PRUE'S POWERS

[vandergraafk]

In a relatively short time (3 years), Prue developed an extraordinary ability to use her powers. Until Piper developed the ability to blast things by accelerating particle motion, Prue was the most powerful witch. So, what were her abilities?

This should be a relatively simple question to answer. But nothing is ever simple in Charmedverse. Sometimes the writers get it wrong. Sometimes they don't even follow their own guidelines. Thus, it is up to Charmedverse to sort it out.

According to the Book of Shadows, one of the sisters has the ability to move things with her mind. Generally, this can be described as telekinesis. Usually, Prue had to squint her eyes or wave her hands in order to put an object in motion. Exactly how she brought the coffee to boil in Episode 1 is inexplicable unless we assume that mentally she caused the coffee molecules to move faster and faster. This would induce a rise in temperature. So, let's call this telekinesis.

In Secrets and Guys, the writers introduced a new character, a young male witch named Max Franklin, who has inherited his mother's power of psychokinesis. According to young Max, psychokinesis is the ability to move things without having to see them.

Psychokinesis, however, is also one of Prue's abilities. In Something Wiccan, Prue turns away from Roger and causes his pen to explode. That is psychokinetic! While storming out of Roger's office and marching down the hallway, Prue twists her hands and causes Roger's tie to nearly choke him. That must be psychokinesis. In other words, Prue's power of telekinesis actually contains a fair amount of psychokinesis. Max, on the other hand, is not as powerful as Prue and cannot move things with his eyes or a wave of the hand.

Later, of course, Prue will develop the power of astral projection, the ability to move a clone of her own self across space. She practices and practices until she can create a clone who is the exact duplicate of her own abilities.

[vandergraafk]

In the Charmed Cafe, ljones asked an extremely pertinent question regarding Prue's powers. She wrote:

How does astral projection grow from telekinesis? I could understand if Prue was the one who developed levitation, instead of Phoebe. After all, levitation and psychokinesis do grow from telekinesis. But astral projection?


And when did Prue ever teach Leo about astral projection?


My reply was as follows:


Ljones, I don't think we ever see Prue teaching Leo about this whole astral projection thing. It is simply asserted in Something Wicca (Episode 156) when the sisters express their gratitude that Prue had taught Leo the whole astral project thing. I suspect that this comment specifically refers to the whole Magic School sequence when the sisters lure Zankou in and put up enough of a fight to fool him into believing that they were real. That to me, that is the ability to use an astrally projected clone to do more than walk and talk was Prue's contribution.

As for telekinesis leading to astral projection: it was stated during Season 2 that Prue herself viewed this as a natural extension. Whether she is corrrect or not, I cannot say. The argument in favor of her conclusion is what, I believe, Phoebe offered when she suggested that if Prue could move things with her mind, then it would seem logical (to Phoebe) that she should be able to move her own body with her mind (via astral projection).

Yes, I am aware that there is more involved here than just astral projection. The trick requires the creation of a clone that can then be separated from and moved across space and then be taught to do more than walk and talk. How she did the cloning is not obvious. Nor is it obvious why "cloning" is a natural extension of telekinesis. Finally, it is not obvious that even if a clone figured could be astrally projected that it should be able to even walk and talk, let alone punch, kick, box or use powers.

Another complicating factor is the presence of the Astral Projection spell which Phoebe specifically references in Season 5's Sympathy with the Demon. When was this spell written? Did Prue ever even know about this spell's existence? Does the spell accomplish everything that Prue apparently did on her own under the extreme pressure to be in two places at once?

I know that sort of doesn't quite fully respond to your comment, but I hope it helps!

[vandergraafk]

More comments came from whitelightertony:


Quote:The problem is we just don't know that the learned method won't completely embrace the types of skills that Prue ultimately demonstrated.



I would think that’d depend on what skills or abilities are possessed by someone who learns to astral project through being taught. Obviously, an Astral Piper would never be able to use telekinesis while in her astral form because she didn’t possess it to begin with. Same for an Astral Ms. Donovan, who appeared to possess very few, if any, special powers other than the astral projection ability she’d been taught. Astral Prue, on the other hand, never learned to use her telekinesis while in her astral form - - but it probably would have been a future power advancement for Prue, had Prue not been killed by Shax.


Quote:Perhaps that's the most chilling aspect of the homage given to Prue by the Charmed Ones when they express gratitude for Prue teaching Leo the ropes about astral projection. Which ropes exactly? Did that include how to clone oneself completely? Scary thought!



I don’t think astral projection can necessarily be equated with cloning, because the original corporeal body of someone who astrals out remains dormant. Both one’s astral self and corporeal self would have to be simultaneously conscious for the phenomenon to truly resemble “cloning.”

The only time we’ve seen an astral self consciously coexist with one’s regular self was when Astral Prue and Empath Prue exchanged glances and smiled at each other near the end of “Primrose Empath” . . . and that was only a temporary occurrence, stemming from Prue’s temporary power surge due to the magical high she was on. However, it was implied that such an incident could someday be a future power advancement for Prue, and that if Prue had lived on she would have mastered the power of astral coexistence (having two Prues conscious and fully active at the same time).


Quote:And when did Prue ever teach Leo about astral projection?



