The Merge

The Merge
Event Information
Location	Portland, Oregon
Date(s)	May 10, 1994 (Attempted) February 4, 2013 (Interrupted) February 4, 2013 (Successful)
Participants	Jo & Kai, 1994 Jo & Kai, 2013 Luke & Kai, 2013

“	There's an issue I've been worried about since the merge because we really didn't do it right. You know, the whole , "You're not my twin" "Hey. That's okay. Close enough" plan? It worked, which is, you know, cool.	”
	— Kai in Let Her Go

The Merge is a powerful ritual performed as a practiced tradition by the Gemini Coven that determined who will be their next leader. It takes place in the Gemini Coven when two twins reach their 22nd birthday.

Practice

Due to the twins being the first in line for the leadership of the coven, they are required to perform Merging, through which their strength would be merged together and all of their combined magic would be absorbed by one twin. The stronger twin survives the spell and is empowered by their magic as well as the magic of their twin. The weaker twin, however, is drained of their magic and dies.

Requirements for The Merge

• To Activate a Merging: Both twins must perform a spell together in order to begin. It's important that both twins hold each other's hands in order to maintain a connection and the blood drawn from the two witches will merge.
  • Incantation: Sanguinem desimilus! Sanguinem generis fiantus!
• Celestial Event: The power of an eclipse will merge both twins as one in order to channel each other's magic. The stronger twin survives and is empowered by their magic as well as the magic of their twin. The weaker twin is drained of all their magic and dies during or after the spell.

Twins

• Joshua Parker and his twin brother.
• Malachai Parker and Josette Parker.
• Olivia Parker and Lucas Parker.
• Lizzie Saltzman and Josie Saltzman.

Gallery

Jo & Kai 1994

Jo & Kai 2013

Luke & Kai 2013

Trivia

• The twins can be forced to merge; as long as the witch who is merging them has hold of each of the twins' hands, they can forcibly merge the twins regardless of whether or not they consent.
  • Joshua Parker tried to forcibly merge Luke and Liv, though he was interrupted by Tyler before the ritual could be completed.
• Through a loophole, Luke and Kai performed the merge, as they were both biologically 22 years old and shared a bloodline despite the fact that they weren't actually each other's twin. The merge took place regardless, with Kai emerging as the winner.
  • It was shown in Let Her Go, that the merge, although successful, was causing Kai to degenerate magically, as they were not born as each other's twin. Because of this, Jo was forced to give Kai her magic as well to ensure that Kai, as the leader of the coven, would not die, as it would cause the entirety of the Gemini Coven (including herself) to die along with him. However, because she gave him her magic voluntarily after Luke had already merged with Kai, Jo did not die from this transfer of magical power.
• After the merge, the stronger twin will absorb some of the qualities of the weaker twin, whether be it qualities of personality, appearance, or even sexual orientation, as hinted by Kai. For example, Kai absorbed Luke's empathetic tendencies, allowing him to actually feel emotions such as guilt and remorse for the first time. Kai also insinuated that his sexual orientation had become more fluid as a result of the merge, as Kai was straight, while Luke was gay.
• The exact reason for the Merge Ritual was not really revealed, however since this is unnatural and probably going against a rule of Nature, Siphoners were created by Nature and are only found in the Gemini Coven.
• Every merge that has happened so far in the TVD universe has included Kai.
• In I'll Tell You a Story, it is revealed that the Merge is a curse bestowed on the Gemini twins, and will affect them even if they're the only remaining members of Coven.

See also

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