This article is part of a directory: The Witcher 3: Full Guide and Walkthrough
Table of contents

The Witcher universe is packed with interesting creatures and lore, to the point that it's nearly impossible to know everything there is to know. The Witcher has also continued to expand with time, and the franchise now includes Andrzej Sapkowski's original novels, the video games from CD Projekt Red, and the show on Netflix. There are many variations between the three major versions of The Witcher, but one of the biggest constants is the Conjunction of the Spheres - and for good reason.

The Conjunction of the Spheres is the event that created the Continent as fans know it. Without it, the Continent would be completely different and Witchers wouldn't even exist. However, because it's such an ancient event and the name almost feels scientific rather than magical, a lot of fans don't really understand what it is. It's not always explained clearly because, for the characters, the Conjunction is common knowledge. The opening monologue in in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does a good job of explaining it concisely, but there's a lot more to unpack about the massive, multi-dimensional event that started it all.

RELATED: What We Want to See In The Witcher 4

The Continent Before the Conjunction of the Spheres

4K Clouds Mod For The Witcher 3

The Conjunction of the Spheres occurred about 1,500 years before Geralt of Rivia's story begins. Before the Conjunction, the Continent was a vastly different (and much less dangerous) place. Originally, the planet was home to only gnomes, dwarves, and other Elder races such as the elves. It wasn't the original home of the elven races, but they did arrive before the Conjunction.

Of the original inhabitants, gnomes are the oldest. They were probably the original occupants of the continent before the dwarves arrived. Elves made their way to the Continent much later in "white ships," according to the dwarf Yarpen Zigrin. It's unknown exactly where the elves came from, but Ciri's Elder Blood comes from elven heritage.

The exact cause of the Conjunction is also unknown, but the Continent was never the same after it happened. The Witcher universe isn't limited to just the Continent; it's a vast multiverse filled with tons of different races and creatures, magical or otherwise. During the Conjunction, those many worlds overlapped, and the lines between them became blurred. As a result, the Continent became home to humans and countless varieties of monsters. The Conjunction also created chaos, the energy required for magic.

How the Conjunction of the Spheres Changed the Continent

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt monster fighting

The boundaries between universes did not remain blurred forever, and when the Conjunction ended, many different creatures found themselves trapped in the Continent. Beau DeMayo, the screenwriter for The Witcher, described the results of the Conjunction as a "refugee situation." Monsters, humans, and everything in between had to adapt and figure out how to survive in their unfamiliar new home; there was no going back.

No one knew how to harness chaos and transform it into magic at the time, and no one was prepared to fight the bloodthirsty monsters that now called the Continent home. The world was volatile and extremely dangerous for many years until slowly, the Conjunction faded into ancient history and no one alive could remember the world any other way.

Sorceresses and mages learned how to harness and control chaos, and Witchers were created to combat the monsters. The need for Witchers arose specifically because of the Conjunction of the Spheres; normal people were not able to stand against hordes of monsters. Witchers spent hundreds of years working to eliminate monsters in exchange for coin, to the point of putting themselves out of business. During Geralt of Rivia's time as a Witcher, the class is dying out and no more are being created.

Even though it sometimes fades into the background and feels like old news, the Conjunction of the Spheres is the most important phenomenon in The Witcher's universe. It's the reason why Geralt is able to be a Witcher and Yennefer is able to be a sorceress. Put simply, the Conjunction is the foundation for all the stories and characters that fans know and love.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

MORE: How The Witcher Games Improved from the Original to Wild Hunt