Wand-Lighting Charm

"The Wand-Lighting Charm is simple, but requires concentration. Take care not to accidentally set your wand alight as damage of this kind can be permanent. If in any doubt about your abilities you would do better to buy yourself a magic lantern."

- Miranda Goshawk regarding this charm

The Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos) was a charm that illuminates the tip of the caster's wand, allowing the caster to see in the dark. The counter-charm for the spell was the Wand-Extinguishing Charm, (Nox) which is used to extinguish the light from the caster's wand.

History
Despite its apparent simplicity, the Wand-Lighting Charm was not invented until the 18th century. It was first used publicly by its inventor, Levina Monkstanley in the Ministry of Magic in 1772 — to the astonishment of her colleagues — to help her look for a fallen quill in a dusty corner.

However, Garvin Lügner (a German wizard) claimed to have been the one who invented the spell, while he was developing his Instant Darkness Powder. It later transpired that Lügner had been lying about the invention of the charm, and that his Instant Darkness Powder did not do too much more than slightly dim the lights.

This spell was taught in first year Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms classes and was detailed in The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, another unidentified spellbook and the Book of Spells. This spell was also used frequently as people skulk about the castle or the Forbidden Forest, used numerous times by Hogwarts students.

Effects
"To illuminate the end of a wand, the caster must call out the incantation "Lumos." If correctly incanted, the end of the wand will then illuminate and cast light in the immediate vicinity of the caster. It can also be used to illuminate unseen entrances."

- The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 One of the simplest yet most useful light-creation spells, the Wand-Lighting Charm's principal usage is to create a light at the tip of the wand in order to see in the dark. This light is fairly warm, and risks igniting flammable things, including the caster's wand if they are careless. Wandlight is also able to repel ghosts and other spectral foes such as Gytrashes, from which they will flee.

In addition, the Wand-Lighting Charm is able to illuminate and reveal magically hidden architecture such as doorways.

Etymology
The incantation Lumos is derived from the Latin lumen, meaning "light".

Behind the scenes

 * This is the only spell whose hand motion stayed the same between and Wonderbook.
 * It is possible this charm was not affected by The Trace, perhaps because of its simplicity or because it resembled torch light so closely.
 * If one listens closely in the third and the sixth films, one can hear a very soft humming sound.
 * In the films and video games, there were three variations of this spell.
 * On any Android phone (on Lollipop or better), if a user types Lumos in the search bar on the Google app, the torch will turn on. Respectively, Nox turns it off.
 * A charity founded by JK Rowling is named after this spell

Appearances

 * PS G
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
 * Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald

Notes and references
Encantamiento para Encender Varitas Sortilège d'Allumage de baguette Valois Световые чары Lumos pt-br:Feitiço de Iluminação de Varinha