The Harry Potter series features a rich array of spells, each with its own unique symbolism and meaning. The Patronus, a bright white spell, is a significant symbol of purity and positivity, able to drive away darkness. Other colors used in the series include scarlet, green, blue, silver, and others. These colors are used to represent Hogwarts houses, characters, spells, and themes in the books and movies.
The series also explores the different types of spells, their cast, and their effects. Green is one of the two most prominent spell colors in the story, alongside red, which is associated with dark magic and green with “good” magic. The protagonist and antagonist of the story have eyes that represent these colors.
Green-eyed Harry uses the red spell against Voldemort, while green-red is associated with fire. Gryffindor (red and gold) is connected to fire, Slytherin (green and silver) to water, and Hufflepuff (yellow and black, representing wheat and soil) is associated with wheat and soil.
In the Harry Potter franchise, most spells manifest as jets of light when cast by a wand. A more powerful version of Alohomora (Altering Spell) is the Colour Change Charm, which transforms the physical form or color of objects. This charm, also known as the Colour-Changing Charm, was a powerful tool that changed the color of the target.
Overall, the Harry Potter series offers a rich and diverse world of spells, characters, and themes, all of which are shaped by the unique symbolism and symbolism of the characters and spells.
📹 The HIDDEN Meanings Behind Spell Colours – Harry Potter Theory
Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re discussing spells. Specifically, the VISUAL aspects of spells.. Now, there are all …
What color is crucio?
The Cruciatus Curse is a magical curse that is used for the purpose of inflicting torture upon its victims. It is often employed by those engaged in combat with the objective of obtaining information or weapons from their opponents. The Cruciatus Curse was employed by Bellatrix Lestrange to drive Neville Longbottom’s parents to insanity and by Voldemort during his regeneration. The curse causes excruciating pain, akin to being stabbed with a multitude of knives simultaneously.
Is Avada Kedavra green?
Avada Kedavra is a curse that can be blue, green, or somewhere in the middle, depending on the wand being cast. It is a quick-fire spell that can appear like a flash of green or blue light. Mastering Avada Kedavra is a difficult task, especially the killing curse, which can only be perfected by powerful witches and wizards. To cast the curse, hold your wand slightly into the air, then slowly lower it and say the incantation clearly.
Overly fast movement can cause major side-effects. Mastering Avada Kedavra is a challenging task, especially for powerful witches and wizards. The curse can be cast in various directions, making it difficult to block.
What color is the spell Expelliarmus?
The color expelliarmus appears blue in the first three Harry Potter movies, but it turns red in the Goblet of Fire when Harry and Voldemort battle. The color is also used in the Harry Potter series, including the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows, Fantastic Beasts, Quidditch Through the Ages, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Harry Potter Prequel, and Pottermore.
What Colours are used in Harry Potter?
The Hogwarts houses are connected to one of the four elements: earth, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Hufflepuff, a house with students who are loyal and unafraid of toil, is associated with earth. Ravenclaw is blue and bronze, Slytherin is green and silver, and Gryffindor is red and gold. Each house is loosely connected to one of these elements, and the house colours represent that. Hufflepuff’s yellow and black colors symbolize wheat and soil, respectively, reflecting the grounded and down-to-earth characters in the house. The Gryffindor lion and Ravenclaw’s connection to the element air further emphasize the potential meaning behind each house’s facet.
What colour is Accio?
The spell “accio,” which is purple in color, is cast in a yellow hue, while the spell “levioso,” which is yellow in color, is cast in a purple hue. This alteration has resulted in considerable confusion and erroneous outcomes, as users frequently neglect to recall the corresponding color of the spell and instead utilize the incorrect spell on shields.
What is Harry Potter’s red spell?
The text discusses the significance of color themes in the Harry Potter series, specifically the use of Expelliarmus (red) in a duel between Harry and Voldemort. The spell is used by Harry with green eyes, while Voldemort uses Avada Kedavra (green) with red eyes. The Cruciatus Curse is used by Voldemort during the duel in the graveyard. The combination of red and green is used in powerful magical objects, such as Harry’s eyes, Slytherin, dark mark, and sorcerer’s stone.
What colour is protego?
Protego is a powerful shield that nullifies blockable attacks, which are yellow circles around a character’s head before an enemy attacks. It does not completely block damage from unblockable attacks, but it lessens their impact. Blockable attacks are yellow, while unblockable attacks are red and require dodge-roll. Protego shields can be activated safely before a hit, and if timing is precise, it can trigger a defensive counter.
