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"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him."
Hermione Granger regarding jinxes[src]

A jinx was a type of dark charm.[1] The effects of a jinx were irritating, but amusing.[2] As a minor type of Dark Magic, jinxes had the least severe effects of the three dark charms.[2]

Usage[]

"Mr Slinkhard doesn’t like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they’re used defensively."
Hermione Granger regarding the practical uses of jinxes[src]

In order to successfully cast a jinx, the caster had to keep eye contact on the target.[6]

Jinxes could also be used in a defensive capacity,[7][8][9][10][11] and hence students of Defence Against the Dark Arts learnt some of them, such as the Knockback Jinx[12] and Impediment Jinx.[13]

Jinx effects could be blocked or removed by a counter-jinx[14][8] or a counter-curse,[6] and they can be prevented by an anti-jinx.[15] The former category was taught in Defence Against the Dark Arts class, while the latter was presumably part of several protective enchantments, and therefore mostly covered in Charms class.

In case of major jinx effects, like backfired and unliftable ones, wizards would have to let themselves be treated in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries or at least by any Healer or expert in the knowledge of Dark Magic.[16]

List of jinxes[]

Name Incantation Effect
A Anti-Disapparition Jinx Prevented Disapparition within a certain area.[17]
Anti-intruder jinx Repelled intruders.[18]
Avifors Spell Avifors A jinx when used to transform certain creatures into birds.[19]
B Backfiring Jinx Caused spells to backfire and hurt caster.[10]
Bee-Sting Jinx Caused the target's skin to swell and turn pink, similar to the effect of a bee sting.[20]
Biting jinx Caused jinxed object to bite the user.[16]
Brachiabindo Bound the target with invisible chords.[21]
Broom jinx Made a broomstick attempt to buck its rider off.[6]
C Cascading Jinx Targeted multiple enemies.[22]
Cracker Jinx Conjured exploding Wizard Crackers.[23]
Cornflake Skin Jinx[24] Made skin appear as though it was covered in cornflakes.[25]
D Dangling Jinx[26] Levicorpus Levitated the target into the air by holding them up by their ankle.[27]
Defensive jinx A jinx that protected the user from harm.[10]
Drone Jinx Produced undesirably loud noise.[12]
Ducklifors Turned the target into a duck.[19][28]
Dumbledore's Army parchment jinx Caused boils to spell "SNEAK" on the face of a traitor.[29]
E Ebublio Jinx Ebublio Trapped target in giant water bubble.[30]
F Finger-removing jinx Removed a person's fingers.[31]
I Ice Jinx Generated a small block of ice.[32]
Impediment Jinx Impedimenta Temporarily slowed target.[7][13]
Inflating Charm[33] Inflatus Inflated the target, filling it up with air.[19]
Insect Jinx[34] Entomorphis[34] Induced insectoid physical features upon the victim, such as feelers.[34][35]
J Jelly-Brain Jinx Presumably affected the victim's mental processes.[36]
Jelly-Legs Jinx Locomotor Wibbly Collapsed legs.[7][37][11]
Jinx against marriage Made an individual refuse marriage.[38]
Jinx on the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Every Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts could not stay in the position for more than one year and without suffering an unpleasant fate by the end of their tenure.[5]
K Knockback Jinx Flipendo Knocked opponent over.[39][40]
L Langlock Affixed tongue to the roof of the mouth.[27][41][42]
Leek jinx Leeks sprouted from ears.[43]
Lapifors Spell Lapifors Transformed objects and certain creatures into rabbits.[19]
M Multi-Shot Jinx Multiple offensive blasts.[44]
O Oppugno Jinx Oppugno Assaulted target with directed object(s).[45]
Orbis Sucked the target into the ground.[19]
P Pimple Jinx Furnunculus Boils/pimples erupted on victim.[46][37][47][48]
Projectile Jinx Waddiwasi Propelled a small material at high velocity at target.[49]
Pullus Transformed the target into a chicken.[19]
Pumpkin-Head Jinx Melofors Encased the victim's head inside a pumpkin.[23][19][28]
R Revulsion Jinx Relashio Released the target's grip.[50][51][52]
S Sea Urchin Jinx Made tiny spikes erupt all over the victim.[53][54]
Slippery Jinx Caused object to become slippery, making it difficult to handle.[55]
Special Jinx Provoked damage on an opponent. Special Jinxes came in red, yellow, green and blue varieties. When lured out of an object, it appeared as a blue floating ball of magic.[3]
Stinging Jinx Stung flesh.[51]
Stretching Jinx Increased the target's height.[10][56]
T Taboo Designated a word as a key to revealing the speaker's location.[57][58][51]
Tempest Jinx Struck target(s) with lightning bolts.[12]
Tree-animating jinx Brought trees to life and rendered them mobile and violent.[59]
Trip Jinx Tripped victim, causing them to fall.[29][34][60]
U Usual library book spells These were jinxes placed on the books in the Hogwarts Library by the librarian Irma Pince, to help protect the books from damage while they were checked out. These jinxed books were capable of beating someone around their head if they accidentally drooled on them.[61]
V Vermiculus Turned target into a worm.[19]

