Occlumens

• Incantation: None specified. An Occlumens practises Occlumency, a non-verbal, purely mental discipline.
• Pronunciation: Not applicable.
• Wand Movement: None specified. The skill is performed without the use of a wand.
• Light: None.
• Effect: An Occlumens is a witch or wizard skilled in the magical art of Occlumency, which is the act of magically closing one's mind to prevent intrusion and influence from a practitioner of Legilimency (a Legilimens). A skilled Occlumens can prevent a Legilimens from accessing their thoughts and feelings, or viewing their memories. The process as taught by Severus Snape involves clearing the mind of all emotion and thought to become blank and empty. Advanced practitioners can go beyond merely blocking an attack and can instead offer false memories and emotion to deceive the attacker.
• Type: Magical Discipline; Mind Magic; Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Occlumency is a rare and difficult branch of magic. Those who master it are known as Occlumens.

• Severus Snape was a master Occlumens. He claimed he could “shut out Voldemort” if the Dark Lord were to attempt to read his mind, a skill vital to his role as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Albus Dumbledore tasked Snape with teaching Harry Potter Occlumency during his Fifth Year to protect him from Lord Voldemort's mental invasions.
• Lord Voldemort was the most accomplished Legilimens of his age, and it is implied that to defend against other practitioners, he would also need to be a highly skilled Occlumens.
• Albus Dumbledore was also a powerful Legilimens, and like Voldemort, it is presumed he was an equally powerful Occlumens to protect the many secrets he kept.
• Draco Malfoy became a proficient Occlumens during his Sixth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry. He was taught by his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, and successfully used the skill to block Severus Snape from discovering his plan to assassinate Albus Dumbledore.
• Horace Slughorn demonstrated skill in Occlumency by successfully shielding his mind and altering a memory related to Tom Riddle's inquiry about the Horcrux spell. He was able to resist Albus Dumbledore's attempts to extract the true memory for a considerable time.
• Bellatrix Lestrange was a known practitioner, as she was the one who taught her nephew Draco Malfoy how to perform Occlumency.
• Harry Potter was taught Occlumency by Severus Snape but struggled greatly with the discipline. His strong emotions and the intrusive nature of Snape's lessons made it nearly impossible for him to master closing his mind.

Learning to become an Occlumens is exceptionally challenging and is not part of the standard Hogwarts curriculum. It requires immense self-control, discipline, and the ability to manage one's emotions. Severus Snape described the mind as a “complex and many-layered thing” and that only those who could master their emotions could hope to master Occlumency. The direct counter-art to Occlumency is Legilimency. While an Occlumens works to close and defend the mind, a Legilimens actively works to penetrate it. A duel between an Occlumens and a Legilimens is a battle of mental fortitude and willpower.

The term Occlumens is derived from two Latin words:

• occludo, meaning “I close” or “I shut up.”
• mens, meaning “mind.”

Together, an “Occlumens” is literally “one who closes the mind.” The discipline itself, Occlumency, combines occludo and mens with the standard suffix -cy to denote a skill or practice.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Occlumency lessons between Snape and Harry are depicted as much more aggressive and dynamic. Snape actively probes Harry's mind, causing a rapid, forceful flashing of Harry's memories to appear on screen. This visual representation differs from the book, where the intrusion is described as a painful piercing sensation followed by Snape commenting on the specific memories he has witnessed. (film)