As a fan of the Harry Potter book series, I'm curious as to whether there is any religious significance to the attributes/charracterists of the four Hogwarts houses.
Gryffindor - courage
Slytherin - power
Ravenclaw - knowledge
Hufflepuff - diligence
2007-12-19 13:37:34 · 18 answers · asked by Searcher 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I think there is a Pagan conneciton here, but not the one you'd think. If I recall, the 4 Virtues held in Ancient Greece were: Courage, Strength, Wisdom and Fortitude. Replace Knowledge for Wisom (obviously connected) and Strength for power... Dilligence is just another word for Fortitude, we end up with the ancient Greek 4 Virtues. So, yes, Paleo-pagan. These virtues haven't carried out to many modern Pagan groups I've come in contact with.
2007-12-20 08:52:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Banning is never the answer. It's true that people get harrassed, but everyone gets harrassed because of their religion. It just depends on where you live, and how you decide to represent it, and how the person doing the harrassing decides to approach. If they ask an innocent question, and the other person gets really offended and acts like an idiot instead of answering calmly, it can make the asker think that what they asked is true. I am Wiccan, and I see nothing wrong with the Harry Potter books. They're good books,(A little predictable though..) and they do not promote the bullying of pagans, nor does it make fun of wicca. J.K Rowling has even said that. The story is your classic good vs evil. No where in the books do they mention gods or goddesses, whether in a good or bad way. The only thing it really makes fun of is divination. Charmed does at least show that there is a different between the Charmed One's and other witches who practice it as a religion. The only thing is that they're a bit out of touch from reality, considering that every week a new baddy shows up to kill them. I don't know about you, but my potions don't come out looking completely clear and a nice red or green color, and they don't explode if I drop them, either. They're works of fiction. If we start banning books because some people are ignorant about what they speak, then we may as well ban everything, and I think that would make for a pretty dull world, don't you? Instead of banning something, why not start an ezine, or something? Something like the "Watchtower" that Jehovah's Witnesses read and hand out. Explain how the pagan religions work, answer all those offensive questions in a calm, logical way. Don't ban information, make more available.
2016-05-25 02:51:29 · answer #2 · answered by machelle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As someone else mentioned, there are elemental attributions to the four houses, but Harry Potter is not a Wiccan, or even a Pagan book. The few parallels that do exist are there because Rawling researched mythology and folklore to base some of her concepts, characters, and creatures on. Beyond a few surface details, there are no similarities between the witchcraft of Harry Potter and modern Wicca. Actually, there are some Christian parallels as well, especially in the later books.
2007-12-20 06:28:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
According to JK Rowling, the four houses represent the four elements - Gryffindor is fire, Slytherin is water, Ravenclaw is air, and Hufflepuff is earth. The characteristics of each house relate to those elements. The four elements is an ancient pagan tradition, going back to the Greeks at least.
2007-12-19 13:56:13 · answer #4 · answered by moon watcher 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No moreso than any other religion - those characteristics aren't limited to any one religion.
Harry Potter has about as much in common with Wicca as a turnip does, so there's no special "Wiccan significance" to the series.
2007-12-19 13:41:17 · answer #5 · answered by Nandina (Bunny Slipper Goddess) 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Sorry mate, solely a work of fiction with no connection to Wicca or the modern practice of witchcraft.
I don't know what Ms. Rowling had in mind, and I am sure anyone can make their own correlations, but it has no specific connection to neo-pagan spirituality.
2007-12-19 13:58:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
There is a great deal of LORE in her books, yes. Religious significance? Not really.
2007-12-20 08:03:02 · answer #7 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. It's just a series of stories. Which I happen to love, but still. Just stories. Those are good traits to have regardless of what your religious beliefs are (including non-beliefs).
)O(
2007-12-20 06:36:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
None whatsoever, but I like the books too. Mostly because kids love to read them.
2007-12-19 13:46:06 · answer #9 · answered by Lord Lothian 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not in any pagan or Wiccan tradition. The author probably put some meaning in to it though.
2007-12-19 13:42:47 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