Hogwarts House Colours, Animals and Elements Explained

Every Hogwarts house has a set of symbols you’ll see on its banners, scarves, crests and Quidditch robes. They aren’t random. Each colour, animal and element was chosen to reflect what the house values.

Here’s the complete list, followed by a closer look at each house and what its symbols mean.

Quick reference

House	Colours	Animal	Element	Hourglass gem	Common room location
Gryffindor	Scarlet and gold	Lion	Fire	Rubies	Tower, seventh floor
Ravenclaw	Blue and bronze	Eagle	Air	Sapphires	West tower
Hufflepuff	Yellow and black	Badger	Earth	Yellow diamonds	Underground, near the kitchens
Slytherin	Green and silver	Serpent	Water	Emeralds	Dungeons, under the Black Lake

Gryffindor: scarlet and gold, lion, fire

Colours

Scarlet and gold are warm, bold and impossible to miss, which fits a house that never wants to hide. Gold also suggests honour and chivalry, two of the qualities Godric Gryffindor prized.

Animal: the lion

The lion is one of the oldest symbols of courage in European heraldry. It’s the obvious choice for the house of the brave. It also hints at Gryffindor’s flaws: lions can be proud and quick to roar.

Element: fire

Fire matches Gryffindor’s temperament: passionate, energetic and occasionally destructive. Gryffindors act on impulse and burn bright. The house’s famously warm common room, with its roaring fire and crimson armchairs, completes the picture.

Where you’ll see it

• Rubies in the Gryffindor house-points hourglass
• The Gryffindor Quidditch team’s scarlet robes
• The ruby-set hilt of the sword of Gryffindor

Read the full Gryffindor guide.

Ravenclaw: blue and bronze, eagle, air

Colours

In the books, Ravenclaw’s colours are blue and bronze. The films changed them to blue and silver, so you’ll often see both. Blue suggests clear skies and clear thinking; bronze adds warmth and a classical, scholarly feel.

Animal: the eagle

Despite the house’s name, its emblem is an eagle, not a raven. Eagles fly high and see far, which suits a house that values insight and perspective. The bronze eagle door knocker at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower asks students a riddle before it lets them in.

Element: air

Air links Ravenclaw to the mind: ideas, imagination and freedom of thought. It also matches the house’s lofty setting. Ravenclaw Tower is one of the highest points in the castle, with arched windows and a domed ceiling painted with stars.

Where you’ll see it

• Sapphires in the Ravenclaw hourglass
• The lost diadem of Ravenclaw, a key object in Deathly Hallows
• The eagle knocker guarding the common room

Read the full Ravenclaw guide.

Hufflepuff: yellow and black, badger, earth

Colours

Yellow and black are bright, warm and practical. Yellow is often linked to wheat and harvest, which suits a house associated with food, the kitchens and steady work. Black grounds it.

Animal: the badger

The badger is the most underestimated animal in the set, which makes it perfect for Hufflepuff. Badgers are small and quiet, but tough, persistent and fierce when threatened. They protect their homes and their own, much like Hufflepuffs.

Element: earth

Earth represents stability, patience and growth. Hufflepuff’s common room is underground, near the kitchens, full of plants and earthy colours. Its Head of House, Professor Sprout, teaches Herbology.

Where you’ll see it

• Yellow diamonds in the Hufflepuff hourglass
• Helga Hufflepuff’s golden cup, engraved with a badger
• The barrel entrance to the common room

Read the full Hufflepuff guide, or our case for why Hufflepuff is underrated.

Slytherin: green and silver, serpent, water

Colours

Green and silver are cool, elegant and a little remote. Silver suggests wealth and refinement, and green links to the lake water that filters into the common room.

Animal: the serpent

The serpent connects directly to the founder. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth who could speak to snakes, a rare ability passed down to his descendants, including Tom Riddle. Snakes are also symbols of cunning, adaptability and renewal, all qualities the house values.

Element: water

Slytherin’s common room sits partly under the Black Lake, and the light inside is greenish from the water above. Water also suits the house’s character: adaptable, patient, and able to wear down obstacles over time.

Where you’ll see it

• Emeralds in the Slytherin hourglass
• Salazar Slytherin’s locket, with an S picked out in green stones
• The serpent-carved entrance to the Chamber of Secrets

Read the full Slytherin guide.

The founders’ objects

Each founder left behind an object linked to their house. Three of them became Horcruxes in Deathly Hallows.

Founder	Object	What happened to it
Godric Gryffindor	Sword	Appears to worthy Gryffindors; used to destroy several Horcruxes
Rowena Ravenclaw	Diadem	Made into a Horcrux by Voldemort; destroyed by Fiendfyre
Helga Hufflepuff	Cup	Made into a Horcrux; destroyed by Hermione with a basilisk fang
Salazar Slytherin	Locket	Made into a Horcrux; destroyed by Ron with the sword of Gryffindor

Learn more about the people behind them in the four founders of Hogwarts.

Books vs films

A few symbols differ between the books and the films:

• Ravenclaw’s colours are blue and bronze in the books, blue and silver in the films.
• Ravenclaw’s animal is an eagle in the books; some film imagery uses a raven.
• The diadem’s design in the films is different from its description in the books.

If you’re making house merchandise or a costume, it’s worth deciding which version you’re following.

The Hogwarts crest

The Hogwarts school crest brings all four houses together. It’s a shield divided into four quarters, one for each house animal: the lion, the eagle, the badger and the serpent. In the centre is a letter H.

Beneath it runs the school motto, Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, which is Latin for “Never tickle a sleeping dragon”. It’s a joke, but also good advice.

Where house colours show up in daily life

House colours aren’t just for banners. At Hogwarts you’d see them:

• On school uniforms. Students’ robes, ties and scarves carry their house colours and crest.
• On the Quidditch pitch. Each team plays in its house colours: Gryffindor in scarlet, Slytherin in green, Ravenclaw in blue and Hufflepuff in yellow.
• In the Great Hall. At the end-of-year feast, the hall is decorated in the colours of the house that won the House Cup.
• In the common rooms. Each is furnished in its house colours.
• On match days. Fans wear scarves, rosettes and face paint, and sometimes charm banners to roar or flash.

Common mistakes with house symbols

If you’re making house merchandise, party decorations or fan art, watch out for these:

Mistake	Correction
Ravenclaw in blue and silver	Blue and bronze in the books (blue and silver only in the films)
A raven for Ravenclaw	An eagle
Hufflepuff in yellow and brown	Yellow and black
Gryffindor in plain red	Scarlet and gold
Slytherin’s element as earth	Water; Hufflepuff is earth

How the symbols fit together

Look across all four houses and a pattern appears. Each set of symbols lines up with one founder’s core value:

• Courage (Gryffindor): the lion, the colour of fire, the element of fire.
• Intelligence (Ravenclaw): the far-seeing eagle, the open sky, the element of air.
• Loyalty (Hufflepuff): the stubborn badger, the colours of harvest, the element of earth.
• Ambition (Slytherin): the cunning serpent, the cool colours of the lake, the element of water.

The four elements also complete a set, which reflects the idea that Hogwarts needs all four houses to be whole.

Which colours would you wear?

Your house colours say a lot about how you see yourself. Take our house quiz to find out which scarf you’d be wearing, and see your score for all four houses.