Curse

Curses, or hexes, are powerful magical enchantments or spells designed to cause negative effects to occur, such as repeated deaths or eternal imprisonment.

Description

Curses are often placed on a particular object or aimed at a certain individual. Curses are a powerful form of magic that both beings of Good and Evil have been known to perform.

Witches can cast curses through the use of spell casting, though they are warned not to take curses lightly.^[1] Cursing another is generally viewed as an act of necessary evil. Additionally, witches who do not actively practice magic are immune to the effects of cursing.^[2]

According to Leo Wyatt, curses are difficult to break and how they came about is often more important than the magic itself.^[3]

List of Curses

Spells

Melinda Warren's Warlock Curse

Melinda Warren placed a curse on Matthew Tate, locking him inside an amulet for over 300 years. He was freed in 1998, but Melinda cursed him into it again after the Charmed Ones summoned her for help. After she cursed him, she took the locket with her when the Charmed Ones released her--keeping him trapped for eternity.^[4]

"Outside of time,

Outside of gain;

Know only sorrow,

Know only pain!"

To Kill An Evil Witch

In 1924, P. Bowen and P. Baxter decided to kill their cousin P. Russell after she turned evil under the influence of the warlock Anton. Believing Russell and Anton were soulmates who would be far too much for their descendants to handle if they ever got together again, Bowen and Baxter killed Russell and cursed her soul so that her future lives would die during their 24th year. This curse nearly killed Phoebe Halliwell 76 years later.^[5]

Evil Witch in my sight,

Vanquish thy self,

Vanquish thy might

In this and every future life.

Objects

Egyptian Urn

The Egyptian urn was cursed to punish whoever steals it by killing them. The object is protected by a Guardian who proceeds with the punishment on the guilty, by transforming her jewelry into venomous animals, such as spiders or scorpions. The only way to deactivate the curse is a selfless act from the guilty one. In 1999, three men stole it and attempted to sell it, but two of them were killed and the third was spared after he protected Phoebe from harm.^[6]

Grams's Ring

The sisters' grandmother, Penny, cursed her engagement ring after her sixth engagement to remind herself of the meaning of marriage and the consequences that came with it. This cursed ring was later worn by two of her granddaughters, Phoebe and Piper Halliwell, and turned them both into housewives of the 1950s.^[7]

The ring's inscription

"To gain another is to lose yourself"

The Cursed Painting

In the 1920s, a powerful witch named Nell tricked a warlock into a painting with a hidden spell that only his power of X-ray vision could see. When reading the spell, Malcolm was trapped inside the painting, in an old castle, a world that can only be created if you have a very high level of magic. The interior of the castle is full of traps to kill the prisoner: Statues that breathe fire, blades in the windows… and a secret passage behind a bookcase. Malcolm's girlfriend, Jane Franklin, gave the painting to the sisters and tricked them into helping free Malcolm. They were eventually trapped inside while the painting burned, killing Jane and Malcolm both.^[8]

To Free What is Lost

Absolvo amitto amplus brevis. Semper mea.

Words Free Us All

Verba Omnes Liberant.

Cursed Athame

A witch used the cursed athame on Captain Black Jack Cutting which made him age. The pirate captain then used the same blade to cut out her heart. In 2004, he used it to cut a practitioner witch named Brenda Castillo, and again on Paige Matthews. While Brenda died of old age, the captain and Paige were restored after drinking water from the Fountain of Youth.

Phoenix Feather

William Shakespeare accidentally cursed Romeo and Juliet when he used a quill with a Phoenix feather to write their tragic love story. The magic of the quill caused the fateful pair to repeat the cycle for eternity. Every time they reincarnate, their memories of their previous lives remain intact and they always find each other, only to be separated by death again. In 2008, Romeo and Juliet manage to break the curse by having Phoebe Halliwell, a Charmed One officiate the ceremony.

