CHAPDISC: DH, EPILOGUE

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 185379

a_svirn wrote:
<snip> I'll bet little Scorpius is a little venomous too. 
> 
Potioncat replied:
<snip>
> 
> I went to a source. Then to another. It crossed my mind to go to
every source till I found one that described Scorpios in a good 
light. Didn't have enough time for that.
> 
> I did find this:
> 
> http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs/scorpio.htm
> 
> Scorpio Strength Keywords:
> - Loyal
> - Passionate
> - Resourceful
> - Observant
> - Dynamic
> Scorpio Weakness Keywords:
> - Jealous
> - Obsessive
> - Suspicious
> - Manipulative
> - Unyielding
> 
> Actually, the more I read, the more it sounded like Snape and the
less it sounded like me. Perhaps our parents were wrong about our
birthdays.
> 
> But actually, Scorpius does bring to mind the scorpion rather than
the sign, so a_svirn may have a good point.
>
Carol responds:

I agree that the list of virtues and weaknesses sounds like Snape! But
my suggestion that the name Scorpius relates to a Scorpio birth sign
was just a possible reason why Draco and his wife would name their son
after a constellation with a name that sounds venomous. It certainly
can't reflect any traits the poor child demonstrated at his birth!

Anyway, your post and this thread sent me on a Google search, too.
Among the things I found (not relevant to HP) is that the farther
south you travel on earth, the higher Scorpio rises and the less it's
associated with evil. (the native New Zealanders call it a heavenly
fish hook.)

More relevant to HP, the Scorpio myths vary, but I like this version:

"Scorpius rears his head (or, more accurately, his tail) in a number
of different legends, the most popular of which involves the great
hunter Orion. It is said that Orion, the gigantic son of Poseidon and
Eurayle, claimed he could kill all of the wild animals of the world if
he so desired. The goddess Gaia, protector of Earth and all its
creatures, became alarmed by Orion's boast. Fearing he might one day
act on it, she sent a scorpion to kill Orion. The rest of the legend
then splits into various story lines. In one, the oversized Scorpion
managed to sting Orion on the heel (marked by the blue star Rigel),
after a great battle. Gaia then took pity on Orion and placed him in
the sky as a constellation, setting the Scorpion at the opposite end
of the heavens so that they could never battle again. Scorpius rises
just as Orion sets, and in this, some see Orion forever fleeing its
fatal sting. In another, the Scorpion was sent to kill Orion and, due
to its small size and great stealth, managed to sting him quickly and
kill him. In both of these stories, it is said that the great healer
Asclepius ground the scorpion under his foot and then brought Orion
back to life using herbal healing methods he had learned from
observing a snake revive its brother. Hades, the god of the
underworld, alarmed by Asclepius's ability to raise the dead,
persuaded his brother Zeus to kill Asclepius. After doing so however,
Zeus, regretting his decision, gave Asclepius the name Ophiuchus, or
"serpent bearer", and placed him in the Serpens constellation, in
recognition of his contributions to healing and medicine. The Scorpius
constellation is located directly beneath Ophiuchus and the Serpens in
the sky, just as the scorpion was killed beneath Asclepius's foot."

Now, granted, the scorpion is ground beneath Asclepius's foot, but he
was sent by Gaia to, in essence, punish Orion's hubris (cf. many other
characters in Greek myths, many of them now constellations) and to
prevent his carrying out his boast (imagine if he'd succeeded in
killing all the wild animals of the world! A mighty hunter, indeed!).
It's not the scorpion's fault that Gaia used him as a preemptive
weapon (whatever the correct term is), and I don't blame Gaia, either.
Orion was a danger not only to wild animals but to the humans who
depend on them, and the animals were under her protection.

What I like, though, is that the snake is presented as a symbol of
healing. Too bad Scorpius wasn't named Serpens in honor of the good
aspects of the Slytherin symbol. (And could the Asclepius connection
be the reason that Slytherins seem to be good at Potions?)

Orion and Scorpio are permanently distanced from each other, never to
war again. Could JKR have intended the arrogant hunter Orion as
Gryffindor and Scorpius as the Gryffindors' perception of Slytherin?
Maybe the scorpion has lost its sting and can be tamed. 

As to why Draco would choose that name for his son, I still don't know.

Carol, who prefers to think that little Scorpius is not venomous and
hopes that he won't become a scorpion Animagus!