In the television show Charmed, the Elders are a group of people who oversee good magic.

They mainly keep track of witches, watching from the Heavens. They communicate with those on Earth through their helpers and messengers, the whitelighters. The Elders decide who becomes whitelighters, and give and take their powers. A whitelighter's ability to heal is channeled directly from the Elders.

We assume that most of the Elders were at one time whitelighters themselves. Leo Wyatt was promoted to the rank of Elder after saving the Charmed Ones and the remaining Elders from the wrath of the Titans. Though most Elders have powers much like Whitelighters, the Charmed Ones protect a retirng Elder for a short time whos powers are strictly of the mental sort, and cannot orb or fight.

Though whitelighters are not allowed to kill, the Elders have powerful fighting abilities. Leo is seen using a lightning-like power to kill Gideon and three Elders appear in the episode "It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World Part I" and kill a mortal with magical flames.

When witches need advise on demons they know nothing about, they can ask the Elders by sending their whitelighter. The Elders do not allow witches or any other magical being besides themselves and whitelighters to enter the Heavens. Even the Charmed Ones do not have this privilege, as Piper and Leo have to ask for an audiance when they seek permission to have a relationship, and Leo specifically tells Piper she is not allowed there when she comes to see him. The Elders do, however, allow Leo to watch over his son Wyatt and to take him to be with the Elders when he may be in danger.

Very few Elders ever come to Earth. Leo and Gideon are rare examples who spend most of their time outside the Heavens. A few have come to Earth to speak directly with them about important issues like Gideon's intentions to kill Wyatt and the possible threat of the Avatars but as a group, the Elders prefer to take a background role and remain largely unseen in the day-to-day affairs of even the magical world.