Spirit Killers

Spirit Killers, a powerful type of Darklighters, have the active power to curse their victims, which essentially curses an individual with bad luck, leading them to become increasingly depressed as they continuously make mistakes and cause harm to others until driven to commit suicide.^[9]

Witch Doctor

Witch Doctors are capable of placing curses on people using voodoo dolls that can change their behavior or cause misfortune. A witch doctor placed a curse on the Charmed Ones turning their character flaws into obsessions in an attempt to make them destroy themselves.^[10]

Vicus

A demon named Vicus sought to turn Wyatt Halliwell evil. To do so, he cursed his teddy bear Wuvey and proceeded to gain his trust by acting as an imaginary friend. When Wyatt trusted Vicus and handed him the teddy bear, the curse took effect and turned Wyatt and his future self evil. Leo realized Vicus cursed Wyatt by earning his trust and did the same thing to undo the curse.^[11]

The Nicolae Tribe

At one point in time, the Nicolae clan of Gypsies cursed the Gypsy Hunter Orin with blindness so he could no longer hunt their kind. The curse burned out his eyes, and also made it such, that any time he attempted to implant new eyes, these would burn out as well. To break the curse, Orin stole the eyes of the deceased Lydia Nicolae, gaining her power of the Evil Eye in the process.^[12]

The Wolf and Owl

A jealous Demonic Sorcerer called the Boss placed a curse on a couple named Brooke and Christopher as punishment for Brooke's refusal to be with him. The curse ensured that they could never be together unless there was a night within a day. The curse turned Brooke into a wolf at night and Christopher into an owl in the day. By during a solar eclipse were they both able to attain human form and break the curse with a kiss of true love.^[13]

The Parasite Demons

Centuries ago, a witch cast a spell and cursed two powerful demons, stripping them of their powers and turning them into demonic leeches, as well as social pariahs in demonic circles.^[14]

Oscar

Oscar was cursed into the form of a dog by an evil witch for several unexplained reasons. Paige eventually started to understand him and cast a counterspell to reverse the curse.^[15]

Time Loop

A time loop can be created by the action of great injustice. When a time loop is created, the day will repeat itself endlessly and its supernatural imprint will cause an echo from a metaphysical plane to send out to the actual place where the injustice took place. The only way to end the time loop is to find the source of the injustice and motivate those involved to stand up to the enemy party and fight against their oppression.^[16]

List of Users

Original

• Vicus
• Spirit Killer

Through other methods

• William Shakespeare (through a phoenix feather)
• Witches (through spells)
• Gypsies (through spells)
• Demonic Sorcerers (through spells)
• Witch Doctors (through spells)

Notes and Trivia

• Curses were seen and mentioned in the following non-canonical novels:
  • The Warren Witches: Old Friend where Emmeline Graydon was accidentally cursed with immortality by P. Russell; and Witch Trap where a witch named Amelia de la Cruz cursed Williamstown before her execution.
  • Garden of Evil where Vandalus was on a mission to break his humanity curse that was placed on him by the Elders, by getting true love's kiss.
  • Something Wiccan This Way Comes where a group of Anubi were mentioned to have been cursed by their former master, Anubis.
  • Luck Be a Lady where a generation of Luck Demons were cursed by the God of Luck to be unable to speak their names as punishment for their ancestors' betrayal in 1942.
  • Shadow of the Sphinx where an evil sorceress named Tipket was cursed into feline form to keep her from enacting her evil plans.
  • Inherit the Witch where the O'Farrell Family was mentioned to be cursed by a warlock. The females of that family cannot give birth to another female, as it was prophesised that a mother and daughter of that line were destined to vanquish a demon named Gortag.
  • Mystic Knoll where an evil magic practitioner named Abigail Thornwood cursed her daughter to carry out her revenge by turning her into a monster.
  • The Queen's Curse where a queen cast a cursed on her kingdom to ensure the purity of her magical bloodline.

References