J.K. Rowling shares the inspiration behind the Deathly Hallows symbol

October 30, 2017

The BBC are releasing a new documentary, Harry Potter: A History Of Magic, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. In the documentary, J.K. Rowling revealed the connection between Deathly Hallows and her mother’s death, as The Sun reports.

For any fan of both Harry Potter and the 1975 movie The Man Who Would Be King, you might notice a similarity between the Deathly Hallows symbol and the Masonic symbol. According to the series, the vertical line represents the Elder Wand, the circle represents the Resurrection Stone and the triangle represents the Cloak of Invisibility.

However, Rowling explains that while she was working on developing Professor Sprout’s character, she was watching The Man Who Would Be King. Soon after, the author’s mother passed away, The Sun shares. She goes on to say that the Masonic symbol is very important in that movie, like the Deathly Hallows symbol is in the Harry Potter series.

And for that reason, it seems as though the two might just be connected. “I've got a feeling that on some deep subconscious level, they are connected,” Rowling explains. “The Potter series is hugely about loss. If my mother hadn't died, I think the stories would be utterly different and not what they are.”

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic is an exhibition opening at the British library, and Bustle says it’ll be coming to the U.S. next year.

Filed under:

harry potter