Goblet of Fire is a goblet made of wood and is used at the beginning of every Triwizard Tournament. It is used to choose the participating school champions, serving as an "impartial judge."
Godric Gryffindor's Sword is a goblin-made sword adorned with large rubies on the pommel. It was once owned by one of the medieval founders of Hogwarts. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry uses the Sword to kill a Basilisk. It also plays a key role in Deathly Hallows which is used to destroy three of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
Philosopher's Stone is a stone, owned by Nicolas Flamel. It changes all metals to gold, and can be used to brew a potion called the Elixir of Life. The Philosopher's Stone is seen only in the first and last book.
Sorting Hat is a sapient artefact used at Hogwarts, which uses Legilimency (the ability to read minds) to determine which of the four school houses Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin each new student is to be assigned. The Hat speaks to the student while they're being sorted and is willing to take the student's preferences into account when it makes its decision.
Mirrors are also known for possessing mythical powers in the novels.
The Mirror of Erised is a mystical object discovered by Harry in an abandoned classroom in the first book. It shows the deepest desire of our hearts. Harry sees in it his parents. Dumbledore cautions him that the Mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth and that men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they see.
Two-way mirrors are activated by holding one of them and saying the name of the other possessor, causing his or her face to appear on the caller's mirror and vice versa.
Foe-glass is a mirror that detects and shows its owner's enemies. Foe-glass is hanging in the Room of Requirement.
Photographs and portraits in the world of wizards are not stationary, they move around within the frame and from one portrait to another, and are also able to talk.
Prank objects
Prank objects from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are made and designed by the owners of the shop, Fred and George, who test their new creations on themselves and other Hogwarts students. Weasley's Wild-fire Whiz-Bangs are enchanted fireworks that have overly spectacular and remarkable effects. Skiving Snackboxes are sweets that are designed to make the eater ill in order to skip or "skive off" class. Patented Daydream Charms are kits that put the user into a realistic 30-minute daydream.
There also other items, such as a Headless Hat, Ton-Tongue, Canary Creams, U-No-Poo, Extendable Ears, Portable Swamps, Trick Wands, Decoy Detonators etc.
Storage receptacles
Hermione's handbag. Hermione used an Undetectable Extension Charm on her handbag, significantly enlarging its internal dimensions without affecting its physical size. As well, the mass of the objects placed in her handbag is negated.
Other magical objects of this type are Mokeskin pouch and Moody's Magical Trunk.
Pensieve is a stone basin used to store and review memories.
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Transportation
Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia is enchanted car that can fly and become invisible. Ron and Harry fly the car in order to return to Hogwarts after the gate to Platform 9¾ is sealed by Dobby. Another object of this kind is S.Black's Enchanted Motorbike.
Broomsticks are used for transportation by witches and wizards, and for participating in the game of Quidditch. There are numerous manufacturers and models of brooms, including Cleansweeps and Comets, all of which vary in their capabilities. Harry's broomsticks Nimbus 2000 and later a Firebolt - are prominent in the series.
Floo Powder is a glittering powder used by wizards to travel and communicate using fireplaces. In Chamber of Secrets, the Weasleys use it to travel to Diagon Alley.
Hogwarts Express is the train which transports Hogwarts students to and from the school at the beginning and end of each term and for the Christmas holidays. It can be accessed only by using the magical wall between the platforms 9 and 10.
Knight Bus is a heavily enchanted purple triple-decker Regent Three class bus that transports witches and wizards.
Portkeys are an alternative to Apparation but can also be used to transport a group of people at once. Created by using the Portus spell, a Portkey can be set to transport anybody who touches it to a designated location.
Time-Turner may be used for short-term time travel. It enabled Hermione to attend several classes simultaneously. It also helped to save Sirius Black and Buckbeak.
Vanishing Cabinet is a cabinet located in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts that is a part of a set of two. The other cabinet resides in Borgin and Burkes.
Communications
Communications infrastructure of the Wizarding community employs many magical objects, such as enchanted coins, fireplaces, two-way mirrors, and of course, owl post. One of the types of magical letters are howlers, blood-red letters sent to signify extreme anger or to convey a message very loudly and publicly.
Writing equipment
There are different types of quills used, such as: Anti-Cheating Quill, Auto-Answer Quill, Blood Quill, Magical Quill, Quick Quotes Quill, and Spell-Checking Quill.
