Today we’re going to be discussing Hogwarts and the four animal mascots that represent the Hogwarts house system.
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The Four Hogwarts Houses
At Hogwarts, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. These houses were created by the original four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff.
Why Four Houses?
Why four houses? Well, put as simply as possible, there were four founders, and each founder wanted to teach the students in their own way. Dividing the students accordingly seemed like the best course of action.
Each of the four houses created by the school’s founders can be represented in a number of different ways. The first and most obvious identifier of a Hogwarts house is the use of their signature colours.
Slytherin can be identified by green and silver, Hufflepuff by yellow and black, Ravenclaw by blue and bronze (blue and silver in the movies), and Gryffindor by red and gold. These colours can be found plastered all over the common rooms and uniforms of the respective houses.
The House Mascots
But that’s not the only way to identify a Hogwarts house. The cornerstones of the Hogwarts house system, and perhaps the most iconic symbols associated with each house, are the house mascots.
- Gryffindor: Lion
- Slytherin: Serpent
- Hufflepuff: Badger
- Ravenclaw: Eagle (Raven in the films)
The Lion
When it comes to the Hogwarts house animals, it’s important that we look beyond their physical stature and instead shift our focus to the symbolism associated with these different animals. To begin, let’s kick things off with The Lion, Gryffindor’s mascot—a king in our own animal kingdom and a creature that is unquestionably symbolic on a vast number of levels.
The Sorting Hat had this to say of Gryffindor House:
You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart, their daring nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.
Bravery and chivalry are two of the most prominent features of Gryffindor House, and it just so happens that lions symbolize these two traits perfectly.
Gryffindor is also the ruling house in the series due to its connection with the main protagonists, and even its house colours of red and gold signify royalty.
The Serpent
Moving on from the lion, we’re going to discuss its nemesis, the Serpent.
Or perhaps in Slytherin you’ll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.
The general theme in Harry Potter is that Slytherins are conniving, ambitious, and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, even if that means stepping on a few toes along the way.
However, the biggest reason for Salazar Slytherin choosing this house mascot was undoubtedly his unique connection to snakes. For you see, Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth, a wizard that had the innate ability to talk to snakes.
The Badger
Next up we’ve got the Badger, the mascot of House Hufflepuff.
You might belong in Hufflepuff where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil.
The Badger, though fierce and powerful, is the one who has quite a reserved disposition, commonly leading a quiet life and not revealing its true ferocity until provoked.
Hufflepuff is commonly written off, a joke, an afterthought, but in truth, they were the second most represented house during the Battle of Hogwarts and have achieved more than their fair share of success.
The Eagle
First, let’s address the elephant, or raven, in the room. Ravenclaw’s house mascot is not a raven; it’s an eagle.
The overarching character trait associated with Ravenclaw is undoubtedly intelligence, or wisdom, and in this regard, they couldn’t have picked a better mascot.
In Mesopotamian folklore, the eagle is double-headed, representing its ability to see in both directions at the same time and emphasizing its association with wisdom. Doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Why Not Magical Creatures?
Ilvermorny may have houses named after magical beasts, but that school was founded by different people in a different part of the world in a different era. Thunderbirds, Wampus Cats, Horned Serpents, and Pukwudgies are impressive, but these creatures were chosen fairly arbitrarily.
The choices made by the original four founders of Hogwarts were made for a reason. The houses at Ilvermorny are looked at as pieces of a whole, where Hogwarts Houses have entirely their own identities, existing independently from one another.
A Final Theory
And one last theory to close off this blog post, since this is Harry Potter Theory: the animals associated with each house were representative of the Hogwarts founders’ Patronus animals.
According to Harry Potter lore, the animal shape of the Patronus is determined by the personality of the caster. The only issue with this theory is that I’m not sure whether Salazar Slytherin would have been able to produce a Patronus.
And that’s it for this theory! Did you ever ask yourself these questions? Got any more for me? Leave a comment down below.
