Empathy

Empathy is the ability to read and feel other people's feelings and emotions. The user of this ability can feel exactly what another person is feeling, and for the same reasons, without direct contact with them.

Application
There are four types of Empathic Channeling:


 * Tap into and reading another being's emotions.
 * Tap into another being's emotions to access their powers and control or copy them.
 * Channel a massive amount of emotions into your own powers to strengthen and advanced them.
 * Use your power to heal and guide other people emotionally/mentally.
 * Focus the empathic power through your hands to curse a demon, by granting it your power.

Strength and Skill
When Phoebe first received this power, she found it to uncontrollable and would receive empathic vibes automatically. She would often be overwhelmed by the emotions and feel compelled to act them out.

As she embraced her gift, she gained control over it and grew more confident when using it. She channels her power through her eyes, often by narrowing and focusing her eyes on her intended target. She also became more precise, allowing her to read emotions acurrately, discern the truth, uncover hidden secrets and true desires.

As she became more comfortable channeling her power through her eyes she found herself more powerful, able to access the power of those around her with a simple looks. However, sometimes she uses both her hands and eyes, usually while power tapping multiple individual's. The growth of her power in strength and range, allows her to read, sense and maintain contact with people within a vast city wide distance, and with Piper in between dimensions.

When Prue gained an exceptionally powerful empathy power from Father Thomas. Within a few hours of gaining the power it's her empathy power fully developed to included the entire city of San Francisco. She showed skill when she channeled the incoming emotions into her other powers, greatly enhancing all of them, and then used them to destroy Vinceres.

So far, Prue is the only person to use the Power Augmentation aspect of Empathy. Prue channeled this power through her minds' eye to both read emotions and enhance her powers.

While both Phoebe and for a short Prue, learned to control their individual empathy power, they would still automatically receive an empathic hit, overriding their control and will, if the empathic energy is strong enough.

Reading Emotions
The first aspect of the power is to read others emotions, which also tend to involve experiencing those emotions. However, Whitelighters can only physically experience the emotions of their human charges.

Empaths can read and feel the emotions of every living being, including animals (ie) dragons. They can also read the intent or desire behind emotions, and know exactly what a person wants or truly desire. Begins with malevolent intent are usually worried when they are around an empath; because they can find out any secrets that they are trying to keep hidden. Some can also hear thoughts.

Power Manipulation


The next aspect, after learning to read emotions, is using Empathy to manipulate other powers, which is composed of three—and arguably the most powerful—aspects of the power; Channeling, Replicating and Resisting powers. As long as the connection is maintained channeled power will be rendered ineffective when used against you. It could replicate the effects of spells as it's a basic witch power.

As powers are tied to emotions, manipulating powers through empathy works by feeling the same emotion that others feel, and then accessing their powers to deflect or copy them. Phoebe quickly learned and demonstrated total control over these three aspects the power.

Empathic Healing


Another aspect of the power is the ability to heal emotional wounds. Empaths 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. Phoebe, as an advice columnist, uses her gift to help the people who writes to her. Her powers helps her to 'read people really well', so she's able to give them helpful and insightful advice.

Aside from counseling, Immortal Empaths can also heal emotional wounds akin to Whitelighters healing physical wounds. Father Thomas indicated he focused his empathic powers through his hands to heal the emotional anguish of his parishioners. He used this same method to curse Vinceres.

Augmentation


Another aspect of Empathy, is the ability to increase the strength of your own powers, which works by channeling a massive amount of emotions into them, which will enhance your powers and make you stronger. This aspect was used by Prue Halliwell who had temporarily gained the gift.


 * Her Telekinesis power 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 evolved her Astral Projection power into Cloning.

Limitations
This power has a few limitation; these are:


 * In the early stages the power can be very uncontrollable.
 * Users can be overwhelmed by the emotions and feel compelled to act them out. However, once they embrace the power they will be able to turn it on or off at will.
 * On rare occasions you may not be able to read anothers emotions, as seen with Cal Greene.
 * Phoebe has to be within the vicinity of the person, who's powers she want to control as well as duplicate.
 * The power can be bloked with an empathy blocking potion. However, the effects of the potion is temporary.

Power developed from Empathy


This power is an advanced form of Empathy. It is the ability to manifest and channel emotions through the hands, to create a psychic blast made purely of emotions. The effects generate energy sparks which resemble Lightning Bolts.

Phoebe is the only being with this power. With it, she is capable of vanquishing, or severely incapacitating extremely powerful magical beings thought impossible to be defeated. She used this power on the powerful witch Neena, magnifying her emotions until she was knocked unconcious. It's arguably the strongest offensive power of a Charmed One, evident by the Neena encounter.

Insanity and Demons


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

- Leo expressing concern over Prue gaining empathy.

Empathy can drive a person to insanity 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, as it drove the powerful upper-level demon Vinceres to insanity, but shortly after it was taken away, he was returned to normal.

Prue accidentally received this power from 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, Father Thomas taught her to control it.

She then channeled the incoming emotions into her other powers, which greatly enhanced them, and then used them to destroy Vinceres. However, while she eventually learned to control it, she was not a destined empath, and immediately after the battle, the power left her, as she was never meant to have it.

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").