[HPforGrownups] Re: Jo's OWN Words about Political and Religious Overtones in...

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 174143

anigrrrl2:
>She  didn't keep her spiritual stuff secret because Harry was a symbol for Jesus -  

Jeannie:
>I've read the books and watched all the movies.  My Family is 
>under the impression that the writer is a practicing Wiccan 
>and therefore not Christian in any sense of the word.  Can 
>someone tell me what views she  has expressed in other interviews 
>regarding her beliefs.  You can write me  off line if that is more 
>appropriate.

Bart: 
I don't see Harry as a symbol for Jesus; I see him as a symbol of the good Christian, following for real the often hypocritically applied, "What would Jesus do?" He is not Jesus; he is an ordinary person, following Jesus' lead. 

However, JKR a WICCAN? No, no, no, no, NO! First of all, she has specifically stated that she is not, and Wiccans rarely keep their religion a secret if asked directly; a number of Wiccan/neopagan sects actually have as a basic rule not to lie about one's religion. I have found that, when someone tells me they are a Wiccan, by asking a technical question, they are put at ease (my normal response is, "Gardnerian? Alexandrian? Eclectic? Famtrad?"). I must point out that, while a student of religions, I, myself do not belong to one, being, among other things, quite allergic to ritual (OK, only psychosomatically, but I still break out in hives and start coughing). 

In any case, I am going to bring up "The Good Doctor", Isaac Asimov. As many here know, there has long been speculation that the plays of William Shakespeare were not written by Shakespeare himself, but ghosted by some prominent Elizabethan figure, such as Francis Bacon or Kit Marlowe. In any case, Asimov analyzed the scientific knowledge (such as astronomy) referred to in the plays, particularly where the science was wrong, and concluded that Shakespeare made errors which were consistent with his education, but would have been inconsistent with the education of those suspected of being him. 

Similarly, if you look at the occult as expressed in the Harry Potter novels, you will note that there are certain basic, well, I guess you would call them "errors", which no Wiccan (or at least no knowledgeable Wiccan) would commit. We went over that here during a discussion of the 4 houses vs. the 4 elements, where I pointed out that the characteristics given the houses by JKR do not match their elemental aspects (if they did, Gryffindor would be fire, Ravenclaw air, Hufflepuff water, and Slytherin earth; in addition, fire and air are masculine elements, and earth and water are feminine elements, so, whether Slytherin was water or earth, Salazar should have been a woman). BTW, by contrast, Frank Baum WAS an occultist (a Theosophist, to be precise), and definitely knew his stuff, shown particularly in the WIZARD OF OZ (to see an article on that by an old friend, Prof. John Algeo, check out http://tinyurl.com/2duyea ). 

So, although I think that the Christianity in the HP series goes beyond a simple "Jesus allegory", JKR is no Wiccan. 

Bart