Cauldrons are magical receptacles in which potions are brewed.
Wand is a wooden stick-like object used to channel magical energy which is used as both tool and weapon in the wizarding world. A wand is made by a wandmaker who is learned in wandlore, the study of wands. A core of wands can include phoenix tail feathers, unicorn tail hairs, and dragon heartstrings. A wand is generally considered a very personal object. Furthermore, wands are able to be won from a witch or wizard and can therefore change their allegiance as it is the case with the Elder Wand.
Magical creatures
The wizarding world is home to many magical creatures, some of which are familiar from folklore and myth. Giants, dragons, unicorns, boggarts, and goblins all have roles in the series. These creatures are real, but have been hidden for centuries from the muggles by the efforts of wizards, to the point where they have faded to folklore.
Magical creatures comprise a colourful and integral aspect of the fictional wizarding world in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Throughout the seven books of the series, Harry and his friends come across many of these creatures. Some of them are derived from folklore, primarily Greek mythology, but also British and Scandinavian folklore. "When I do use a creature that I know is a mythological entity, I like to find out as much as I can about it. I might not use it, but to make it as consistent as I feel is good for my plot." Many pets in the series are ordinary animals with magical properties. Owls, for example, deliver mail.
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J.K. Rowling wrote a spin-off book about magical creatures to complement the main Harry Potter novels, titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a guide to the magical beasts found in the series.
She also included the Care of Magical Creatures to the Hogwarts school curricula.
Rowling coined the term 'Magizoology' which is the study of magical creatures. There are magizoologists who work in the Ministry of Magic, particularly in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Artemis Fido Scamander, a famous magizoologist, is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the universe of the series [15]. Accoding to Ministry of Magic classification all creatures fall into 3 divisions: the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division.
Beasts
A Beast is one of the three classifications used by the Ministry of Magic to catalogue the magical creatures that inhabit the wizarding world. Loosely defined, a Beast is a magical creature that does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws.
Acromantula Amonstrous eight-eyed spider. Thick black hair covers its body; its legspan may reach up to fifteen feet; carnivorous and prefers large prey.
Basilisk A monstrous serpentine creature. Reaches length up to fifty feet and lives up to hundreds of years. Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths. A basilisk kills both with its powerful venom and its eyes. A phoenix tear is the only known cure for the devastating effect of the basilisk's venom. Spiders flee from the basilisk, as they are mortal enemies. Crowing of a rooster is fatal to basilisk.
Blast-Ended Skrewt The Blast-Ended Skrewt is the result of a union between a Manticore and a Fire Crab.
Bowtruckle An insect-eating, tree-dwelling wooden creature that is hard to spot.
Centaurs Are wild creatures whose heads and torsos resemble those of humans but they possess the four legs, lower bodies and tail of a horse. Although sentient, they removed themselves entirely from human affairs. They live in forests, and their society consists of groups called herds.
Named Centaur characters: Firenze, Bane, Magorian, Ronan.
Chimaera A creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and dragon tail.
Doxy A small fairy-like creature that is also known as the Biting Fairy.
Dragon Dragons are winged fire-breathing reptiles. Rowling mentions several species including Antipodean Opaleye, Chinese Fireball, Common Welsh Green, Hebridean Black, Hungarian Horntail (the most dangerous of the dragons), Norwegian Ridgeback, Romanian Longhorn, Ukrainian Ironbelly.
Fairy A small human-like creature with insect wings.
Flesh-Eating Slug A garden slug-like creature with corrosive spittle.
Flobberworm A 10-inch toothless brown worm.
Ghoul A creature that resembles a slimy buck-toothed ogre. Interesting to mention, that Chameleon Ghoul can disguise itself as an everyday object to evade detection.
Giant Squid A huge creature that lives in the Black Lake near Hogwarts.
Gnome Gnomes are known to infest the gardens of wizarding households and are found in Europe and North America.
Golden Snidget A small golden bird that was used in the earlier versions of Quidditch as the Snitch.
Griffin A creature that is part-eagle, part-lion.
Grindylow A small horned water demon with octopus tentacles for legs.
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Hippogriff A creature that is part-eagle, part-horse.
