Channeling

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Channeling **article** at the Vampire Diaries Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

**Channeling** is a power of the witches to draw power from Nature or an element to boost their magic. This allows users to harness energies in their surroundings to perform greater magical feats, and cast stronger spells beyond that which one is usually able to accomplish solely with their own magic. The energy drawn to empower a witch can come from numerous things such as other witches, the elements, and celestial events.

## Celestial Events

A **celestial event** is an astronomical phenomenon of interest that involves one or more celestial bodies. Celestial events have long been used by witches to channel in order to empower their magic, and increase the potency of their spells.

* **Sun:** Unlike other power sources, solar energy is the most accessible that both witches and humans can use. During the creation of the vampires, the Original Witch, Esther, used the sun in the formation of the Immortality Spell, and because of it, vampires are depicted in Viking runes as the sun. Due to this, it also contributes to vampire's weakness to sunlight as nature retaliated turning the things used in the spell against them. The Sun has been used by Esther. Silas also channeled the sun, and bound a boundary spell to the sun, trapping Qetsiyah and all those who entered the cabin until the sun set.
* **Moon:** The *Moon* is the most immediate and recurrent celestial power source that is commonly used by witches for powerful spells and rituals. More so, the Full moon is typically used, though on occasion, a new moon has been channeled. Esther used the full moon to bind Klaus' werewolf side. Greta Martin later used the full moon, along with other pieces to the ritual, to break the Hybrid Curse. Bonnie has used the moon on a number of occasion to fuel her spells. While using Expression, she channeled and bound a boundary spell to the new moon, allowing the spell to last 3-4 days. Similarly, Céleste channeled the moon itself to supply her boundary spell, enabling the spell to last for a whole month. She also channeled and bound the The Crescent Curse to the moon, forcing the werewolves to only revert to human form on the night of a full moon.
* **Eclipses:** *Eclipses* are rare celestial occurrences, and has been channeled just as frequently. They can occur as either lunar or solar eclipses; Lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth's shadow blocks the sun's light, whereas a solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. One can assume that a solar eclipse are mystically more empowering as they only happen with a new moon, when the sun and moon are in conjunction. The Gemini Coven and it's leader, Joshua Parker channeled a lunar eclipse to banish Kai to the 1994 Prison World. Bonnie and Kai later channeled the recurring eclipse to leave the Prison World.
* **Comets:** Existing bodies outside Terra can be used as a great source of power for witches, as they occur so infrequent. Due to the complexity and magnitude, few witches can control the energy without consequences. Before her death, Emily Bennett channeled an over-passing comet to empower herself with enough strength to trap the tomb vampires under Fell Church. Her precision of channeling celestial bodies gave her enough power to empower her spell to last for over 145 year. Emily even possessed her descendant Bonnie, and channeled the same comet to destroy the Bennett Talisman. When Qetsiyah was working out a way to fuel the Anchor swap spell, she implied that there was not a worthy comet for a billion years, meaning that the more infrequent comets provided greater power for spells. While she herself is stated to be one of the world's greatest, and most powerful witches, her calcified blood can be used as a magical power source with similar potency to using a full moon, or a comet.
* **Meteors:** A *meteor shower* is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Lily Salvatore once suggested using the Lyrids meteor shower as an alternative celestial event that could fuel the spell to travel to the prison world her "family" was kept in.
* **Planetary Conjunctions:** A *conjunction* occurs when two astronomical objects have either the same right ascension or the same elliptical longitude, normally when observed from the Earth. Typically, the The Merge of the Gemini Coven would be completed with the use of a Full Moon, though under extreme circumstances, Joshua Parker utilized a Mercury-Venus conjunction to provide him enough power to force Luke and Liv to merge. Jo and Kai, then later Luke and Kai channeled the same Mercury-Venus conjunction to complete the merge ceremony.
* **Auroras:** An *aurora* is a natural light display in the sky, predominantly seen in the high latitude regions. An aurora has been used by the Gemini Coven to banish the Heretics to the 1903 Prison World. Bonnie and Kai later channeled the Aurora to leave this prison world. It is interesting to note that Bonnie channeled both an Aurora and Lunar Eclipse, a rare and powerful feat, of the 1903 and 1994 prison worlds, respectively, to escape when the stability of the two worlds was in question.

