Horcruxes

Horcruxes:

An Introduction

By B.N. Skinner

Horcruxes first appeared in J.K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.¹

A. What is a horcrux?

At its core, "[a] horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."² "[Y]ou split your soul . . . and hide part of it in an object outside the body."³

According to Professors Slughorn and Dumbledore, this creates an illusion of immortality--because part of one's soul remains unharmed, outside of your body.⁴

The object a person puts a piece of their soul into could be anything.⁵ Tom Riddle chose objects associated with the four Hogwarts' founders.⁶ Dumbledore suggested this is due in part to Riddle's obsession with collecting trophies.⁷

B. How does one make a horcrux?

The process to make a horcrux is two-fold, but the intent to make a horcrux must be there from the beginning.⁸ First, a person must split their soul into two pieces--the pieces are not necessarily equal in size.⁹ Because splitting the soul goes against human nature--the soul is meant to remain whole and pure--the person who is splitting the soul must commit an act that goes against human nature: murder.¹⁰

Second, a person must cast an unknown spell to take the part of their soul that has broken off and put it into the object.¹¹ One Harry Potter fan speculates this step also involves the person making the horcrux to eat part of the body of the person they murdered.¹²

C. Etymology.

From an etymological perspective, Rowling has provided little.¹³ In fact, "[s]he seemed to come up with it through a process of trial and error, rather than purposefully creating a word from specific linguistic roots."¹⁴

Some Harry Potter fans have claimed the term is a "hodgepodge" of French and Latin--meaning "the outside essence."¹⁵ Others have claimed it is derived from "Horkos," the Greek deity that personifies a curse inflicted on people who swear "false oaths."¹⁶

1 See J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005).

2 Rowling, supra note 1, at 497.

3 Id. at 497, 502.

4 Id. at 497-98.

5 Id. at 504.

6 Id. at 504-06.

7 Id. at 505-06.

8 Id. at 497-98.

9 See id. at 498.

10 Id. at 498.

11 Id.

12 George Simpson, Harry Potter theory: Voldemort's Horcruxes were made through CANNIBALISM, Express, https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1200870/Harry-Potter-theory-Horcru... (last updated Nov. 6, 2019).

13 What does the word 'Horcrux' mean?, Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange, https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/176812/what-does-the-word-horcrux-mean (last modified in 2022) [hereinafter Stack Exchange]; see generally (Horcrux - Meaning, Origin and Usage, English-Grammar-Lessons (June 24, 2022), https://english-grammar-lessons.com/horcrux-meaning/.

14 Id.; see Hilary K. Justice, Of Horcruxes, Arithmancy, Etymology and Egyptology: A Literary

Detective's Guide to Patterns and Paradigms in Harry Potter, in Phoenix Rising: Collected Papers on Harry Potter 1-21 (Sharon K. Goetz ed., 2008) (providing a thorough analysis of the possible origins of the word "horcrux").

15 Id.

16 Id.