[HPforGrownups] Snake Lore

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 161677

Pam wrote (quoting from Bullfinch's Mythology):

>   I would like to humbly share this with you and see if anyone thinks
> there's
> some major clues here:
>
> "There is an old saying tht everything has its enemy--and the (basilisk)
> quailed before the weasel. The basilisk might look daggers; the weasel
> cared not, but advanced boldly to the conflict. When bitten, the weasel
> retired for a moment to eat some rue, which was the only plant the
> basilisk
> could not wither, returned with renewed strength and soundness to the
> charge, and never left the enemy till he was stretched dead on the plain."
>
> And,
>
> "The basilisk was some use after death....its carcass was suspended in the
> temple...and in private houses, as a sovereign remedy against spiders."
>

Debbie:
This is good stuff, isn't it?

Pam:
>
>   I am not sure if this means anything, but surely JKR is aware of this
> text,
> because we've seen some of it already in CoS, but if the theory that
> Nagini
> is making Voldemort come back more snake-like than human holds, backed up
> by
> JKR's 2002 comments, then we have set ups for mirrors, battles, a plant
> that
> the basilisk can't kill, eaten by a Weasel for strength, and who survives
> the battle.
>

Debbie:
I first connected this to HP back in 2002 (no connection to JKR's comments,
which I've never heard before) and concluded that the Weasleys (who I
thought were named for the weasel) would have a substantial role in
Voldemort's defeat.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38397

I had concluded that Arthur's survival of the snake attack against him in
OOP vindicated this line of thinking.  Rue has long been considered a
magical antidote, and I'd always assumed that was the remedy Healer
Smethwyck had found that finally cured the snake's wounds.

Pam wrote:

>   And finally, there is a passage in Bullfinch's that describes
> the death of the basilisk: "...a certain holy man, going to a fountain in
> the desert, suddenly beheld a basilisk. He immediately raised his eyes to
> heaven, and with a pious appeal to the Deity laid the monster dead at his
> feet."
>

Debbie:
Harry, with his purity of heart, will surely play the part of the holy man
in the desert.  And for those who think Harry will die, there is an
additional legend in Bullfinch's that if a basilisk was killed "by a spear
from on horseback the power of the poison conducted through the weapon
killed not only the rider, but the horse also."  This legend suggests that
Harry isn't simply going to try to kill Voldemort.

 Ceridwen wrote:
And, I would also say that Harry would be 'the weasel' here, not one
of the Weasleys. The weasel doesn't care about the basilisk's deadly
stare or poisonous fangs, but goes straight into the fray. When he
needs to regroup, he takes rue and immediately returns to the fight.
Rue is an herb, but the verb 'to rue' means to regret. Harry has
regrets in the different books, but he gets over them and returns to
fight. The weasel defeats the basilisk, it is Harry's prophesied
destiny to either defeat LV or be defeated by him. In other words,
it is his unique job in the WW to defeat LV, no one else's. So the
weasel would have to be Harry if the basilisk is LV. In my opinion,
of course.

Debbie:
Bullfinch's describes several different basilisk legends, as the basilisk is
not a single creature like a minotaur, for example.  The old man killing the
basilisk is a different legend applicable to a different basilisk than the
weasel tales.  Also, the weasel legend states only that the weasel will not
rest until the basilisk is dead, not that the weasel will kill the
basilisk.  If one considers the 'weasel' to be symbolized by the Weasley
family as a whole, I think it's fair to state that they will collectively
not rest until Voldemort is vanquished.  They have taken the rue and they
are ready to return to the fight.

When the dust has settled, I think we'll find Voldemort vanquished by 'holy
man' (whose purity of heart allows him to appeal to Fawkes, a symbol of the
deity) with the assistance of 'weasel' Ron (who has proven himself brave and
willing to sacrifice, so that he might be considered to have "advanced
boldly to the conflict") and Hermione (who has already used the mirror trick
mentioned in Bullfinch's in self-defense); thus, the three of them embody
all three legends that Bullfinch's (and Pam) mentions.

Any ideas on where the fountain in the desert might be?

Debbie


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