_
The Book of Shadows, or simply "the Book", is a
fictional book of witchcraft from the TV series Charmed. In the
beginning, the book was created by Melinda Warren and was passed down
the family to the Charmed Ones. This book contains spells,
incantations, potions and information of the evil beings that their
ancestors have once faced. They first find out that they were witches
when Phoebe finds the Book of Shadows in their attic, at midnight on
a full moon, and reads an incantation aloud. The Book of Shadows is
enchanted. It can protect itself from any evil being who dares to
touch it.
Outside of the television series, a Book of Shadows is considered to be a collection of magical and religious texts of Wicca and other Neopagan and witchcraft traditions, containing the core rituals, magical practices, ethics and philosophy of a practitioner. The Book of Shadows is a compendium of information on magical creatures/objects/forces of every variety, especially those that members of the Warren line had encountered, or believed would be useful to future generations. Within the realm of magical beings, it is considered to be the most complete book of magical information in existence.
In the television series Charmed, the fictional Halliwell Sisters or The Charmed Ones[1] own a powerful and coveted Book of Shadows that has been passed down through their family line. It contains spells, potions, and information on evil beings their ancestors have faced. The book has been enchanted to protect itself, causing it to move away from any evil being that attempts to touch it. It has a large triquetra set into its front cover, symbolizing the Power of Three.
In-universe description Background The ancestor of The Charmed Ones, Melinda Warren, began the Book of Shadows in the late 17th century.[1] The year 1693 is inscribed on the first page of the book, below the title,[1] presumably when the book was created. When Melinda was burned at the stake in the Salem Witch Trials, she claimed that throughout each and every future generation, every witch's power in the family would grow stronger and stronger, until the book will reach three sisters, known as The Charmed Ones, who will be "the most powerful witches the world has ever known". Her book was then passed on to her daughter, Prudence. The book was then handed down from mother to daughter until it came to the Charmed Ones in 1998.[1][2]
The book has grown over the years with each witch who has possessed it, and by the late 1960s, it had about one hundred pages. It continued to grow as The Charmed Ones added more information to it. Penny Halliwell brags in the season five episode, Happily Ever After, that she created most of the good potion recipes in it.[3] Patty Halliwell added text on Barbas, the Demon of Fear.[4]
For many years, the Book has been kept in the manor's attic. Normally, all witches are supposed to keep their Book of Shadows in a specially protected altar room.[5] However, the Book is usually able to protect itself from evil. When the sisters' powers were unbound, evil beings could touch it, but they couldn't get it out of the manor. However, by 2000, the sisters had become powerful enough that evil beings couldn't even touch it.
The Halliwell sisters have added several entries as well. The first entry added by Phoebe; a spell to banish the Woogyman.[6] Phoebe has also added a detailed entry on Cole Turner, Belthazor's human form and Prue added a spell to summon him in his demon form, as well as an animal conjuring spell. Later, at the end of the series, the sisters write about their adventures and what became of their lives.
Leo Wyatt, Piper's husband, also added an entry titled "Tips for Future Whitelighters", fearing he may not live to see his sons grow up. The entry included information on whitelighter powers and advice on using them.[7]
In the final episode, Piper tells her granddaughter that the book will one day be hers.[8]
Appearances In the Charmed series, the Book of Shadows is a large green leather-bound book with an embossed red triquetra on the cover. The triquetra symbol has been known to change, usually according to some change in the sisters' powers or emotional state.[9] The book is somewhat worn due to its three centuries of use, but it is almost completely intact, with the exception of the page on how to relinquish one's own powers, which was torn out and burnt by The Charmed Ones after they nearly lost their powers to a warlock in the season one episode Wicca Envy.[10]
Powers, abilities and uses
Its spells and incantations are written in Latin. It makes only a few appearances and is later orbed under a mountain of rock in the West Andes by Leo to prevent the coronation of another Source.
Bianca, and her family of assassin witches possess a grimoire which contains their family's spells, although this is simply a grimoire and not the Grimoire.[16] The book had a symbol of two snakes intertwined with each other added to its cover for the episode. The book was sold on eBay in late 2007 and reached a final bid of $405.00.
In the episode Bride and Gloom The Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows began to change itself into a grimoire when the girls were turned into warlocks under the influence of evil magic. For instance, good spells were replaced with evil spells.
Gypsy books In the series, Gypsies and witches are sister traditions. Though never specifically stated to be so, Gypsy families also have their own versions of the Book of Shadows that is passed down to immediate family members. This was shown in the season five episode, The Eyes Have It, where the Gypsy Eva finds her family spell book previously owned by her mother after her death. Like the traditional Book of Shadows, Gypsies' books contain spells and magical recipes.[17]
Critical reception Pagan author Raymond Buckland said in his 2002 book, "The Witch Book", that the Charmed Book of Shadows gave the show an air of authenticity and showed that the producers of the show seemed to at least know a little of what they were talking about when depicting Wiccan practices.[18] Judika Illes adds that the Charmed Book of Shadows describes the witches of the show much in the same way of the real world Italian Benandanti traditions. She claims the show draws deeply on Wiccan terminology and ritual (such as the witches adding information to their Book of Shadows), but asserts that it is still a fantasy show.[19] In "The Book of Shadows: The Unofficial Charmed Companion", Ngaire E. Genge talks about the Charmed Book of Shadows in relationship to a modern Wiccan Book of Shadows and the ancient grimoires of such notables as Abra-Melen the Mage and King Solomon. The author is more critical of Charmed's use of the book compared to real-world Wiccans but adds, as Buckland did, that it is still a fantasy show.[20] While not specifically mentioning the Charmed Book of Shadows by name, "The Craft: A Witch’s Book of Shadows" by Dorothy Morrison appears highly influenced by the series, featuring the same triquetra symbol on its cover as does the Halliwells' Book of Shadows.[21]
Criticism has also been garnered for Charmed's Book of Shadows. Author Peg Aoli, a noted Wiccan and media critic at "The Witches Voice"[22] has been critical of mixing real world Wiccan rituals items, such as athames and the Book of Shadows, with Charmed’s "Hollywood" witchcraft. Aoli critically slammed the series' representation of witchcraft in an essay in "Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters and the Power of Three".[23] Furthermore, other critics at "The Witches Voice" argue that Charmed's representation of witchcraft, including their Book of Shadows, creates "so many misconceptions" about Wicca in the modern world.[24]
Fandom and Replica Books of Shadows Following suit of The Charmed Ones, fans worldwide began a "Replica" Charmed Book of Shadows since the series began in the 90's. Like the famed book of the series, the book continues to grow as fans create more and more pages. The most extensive replica source has 2,500 pages to date and is distributed digitally (see source list). Fan-made Books of Shadows have become an art form in itself, and many different people create these. Every artisan owns the rights to their own work, so many differences appear in each artist's re-creation of the pages. There is no one-copyright holder to this collective work, which has become a hobby like scrap-booking. Each artist, however, does own the rights to their page designs, making many artists responsible for the Book of Shadows replicas coming to life.
The Book of Shadows Post-Charmed After Charmed ended its run, the one prop from the series that everyone wanted was the Book of Shadows. There was good-natured discussion over several years concerning which of the long-time crew and cast had the best claim to the book. The candidates finally narrowed down to Brad Kern, the series' showrunner for its entire run; and Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper Halliwell and was the only cast member to appear in every episode, including the unaired pilot. According to the official Charmed Magazine, Brad Kern took the book. Holly Marie Combs later confirmed this via twitter.
"The Book will grow as you grow. Sometimes you'll add to it and sometimes it teaches you." —Melinda Warren to the Charmed Ones[src] The Book of Shadows, often just referred to as The Book, is the magical tome of the Warren Line of Witches. It is the most powerful and coveted of the Books of Shadows in the whole world and is over 300 years old. The Book has been passed down every generation ever since it was created by Melinda Warren in the 1693.[1]
Besides all the information about the craft, the Book contains many entries on several beings from the magical community, including demons, warlocks, and other demonic beings. It also contains many spells and potion recipes, most of which were written by Penny Halliwell.[2]
History
The Charmed Ones' book was started by Melinda Warren, who began the Warren/Halliwell line of witches, with the year "1693" written on it's cover page. Although it was fairly small then, each succeeding generation of Warren witches had added onto it, including information that they came across and felt necessary to be journaled. One of the earliest entries that was around when Melinda was alive included a curse, and possibly the entry which details the coming of the Charmed Ones, through carvings, (mentioned in Something Wicca This Way Goes), though this could've been done by a future descendant . After Melinda was burned at the stake, the Book passed to her daughter Prudence, and was passed down throughout the generations.
Penny Halliwell, often noted that she created most of the potion recipes in it, and the only other entries we know for a fact that she wrote was the entry on the Necromancer, the Stillman Sisters and Gammill, The Collector. Patty Halliwell added text on Barbas, the Demon of Fear, and also, the page on how to properly raise and nurture magical children. ("Happily Ever After," "From Fear to Eternity," "Reckless Abandon")
The Charmed Ones themselves have added information, spells and potions, as well, for future generations. The first entry they made themselves was "Woogyman Spell", or how to banish the Shadow of the Nexus. Phoebe added a page on Cole Turner, Belthazor's human half including personal information like his favorite food and hobbies; "anything that could help future witches" after he'd broken her heart. This was reminiscent of the alterations Penny made to the Necromancer page, adding such things as "likes Clarke Gable movies" to aid in her getting over the end of their romantic relationship. Phoebe also wrote an entry on the warlock Anton. ("Is There a Woogy in the House?," "Pardon My Past," "Look Who's Barking," "Necromancing the Stone")
A few spells in the Book of Shadows are used for personal gain. No explanation has been given to why such spells would be in the Book but it's likely that these spells were put in to teach future witches about the personal gain consequences; or as to they served a magical purpose to deal with evils of the time.
