This class was created by February Fortescue. Credit to all lessons go to February Fortescue.
Welcome to Astrology and Harry Potter. This class is very different from every other Astrology class out there. Why? You don't have to believe in Astrology to get something out of the class, because the goal isn't to apply the subject to yourself or the people you know (although you can do that if you'd like). J. K. Rowling has assigned birthdates to many of her characters and I am convinced she chose those dates based on Astrology and the personalities she wanted those characters to have. One goal of this class is simply to use Astrology to better understand those characters and the choices they made. In some cases, it may help you understand the characters even more deeply than you thought possible. The other goal is to answer some questions many wonder about with regards to the Houses, such as, "Why is Slytherin represented by water?" You'll find an answer for that in this class as well.
If you're looking for the usual listing of your lucky days, birthstone, and most compatible signs, you won't find that here; however, if you'd enjoy discovering a new reason to experience heartbreak over Dobby the Free Elf's life, or perhaps a different explanation of why teenage Severus Snape would not walk away from his soon-to-be-Death-Eater friends despite his feelings for Lily Evans soon-to-be-Potter, well, you've come to the right place.
Anyone can sign up for this class. It doesn't matter if you've already passed an HOL Astrology class, consider yourself an expert on Astrology, know nothing about it, or don't believe in it. If you have already taken and passed this class, you may take it again, as long as you select different options for your homework assignments.
Isn't it fascinating how J.K. Rowling brings in so many layers from our mundane Muggle world into her creation of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Most of us can find our interests here and write an entire book about it ourselves, whether it be chemistry, law, animals, teaching, healing, mythology, or Astrology. Yes, that's right. Astrology. I noticed her knowledge and use of the basic signs and elements once I started paying attention. It began when she gave us Hermione's birthdate. Well, of course Hermione is a Virgo - what else could she possibly be? Then I began noticing other character's birthdates, and those also fit. Rowling is still revealing birthdates, and I've correctly guessed many of the signs, most recently Luna's – she's a classic Aquarius.
The other obvious sign that Rowling uses Astrology is her use of elements and the Houses – Gryffindor/Fire, Hufflepuff/Earth, Ravenclaw/Air, Slytherin/Water. These are the four Astrological Elements, and their descriptions fit perfectly with the traits of the four Hogwarts Houses.
In Astrology, and with almost every book and website you'll find on the subject, the zodiac signs are listed in order according to the birthdates, and that's usually how they are presented. I believe this makes it easiest to “find your sign” but I don't believe it helps the most in understanding Astrology, because in many ways, it seems really random to me. In this class, I've listed them according to element, because there are twelve signs and of the four elements, three signs each fall under one element, and those signs have many similarities. I've also included the Hogwarts House under that element, so in this class, the listing will be: Fire Element: Gryffindor House, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius; Earth Element: Hufflepuff House,Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn; Air Element: Ravenclaw House, Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius; Water Element: Slytherin House, Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.
Even though someone is born in the sign of a fire element, or an earth element, etc. does not mean the Sorting Hat will place them in the House associated with that particular element. Why? In my opinion, the Hat gave us the answer in The Sorting Hat chapter in the very first book: "Not Slytherin? You could be great, you know...." Harry could be great - in the future. He wasn't already great. I believe the Hat sorts students based on what they value most, and what the Founders valued most in their students. Often, the personality will match, but sometimes it doesn't. Neither Hermione Granger nor Remus Lupin were born under the Gryffindor fire element. My opinion is that the reason Peter Pettigrew was sorted into Gryffindor was because he was a coward who valued courage - one trait he didn't have but wished he did. I think Neville also valued courage, especially because of the brave way his parents lost their sanity, and wished he himself possessed it. The Sorting Hat knew Neville was courageous, and placed him in Gryffindor to further develop the trait. One huge difference between Peter Pettigrew and Neville Longbottom? Their choices.
The Signs, listed in order based on their birthdates, and the lesson they are found in, are as follows:
Aries, March 20th - April 19th, Lesson One Taurus, April 19th - May 20th, Lesson Two Gemini, May 20th –June 20th, Lesson Three Cancer, June 20th – July 22nd, Lesson Four Leo, July 22nd – August 22nd, Lesson One Virgo, August 22nd – September 22nd, Lesson Two Libra, September 22nd – 23 October 23rd, Lesson Three Scorpio, October 23rd – November 21st, Lesson Four Sagittarius, November 21st – December 21st, Lesson One Capricorn, December 21st – January 19th, Lesson Two Aquarius, January 19th – February 18th, Lesson Three Pisces, Dates: February 18th – March 20th, Lesson Four
Astrology is a much more richer field of knowledge than what I'll be discussing in this class, and more than what I believe Rowling used in her books; for example, for each of the 3 signs under each element, one sign is Cardinal (in general, they tend to be leaders), one is Fixed (they tend to be steady and dig in) and one is Mutable (these tend to be flexible and adaptable). I've included it because not all the signs under each element are exactly the same.
Many people have noticed that everyone born under the same sign doesn't act the same way and therefore Astrology can't be accurate. Well, think about this: do identical twins act identically or are there differences? We all have different upbringings and different backgrounds. We make different choices, and those choices have a direct effect on our personalities. And consider this: we are only discussing a very small part of Astrology. A professional Astrologer would look at your entire birthdate, including the time and place of your birth, the location of all of the planets, including the moon, where they were, in which of the twelve Houses they were located, which signs they were found in, if they were in harmony with each other, or not in harmony, plus they'd also take a look at your Ascendant. All of this would go in to describing who you are, Astrologically. We won't be going into that in this class, but if you're curious, you can take a look at how your personal chart would appear on this website: