Skip to content

MuggleNet

  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Features / The Daily Prophet

Oliver Wood, Our Knight of Swords

by Anne Showers-Curtis · July 10, 2019

Oliver Wood – driven, competitive, ambitious, and a bit manic – is notorious for putting Quidditch before, well, everything else. These traits are reminiscent of those of the Knight of Swords tarot card, who meticulously plans his pursuits before acting with determined tenacity. Almost every time we encounter Oliver in the books, he’s in a frenzy trying to make sure that Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup. Whether he’s waking his players at the crack of dawn for practice, practicing in poor conditions, stalking Harry between classes to talk strategy, or putting the team’s victory before the team’s safety, Oliver always has a clear goal that he means to see through no matter the cost.

 

Source

 

In tarot, the suit of Swords is the suit of the mind. It represents intellectual pursuits: studying, planning, conceptualizing, and strategizing. While we don’t know much about Oliver’s academic strengths, we do know that he is one heck of a speechwriter, even if he uses the same speech annually to pump up his players. And we certainly know a bit about his strategic efforts as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

 

 

A common attribute of the Knight of Swords is that he can get so wrapped up in his own plans and strategies that he can be quite oblivious to the thoughts and feelings of those around him. The first time we meet Oliver in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he seems thoroughly uninterested in Harry until McGonagall tells him that Harry caught Neville’s Remembrall after a 50-foot dive. Then, Wood begins talking about Harry and his perfect Seeker’s build as though Harry weren’t standing right there. This is an example of how Oliver exhibits the Knight of Swords’s tactless nature when focused on his own goals.

 

 

Another instance of this behavior is in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. One Saturday morning, Wood unexpectedly wakes the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team at dawn for their first practice and spends most of their time discussing the new tactics he devised over the summer holidays. His team is groggy and barely attentive, but Wood takes no notice, just as the Knight of Swords would take no notice if his comrades dozed off during a discussion of his battle strategies.

 

 

The Knight is the most driven of the entire suit of Swords, letting nothing stand in the way of his goal. When in a negative or manic place, this Knight is often short, irate, unsympathetic, and thoughtless. A scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban exhibits one of Wood’s more thoughtless moments. He recounts to Harry his conversation with Professor McGonagall about Harry’s Firebolt:

‘Bad news, Harry. I’ve just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She – er – got a bit shirty with me. Told me I’d got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn’t care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch on it first.’ Wood shook his head in disbelief. ‘Honestly, the way she was yelling at me … you’d think I’d said something terrible….’ (244-45)

Oliver’s disregard for Harry’s safety at this moment is an example of the Knight of Swords’s sincere need to win. It isn’t that Wood doesn’t care for Harry – quite the opposite, actually – it’s just that his ultimate concern is winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. All that he strives for and all that he does is in the interest of this ultimate goal.

 

 

The Knight of Swords is also known for facing his opponents valiantly. The image of this card, like the painting of Sir Cadogan, shows a knight astride his steed charging into some unseen battle, his eyes fierce and determined. His eyes, in particular, make me think of Oliver. Several times throughout the series, Wood is described as looking manic or having bulging eyes when speaking to his team, and every time he shakes the hand of another Quidditch captain, he meets their eyes boldly before kicking off into the air.

 

 

Oliver’s valiance resides not only in his eyes but also in his conduct. When defending the Gryffindor goal posts, Oliver never plays dirty despite the fact that other teams sometimes cheat (cough cough, Slytherin, cough cough). No, if Oliver is going to win a Quidditch match, it is going to be through his own careful, legitimate planning and his stellar skills as captain and Keeper.

 

Source

 

Though Oliver has proven on multiple occasions to be both tactless and reckless, he’s still lovable, relatable, and honorable. After all, he did return to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts alongside his former teammates, displaying once again his fierce dedication and loyalty. His loyalty, along with his manic-panic strategist tactics, is why we love our first Gryffindor Quidditch captain, our Knight of Swords, Oliver Wood.

Social:

  • Next story Review and Giveaway: Win Tickets to Fable & Lark’s Wizarding World–Themed Storied Adventures in New York!
  • Previous story The Glow Up of Ginny Weasley

MuggleNet Archive

Important Dates

June 2025

Tue, Jun 17

Umbridge sacks Hagrid; McGonagall is stunned and sent to St. Mungo's
Recurs yearly

1996

Wed, Jun 18

Battle of the Department of Mysteries
Recurs yearly

1996

Sirius is murdered by Bellatrix
Recurs yearly

1996

WWoHP Hogsmeade at Universal Orlando's anniversary
Recurs yearly

2010

Thu, Jun 19

Dumbledore tells Harry about the lost prophecy
Recurs yearly

1996

Sat, Jun 21

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book
Recurs yearly

2003

Wizarding world knows Voldemort is back
Recurs yearly

1996

MuggleNet podcasts are sponsored in part by Secretlab.

Thanks to its research-backed ergonomic design, including a proprietary 4-way adaptive lumbar support system, the Secretlab TITAN Evo Harry Potter Edition will comfortably support you even when you’re up to no good.

Did You Know

The Forbidden Forest set in the Warner Bros. studio has 19 trees, each with a diameter of around 12 feet.

Potter History

October 4, 2005 – Over 300 million copies of Half-Blood Prince were sold across the world.

Potter Quote

“Queen, honey. Well, I’m just curious, when were you going to wake me up? After we’d had five kids?”

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fansite.
Please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
© 1999–2025 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Terms of Use | Feedback


MuggleNet is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Bookshop.org's affiliate program, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and bookshop.org.