Ending of Philosopher's Stone (Symbols)

Randy Estes estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid
Sun Mar 7 22:22:40 UTC 2004


As I think about the story of Nicholas Flamel and the
Priory of Sion, I cannot help but rethink the 7 tasks
in the ending of the Philosopher's stone.

Task One   Three Headed Dog over a trap Door.

Perhaps the Dogma of the Church (3 heads implies the
Trinity).  The Church guards an entrance which they
say is a trap!  Music calms the Beast (implying the
Arts provide a method of dealing with this...ie
Davinci,Boticelli...etc..)

Task Two   Devil's Snare (Vine that ensnares you)

Reference to Devil makes me think of "Idle minds,
Devil's Work".  If you don't take action on your
beliefs you become lazy and "ensnared by this
laziness".  Perhaps your past thought patterns ensnare
you.  Ron had to remind Hermione that she was a witch
so she could take action and "light a fire!"

Task Three   Flying Keys  

Looking for the key to unlock a mystery.  I think of
the keystone that the characters were looking for in
the Davinci Code.  The bright Blue key with the broken
wing was the correct one.  I don't know about the
symbolism here.  Any ideas?

Task Four   Chessboard  (Black and White)

The Battle between Good and Evil comes to mind.  Also
the Yin/Yang symbol of White and Black seems related. 
There is the idea of Darkness and Light doing battle. 
Ron took the role of the Black Knight.  I think this
alludes to the Knights who searched for the Holy Grail
(the Truth).  The Priory of Sion is connected to the
Knights Templar who searched for the Holy Grail. 
Harry is the Bishop and Hermione is the Castle.  I
think there is hidden meaning there too.  Ron says to
Harry before he is attacked by the White Queen "You've
got to make some sacrifices!"  This sure sounds like
the Knights who defended the path of the Crusaders to
me.


Task Five    Unconscious Troll

I think this represents a Sleeping Giant that must not
be awakened by there search.  We must not let the
enemy know our secrets.  Also Book 5 was about the
Order of the Phoenix which is a secret society like
the Priory of Sion which has secrets to keep.  The
family line on the tapestry in this book does imply
secrets about the lineage of the Black Family.  The
reference to Black family seems to resemble the Black
Knight analogy of Ron in Task #4.  There is a Black
Queen or something like that in the Nicholas Flamel
secret society story.

Task Six    Seven Potions

There is significance to the number 7 here.  I don't
know the details yet.  The purple fire also has
symbolism.  The idea of choice comes to mind.  You
must make the right choice to proceed further.  There
is something about twins that look different.  A dwarf
and a giant.  I think about the Yin/Yang concept of
the small piece of black inside the white side and the
small piece of white inside the black side of the
Yin/Yang symbol.  The correct potion feels like ice
inside Harry as he walks through the fire.  Fire and
Ice are obvious symbols.

Task Seven   Mirror Of Erised (Desire)

The story of Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher's
stone speaks to the creation of the stone and turning
items into gold.  The gold is only to be used for
good.  Only the worthy can attain the stone.  The
symbol of a bearded man with a young woman in the back
of his head holding a mirror.  The idea of Voldemort
in the back of Quirrell's head could represent the
Church's dogma that women cannot be priests.  The
combination of the male and female is the highest
attainment in the Alchemists spirituality.  Harry has
his mother inside his head which makes him more
powerful than Voldemort and more worthy to obtain the
Philosopher's stone.

I am positive that JKR knows the story of the Priory
of Sion and the Knights Templar and the quest for the
Sacred Feminine.  This story is related to Harry
Potter since Nicholas Flamel is connected to both.