At the end of the series, Piper, Phoebe and Paige added their own entries regarding what they've been through in their years as the Charmed Ones in order to pass down the knowledge to future generations. ("Forever Charmed")
Leo added the entry titled, "Tips for Future Whitelighters," logging information about whitelighters and how to properly use their powers, for his sons, Chris and Wyatt, just in case he wasn't around to teach them, himself.
At the end of the series when we are given a glimpse into the future, Wyatt and Chris Halliwell can be seen making a potion with the Book laying aloft the table top; it can be assumed that the sisters retire from their demon hunting and their progeny continue the Charmed Ones' destiny.
Stealing the Book of Shadows Many evils have attempted to steal the Book of Shadows on many occasions.
A shapeshifter trying to take it through the door.
The book is written by hand in ink. Entries have their titles in elaborate multicolored calligraphy. The book is written by the whole Warren/Halliwell line, throughout the generations, and possibly by also very close friends. The book contains many illustrations, chiefly of demons and other magical creatures. Most of the book is in English, but some of it is in Italian and Latin.
The book's organization is haphazard at best. The sisters remarked on several occasions that they searched "the entire book" when looking for specific information. This suggests that the book's previous owners simply filled in the pages sequentially rather than arranging the contents topically. (Given that the Book of Shadows is a collaborative work with contributions by generations of Warren and Halliwell witches, topical organization was likely a practical impossibility).
Notable entries The Belthazor entry and the spell to summon him
The Book of Shadows, is also notable because evil cannot touch it, thanks to the shielding & sensing powers it is blessed with. Nor can it be taken out of the Halliwell Manor, except by the sisters. This is particularly important, as many evil beings covet the book, and the Charmed Ones would be much weaker without its knowledge. Although it is protected by good magic, evil has found a way around this and captured the book several times.
The Book is tied very closely to the Charmed Ones' powers. For example, when Rex Buckland blackmailed them into giving up their powers, the Book turned blank after they cast the Relinquishment Spell. However, when Leo healed and restored the Book, their powers were restored as well. ("Wicca Envy") Though, when the Angel of Destiny offered to take away their powers in the Season 4 finale, Witch Way Now?, he said the Book would not be harmed, and would pass down to a future descendant.
It can be presumed that its magic varies indifferently when it is passed on from one generation to the next, depending on its new master's magical state.
Cole tries to get the book but it repels away from him Also, if one of the Charmed Ones turns evil, the other two will turn evil as well, and the evil will flow through the Book (although in later episodes, when one sister has turned evil, the other two did not succumb to it). Dantalian, a high-level demon priestess, realized this, and tricked Prue into marrying a warlock, Zile, turning her evil. As expected, this turned Piper, Phoebe and the Book evil as well, enabling her to briefly get the Book. The plan backfired when evil Piper and Phoebe vanquished Zile, breaking the evil bond and restoring the Book to normal. ("Bride and Gloom")
In season four, in the episode Hell Hath No Fury, Paige tried to copy the book, but because of its protection power every page came out blank.
The Book has a different protection mechanism against evil, when someone tried to take it in several episodes; jumping off the stand in Once Upon A Time and The Seven Year Witch, repelling the being away from the Book in Death Becomes Them, a spherical shield around the Book in Death Becomes Them, burning the user's hands in Imaginary Fiends, and so on.
In Thank You For Not Morphing, an evil shapeshifter is able to touch the book and take it as far as the front door before it repels itself from his grasp. In future episodes, it is established that it is impossible for evil to even touch the Book. In this episode, however, the Charmed Ones' magic was not strong enough for its full protection to be activated.
Behind the Scenes There are 4 books in total:
Outside of the television series, a Book of Shadows is considered to be a collection of magical and religious texts of Wicca and other Neopagan and witchcraft traditions, containing the core rituals, magical practices, ethics and philosophy of a practitioner. The Book of Shadows is a compendium of information on magical creatures/objects/forces of every variety, especially those that members of the Warren line had encountered, or believed would be useful to future generations. Within the realm of magical beings, it is considered to be the most complete book of magical information in existence.
