TAPPING INTO THE NEXUS

[vandergraafk]

Elder had some questions in the Charmed Cafe regarding the NEXUS:

Was the Nexus able to be tapped into by any magical being?
Could/should the evil witch Tuatha (from "that old black magic") tapped into its power?
I don't recall many episodes where the Nexus/Shadow was even talked about, so it wasn't like the sisters needed to go into the basement before every battle and gets a power boost from the Nexus...it just was there.
If that's the case, why can't evil tap into its power when at the Manor? Say for example, Shax, Jeremy...and other evil dudes?

[vandergraafk]

Elder, as for your other questions regarding the NEXUS, let's address them as follows:

First, any demon, warlock or witch could have tapped into the NEXUS provided three conditions were met:


CONDTION #1: THEY KNOW OF ITS EXISTENCE.

Certainly not all demons, warlocks and witches were well versed enough to know that such a spiritual nexus exhibited or where, if it did exist, where it might be located.


CONDITION #2: THE GUARDIANS OF THE MANOR (THE WARREN
WITCHES) MUST ALLOW IT TO A DEMON, WARLOCK OR WITCH TAKE IN THE NEXUS.

There are two ways this condition can be met. By default, that is, if the sisters are not present to prevent a demon, warlock or witch from taking in the Nexus, then said entity will be able to take in the Nexus if the magical being can incant the correct summoning spell.

This was confirmed in Scry Hard when 3" Piper and Leo remained trapped in the constantly being rebuilt doll house replication (more or less) of the Manor. Zankou did not have this problem in Something Wicca This Way Goes because the sisters were in Magic School. Cole did not have this problem either because he had gotten the deed of the manor by his legal manoeuvring and the clever use of Kaia. The girls were expelled from their own house, while Phoebe remain trapped in Cole's penthouse flat.

Of course, it may not simply be a matter of the guardians' presence or absence. The sisters might allow a magical being to take in the NEXUS by affirming their willingness to go along. Scry Harder also demonstrates this when the sisters allow Zankou to summon the NEXUS, but only after Leo assures them that it will be okay. (Leo knows that the NEXUS, faced with the presence of both good (the Charmed Ones) and evil (Zankou), will opt for neither and seek to find a neutral outlet (Leo, a mortal). Indeed, this is what happens as Leo takes in the NEXUS momentarily.


CONDITION #3: THE INCANTATION TO SUMMON THE NEXUS MUST
BE CHANTED.


Cole and Zankou both knew the incantation and recited it to absorb the Nexus.

[elder]

Why is the nexus always pictured as being in the basement of the home?

We have already established that the term "Nexus" most likely refers to the point where the natural elements converge...that would be the whole home and not just the bottom floor.

Also, if the the "Nexus" does indeed refer to just the shadow, then that shadow should have taken over the whole home by now (almost 100 years).

[vandergraafk]

As I indicated, I don't believe the Nexus is equivalent to the Shadow. The Nexus is a tremendous source of spiritual power at the convergence of the five elements. Within the Nexus, the struggle between good and evil is carried on eternally. As good controls the house that sits atop the Nexus, evil - in the guise of the Shadow - is constantly trying to escape the Nexus to gain mastery over the manor. Demons such as Zankou and Cole try to summon the shadow and take into themselves in order to gain a power boost that the Charmed Ones have simply by virtue of residing in the manor.

Yes, the Nexus is depicted as being underneath the concrete of the basement floor. There are two reasons for this. First, the Nexus could only be a ground level or sublevel phenomenon. We could never expect to find the Nexus in the attic. When the basement was excavated, ground level for the house dropped below the normally occurring level in this admittedly hilly portion of San Francisco. Thus, although the ground level around the house is found on the first floor, ground level for the Nexus with respect to the location is in the basement. Indeed, it lies beneath the concrete floor.

The irony in all of this is two-fold. The house, located in Angelino Heights, Los Angeles (within the general area known as Echo Park; Echo Park Lake is featured in House Call when Paige meets the bride and groom to be.), probably does not have a basement. It is rare for any house in Los Angeles to have a basement. Whether the same can be said of San Francisco I won't even attempt to hazard a guess. I suspect not, but will let more informed fans make their insights known.

Second, as Keith Toppin has noted and documented in Triquetra and as I have observed before, the neighborhood around the manor is constantly changing. Sometimes white buildings in the immediate area can be observed, sometimes not. Worse: the actual house that was used does not appear large enough to support such a vast attic! Oh well! It's like Magic School. The attic just goes on and on!

[elder]

Back to the Nexus issues:
This whole thing just baffles me based on the season seven finale.
The elder states that there is a spell in the book that gets rid of the Nexus. But the question is...why, why, and why?
Why would a Halliwell write a spell that would eliminate something that gives him/her added oomph to his/her powers. Why not just use the spell instead of writing it out? And why do the sisters not know of this spell even after having the book for seven years?
One could also make a point that Zankou--if he knew about the spell--surely would have gotten rid of it.

[vandergraafk]

Again, like you, I find the season 7 finale particularly unsatisfying in this regard. But, I don't have a problem with such a spell appearing in the Book of Shadows. The Book of Shadows is in constant flux. Pages appear and disappear. Apparently, the Elders have the ability to place spells in the book, as well as to remove spells. This was first introduced in Season 2's Morality Bites. Consequently, I believe the Elders placed this spell in the book to protect themselves, not the sisters. That was the message conveyed to the sisters by Elder Sandra.

Now, could a spiritual Nexus ever be destroyed in the way described. To me, the destruction of the Nexus makes no sense.