15 MORE Ways to Charm Your Smart Home
Last week, I shared 15 Ways to Charm Your Smart Home, because we all resonate with Jacob Kowalski when he says, “I wanna be a wizard.” People are drawn to the magic of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter not only because the characters and stories are so captivating, but also because many of us dream of casting spells. We desire the ability to solve problems and make our lives easier with incantations. What if you could bring this dream closer to reality and use charms in your everyday life?
Through innovative smart home technology, Harry Potter fans are now closer than ever to living inside J.K. Rowling’s magical world. Here are 15 MORE spells that can be programmed to complete practical tasks. Before you know it, these charms can become a real part of your daily routine.
As in part one of this series, these incantations must be programmed with a smart assistant like Siri, Alexa, or Google. In some cases, the spells require another smart home device such as smart light bulbs. The possibilities are endless, and fortunately, there’s no Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office to stop you.
1. Accio Daily Prophet
Why ask your smart assistant to tell you what’s in the news when you can summon the Daily Prophet? Of course, if you disapprove of that rubbish, you can choose to subscribe to the Quibbler instead.
2. Point Me
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry used the Four-Point Spell to help navigate through the treacherous hedge maze in the Triwizard Tournament. Next time you want to ask your smart assistant for directions or to start navigation for your daily commute, try “Point me” instead.
3. Accio Remembrall
Technology can be a great tool to keep track of your memos, to-do list, schedule, and notes to self. For instance, you might ask Siri to remind you, “Must de-gnome the garden” or “Tea with Hagrid, 2 o’clock.” Try “Accio Remembrall” to set your reminders.
4. Obliviate
To wipe the slate clean and delete your reminders for the day, you can cast the Forgetfulness Charm with the incantation “Obliviate.” Just make sure your smart assistant is functioning better than Ron’s broken wand in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
5. Immobulus
In Chamber of Secrets, Hermione shouts “Immobulus” to freeze Cornish Pixies in their tracks. There are lots of things on which you can cast the Freezing Charm – music, movies, TV, and even your favorite podcast.
6. Quietus
The Quieting Charm is the counter-charm to the Amplifying Charm mentioned in my previous article. You can say “Quietus” to your assistant to lower the volume on anything emitting sound, from music to TV.
7. Silencio
If you want to render something entirely mute, cast the Silencing Charm with the simple incantation, “Silencio.”
8. Wingardium Leviosa
The classic Levitation Spell from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone would be very useful if we were able to cast it on any object. One way to bring this charm into your life is to pair it with opening your garage door.
9. Send an owl
Owls, Floo powder, and even fake Galleons are used in Harry Potter to communicate. While not necessarily an incantation, you can choose to “send an owl” instead of asking your assistant to “send a text.”
10. “I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up to No Good”
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs created the Marauder’s Map so that they could sneak around Hogwarts and help Remus Lupin with his transformations. This incantation can summon any mapping app that shares locations between friends.
11. Scourgify
Hopefully, your house isn’t as unkempt as 12 Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Scouring Charm can help keep your place neat and tidy. Say “Scourgify” to start a cleaning device such as a Roomba or washing machine.
12. Accio Harry Potter
If you’re like Hank Green, and you “need Harry Potter like a grindylow needs water,” then you probably throw on the films or the audiobooks frequently. Now you can set up a command, like “Accio Harry Potter,” to conjure your favorite stories.
13. Riddikulus
In need of a good laugh? In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Lupin tells us that the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. You can program the incantation “Riddikulus” to shuffle your favorite comedians.
14. Avada Kedavra
To be clear, I am in NO way encouraging you to use an Unforgivable Curse! But you can play a harmless prank on your Potterhead visitors by setting your color-changing light bulbs to flash bright green when you say, “Avada Kedavra!”
15. “Mischief Managed”
At the end of a long day, it can be a hassle to go around turning off each light, shutting off the TV, and locking the doors. If you have smart home devices, let your assistant take care of these tasks for you. Simply climb into bed and say, “Mischief Managed.”
Can you think of any other spells for enchanting your smart home? Let us know in the comments!
