The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter (66 page)

hen Harry’s classmates discover he can talk with snakes, most are horrified and suspect the worst—that Harry is really a dark
wizard
. After all, in the wizarding community, snakes are virtually synonymous with evil. The Dark Mark, sign of the Death Eaters, features a snake tongue jutting from the mouth of a human skull; Slytherin House, apparent home to many enthusiasts of the
Dark Arts
, is represented by the sign of the serpent; and Lord Voldemort is nourished by the venom of his serpentine companion Nagini. Yet chances are we’ve only heard half the story about snakes, and why it is that Harry can chat so easily with a boa constrictor or command an attacking serpent to behave itself. In cultures all over the world, serpents have been held in the highest regard and have been associated not only with evil but with wisdom, insight, and healing.

The human fascination with snakes dates back far earlier than written language, to the earliest paintings and carvings that have survived on rocks and in caves. More cults have been dedicated to the worship of snakes than any other animal. At one time or another, they were sacred to the Norse of northern Europe, the Aztecs of Central America, and tribal kingdoms of West Africa, as well as peoples of the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin, China, and India. In India,
Nagini
are a group of snake beings portrayed as lovely women with the heads of serpents or surrounded by coiled serpents. Voldemort’s snake shares her name with these auspicious beings, who are believed to provide protection from all kinds of hazards, including snakebite.

Even where snakes were worshipped, however, they were also feared. Wicked, deceitful serpents rear their heads in many Egypt ian myths. In the ancient Egyptian
Book of the Dead
, the monstrous serpent Apophis appears frequently as an aggressive and treacherous instrument of evil. Known as the “demon of darkness,” Apophis wages constant battle with the sun god, Ra, and each day’s sunrise and sunset indicates another successful defeat of Ra’s serpentine enemy. In Norse mythology, the serpent Nidhogg, also known as the Dread Biter, lives at the foot of the Tree of Life, continually gnawing at it and representing the evil powers of the universe. The most villainous snake in Western culture is the one responsible for the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, as recounted in the Old Testament book of Genesis. Elsewhere in the Bible, serpents appear frequently as objects of danger and dread, and in Jewish and Christian culture, the snake has remained a symbol of evil. Muslims also shun the snake as a symbol of the fall of man.

But despite such powerful associations with evil, noble qualities have very often been attributed to the snake in myth, folklore, and religion. The snake-fearing Egyptians revered the cobra as the repository of supreme wisdom. The Cretan Mother Goddess, a protector of households, is shown on coins caressing a snake. In many agricultural societies, serpents were regarded as symbols of fertility and the key to good crops. (For good reason: They ate the rodents that would have otherwise helped themselves to grain.) The serpent was a symbol of healing to the ancient Greeks, twisting itself around the staff of Asclepius, the god of medicine (see
magic wand
). In Rome, snakes were often kept as house pets, and carved snake
amulets
were quite popular. Because it sheds its skin, the snake is almost universally linked with rebirth and renewal.

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photo credit 73.1
)

It may be because most of us have little contact with snakes that even the most basic facts about them are not well known. For example, when Harry speaks to snakes he’s engaging in a pretty unusual pursuit, since snakes have no outer ears and can’t hear in the way that humans and most other animals do, though they are very sensitive to the vibrations made by sound. The vast majority of snakes are harmless. Of the 2,700 kinds of snakes in the world, only four hundred species are poisonous, and fewer than fifty species pose any serious danger to humans. Yet many people are so terrified of these mostly gentle reptiles that they feel faint at the very mention of them.

Snakes’ swift, silent movements and unchanging expressions support their reputation for mystery and inscrutability. Slithery and sinuous (but not actually slimy), snakes appear and disappear silently, without warning. Many can make loud hissing sounds, puff themselves up, and give off bad smells. And of course the ability of some types of snakes to kill with deadly venom or a fatally tight squeeze give people good reason to avoid them.

Since so many people are terrified by snakes, it’s not unusual for serpents to guard important places, like caves filled with treasure, life-giving springs, and the Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets. This may also explain why thousands of ordinary people all over the world keep all kinds of snakes, both harmless and deadly, as pets. We can’t say if there’s any truth to the English legend that a snakeskin in the house will keep reptiles from slithering in. But a live snake in the parlor is certainly an excellent way to deter unwelcome guests.

f the many words for
magician
, perhaps none conveys the image of power and mastery over the world as well as “sorcerer.” More than just a mixer of
potions
, a sorcerer commands the powers of nature. He summons storms, moves mountains, hurls lightning, and turns worthless trinkets into priceless jewels. Or at least some sorcerers do. By other accounts, a sorcerer is a practitioner of the
Dark Arts
, an evil wizard (like You-Know-Who) with an unquenchable lust for power and the desire to harm mankind. So, which is it?

Actually, it’s both. Historically, the word “sorcerer” has been applied to agents of both good and evil, and the idea of what a sorcerer is and does has changed over the centuries. One of the earliest and best-known images of a sorcerer was drawn on the walls of a cave in southern France more than 10,000 years ago. Known as the
Sorcerer of Trois Frères Caves
, the drawing depicts a man in animal costume, wearing the antlers of a
stag
, and performing a ritual dance. Anthropologists believe this figure represents the most ancient form of tribal
magician—
the shaman—who was responsible for protecting the community, ensuring a good hunt, and controlling the weather. This type of sorcerer was vital to the health of society and was usually held in the highest esteem.

In the ancient civilizations of Babylonia, however, the most feared and reviled agents of evil magic were also known as sorcerers. They specialized in curses, poked wax images with pins, called upon malevolent
demons
, and tried to raise the spirits of the dead. In pre-Christian Greece and Rome, sorcerers may have practiced
divination
(the word “sorcery” comes from the Latin
sors
, meaning “casting of lots,”
“prophecy,”
or “fate”), but most were professional
spell
casters and potion makers who could be hired to inflict harm on an enemy.

During the Middle Ages, whether someone was considered to be a sorcerer often depended on the outcome of the magic, rather than on the intentions of the magician. If the results were beneficial, the practitioner was a
wizard
; if harmful, he was a sorcerer. But things were not always clear cut. What if the type of magic involved was a
charm
or potion intended to heal a sick person, but instead of getting better, the patient got worse? Was the magician then a sorcerer? Questions like this often arose when people accused of “sorcery” were put on trial.