Afterthought on animal symbolism

[sistermagpie]

> It just occurred to me that the symbols of three of the four Houses at
> Hogwarts (badger, snake, and eagle) are represented, as are two of the
> three wand core animals (dragons and unicorns), as well as ravens
> (which ought, IMO, to be Ravenclaw's symbol) and magpies (winks at
> Magpie). The swan and hare )Cho's and Luna's respective Patronuses)
> are also listed.
> If you're curious as to how well the Celtic symbolism correlates with
> the Houses and characters associated with those animals, the URL
> (again) is 
> 
> http://www.thirdcoastrs.com/celtic_symbol_custom_stamps.htm
> 
> Carol, noting the irony of the verse associated with Sirius, the dog
> star, as regards his HP counterpart: "Dog days bright and clear;
> Indicate a happy year."

Magpie:
>From what I know about Celtic mythology, the swan was very fitting for 
Cho, as is the hare for Luna. I like those two choices.

It's always bugged me that Ravenclaw was an eagle. I mean...hello? 
Ravens? Associated with knowledge, even? Eagles are important in Celtic 
mythology too, of course, but having a special love for corvids (*winks 
back at Carol*) I couldn't help but feel like they were a little 
dissed. I wondered if JKR just naturally leaned more towards animals 
associated with courage and away from the ones that had more Gothic 
associations or were associated with death or ill-omen.

-m