| “ | A hard life has taught me to be prepared. I, long ago, secreted within my person a wee casket of powerful magic. When the spell inside me sensed my life force ebbing, it went to work. And I was revived. | ” |
Resurrection Seal is a subdermal sachet of powerful magic that is sewn into a person's body. Once the spell senses the life-force of the individual ebbing, the magic kicks in as a purple glow and works its way through the body, repairing and resurrecting the individual. Based from Rowena's description, this spell was developed by the Grand Coven.
Overview[]
| “ | I, uh -- The magic I've used on myself, my -- my little subdermal sachets -- they only work as fail-safes. They have to be prepared in advance, Jack. | ” |
The full procedure of the spell is unknown. The only known part of the procedure was by implanting the spell into the user's body through a wide and deep incision (and according to Rowena, it is about "little subdermal sachets").[1] Its later revealed that the "sachets" are actually tiny hex bags implanted in various parts of the body.[2]
The resurrection and healing power of the spell is not instantaneous, however; the more severe the death, the longer the body will take to recuperate. Each time the charm is used, its power needs to be recharged before the process can be repeated. However, the spell only acts as a fail-safe and must be implanted in advance as it activates when the individual's life force is fading. It cannot resurrect someone who has already died without the charm implanted within them beforehand.
If the user wishes to disable the seal, they simply have to remove the hex bag or bags from their body before they die.
Throughout the Series[]
In The Devil in the Details, After Lucifer snapped Rowena's neck, the spell was able to resurrect her from the dead which she later explained to Amara.
In All Along the Watchtower, when Lucifer killed Rowena for a second time by crushing her head, he burned her body to prevent resurrection, leaving behind a charred corpse. Both Lucifer and the Winchesters stated a belief that this killed Rowena permanently even with the Resurrection Seal.
In War of the Worlds, its revealed that Arthur Ketch made a deal with Rowena at one time so that she implanted him with a Resurrection Seal as well. When Arthur was killed by Mary Winchester, the spell resurrected him. However, it needs to be recharged between uses and only Rowena has the capability to do so for Arthur.
In Various & Sundry Villains, it was revealed that even after her body was burnt, the seal was able to resurrect Rowena once more. However, the extent of the damage was such that it took her a very long time to heal.
In Absence, Rowena tells Jack that the magic only works as a failsafe and must be prepared in advance. It cannot resurrect someone who died without the magic in them.
Rowena removes her last resurrection sachet.
In The Rupture, Rowena cuts a small hex bag out of her shoulder and reveals to Sam that it is her last Resurrection Seal. As Rowena is about to sacrifice herself to send all of the demons and souls back to Hell, she will not need it and she removes the spell to prevent herself from coming back.
Appearance[]
- Season 11
- Season 13
- War of the Worlds (mentioned only)
- Various & Sundry Villains (mentioned only)
- Season 14
- Absence (mentioned only)
- Season 15
Trivia[]
- This spell marks the first time that a witch was shown to be capable of successful resurrection, not counting necromancy, which just creates and manipulates zombies.
- In The Foundry, Lucifer indicates that if he decapitates Rowena, she will die permanently even with this spell. After Lucifer burned Rowena's corpse after killing her for a second time, both the Winchesters and Lucifer believed her to be truly dead despite this spell.
- However, in Various & Sundry Villains, it reveals that Resurrection Seal brought her back again, but the extent of damage Lucifer did to her caused her to take "a very long time" to heal. It's worth noting that when her corpse is shown her head is still attached to her body, suggesting that the spell can regenerate attached body parts, but had Lucifer actually decapitated her she would not have come back.
- In Absence, Rowena explains that the Resurrection Seal is about little subdermal sachets, which is finally confirmed to be truth in The Rupture. Rowena's last seal was implanted in her left shoulder.
- Presumably another one had been implanted in her leg since that was where she showed a scar to Amara in Hell's Angel and where the seal was shown activating in a flashback.