Christianity, Neopaganism, and The Charmed Ones
Intro
The Charmed series begins as three sisters, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, reunite after their grandmother’s passing which unlocks their powers; they become protectors of the innocent-witches. In an early episode, Piper has a fear of entering a church after obtaining her powers. She discusses evil and witchcraft with a priest outside the church, showing her struggle with coming to terms with her new identity. At the end of the episode she finally enters the church unharmed and yells “I’m good”. This illustrates the show’s break away from Christian beliefs and the thought of supernatural as being a sin. Her affirming that she is good, dispels the notion that possessing powers could only mean evil. It symbolizes how she is venturing into her Wicca spirituality.
The religious aspects within this show touches on Christianity and Neopaganism, in particular this show centres on Wicca, a subset of witchcraft. Christian elements are apparent from the sisters’ lives prior to witchcraft, and mix in with their newfound faith after. The history of Christianity and paganism are intermingled so it is difficult to discern where it truly comes derives from. For instance both engage in religious rituals/supernatural rituals, mass/covens, etc. Charmed connects with Christianity and Neopaganism, while at the same time never fully embracing either. The show does not acknowledge one above the either, nor claims to be specifically invested in one or another.
