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Symbolism in Harry Potter
A look through my old books on magick and occult tradition provides some interesting further insights on symbols used in Harry Potter.
The basilisk in Chamber of Secrets is not the invention of J.K. Rowling. It's a mythological creature in it's own right. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker, repeats the appellation, "King Serpent," and says, "Like the Gorgon head, whose glance was equally poisonous, the basilisk was closely linked with women's menstral blood. As the serpent-haired Gorgon head represented women's 'wise blood' and guarded menstral mysteries that men were forbidden to behold, so there was a popular medieval belief that a hair taken from the head of a menstruating woman and buried in the earth would turn into a serpent or basilisk." Of course, in Harry Potter, a basilisk is hatched from a chicken's egg under a toad, and it "flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."
The business with the rooster reminded me of an interesting tidbit from a book called Hostage to the Devil, by Malachi Martin, which documents five supposedly real cases of exorcism from demonic possession. In one of the cases, the possessed person was a student of parapsychology and anthropology who had been looking for evidence of "what Christianity was like before the Greeks and Romans distorted it." He believed he had found this in the tiny village of Aguileia (by Udine) where an ancient ritual had once been performed in a fourth-century Christian chapel. In this chapel "was a mosaic medallion depicting a fight between a red rooster and a brown tortoise." They "used to come and stand in single file to the right of the medallion. Then, one by one, they used to step on the Rooster (symbol of the intellectual pride and imperial power-madness which 'had corrupted genuine and original christianity'), then kneel, and looking at the Tortoise (symbol of immortality and eternity), pronounce the Latin formulae: Ave Dominus Aquae vivae! Ave Dominus immortalis qui Christum fecisti et reduxisti! (Hail, Lord of Living Water! Hail, Eternal Lord who made Christ and took him back.)" As already mentioned, the man who proposed the theory turned out to be possessed so the suggestion was that this whole line of thinking was the product of evil.
What I find interesting in all this is the way a rooster is juxtaposed as the enemy of a reptile (a tortoise in the latter case and a basilisk in the former one). I did a web search for "rooster" to see what it's meaning has been for others. At http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/rooster.htm, it says, "In Christian symbolism, the rooster is a familiar Passion symbol. Prior to being arrested by the soldiers, Jesus correctly predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed on the following morning. At the rooster's crowing, Peter remembered Jesus's words and "went out and wept bitterly." [Mat 26:75; see also Mat 26:34-75; Mk 14:30-72; Lk 22:34-61; John 13:38-18:27] The rooster represents Peter's denial of Christ and also stands for his remorse and repentance upon hearing the rooster's crow. Because Peter later became the leader of the early Church, the rooster represents papal vigilance."
It also says, "In many cultures, the rooster's habit of crowing at the dawning of each new morning made it a symbol of the daily victory of light over darkness and the triumph of good over evil. This habit along with its fiery comb made the rooster the symbol of fire, the sun and Christ - the light of the world who announces an end to spiritual darkness and despair. In the Far East, the rooster was painted on the doors or houses to drive off evil spirits." At http://www.designsofwonder.com/articles/symbols.html, the cock is simply "A symbol of courage and perseverance. Considered a badge of a hero." So we see that the rooster is associated with goodness, the sun, the victory of light over darkness, and with courage. It is starting to show some similarity with Gryffinder House.
What of the serpent, embodied in both the basilisk and the Slytherin shield? The Women's Encyclopedia starts it's long article on the serpent with the very interesting information that, "in the ancient world (it was believed) that snakes don't die of old age like other animals, but periodically shed their skins and emerge renewed or reborn into another life." Compare this with the phoenix who is also thought to be immortal, shedding a old life by bursting into flames and emerging from the ashes renewed. Then consider that the next Harry Potter book is to be called The Order of the Phoenix which most people believe will be Dumbledore's "good" antidote to the "evil" Death Eaters. Dumbledore's animal (and symbol of immortality) (and, since Dumbledore was a Gryffinder, Gryffinder's) is the Phoenix. Slytherin's symbol is the Serpent. The Death Eaters are seeking immortality and Voldemort has found it. The former renews itself by fire and the other by shedding it's old skin.