In the television series Charmed, the fictional Halliwell Sisters or The Charmed Ones[1] own a powerful and coveted Book of Shadows that has been passed down through their family line. It contains spells, potions, and information on evil beings their ancestors have faced. The book has been enchanted to protect itself, causing it to move away from any evil being that attempts to touch it. It has a large triquetra set into its front cover, symbolizing the Power of Three.
In-universe description Background The ancestor of The Charmed Ones, Melinda Warren, began the Book of Shadows in the late 17th century.[1] The year 1693 is inscribed on the first page of the book, below the title,[1] presumably when the book was created. When Melinda was burned at the stake in the Salem Witch Trials, she claimed that throughout each and every future generation, every witch's power in the family would grow stronger and stronger, until the book will reach three sisters, known as The Charmed Ones, who will be "the most powerful witches the world has ever known". Her book was then passed on to her daughter, Prudence. The book was then handed down from mother to daughter until it came to the Charmed Ones in 1998.[1][2]
The book has grown over the years with each witch who has possessed it, and by the late 1960s, it had about one hundred pages. It continued to grow as The Charmed Ones added more information to it. Penny Halliwell brags in the season five episode, Happily Ever After, that she created most of the good potion recipes in it.[3] Patty Halliwell added text on Barbas, the Demon of Fear.[4]
For many years, the Book has been kept in the manor's attic. Normally, all witches are supposed to keep their Book of Shadows in a specially protected altar room.[5] However, the Book is usually able to protect itself from evil. When the sisters' powers were unbound, evil beings could touch it, but they couldn't get it out of the manor. However, by 2000, the sisters had become powerful enough that evil beings couldn't even touch it.
The Halliwell sisters have added several entries as well. The first entry added by Phoebe; a spell to banish the Woogyman.[6] Phoebe has also added a detailed entry on Cole Turner, Belthazor's human form and Prue added a spell to summon him in his demon form, as well as an animal conjuring spell. Later, at the end of the series, the sisters write about their adventures and what became of their lives.
Leo Wyatt, Piper's husband, also added an entry titled "Tips for Future Whitelighters", fearing he may not live to see his sons grow up. The entry included information on whitelighter powers and advice on using them.[7]
In the final episode, Piper tells her granddaughter that the book will one day be hers.[8]
Appearances In the Charmed series, the Book of Shadows is a large green leather-bound book with an embossed red triquetra on the cover. The triquetra symbol has been known to change, usually according to some change in the sisters' powers or emotional state.[9] The book is somewhat worn due to its three centuries of use, but it is almost completely intact, with the exception of the page on how to relinquish one's own powers, which was torn out and burnt by The Charmed Ones after they nearly lost their powers to a warlock in the season one episode Wicca Envy.[10]
Powers, abilities and uses
- Can be used as a
means of communicating with Grams, their grandmother, and other
ancestors.[11]
- Identifies and protects itself from evil in the form of a
magical barrier.
-
Can keep itself within the Manor, unless otherwise removed by one of
The Charmed Ones or their family.[12][13]
- Can have its spells reversed if they are read backwards.
- Cannot be photocopied.[13]
- It can lose its entire
content if all the Halliwells' powers are stripped.[10]
- Its spells will
become their evil counterparts if the sisters turn evil.[14]
- If the sisters are under emotional distress, its power to
protect itself from evil is diminished.
Its spells and incantations are written in Latin. It makes only a few appearances and is later orbed under a mountain of rock in the West Andes by Leo to prevent the coronation of another Source.
Bianca, and her family of assassin witches possess a grimoire which contains their family's spells, although this is simply a grimoire and not the Grimoire.[16] The book had a symbol of two snakes intertwined with each other added to its cover for the episode. The book was sold on eBay in late 2007 and reached a final bid of $405.00.
In the episode Bride and Gloom The Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows began to change itself into a grimoire when the girls were turned into warlocks under the influence of evil magic. For instance, good spells were replaced with evil spells.