## Nexus Vorti

Nexus Vorti is defined as a rare occurrence. These events are described as being so infrequent it's almost miraculous and can be channeled for enormous amounts of power to fuel near-impossible spells. A example of such are celestial events such as a full moon; it occurs once a month, only 12 days out of a year. However, there are two known miraculous Nexus Vortis.

In *From a Cradle to a Grave*, the birth of Hope and Henrik Mikaelson, two vampire-werewolf-witch tribrids, created a Nexus Vorti which Davina used to resurrect Mikael.

In *A Streetcar Named Desire*, the unlinking of Klaus from his sireline by Davina and The Sisters released enough mystical energy to create a Nexus Vorti which was used by Davina to resurrect Kol.

## Witches

Witches can channel other witches for more power. This is done by forming any connection, such as having another witch's possession or willingly creating a link to a specific witch.

## The Spirits

The Spirits are a source of massive power and before the collapse of The Other Side, widely used. Witches can channel their power to practice Spirit Magic. Spirit Magic can only be used how the Spirits see fit. When Bonnie went against the spirits of the 100 dead witches in order to resurrect Jeremy Gilbert, they cut her off from using their power because they felt she was abusing the power.

## The Ancestors

The Ancestors are a source of massive power in New Orleans. New Orleans witches channel their power to practice Ancestral Magic. Once a witch has died, they are consecrated, and the magic in their bones, and their spirit, are added to the ancestral power. While this restricts the witches, both living and dead, to New Orleans, it gives the coven the power, and the knowledge, of hundreds upon hundreds of witches. However, every three hundred years, the connection between the living witches, and the dead ones, begins to wane. In order to rebuild the connection, The Harvest must be performed. The Ancestors also seem to be a near divine pantheon to the living witches of New Orleans; the orders of the Ancestors are treated as divine edicts that must be obeyed.

## Magic Hotspots

A magic hotspot is a place eternally marked by the violent death of a witch. These Magical Hotspots allow witches to tap into the power of the dead witch to use as their own. Even if the Witch is resurrected, the Hotspot will still possess the magical energy from the violent death. One of the most powerful death spots includes the Witch Burial Ground where 100 witches were brutally burned to death. Esther channeled her own death spot in order to fight off Bonnie's locator spell, and to tap into Dark Magic to recreate an Original Vampire.

## Sacrifices

Sacrifices are a prominent element used in Sacrificial Magic and can be a source of significant power when used by a skilled user.

Papa Tunde sacrificed numerous vampires to fuel his magic, and to empower his blade with incredibly Dark Magic. Papa Tunde used Sacrificial Magic to subdue and channel Rebekah Mikaelson. By channeling her, Papa Tunde gained vampire like strength, the ability to heal incredibly fast and to recover from mortal wounds, such as a snapped neck.

Finn later channeled his vampire parents to obtain enough power to fight against two Original Vampires.

## Doppelgänger Blood

Doppelgänger's blood can be channeled as a source of massive power by a witch due to their nature being mystical and naturally recurring.

Markos and The Travelers valued doppelgänger blood as it presumably provided a significant boost to their cursed magic without suffering it's repercussions. They are frequently shown performing spells with blood they collected from Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore and can be used to enhance the strength of a witch to superhuman levels. They most notably channeled blood from the last remaining pair Doppelgängers to first resurrect Markos, then to perform the Magic Purification Spell.

Qetsiyah once notably channeled Elena, Katherine and Amara's blood for to transfer The Anchor status to Bonnie in place of a Full Moon.

Esther was notable for incorporating doppelgänger blood in her spells such as in the creation of the Original Vampires and it's use in The Hybrid Curse.