The Women's Encyclopedia further states, "Much Gnostic literature praised the serpent of Eden for bringing the 'light' of knowledge to humanity, against the will of a tyrannical God who wanted to keep humans ignorant. This view of Eden myth dated back to Sumero-Babylonian sources that said man was made by the Earth Mother out of mud and placed in the garden 'to dress it and keep it' (Genesis 2:15) for the gods, because the gods were too lazy to do their own farming and wanted slaves to plant, harvest, and give them offerings." In India and Babylon, serpentine creatures were seen as guardians of treasure and books of secret knowledge. "A similar serpent guarded the wonderful Book of Thoth, which was hidden in an underwater palace." How similar is Harry's quest, penetrating the underground bowels of Hogwarts, discovering hidden knowledge. What the myths have in common with the story of Harry Potter is the association of the serpent with wisdom and also the forbidden, the unconscious and feminine forces.
What, then, is the relationship between Slytherin and Gryffinder and why are they so antagonistic? Of course, the short answer is that fire and water are clearly antagonistic to one and other. Water puts out fire or at least dampens it's enthusiasm. Fire can act upon water, usually with the element of earth coming between them (as when water is brought to boil in a pot set upon a fire). But their direct relationship will always be problematic.
The OTO Gnostic Mass refers to "the Serpent and the Lion" in the Credo. The Thelemic Research Journal, the Red Flame, has this explanation for the symbolism of this phrase.
The Lion/Serpent symbol complex is very ancient, and occurs in Mithraic as well as Egyptian and Gnostic iconography.
The Lion is the "King of Beasts," due to its strength, regal bearing, tawning solar color, and because its mane resembles the aurora of the Sun. The Serpent, perhaps because it allegedly guarded the Tree of Knowledge, is associated with Wisdom. Also, because it sheds its skin, and because it moves in an undulatory pattern, the Serpent has long been a symbol of renewal, and the cycle of death and rebirth. Some cultures have noted that, because the serpent has lidless eyes, it is the only creature that can look directly at the Sun without blinking.
The name of the Hebrew letter Teth means serpent, and Teth is attributed to the zodiacal sign of Leo, the lion. Teth corresponds to the Tarot Trump called "Lust," or, in the old system, "Strength." This Trump depicts the relationship between CHAOS and BABALON.
While the Lion and the Serpent are both associated with Teth/Leo, the serpent is also a symbol of the zodiacal sign Scorpio. Leo and Scorpio are both Fixed Signs, but whereas Leo is a fiery sign, ruled by the Sun, Scorpio is a watery sign, ruled by Mars (or Pluto), and Scorpio and Leo are located square to each other on the wheel of the zodiac. Also, Scorpio is attributed to the Hebrew letter Nun, which corresponds to the Tarot Trump called "Death." Leo can be viewed as representing the conscious Will, or the Will to Live, Scorpio can be viewed as representing the unconscious Will, or the Will to Die.
The Lion and the Serpent represent, not only life and death, but male and female. Thus, while they are opposites in so many ways, they also have an attraction to one and other. It is the tension between repulsion and attraction that gives magick most of it's power.
Thus far, we have seen the world of Harry Potter mainly from the point of view of it's main protagonist, that is, from the Gryffinder perspective. Slytherin has been depicted as evil and threatening. But it is the tension between the opposites, whether stated as good and evil, male and female or fire and water, that moves the story forward and enables growth to occur. Harry's cosmic battle with Voldemort could be seen as a sort of initiation in which the Hero penetrates the underworld and attains wisdom. Are our enemies not the best teachers?
return to Slytherins
return to Gryffinders
return to parallels and contrasts
return to Hermione