Harry Potter and the Zodiac
by Amie Marie
Ah yes, I’m pretty sure everyone has read their horoscope in the paper every now and then, and I’m quite sure many people know a thing or two about the personality traits of some of the signs of the Zodiac. I’ve studied Western (and a little bit of Eastern) Zodiac signs for about two years, and I’ve seen that many of the Harry Potter characters have traits that relate to their Sign.
Let’s start with our hero, Harry Potter, who’s birthday is on the 31st of July. This makes him a Leo, which suits him quite well. First off, the thing about Leos is that they seem to be in the spotlight all the time (their Ruling Planet is the Sun after all), so everything needs to revolve around them. Throughout the Harry Potter series, we see Harry often in the spotlight (even when he doesn’t want to be), whether it’s in Quidditch, the papers (Daily Prophet, The Quibbler), school, outside of school, or wherever he goes. People can’t seem to get enough of this Leo. Leos are courageous (can we say Gryffindor?), proud and temperamental (because Leo is a fire sign, this makes Harry have bursts of anger), brave, strong, prone to long periods of lion-ish laziness, honorable, generous and warmhearted (he seems to give people what they need or want, i.e.: Harry gives his chocolate frogs to Ron in Book 1), faithful and loving (no matter how mad Harry gets at his friends, he always appreciates them and he knows they help him out in so many ways), pompous and patronizing (when he does get mad however…), and spontaneously creative (how else does Harry get out of sticky situations and think up “Dumbledore’s Army”?). Even take into account appearance. Leos tend to have mane like hair; does this sound a little like Harry’s un-tamable hair? Leos also tend to have cat or lion like features, and we learn that Harry eyes (a trait from his mother) are almond shaped, the same shape cats and lions have. Let’s not forget that the gem for Leo is ruby and the color is gold; does this not sound like Gryffindor house? Harry has also shown much strength, bravery, and courage throughout his whole life, whether it was getting teased at home and school, watching people die before his very eyes, or confronting Voldemort many times. This should prove enough of these Leo-ish traits.
When you hear practical, intelligent, analytical, and critical, which character from Harry Potter comes to mind? I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Hermione Granger, the lovely muggle-born. Hermione was born on the 19th of September, making her a Virgo. Virgos tend to be worriers (Hermione worries all the time about her grades, her friends, and just about everything!), perfectionists (Hermione has such good grades for a reason), conservative (I don’t think we’ll be seeing Hermione wear anything *ahem* scarlet-womanish or randomly break into song and dance anytime soon), and observant (is it just me, or does Hermione always seem to notice things no one else does?). Virgos tend to have a “matter-of-fact-ness” about them, which is Miss Granger down to a tee. Hermione portrays a down-to-earth attitude, and wouldn’t you know it, Virgo is an earth sign (and earth signs are down-to-earth). Virgos also tend to use logic throughout their lives, which Hermione tends to do all the time.
Although many of us do not know Ronald Weasley’s birthday, I’m sure it’s between February 20 – March 20, which would make him a Pisces, or a Sagittarius (November 23 – December 21, 23). Why you ask? Well, for starters, Pisces is the opposite of Virgo, and Hermione is a Virgo, thus they have their good moments and difficulties as well. Pisces are imaginative (how else does he come up with all his jokes?), intuitive (when Ronald jokes around, it usually ends up coming true), messy and disorganized (this one is self explanatory), emotional (Ron makes his choices by what he feels, unlike Hermione who goes by logic). He can also be a Sagittarius because they tend to be jovial and good humored (Come on people! We’re talking about Ronald Weasley here!), honest and straight forward (doesn’t Ron tell Hermione before the Yule Ball he doesn’t want to go to the event with someone physically unattractive?), irresponsible and careless (Ron does not keep up on his work sometimes, he often plunges towards Draco Malfoy without thinking of the consequences), and superficial (again with the Yule Ball example, Ron does not want to go with someone ugly).
I’m positive that Remus Lupin’s birthday is on the 22nd of June, making him a Cancer (like me 🙂 ). I find this sort of ironic, considering that Cancer’s Ruling Planet is the moon, and Remus Lupin is a werewolf, and his nickname is “Moony”. Remus Lupin is definitely your typical Cancerian, because Cancer are emotional and loving (Remus cares much about his students, even when he does not teach them anymore and loves all his students unconditionally), protective (Lupin always seems to be protecting Harry, not because of his job, but because he seems to want to protect him), sympathetic (he always shows much sympathy for Harry during his tough times), and compassionate (Lupin is very compassionate about whatever he does, whether it’s teaching or being a member of the Order of Phoenix). He is very nice, and also secretive (Lupin hid the fact that he was a werewolf).
Well, I know that not everyone agrees with the astrological stuff, but some of it is quite true, and fun too! I don’t know whether J. K Rowling knew about astrology and incorporated it into her stories and characters, or if this all happened by chance, but all in all, it’s interesting to think of these characters in that way. I hope that I gave you guys something a little wacky and interesting for you to read. If you’d like to know more about the Zodiac, go to this website.