My New Chimerical Kit

My good friend Christina and I have been participating in NaNoWriMo together for two years now.  Next year, we were contemplating choosing a storyline and characters and each writing our novel using the agreed upon plot and setting.  I’m not sure how this is going to work out, but it sounds rather interesting.  I was also recently inspired by my Twitter-bud, @melissaoyler and her friend (Amy) who are choosing a random topic and then each blogging about it.  Christina and I thought this would be an awesome way to test out our ability to write individually on a collective topic.

For the record, these topics will appear weekly on Fridays until we run out of ideas or get bored with the project.

Visit Christina’s blog and read about her Patronus here.

Warning! Potential Spoilers if you’re only WATCHING the Harry Potter movies and haven’t read all the books

Both Christina and I have an infatuation with J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.  I have recently become fairly interested in the concept of spirit or power animals.  I’m not sure how this fascination came about, but I have been really intensely wondering what my spirit / power animal is.

Entre correlation between Expecto Patronum and Power Animals

In The Prisoner of Azkaban Remus (the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and member of the Order of the Phoenix) teaches Harry to produce a Patronus to protect him from the Dementors.  The impetus behind this particular deviation from the general course of study is that Harry is particularly susceptible to attacks by the Dementors who have gone in search of the escaped Sirius Black, an alleged Death Eater and prisoner at Azkaban.  Producing a Patronus is a piece of particularly advanced conjuring and requires concentration and dedication to produce a corporeal form of a person’s individual Patronus.  Incidentally, the corporeal form of a patronus is the only type of patronus that can actually protect the summoner from things such as Dementors.  There are other functions of the patronus, but for our general purposes, protection will do.  Additionally, each person has a unique Patronus.

I find the correlation between J. K. Rowling’s concept of a Patronus (or protector) and the shamanistic concept of a power animal to be intriguing.

In one definition of a power animal, we learn that rather than control over or  energy or  authority, it is possible that the allusion to “power” means the ability to perform work (in the case of the patronus, the ability to perform the work of protection).

‘A power animal is not an external entity that can somehow take possession of you. You possess it, for it is an internal energy-pattern that has attributes similar to the animal species it characterizes. In order to comprehend that fully, let us examine the title “power animal.”
The word “power” has a number of meanings. It can be defined as “an energizing force”–like nuclear power. Power can also mean “to have control over” or “to exert mastery.” Another meaning is “authority to govern.”
There is a further definition, however: “the ability to perform work.” This is the definition that applies to power animals and to Shamanics. Power–shamanic power–is an ability to perform specific work! Now let us examine the word “animal.” According to dictionary definitions, an animal is “an intelligent creature that possesses life, sensation, and the power of voluntary motion.”
A power animal is an energy-pattern–or energy-system–that appears in animal form and possesses sensation and the power of voluntary movement to carry out its inherent ability to perform the specific work it characterizes. A power animal is the very energy-pattern of an ability or abilities that the animal form characterizes! According to shamanic understanding, we each have a number of power animals, for they are patterns of natural abilities and potentials that are inherent within us. A principal power animal is one that has prominence.

I often wonder if Rowling intended the Patronus to be similar to this ancient concept.  While I have not been able to find any particular reference to this particular correlation, I would not be surprised if the concept was slightly influenced.  The patronus concept has certainly been influenced by Latin, the conjuring phrase Expecto Patronum meaning “I await a protector” by direct translation.

I found a particularly compelling article called Animal Attraction from the Leaky Cauldron.org that discusses how a wizard / witch does have some influence on the form of the patronus (or animagus, which we are not discussing in this blog post) that they are able to produce.  In short, it seems that there are basically four different influences that can be a determining factor in what form a patronus takes:

1. Patronus Inheritance
2. Pet-inspired Patronae
3. Patronus Adoration / Romance
4. Word-Play Patronus

Clearly, Harry’s patronus that appears as a stag is Patronus Inheritance from his father’s animagus form and nickname “Prongs.”  Others’ Patronuae take the form after their pet, much like Albus Dumbledor’s Phoenix patronus that is similar to Fawkes.  Many patronae seem to morph and change according to the witch / wizard’s love; examples include Lilly’s doe to James’s animagus stag, Snape’s doe because his one true love is Lilly, Cho’s swan (water fowl mate for life, and this is showing her devotion to her lost love, Cedric).  Also in the adoration / romance category, patronae have been known to reveal inner feelings, aspirations, and qualities of the characters.  Finally, the word-play patronus is exemplified by Luna “Loony” Lovegood whose patronus is a hare (perhaps we’re talking “Crazy as a March hare”).

