E is for ...... Empath

What is an Empath, well Wikipedia says "Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another sentient or semi-sentient being." 


And any Charmed fans will remember Prue being infected by the Warlock with the 'curse of Empathy' and then later on Phoebes' powers growing into her Emphatic ability .........

So, with that definition and TV's portrayal of Empathy .... if someone around you is happy - then you feel happy, if someone is sad - then you feel sad! Easy peasy .... well, no it's not that easy...... Empath's don't have to be around you and see you smiling, they don't have to see someone cry and if only it were just the two emotions, but an Empath can pick up on any emotion even if the room is empty!

I know of Empath's that can be affected by moods on Facebook, if someone is having a truly bad day and the Empath is not shielded then it's not unheard of for the Empath to head to their bed with migraines, bad stomachs and a general feeling of unwellness.....

It's not only people that an Empath will be affected by, places can affect them too.

There is a great blog written by a wonderful Witch here - Wiccan Moonsong taught me how to shield and how to use my abilities, I am still learning and still growing but at least I finally got to give my feelings a name and not just worry that I was just an 'oversensitive crybaby'!!