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In Snape's first Potions class, he talks about the combination of two ingredients, Asphodel and Wormwood. There were a few hints or things that made people consider. While not offering much evidence that the symbolism was intentional, this does show that it was clear enough to put the idea of Severus's love for Lily into people's minds even before such a thing was ever part of canon. The asphodel/wormwood line was also used by fans as evidence for a Severus-Lily relationship even before book 7 came out. Still, of course, even if she didn't intend this symbolic interpretation originally, it's so neat that she would surely have no issues pretending (or letting it be generally assumed) that she did. Interestingly, this is after Harry found Snape’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making and followed his instructions to prepare the perfect draught.Īsphodel is a type of lily and means ‘remembered beyond the tomb’ or ‘my regrets follow you to the grave’ while wormwood is often associated with regret or bitterness.Īssuming that Rowling approves Pottermore articles even if she didn't write them herself, this is more evidence from the authorial-intent angle.
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‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ The answer can be found in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Professor Slughorn asks the class to brew the Draught of Living Death. If his first words to Harry are anything to go by, the language of flowers suggests that Snape deeply regrets Lily Potter’s death. There are hidden meanings throughout all the Harry Potter books, but what do we learn about Lily, Petunia and Severus when we examine their stories with this language in mind? Nearly every flower has a special meaning and, in times when some words could not be spoken aloud, bouquets would say a 1,000 words. The Victorian language of flowers was used back in the 1800s to send meaningful messages, convey deep secrets and share moments. Rowling and for which she often provides new pieces of her own writing, which talks about this issue: There's also an article on Pottermore, a site which is affiliated with J.K. It makes sense that his wormwood/asphodel line is also somehow significant. So Snape definitely has significant lines in this scene. This is probably a foreshadowing of book 3, when the werewolf Lupin comes on the scene and Snape, when taking one of his classes, attempts to teach the students about werewolves in the hope that they'll recognise Lupin as one. ‘What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?’ The bezoar becomes much more important in book 6, when Harry uses it (on the advice of the Half-Blood Prince, whom he little realises is Snape himself) to win a Potions contest in Slughorn's class, and then later uses it to save Ron's life. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?’
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To gather evidence as to whether or not it's significant, let's look at what else Snape says in the same exchange. ‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’
#Wolfsbane meaning full
Let's take a look at the wider context surrounding this quote (the full passage is available here): Rowling knew about it - she's never commented publicly on the wormwood/asphodel theory - but other characters in the Harry Potter books do have appropriate flower-based names: for instance, Petunia symbolises anger and resentment. It was used or alluded to in Shakespeare's plays (see also this question) and even the Hebrew Bible. The Language of flowers, or floriography, goes back much further than Victorian times. We don't know, but there's a lot of evidence supporting it.