Celestial Spirit Gate Keys are Magic Items used by Celestial Spirit Mages to summon Celestial Spirits.
Description[]
These Magic Items are magical keys that can be used to summon Celestial Spirits, beings from another dimension through their Gates that can be used to fight their contractor's opponents, to do chores or just to hang around with. There are two different types of Celestial Spirit Gate Keys: the Silver Keys and the Gold Keys. The Silver Keys are common keys that can be bought from stores while the Gold Keys are very rare keys that can be used to summon the Zodiac Spirits.[1] According to Yukino, it is said that when all twelve Zodiac Keys are gathered, one is able to "open the gate to changing the world".[2]
It is possible for a Celestial Spirit Mage to summon the Celestial Spirit King, who does not have a physical key, but there are certain conditions to do so. The first condition is the ability to summon at least three Spirits at once. The second is that a Golden Zodiac Key must be sacrificed to do so. The final condition is that the Mage and the Spirit of the Key must have a high level of trust between them. Whichever Key is sacrificed to summon the King will then crumble to pieces, and will henceforth be unusable. As such, the Spirit of the Key will no longer be able to travel the Mage's world. Therefore doing so is considered the very last resort.[3]
It is apparently possible for the sacrificed key to reforge into a new key once again in one year, which will appear at a random location somewhere in the world.[4]
Types[]
Gold Keys[]
| Gold Keys | ||||||
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| Name | Description | Key | ||||
| Gate of the Water Bearer Key | This key summons the Water Bearer, Aquarius. | 
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| Gate of the Golden Bull Key | This key summons the Golden Bull, Taurus. | 
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| Gate of the Giant Crab Key | This key summons the Giant Crab, Cancer. | 
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| Gate of the Maiden Key | This key summons the Maiden, Virgo. | 
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| Gate of the Archer Key | This key summons the Archer, Sagittarius. | 
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| Gate of the Lion Key | This key summons the Lion, Leo. | 
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| Gate of the Twins Key | This key summons the Twins, Gemini. | 
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| Gate of the Ram Key | This key summons the Ram, Aries. | 
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| Gate of the Scorpion Key | This key summons the Scorpion, Scorpio. | 
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| Gate of the Goat Key | This key summons the Goat, Capricorn. | 
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| Gate of the Paired Fish Key | This key summons the Paired Fish, Pisces. | 
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| Gate of the Heavenly Scales Key | This key summons the Heavenly Scales, Libra. | 
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Silver Keys[]
| Silver Keys | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Description | Key | ||||
| Gate of the Southern Cross Key | This key summons the Southern Cross, Crux. | 
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| Gate of the Clock Key | This key summons the Clock, Horologium. | 
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| Gate of the Canis Minor Key | This key summons the Canis Minor, Nikora. | 
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| Gate of the Lyre Key | This key summons the Lyre, Lyra. | 
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| Gate of the Chisel Key | This key summons the Chisel, Caelum. | 
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| Gate of the Compass Key | This key summons the Compass, Pyxis. | 
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| Gate of the Bear Cub Key | This key summons the Bear Cub, Polaris. | 
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| Gate of the Swan Key | This key summons the Swan, Deneb. | 
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Black Keys[]
| Black Keys | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Description | Key | ||||
| Gate of the Snake Charmer Key | This key summons the Snake Charmer, Ophiuchus. | 
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Artificial Keys[]
| Artificial Keys | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Description | Key | ||||
| Celestial Spirit Banishment Keys | These keys are able to forcefully close the 12 Golden Gates. | 
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Trivia[]
Plue's key as originally depicted in the manga
- The Golden keys appear to be more stylized in the anime, appearing with intricately designed bows, handles and blades to the theme of the summoned Spirit, while in the manga they appear as ordinary keys with octagonal shaped bows and respective Constellation's symbol engraved in its center.[5] Recent chapters in the manga depict the keys in their stylized forms, as seen when Lucy summoned Taurus and Scorpio simultaneously[6] or when Yukino offers Lucy her two keys.[7]