Charmed began with the three Halliwell sisters Prue, Piper and Phoebe coming together sometime after the death of their grandmother, Penny. After moving into the old family manor in San Francisco, the youngest sister, Phoebe, discovered an old book in the attic. Reading an incantation from the Book of Shadows, she set in motion events that fulfilled an ancient prophecy. Strange and frightening occurrences began which eventually led the sisters to realize that they are witches.
The sisters discovered that they actually are descended from a long line of witches. The first powerful witch in the line, Melinda Warren, prophesied that from her line would come the Charmed Ones. A force of good, they would be three sisters gifted with powers to battle the forces of evil. Prue Halliwell, the oldest sister, developed first the power of telekinesis, later gaining the power of astral projection. Piper, the second-oldest, was given two powers regulating the speed of molecules in objects and people, first gaining the ability to slow them down to the point where they are frozen, and later gaining the ability to accelerate them so much as to cause explosions. Phoebe, the third sister, had the original power of premonitions and later obtained the power to levitate; in addition, her original power grew and she became an empath (supernatural ability to read others' emotions).
After Prue was killed, it was revealed that there is a secret fourth sister, Paige Matthews, their mother's illegitimate child. She has the power to "orb" in and out from place to place like teleportation, to orb objects to herself or another place, and the power to glamour, which allows her to change her appearance. She has the same mother, Patty Halliwell, as the other three, but her father was their mom's whitelighter Sam, hence how she can "orb", which is her whitelighter power, she was also trying to use the whitelighter power of healing earlier on in the series. Patty and her Whitelighter lover gave Paige up for adoption, with the sole condition being that the adoptive parents give her a first name beginning with "P".
A central theme throughout the show's run is the sisters' struggle to balance normal lives with their supernatural responsibilites. The burden of keeping their Charmed destinies a secret from the outside world has repeatedly created tensions in their friendships, workplaces, and romantic relationships. Only a few know their secret and help them on a regular basis. The most important is Leo Wyatt, a whitelighter assigned by the Elders to guide and protect the sisters. Leo means a great deal to the sisters both professionally and personally: he heals their wounds, advises them collectively and individually, and mediates between them and the enigmatic Elders. He also happens to be the love of Piper's life; their romance is an ongoing plot thread that dates back to the first season. A few of the others who have kept the Charmed Ones' secret over the years (and appeared in the opening credits) are Police Inspectors Andy Trudeau and Darryl Morris, tormented half-demon Cole Turner (a.k.a. Belthazor), and mysterious time-traveler Chris Perry, who was later revealed to be Piper and Leo's second magical son, Chris Perry Halliwell.
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