When the yellow indicator rings contract, hit Protego when the ring is a single, glowing line, executing a Protego Deflection. This defensive-offensive maneuver can return the attacker’s spell and potentially cause a melee attack to backfire.
Why are Voldemort’s spells green?
Green is a color that has been historically associated with the character Voldemort. This association is evident in the color used in his sign and in the darkest curse in the series, “Avada Kedavra.” Additionally, it is linked to Slytherin, the house most closely associated with dark wizards.
Is Avada Kedavra red?
Avada Kedavra is a curse that can be blue, green, or somewhere in the middle, depending on the wand being cast. It is a quick-fire spell that can appear like a flash of green or blue light. Mastering Avada Kedavra is a difficult task, especially the killing curse, which can only be perfected by powerful witches and wizards. To cast the curse, hold your wand slightly into the air, then slowly lower it and say the incantation clearly.
Overly fast movement can cause major side-effects. Mastering Avada Kedavra is a challenging task, especially for powerful witches and wizards. The curse can be cast in various directions, making it difficult to block.
What is purple in Harry Potter?
Purple has a long history of association with royalty, religion, imagination, and spirituality. In the wizarding world, it is associated with noble magic, as seen in Dumbledore’s representation. Ravenclaw’s element is air, and its house colours are blue and bronze, representing the sky. Blue in color psychology signifies trust, responsibility, loyalty, and a higher level of intelligence. Historically, blue has been associated with the Virgin Mary and the heraldry of many Kings of France, making it spiritual and royal. Nowadays, blue is one of the most ubiquitous clothing colors, as seen in Harry Potter films, where Harry wears blue frequently.
What are the wizarding colors?
Harry Potter is a popular and controversial series, with fans eager to uncover hidden truths and secrets. One of the most fascinating subjects in the Harry Potter movies and books is the color scheme used in the houses. J. K. Rowling, the author of this collection, has always shown that there is a purpose behind every detail in the books or movies. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I am excited to write about the famous colors used in the series, including Gryffindor, Slytherin, Huffelpuff, and Ravenclaw.
Fun facts about Harry Potter’s colors are shared by fans, and comparisons between the colors of houses are made. In conclusion, Harry Potter is a fascinating and captivating world filled with hidden truths and secrets.
📹 Harry Potter: The TRUE Meaning Behind Spell Colors! (Theory)
In this video, I delve into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to figure out the significance of spell colors! Find out what the hardest …
I wonder if J.K Rowling might have taken a bit of inspiration from Star Wars when color coding her spells at least for the good guys and bad guys? Because in the Star Wars movies, blaster shots also come in different colors but they are generally red. While both the Rebel and Empire soldiery tend to use blaster that fire red lasers, generally the Empire’s warships and star-fighters such as their Star Destroyers, Tie Fighters and the Death Star all shoot bright green lasers, whereas the Rebel ships have crimson colored shots by contrast.
I like the idea of the color depending on the caster. Maybe Sectumsempra would be more green if a truly evil wizard casts it? The only person we’ve seen cast Sectumsempra is Harry and he’s, of course, not evil. He didn’t even know what it was when he cast it on Malfoy, he simply wanted a powerful spell to protect him against Malfoy’s Cruciatus curse.
Sectumsempra being white could be explained as that it actually was intended to be a defensive spell, so to speak. Snape intended it for enemies, and he was bullied a lot as a child, so his enemies were his bullies. He created it as a means to protect himself. Over time it was seen as an offensive spell, and even used by Harry as an offensive spell, but every time it was used by its creator (that we had seen at least), it was used defensively, even when it was used on George, as Snape used it to protect his cover, and to, in a sense, protect George from being killed. What better way to protect yourself than to incapacitate your opponent completely, and if used correctly, it doesn’t kill.
I think Snape’s Avada Kedavra is the same color as anyone else’s, but the cinematographer made some very interesting choices with the lighting and color grading in the Half-Blood Prince film, particularly towards the end of the film. I think you’re just seeing the result of that aesthetic choice when the curse appears blue.
In OotP, Bellatrix teaches Harry that an unforgivable curse works best if the caster really enjoys producing the result (crucio, in her case). This might explain how Snape saves his own soul. He clearly didn’t want to kill Dumbledore, so perhaps he pulled his AK’s punch a bit so it only knocked the headmaster off the tower. While the films often get things wrong, this could explain why Dumbledore still appeared to be alive as he fell-that what actually killed him was hitting the ground.
