What I Learned From Charmed...

The week of Christmas I discovered the entire series of Charmed on Netflix for "Watch Now." Now, mind you, I own the series in it's entirety, but for some reason the Watch Now version is just easier to watch than the DVDs (go figure!)... Anyways, I started watching it from the beginning and I'm just now finishing up the last season. And I have to say I am just as sad for my marathon to come to an end as I was when the actual show went off the air. It's rare that there is a show that affects me - or hooks me - the way Charmed did, and has again. Plus, it's great to have some Witch Friendly entertainment for a change!

So as my marathon ends I'm thinking over all the "great times" I had watching them save the world over and over again. And, I'll admit, dreaming I had their powers... Now, before someone jumps on the "seriously, it's fiction" bandwagon I know it's not real, I know it's not possible... And I know there are quite a few points in the show that have put a great many Wiccans and Pagans off... Frankly, I don't care!

I love the show and would LOVE to have Prue's Telekinetic power, Piper's Freezing power, Phoebe's Premonition & Empathy, and of course Paige's Orbs - not to mention her waist line!  I mean, how awesome would it be to just be able to open a giant family BOS and read a few lines of poetry and BOOM you look different, you're in a different place or time or talking with your long passed and very missed family member? Don't lie, you wish as much as I do that it worked that way!

But, who says fiction has to be without it's lessons? I would have to say I've learned quite a bit from the show. Of course there are the lessons about making time for family and not trying to shove everything in to one day, but there are more Magickal lessons throughout as well...

So, lets explore some of what my favorite magickal sister have to teach!

1. Misuse of Magick can have quite intense consequences! The purpose of magick is to create change in our world. Change is a good thing, but to much change can be dangerous. And more often than not, meddling in things we aren't meant to meddle in is only going to cause issues and drama, whether that meddling is done magically or mundanely.
2. Our emotions have as much to do with our "power" as anything else does!  Nothing can throw a spell or other magickal workings out of whack the way hormones or crazy emotions. It's best to wait until we have a clear head than to go doing blessings while we're angry or depressed.
3. Every day is a blessing! Of course the majority of us don't have demons breaking in waiting to be vanquished twice a week, but that doesn't make our life any less precious or wonderful. We need to remember every day that what we have can be gone any time, and that we're lucky to have it.
4. Good and Evil are a Balance!  I'm pretty sure there aren't Elders, and the "Source of All Evil" sounds like a lame attempt to rename some Devil. But as I talked about in my Utopia post, Good and Bad NEED to balance one another out. Without a balance, we're all in trouble. So we should focus on learning to focus on the blessings and to take the bad times in stride, because without one, we don't get the other!
5. Spells don't have to rhyme!   So many newbies think if it doesn't rhyme it's no good... Well, guess what, it doesn't have to! 
6. Tempo helps keep your words on track!  Our brains remember songs over poetry every time, so if you're having trouble remembering your wording, make it a song! I sing all my rituals!
7. It's okay to feel a bit nervous the first time your coven goes skyclad!   We live in a world where nudity, especially in front of others, is generally frowned upon. Most people are naked for all of two things - sex and showers - and since we tend to grow up with this kind of thinking it's often hard to separate from it. If you're not comfortable, then wear your clothes, or a robe, but there is no feeling like dancing naked in the moon light...
8. When we work to help others, we work to help ourselves!  Whether it be by donating food to the homeless or doing a blessing ritual for a sick friend helping someone else creates positivity within us and within our world, and this positivity can only affect us in a positive manner!
9. Our loved ones are going to mess up!  From time to time, everyone screws up... That's part of being human. And thankfully, unlike the sisters, our loved ones aren't going to be turning in to Demons or being dropped in the middle of the underworld, but by no means does that mean they won't ever upset us. Because they will. We, need to remember that the love we have for one another is stronger than whatever misdeed they have done, or that we think they have done, and do our best to restore peace. Until peace is restored in the relationship, it can't be within us...
10. If you loose touch with those who love you, you loose part of yourself!  Okay, so this isn't really a magickal rule, but it's one that, as magickal beings, we need to remember more than anyone else. The less in touch we are with our inner self, our true self, the less we will have the focus needed for magickal workings!

I'm sure there are more - like don't fall in love with a ghost - but those aren't going to fit the lives of most of us! lol  So go on, watch your Charmed guilt free, because you aren't wasting time, your learning important lessons! lol