Gypsy books In the series, Gypsies and witches are sister traditions. Though never specifically stated to be so, Gypsy families also have their own versions of the Book of Shadows that is passed down to immediate family members. This was shown in the season five episode, The Eyes Have It, where the Gypsy Eva finds her family spell book previously owned by her mother after her death. Like the traditional Book of Shadows, Gypsies' books contain spells and magical recipes.[17]
Critical reception Pagan author Raymond Buckland said in his 2002 book, "The Witch Book", that the Charmed Book of Shadows gave the show an air of authenticity and showed that the producers of the show seemed to at least know a little of what they were talking about when depicting Wiccan practices.[18] Judika Illes adds that the Charmed Book of Shadows describes the witches of the show much in the same way of the real world Italian Benandanti traditions. She claims the show draws deeply on Wiccan terminology and ritual (such as the witches adding information to their Book of Shadows), but asserts that it is still a fantasy show.[19] In "The Book of Shadows: The Unofficial Charmed Companion", Ngaire E. Genge talks about the Charmed Book of Shadows in relationship to a modern Wiccan Book of Shadows and the ancient grimoires of such notables as Abra-Melen the Mage and King Solomon. The author is more critical of Charmed's use of the book compared to real-world Wiccans but adds, as Buckland did, that it is still a fantasy show.[20] While not specifically mentioning the Charmed Book of Shadows by name, "The Craft: A Witch’s Book of Shadows" by Dorothy Morrison appears highly influenced by the series, featuring the same triquetra symbol on its cover as does the Halliwells' Book of Shadows.[21]
Criticism has also been garnered for Charmed's Book of Shadows. Author Peg Aoli, a noted Wiccan and media critic at "The Witches Voice"[22] has been critical of mixing real world Wiccan rituals items, such as athames and the Book of Shadows, with Charmed’s "Hollywood" witchcraft. Aoli critically slammed the series' representation of witchcraft in an essay in "Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters and the Power of Three".[23] Furthermore, other critics at "The Witches Voice" argue that Charmed's representation of witchcraft, including their Book of Shadows, creates "so many misconceptions" about Wicca in the modern world.[24]
Fandom and Replica Books of Shadows Following suit of The Charmed Ones, fans worldwide began a "Replica" Charmed Book of Shadows since the series began in the 90's. Like the famed book of the series, the book continues to grow as fans create more and more pages. The most extensive replica source has 2,500 pages to date and is distributed digitally (see source list). Fan-made Books of Shadows have become an art form in itself, and many different people create these. Every artisan owns the rights to their own work, so many differences appear in each artist's re-creation of the pages. There is no one-copyright holder to this collective work, which has become a hobby like scrap-booking. Each artist, however, does own the rights to their page designs, making many artists responsible for the Book of Shadows replicas coming to life.
The Book of Shadows Post-Charmed After Charmed ended its run, the one prop from the series that everyone wanted was the Book of Shadows. There was good-natured discussion over several years concerning which of the long-time crew and cast had the best claim to the book. The candidates finally narrowed down to Brad Kern, the series' showrunner for its entire run; and Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper Halliwell and was the only cast member to appear in every episode, including the unaired pilot. According to the official Charmed Magazine, Brad Kern took the book. Holly Marie Combs later confirmed this via twitter.
"The Book will grow as you grow. Sometimes you'll add to it and sometimes it teaches you." —Melinda Warren to the Charmed Ones[src] The Book of Shadows, often just referred to as The Book, is the magical tome of the Warren Line of Witches. It is the most powerful and coveted of the Books of Shadows in the whole world and is over 300 years old. The Book has been passed down every generation ever since it was created by Melinda Warren in the 1693.[1]
Besides all the information about the craft, the Book contains many entries on several beings from the magical community, including demons, warlocks, and other demonic beings. It also contains many spells and potion recipes, most of which were written by Penny Halliwell.[2]
History
The Charmed Ones' book was started by Melinda Warren, who began the Warren/Halliwell line of witches, with the year "1693" written on it's cover page. Although it was fairly small then, each succeeding generation of Warren witches had added onto it, including information that they came across and felt necessary to be journaled. One of the earliest entries that was around when Melinda was alive included a curse, and possibly the entry which details the coming of the Charmed Ones, through carvings, (mentioned in Something Wicca This Way Goes), though this could've been done by a future descendant . After Melinda was burned at the stake, the Book passed to her daughter Prudence, and was passed down throughout the generations.
Penny Halliwell, often noted that she created most of the potion recipes in it, and the only other entries we know for a fact that she wrote was the entry on the Necromancer, the Stillman Sisters and Gammill, The Collector. Patty Halliwell added text on Barbas, the Demon of Fear, and also, the page on how to properly raise and nurture magical children. ("Happily Ever After," "From Fear to Eternity," "Reckless Abandon")
The Charmed Ones themselves have added information, spells and potions, as well, for future generations. The first entry they made themselves was "Woogyman Spell", or how to banish the Shadow of the Nexus. Phoebe added a page on Cole Turner, Belthazor's human half including personal information like his favorite food and hobbies; "anything that could help future witches" after he'd broken her heart. This was reminiscent of the alterations Penny made to the Necromancer page, adding such things as "likes Clarke Gable movies" to aid in her getting over the end of their romantic relationship. Phoebe also wrote an entry on the warlock Anton. ("Is There a Woogy in the House?," "Pardon My Past," "Look Who's Barking," "Necromancing the Stone")
A few spells in the Book of Shadows are used for personal gain. No explanation has been given to why such spells would be in the Book but it's likely that these spells were put in to teach future witches about the personal gain consequences; or as to they served a magical purpose to deal with evils of the time.
