So this entire post arose from a conversation I was having with a friend of mine. As we are wont to do, we were discussing Harry Potter and sorting various acquaintances of ours into each of the four Houses when my friend confessed she wasn’t sure of the House to which she belonged. I said, “Gryffindor” without a second thought.
But my friend was unsure. Pottermore had sorted her into Ravenclaw, not to mention her sister and one of her best friends (both staunch Gryffindors) also told her she was Ravenclaw. She herself thought she might be Hufflepuff. However, as the Ravenclaw-est of Ravenclaws, I felt obligated to correct her. I tried explaining my theory of the different value axes and alignments over Gchat, but decided visual aids were probably going to be more helpful.
Hence the Hogwarts House Matrix.
I’ve divided these traits into primary alignments andsupporting characteristics
To explain the alignments (in declining order of weight):
Governed by morality vs. ethics: Ruled by a sense of Right and Wrong vs. Correct and Incorrect.
Externally vs. internally validated: Derives a sense of satisfaction from achievements and praise vs. personal accomplishments.
Socially vs. individually orientated: Effects and is affected by social situations and peers vs.is unaffected by others’ opinions.
The supporting characteristics are as follows:
Reactive vs. proactive action: How one responds to external stimuli.
Subjective experience vs. objective reality: How one believes the world should be judged.
Driven by passion vs. guided by reason: The raison d’être for doing.
Really, in my opinion, you can generally figure out which House you’re in by answering two questions:
1. Are you governed by morality or ethics?
2. Do you derive satisfaction from internal or external validation?
Answering those two questions gives you a pretty good picture of what I’ve defined as the core value of each House:
The characteristics of Bravery, Hard Work, Ambition, and Cleverness are external manifestations of the core values. You must be brave to seek justice, you must work hard to be fair, you must be ambitious to find success, and you be clever to gain knowledge.
(More charts and LONG explanations under the cut!)
Okay but after seeing this I started doing it too and it’s amazing how many men I’ve run into bc they expected me to move
Gotta try it
I work (and walk) on a college campus. I’ve lost count of how many men I’ve smacked shoulders with.
Recently, I was standing outside my son’s classroom waiting to talk to his teacher. I stood on one side of the hallway, not even close to the center. At some point, a man came walking along. I was standing right in his path, but the hallway was empty, so I logically expected him to swerve around me. Instead he kept walking right toward me, got to me, and stopped, as if waiting for me to get out of his way. I didn’t; I just smiled politely at him. He finally walked around me, clearly annoyed that I hadn’t leapt out of his manly path.
Now I’m wishing I’d leapt aside, taken off my jacket and laid it on the floor before him, then bowed deeply and said, “My Liege!”
I also work at a college campus. I smack shoulders sometimes, but I find that if I stare straight ahead and follow the advice below, people get the heck out of the way.
Honestly this post changed how I carry myself when walking alone in public, or in a situation where I’m the one leading. People definitely move for the murder gaze.
Confirmed. I once had to rush back inside a convention hall as the con was closing in order to a retrieve a sick friend’s medication, and I didn’t understand why people in the crowd were jumping out of my way (literally—one guy vaulted a table) until I realized I was dressed as the Winter Soldier and doing the Murder Walk because that’s just how I walk in those boots. I got the meds, got out, and made a mental note.
I repeated the experiment later, wearing the boots but otherwise my usual clothing and mimicking the expression I thought I’d had at that moment. People parted like I was Charlton Heston.
I now wear that style of boots whenever possible. I recently had a man do a double-take as I walked by and ask me, politely, where I had served because I “looked like a soldier.” I’m not current or former military. I was wearing a flowy purple peasant top and looked as un-soldierlike as possible.
Moral of the story: wear comfortable shoes, square your shoulders, and walk like you’ve been sent to murder Captain America.
So I read maggie-stiefvater‘s Raven Cycle in two days, count me in for teenagers obsessed with dead welsh kings ! Here’s a scene from the third book, because I really, really liked it.
