Rutabega brought up an interesting point earlier, and I've been thinking about it, but I don't know what to make of it. If VM has split his soul every time he has made a horcrux, well...what exactly are the implications? If the first horcrux received 50% of his then-intact soul, would destroying that particular horcrux weak his grasp on immortality? And, since he has now diminished his soul seven times AND already lost, what...two of his horcruxes (and shouldn't that be horcruces?!) well, where was I going with this? Diminshment! Won't he be relying on his Death Eaters almost completely now? He seems to have put himself in a perilous position.
That is interesting. I was under the impression (ok, I assumed and never gave it much thought) that they were all equal parts. Since a murder had to take place, I just assumed that the act of such a dark deed was where the power to make the horcrux came from. Yes it comes from the soul of the murderer, but also from the dark art act of murder. Maybe the murder is the energy (evil energy. Maybe part the horcrux also comes from part of the soul of the person that was murdered....Of course, I probably don't have the faintest idea :)
Man, I love getting credit for that cool theory, but I'm afraid that it wasn't me--it was a few under my drunken rambling about Perseus Evans and Ginny being a horcrux! Sorry! I think it was dutyhonorcountry, post 275. (But we can pretend I said something profound, if you want!)
there's a thought.