The Order of the Phoenix

“It's only fantasy” and other deceptions

 

by Berit Kjos

 Background information:

Overview and Application of Harry Potter

Role-Playing Games & Popular Occultism

 

Resources to aid your Understanding

"The story of Harry Potter is an allegory: It is written and packaged to look like fantasy when, in truth, it is a carefully written true description of the training and work of an initiate in an occult order.... The story line aligns with real occult books written by Gavin and Yvonne Frost, who, themselves, run the foremost school of witchcraft in the British Isles." Peter, a former member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. 1

"The new Harry Potter book made book-publishing history this weekend. Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest bookstore chain, was on track to sell one million books in the first 48 hours, as much as it had expected to sell in a week...."2 The Wall Street Journal, 6-23-03

Summer Solstice -- an ancient pagan celebration in Europe and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere -- seemed a fitting release date for J. K. Rowling's fifth book. At midnight on June 21, young and old were waiting in line at bookstores around the world to get the next installment of their favorite myth. With my camera ready to document the event, I found a place in the "K-L" line behind a mother with three children.

"What do you think of the Harry Potter books?" I asked her.

"I love them," she answered. "I've read all of them twice to myself and once to my children."

"How old are your children?" I asked.

"Nine, eleven and fourteen. But they were six, eight and eleven when we started."

Only six and eight! I looked around at the costumed adults and their children in Harry Potter glasses, black robes and pointed black hats. How many of them would call themselves Christians? I wondered. How would this next level of training in occult practice affect their faith and their lives?

My concern grew over the next two days as I read the 870 pages. In their fifth year of occult training, Harry and his friends were more sophisticated in their understanding of the dark arts and far more rebellious toward authorities. Even their relationships with each other seemed darker and more fragile. One of J. K. Rowling's favorite verbs seems to be snarl (as in "...Harry snarled"), a phrase she repeated again and again. Lying and rule-breaking had become the norm and, most of the time, the young wizards and witches got away with it.

While some readers will see the anger, rage, swearing and cruel jinxes as nothing more than "fun" and fantasy, this immersion into angry and hateful environments will surely strengthen the notion that rage, rudeness and rebellion are cool as well as okay. It doesn't help that millions of children around the world are encouraged to feed their minds with images such as this:

     "Harry longed to bite the man. . . but he must master the impulse. He had more important work to do. But the man was stirring. . . Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt. . . . He had no choice. . . . He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man’s flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood. . .
     The man was yelling in pain. . . then he fell silent. . . . He slumped backward against the wall... . Blood was splattering onto the floor.... His forehead hurt terribly." (p. 463)

No, Harry hasn't morphed into a werewolf. Instead, he illustrates an occult principle called bilocation. While his physical body was asleep in bed, a part of his soul/spirit was inside Voldemort during his murderous assault.

Our article on The Matrix shows the same mystical correlation. Actions in the dream world corresponds perfectly to actual changes in the real world. So while the sleeping Harry -- in his mind -- willingly committed the brutal act from within the serpent, the distant victim was bitten, torn and left to die. 

In that nightmarish scene, Voldemort, an evil wizard with the cravings of a vampire, had turned himself into a snake (occultists call it transmutation). And since Harry was psychically linked to this dark, powerful wizard, he participated in the attack as if he were actually inside the snake -- as if his spirit had possessed the serpent. Psychically joined to this evil personality, Harry felt Voldemort's hatred and shared his thirst for blood. [See Order of the Phoenix]

Shape-shifting:  In the Middle Ages, many believed that shamans could assume the shape of an animal...

     "A woman imprisoned on suspicion of witchcraft 'claimed to be able to transform herself into a wolf. The magistrate promised not to have her executed, [if] she would turn into a wolf before him. The witch rubbed her head, neck and armpits with an ointment and fell into a deep sleep for three hours. She could not be roused by 'noises or blows.' When she awakened, she claimed that she had turned into a wolf, gone a few miles away and killed a sheep and a cow. The magistrate investigated and discovered that a sheep and cow in the location described by the witch had indeed been killed. It was evident that the Devil 'did that mischief' and that the witch had merely experienced the dreams and delusions created by Satan."

     "In shamanism, shamans metamorphose (shape-shift) into their guardian animal spirits or power animals (animals from whom they derive their chief power). The shape-shifting is done in an altered state of consciousness." 

     The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (1989) pages 225-227.

To guard against such disturbing intrusions into his mind, Harry must learn occlumency, an actual formula for defense against psychic attacks in the real world of the occult.3 Key to the young wizard's success is a basic principle behind all occult training. Professor Snape said it well: "Clear your mind and let go of all emotion." Love, hate, delight, disgust ... whatever the feeling, it could be manipulated by a powerful opponent. Therefore it must be purged.

Readers who never make it past the middle of the book will miss this gruesome scene, but they still face the horrors of the occult in its opening pages. Consider how a child might be affected by the following images of deadly dementors:

"Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could mean only one thing. There was more than one....

      "A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly toward him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the night as it came.

      "Stumbling backward, Harry raised his wand. [He tried to cast a spell but it fails]

      "He could smell the dementor’s putrid, death-cold breath, filling his own lungs, drowning him.... The dementor’s icy fingers were closing on his throat – the high-pitched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head – “Bow to death, Harry”

       [He casts the spell again]

      "An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry’s wand; its antlers caught the dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards...."

Ms. Rowling's dementors are like psychic vampires. They suck energy out of humans, not unlike the "high-level Haunter" in the Pokemon myth who "sucks out the opponent's soul." Their depraved goal is to destroy their foe.