At the end of the series, Piper, Phoebe and Paige added their own entries regarding what they've been through in their years as the Charmed Ones in order to pass down the knowledge to future generations. ("Forever Charmed")
Leo added the entry titled, "Tips for Future Whitelighters," logging information about whitelighters and how to properly use their powers, for his sons, Chris and Wyatt, just in case he wasn't around to teach them, himself.
At the end of the series when we are given a glimpse into the future, Wyatt and Chris Halliwell can be seen making a potion with the Book laying aloft the table top; it can be assumed that the sisters retire from their demon hunting and their progeny continue the Charmed Ones' destiny.
Stealing the Book of Shadows Many evils have attempted to steal the Book of Shadows on many occasions.
A shapeshifter trying to take it through the door.
- The Shapeshifters: A trio of
shapeshifters posing as their neighbors tried to get the book.
Although they could touch the book (representative of how the
Charmed Ones weren't quite strong enough for its protection to be at
full power yet), they couldn't get it out the front door.[3]
- Abraxas: This demon managed to
capture it by bringing it to the Astral Plane. This was possible as,
technically, the book was still in the house (or rather the area
where the house would be on the Astral Plane) but just on another
plane. Due to his telekinetic powers, he could easily flick through
the pages and move the book without it hurting or repelling him. By
reading the spells in the book backwards, he almost rebound the
Charmed Ones' powers, but they were able to retrieve it just in
time.[4]
- Cole
Turner: The human half of Belthazor, tried to get the book, however,
by then it was strong enough that no evil could touch it. As a
result, it jumped off its stand.[5] He later mentioned that he got
shocked the last time he tried to touch it.[6]
- Dantalian: A dark priestess named
Dantalian worked with a warlock named Zile to capture Prue and unite
them in a dark wedding ceremony which turned Prue into a warlock. By
this time, the sisters' magic was so intertwined that the evil bond
turned Piper and Phoebe into warlocks, and the evil contaminated the
Book as well. Since the Book was now evil, Dantalian was able to
steal it and take its powers into her own hands--thus becoming the
first evil being to physically get the Book out of the manor. By
vanquishing the warlock, the evil bond broke and the sisters and the
book returned to normal. [7]
- Bacarra: In the alternate timeline
of, the warlock Bacarra time traveled back a few months with
knowledge from the future to help his past-self. He told him of a
potion to blanket himself in goodness long enough to get through the
Book's defenses, which contained among other ingredients Piper's
blood. This allowed him to steal the book, which even he noted
contained information on and vanquishing potions for nearly every
demon he'd ever heard of. Fortunately, Piper traveled back to stop
him the entire series of events from happening, and Bacarra never
got the book. [8]
- The Stillman Sisters: Three evil low
level witches, the Stillman Sisters, cast an identity theft spell to
make the world see them as the Charmed Ones. The book saw the
Stillmans as the Charmed Ones as well; it wouldn't even let the real
sisters touch it. The Stillmans then broke into the Manor and used a
spell in the Book to steal the sisters' powers. However, the real
sisters were able to convince their whitelighter, Chris, that they
were the real Charmed Ones. He tricked the Stillmans into fighting
with each other and severing their bond as sisters, which undid all
of their spells. The real sisters then took back their powers, bound
the Stillmans' powers and turned them over to the authorities. [9]
- Zankou: The demon Zankou was able to
steal the Book by killing friends of the sisters and resurrecting
innocents that they've lost, to make them feel weak and vulnerable.
Whilst being mentally weakened, the Book's defenses were weakened as
well. Eventually they managed to get it back with a Power of Three
spell. [10]
The book is written by hand in ink. Entries have their titles in elaborate multicolored calligraphy. The book is written by the whole Warren/Halliwell line, throughout the generations, and possibly by also very close friends. The book contains many illustrations, chiefly of demons and other magical creatures. Most of the book is in English, but some of it is in Italian and Latin.
The book's organization is haphazard at best. The sisters remarked on several occasions that they searched "the entire book" when looking for specific information. This suggests that the book's previous owners simply filled in the pages sequentially rather than arranging the contents topically. (Given that the Book of Shadows is a collaborative work with contributions by generations of Warren and Halliwell witches, topical organization was likely a practical impossibility).
Notable entries The Belthazor entry and the spell to summon him
- The book's first page was the Dominus Trinus spell: which
allowed the Charmed Ones to receive their powers by midnight under a
full moon. ("Something Wicca This Way Comes")
- Patty wrote in an entry on Barbas, the demon of fear, to
guide her girls through the day, and encourage Prue to embrace her
love for other people again. ("From Fear to Eternity")
- An entry on the witch Nell, and how she trapped the warlock
Malcolm in a painting in the 1920s is completely in Latin. ("The
Painted World")
- Phoebe has written a spell to banish the Woogyman ("Is
There A Woogy In The House?"), an entry on the warlock Anton
and a page about Cole to warn future witches of him. ("Look
Who's Barking")
- A spell to banish a "Suxen" ("Nexus"
spelled backwards) written by the Elders long ago in case they lost
control of the Nexus. (Something Wicca This Way Goes...?)
