The Cup, the Locket, the Sword, the Journey

[Lenore]

No: HPFGUIDX 182588


>Pippin:
>Perhaps the Hat has a charm on it like the Room of Requirement,
>and can conjure whatever the asker needs. But considering that
>it was Gryffindor's hat, I think the charm which conjures the
>sword was added to the hat after Gryffindor and Slytherin became
>rivals.
>
>Since the legend of the Chamber had to start somewhere, someone
>must have suspected that Slytherin had left something behind to
>aid his true heir.
>[snip]
>
>This might be a good place to tack on my speculation as to the
>original powers of the Cup and the Locket. The Locket's easy,
>it kept whatever was locked  in it safe from all magical harm,
>and it could only be opened by a parselmouth.  The Cup's harder,
>but I think, giving Arthurian legend a JKR-ish  twist, that it must have
>been a cup only the faithful could drink from. That would be a fitting
>property for Hufflepuff and also a suitable gift for Bella, Voldemort's
>most faithful servant.
>Pippin


Lenore here:
Pippin's post got me to thinking about some of the deep symbolic
meanings in the horcrux artefacts which have been haunting me for
some time.  I tend to see everything in the context of our spiritual
Journey, including everything I read.  I think JKR has deliberately
placed liberal amounts of rich archetypal symbolism in the books.
It hasn't always been easy to sort it all out, and I make no attempt
to sort it out as JKR might see the symbolism.  I'm just sharing
my own insight, FWIW, and hoping this won't be considered OT.

Essays could be written about each one of the following but for
now I'm purposely keeping it brief.

The first horcrux we encounter in the books is actually the Wound,
or Scar.  But since we aren't aware of that at the time (and this
fact is spiritually significant as well), the first one is the Diary.
With Ginny, we have been possessed by our memories.
Bondage to the past can slowly suck out our life force and delay
our Journey, even to the point of turning us to stone. The destruction
of the Diary horcrux (for me) represents releasing our minds from
the grip of the past and its painful memories.

The Sword, for me, is a Sword of Discerning.  It is very handy for
cutting through the illusion and exposing it, so we see it coming into
use at many of the stages of the Journey.

The Ring (of Bondage).  Even the wisest will put it on!  We have all
been deceived into putting it on at various times and have felt its
poison creep through our veins.

The Slytherin Locket evokes, for me, the opening of secret, darkened
rooms of the mind-- areas which we had been completely unaware of
till now.  This phase of the journey is usually very difficult and harrowing.
Once opened, only the Sword can help us-- and forgiveness.
(The Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk left by Slytherin are
further clues about the nature of this passage.)

The Hufflepuff Cup.  To my thinking, this experience would actually come
first or at least second in the spiritual Path.  The Cup is the heart, open
to receive divine Love and grace. This awareness is often the first stage
of the Path for an aspirant:  "With an Everlasting Love I have loved you..."

The Diadem or Tiara.  After healing of the past (Diary/Cup) and correcting
the mind of its errors (Locket/Sword), the "crown" is at last in 
sight.  But it's
like a mountain-climber who can only see the distant summit through 
the clouds.
This is the vision of the true Self (or Grail), but it has not yet 
been attained.
There are two more major steps to take.

The Wound/Scar.  This is the Wound we all carry from our ancient Fall.
It is the piece of darkness within our mind which resulted from the Fall.
We must willingly relinquish it, even though that feels like death, or worse
than death.  To give it up is not death, but Life.  We erroneously believe
it is sacrifice, but there can be no sacrifice in letting go what keeps us
in bondage and pain.

The Snake, the last weapon, is overcome for us after we have completed
the previous steps.  Here, the "lower self" is forever overcome.  It can exert
no hold over us again because, well, it's head has been cut 
off.  This obstacle
is vanquished about the same time as the Wound.  They are, in many ways,
the same thing, really.

Voldemort.  At this point, at the final stage, the "father of lies" 
has lost all its
powers over us. Its weapons have all been destroyed, so it is not so difficult
now to end its reign.  It is exposed and that is really what destroys it.  (Not
exposing it is how we keep and maintain it.)

Lenore