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 dedication to Evil in a manner comparable to how Good witches and Whitelighters 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 – to kill a witch and steal his or her magic and powers.

Powers and Abilities
Warlocks, because they were once witches (either in their ancestry or personally), possess the basic powers of a witch: scrying, spell casting, and potion brewing. However, most of the warlocks portrayed tended to not to use these basic powers in favour of their active powers. Another power that all warlocks' possesses is the ability to absorb the magic and powers of their victims. Originally, it was thought that warlocks could only steal the magic of witches, but then it was revealed that they could steal the powers of other magical beings. For example, Darklighters, Whitelighters, Demons, and even other warlocks can all be vanquished by warlocks and their victims' powers will automatically transfer to their warlock killers. Warlocks also possess whatever active powers they possessed as witches in addition to whatever powers they absorb from the magical beings they have slain. Further, since Warlocks absorb the magic of their victims, the overall magic and power level of a warlock also increases with every kill.

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.)

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 knowledge absorption. A warlock known for his acquiring of Wiccan powers is Eames after decades of witch killing.

Most Warlocks unlike Evil Witches are immortal and only meet an end via a spell or potion, whereas most Evil Witches, like Good witches are mortal. Warlocks also seek to steal a Good witch's Book of Shadows and use it's contents against them personally, such as stealing their powers, and for dark purposes in general (Rex, Bacarra, Zile, etc). 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. However, Nicholas still intended to kill the Charmed Ones in order to obtain their magic and powers.

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.

Becoming a Warlock
There are multiple ways to become a warlock:


 * For a witch to use his or her powers to kill another witch and take his or her powers ("Something Wicca This Way Comes").


 * 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"). The dark binding ceremony Dantalian used on Prue to marry the warlock Zile converted her and then also Piper and Phoebe into warlocks which in turn converted the Book of Shadows into a Grimoire. However, for this type of conversion to be complete, the recent warlocks must each kill an innocent. If they do not seal the conversion, then vanquishing the original warlock will anull the marriage and the magics, rendering them good witches once again.


 * To be born to one or more warlock parents. Two warlocks can produce a child, that will automatically be a warlock, like two brothers of the Rowe Coven. Brendan Rowe, however, a man born of a warlock father and a mortal mother, chose to renounce his evil nature and became a priest, shedding his warlock side. It also seems possible that a natural-born warlock with two warlock parents may too turn good in a similar manner to good withces becoming warlocks; however, this has not been seen throughout Charmed.


 * For a familiar to kill his or her witch. The familiar's dead witch's powers are transferred to the new warlock in the process (just as when a warlock kills a witch). 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. For example; Shadow, a warlock who was once a cat, had to die nine times in order to become invincible.

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 than a witch turned into a warlock. This form can be immediately triggered by anger. Presumably, this would enhance their power. 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

 * The Collectors: Warlocks who are able todrain knowledge through needle-like finger protrusions. They also happen to share the ability to blink andinvulnerability. 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 adragon and a sorceress, according to the Book of Shadows entry. ("Be Careful What You Witch For")


 * Familiar Warlocks: When a witch's familiar decides to betray and kill its charge, it becomes a Familiar Warlock, taking on human form. The familiar's deadwitch'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. If the warlock fails, he becomes an animal again for all eternity. ("PreWitched")


 * Three-Eyed Warlock: Gavin, 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")
 * Brendan Rowe: Brendan Rowe part of theRowe Coven of warlocks said to part of the "Triangle of Power" with his half-brothers Greg and Paul. Brendan is a hybrid half warlock half mortal.

Significant Warlock Moments
The warlock Nicholas is the reason that the Halliwell sisters go through most of their lives without knowing they were witches. In 1975, he tricked their mother Patty Halliwell into granting him immunity from their powers in exchange for their lives. Sometime after the youngest, Phoebe was born, their grandmother Penny Halliwell bound their powers and stripped their memories of witchcraft to protect them from being hunted by evil.

In The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts,' it's revealed that in the near future scientists are going to discover a virus that specifically infects all three-eyed warlocks, thus destroying the entire race. 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 members 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, witches can weaken warlocks and make them easier to vanquish by casting spells to strip warlocks of their stolen powers, as was done with Eames:


 * Time for Amends and a Victim's Revenge;
 * Cloning Power turned Sour,
 * Power to Change turned to Strange,
 * I'm Rejecting Your Deflection.


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

Speculation
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."

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 show have displayed this trait too, such as Christy who never blinked and the Stillman sisters.

Some Evil Witches like Tuatha have familiars too, whereas 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.

Some fans also speculate that an evil witch, sometimes confused with a Warlock, is a witch who renounces The Wiccan Rede, and uses his/her powers for personal gain and evil, sinister means, though they do not kill witches for their powers and do not sell their soul to the forces of evil. As shown in Bride and Gloom, when witches turn evil, they renounce their right to a Whitelighter.

The first evil witch encountered by the Charmed Ones, was Tuatha, with many more following the same basic trend. The Charmed Ones have faced many evil witches, including the Wicked Witch, the Evil Witch of Fairy Tales, and the Stillman Sisters.

Appearances
Warlocks have appeared in a total of 22 episodes throughout the course of the series.


 * Season 1
 * Something Wicca This Way Comes - Jeremy Burns
 * I've Got You Under My Skin - Wicca Envy - Rex Buckland, Hannah Webster
 * 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, a Familiar Warlock


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


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


 * Season 6
 * Witchstock - Nigel
 * Witch Wars


 * Season 8
 * Generation Hex-Anton (through flashback)


 * Season 9
 * Charmed Lives - Unnatural Resources - Hogan