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The Mikaelsons' mother, Esther, was a powerful witch. Her spellbook contains enchantments that we can use to our own ends. I can steal it for our coven and we'll never be held in subjugation again.
Genevieve about Esther's Grimoires in The Big Uneasy

Esther's Grimoires are a series of spellbooks left behind by Esther, the Original Witch, containing spells and rituals that she created, studied, or performed.

The grimoires are currently in the possession of the Mikaelson Family, though Elijah previously had promised a few pages to Davina Claire to help her control her magic as part of a deal he struck with her. This was no longer necessary after the completion of the Harvest. The books were later desired by Genevieve. It is believed she intended to use the books to increase her Coven's power. It is possible that the Immortality Spell that she used to turn her children into vampires is located in one these books. Some of the books were destroyed by Davina's spell in an effort to find a cure for the the Hollow's dark magic that was consuming Hope Mikaelson. Hope also has at least one grimoire at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted which has also been used by both Lizzie and Josie Saltzman.

History[]

In Fruit of the Poisoned Tree, the Spell of Unknotting from one of her grimoires is practiced and performed by Davina. It was given to her by Elijah because the life of Klaus and Hayley's daughter was in danger. She was under the impression that he gave her the spell to help her to learn to control her magic. However, Elijah's true intentions were for Davina to complete the spell which was used, unknown to Davina, with Representation Magic, which also broke the link between Hayley and Sophie Deveraux.

Esther'sgrimgrim

In The Big Uneasy, Genevieve planned on stealing the grimoires for herself. Esther's spells are infamous, even to the current generation of witches, and she sought to strengthen her own and her coven's magic with Esther's spells. She sends a tattooed witch to the compound thinking that Klaus will already be at the feast. Klaus, however, suspected Genevieve's intentions to steal the books and waited to confront her. Klaus kills the man she sent after the grimoires and proceeds to presents Genevieve with the man's hands in a box as a gruesome gift, mocking her for thinking he would leave it unprotected.

In An Unblinking Death, Elijah hid the grimoire from Klaus so that he can't use it for whatever he has planned with the Crescent wolves. Elijah later returns it to Klaus when he decides to side with his brother and the wolves for the impending war.

Known Pages and Spells[]

The Spell of Unknotting[]

The pages for the Spell of Unknotting were the first pages given to Davina by Elijah in Fruit of the Poisoned Tree so that, unbeknownst to her, she may break the link that Sophie Deveraux had created between herself and Hayley Marshall. According to Elijah, the spell is one of the later spells of Esther and requires much power to successfully master. The spell is performed by magically undoing a Sanguinum knot which is used by witches in Representational Magic. In A Spirit Here That Won't Be Broken, Davina recalled Elijah giving her the spell and suggested that could be used to break the magical link between her and the Hollow. However, since she had just been resurrected, she was too weak and needed to find a coven to perform it. Kol knew of the spell and instead decided to have Hope, though young and undisciplined but powerful, to cast the spell. Hope was successful and broke the link by non-verbally concentrating on the Sanguinum knot.

Incantation: Phesmatos omnio ligor coldate sangorium. Phesmatos omnio ligata soluto. Phesmatos omnio ligata soluto vingulia cordit.

The Spell for Spirit Trapping[]

In Le Grand Guignol, Elijah gives a spell from his mother's grimoire to Monique Deveraux. This spell will make sure that Celeste Dubois can't jump into another body once she kills herself. Instead, she will go back to her original body. The spell is successful and Celeste is back into her own body. Elijah kills her for good after being reunited with her body. The spell was done by gathering the bones of the target and setting them on the floor. The skull of the target was anointed before being covered by a thick white sheet.

Incantation: À ses restes, retourne au sol.

The Spell for Daylight Rings[]

In An Unblinking Death, Klaus gave Davina the spell to create a daylight ring as a token of good will, so she could use it for Josh. The spell, at least in some circles, became widely known by witches throughout the centuries and was created by the creator of vampires, the powerful witch Esther. When Katerina Petrova fled Klaus in 1492 England, she made a copy of this spell to eventually have a witch make her a daylight bracelet. The Strix gained this spell through Elijah while Marcel by the Original family during his 200+ years during their time in New Orleans.