Even though Snape didn’t want to see Dumbledore die, it was still his intent to kill Dumbledore for at least two reasons. The main reason I believe was that Dumbledore asked him to. Sort of like when Harry and Dumbledore went to the cave, Dumbledore said only under the condition that Harry do whatever Dumbledore asked with no hesitations. It was similar here with Snape killing Dumbledore so Snape didn’t kill out of hate, revenge, etc. He killed out of mercy. Also as we know Dumbledore wanted Snape to be the one to kill him to prevent Draco from killing Dumbledore. So I think it was still Snape’s intent to kill Dumbledore, but not for the typical reasons and may be the reason for color of his killing curse.
I think these colors has certain connotations with *chakra system* of from **eastern philosophy**. In eastern philosophy it is believed that human body has seven main chakras each having their own meaning and properties associated with them. They also have very specific colors association. These are chakras and their colors mostly accepted in general: – 7th – The Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) – Violet Color – 6th – The Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) – Indigo Color – 5th – The Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Blue Color – 4th – The Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Green Color – 3rd – The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) – Yellow Color – 2nd – The Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana) – Orange Color – First – The Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Red Color The order of chakra in the body start from base of the spine to the crown of the head. Thats why first chakra is Root and seventh is Crown. Now the question is how these colors are can relate with spell colors from harry potter universe. This is my theory: *Green Color* Lets start from green color as this is mostly considered as evil and death related on the contrary in eastern philosophy its the opposite. Green is the color of life, love and empathy. Yes, its the color of the 4th chakra the heart chakra which regulates the life force throughout the body. Heart is the center for emotions, love, empathy and compassion. So when *avada kedavra* hit the body it actually take that life force out of the body from this chakra and stop the heart instantly and removes the soul out of the body.
Magic: the Gathering (a card game) has established the “color pie” as they call it. With simple words, the colors and their meanings in their spells are like this: White: Peace, law, structure, selflessness, equality Blue: Knowledge, deceit, caution, deliberation, perfection Black: Power, self-interest, death, sacrifice, uninhibitedness Red: Freedom, emotion, action, impulse, destruction Green: Nature, wildlife, connection, spirituality, tradition Of course Mtg and Harry Potter is not the same by any stretch, but what MTG has done with the colors and their meanings is very interesting and maybe some of you would like to check it out further.
I would also like to bring up Protégé Diabolica which is a major dark natured spell. It wasn’t green or red. So I would like to bring up the idea that more darker intended spells are in a dark shade with a flashier look. Like an explosion vs a spell with lighter intention suchs as healing or disarming is more of a warm light in the way a candle flame burns.
I have in interesting question no one can give a good answer to: why did Dumbledore never talk to moaning myrtle and find the chamber? Issues I have with the normal answers are 1 she didn’t only tell harry about her death because she has a crush on him since she only speaks nicely to him after he asks about her death and also she says “no one’s asked me that before”. And 2 this is Dumbledore I doubt he would miss the connection of her coming back to that bathroom on top of her being such a nuisance the ministry had to get involved to keep her from haunting olive Hornby.
My thought on Snapes seemingly blueish Avada Kedavra is, that, because he didn’t kill Dumbledor out of hatred and evilness, but something along the lines of friendship and because Dubledore had asked him to do it, the intention behind the curse was more kind of pure than normal. And thats why they chose it to be blue and not green.
I think green fits Avada Kedavra very well because green also represents rot and decay, which is what happens to bodies after death. Crucio I believe is red because it requires a level of anger and aggression mixed in with malice in order for the spell to work, and those are emotions normally associated with the color red. Expelliamus is also a spell that involves a high degree of passion and aggression as its purpose is to disarm or knock an opponent back, hence why its fitting to be red as well.
One could go down so many different roads with this subject. Well done on your theory of choice! I agree that spell colors are not random, and I’m glad you addressed the potential that the spell caster’s intent may dilute the resulting color. Also, considering that the wand and the spell caster are connected, perhaps the wand type plays a role in spell color? Or not. Either way, do we know if Rowling has spoken about spell color?
I do not think that there are strict categories of spells divided by colours. I think each spell and its meaning and its colour have a unique relationship, sometimes underlined by casters intent. The spells and their effects are not simple incantations but manifestations of the magic itself and it is quite fitting that sometimes there are also some light effects. Sectumsempra for example could be white because it causes sharp cuts and white light can be quite sharp and strong. Also any colour can have more meanings, usually similar, but not exactly the same – for example red can mean “hot”, “passionate”, “angry”, “bloody” etc. Green is also associated with plants, life (interesting when thinking about Avada Kedavra), allowing something but also sometimes danger…
Without scrolling to the base of 123 comments, I can’t know if I’m being repetitive by asking, but, in terms of the movie, those golden-yellow flaming bolts Minerva throws at Severus…from what spell did those derive? And the death-dealing elephant in the room, those (presumably) curses that Molly threw at Bellatrix?
An interesting exception to the spell colors is Floo Powder, which produces a green flame despite being a completely harmless transportation spell. I think this means we could be thinking about the green color entirely wrong, because the more typical green spells can also be thought of as transporting something, even if it’s a stretch. Floo powder transports the person, Imperius transports bodily control away, Avada Kedavara transports the soul into the afterlife. Thought like this, Snape’s bluish Avada Kedavara on Dumbledore could be seen as reluctance.
Another green spell is Verdimillious And it’s visuals are green sparks or green lightning This was the green spell molly used while killing bellatrix Most people think molly used avada kadavra but no she didnt because avada kadavra isnt green sparks or lightning, avada kadavra is a continuous green BEAM
Video Idea!!! : Do you think Harry could have been an obscurial? Just saying, his magic was repressed for quite some time, and there was little love given to him at the Dursleys’. I also know that there were a few instances in which his magic was expressed, but that was not often. Do you think Hagrid ultimately saved Harry because he was the one that helped Harry make a stand in the Wizarding World?
First of all, thank you for all the thought you put into these awesome articles. Secondly, I think that it’s really cool that depending on the person and also that particular persons actual intentions/heart, it plays a part in the color of the spells. Very interesting subject and I’ve always wondered what it takes to even create your own spell. Do you give your own spells their own colors. When you create a spell does it take on the color that the creator places on it or do they just not have control. Very difficult to break down. You did good here.
This has always seemed out of place to me. I don’t consider green to be an evil color. It’s often used as a symbol of nature. As in growth, healing, and life. As you said though it is also used as a representation of envy, toxicity, and spirits. Red is more of an evil color in my opinion. Sometimes representing the devil, demons, danger, and blood but it is also used as a symbol of love and passion. Red is actually my favorite color but I still consider it to be more evil than green. I think the killing curse should have been black or red. Or have the spells be similar to how they are in The Dresden Files where a person’s spell color and look would vary between the casters. My fire spell might be red but a different wizard using a fire spell might have blue fire instead.
Alternative theory: in places where the colour was not already canonised by the books, the filmmakers chose a colour they thought looked cool and/or wouldn’t confuse the audience. i.e. in Goblet of Fire, a green spell (avada kedavra) had just been used to kill Cedric (as well as in other scenes) when crucio was cast on Harry; if both were represented by a green flash, an audience member not altogether very sharp might just see the green flash and wonder ‘why didn’t Harry die?’
The shade of green that of snape’s when he used it on dumbledore is this same shade of green voldemort used to kill professor charity Burbage, so I don’t think that snape’s avada kedavra was blue at all or actually that it killed dumbledore, I think snape did cast the curse on dumbledore but he didn’t mean it so the curse didn’t affect him and that dumbledore died from the fall not the curse it self.
Interesting point on the color of Snape’s Avada Kadavra, being bluish because of the fact he didn’t want to kill Dumbledore. But it is one of the Unforgivable Curses, intent is required for the spell to even work. We learn that Harry couldn’t cast Crucio correctly because he lacked the intent. If Snape was truly lacking the intent I would think that it wouldn’t work. Unless that stipulation doesn’t apply to Avada Kadavra.
my theorie is that the killing spell was intended as dying aid in the first place So in the history there sure was illnes and sickness that where cause by spells potions or magical viruses that where not treatable there was not a cure for them at some point and if the process of passing was painfull suffering every day then it might have been better to just end the life in the eyes of a fiew i personaly think like this too if its inevitable and painfull to a degree where u regulary pass out why suffering? so the spell actualy is is a sad one (blue) or even ment for suicide the ill intend is what it let apear to become green the more ill the intend the greener it is dumbledore was cursed and about to die anyway but the curse was not only used to end his suffering it was used to trick someone else so the use of it was not entirely pure
The Killing Curse has 3 “modes” depending on the intent of how it is used. (Theoretically 4 by my own head-canon) Emerald for Malice, Blue for Melancholy, and Yellow for Apathy. I suspect that if one for some reason used it to save someone or to prevent greater loss of life it would be Red, though I never saw or read of an example used yet of this circumstance
I think spell colours are complicated. Voldermort’s killing curse is green snapes was blue. I think if we kept to the categorical description of the spell then it shud remain green regardless of whether u wanna kill someone or not with even intent or not. A spell is a spell. However I feel the spell colour fluctuations are also caused by the wands. Just my Opinion. Voldermort’s wand had a phoenix feather so did snapes. But snapes wand was quite rare it had triple core’s phoenix, kelpie and dragon heart string as stated below. Snapes wand – Crafted from ebony from the Connemara mountains and a hardly-ever seen triple core: a phoenix tailfeather and the heartstrings of a Romanian ridgeback and a kelpie, it was an extremely powerful combination, temperamental with any other wizard who might have tried it, even Tom Riddle himself. Due to the complexity of the wand itself I believe these factors can influence wand colour magic. Perhaps cores play a deeper part? I also feel that wand Woods are important to consider. For example it says that Yew wood (Voldermorts wand) – “The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death, which might, of course, be said of all wands; and yet yew retains a particularly dark and fearsome reputation in the spheres of duelling and all curses.” – could it be that the soul of Tom Riddle is so evil that the yew wood in his wand is an amplifier of that evil that his Avada Kedavra is the brightest green colour in the whole francise.
