Harry's parents - was it in the stars?

[jotwo2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 131385

Even before JKR started posting the dates on her web site, many fans 
enjoyed playing guessing games about various characters' birthdays.  
This wasn't just because of a liking for as much "factual" 
information as possible but because fans were trying to match 
characterisations to western astrological star or sun signs.  Each 
sign of the zodiac describes an archetypal personality.  Now, 
sceptics point out that there can't be any validity in this system of 
classifying personality types, as how can one-twelfth of the people 
in the world be the same just because they were born between 
particular dates?  Astrologers counter this by arguing that the sun 
sign descriptions are broad-brush generalisations, and to assess an 
individual they would draw up a birth chart, which would be modified 
by unique factors like the exact time of birth and the angles between 
planets.  

Whether astrology is true in the real world is however irrelevant in 
the Harry Potter universe.  What matters is that it is a well-known 
source of personality typing and I think that JKR has drawn on it in 
creating her characters.  For instance, Virgos are supposed to be 
perfectionists and worriers, and this can certainly be applied to 
Hermione whose birthday is 12 September.   Sagittarians allegedly 
like the outdoors and are blunt-spoken, which fits December-born 
Hagrid.  Snape believes in enforcing rules and is the head of 
Slytherin House, associated with ambition.  These traits are typical 
for Capricorn, which is Snape's sign.

Another influence on JKR is alchemy.  Although I do not interpret the 
Harry Potter series solely as an alchemical allegory, there are 
references to alchemy throughout.  For example, alchemy features 
animal symbolism, like the stag and the phoenix, that are familiar to 
JKR's readers.  The different stages of the alchemical process are 
referred to as different colours, such as the albedo (white) and 
rubedo (red) stage.  These are echoed in the names Albus Dumbledore 
and Rubeus Hagrid.  

So, working from the premises that JKR has used astrological and 
alchemical stereotypes I'm going to attempt to guess the star signs 
of Harry's parents.

Starting with James, we know that on the day of the DADA Owl on which 
he tormented and humiliated Snape, that James was 15.  In the British 
examination system, on which Hogwarts is modelled, the public exams 
are taken at the end of May and the beginning of June.  As in the 
real world, pupils take their fifth year exams in the academic year 
in which they turn 16.  An academic year in England runs from 1st 
September until 31st August in the following calendar year.  From 
this we can deduce that as James was still only 15, he can only 
logically have been born under one of the following signs:

Gemini c 22 May - 21 June,
Cancer c 22 June - 22 July,
Leo c 23 July - 23 August,
or in the earliest part of Virgo c 24 August - 31 August.

(Please note that the start and end dates of signs are sometimes 
given slightly differently by astrologers.  This is because the time 
when the sun leaves one sign and enters the next varies slightly each 
year. However, for my purposes in this essay, the precise changeover 
does not matter. Virgo, of course, continues till c 22 September, but 
this is not relevant to this theory either.)  

Out of all these signs I think Leo fits James best.  The negative 
stereotype for Leo is that they are arrogant and they love being the 
centre of attention.  This certainly describes James as portrayed in 
Snape's Worst Memory.  He's convinced that he's gained an Outstanding 
grade in the DADA Owl.  He's a big headed show-off.  Firstly, he is 
playing with the Snitch and lapping up Peter's adulation.  Then he 
begins publicly bullying Snape, culminating in claiming he's going to 
take off Snape's underpants in front of his audience.

Of course, Leos have positive qualities associated with them too.  
They are described as charming and likeable.  James was the height of 
cool among his peers and Madam Rosmerta thought he was amusing.  He 
was well liked by Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and Hagrid, who all speak 
highly of him.  

Leos are also supposed to be brave.  James was sorted into 
Gryffindor, the House where courage is valued.  As an adult he fought 
for the Order of the Phoenix and defied Voldemort three times, which 
suggests that he possessed, as well as admired, courage.  To refer to 
somebody as lion-hearted means they are brave, and the lion is the 
symbol that represents Leo, and which JKR may have borrowed for 
Gryffindor.  Leos are often said to behave irresponsibly in their 
youth but to take on responsibility and leadership as they grow up.  
This fits James, who went from school bully to head Boy.

Leo is traditionally the sign of Fatherhood.  Its ruling planet, the 
sun, is associated with fatherhood too.  James' primary role in canon 
is to be the father of the hero.

Thus timing, personality type and symbolism all point to James being 
a Leo.

When Lily's birthday falls is not implicit in canon, as it was for 
James.  Harry and the reader are not told whether she was still 15 or 
had turned 16 in Snape's Worst Memory.  However I think her character 
and plot function do give clues to her star sign.  From this, I 
suspect that Lily may have been a Cancerian.

