Superstition

In the wizarding world, superstition coexists alongside provable magic, often blurring the line between genuine magical phenomena and mere folklore. While some beliefs are rooted in observable magical principles, many are treated with the same mix of belief and skepticism found in the Muggle world. The subject of Divination itself is a focal point for this debate, with practitioners like Professor Trelawney treating its omens as fact, while others, such as Professor McGonagall, consider it a very imprecise and often unreliable branch of magic. These beliefs influence daily life, personal decisions, and the interpretation of events, from dining etiquette to the perception of certain magical creatures.

A number of specific superstitions are mentioned and play a role in the narrative.

• The Grim: One of the most feared omens of death, The Grim is a spectral black dog. Sybill Trelawney famously saw the omen in Harry Potter's tea leaves in his third year, causing widespread panic among her students. This “omen” was, in fact, Harry's repeated sightings of Sirius Black in his unregistered Animagus dog form.
• Thirteen at Dinner: Professor Trelawney holds a strong belief that when thirteen people dine together, the first to rise from the table will be the first to die. She refused to join the Christmas feast in Harry's third year upon discovering there were already twelve people at the Head Table. Unbeknownst to her, there were already thirteen present, as Ron Weasley had Scabbers (the disguised Peter Pettigrew) in his pocket. Albus Dumbledore, in standing to greet her, was the first of that group of thirteen to rise, and he was indeed the first to die.
• Unlucky Wedding Month: When planning the marriage of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Mrs Weasley notes that “May is an unlucky month to get married.” This prompted them to schedule the wedding for August instead.
• Thestrals as Omens: Because Thestrals are only visible to those who have seen death, a popular superstition arose that they are unlucky omens. This belief is unfounded, as Thestrals are gentle creatures. Rubeus Hagrid had to dispel this notion during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
• The Power of Seven: While often treated as a genuine aspect of aritmancy and potent magic, the belief in the power of the number seven borders on superstition for some. Lord Voldemort was particularly obsessed with the number, choosing to split his soul into seven parts by creating six Horcruxes.
• Folk Wisdom: Some advice passed down through wizarding families resembles superstition. Arthur Weasley's warning to his children, “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain,” proved to be critically important advice regarding Tom Riddle's Diary.

• Believers:
  • Sybill Trelawney: The most prominent believer, she sees dire omens and portents in everyday occurrences and is a staunch defender of their validity.
  • Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil: As devoted students of Divination, they fully subscribed to Professor Trelawney's teachings and superstitions, including the belief in The Grim.
  • Xenophilius Lovegood: While his beliefs often extend into conspiracy, his faith in entities like The Deathly Hallows, which most wizards considered a myth, could be seen as a form of superstitious belief in folklore.
• Skeptics:
  • Hermione Granger: With her highly logical and fact-based mind, Hermione considered Divination to be “woolly” and dismissed most of its practices as nonsense, eventually dropping the subject entirely.
  • Minerva McGonagall: Openly skeptical of Trelawney's abilities and predictions, she viewed the practice with disdain and considered it an imprecise and often useless form of magic.
  • Ron Weasley: Though he sometimes indulged in the spookier aspects of Divination, he was initially highly skeptical of legends like The Tale of the Three Brothers, dismissing it as a simple children's story.

Many of the superstitions present in the wizarding world are direct parallels to real-world Muggle superstitions. The fear of thirteen at a dinner table is a well-known superstition in Western culture, often linked to the Last Supper in Christian tradition. Likewise, beliefs about unlucky months for marriage and omens of death like black dogs are common in various folklores, grounding the magical world in familiar cultural concepts.