In the fictional realm of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Occlumency is a branch of magic that concerns itself with closing one's mind against external penetration, with the intent of preventing others from reading one's memories or emotions. One who is practised in Occlumency is known as an Occlumens. The companion art to Occlumency is that of Legilimency, the ability to extract memories or emotions from another's mind. The term Occlumens wa...
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In the fictional realm of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Occlumency is a branch of magic that concerns itself with closing one's mind against external penetration, with the intent of preventing others from reading one's memories or emotions. One who is practised in Occlumency is known as an Occlumens. The companion art to Occlumency is that of Legilimency, the ability to extract memories or emotions from another's mind. The term Occlumens was created by J.K. Rowling, and is a portmanteau of the words occludere (Latin for to close or block off) and the suffix -mens, (Latin for mind).
To perform Occlumency, one needs to "rid his mind of emotion, empty it...make it blank and calm." Therefore, instead of simply blocking an enemy's attempts to break into the mind, Occlumency requires an individual to clear their mind of thoughts in order to reveal nothing about themselves. Rowling's characters Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and Albus Dumbledore are experts in the field, as well as...
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