What if the colors of the spells are based off the caster’s emotions at the time they cast the spell. Even evil witches and wizards have emotion but they are negative and dark emotions. Such as anger hatred and racism. I have always thought the color of the spells were tied to the emotions of the casters, And this would make sense when there are so many variations of colors just in one spell itself such as avada cadavera. And a funny theory about avada cadavera you know the 2nd part of the words, cadavera, Reminds me of the word, cadaver meaning a dead body .
I’ll bite back a little on the idea of green spells being primarily dark in nature. I agree with red spells being representative of fire, love, heat, power and passion, but if you were to invert that for green spells, you would get calm and serenity. Imperio is green because it’s a nonviolent way to end a conflict. Even its sensation is described as near complete calm, peace and a ‘floating’ sensation. Avada Kedavra follows the same principle. It kills, but not violently, and it’s described more than once as painless. “Quicker than falling asleep”. Both of these spells – although dark – are ways to decisively and painlessly end any conflict as quickly as possible, preventing further bloodshed and further supporting the idea of serenity and peace. This is in stark contrast to Crucio which fits its red colour due to its more tortuous and violent nature when compared to the other two
Based on the person writing these books the colors likely don’t have a deep meaning but she likely added a meaning to it half way through. So we all basically have to wait for the writer to make of her mind honestly as to what if anything the colors of the spells mean. Could just by a nod to the house founders red green blue gold/yellow and purple for all we know is a founder that was not mentioned in the books but she had planned to add but never did. Who knows.
I’m not much of a fan so I don’t remember much of anything, so don’t take this question like I’m suggesting a known fact. Rather, I’m genuinely unsure if it might be the answer. Could it be more like Spell School? As in, Necromancy = green. Avada Kedavra is a spell of death, which would fall under Necromancy in Dungeons & Dragons typically. Such as Finger Of Death which I think might be green? Actually, it doesn’t say. Oddly, Disintegrate does, and is green… but that’s Transmutation. Still, maybe HP uses green for Necromancy?
I think they missed out on an opportunity in the movies. The yin and Yang of Harry’s and Voldemorts eye colour matching the spell colour of the opposite person. Green eyes, green killing curse. Red eyes, Red…. Why can’t I think of Harry’s spells. …I’m just going to replace Harry’s spell with scorpions “get over here” from mortal kombat.
Interestingly, in Ancient Egyptian beliefs/mythology Red was considered the color of Chaos/Deadliness while Black was the color of Life/Goodness. Additionally I mostly enjoy your content but you take a bit too much from the films compared to the actual books. Also in real life history Purple was the color of Wealth & Royalty.
What if the spell Snape killed Dumbledore with WASN’T Avada Kedravra? Snape was a master of nonverbal spells. What if he said the words merely as a way to make it LOOK as if he used it? The fall would have killed Dumbledore either way and AK doesn’t leave a mark, so there would be no evidence he didn’t use it.
There is a second violet spell, but it’s the very first spell Harry ever sees: Hagrid points his pink umbrella to give Dudley his pig’s tail “there was a flash of violet light and a sound like a firecracker”. There could be differences here because of the umbrella and Hagrid’s unconventional method of casting or incomplete training. Who knows
Good reasoning, although I would have added that beams of a particular light (defined by its colour, frequency and wavelength) interacts differently with different objects (whether these are human body tissues or lifeless material surfaces). Perhaps shades and hues of casted spells could better sustain the hypothesis herein presented.
I feel like you should change your website name back to the original one. It seems like you’ve lost a lost of viewers, which is a shame, because you’ve made some really good theories. You’ve changed the name several times to things that aren’t obviously theory related, so when I’ve gotten notifications of your articles I’ve sometimes thought it was YouTube recommending me something random. though. You also might want to start making more movie theories again. I’d love to see your website grow, because you’re clearly very talented.