[HPforGrownups] luna equals silver

[Iggy McSnurd]

No: HPFGUIDX 84561

> Incidentally, does anyone know the origins of the silver/werewolf
> connection? Perhaps the importance of the moon to both silver and
> werewolves is what led people to put them together.
>
> Really just rambling....
>
>
> Tanya
>

Iggy here:

*sigh*  I can't access the specific message number at the moment due to a
rather erratic internet connection... (I seem to just have enough time to
send and receive e-mails... if I'm lucky...) but in a rather lengthy post in
the Wormtail's Silver Hand topic, I went rather in depth about silver and
werewolves.  I also went into great detail about vampire lore as well.  I
will also paste the entire message to the bottom of this letter for ease of
reference.

While I can't give you the message number, I can give you the time-stamp on
it:  Saturday, November 08, 2003 9:49 AM
(This is Central time, if it matters.)

Unfortunately, as few people seem to notice my posts, they often get lost in
the shuffle.


Iggy McSnurd
(the MLTA)




Carol:
> Still no takers? Let me ask more simply then. Does anyone think that
> Wormtail is going to kill Lupin with his silver hand? Why or why not?

Iggy here:

Something I pointed out during the earlier discussion about silver and
werewolves...

Silver is no real harm to werewolves when they are in their human form.
It's also only really dangerous to them when used as a weapon.  This is
similar to the fact that a vampire can handle a wooden stake with no
problem, provided that they don't try to plunge it through their own heart.

Silver is considered the lunar metal (as gold is considered to be the solar
one) and therefore is the only weapon truly effective against lycanthropes.
(Well, most of them, anyhow...)  It is also considered to be the only metal
that is truly pure on a spiritual level, and as lycanthropy is deemed in
many folklores as a taint not only of the body, but of the spirit and soul,
using purity against corruption is a logical choice.

In other words, the argument that Lupin handled, and drank from, the silver
goblet proving he isn't harmed by silver is pure poppycock.  I can handle a
bullet without harm, but if someone shot me with one, it's a different
story.

> A related question regarding Sirius's schoolboy "prank": If Snape were
> a vampire, couldn't he have fought werewolf Lupin in that form? If
> we're going by folklore, nothing can kill a vampire but a stake of
> holly to the heart, right? Why would he have needed to learn
> occlumency or any form of defense against the dark arts if he were
> virtually immortal?

Iggy here again:

I actually did a speech for a class once on the three major methods to kill
a traditional vampire.  Please note that these techniques of eleimination or
detection are valid for only the traditional European vampire.  Many other
forms of vampire exist that don't meet these conditions.  One example is a
form of African vampire that's invisible all the time and can only be slain
by a shaman or priest wielding a wooden sword or spear.)

1:  Binding the spirit to the ground with a stake made of oak, ash, yew, or
holly.  This not only stakes the body to the ground, but also, because of
the type of wood and location of the stake in the body, does the same to the
wayward soul of the vampire.  This was also accompanied by one or more of
the following:
    a: filling the mouth with consecrated holy wafers and sewing the lips
closed with silver wire.
    b: hamstringing the corpse both at the heel and knees.
    c: driving an iron spike into the skull.
    d: searing out the eyes with heated coins of silver.
    e: decapitating the corpse and placing the head between the knees of the
body.
    f: burying the body at a crossroads.  The demonic soul that posesses the
body becomes confused as to which way to go when it rises from the ground,
and is stuck at the crossroads until morning, when it must return to the
ground.

2:  Exposing the body to the full light of the sun.  Not only is the sun
considered to be a purifying agent of life, but in many cultures, it is seen
as being a form of the "Light of God" itself.  As such, it purifies all evil
that it touches.  A vampire, being seen as a being of purest evil and
darkness, they are virtually disintegrated by the rays of the sun.

3: Submerging the vampire within swiftly moving, fairly clean water.  The
water, be it a river, waterfall, or swift stream, draws the poisons and
impurities from a person's body and washes it away.  Since a vampire is
seen, by nature, as being impure corrupted, the water washes away the whole
of its being.



Now, as for detecting if someone's a vampire...

Supposedly they are repelled by garlic.  Old wive's tale and not to be
relied on, IMHO.  In the old days, garlic was a cure for everything.  Got a
cold, use garlic.  Suffering the pox, use garlic.  Plagued by vampires, use
garlic...
(I'm pretty sure that the House Elves don't need to take the trouble to set
up a separate meal for Snape, and some of the food he eats probably has
garlic in it.  Not only that, he wouldn't be able to be at the same table as
a meal with garlic in it.  Add in the fact that, if Quirrel's turban did
contain garlic, Snape wouldn't have been able to talk with him up close and
personal.)

Commonly, they have no reflection in a mirror, especially one with a pure
silver backing.  Possible, depending on the vampire lore you're dealing
with.  In many cultures, a mirror is seen as not reflecting a person's body,
but their soul.  As a vampire is seen as a soulless being, they wouldn't
appear in a mirror.
(Hmmm... We've never seen Snape's reflection in a mirror other than the Foe
Glass, which isn't really described as a mirror.  But then again, the only
person we've seen in a normal mirror in the books at all is Harry.  I don't
think the Mirror of Erised counts as a normal mirror.  Besides, if Snape was
a vampire and couldn't be reflected in a mirror, don't you think Dumbledore
would give him access to the Mirror of Erised?  After all, Snape would
probably see himself in it, even if he were a vampire.)

Vampires are often regarded as never casting a shadow, since the shadow was
often seen as an evil counterpoint to the self and was absorbed into the
vampire's body.
(We rarely see anyone casting a shadow in any of the books, so I don't think
we can depend on this at all.  Besides, if Snape didn't cast a shadow at
all, I think someone would have noticed it.)

A vampire cannot bear the touch of the sun's rays.
(Snape has been seen outside quite often, and with no ill effect.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to save Harry from Quirrel's jinx, and
he wouldn't have been able to referee the Quidditch match between Gryffindor
and Slytherin.)

A vampire must be invited in by the master of a house in order to enter a
private abode.  This was often seen as a factor of the power a person had
over the land they owned.  As potent as a vampire is when compared to a
human, this is seen as a power even they cannot take away from the owner of
a house.  This is also a symbol of the power the head of a family is seen to
possess as well.
(If this were the case, Snape wouldn't have been able to enter 12 Grimmauld
Place without a direct invitation from Sirius.  Dumbledore could reveal the
location of the OotP HQ, but even he cannot grant Snape the power to enter.
The need for the direct invitation would have given Snape away to Sirius as
a vampire, and I'm pretty sure Sirius would have told Harry at some point.)

A vampire can no longer consume mortal food and may only subsist on blood
alone.  Since they are no longer human, and live a wholly parasitic
existence, a vampire's body cannot tolerate ingesting normal food.
(We have seen Snape at the head table quite frequently, and as much of an
issue was made about Moody drinking from the flask and examining his food so
closely, I' feel confident in saying that if Snape had a "dietary
restriction" that severe, we would have been informed about it in some way.)



There's a lot more I can pull up here, but I think I've covered the most
salient points.

Iggy McSnurd