The Book of Shadows Never Closed

The Book of Shadows may have shut on-screen, but for those of us who grew up with Charmed, the magic—and the frustration—still lingers.

This wasn’t just an after-school comfort show. For me, Charmed was a bond. A sisterhood. A spell in syndication. 🔮

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My Own Power of Three

I have two younger sisters, and growing up, we were the Power of Three.

We’d argue about who was most like which Halliwell sister, quote episodes until our mom begged us to stop, and dream about what spell we’d cast if we had our own Book of Shadows.

That belief in sisterhood stayed. So much so that, as adults, we got matching triquetra tattoos—not just for the show, but for us. A mark of survival, connection, and everything we still mean to one another. 💜

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Where the Magic Went Wrong

Here’s the truth that still stings: Brad Kern ruined Charmed.

Constance M. Burge’s vision was always clear—three strong, complicated women navigating the world as sisters first, witches second. Magic was metaphor. The real power was in love, loss, growth, and finding strength in each other. ✨

But Burge left. Kern stepped in. And slowly, the show stopped being about sisters and started being about boys, boys, boys. 🙄

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Enter: Cole Turner

Julian McMahon’s Cole was brilliant at first—a tragic demon with depth, torment, and redemption potential. The arc worked… for a while.

But then it dragged on. For five. whole. seasons.

Phoebe shifted from journalist and witch to a plot device for toxic romance. Paige’s growth kept getting detoured. Piper was written into corners. Prue’s absence became a wound the writers never really honored.

The Power of Three became the Power of Romantic Entanglements and Brooding Men.
And it never fully recovered.

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What I Mourn Now

Rewatching as an adult, I don’t just feel nostalgia—I feel grief for what was lost:

• The Phoebe who dreamed beyond love stories.
• The Paige who deserved richer arcs.
• The Piper-Prue dynamic cut short.
• The potential buried under soap opera subplots. 😔

And I mourn the real-life losses, too—the ones that hang heavier than any fictional demon.

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Rest in Power

Shannen Doherty—who fought fiercely, on-screen and off, for strength and truth.
Julian McMahon—whose portrayal of Cole haunted and captivated, even as scripts failed him.

They were flawed, fiery, iconic. They shaped a generation of witchy kids like me. They’re gone too soon, but their magic lingers.

🕯️ Rest in power, Shannen.
🕯️ Rest in peace, Julian.
Your spells still echo, even if the story lost its way.