## Dark Objects

Dark objects can also be channeled due to their mystical nature. Davina Claire once channeled dark objects and a Nexus Vorti to have the power to resurrect Mikael from the Other Side before it collapsed. By channeling the dark objects incorporated into the Resurrection Spell, so that she could track Mikael. On another occasion she channeled other objects to create a poison that could be infused with her blood capable of incapacitating Niklaus Mikaelson when he fed on her. Kol Mikaelson (possessing the witch Kaleb Westphall) and his sister Rebekah (possessing the witch Eva Sinclair) once used Klaus' stash of dark objects, then eventually Klaus himself, to overwhelm their brother Finn (possessing the witch Vincent Griffith) and force him to relinquish his massive power source. Before Klaus agreed to have them channel him, they were feeding Finn additional power before he released the magic.

## Talismans

*Main article: Talismans*
Witches can use talismans to help them channel magic and focusing their powers work their spells. Many powerful witches have created their own Talismans; such as Emily, Esther, Dahlia, and Tessa.

* **Silas' Tombstone:** Silas' tombstone contained the calcified blood of the powerful witch Qetsiyah. Through contact with the tombstone, Bonnie Bennett was able to channel the power of Qetsiyah from her blood contained within the tombstone, even though Qetsiyah herself had been long dead. It's power was capable of being used in place of a Full Moon.
* **Freya's Talisman:** Originally used to focus her power, the talisman was created by Dahlia and Freya could not only draw power from it but could use it to trap the spirits of their family members. This was seen when she forced Finn's soul out of Vincent and contained his spirit in the crystal. Through this talisman, Freya was then able to channel the power of her brother and use it to her advantage, though only with his permission.

## Drawbacks

"*Look, a witch can only ever channel so much power. After that, things start to get ugly. I mean, they'll literally start to disintegrate from the inside. He'll either have to release the power, or, well... let it kill him.*"
— **Kol Mikaelson**

Despite being commonly employed by witches, channeling comes with certain risks. There is an upper limit to the amount a of energy one can channel although it varies between witches based on their experience and knowledge.

It was first noted in *Know Thy Enemy* by Jeremy Gilbert after reading a warning in Bonnie's grimoire and later in *The Devil is Damned* by Kol Mikaelson that channeling too much energy recklessly can lead to unpleasant consequences including the very death of said witch. At the same time, the energy within witches are finite and drawing from oneself or other witches for a taxing spell can cause bodily harm such are nose bleeds and may ultimately lead to death.

Additionally, objects providing significant power to channel can sometimes be hard to find and may not always be readily accessible. (i.e. Doppelgänger's blood, locate magical hotspots, special astronomical events). Channeling the Sun or Moon for power may be subjected to the duration of their astrological cycles.

## Notable Users

### The Vampire Diaries

* Bonnie Bennett
* Luka Martin
* Esther Mikaelson
* Qetsiyah
* Olivia Parker

### The Originals

* Ancestral Witches
* Davina Claire
* Finn Mikaelson
* Kol Mikaelson
* Rebekah Mikaelson

## Trivia

* It is one of the two basic witch powers along with Spell Casting.
* A witch channeling another witch may require a personal artifact or object of said witch, turning the object into a talisman.
* In a deleted scene of *By the Light of the Moon*, during the conversation between Bonnie and Luka, he suggest that the reason celestial events provide power was because they are cyclical.
* Channeling too much energy can kill a witch. In *The Devil is Damned*, Kol explains that a witch can only ever channel so much power and that an overload of channeled energy can consume the witch, disintegrating them from the inside out. This can result in the witch's death, if that power is not released.
	+ It had been shown twice by two witches, Bonnie and Finn who was possessing Vincent Griffith, though the latter did not die as he released it.
* As shown in *Know Thy Enemy,* witches can channel the power of more than one witch where Bonnie successfully harnessed the powers of a hundred dead witches.
* A subsection of witches known as Siphoners are born without any magic, therefore are unable to channel. Instead, they possess another ability, known as siphoning.