Imp are found in Britain and Ireland where they are the same height as pixies.
Kneazle A magical feline related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat. Hermione's pet Crookshanks is a half kneazle. He's intelligent, sensitive to dishonesty, explaining his identification of the rat 'Scabbers' as P. Pettigrew, and an adjacent dog as Sirius Black.
Merpeople are sentient beasts that live underwater, and are found all over the world. Sub-species: Siren, Selkie, and Merrow.
Moke A lizard with silver-green skin that is native to the British Isles. The Mokes can shrink at will which is why Muggles can't see them.
Niffler A treasure-hunting creature with a long snout.
Owls Are magical creatures most often used for delivering post in the wizarding world. On his 11th birthday Harry was presented with Hedwig, a Snowy Owl who made a very faithful pet throughout the series.
Phoenix A large swan-sized scarlet bird with red and gold plumage, along with a golden beak and talons, black eyes, and a tail as long as a peacock's. A very faithful pet whose tears are known to have healing powers.
Pixie A small, bright blue mischief-maker, and loves tricks and practical jokes. It is able to fly, and enjoys lifting people up by their ears
Puffskein A sphere-shaped custard coloured creature covered in soft fur.
Pygmy Puff A round fluffy pink or purple creature sold at Weasley's Wizard Whezzes.
Sphinx An Egyptian creature that has the head of a human and the body of a lion. The Sphinxes can talk and are good at giving riddles, puzzles, and enigmas.
Troll A 12 ft. creature with prodigious strength and immense stupidity. Breeds: Mountain Troll, Forest Trolland, and a River Troll
Unicorn A white, equine creature with a single horn on its forehead. The blood of a unicorn can be drunk in order to keep a person alive.
Spirits
Ghost is the disembodied spirit of a once-living wizard or witch. Only magical beings can become ghosts. Many ghosts take up residence within Hogwarts Castle. These fleshless spirits were either afraid of death or have some extraordinarily strong connection to the locations they haunt. Ghosts play an important secondary role, mainly as advisors to the leading characters.
Ghost characters: Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Grey Lady,The Fat Friar, Professor Binns, Moaning Myrtle, Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore
Beings
A "being" is generally defined as "any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws."
Giant is a very large humanoid which can potentially grow to approximately twenty five feet tall and appear to be a large human. They are capable of interbreeding with humans Rubeus Hagrid is half-giant, as is his love interest Olympe Maxime but wizards as a population have engaged in an active campaign to hunt giants out of civilization. Their society is loosely governed by a chief called a Gurg, who spends most of his time demanding food from his underlings. Presumably, giants took part in the Battle of Hogwarts in the end of the series, mostly fighting for Voldemort.
Goblins are magical creatures chiefly involved with metal work and the running of Gringotts bank. They have long, thin fingers and feet, black eyes, and domed large heads. Relations between goblins and wizards have been strained for centuries by misunderstandings on both sides. Along with house-elves, goblins seem to occupy positions as second-class citizens.
Named goblin characters: Griphook, Gornuk, Bogrod, Ragnok, Ragnuk the First.
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A hag is a savage being that looks like an ugly, old witch but has more warts. They possess rudimentary magic, similar to that of a troll.
House-elves are small elves used by wizards as slaves. They are 23 feet tall, with spindly limbs and oversized heads and eyes. Their names are usually pet-like diminutives. House-elves are generally obedient, pliant, and obsequious. 'A House-elf's highest law is his master's bidding'.
Because of their obedient natures, some families abuse their house-elves. They can be freed by giving them an item of clothing. Nonetheless, most house-elves are horrified by freedom. They are able to Apparate anywhere. Named house-elves: Dobby, Winky, Hokey, and Kreacher.
Humans Are omnivorous mammals that consist of wizards and witches, Squibs and Muggles. In the wizarding world, some humans have had children with non-human beings. These half-breeds may be looked down upon by humans.
A vampire is a magical hominid that is famed for biting people on the neck and sucking their blood. They are part of the family of beings known as the Living Dead.
The Veela are a race of semi-human reminiscent of the Sirens of Greek mythology. They appear to be young, beautiful humans. Their looks and especially their dance is magically seductive. Veela can do magic without wands.
Werewolves A creature that exists only for a brief period around the full moon. At any other time, a werewolf is a normal human. One becomes a werewolf when bitten by a werewolf in wolf-form.
