Main Page D.A.D.A.

As I'm sure most of us are aware, the Dark Arts are extremely dangerous, and there must be precautions taken to ensure the safety of yourself and others. This class will teach you specific precautions and forms of defense for dealing with the Dark Arts. By the end of this school year, you should be much more aware of the evil around us and the ways of dealing with this evil. Since I find it to be very important that all is learned that can be learned within this school year, I think we should begin right now.

The Phoenix

With roots in ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Arabic mythology, the phoenix is known as a sacred symbol, usually representing rebirth. It is shown, most-commonly, as an eagle-like bird of red and gold plumage. Of course, there are other variations which counter that. In Egypt, it is recognized as a heron. Oftentimes, it is said to have characteristics like that of a peacock. Over time, legend established there could be but one phoenix on earth at a time. Every 500 or 1461 years, a new phoenix would arise from the ashes. Similar to the idea that elephants know to go off and die when it is time, legend has the phoenix acknowledging its impending demise and building a nest to be used as a funeral pyre. The old phoenix, burned in the flames, would allow a new phoenix to rise up from the ashes. Sometimes, the events are linked to the rising and setting of the sun.Though most commonly linked to the beliefs of civilizations long-terminated, later images of the phoenix appeared in Medieval Christian writings (concerning death and resurrection). The flight of the phoenix is said to represent the capacity to leave the world and all of its problems behind, soaring towards the sun in clear pure skies.

Homework

Find and list at least 3 sources of media that have something to do with the Phoenix (ex. a television show featuring the mythical bird, a movie with Phoenix in the title, etc.)E-mail your findings to [email protected] .

Past Lessons

Werewolves

Let me first say that I do not believe all people who are werewolves are evil. I believe that these people can be good, despite the fact that on each full moon they turn into havoc-wreaking terrors which can harm society. It is only in their werewolf form that most werewolves cause destruction. This is why it is difficult to deal with werewolves. Silver bullets are the most common way to destroy a werewolf. The problem that comes with this is that the person also dies, along with the wolf. Thus I advise against it. A creative way to deal with werewolves involoves a special gift and a portrait. Think of Dorian Gray...or if you don't know who that is, then don't. All right, so first, the person--who must have a magic-fueled gift of painting--must paint the portrait of the werewolf. Once this is completed, the werewolf must carry it everywhere with them. *WARNING* if it works correctly, the person who was once a werewolf will become immortal...only destroyed by the destruction of the portrait. How the painting works: It transforms instead of the person. On each full moon, the portrait changes instead...and it also ages. It's tricky to pull off, but it can work. The Wolfsbane Potion is a modern-day tool for helping lycanthrope. When made correctly, the user turns into a wolf...while keeping his or her normal state of mind. Lastly, there is a flower that, when eaten as the full moon rises, will rid the werewolf of their curse. However, this flower is very rare, and in most cases, control is lost before the flower can be eaten.

Homework

Your homework is to list two other names for werewolf. (*HINT* One of them is listed in the lesson you just read, and the other can be found at Dictionary.com under werewolf)You can send your homework to me until I post a message on this website stating no more homework is being accepted, or when I change the lesson. The assignment is worth 15 house points. Oh yeah...and the new homework email is [email protected], so send stuff there!

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