So we have several influencing factors on the possible form of patronae and we also have the possibility that the concept of patronae is at least distantly reminiscent of the concept of power / spirit animals.

MyNeChimKi Patronus

I think it was a Twitter message that prompted me to take the quiz.  I made an effort to search for the exact tweet, but couldn’t find it.  Which leads me to believe that the next course of action was really all more about me finding my spirit animal / power animal / patronus than some cockamamie wild goose chase.

I think that I ignored my initial reaction to the tweet.  But after a few minutes I felt compelled to look up things about spirit / power animals.  First I found several websites that discuss the meditative journey that you need to go on to find your power animal.  And then I found some Internet quizzes that help you locate your power animal.  While I hardly buy stock into those types of online quizzes (except of course when they’re telling me that I’m Ross from the sitcom Friends) I was compelled to take one… or many.

The first quiz said that my power animal was a crow.

Not so much.  I can see my mother being a crow, but not me.  I neither feel strongly about crows nor do I feel attracted to their likeness.  I felt like both of those things were good indications that the crow was wrong for me.  Other animals that popped up were Otter, Wolf, and Swan (eek! I hate swans).  None of them really seemed to scream at me.  I moved on to another quiz.  The second quiz asked me questions that I felt much more at home with, and I felt like they spoke to an inner nature of myself.

Quiz completed… click send… and I get…

Unicorn

Weird.  First, it’s a mythical animal.  Second, it’s completely random.  Third, it’s a mythical animal… I know I said that, but can spirit animals be mythical?  As it turns out, power animals can be mythical.

So, according to this quiz my power animal / spirit animal / patronus is a Unicorn.

Why I’m completely OK with the fact some silly quiz says my power animal / spirit animal / patronus is a Unicorn

I woke up randomly one day and was obsessed with unicorns.

This particular day didn’t happen when I was four when most girls like unicorns and Pegasus and other fantastical beings.  This happened only a couple of months ago when I was twenty-eight.  TWENTY-EIGHT.  I am well aware that unicorns do not exist in the natural world.  I am also well aware that to have an obsession with unicorns at nearly thirty-years-old is a bit odd; especially when one doesn’t even have a particular affinity with horses.

My initial infatuation caused me to purchase a cashmere scarf with unicorns all over it from Delight.com.  I called it my “totem” for NaNoWriMo and feel compelled to wear it quite often (even when it’s not cold outside).  Outside if it being cashmere there was nothing that should have attracted me to the scarf.  Unicorns were just another thing, but not something that moved me.

I was puzzled at first, but then just decided that I liked the scarf for no particular reason and I would go back to being my un-mythical animal person shortly.

Except that didn’t happen.  My thoughts became consumed with unicorns.  Embarrassed that I was a twenty-eight-year-old woman with an infatuation that should have belonged to a five-year-old I told no one, but secretly researched them.

Here’s what I found out:

• The entrance to the Governor’s Mansion in Williamsburg, VA (where I went to college) is flanked by pillars, atop which sit a lion and a unicorn.
• Additionally, the crest on the side of the Governor’s Mansion also is flanked by the Lion and the Unicorn.
• This crest that is flanked by the lion and the unicorn is the British Royal Coat of Arms.  The lion is the English Lion.  The unicorn is the Unicorn of Scotland.  While I am a mutt, a great many of my ancestors are from Scottish heritage.
• From 1986-2008 the Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary (a Scottish heraldic office) was held by Alastair Lorne, a member of my ancestor’s clan (Campbell).

Thus, with my strong affinity to family history / genealogy, I am not in the least bit surprised that a Unicorn would suddenly appear as my patronus.

Random Posts

• March 1, 2004 -- Is this my week???
• December 22, 2007 -- Merry Christmas!!!!
• December 27, 2004 -- My Christmas story that I almost forgot…
• June 27, 2004 --
• June 27, 2008 -- Reference post