The Hidden Meaning Behind the Colors of Each 'Harry Potter' Hogwarts Houses

Even 12 years after the publication of the last Harry Potter novel, fans are still trying to decipher hidden meanings within J.K. Rowling’s magical world. While young witches and wizards were sorted into Hogwarts’ four houses, fans attached associations to each group. There are some obvious ones, like Slytherin’s connection to the snake, but many fans may have missed the deeper meaning within the colors of each house.

As reported by Reader’s Digest, Rowling chimed in on Pottermore to clue us in on what the colors mean. “The four Hogwarts houses have a loose association with the four elements, and their colors were chosen accordingly,” the site reads.

Gryffindor, with its red and gold colors, has a connection with fire. Slytherin, which is green and silver, symbolizes water, while Hufflepuff, which is yellow and black, is connected to the Earth. And Ravenclaw, with its blue and bronze hues, is associated with the sky.

Fans have expanded on the houses’ color symbolism even further. On mugglenet.com, one fan commented on the metallic associations with three of the four houses and how Rowling might’ve used this as foreshadowing. Gryffindor is gold, Slytherin is silver and Ravenclaw is bronze. And in the final
feast at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone, outside of America), Dumbledore adjusts the houses’ points: “Gryffindor comes out on top with 482, with Slytherin in second place with 472, Ravenclaw in third with 426, and Hufflepuff in a distant fourth with 352.”

Pushing the symbolism even further, some fans have used Hufflepuff’s association with Earth and plants to mean it’s the “stoner” house. This theory also stems from the fact that the house is known for being easy-going and friendly, and that the head of the house teaches herbology.

Whether these outlier theories are true or not, Rowling was certainly conscious in her decision to connect each house with different colors, translating to the four
elements so that each would have a close association with forms of nature.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.