- Leo Wyatt, fearing he may not live to see his two sons grow
up, wrote an entry "Tips for Future Whitelighters" on how
to use whitelighter powers and general advice on charges. ("The
Seven Year Witch")
- Piper, Phoebe and Paige wrote down paraphrased stories of
their adventurous years to pass down to the next generation.
("Forever Charmed")
- It is presumed that the sisters occasionally wrote about
their experiences after vanquishing a demon, dealing with a ghost or
other magical being. In some episodes this is hinted to be true like
when Billie says she's been studying the Book. ("Run Piper,
Run") She knew how the sisters once used the help of a ghost,
Charlene Hughes, to scare a pawn broker to confess to a murder ("Ex
Libris"), and also learned about Grams' ring which turned
Phoebe and Piper, in two separate occasions, into "Bewitched"-style
housewives.
The Book of Shadows, is also notable because evil cannot touch it, thanks to the shielding & sensing powers it is blessed with. Nor can it be taken out of the Halliwell Manor, except by the sisters. This is particularly important, as many evil beings covet the book, and the Charmed Ones would be much weaker without its knowledge. Although it is protected by good magic, evil has found a way around this and captured the book several times.
The Book is tied very closely to the Charmed Ones' powers. For example, when Rex Buckland blackmailed them into giving up their powers, the Book turned blank after they cast the Relinquishment Spell. However, when Leo healed and restored the Book, their powers were restored as well. ("Wicca Envy") Though, when the Angel of Destiny offered to take away their powers in the Season 4 finale, Witch Way Now?, he said the Book would not be harmed, and would pass down to a future descendant.
It can be presumed that its magic varies indifferently when it is passed on from one generation to the next, depending on its new master's magical state.
Cole tries to get the book but it repels away from him Also, if one of the Charmed Ones turns evil, the other two will turn evil as well, and the evil will flow through the Book (although in later episodes, when one sister has turned evil, the other two did not succumb to it). Dantalian, a high-level demon priestess, realized this, and tricked Prue into marrying a warlock, Zile, turning her evil. As expected, this turned Piper, Phoebe and the Book evil as well, enabling her to briefly get the Book. The plan backfired when evil Piper and Phoebe vanquished Zile, breaking the evil bond and restoring the Book to normal. ("Bride and Gloom")
In season four, in the episode Hell Hath No Fury, Paige tried to copy the book, but because of its protection power every page came out blank.
The Book has a different protection mechanism against evil, when someone tried to take it in several episodes; jumping off the stand in Once Upon A Time and The Seven Year Witch, repelling the being away from the Book in Death Becomes Them, a spherical shield around the Book in Death Becomes Them, burning the user's hands in Imaginary Fiends, and so on.
In Thank You For Not Morphing, an evil shapeshifter is able to touch the book and take it as far as the front door before it repels itself from his grasp. In future episodes, it is established that it is impossible for evil to even touch the Book. In this episode, however, the Charmed Ones' magic was not strong enough for its full protection to be activated.
Behind the Scenes There are 4 books in total:
- The Hero Book is the main book which contains all the pages.
This book was taken by Brad Kern at the end of the show in 2006.
Holly Marie Combs wanted the book as well but Brad won, claiming he
had written most of it.
- The Foam Book was used mainly as a "stunt book" to
throw around so as to not damage the Hero book, such as whenever a
demon would try to take it, it would fly away or when Paige threw
the book out of the house from the Attic. This book has a large
chunk of foam inside which is most noticeable when the book impacts
with the floor or ground and neither the cover nor pages move. The
cover is slightly different as well and the pages are all flat. In
only one scene, filmed in the later series, is the Hero book shown
being thrown.
- The Background Book was used in scenes where the Book of
Shadows is present but isn't used. It would mostly just sit on its
stand or lie on a table. The Hero book was kept in a safe when not
filming to prevent it from being stolen. It weighs less and holds
copies from the real pages and looks much the same as the Hero book.
This book was also used in scenes where the sister's magic or powers
disappeared leaving the book empty, such in "The Day the Magic
Died". The book then would have flat pages without any drawing
or text. The flat pages seen in this book were the remaining flat
pages from the first season.
- The Back-Up Book was used during the third season and had
about 80 pages. The Hero book had been damaged and had to be fixed,
and its Triquetra had started to come off, requiring it to be
re-glued. This book was an exact copy of the Hero book and had all
original pages until the Hero book was fixed again. This book was
sold on eBay in August 2003.