So is the goal of high-level members of sophisticated secret societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. "Peter," a former member who has helped us understand the actual nature of today's popular occultism, said it well: "Like psychic vampires, these dementors feed on the emotional energy of people."1

Harry saves the day with an advanced spell that banished the dementors. By the time the readers have relished a few more chapters, such magic formulas begin to seem familiar -- almost normal. After all, Harry is the hero! The readers are all rooting for him. They want to see him win -- and the stronger the magic the better! No wonder witchcraft is on rise these days. The world is learning that magical training brings virtual success. It feels good. So why not go for the real thing!

Many do. Marysia Kolodziej -- a young thelemite or solitary witch -- tells us why:

"You are not wiccan unless you have been initiated, which I hope eventually to be - and a ritual magician in practice. ...  I am a [Harry Potter] fan for several reasons. Initially it's the universe. The books with the largest pull have this highly detailed, well-thought out universe that almost seems real and, importantly, that you would want to be a part of. You are not just drawn into the story but into that world. Then through talking about them with fans you fall further and further in love with the characters, you analyze them and worry about them until they feel real to you. Then you have, in a way, become a part of that shared universe, and it is a wonderful place to be."4 Harry Potter: The witch's view

Marysia must be pleased with the Order of the Phoenix, for it offers many of the key lessons she longs to learn. Showing the progressive stages of magical training, it provides a tantalizing simulation of the intense program that shapes chosen initiates for leadership in actual occult orders.1

Since Ms. Rowling's storytelling skills are hard to resist, young readers find it all too easy to identify with life at Hogwarts. As Time magazine points out, "Rowling shows an uncanny understanding of how adolescents deal with one another."5

"She gets almost everything right," says ligia Mizhuquiri. "What happens [at Harry's school] happens to us. Some of us are popular. Some of us are not. Some of us get bullied. Some of us are bullies."5  By empathizing with the characters and their dangerous choices, readers learn to delight in the very things that God calls abominations: witchcraft, divination, sorcery and spells... (Deut 18:9-12)

Those who refuse to enter this enticing virtual reality often face rejection or wrath from their peers. The pressure to join the crowd, justify occultism, compromise one's faith and rationalize the spiritual shift is rising fast. These comments sent to our website illustrate the process:

"I am a strong Christian and love the Lord with all my heart. The problem is I really enjoy reading the books and nothing about them conflicts with my spirit....  " A youth pastor

"The bottom line is that Harry Potter makes children, teenagers like myself, and even adults HAPPY. I've read the books to several children that I know or babysit for, and watched all of them laugh, smile, and cry happily.... Children wouldn't be so desperate for Harry's world to be real if the series wasn't just that good." M. L., age 17

"I have been encouraged by my pastor at my CHRISTIAN church to read the Harry Potter books, because even though they have references to magic and sorcery, they can teach us more about the values of Friendship and Bravery then he can.... I am no longer Christian.  Somewhere along the way my beliefs changed.  I practice Wicca...." A.

"I am positively OUTRAGED at what I just read on your Page. Children all around the world are enjoying Harry Potter and why shouldn't they?!" B. 

I'm not surprised that the first two writers measure right and wrong by their feelings, not by God's Word. In today's postmodern churches, few children or adults learn the Scriptures that would train their conscience to be a trustworthy guide along God's way. Today's feel-good churches tend to avoid the Biblical truths that might conflict with the tolerant and politically correct atmosphere they like to exhibit.   

As a result, many church members are more comfortable with the world's ways than with God's ways. Compromise seems more "right" than God's call to separation. [See 2 Cor 6:12-18] The way back to God is through conviction and repentance, but that rarely happens among those whose conscience has been trained to match the world's values. If you don't accept God's standard for right and wrong, you have little reason to repent. See Isaiah 5:20

In a world that rejects God's unchanging guidelines, and that loves occult thrills more than His wonderful presence, the spiritual battle is sure to intensify.6

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore...." Ephesians 6:10-18

God's children had better be dressed for battle, not for a party, when they face these principalities and powers of darkness. This unseen army is as real as we are, and its cruel master wants our children.7

So teach them to "put on God's armor." [See "Armor of God"] Then, "clothed in Christ" and filled with His Spirit, they will be ready to face a world that has little love for the God we follow. No need to escape into a fantasy world for real-life fellowship with Him is far more exciting and wonderful than all the short-lived and addictive thrills that captivate youngsters today.

The last part of the armor tells us to take hold of the "Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God." The key scriptures that show us God's attitude toward witchcraft and wizardry are listed in Twelve reasons not to see Harry Potter movies. Please read this article.

We all face a choice. Will we focus on the world's fragile and illusive "happiness" and make "fun" and fantasy our aim in life? Or will we seek God and find the wonders of His peace in the midst of turmoil, His strength in our weakness, His amazing joy even when all looks dark from a human perspective? We can't have both. Therefore -

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve....

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15

1. See Overview and Application of Harry Potter at this website.

2. Emily Nelson, "Harry Potter's Magic Remains, as New Book Sets Sales Records, The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2003.

3. See The Order of the Phoenix at this website.

4.Marysia Kolodziej, "Harry Potter: The witch's view", BBC News (6/23/03) at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3012270.stm

5. Nancy Gibbs, "The Real Magic of Harry Potter," Time, 6/23/03; page 65.

6. See America's Spiritual Slide at this website.

7.  "Ask Peter" - Find Biblical answers to questions about occult entertainment at this website.

"We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us," prayed Jehoshaphat (a faithful Old Testament king) when enemy forces came against the land, "nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”  2 Chronicles 20:12

 

Provided by Berit Kjos

See our selection of wonderful books by Berit Kjos

 

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