The Spell for Moonlight Rings[]

In The Battle of New Orleans, Klaus, in order to get numerous moonlight rings for Hayley's pack, gives Genevieve the spell from his mother's grimoire. This is basically the counterpart of the daylight spell for vampires. It binds protective magic to black kyanite stones, ridding the werewolves wearing them of the inconvenience of having to turn on a full moon. Genevieve changed the spell with a few others from Esther's grimoire to enhance a werewolf wearer's strength, speed, and agility. Finally, the combination allows the wearer access to their bite that is venomous to vampires. This spell is performed around a cluster of candles when the full moon reaches its apex. The stones are placed in a spiral pattern within a circular pattern of salt. In the episode, drops of blood from a werewolf that does not need to turn are splattered on them. The incantation is then chanted until what appears to be scratch marks are seen on the stones. However, the wolf whose blood was offered must pay a hefty price: whenever a wolf using the rings benefits from its power, they are merely drawing strength from the former, causing disorientation, insatiable hunger, and over-all weakness.

Incantation: Matere Lunare Tua Vi'rtuse.

The Resurrection Spell[]

In From a Cradle to a Grave, Davina used this spell to resurrect Mikael. A witch casting this spell must channel power from a Nexus Vorti, an event so infrequent it is almost miraculous. She drew a circle on the floor with white chalk and created another circle within by scattering what seems to be Mikael's ashes. She took dark objects created by the witches that came before her from Father Kieran's secret stash to aid her in her spell. She then placed them on the four corners of the compass on the circle. She chanted the words as Mikael slowly and painfully returned to flesh. The sheer exhaustion from casting this spell caused Davina to lose consciousness temporarily. However, she woke up in time to reveal a catch in the spell. One of the dark objects she used to bring Mikael back was a bracelet that allowed her to gain complete control over Mikael's whereabouts, sort of linking them. Mikael cannot be too far from Davina, because the bracelet magically "pulls him along", showing that this spell could be manipulated to the caster's choosing.

Incantation: La cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie. De la cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie. From ash to bone, from bone to flesh, from flesh to life.

The Mind Breaching Spell[]

In Exquisite Corpse, Esther, possessing the former witch, Lenore, now a vampire, provided Freya the spell to breach Eva's mind in order to free Rebekah's subconscious mind.

Incantation: Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus. Per menta mi heava cor anmina. Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus.

Sireline Unlinking Spell[]

In A Streetcar Named Desire, Davina was finally able to finish and cast the Sireline Unlinking Spell, given the proper binding agent, an unsired vampire's heart. She wanted to perform it on Klaus and Elijah, though Elijah was freed from the spell before she could complete it. Klaus, however, was not as fortunate and she was able to unlink all of his sires. The massive amount of Dark Magic that was released created a Nexus Vorti.

Incantation: Nemo unus animabus carnem et sanguinem.

Spirit Sealing Spell[]

In Alone with Everybody, Davina utilized one of Esther's Grimoires in order to seal Finn's spirit within his vampire body to prevent him from stealing and possessing another witch's body.

Incantation: Lié cle vie la lumiere le sien lache.

Appearances[]

The Originals[]

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

Season Five

Legacies[]

Season One

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The grimoires are around a thousand years old, the oldest known grimoires in existence, and are possibly in Elder Futhark or a derivative thereof, as Esther was shown using these runes in Dangerous Liaisons to cast the Linking Spell. 
  • In An Unblinking Death, Elijah hid the grimoire from Klaus because he suspects that Klaus' sudden interest in the grimoire has something to do with his business with the Crescent Wolf Pack.
  • The spell for the moonlight rings is in the grimoire.
  • In The Originals: The Rise, Elijah mentions that the grimoires were kept as a myth to prevent witches from getting their hands on the powerful spells contained within.
    • This would later prove to be beneficial on the Mikaelson's part as the witch Elder, Genevieve, attempted on several occasions to obtain the coveted books.
  • In Where Nothing Stays Buried, Freya speaks of Esther's Original Vampire Spell and states "according to her grimoire, only the witch who cast the spell could undo it." This implies that both the Original Vampire Spell and the Vampirism Reversal Ritual (that Esther previously attempted in All My Children) were contained within its pages.
  • In The Bloody Crown, Freya combined Dahlia's Immortality Slumber Spell and Esther's Original Linking Ritual to save her siblings and herself from death. It is likely that the Original Linking Spell was contained within the grimoire in order for Freya to utilize the spell.
  • In I'll Tell You a Story, Lizzie was reading one of Esther's Grimoires presumably from Hope's possession.

See also[]

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