Except it's from JKR herself from a Mugglenet interview.
JKR: Probably. I hear you. It is the tradition to have four houses, but in this case, I wanted them to correspond roughly to the four elements. So Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Hufflepuff is earth, and Slytherin is water; hence the fact that their common room is under the lake. So again, it was this idea of harmony and balance, that you had four necessary components and by integrating them you would make a very strong place. But they remain fragmented, as we know.
It's a really old one. I agree with you though. Slytherin never scanned as emotion to me, or water. I'm a Pisces. I should know. Just pointing out that people took it from the horse's mouth as it were.
I guess I agree that Slytherin isn't very water-y, but at the same time, I'm a very earthy Hufflepuff, so I'm torn.
(And as far as JKR knowing the color symbolism when she chose house colors, I think she just really wanted a snake for Slytherin and so it became green by default.)
:-/ You raise an interesting point. I've always put Slytherin with water, but earth does seem to suit Slytherin better. On the other hand, earth is also very Hufflepuff and fits a lot of /my/ traits as well, since I am a Hufflepuff.
I think that Slytherin could pass off s water. They are intuitive, at least, and who knows, they might have a bit of wisdom hidden in their ambition. :P
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JKR: Probably. I hear you. It is the tradition to have four houses, but in this case, I wanted them to correspond roughly to the four elements. So Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Hufflepuff is earth, and Slytherin is water; hence the fact that their common room is under the lake. So again, it was this idea of harmony and balance, that you had four necessary components and by integrating them you would make a very strong place. But they remain fragmented, as we know.
That said, I agree with you.
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(And as far as JKR knowing the color symbolism when she chose house colors, I think she just really wanted a snake for Slytherin and so it became green by default.)
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I think that Slytherin could pass off s water. They are intuitive, at least, and who knows, they might have a bit of wisdom hidden in their ambition. :P
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