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 basic power of witches to draw extra power from Nature, the elements, celestial events, from other witches or supernatural beings 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. Depending on the rarity of the celestial event, more power can be channeled by the witch.

## 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, the sun is the most accessible celestial event that witches can use and channel. During the creation of the Original vampires, Esther Mikaelson used the sun for life in her version of the Immortality Spell. Consequently, it also contributed to the vampire's weakness to sunlight as Nature and the Spirits retaliated, turning the things used in the spell against them. Silas also channeled the sun and bound a boundary spell with it, trapping Qetsiyah and all those who entered the cabin within until the sun set.
* **Moon:** The various phases of the moon, and more potently the full moon is typically used as a rare, recurrent celestial event for powerful spells and rituals by various witches and covens. Esther used the full moon to bind Klaus' werewolf side. Likewise, Greta Martin used the full moon, along with other pieces of the ritual, to break the Hybrid Curse that bound Klaus' werewolf nature. Bonnie Bennett has used the moon on a number of occasions to fuel her spells. For example, while using Expression, she channeled and bound a boundary spell to the new moon, allowing the spell to last 3–4 days. Similarly, Céleste Dubois 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:** Eclipse are rare celestial occurrences, and have 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 is 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:** Comets are icy bodies that orbit the sun and are distinguished by their visible tails. They are credited as great sources of power for witches as they occur so infrequent. Emily Bennett channeled an over-passing comet to empower herself with enough strength to trap a number of vampires within a tomb under Fell Church. Her spell would last for over 145 years. When the comet returned, Emily 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.
* **Meteor Shower:** 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, Gemini Coven Merge ritual 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. Josette 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, a coven of witch-vampire hybrids to the 1903 Prison World. When the stability of the two prison worlds was in question, Bonnie channeled both the 1903 aurora and 1994 lunar eclipse to escape. Returning to the 1903 prison world, Bonnie channeled the aurora again to free herself, Damon, Elena, and Lily. Likewise, Kai presumably channeled the aurora to leave the prison world.
* **Supernovas:** A *supernova* is an astronomical event that occurs during the final evolutionary stages of a star and is typically characterized by a very bright explosion. Particularly, this supernova was once in a lifetime as it could be seen by the naked eye.
* **Planetary Transit:** A planetary transit is a phenomenon when a smaller celestial body passes directly between a larger body and the observer, covering a small portion of it. It can be thought of as a special kind of eclipse and, as seen from the Earth, occurs when the inner planets, Mercury and Venus, passes over the disk of the sun. Such celestial events are far more rare than eclipses of the Sun by the Moon.

## Nexus Vorti

A Nexus Vorti, as defined by Mikael based on his wife, Esther's, knowledge in witchcraft, is a rare occurrence. It is something so infrequent, it's almost a miracle, like an astrological event. While this, generally, encompasses all celestial events, this term has specifically been used to describe two particular events; the birth of miracle baby, Hope Mikaelson and her children, and the unlinking of Niklaus' sireline. Mikael convinced Davina to resurrect him from the imploding Other Side. Using Esther's grimoire, Davina learned that she needed to channel the power from a nexus vorti. Using Hope's birth from a few hours prior and a small collection of dark objects, she successfully performed the resurrection spell on Mikael. Again, Davina and the Sisters coven performed the Sireline Unlinking spell on Klaus, freeing his sireline. As a result of the spell, Freya claimed that he hemorrhaged an enormous amount of mystical energy, enough to create a nexus vorti. Davina, once again, used this nexus vorti with Klaus and Elijah's blood and Kol's ashes and performed another resurrection spell for Kol, bringing him back from the Ancestral Plane.

## 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 were 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 have Emily resurrect Jeremy Gilbert, they cut her off from using their power because they felt she was abusing the power.

## The Ancestors

The Ancestors were 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 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 Qetsiyah.

* **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

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

It was first noted by Jeremy Gilbert after reading a warning in Bonnie's grimoire and later 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 is finite and drawing from oneself or other witches for a taxing spell can cause bodily harm such as nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and, can lead to death if over exerted.

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.