- The script of Something Wicca This Way Comes has Phoebe
saying "The Book of Shadows" before opening the cover.
This means that Connie's original idea was to have "The Book of
Shadows" written or engraved on the cover itself as there is
also no mentioning of a title page.
- A picture of the Book of Shadows and the title page, can be
seen on Disc 1, of every Charmed DVD.
- Props master, Roger Montesano, said in an article of Charmed
Magazine that Connie wanted the Book to be bigger but he worried
that the actresses would have a hard time carrying the Book around.
- There was an original pitch that a spirit would be contained
in the Book that would assist the sisters causing spells and
information about demons to appear.
- In the Book of Shadows Documentary,
it was stated the Book is a crucial part of the show, hence why on
the series premiere the trunk it was contained in lit up as well as
the entire storm sequence, and also why the chandelierPhoebe with
The Book Of Shadows in comics. in the foyer rattled when Phoebe
invoked their powers.
- The directors of the series state that the Halliwell Manor
was the "womb" for the girls and the Book of Shadows was
the heart and soul of their powers.
- At one point the book weighed at 9 pounds, 6 ounces and was
the most valuable prop on set.
- Almost all of the book is hand drawn, calligraphy and images.
Alyssa Milano liked the drawings so much that she had the artist
paint murals on her walls at home.
- Each page is hand-drawn by artists, and a lot of the pictures
in the book are actually based on the crew. For example, an artist
might base a new demon's facial structure and features on one of the
camera men.
- The Book of Shadows was kept locked in a safe place while
they're not filming.
- In the Book of Shadows Documentary Rose stated that when kids
from the Make-A-Wish foundation or other charities came to visit the
Charmed set, she would always make the prop managers take the Book
of Shadows out of lock and key and allow the kids to thumb through
the Book and look at it.
- A photocopy of the Charmed Book of Shadows (beginning of
Season 3, about eighty pages) was sold on e-bay in August 2003. It
was supposedly used on the set as a stand-in for the real BOS. The
final bid was $202,500.
- The back-up versions of the following pages were sold in
2009; the Vinceres pages, the Charm of Multiplicity page, the Dark
Priestesses page, Time Loops, Deflection, the Banshee pages and the
Ice Cream Man & The Nothing pages. In season 2/season 3,
back-ups from the book's pages were made. Other back ups have been
sold as well.
- There are several pages completely in Latin, though the pages
on Nell shows signs of being the most recent, possibly being written
by one of the three cousins from the 1920s; it seems odd that
entries meant to advise would be in a language the reader would not
likely know.
- The Book's place in the attic is exactly above the Nexus.
- To this day a lot of mystery surrounds it, several alternate
pages exist for pages seen on television as well as feature pages
that never made it to air due to necessary editing of episodes. Many
texts like the ones from Zankou, and the Raptor demon still remain
unknown.
- Shortly after the show ended, Derek Baron, the artist of the
season 8 pages, had a pdf file on his site which could be
downloaded. The pdf contained all texts and fonts which he used on
his pages. You can find a JPEG version of the pdf in the image here.
- It is rumored that the the foam book was sold on ebay for
around $1,000, the resting one for around $4,000 and the backup book
for $202,500. This has not been confirmed.
- Holly Marie Combs stated in an interview that when Rose
McGowan began working on the show, she once wrote her lines in the
Book of Shadows and doodled on the pages as she was unaware of how
valuable the prop was to the show, crew and actors/actresses. This
creates a real life parallel to the episode Hell Hath No Fury in
which Phoebe remarks that Paige stole the Book of Shadows without
care because "it was just a book to her."
- Upon the show's completion, a complete series set of Charmed
on DVD was released. The set was packaged to look like the Book of
Shadows which included selected pages from the series between
seasons and a scan from the real Book's triquetra (only the R1
version).
- The page "To Relinquish Our Powers" was removed by
Prue in 1x10 Wicca Envy and in 4x03 Hell Hath No Fury, Piper marked
the page "The Kevmay" with a large black X in marker
because she vanquished him. In 2x17 How To Make A Quilt Out Of
Americans, Gail removes the "To Separate a Witch From Her
Powers" page from the book.
- The Book of Shadows' pages were created by:
- Carol Wood - Season 1 and 2
- Dan Haberkorn - Season 2 to 7
- Derek Baron - Season 8
- Other unknown artists.
- The Book of Shadows is 318 years old as of 2011
- Some fans theorize that the Book can magically add pages to
itself.
- The Hero book's Triquetra, up until season 3 was rather thick
and stitched but was later replaced whilst the back-up book was in
use. You can see the seams all around and inside the symbol. The new
Triquetra was less thick than the previous one and had no seams
anymore because it was embossed on the leather.