I’ve been watching the Harry Potter movies over the past week and I’m currently up to The Goblet of Fire. One of the interesting abilities in the world of Harry Potter is the ability for wizards to turn into an animal. Wizards with this ability are called an Animagnus (pl. Animagi). The animals that the wizard turns into are based on their personalities and therefore cannot be chosen by the wizard. I started thinking what animals I would like to turn into and what animals might fit my personality.
Way back in the nineties I used to read the Animorphs books in which the five main characters had the ability to transform into any animal they wished. They had to find an animal and touch it to acquire its power, but once they had they could turn into it whenever they chose. The differences between the two stories are the ability to transform into multiple animals versus one, the ability to choose the animal you turn into versus changing into an animal based on personality, and a few other minor details like length of time you can remain as the animal.
Some animals that I think would be cool to turn into include:
Eagle, Hawk, or Falcon – Birds of prey are pretty fierce, but the ability to fly would be otherworldly. I’ve been hang gliding a couple of times, but being able to fly on my own power would be awesome.
Bear – Bears are big and powerful creatures and pretty much the king of the forest.
Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Cheetah, or Panther – Speaking of kings, the Lion is generally seen as the king, though any big cat could hold that crown. Experiencing the speed of cheetah would be a rush, or the sheer power of any of these felines.
Dolphin or Shark – We’ve already covered powerful flying animals and powerful running animals, but what about some powerful swimmers? Dolphins are smart mammals that can swim along in between surfacing for air. Sharks are predatory fish that can stay underwater due to their gills. Just like being a bird on the wind, being a sea-creature would open up a whole new world, similar to scuba diving, something else I’ve done recently.
But this all started based on the Harry Potter storyline and there the wizard cannot choose the animal he or she turns into, so what animals could I be based on my personality?
Otter – This was one of my first thoughts for a few reasons. First, my affinity for water and swimming seemed like a commanding trait when determining an animal personality. Second, I had recently seen an otter while scuba diving, so it was fresh in my mind. Finally, the traits of the otter seem to fit me well – playful, energetic, etc. This idea was only furthered when I took an online personality test and had otter come up as the answer.
Badger – Not something I would have thought of, but on the personality test mentioned above, this was the “you may also be…” alternate answer.
Fox – Another playful creature, though one less fitting for water, I think the fox could be a fitting match for me.
There are plenty of animals in the world to pick from and it’s all pretty moot since it’s unlikely humans will be able to transform into animals anytime soon (or ever). However, it is fun to think about. What animal do you think you would be?
ren3gade 