Cancer is the archetypal sign of motherhood.  The moon, its ruler, is 
also linked with feminine traits, including motherhood.  Obviously 
Lily is the hero's mother.  As is often pointed out, Harry only 
survived Voldemort's killing curse because Lily loved him so much 
that she sacrificed herself for him.
Cancerians are also supposed to be protective in general.  This fits 
with Lily defending Snape when he was being bullied.

There is a whole system of underlying correspondences between 
different objects that are considered to share a similar quality in 
astrology and indeed in the theory of magic generally.  Moon-ruled 
Cancer has things that are silver and white associated with it.  Many 
books about astrology state that white  flowers are associated with 
Cancer, particularly the lily.  This could be a co-incidence, but 
knowing how much effort JKR puts into choosing names for characters 
that reflect their personality and role in the plot it may well be 
deliberate and significant.

So, for me, there are hints that imply Lily was born under Cancer.  
However, what about the fact that Lily was a Gryffindor?  For James I 
argued that the symbol of the house correlated with Leo.  Also the 
characteristic of bravery equally applies to Lily.  She was the only 
one who stood up to the popular, cool kids when they were bullying an 
isolated, unpopular student.  Lily was a member of the Order who 
personally defied Voldemort thrice.  

I agree that Leo could be an alternative for Harry's mother, 
especially if you subscribe to the theory that James and Lily equals 
Harry and Ginny. The latter pair are both Leos and they physically 
resemble the Potters.  However the Harry is like James argument took 
a battering in OOP.  Harry has never bullied anyone and was appalled 
to witness his father doing so.  He was more like Lily in that he had 
compassion at the end for Luna.  Also the dynamics of the James/Lily 
ship and the potential for a Harry/Ginny ship are completely 
different.  James liked Lily but she initially disliked him.  She 
only started going out with him in seventh year after he had deflated 
his head a bit.  Ginny had a crush on a famous boy who never really 
noticed her, which she has now grown out of.  Harry, so far, has only 
had a romantic interest in Cho, and is only friendlier with Ginny now 
because she can now speak to him and she is part of his surrogate 
family, the Weasleys.

The Cancerian and Leonine traits in Lily could be reconciled.  If 
someone is born on the cusp i.e. near to the date of the change of 
signs, it is often believed that they are a mixture or both signs.  
Astrologers usually say that this isn't possible because you are 
either one sign or the other.  However JKR is probably not an expert 
astrologer so perhaps Lily is a Cancerian who was born on the 
Cancer/Leo cusp.

If James was a Leo and Lily's sign was Cancer then this would fit 
with a major source of symbolism within canon: alchemy.  The sun and 
the moon are the respective rulers of Leo and Cancer.  Sun and moon 
are often mentioned in alchemical texts.  Often they represent a 
union of opposites.  For example, there is an illustration from an 
alchemical manuscript, Splendor Solis by Trismosin, called The Sacred 
Marriage.  This shows a King and Queen, with sun and moon shining 
over their heads. In alchemy, often a divine child was born of the 
marriage of King and Queen.  Sometimes this child was identified with 
the Stone itself, as described in another alchemical text, The 
Emerald Tablet, that stated, "the said stone is born of First 
matter.  The sun is its father, the Moon its mother."  

Although alchemy in Harry Potter is described in traditional magical 
terms as the quest to turn base metal into gold and to make the 
elixir of life that confers immortality, it is often interpreted in 
psychological and spiritual terms.  While some alchemists 
concentrated on trying to achieve physical transmutations, other 
alchemical adepts interpreted it as a code that gave secret 
information about a spiritual quest.  In this reading the 
moon/Queen/mother represented intuition and feeling and the 
sun/King/father symbolised reason and intellect.  Both modes of 
perception had to be in harmonious balance in the alchemist so that 
his soul (or in psychological language, his consciousness) could 
develop and gain true wisdom. 

I'm not one of those people who interpret every character and event 
in Harry Potter as part of an alchemical allegory but I think the 
idea that the plot is about the protagonist's spiritual growth is 
partly true.  In this case, then the marriage of James and Lily 
represents the union of the solar and lunar principles. The child of 
this union, Harry, represents the soul/consciousness that seeks 
knowledge.

To reiterate my conclusions, I predict that James was a Leo and Lily 
was born under Cancer.  If only JKR would tell us when their 
birthdays were.  I hope I have guessed right, but if JKR had 
something different in mind I'd stand corrected.  After all, remember 
how most of fandom thought Snape was a Scorpio


JoTwo