I have taken Holy Week off from the blogosphere (with the exception of this note), if, I must admit, I have probably been thinking about our favorite boy wizard and schoolwork more than I like or is reasonable. I hope to write three pieces for HogPro next week. One on Ms. Rowling’s choices in the sources and meaning she gave the alchemy in her stories — literary/traditionalist, Jungian, or Theosophical/New Age — and why I think the first makes the most sense, another on The Little White Horse and why the ending of the author’s favorite children’s book is both alchemical and a strong pointer away from Harry’s death in Deathly Hallows, and a last one of various notes and thoughts that have come my way the the last three weeks (with a special offer from Zossima Press!).
Stay tuned… and, if you have read Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader, please do take a moment to write a rave on Amazon.com. What more thoughtful Pascha gift could you give your friend, the Hogwarts Professor? I can’t think of anything I’d like better, except for a polka-dotted bow tie from BeauxTies and my children have that covered.
In anticipation, Christos Anesti!
It’s a very busy week for me as well. Being in the church choir means extra singing. We have two concerts–on Friday and Saturday nights, and then three Easter services when we sing on Sunday. And last Sunday on Palm Sunday we sang one of my favorites–“No Cross, No Crown”, but it is a challenge as I’m singing first alto on that and it’s right at the top of my range.
The bow ties are a nice touch, John. Which one did you end up with?
And I’m headed over to Amazon now–I’m not technically finished, but close. I read the last chapters first, and then started through, and that’s where I am now. (SWAGs indeed–I love that–LOL)
Have a blessed Easter.
Pat
I look forward to reading your thoughts on The Little White Horse, although I have to finish that book. I read most of it awhile back but never finished. I did however finish reading your Unlocking Harry Potter and will post a review on Amazon soon as well as on my site. 🙂
Alithos Anesti, John, to you and your family.
I’ll post a review for your books when I finish them as well.
In the meantime, what do you think about Harry being able to only vanquish Voldemort when he deals with the part of himself (the shadow self) that is like Voldemort (this is part of the Jungian theory I’m working on)- the hatred and the anger? In other words, I think that even if the scar is a Horcrux, Harry will be able to get rid of it when he either accepts Snape as being Dumbledore’s man, or forgives him for first revealing the prophecy, and later for all the things he did to make his life miserable (including recognizing that the AK of Dumbledore was at his request). Harry also may have to release some of his anger towards Bellatrix and Malfoy. If, as Dumbledore says, Harry has the power of love (with love comes the ability to forgive, especially if you look at the Greek translation of love as not meaning any harm to come to someone-agape) he will have the ‘tools’/magic to vanquish Voldemort only when he accepts the presence of the shadow self (hatred), but chooses not to develop it by loving and forgiving Snape (by accepting his help or saving his life), if not some of the other people he is so full of anger/hatred toward.
These are just some of the things I’m wondering about. Every post of yours adds new things…
Hi John, Thanks for you latest book. I am using it to start an alchemy discussion in my small reading group on the Leaky Lounge. We are beginning scholars and appreciate you making alchemy available to us in an easy to understand format. Interestingly, after studying alchemy via your book and other websites for a couple of weeks, I went to see the movie Blood Diamond. The alchemical references were jumping off the screen at me! Have you seen this movie? I would love to discuss this with someone, but don’t know where!
Regards, Eileen
It’s funny you said that Eileen. I was watching the movie “Charlotte’s Web” about the book by E.B. White and the alchemical references shot out at me too. When Charlotte says she is naking her “magnus opum,” I hit my forehead and said, yep, that’s alchemy. Of course before that there were huge clues. Just watching things like Rudolf is eye opening now. When I was a kid I never cared a lick to try to understand it on any higher level that it’s just another Christmas movie, but now that my eyes are open to it, thanks to John, it’s a new experience all over again.
Hey leakylurker–haven’t we been in some of the same reading groups? At least, I remember seeing some of your posts somewhere, but I’m sorry we aren’t in the same group this time round. I was asked to write a start to an alchemy thread, since I brought it up for our group to discuss, but I just didn’t have time to do it.
Once you get the ideas behind Alchemy in your mind, you start to see the stages in a lot of movies. What happens often, though, is that the director or writer uses some elements because they are so traditional, but then they fail to follow through and it leaves the movie feeling incomplete or out of balance.
I will have to rent Blood Diamond–I kind of avoided it in the theater because it looked so violent.
Pat