Task Seven  
--- JoAnna Wahlund <pt4ever at ...> wrote:
> Interesting theory, Randy!  I had no idea that
> Nicolas Flamel was a real person - I
> thought he was a creation of JKR's imagination!  
> 
> One thing (OT) I must point out, however - The
> DaVinci Code is a work of historical
> fiction, not nonfiction.  I'm Catholic, and I've had
> a lot of people tell me, "I read the
> DaVinci Code and I can't BELIEVE all the stuff the
> Catholic Church has kept hidden!" 
> When I point out that the book is a work of
> historical fiction, they usually look
> surprised and puzzled.  So I just thought I'd send a
> friendly reminder to do research
> into the things mentioned in TDC (like you have,
> Randy, thank you!) instead of taking
> book as fact.  :)
> 
> --- Randy Estes <estesrandy at ...> wrote:
> > 
> > I have been reading several comments today about
> Harry
> > Potter and John the Baptist connections.
> > 
> > I just finished "The Davinci Code" by Dan Brown
> that
> > is a suspense murder mystery regarding artworks of
> > Leonardo Davinci and his involvement with the
> Priory
> > of Sion.  Davinci was actually a Grand Master
> (Leader)
> > of the Priory of Sion.  In my subsequent internet
> > search about the Priory of Sion, I stumbled across
> > this reference to Nicholas Flamel who was a Grand
> > Master of the Priory of Sion.  If you read the
> text
> > below, you see allusions to Harry Potter and the
> > Sorcerer's stone.  You might want to read the
> Davinci
> > Code to learn more!!
> > 
> > "It has been alleged that Hughes de Payens, first
> > Grand Master of the Knights Templar, had been
> inducted
> > into the Johannites, a sect which chose John the
> > Baptist as their prophet. According to the
> dossiers
> > secrets, each of the alleged Grand Masters of the
> > Prieure de Sion took the name Jean in succession
> > (supposedly influencing the name chosen by Pope
> John
> > XXIII). One of the Grand Masters on the list,
> Leonardo
> > da Vinci, displayed a strong interest in John the
> > Baptist. Another, Sir Isaac Newton, became
> preoccupied
> > with the writings of the Apocalypse, then
> attributed
> > to John the Evangelist. 
> > 
> > According to the dossiers secrets, the following
> > individuals were amongst the Grand Masters: 
> > 
> > 
> > Nicholas Flamel (1330-1418) the most famous of the
> > alchemists said, "the Paris notary Nicolas Flamel
> > claimed that he dreamed of an occult book,
> > subsequently found it, and succeeded in
> deciphering it
> > with the aid of a Jewish scholar learned in the
> mystic
> > Hebrew writings known as the Kabbala. In 1382
> Flamel
> > claimed to have succeeded in the 'Great Work'
> (gold
> > making); certainly he became rich and made
> donations
> > to churches. 
> > 
> > One alchemical symbol that is widely acknowledged
> by
> > modern scholars is that of an old bearded man, the
> > back of whose head shows a young woman looking
> into a
> > mirror. A statue with this image graces the
> exterior
> > of Nantes cathedral, as does a bearded king with
> the
> > body of a woman, in the porch at Chartres that
> depicts
> > the Queen of Sheba. 
> > 
> > The hermaphrodite is a pure alchemical symbol,
> > representing the perfect balance achieved in the
> Great
> > Work, and the perfect being, in which the
> alchemist
> > himself is transformed and transmuted spiritually
> -
> > and, as many believe, physically as well. It was a
> > 'consummation devoutly to be wished' and had
> little,
> > if anything, to do with sexuality as we understand
> it
> > today. 
> > 
> > The Great Work was an explosion of the potential
> into
> > the actual, where they mystical quest takes on
> > concrete form. As the alchemists said, 'as above,
> so
> > below' - this process was believed to make spirit
> into
> > matter and transmute one sort of matter into
> another.
> > It made a man into a god. 
> > 
> > Revered by men like Newton, Flamel was the
> discoverer
> > of The Sacred Book of Abraham the Jew, Prince,
> Priest,
> > Levite, Astrologer and Philosopher to that Tribe
> of
> > Jews who by the Wrath of God were Dispersed
> amongst
> > the Gauls which became one of the most famous
> works in
> > Western esoteric tradition. "
> > 
> > I think reading "The Davinci Code" or learning
> more
> > about the Priory of Sion and its secret society
> may
> > unleash alot of ideas about the Harry's mother
> being
> > in the back of Harry's head and Voldemort being in
> the
> > back of Professor Quirrell's head.  The idea of
> the
> > Male/Female union is more powerful than Voldemort.
> > 
> > You could stay up for weeks reading all of this
> stuff.
> > 
> > Randy
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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> > 
> 
> 
> =====
> ~JoAnna~
> http://pt4ever.diaryland.com
> 
> "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made
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> 
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