It presumably happened offscreen, prior to “All Hell Breaks Loose.”


Quote:Speaking of Prue and her astral ass, do you suppose she could have taught her astral-self how to do some telekinesis? She appeared to try to do this at the start of "Primrose empath", but I can't recall of she kept it going or not--or even tried to...



Prue died before she ever mastered the ability to use telekinesis while still in her astral form. But yes, had Prue not died when she did, I believe her next power advancement would have been Astral Prue being able to use telekinesis.

vandergraafk replied as follows:

Yes, "clone" is not the correct word choice. But, it is the best word I can presently think of to describe an astrally projected self that can walk, talk, run, kick, box and, as you suggest and I agree, use powers. To be sure, when astral Prue is engaged regular Prue is asleep or incapacitated. That never happens under true cloning conditions. Absent a better descriptor, it's the best I've got.

[vandergraafk]

To begin to understand Prue's power of astral projection, perhaps it is wise to begin and the beginning. In Wicca Envy, Rex Buckland first demonstrates astral projection, a power that he describes as the ability to project oneself invisibly for purposes of thought suggestion. In this episode, Rex demonstrates this ability over and over by making suggestions to Prue regarding placement of the Romanov tiara, hints to Andy Trudeau regarding the location of the tiara when he and Inspector Morris are conducting a search of Prue's bedroom, and urging a premonition upon Phoebe during his regaling of her in the faux apartment.

Barbas demonstrates a similar ability in From Fear to Eternity and the other episodes in which he appears as a ghostly entity. Barbas, of course, attempts to project fearful thoughts into his projected victims in order to paralyze these witches through fear. His ability to astral project grows proportionately when he is able to project himself from the hellmouth where he has been condemned since his last defeat at the hands of the Charmed Ones.

Phoebe, of course, takes astral projection another step forward when she is able to astrally project herself in visible form in Sympathy for the Demon. She uses an astral projection spell to accomplish this feat. In her astrally projected form, Phoebe is able to walk and talk, but demonstrates no other abilities during her limited use of astral projection.

Ms. Donovan, the Magic School librarian, demonstrates similar ability when she astrally projects herself into the attic to warn the Charmed Ones about the sorcerer in Carpe Demon. The warning is really a trap because the sorcerer seeks to lure the Charmed Ones to their demise in his magically protected cave.

Prue, of course, elevated astral projection well beyond anything the previous magical beings could accomplish. Her astrally projected self could walk and talk initially. Later, through intensive training, she attempted with success to teach her astrally projected self to kick box, punch and to do basically anything true Prue could do. She wasn't as successful with getting her astrally projected self to use her power of telekinesis. The assumption, though, is that she would be able to fully employ these powers with further practice. Her untimely death ended such experiments.

So what then is astral projection? Is it simply the transfer of pyschic energy across space for purposes of thought suggestion, as Rex Buckland described it and as both he and Barbas employed it? Or is it the ability to project a "clone" of oneself across space and use that "clone" to walk and talk as if the real person were there? Does Prue combine her telekinetic and psychokinetic abilities to empower astral projection in unanticipated ways? These are just some of the questions that can be discussed and debated.

[Reality Bites]

vandergraafk said:

Does Prue combine her telekinetic and psychokinetic abilities to empower astral projection in unanticipated ways? These are just some of the questions that can be discussed and debated.

I would say yes, but then what would account to Ms. Donovan utilizing the power in coporealized form as well. I've come to see Astral Projection as functioning in two versions in the world of Charmed. Spectral on the Astral Plane, and corporeal on the Physical Plane. Writers have the right to create new forms of supernatural abilities within their fictional universes, and I simply see it as the Charmed writers taking an old power and giving it a new twist.

I never thought the Charmed Ones active powers were what made them special anyhoo, but the inherent access of powerful magic they have access to as individuals and when harnessing the power of three. So the fact that powers like AP can be learned merely highlights the fact that the Charmed Ones can naturally and effortlessly gain access to powers other witches must "study" and "practice" in order to harness for themselves.

[vandergraafk]

This is certainly highly suggestive if we accept a difference between the astral plane and the physical plane. Does Mr. Buckland, then, open up a portal between the astral plane and the physical plane in order to observe all that he does and project all the thoughts that he wishes?

[Reality Bites]

I would say yes. For my Charmed role-playing game I've made it so that the Astral Plane can be used to perceive the ongoing events throughout different worlds. There are "color pools" throughout the Astral Plane that correlate to a specific realm; the green color pool allows an Astral Traveler to examine events as they unfold on Earth, the red color pool allows an Astral Traveler to examine events as they unfold in The Underworld, etc. When occupying a color pool, the more powerful Astral Travelers can project themselves from the Astral Plane and into the realm that correlates to that specific pool as invisible spectral beings that can influence the thoughts and actions of those around them. Much like Rex Buckland in "Wicca Envy".

[vandergraafk]

The colors, I assume, are randomly chosen. There is no direct correlation between green and events unfolding on Earth. Or, is this a secret environmentalist screed being foisted onto Charmed?

[Reality Bites]

Yes the colors were randomly chosen. I could have chosen brown for earth, but...that's just so...muddy. lol

[Robertmow]

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