The Living Philosopher's Stone (Was: Re: The Spiritual Symbolism of HP)

[mongo62aa]

No: HPFGUIDX 56297

Alison:

>>This is from the end of PoA (p.295-296 of the UK adult edition).

"Seconds later they heard footsteps quite close by.  Dumbledore, 
Macnair, Fudge and the old committee member were making their way up 
to the castle. 'Right after we'd gone down into the passage' said 
Hermione 'If *only* Dumbledore had come with us...' 'Macnair and 
Fudge would've come too' said Harry bitterly 'I bet you anything 
Fudge would have told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot...'"

So, the idea of a person (Sirius) being killed by the executioner 
sent for Buckbeak is not unthinkable for either Harry, who said this, 
or Hermione who didn't contradict him.

Of course this doesn't *prove* anything but it is a reference to 
beheading as a possible sentence for people as well as Hippogriffs.  

Me:

You know, the more I read, the more likely it seems that something 
like decapitation will in fact happen to Harry.

Hans' suggestion that the HP series seems to be related to the 
Hermetic text, 'The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz', is 
looking more and more plausible to me.  The resemblances between the 
two are very close.  Given what JKR has revealed, I believe that she 
has.  We know that she is a practicing Christian:

******

http://www.cbc.ca/programs/sites/hottype_rowlingcomplete.html

E: When you talk about dealing with death and loss in the books, does 
this come out of your own - you've had loss with the loss of your 
mother - did it come out of a personal spirituality? I mean, are you 
are religious person? Does your spirituality come from a certain 
place? 

JK: I do believe in God. That seems to offend the South Carolinians 
more than almost anything else. I think they would find it
well that 
is my limited experience, that they have more of a problem with me 
believing in God than they would have if I was an unrepentant 
atheist. 

E: You do believe in God. 

JK: Yeah. Yeah. 

E: In magic and
 

JK: Magic in the sense in which it happens in my books, no, I don't 
believe. I don't believe in that. No. No. This is so frustrating. 
Again, there is so much I would like to say, and come back when I've 
written book seven. But then maybe you won't need to even say 
it 'cause you'll have found it out anyway. You'll have read it. 

E: But in your own life, I mean, are you a churchgoer? 

JK: (Nods) Mmm hmm. Well I go more than to weddings and christenings. 
Yes, I do. 

******

And given the abundance of Hermetic symbols in the HP books, I 
suspect that she is indeed familiar with this work.  (By the way, I 
do not believe that the name `Hermione', a feminine version 
of `Hermes', for one of Harry's closest friends is a coincidence.)

The Chymical Wedding is divided into seven days, compared to the 
seven years of the HP books.  Here is a day-to-year comparison of 
some of the similarities between the first four days of `Chymical 
Wedding', and the first four years of the HP books.

First Day:

- CRC is living in cramped accommodations, with minimal food

- a terrible storm arises

- during the storm, an `otherworldly' being appears, and delivers a 
letter to him

- the letter is heavy, sealed with a curious symbol with a Latin 
phrase, and written in gold letters

- upon opening, the message is an invitation to attend a wedding, 
which CRC was at birth entitled to attend

- near the end of the first day, CRC descends (in a dream) into a 
dark dungeon, containing a peculiar stone

- CRC is presented with seven `challenges'; six inside the dungeon, 
and one at the entrance above it, and during the final challenge 
inside the dungeon receives a wound to the head from the stone, but 
is rescued by his mentor, a wise old man

The seven HP challenges: Fluffy (entrance above the dungeon); the 
Devil's Snare; the Keys; the Chess Game; the Troll; the Potions; the 
Mirror (inside the dungeon)

Second Day:

- CRC encounters, and shares food with, a snow-white dove, which is 
then attacked and chased by a filthy black raven

- CRC attempts to rescue the dove, and near the end of the day, 
passes through a series of three portals, interspersed with a series 
of four tests 

- CRC meets the Virgin after passing through the second portal, and 
accompanies her through the third and last portal to a room in the 
Castle

- CRC is struck speechless by beautiful music, which seems to come 
from no human source, and is associated with the Virgin

The three HP portals: the sink in the bathroom; the door to the 
Chamber of Secrets itself; the squeeze through the fallen rocks and 
the flight back to the bathroom

The four HP tests: Aragog; Lockhart; the Basilisk; Tom Riddle

Although the obvious candidate for the Virgin would be Ginny 
(VIRGINia?), I think that Fawkes is a closer match.  CRC is only able 
to pass through the third portal with the Virgin's help, and she is 
also associated with the music.  Later in the story, her name is 
revealed to be Alchimia, alchemy – a process of transformation 
through death and rebirth.  Ginny seems to match more closely with 
the white dove, which had taken a liking to CRC from the beginning, 
and was attacked by a symbol of dissolution and destruction.

Third Day:

- one of CRC's newly met companions, thought unworthy and 
contemptable,  who had been bound with chains in a dark place, is 
measured on a balance and passes, and joins CRC in friendship

- CRC is himself measured and also passes, and then sets an 
undeserving person free.

- a majestic magical beast wearing a collar, bowing with its front 
legs, is involved in the story, and then leaves amid great joy

Fourth Day:

- near the start of the day, a ceremony involving a Goblet takes place

- CRC encounters a skull, with a serpent entwined

- CRC attends a grand dance, with four King/Queen pairs 
(three `official' pairs and one `unofficial' pair) in the place of 
honour

- the day ends with death, and resurrection

As Hans has pointed out, the deaths on this day are carried out by 
decapitation.

******

If anybody wishes to read the `Chymical Wedding', here are some 
websites:

For the 1459 German version:

http://home.t-online.de/home/lapsitexillis/chym.htm

For a modern English translation:

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/chymwed1.html
http://www.crcsite.org/wedding1.htm

For an English commentary and guide:

http://www.crcsite.org/wedguide.htm

******

Bill