The next exciting chapter of Harry Potter, the open-world game Hogwarts Legacy, has been delayed till 2023, and fans are disappointed but still eager to experience the wonders of the castle in the game. One of the most captivating experiences at Hogwarts is the Sorting ceremony, where characters got put into the houses Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw based on their personalities and whether they matched the qualities each house stood for.

The Hogwarts houses have been the subject of much scrutiny and theorizing because of their mystical nature, as well as the mysterious Sorting Hat's criteria. Reddit has some fascinating hypotheses about the hidden meanings behind them.

Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw And Slytherin Are The Only True Houses

According to Misunderstood_Ibis, the main three Houses, which were associated with the most basic Freudian personality traits, were: Hufflepuff which prioritized people and their emotions, Ravenclaw which focussed on logic and reasons, and Slytherin who were people who relied on actions and getting results. If someone got sorted into Gryffindor, it was because they possessed one of these three qualities, and had bravery, nobility, and chivalry in addition to it.

They said "They were just chosen for Gryffindor because they either valued, or had potential, for bravery." Secondly, Gryffindors were further grouped into trios where each one belonged to each "true" house, like "Harry is Slytherin, Hermione is Ravenclaw, Ron is Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore is Slytherin, McGonagall is Ravenclaw, Hagrid is Hufflepuff."

Each House Stood For An Element

In terms of Hogwarts Houses and their meanings, Redditors says "There’s the elemental one," where they correlate each house to a natural element which governs the house primarily.

Misunderstood_Ibis thought that Gryffindors would represent fire, for their feistiness and bravery. The best way to sum up Slytherin would be the opposing water — wily, cunning, and able to get things done with a force that others couldn't imagine. Air's qualities of intellect, creativity, perception and knowledge suits Ravenclaw best, while Hufflepuff's patience, hard work, stability and loyalty would correspond with earth.

The Perception Of Magic Use Was The Foundation For Sorting

Reddit's adreamersmusing posted somethingtodowithpotter's Tumblr theory that it was not personalities, but the manner in which each student perceived or intended to use their magic was the leading parameter for Sorting. They said "Hogwarts is a school to study magic. Magic as Hogwarts teaches it can be seen as many things: a natural talent, a gift, a weapon etc."

Thus, Gryffindors were good at combat magic (Defence Against The Dark Arts) which they dared to use for good because power was a responsibility to good for them. Hufflepuffs considered magic a gift, which was why they shared it with others like Newt Scamander did with his creatures. Slytherins considered magic a treasure which they guarded in its purity with all their abilities like cunning, while Ravenclaws thought of magic as an art form to be explored and studied as much as possible.

The Houses Represent Medieval Society Based On The Hogwarts Building

The Hogwarts castle played a big role in the houses, according to HiddenWorm. "Features of a castle (the west wing and the large tower), a palace (the quad), a monastery (church-like area in the north-east and the great hall) and a school (courtyard in the north wing)."

The castle signified brave knights, of whom Gryffindor was symbolic of. Similarly, the intellectual scholars in the school were the notable Ravenclaws, the brotherly and hardworking monks were Hufflepuffs who belonged to the monastery, and the Slytherins were the royalty and nobility who belonged to the palace. Thus, the houses formed the medieval social system.

Each House Member Has A Dominant And Recessive House

A deleted Reddit user reckons "some students have Hogwarts Houses that they are "recessive" for... The House that they are most suited for isn't the House that they end up in because of some way those Houses' specific characteristics interact."

This means that a Slytherin Dominant, Hufflepuff Recessive will be a loyal Slytherin, whose Slytherin qualities were greater but also affective by the recessive traits. The Redittor also implies that these "recessive" members might even choose other houses knowingly for personal gains.

The Houses Represent Modern Social Classes

Reddit's MyAmelia thinks "the houses don't represent personality traits but social classes and politicial ideals." Thus, Slytherin took in folks who resembled the wealthy, capitalist upper class with bad ideals, while Gryffindor house members were working class people and rebellious bourgeoisie with socialist qualities who had battled Slytherins for time immemorial.

Ravenclaws were the well-read middle-class who were centrists who liked the middle path, and Hufflepuffs were the vagabonds who came from all walks of life, but fought the most important fight - the one for climate, but were largely ignored because they weren't forceful enough.

Everyone Sorted Into Gryffindor Had To Ask The Sorting Hat

EquivalentInflation postulates that being Sorted into every House is automatic, except Gryffindor where the student has to ask the Hat to put them in the house. "Godric Gryffindor set up the hat purposefully so that it would never just choose Gryffindor... The test isn't if someone is brave already, it's if they have the bravery to make the choice."

In this theory, none of the Gryffindors were initially brave at all: Ginny was meek, Neville was cowardly, Hermione was brainy, and Harry was just as scared. They grew into their bravery as they made their choice to be in the house of the courageous.

The Sorting Hat Can See The Future Actions Of The Student In The House

"I think the reason Harry didn't get into Slytherin is because the Sorting Hat doesn't only count what House you're most suited for, but also the things you will achieve in your time at that House," theorizes Lokitu. They think that the Sorting Hat sees the future and then places people in the Houses they need to be in.

This was why it put Snape in Slytherin because he had to be in that house, become a Death Eater, and then do the brave deeds that he did much later. SImilarly, Harry also was sorted into Gryffindor so that he would meet Hermione and Ron, who would help him bring down the most evil wizard of all time. The Sorting Hat knew.

All The Houses, Bar Hufflepuff, Were Elitist Organizations

Based on what the founders of the houses said, AlexandersWonders is convinced that Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin were elitist organizations, who had certain criteria to be met to let people in. Slytherin liked pure blood, Ravenclaw liked extreme intelligence, and Gryffindor only admitted those with the most guts and brave deeds.

Hufflepuff was the only one who said she would admit everyone else who didn't fall into these strict parameters and treat them justly. The Redditor said, "In short, Hufflepuff is the house of the common witch or wizard, the house of the people and for the people."

The Houses Were Genetic, And All Except Gryffindors Originated From The Peverell Brothers

Reddit's Dawwy points out that it is very possible that one's Sorting is based on something out of their control: genes. Each witch or wizard and their family's carries the house gene, but only three houses have them passed down: Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They hypothesize that these genes originated from the Peverell Brothers: "I believe that Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff come from three brothers from the fable. Slytherin being the power-desiring one (The Wand one), Ravenclaw being the death-defying one (the stone) and Huffelpuff being the cloak one."

All families descended from them, so they carry the genetic makeup for these three houses. Gryffindor is an outlier gene, which gets "sparked" in special circumstances. The gene's triggering can be because of bravery, being with certain people, or choices that people make.

NEXT: 10 Harry Potter Deaths That Fans Wish Could Be Reversed