My ‘defection’ to Slytherin House at Hogwarts, rather than staying with Griffyndor, has distressed a friend of mine. She claims I’ve done it just because the Slytherin color is green. I now have a big Slytherin badge, complete with snake. And a beautiful Slytherin scarf, just like those worn by Hogwarts students.
I won’t say that my magnetic attraction to green had nothing to do with it. And of course we all know I love snakes, and actually have one. But there’s more.
In the Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter. the keyword for Slytherin is Ambition, while Bravery is Griffindor, Intelligence is Ravenclaw and Loyalty is Hufflepuff.
I think ambition is not the correct word for Slytherin house members. My sense of them, especially now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone, is that they are mystics. Their ambition is to merge with All That Is, to commune with The Universe – God, if you will. To become all that they know they can be. To see with those eyes, not the eyes of this world.
Certainly they have not, up until now, made very good choices along that path. But the mystic keeps searching. Possible new word: Spirituality. Go, Slytherin!