The Wolfsbane Potion controls some of the effects of this condition, but nothing in the wizarding world can completely cure a werewolf.
Non-beings
Dementors are "soulless creatures... among the foulest beings on Earth": a phantom species who gradually deprive human minds of happiness and intelligence. They are the guards of the wizard prison, Azkaban. They are human-like, approximately 10 feet in height, covered in dark, hooded cloaks that reveal their decayed-looking hands. They have perpetually indrawn breath, by which they consume the emotions and good memories of humans. The presence of a dementor makes atmosphere cold and dark. The culmination of their power is the 'Dementor's Kiss', wherein the dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's lips and consumes its soul. The principal method against them is the Patronus Charm. Dementors is a metaphor for depression.
Boggart is a shape-shifter that takes on the form of its intended victim's worst fear. The Riddikulus charm is used to combat Boggarts, by changing their appearance into a less fearsome or even comical apparition, which weakens the creatures. Boggarts reveal worst fears of several characters: Harry - A Dementor indicating that the thing Harry fears most is fear itself. Ron - An acromantula. Neville - Professor Snape. Lupin - the full moon. Hermione Professor McGonagall telling she had "failed everything". Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore - their loved ones being dead.
Poltergeist An 'indestructible spirit of chaos'. They haunt one specific location at time, generally those inhabited by a large number of adolescents, and either "[came] with the building," or chose to enter it at some point.
Wizarding world comprises a wide range of magical creatures and objects that constitute an integral part of imaginary secondary world created by J.K. Rowling.
ONCLUSIONS
The fantasy genre is an exceptional type of literature that actualizes the most deeply rooted psychostructures of our consciousness (such as archetypes) through representing some transformed world full of supernatural powers.
Over the course of centuries fantasy has reached in all possible directions, backward into the mythical past, forward into science fiction, and sideways into all sorts of parallel worlds.
But there is one thing fantasy owes its privileged position to in a most crucial way, and that is mythologization. Mythology possesses the very key to our consciousness employing images that actualize the innermost ingrained psychostructures that are principal for our identification.
Thus, fantasy literature, employing mythological elements applies to the universal human experience. Being sophisticated with certain metaphysical issues fantasy, especially the high one, deals with the problems of human condition. That's why the authors revive the same archetypes over and over again in their works everything in that perpetual quest for identity, for the better understanding of our true nature. Latter assumption brings us to the metaphysical understanding of mythologization not only as a literary device of employing mythical elements, but as one of the most primal and at the same time ultimate ways of comprehending reality.
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In its inner revelatory capacity the myth used in a literary work becomes a tool of self-cognition. That's why the fantasy literature works, with a certain touch of mastery, needless to say, can make such a good B ildungsroman.
Additionally, the fantasy work provides reader with the author's unique interpretation of myth. And the more liberties the writer takes with the traditional plot and images, the better. For the whole story becomes a great mystery left for the reader to unravel. Finding mythical allusions under a disguising mask is something the well-educated reader particularly takes pleasure into.
All these assumptions take us to one of the most important conclusions that can be drawn from this paper. It is that Harry Potter series is to be taken seriously, for it is more than just adventures or the all-too-common Hero's Journey. It's a great quest for identity that bears company with a creative way of employing mythical elements.
That is why Harry Potter series holds a great value for the young readers who are yet to define their place in this world, as well as for adult readership, that can indulge in a delightful blend of mythological allusions and universal archetypal images.
The present paper doesn't claim to be exhaustive concerning the issues of J.K. Rowling's mythological paradigm, that has been realized through the system of mythological allusions, symbols and archetypes. However, we have taken a fresh perspective on the sources of imaginary world creation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and claim them to be, mostly, of a mythological kind.
Upon conducting the present research we fulfilled the following aims:
1) to give an outline of the researches of the myth as an ingrained psychostructure and a form of human cognition paying attention to C. Jungs and J. Campbells concepts of myth as an ingrained psychostructure.
2) to research the Harry Potter series as fulfilment of certain mythological paradigm, emphasizing the influence of the world's mythical traditions (chiefly, Ancient Greek).
3) to identify some of the universal archetypes in J.K. Rowling's writing which prove timelessness of archetypal images in general.
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