Arania Exumai

Spider Repelling Spell
Incantation	Arania Exumai (ah-RAHN-ee-a EX-oo-may)
Type	Spell
Hand movement	Point wand at spider
Light	Blue
Effect	Repels spiders

Ron: "Know any spells?"

Harry: "One, but it's not powerful enough for all of them."

Ron: "Where's Hermione when you need her?"

Harry: "Let's go! Arania Exumai"

— Harry saving himself and Ron from the Acromantula

The Spider Repelling spell (Arania Exumai) is a spell used to blast away Acromantulas or other large spiders. If the spell misses and strikes stone, it will produce a large black scorch mark, and thus is not recommended for use on humans, although casting through or along a human produces no ill effect so long as a spider is struck.

History

On 13 June, 1943, to frame Rubeus Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle used this spell against Aragog after forcing the Acromantula to leave the box via Cistem Aperio.

During the 1987–1988 school year, Jacob's sibling and their friends set out to discover another Cursed Vault, which they later suspected to be near the Spider's Lair. Patricia Rakepick, a consultant at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the time, gave Jacob's sibling a private lesson on this spell, which they later used against an Acromantula that guarded the Vault.

During the 1992–1993 school year, fifty years after Riddle's plot, Riddle showed the memory of the incident to Harry Potter via his diary, and Harry learned this spell for his own use against the colony of Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. He used it twice, first to blast away an Acromuntula in order to clear the path back into the Flying Ford Anglia, and second to save Ron Weasley from another Acromantula that got him by the neck.

Known practitioners

• Tom Riddle
• Harry Potter
• Hermione Granger
• Patricia Rakepick
• Jacob's sibling

Etymology

Arania is derived from the Latin aranea, meaning "spider". Exumai is possibly derived from exuo, Latin for "I lay aside" or "I refuse". Alternatively, the pronunciation of exumai is somewhat similar to that of exime, a conjugation of eximo, Latin for "I banish". Together, the incantation can mean "I lay aside the spider" or "I banish the spider".

Behind the scenes

• The spell seemed to produce different level of effectiveness: Tom Riddle's use of this spell released a simple white blast of light that missed Aragog, but left a scorch mark where the spell narrowly missed him; whereas Harry Potter's use of this spell released a beam of blue-white light that kind of carried the Acromantula away before it was blasted out of sight.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry was successful at saving Ron from the Acromantula that had seized him, Ron was also caught by the light of the spell in the process, therefore it should have left a scorch mark on him.
• The spell was created for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and does not appear in any of the novels.
• Bearing in mind viewers' concerns on the inaccuracy of subtitles for spells in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it is possible that "Exumai" may also be incorrectly transcribed. "Exumai" is not a valid Latin word with relevant meaning, while the pronunciation by characters in the film can be alternatively transcribed as "Arania Exime." Exime, in contrast, is a conjugation of the Latin word eximo meaning "I banish," which is much more appropriate considering the spell's effect of repelling spiders.
• In Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Hermione Granger uses this spell to fend the Acromantulas off from the riders. After Hermione casts Arania Exumai, it causes a bright flash. This is where the pictures are taken.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Disc 2)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery