I’m a huge potter head. I don’t even remember how many times I’ve seen the movies repeatedly. One fascinating thing that I love about the potter universe is that you get to discover a completely new thing every single time you re-watch the series. Something that you might’ve missed before.
But there’s a time when you almost know all the plot and how everything is connected, even on the trivia side. I recently discovered one of the most fascinating things about the Harry Potter series which is not connected to the movies but rather connected to J.K Rowling’s idea behind the Hogwarts’s game of Quidditch.
If you’re not a potter nerd, let me explain what Quidditch is. Its a game where two houses in Hogwarts compete with each other on a flying broom match. The players have to throw, hit, pass, shoot the ball through the big rings in order to score. Whichever team scores the most points win. But there’s another sub-story attached to it. One player from each team is elected only for one purpose, to chase and catch the snitch. The snitch is a small golden ball with wings on it with very less probability of being found. But it has the highest stake in the game. Whoever catches the snitch instantly gets 150 points, enough to win the match.
One interesting story about this concept is recently published by Jordan B. Peterson in his book Beyond Power. He says Rowling was inspired to create the concept of snitch after the winged planet figure in an ancient art know as Materia Prima (The Primal Element)
The winged planet is merely a container of infinite information for the true self. Whoever conquers it subject to have power enough to use chaos for order. Other elements in the art, the dragon, two headed being and signs says a lot of things. You should read the book to understand the concept.
After knowing the story behind the snitch, which by the way, blew my mind, I went into deep thinking about the process that went into Rowling’s head while writing these books. But even more interestingly, a basic fictional game of Quidditch could mean so much. The main game where all players play the primary rules to compete while a separate game in its own container to assist the main game is inspiring.
Artwork: https://dribbble.com/shots/12370509-Gonga-Illustration-Harry-Potter
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