition of a warlock is. This has lead to a divide amongst fans who go by various definitions though the most commonly disputed one is how a warlock differs (or not) from an evil witch and so fans have been let to infer what they can from the episodes available, with some believing that.

In the very first episode of Charmed, ("Something Wicca This Way Comes") (as well as in the unaired Pilot), Phoebe explains what the basic nature of a warlock is, as told by the Book of Shadows:

Phoebe to Prue: "A bad witch, or a warlock, has but one goal: To kill good witches to obtain their powers" --This may mean bad witches AND warlocks or bad MALE witches being classified as warlocks (Jeremy was a warlock, traditionally male witches are mistakenly called warlocks; since this was the first episode, this term may have been improperly used by the show creators.)

Now, not only does this tell the viewer what the general goal of a warlock is but it also shows that bad witches or warlocks are the same. However, it is important to remember that just like with good witches, who also have their own personal goals and achievements, that this is a generalized view of a goal for warlocks. They may also have others such as Devlin and his faction who tried to collect muses in order to organize the Underworld. Eames is another example who tried to kill all whitelighters, albeit in order to kill witches and take their powers faster and more effectively. Throughout the show, warlocks have been shown to only hunt and kill good witches rather than mortal innocents (with the exception of a few mortals who were killed by warlocks like Devlin and Bacarra) while evil witches seem to harm and kill both mortal and magical innocents.

This definition of a warlock is echoed again in Bride & Gloom. In this episode Dantalian turns Prue evil and marries her to a warlock with what appeared to be a dark version of a Handfasting. Later on this moral corruption spreads to Phoebe and Piper who also become evil. Leo then calls them warlocks, because of their giving in to evil. This heavily implies that witches who have turned evil (bad witches) are warlocks and revisits the ideal from the first episode.

Warlocks have been shown in the past to use basic witches powers as well, such as the familiar Hunter who could scry and Bacarra who could cast spells and make potions, further hinting at the idea that Warlocks are indeed evil witches and that the terms are synonymous.

However, some beings on the show termed as evil witches rather than warlocks that possess very un-warlock like traits. For example, Warlocks tend to use their active powers more than basic ones (if ever) and they usually get around by blinking. The Evil Witch in Happily Ever After, went after the Charmed Ones using fairytale magic rather than active powers and teleported in a puff of smoke as opposed to Blinking. Several other bad witches on the how have displayed this trait too such as Christy who never blinked and the Stillman sisters.

Some Evil Witches like Tuatha have familiars too, where as no warlock has before, however this could just be because of the fact that most warlocks were born as such and Tuatha's familiar was carried over from her days as a good witch.

Some fans have speculated that the difference between Warlocks and Evil Witches is that bad witches are actually practitioners turned evil and Warlocks are Magical Witches turned evil. This would certainly explain why a lot of warlocks use their active powers more than their basic ones and why evil witches are often the inverse. However, the actual definition of a Practitioner witch has never been fully described and so one can't ever know for sure, as even the only canon, non speculative reference there is for the definition of a warlock, which is that they are synonymous with evil witches (demonstrated in the first episode and echoed for some time later on), has been effectively retconned by the show's non-uniform use of the two classifications afterwards.

Becoming a Warlock
There are two ways for a person to become a warlock. The first is for a magical witch to use his or her powers to kill another witch and take his or her powers. ("Something Wicca This Way Comes") Second is for a magical witch to be married to a warlock in a dark binding ceremony comparable to Handfasting. The witch's consent is not required, and when the ritual is complete, the new warlock will be Evil, despite his or her previous moral inclinations. ("Bride and Gloom") Good Witches can also become warlocks by turning evil either by choice or force such as with the dark biding ceremony used on Prue by Dantalian, comparable to a handfasting. However, they too must complete the transformation in the same manner, by the killing of an innocent. Until then they may be easily influenced by the other side. It is also seems possible that a warlock born as such with two warlock parents may too turn good however this has not been seen throughout Charmed.

Demonic Form
Some warlocks have displayed a demonic form much like some Upper-level demons. Only Greg and Brendan Rowe showed their demonic forms which could mean that only warlocks who are born that way can change into a demonic form rather then a witch turned into a warlock. This form can be immediately triggered by anger. Once someone regains control of their emotions they can return to their human form.

Blood
Warlocks are not considered demons either by witches or demons. Warlocks are said to be inherently and irredeemably evil, and are said not to bleed, however this has not always been the case such as with Jeremy.


 * A possible reason why some warlocks bleed while others do not could be based on their heritage; a warlock who is half human will bleed due to human half, a full blooded warlock or spawn of two warlock parents will not bleed due to lack of humanity.

