Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry

The Gordian Knot

A crucial part of the Ilvermorny uniform, provided by the school at no extra cost, is the golden Gordian Knot pendant. This pendant has many purposes and deep, illustrious history in the school. As you can read, the Founder of Ilvermorny Isolt Sayre retrieved the original Gordian Knot from the ruins of her family's cottage. It remained her only link to her family for the rest of her life in Ireland and later in America. Thus, it became the symbol of Ilvermorny. A form of the Knot is incorporated into the Ilvermorny Crest.

The Gordian Knot helps us to remember that the family does not end in blood. Isolt, though separated from her parents at a young age, found a family of her own, most of which had no actual relation to her. In fact, Isolt's only surviving blood relative was not good to Isolt, and later tried to kill Isolt and her family when Isolt escaped to America. The Knot is there to teach us that family can be anyone who truly loves you.

The Gordian Knot reminds us that everyone is connected. Once two lives meet, their destinies become entwined with each other. No matter the reason someone is in your life, there is a reason. It reminds us that we are bound together, and through this tie, we can help each other grow.

Along with the lessons, the Gordian Knot itself teaches, the pendant serves several practical purposes.

The portals across the North American continent that lead to Ilvermorny and the other schools around the world can only be activated by the pendant. Likewise, only a person wearing a pendant can get through the many powerful enchantments that protect Ilvermorny and its grounds. This, of course, helps to protect the students and teachers there, and, to a lesser extent, prevents Dark forces from taking hold of the powerful magic housed at the castle. 

Each pendant is enchanted (currently by the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, Jacob Potter, Deputy Headmistress, and Astronomy professor Emaline Goode, and the Headmaster, Agilbert Fontaine) to allow every student to communicate across language barriers. They do not get a direct translation, nor the ability to speak a new language they did not know before, but so long as they wear the pendant, they can understand the general meanings of the people around them. This allows everyone from across the continent to better interact with each other than they would if they had to rely entirely upon prior knowledge of French, English, and Spanish.

Finally, along with allowing easy identification of Ilvermorny students and staff, the pendant reminds children and faculty alike about school-wide events and announcements. It is charmed to access the memory area of the brain (only enough to fulfill its purpose, not enough to allow Legilimency or other forms of mind control) and will gently bring up any announcements made should the witch or wizard forget it.

The Gordian Knot is an important symbol to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and should be treated as such. Anyone caught defacing, vandalizing, or otherwise disrespecting their or another's pendant will be punished according to their behavior.