For those who are fans of the world of Harry Potter and all that J.K. Rowling has provided following the end of the series, the introduction of the North American school, Ilvermorny, has been nothing short of magical. For me, the chance to get sorted was a much awaited occasion, and I was ecstatic to learn what the sorting test had in store for me.
Of
course, anyone who took the sorting test for both Hogwarts and Ilvermorny
probably noticed how different the questions were. It’s no surprise that J.K.
Rowling made a tweet saying, “There is no equivalence between Hogwarts and
Ilvermorny houses,” because both sorting quizzes seemed to ask questions which
were very different in nature. What does this mean for those sorted? How can a
fan reconcile their Hogwarts house identity with that of their Ilvermorny
house?
The way
I see it, there is no need for reconciliation. Given that none of the
Ilvermorny houses are directly equivalent to any Hogwarts house, understanding
the synthesis of your sorting results most likely resonates with who you are as
a person, perhaps even more wholly than one of the houses alone. I found this
to be very accurate when scrutinizing my own results, being both a Ravenclaw
and a Thunderbird, and here I’m going to share with you my thoughts on the
synthesis of the two bird houses.
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| The North American wizarding school, Ilvermorny |
For
starters, we know the main characteristics of both. There’s Ravenclaw, the
house for those who are lovers of wit, wisdom, and knowledge. A house of the
studious and intellectually driven, Ravenclaw is not for those who want to
leave questions unasked. Then, there’s Thunderbird, known as the house which
represents the soul and favors adventurers. There is still much that has not
been said about the Thunderbird house, but after thinking of my responses to
the sorting test, I can see both how I received my result and how beautifully
it pairs with my other identity as a Ravenclaw. It is true that I am a lover of
all things that Ravenclaws represent and that I also have a wanderlusting soul
and am always looking for my next adventure, but the pairing of these two
houses says much more than that about the nature of those who walk both as
Ravenclaws and as Thunderbirds.
“Thunderclaw”
as this synthesis has been dubbed, represents both the soul and the intellect,
and is not only for the adventurer, but the soul seeker, the questioner, the
one who will forever seek the unknown places of the spirit, the mind, the
fabric of all that is and was for new plateaus of wisdom, and ultimately, the
one who is always seeking the next great adventure, both intellectual and of
the physical plane. It’s long been said that a wise man knows that he truly
knows nothing, and one of the greatest pursuits, especially for those who love
wit and wisdom, is the eternal conquest of questioning what you know, and
forever expanding and challenging your parameters of consciousness, perception,
and knowledge. Thunderclaw represents all of this, perhaps being a synthesis
which is more appealing to the philosophical of mind, the ones who are ever
hungry to sail their ships in the great oceans of questions and thought which
do not have a readily available answer, or perhaps which only take them deeper
and deeper into the intellectual unknown. The founder of Thunderbird, Chadwick,
was described as an “intelligent but often temperamental boy” who became accomplished
both as a scholar and as a traveler, and he ended up publishing seven volumes
of charms textbooks to be used at Ilvermorny. This seems like a fitting founder
for the house of the soul, and further exemplifies how the spirit of a
Ravenclaw can find themselves donning the Thunderbird flag.
A common remark which has surfaced
since the Ilvermorny houses have been released is that a Ravenclaw should be sorted
as a Horned Serpent, being that the Horned Serpent is the Ilvermorny house
which favors scholars. I think it’s important to note that, again, J.K. has
thwarted the idea that there is an equivalence between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny
houses, but also that being a lover of wit and wisdom, as any Ravenclaw is
known to be, does not automatically define the intention behind a Ravenclaw’s
love of those things, or how their intellectual pursuits translate as a part of
their life. While I believe that to be a Ravenclaw and a Horned Serpent is a
lovely combination, (Honestly, I think all of the possible combinations are
marvelous for their own reasons.) it could almost be said that those who are
both a Ravenclaw and a Horned Serpent may have a predilection for the hard
sciences and mathematics, being fueled by a love of knowledge in the more esteemed forms of scholarship and favoring the subjects which have more concrete answers. On the other hand, a Thunderclaw is more likely, though
probably a lover of those disciplines as well, to be drawn to different
explorations in thought, the kind that do not necessarily warrant answers, but
rather, ask the most questions and create a constant forum for debate,
rhetoric, and intellectual exploration. The Thunderclaw may feel an inclination
to philosophy, literature, etc. as these intellectual pursuits may offer them
more ways to challenge their way of thinking. The Thunderclaw is the type of
student who does not say, “The textbook said it; it must be true,” but rather, “The
textbook said it, but what is the truth? Is there more? Let’s investigate.”
Of course, both of these Ravenclaw
combinations are driven by a love of intellectual challenge, but there is a difference between the kind of challenge each of them would enjoy the most. (Notice I say most, because both combinations would very likely enjoy both forms of intellectual challenge. It's merely a matter of which kind they'd be most drawn to.) Those who find themselves sorted into Horned Serpent would likely have a more external goal when dealing with intellectual challenge, which would explain their privilege
of scholarly authority and discipline. For instance, they'd be more likely to strive to have the top marks in class, always competing for the highest level of scholarly esteem. Those Ravenclaws also sorted into Thunderbird, on the other hand, would be
more intellectually driven by the challenges which they have given to themselves, be it in the realm of intellectual pursuit or their understandings and interpretations of the world. I
noticed that, when I was being sorted, I was asked questions that seemed to be
about what authority I find I am most responsible to answer to, or who I would
most like to challenge, and of course, for those who know me, the answer is
myself, because no matter what challenge lies before me, I am always
responsible for making sure that I am acting of my own conscience and holding
myself accountable for my actions. I believe this is part of where the "soul" of the Thunderbird comes into play, and this can be seen in my passion for
learning, being one who esteems intellectual challenge the most when it is a means to
question and test my own limits and methods of thinking and learning.
So, a Thunderclaw is the sort of
person who has an adventurer’s heart, even in matters of the intellect. I would
say that, as a Thunderbird, I prize physical adventure to be among one of my
greatest joys, and as a Thunderclaw, I find adventurous pursuits of the mind to
be equal among those joys. My academic background in higher education has been
in philosophy and language (By that, I mean linguistics, literature, and
foreign language) so I feel the Thunderclaw title fits me, as well as suggests
my need to be a lifelong student in those areas, because of my intense passion
for them and my need to continue to learn and challenge myself in those
disciplines and in my life.
All of this being said, every
single synthesis of the Hogwarts/Ilvermorny houses have incredible qualities. I
only speak about Thunderclaw, because that is the duo that I was sorted into,
but it is important to remember that I have only one interpretation of this
pairing, and the interpretation you have of your dual sorting and how it
reflects on your character and what you value in life is part of what makes the
sorting fun. So, no matter what flags you wave, remember that they are all
honorable and something to be proud and excited about, and there is a true
magic in the parts of our characters which placed us in these fine houses in
the first place.
