Chapter 6

The Happy Medium next uses her crystal ball to show the children a battle between the Dark Thing and the stars. Mrs. Whatsit explains that they have just witnessed a star sacrificing its life to fight the Dark Thing, and Charles Wallace correctly guesses that Mrs. Whatsit was once a star who did exactly what this star did and gave up being a star. The children are deeply moved by her sacrifice, and Charles Wallace kisses her as an act of thankfulness. After saying goodbye to the Happy Medium, the group tessers to the planet of Camazotz, where Mr. Murry is imprisoned. They stand on a hill overlooking a town and Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who inform them that they will not be able to accompany the children into the town. Instead, they supply each child with a gift that will help them in their battle. Mrs. Whatsit's "gifts" are really mere enhancements of traits the children already possess: she reinforces in Meg her own faults, strengthens Calvin's innate ability to communicate with people of all different types, and bolsters in Charles Wallace the natural resilience of his childhood.