Power



A power is a supernatural ability to perform some type of magical feat with nothing other than one's own mind, body and innate magic. There are many different kinds of powers, possessed by beings of good and evil, as well as neutral beings. A power can be either active or passive. An active power is something that can affect a being or object physically or even mentally, a passive power that can not make a immediate affect but an indirect one e.g. Telekinesis can be used to kill a demon (active). Premonitions can warn a witch about how to kill a demon (passive).

Powers are normally a biological part of the being that possesses it. However, the Awakening spell has been known to infuse it in their blood specifically and a blood transfer into a mortal can result in the mortal also having their powers. ("Astral Monkey") though a person who is not supposed to have the power will ultimately go insane with the power. ("Astral Monkey", "Primrose Empath" The Fifth Halliwheel) Powers are always inside the being that has them, they just don't manifest themselves until the being is ready or as a reflex to save their life. ("A Paige From The Past") Powers are also shown as being inside someone's blood, so when witches switch souls their powers do not switch with them. ("Enter the Demon"), ("The Lost Picture Show"). However, spirits still have their previous powers. (Such as Grams still using telekinesis as a ghost.)

Witches
Have certain basic abilities, such as the power to scry, cast spells and make potions. On top of these, magical witches have an additional power or powers which are often used to protect the innocent from supernatural threats. ("Crimes And Witch-Demeanors")A witch's power is very personal and cannot be chosen by him/her. They often transfer down the genealogical line, getting stronger, evolving, mingling with powers from interbreeding with other supernatural beings. It is not fully explained why a witch receives the power he/she does, but many factors seems to contribute. The Elder's have shown to have a hand in the development of magical powers in witches, such as how they stripped P. Russel's future lives of access to the active, and highly destructive pyrokinetic ability, instead giving Phoebe Halliwell the passive power of Premonitions. ("Pardon My Past") The witch's personality may also be a factor, supported by the fact that emotions seem to trigger to many of the witch's supernatural abilities. Strong-willed, controlling, headstrong characters often have telekinesis. Panic-prone, stressed, and timid can slow things down via Molecular immobilization (Piper the only witch with this ability.) Or the witch may simply receive the power deemed most appropriate in his/her fight against evil. Warlocks are essentially included in the above criteria, it is assumed that they instead chose to use their power for personal gain and thus subjected their spirits to demonic influence.

"Our powers are supposed to get stronger, not grow at random." - Prue in Is There a Woogy in the House?

Witch's generally have at least one power, but many have more, up to two or three and in rare cases, more. Powers tend to grow and additional abilities are usually tied to their primary power in some way. For example, Piper's molecular immobilization evolved into molecular combustion, both involving the manipulation of molecular speed. However, this is not always the case, as with both Billie and Christy Jenkins, who possessed Telekinesis and Projection, Pyrokinesis and Telepathy, respectively. Their powers seemed to have no relation with each other.

Demons
When Demons are vanquished they end up in the Demonic Wasteland, where their bodies are destroyed and their powers are absorbed by a worm-like creature referred to as the beast. ("Witch Way Now") Demon's powers are often more random and gained in a variety of ways, except in the case of a specific demonic type, such as Barbas the demon of fear using powers that affect fright, and the Demon of Illusion limited to illusion casting. Demonic Power Brokers collect and barter off powers to bidders in exchange for human souls. Some demons are simply "born" with the powers they have, like witches and warlocks. Others, such as Cole Turner, collect the powers of the Demonic Wasteland for their own.

Stealing Powers
This indicates either copying or, more commonly, outright stealing a being's powers by force, often ending in the death of the victim. Warlocks are the most notorious for this sort of act, using any manner of spells, potions, or magical trinkets to get powers from witches, whitelighters, magical creatures, demons, even rival warlocks. However, demons and even good witches have stolen powers. A common method is by using a special athame that, after penetrating (and usually killing) the intended victim, the holder of the athame receives the victim's powers. Phoebe Halliwell single-handedly wiped out a squad of demons by stealing destructive demonic powers with this method. ("Witch Wars")

Categories
The huge variety of powers have countless uses and abilities. Some are used purely for offensive means, others defensive, and others can only serve as a form of magical transportation. However, all powers fall into at least one of the following categories:

Offensive
Powers that fall into this category are generally used to attack (and possibly kill) another being and often are useful for little else. They are the ones beings would use to "make the first move" as it were. Examples would be: Energy balls, Fire balls, Molecular combustion, Optical Thermodynamics, Telekinesis. Elemental powers are also good examples of an offensive ability.

Defensive
These powers are usually, as the name suggests, used to defend oneself from harm but generally they do not cause injury to the foe. Examples would be: Shielding, High Resistance, Immunity, Invincibility, Intangibility, Deflection, Molecular immobilization and Levitation.

Supportive
Also called "Passive Powers" on occasion, these powers almost never cause harm nor protect the user directly from it but are far more useful in uncovering information and supporting other beings and their abilities. Examples would be Scrying, Premonition, Power absorption, Empathy, Telepathy, X-Ray Vision, Astral Projection and Cloning.

Transporting
Passive powers that transport magical beings through space and, at times, through the planes. Examples would be Fading, Whirling, Shimmering, Flaming, Orbing, Smoking, Blinking, Glistening, Apparition, Shredding, ...