Behind the scenes[]

  • J. K. Rowling defined jinxes as "spells whose effects are irritating but amusing".[2]
  • As with most spell names, this classification is not hard and fast; for instance, Tom Riddle's jinx on the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher of Hogwarts was neither a minor effect, nor amusing, nor truly irritating. Indeed, it proved lethal for its targets on several occasions. Less strikingly, other jinxes, while admittedly "amusing", have also demonstrated lethal consequences, such as the jinx which animated trees. Even though Rowling herself specified the differences between curses, hexes, and jinxes, she states that "Within the Potter world, the boundaries are flexible and I imagine that wizards may have their own ideas."[2] This shows that the categorization of dark charms is not set and stone, and may sometimes be used interchangeably. This explains why some spells are known by multiple names, like why the Slug-vomiting Charm is a curse, and why the Jelly-Legs Curse is also sometimes known as the Jelly-Legs Jinx. This also explains why some curses, such as the Leg-Locker Curse, Jelly-Legs Curse and Full Body-Bind Curse, which don't cause any lasting injury, seem to fall more under the definition of a jinx or hex, while Voldemort's jinx has had serious, lasting consequences for several of those affected, which would seem more like a curse. This also applies to charms like the Disarming Charm, Stunning Spell and other combat charms. They affect the opponent negatively and leaves them defenceless and prone to further harm from their adversaries, which makes them seem more like a jinx or a hex.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Pottermore - The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Section: Extra Stuff - Spell Definitionsfrom J. K. Rowling's official site (via Internet Archive)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
  4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 28 (Flight of the Prince)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 11 (Quidditch)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 31 (The Third Task)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 15 (The Hogwarts High Inquisitor)
  9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 18 (Dumbledore's Army)
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 5 (An Excess of Phlegm)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 9 (The Half-Blood Prince)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
  13. 13.0 13.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 3 (Detention Before Extension) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Impedimenta"
  14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 7 (The Ministry of Magic)
  15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 9 (The Woes of Mrs Weasley)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 22 (St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries)
  17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 36 (The Only One He Ever Feared)
  18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 8 (Snape Victorious)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
  20. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery - see this video
  21. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Two, Scene Thirteen
  22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
  23. 23.0 23.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
  24. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery - see this video
  25. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp)
  26. Wizarding World - A guide to the lesser known spells in the wizarding world
  27. 27.0 27.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 12 (Silver and Opals)
  28. 28.0 28.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
  29. 29.0 29.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 27 (The Centaur and the Sneak)
  30. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  31. Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 3 (The Game from Queerditch Marsh)
  32. Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
  33. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  35. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 1 (Dudley Demented)
  36. Daily Prophet Newsletters, Issue 4
  37. 37.0 37.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 37 (The Beginning)
  38. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Malfoy Family" at Wizarding World
  39. Pottermore - The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
  40. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 1, Chapter 7 (Class Matters) - Charms Lesson "Flipendo"
  41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 19 (Elf Tails)
  42. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 10 (Cloaks and Conflicts) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Langlock"
  43. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 15 (The Quidditch Final)
  44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
  45. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 14 (Felix Felicis)
  46. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 (The Weighing of the Wands)
  47. Pottermore - Curses and Counter-Curses
  48. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 51 (A Simple Demonstration) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Furnunculus"
  49. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 7 (The Boggart in the Wardrobe)
  50. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26 (The Second Task)
  51. 51.0 51.1 51.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
  52. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)
  53. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
  54. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 13 (On the Run) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Sea Urchin Jinx"
  55. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 1, Chapter 2 (Welcome to Hogwarts) - Charms Lesson "Lumos" - See image here.
  56. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 37 (Entering the Black Lake!) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Stretching Jinx"
  57. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 20 (Xenophilius Lovegood)
  58. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 22 (The Deathly Hallows)
  59. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "History of the Quidditch World Cup" at Wizarding World
  60. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 13 (Rats and Dogs) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Trip Jinx"
  61. Quidditch Through the Ages - Foreword

See also[]

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