The Elders

The Elders, also known as The Council of Elders, The Founders or The Powers That Be, are a council of powerful Whitelighters who advise magical beings and also command the majority of whitelighters themselves. Their purpose is to preserve the "greater good" which they do by commanding Whitelighters to watch over and protect witches and future whitelighters. Elders mainly keep track of witches, whitelighters and even humans from the Heavens. They communicate with witches through whitelighters giving them messages and warning them from great threats. They also send whitelighters after humans who are "whitelighters to be" and clip their wings whenever serious rules are broken.

When witches need advice about demons, or anything else that they know nothing about they can ask the Elders by sending their Whitelighters to them as Leo did many times for the sisters. Even to discuss a battle plan witches can send their whitelighters.

Very few Elders ever come to Earth. Only in rare cases do they orb down. The only Elder ever to spend the most time on earth was Leo as he had a family. A few others such as Gideon, Sandra and Odin orbed down the earth a few times (mostly on the Golden Gate Bridge) to talk directly to the Charmed Ones or Leo and even once for Zankou. Elders prefer to stay in the background and spend their time in the Heavens to protect themselves from harm (as only the orbing power belonging to Elders and Whitelighters can enter it). This explains why witches are not allowed in the Heavens, although the Charmed Ones once visited it (Piper three times).

History
Approximately 1000 BC, the Elders saw the Titans as a risk to the world and themselves. So they unleashed the powers of the Greek gods onto mortals, who were then able to use those powers to imprison the Titans for millennia and return the gods and their powers back to their resting place after the battle. Since that time, the Elders have been taking care and looking after the world. ("Oh My Goddess! Part 1") The Elders did initially forbid the marriage of Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt, which they rescinded, allowing the wedding to occur later in 2001 (season 3). After Leo's efforts to save the Elders and the world, the Elders promoted him to an Elder, however he spent much of his time on Earth, became an Avatar and eventually "fell from grace" which is something no other Elder ever did.

Referred to as ...
In the episode "Secrets and Guys", Phoebe first learns about the Elders. Leo tells her about a "group of elder whitelighters" known as "the Founders." Prue and Piper learn about them in the episode "Love Hurts" when they also first found out about Leo being a whitelighter. They get called "Elders" more frequently starting with the episode "Blinded by the Whitelighter". They are also called "The Powers That Be" in the episode "Once Upon A Time".

Appendices

 * (Book of Shadows text:)

The Elders

 * Also known as the Founders, they are the highest
 * level of Whitelighter. The Elders control the
 * ranks of the guardian angels and keep track of
 * the good witches they protect. They are not all
 * knowing but they can aid with their vast wisdom.

Other Information
Despite the fact that many Elders are former whitelighters (as a result of a form of promotion), many are witches or other magical beings who have become Elders due to their services for Good. An example of this is seen in Witches In Tights, where Kevin, a young witch, becomes an Elder after the death of Ramus who was killed earlier on and passed his powers on to the youth. Elders who have been former magical beings are only shown to possess the mental powers of an Elder and retain their original powers. Although believed that the Elders' powers are mental and not physical, many Elders possess powers such as Lightning bolts. They can also mimic powers such as energy balls, but they don't have any effect as they don't actually posses it. Whitelighters can do this too like Nathalie did in Blinded by the Whitelighter while training with the Charmed Ones.

Known Powers and Abilties
Elders can protect themselves from evil by a powerful energy field. When Zankou tried to touch Sandra he was shocked by electricity ("Ordinary Witches"). Other powers exhibited by Elders include, but are not limited to:
 * Orbing
 * Healing
 * Sensing
 * Electrokinesis
 * Telekinesis
 * Molecular Dispersion
 * Power Granting
 * Shielding
 * Invisibility
 * Regeneration
 * Premonition
 * Empathy
 * Power Stripping
 * Conjuration
 * Immortality
 * Dream Manipulation
 * Energy Waves
 * Crystallomancy
 * Reconstitution
 * Telepathy
 * Remote Orbing
 * Photokinesis
 * Immunity
 * Projection (a few)
 * Adjusting
 * Thermokinesis