Warlock Sub-Species

 * Collectors: Warlocks who are able to drain knowledge through needle like finger protrusions. They also happen to share the ability to blink and invulnerability. After draining their victims information from their head, the victims lose part of their memory and become catatonic. A Collector can also put the information back in someone's head, which revives the person. A Collector's greatest weakness is his thirst for knowledge. ("They're Everywhere")


 * Dragon Warlock: Known to be the most feared and powerful witch killer there is. He has the power to breathe fire, fly and he possesses superhuman strength. The Dragon Warlock is the spawn of a dragon and a sorceress, according to the Book of Shadows entry. ("Be Careful What You Witch For")


 * Familiar Warlock: When a witch's familiar decides to betray its charge, it becomes a Warlock, taking human form. The familiar's dead witch's powers are transferred to the new warlock in the process. Once this is done, the new Warlock must shed the last of its familiar nature before midnight of the next New Moon in order to become invincible. In the case of a feline familiar, the warlock must die 9 times in order to gain a 10th life of immortality. ("PreWitched")


 * Three-Eyed Warlock: A Warlock from the future that has a third eye which emits a deadly beam to kill innocents. ("The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts")

Significant Warlock Moments
According to one episode, in the near future scientists are going to discover a virus that specifically infects all three-eyed warlocks, thus destroying the entire race. ("The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts") In order to stop this from happening the Warlock Gavin travels from the future to kill the science team responsible before the discovery can be made. Unfortunately for him the Charmed Ones vanquish him before he can kill all the scientists involved. If this possible future comes to fruition or not is unclear as future events foreseen have been changed dramatically in the past. If it does however, that warlock race may be close to an end.

The most powerful line of warlocks of all time was the Rowe Coven. Much like the Halliwell/Warren line, each generation of Rowe warlocks grew even more powerful, culminating in the arrival of three brothers who would form the most powerful evil force in history. However, Prue helped the youngest of these brothers, Brendan, permanently suppress his warlock side and destroy his brothers. During this episode, it is revealed that a half warlock (presumably also a full warlock) can permanently strip his powers by becoming a priest. ("When Bad Warlocks Turn Good")

It was long thought that warlocks couldn't be found by scrying, even though they are technically still witches. However, it is possible to track a warlock by scrying for one or more of the powers he has stolen, since a witch's power technically remains alive even after its user dies. ("Blinded by the Whitelighter")

When The Source of All Evil is wounded in battle by the Charmed Ones, a warlock faction tries to usurp the Underworld. The warlocks of the faction hold many powers, several of which were stolen from demons, guaranteeing their death at demon hands if they failed. The Charmed Ones killed several of the faction’s numbers when recovering the Ring Of Inspiration ("Muse to My Ears"), but some Warlocks chose to flee rather than die at their hands.

Typical Warlock Vanquish Spells


According to Piper, there are 19 specific Warlock vanquishing spells. ("They're Everywhere")

Warlock Spell

 * The Power of Three
 * Will Set Us Free,
 * The Power of Three
 * Will Set Us Free,
 * The Power of Three
 * Will Set Us Free!

Melinda's Warlock Curse
(To Curse Matthew Tate into Melinda's locket)


 * Ingredients needed:
 * assorted herbs,
 * a spotted owl feather,
 * a leather bag
 * and a locket.


 * Combine the herbs and make it into a fine powder.
 * Put the powder into the leather bag and add the owl feather.
 * Put the bag into fire and let it burn while chanting the spell
 * and holding the locket open, pointed to the to-be-cursed warlock


 * Outside of Time!
 * Outside of Gain!
 * Know only Sorrow!
 * Know only Pain!

Phoebe's Warlock Vanquishing Spell

 * Evil is a faithful Foe,
 * But Good does battle Best.
 * We Witches will with these Words,
 * Waste This Warlock's Evil Zest.

To Kill a Female Warlock

 * Through This Book
 * Weave This Spell
 * Create the Pain
 * Of Heaven to Hell
 * May She Suffer
 * Until She Cries
 * Her Tears Will Dry
 * And Then She Dies

Note
As seen in Blinded by the Whitelighter, a witch can create a warlock vanquishing spell by stating the warlock's power and what you want to happen to it; as was done with Eames:
 * Time for Amends and a Victim's Revenge;
 * Cloning Power turned Sour,
 * Power to Change turned too Strange,
 * I'm Rejecting Your Deflection.


 * Upon vanquish, a warlock is often enveloped and consumed by the flames of Hell.

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Something Wicca This Way Comes - Premiére - Jeremy Burns
 * The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts - Gavin
 * The Witch Is Back - Matthew Tate
 * That 70's Episode - Nicholas
 * When Bad Warlocks Turn Good - The Rowe Coven


 * Season 2
 * Witch Trial - Jeremy, Nicholas
 * The Painted World - Malcolm, the lover of an Evil Warlock, Jane
 * They're Everywhere - The Collectors
 * Pardon My Past - Anton, P. Russell's manipulative lover
 * Be Careful What You Witch For - Dragon Warlock


 * Season 3
 * Blinded by the Whitelighter - Eames
 * Bride and Gloom - Zile
 * PreWitched - Shadow


 * Season 4
 * Muse to My Ears - Devlin
 * Bite Me


 * Season 5
 * A Witch In Time - Bacarra
 * The Importance of Being Phoebe
 * The Day The Magic Died - Kane; top advisor to a group of Warlocks
 * Cat House - Familiar Hunter


 * Season 6
 * Witchstock - Nigel

Season 8
 * Generation Hex-Anton (through flashback)