symbolism in HP

Tue Apr 29 19:55:15 UTC 2003

No: HPFGUIDX 56477

I want to thank Bill and Rita very much for their long and detailed responses to my recent postings on the symbolism of HP. Bill has posted a resume of past discussions about the living philosopher’s stone which I found extremely fascinating. He has also posted a very detailed reaction to my comparison of HP and Christian Rosencreutz, within 36 hours of my posting. I can’t believe Bill could have read and analyzed the Chymical Wedding in that short a time. He must have read and studied it before. Perhaps Bill could comment on that. Anyway, my heartfelt thanks to Bill. Rita compared the seven steps of human liberation that I see as hidden in HP to the Mithraic Mysteries, and I’m very thankful to her. It can be read on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/14970 and my reply is message/14973. I have not yet had time to read all of Bill’s and Rita’s work and comment on it.

HP reminds me of the Nasca lines in Peru. If you walk in the desert of the Nasca Valley in Peru you will see faint lines running along the ground where pebbles have been removed to reveal lighter colored stones underneath. These lines are meaningless when you walk on the ground. However if you leave the ground and begin to soar higher and higher, the lines turn out to form great symbols, some of them as big as a kilometer in length.

That’s what Harry Potter is like. When you read the words it’s just a kids’ story about wizards and witches. But when you withdraw your mind from the details and let it soar high above, like an eagle, you suddenly see the most breathtaking and majestic forms. I’m so glad I’ve been able to meet Bill and Rita up there. 

As I’ve said, the pattern HP forms when you see it from a long way above is, to my inner vision, the way of human liberation. This pattern is familiar to people because it’s set in the human subconscious, but in addition other great writers have told this same story again and again. Rita and I have listed some of them. One of the great works which I believe is a window on the way back to man’s original universe is the Divine Comedy by Dante. I’m absolutely sure that Dante tells the same story as Dr Rowling does, but I’ve never had the time to read it and analyze it. I wonder if there are any members of this group who would be able to tell us what similarities there are between HP and the Divine Comedy. Bill perhaps? I’ve got a feeling Slytherin’s statue comes in there somewhere.

We’ve all no doubt heard of accusations of plagiarism against Dr Rowling. Well, there you are! There IS only one truth and that’s the imprisonment of humanity in this time-spatial universe, and the way back to the Absolute. Dr Rowling is retelling the primordial story again in modern terms. It’s nothing new. Not that I’m in any way discounting her unsurpassed genius. It’s a cook’s skill that makes a delicious dish from the basic ingredients. You can make pancakes and cake from the same ingredients, and you can make foul-tasting or wonderful cakes from them, depending on your skill. Dr Rowling has laid the foundations of her story on the ancient symbols of the death of the three dimensional human being sacrificing himself for the resurrection of the immortal Heir of the Potter, dormant in our hearts. On top of that she has built walls and floors made of great mystical symbols and archetypal myths and legends of all ages. She has covered the house with a roof made of a wonderful detective thriller, and refurbished the house with lots of interesting magical objects. Finally she has populated the house with the richest variety of true characters from a Snape to a Dumbledore.

It is true that there are some great coincidences with other novels. I myself have read a book called, "Goodnight Mr Tom." It’s about a young lad in England during the war. The boy is rescued from a cupboard under the stairs, where he lives. He is obviously totally maladjusted and traumatized. He is brought to the country where he develops as a beautiful person with wonderful special artistic skills. And whom does he meet? Ginny, Fred and George, among others. 

A person like Dr Rowling has read an incredible number of books and the mind of a genius just absorbs everything and gives it back to the world enriched and dynamized. I doubt if she’d remember where she’s read what.

I will not call a person like that JKR. To me she’s Doctor Rowling and no one deserves her honorary doctorates of letters more than she does. Out of respect I will always use her correct title.

I have also seen comparisons with Victor Hugo’s "Les Miserables". That’s wonderful, because there are two books I’ve always regarded as showing us how to behave as timeless beings. These are "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, and "Les Miserables." I think Harry is the type of person who would have so much compassion as to say about a thief who had stolen his silver: "I have given that to him."

The self-sacrifice in "A Tale of Two Cities" is extraordinarily gut-wrenching in my opinion. But there I’m joined by Dr Rowling herself, who has said (as I read in her biography) that the last lines of that book are her favorite ending of any book. It reduces her to tears every time she reads it. Me too! But, once again, this may be bad news for Harry, because here again we have a hint at decapitation (by the guillotine this time).

On the surface decapitation sounds horrendous and gruesome, but as a symbol it’s actually sublime and very joyous. When the original dormant human being begins to awaken in the heart, (in my theory) a new soul is born. This soul spreads through the body as an elixir of life, while the old consciousness is still in control. Eventually, as the alchemical process continues, the whole human system is filled with the gold of the spirit, while yet the old consciousness, in self surrender to the new soul, governs. But then, at a certain moment, after the basilisk, i.e. the kundalini, i.e. the old serpent of Slytherin (Lucifer) has been killed by the new soul (Harry), a new consciousness is born. The old consciousness is cut off from the body, as it were. That is my theory of decapitation. John the Baptist symbolizes the old, earthly human being who makes way for the Heir of the Potter - Jesus. The same old story! That’s why the seven people in the Alchemical Wedding of CRC are decapitated. They represent the seven aspects of the consciousness, which are sacrificed for a new omniscient and eternal consciousness. This is why Harry HAS to die in order for the ancient foundation to be followed. But that's not sad; that is a thing of the utmost joy. Who could be upset by the replacement of something mortal and finite by something that is of everlasting grandeur and will grow eternally from power to power and from glory to glory? I’m sure Dr Rowling will make sure we’ll all know that Harry’s death will be of greater value than we can at the moment dream of.

Finally I feel compelled to make one last testimony of my deep gratitude to Dr Rowling for Harry Potter. Even if some of you regard all of the above as utter nonsense, I’m sure you will all agree that Harry as a person has captured our hearts. And thus Dr Rowling has made a contribution to radically changing human society. For there are three qualities Harry has in abundance: selflessness, compassion and courage. And those three qualities are precisely the ones that are lacking in our modern world. It is precisely the lack of those qualities that has shoved our world into the mess it’s in. We’re all full of selfishness, we don’t give a damn about anyone else, and we lack the courage to stand up when others are suffering injustice. Well, when civilization has fallen over the edge of the precipice, there will be some survivors who will pick up the broken bits and begin to rebuild the world as a better place than it is now. I’m sure they will be children who have read Harry Potter and will express those three beloved qualities: selflessness, compassion and courage.

Hans

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