Glamouring (Charmed)

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Glamouring is a magical method of changing one's appearance used by Whitelighters, Elders and witches on the American television series Charmed. It is similar to, but not synonomous with, shapeshifting. Glamouring casts an illusion around a being so the change is in appearance only, while shapeshifting physically transforms the being.

Glamouring can be activated by ability, potion or spell. The first time glamouring is shown is when Leo Wyatt glamours into the demon Belthazor to train the sisters. In this type of glamouring the person manifests with bright blue orbs.[1] When Leo glamours into Belthazor he also has the ability to mimic certain demonic powers such as energy balls. While Whitelighters have the ability to mimic demonic powers, they are not allowed to use them unless they are training their witch charges. It is unknown, however, if the demonic powers that they mimic have the same effect that they would if an actual demon were to use it. It is believed by many that because of their pacifism they are not able to mimic high-voltage energy-balls, for fear that it might hurt their charges while training them. Thus they can only mimic energy balls and other demonic powers at a fraction of their power, making them safe to use in training.

In the episode "House Call", Paige Matthews is seen glamouring into the bride-to-be of her best friend Glenn without the appearance of any elemental manifestations.[2] In another episode, Paige glamours herself along with her sisters into different identities.[3] Surprisingly Phoebe and Piper Halliwell also have the ability to glamour, leading us to believe that this is not a Whitelighter-exclusive power.

A hybrid form of glamouring is shapeshifting. The Chameleon demon who is sent by The Source in the episode Brain Drain has this ability.[4] The orbs that are seen during glamouring in other Charmed episodes are also seen with witch magic and ghosts, which bear closer resemblance to the standard paranormal meaning of the word, such as when a witch summons another, teleports with a spell or orbing away.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Power Outage". Charmed. The WB Television Network. 2000-11-16.
  2. ^ "House Call". Charmed. The WB Television Network. 2003-02-02.
  3. ^ "Something Wicca This Way Goes". Charmed. The WB Television Network. 2005-05-22.
  4. ^ "Brain Drain". Charmed. The WB Television Network. 2001-11-08.
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