Mythological concepts in Harry Potter series
In this article I will analyze mythological concepts and symbols used in the Harry Potter franchise.
Golden Snitch
The Golden snitch is a ball in the quidditch game. It’s a golden winged orb, and in the story, Dumbledore hides the Resurrection stone inside.
J. K. Rowling borrowed this concept from mythology, more specifically alchemy. You can find the Golden Snitch on the Ripley’s scroll from 15th century in the form of the Winged (or Round) Chaos.
The Winged Chaos represents a psychopomp, a messenger of Gods. Those are entities that can communicate between conscious and unconscious (or Worldly and Underworldly) realms. In mythology generally represented by Hermes, Mercury, Iris, Heimdallr and Ratatoskr.
The Ripley’s scroll is an alchemical text, a guide to making the Philosopher’s stone (or Sorcerer’s stone — the theme of the first installment of Harry Potter series).
