If you’ve seen the simple yet mysterious triangle symbol in the Harry Potter series, you’re probably curious about what it means.
It’s one of the most important aspects of the story, especially by the end of the main series.
This symbol relates to three very powerful magical items in this fictional world, including a wand, a stone, and a cloak.
While these items may seem ordinary enough, the one who made these wielded quite a bit of magical power.
What Does Triangle Symbol Mean In Harry Potter? The triangle symbol represents three of the most legendary objects in the wizarding world:
- The single line in the middle represents the Elder Wand
- The circle in the middle represents the Resurrection Stone
- The outside triangle represents the Cloak of Invisibility
Triangle Symbol and Harry Potter
These objects are so powerful that they would enable the user to become what’s known as the “Master of Death,” “Vanquisher of Death,” or “Conqueror of Death.”
The sign itself represents each object as the possibility of bringing them all together.
The Tale of the Three Brothers
To understand what these objects are, the story behind them explains it fairly well.
This is a tale that almost all children in magical families know about and is considered a sort of myth or legend.
Most don’t believe in the reality of the story, but they find that it’s a great way to teach children humility, wisdom, and other morals. Some think that the Peverell brothers this story is based on served just as inspiration and is still based on true events.
However, to some, the story is real.
One day, three brothers were walking along a road during the dark hours and eventually came across a deep river.
It was so treacherous that anyone who would try to cross the river by swimming would end up drowning.
>> 100 Best Magic Tricks Revealed! <<
Being that the group was adept in magic, they just came up with a bridge using their magical wands and safely went across.
Midway across the bridge, a mysterious hooded figure appeared in front of them.
That figure turned out to be Death, furious that the brothers evaded him.
Three Magical Objects
Rather than let his anger show, Death congratulated them in a cunning and deceiving way and offered them each a gift of their choosing.
However, this was part of a greater plot. The eldest brother asked for the most powerful wand in existence.
The spirit agreed and fashioned the great Elder Wand from a nearby elder tree branch.
The middle brother sought to cheat Death even further by asking for the ability to bring back the dead to life.
The wish was granted by creating the Resurrection Stone from a simple stone in the area.
However, the youngest brother wasn’t so sure of what was happening, as he was more wise and humble than the other brothers.
He went and asked for an object that will let him be on his way without the Spirit of Death following him around.
Being that this would make things quite difficult for him, Death reluctantly agreed to the request and gave a piece of his Invisibility shroud.
This became known as the Invisibility Cloak.
The First Demise
It wasn’t long until the eldest brother was met by Death yet again during that same night.
Being that the brother was so boastful, it wasn’t long until some people interested in power sought to take the Elder Wand for themselves.
In fact, it was an anonymous and murderous wizard that took it.
He went into the inn that the eldest brother was sleeping in while he was still drunk from the wine.
The wizard slit the eldest brother’s throat to guarantee the theft as successful, giving way to Death’s plot.
The Second Demise
The second brother was able to return home before Death met him again.
He wanted to use the Resurrection Stone to bring back a long-lost love whom he was hoping to marry.
The girl’s figure appeared before him, making him quite happy.
However, she was quite desolate and cold. The separation between the two was like a veil.
This caused her to suffer, and in turn, him to suffer as well.
The hopelessness and longing that this brother suffered, as a result, caused him to hang himself from the balcony, hoping to be with her once again.
The Last Demise
The youngest brother passed by years and years while the Spirit of Death tried to look for him.
The Cloak of Invisibility made it impossible after all. Eventually, when the third brother was at such an old age, he finally took the Cloak of Invisibility off to pass it down to his son.
He greeted Death as he would to an old friend, and they both left as equals.
Triangle Appearances in Harry Potter
This triangular sign was actually shown before it was even described to the audience to Harry Potter himself.
This occurred during the sixth school year in the series during a scene involving a memory from the Pensieve.
It was on the ring of Marvolo Gaunt, who’s actually Voldemort’s maternal grandfather and Salazar Slytherin’s descendant.
The symbol was referred to as the Peverell family coat of arms, foreshadowing its true nature even while not being the entire truth.
More of this mystery was revealed during the following year, where the sign appeared yet again in the wedding of William Weasley and Fleur Delacour.
Xenophilius Lovegood, most likely a collector of odd trinkets, was wearing a necklace featuring the triangle.
A few months later, Hermoine Granger discovered the same symbol in a story in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
While its significance isn’t explained at this time, it eventually is.
It’s not until both Harry and Hermione went over to Grodic’s Hollow to visit where Harry Potter’s parents rest that more about the mystery is revealed.
It’s here where Ignotus Peverell is also buried with the Deathly Hallows mark.
This makes sense since he was the original owner of the Cloak of Invisibility.
After discovering it again in one of Albus Dumbledore’s writings, they went to Xenophilius Lovegood to finally see what it’s all about.
The Hallows Quest
Most people refer to this just as the Quest, and it’s mentioned by people who believe in the Deathly Hallows in telling about the quest to actually find the three powerful magical items.
They call themselves Questers and have a bit of a community.
Wearing the symbol displays their membership in the community so they can share knowledge with others who believe in the factual basis of these three items.
Xenophilius Lovegood is a member of this group and tells the whole story to Harry and his friends.
Conclusion
While this triangle symbol in the Harry Potter universe seems ordinary to someone that doesn’t understand the story behind it, its simplicity gives it a sort of ominous and foreboding tone that surrounds it.
While the Spirit of Death made it seem like he was doing the Peverell brothers a favor, it was really a plot to lead them to their eventual deaths.
It’s a symbol that plays well into the darker aspects the series gets into near the end.