jimmy:
Helen, I am a Catholic who tries to follow all the teachings of the Church. I also believe all that the Church teaches.
I have read all the HP books and I have to agree with Monarchy. Harry Potter is not occult and it does not teach the occult. It is fiction. It does not contain any real charms or any names of demons. What Monarchy wants you to do is give him some examples of demons that are named in the books. His point is that you are unknowings helping to spread false rumors about JK Rowlings.
The spells are all latin words(or just sound like latin sometimes) that mean what they do. For example, in the books lumo is a spell that makes light.
The names of the characters in the books explain the character, or they are just a normal name or they are a name she just made up.
It is because no one wants to believe that this could happen. That you could be duped! Read the following and that is the last time I will be on this page, for real.
There are elements of fantasy and good story-telling in this book. At the same time,
the whole story in set in an occult context, and
with references to real occult practices and views mixed in with fantasy. The hero of the book is a
wizard/witch/sorcerer whose goal is to learn how to use his powers through the occult. **Much is made of the fact that the author wrote while on welfare on scraps of paper at a cafe. This makes it sound like everything is totally from her imagination; however, she did not imagine alchemy, charms, scrying, Nicolas Flamel, astrology, the Dark Side, or many other occult concepts and information. It is only reasonable to assume that Rowling did some research or has had some exposure to occult and magical practices.
**
The idea of using sorcery to fight evil, or using “good” magic to fight “bad” magic, is a major component of the plot. In 1996, a movie called
The Craft taught the audience that using witchcraft to fight evil is good. This movie helped to galvanize the growing Wicca/witchcraft movement and attracted a lot of teen girls to Wicca (Llewellyn’s
New Worlds of Mind and Spirit, Sept/Oct. 1996, p. 6: “Whether you loved it or hated it,
The Craft created a surge of interest in magick, the occult, and Witchcraft”). Ask any Wiccan how to defend the practice of witchcraft, and many will respond that it is okay to use one’s powers “for good.” How does this message differ from the Harry Potter books? Harry Potter, far from teaching against the occult, gives a rousing cheer for it. Those opposed to witchcraft or wizardry are mocked and painted as stupid.
We are not in world where witches are crones with black robes and pointed hats or where wizards and sorcerers exist only in Disney movies. We are in a world where ordinary people seriously practice witchcraft, sorcery, spells, and other occult methods. Many witches, psychics, Neo-pagans and others involved in the occult were my clients when I practiced astrology. A June 14, 1999 article of “Publishers’ Weekly Online,” discusses how popular pagan books have become among younger readers. At that point,
Teen Witch had sold more than 50,000 copies. Llewellyn’s director of trade sales stated that his company (which publishes occult titles) started “repackaging ‘classic’ pagan titles with more youthful covers, and sales often jumped tenfold as a result,” (Michael Kress, “Bewitching Readers With Pagan Lore, <
www.bookwire.com/pw/images2/relig2.jpg>). One of the books discussed is a book on “white witchcraft.” Essential to this philosophy is to not go over to the “dark side” and practice “dark” or “black” witchcraft, exactly what is taught in
Harry Potter.
There is a difference between fantasy and the occult. Fantasy can be used in a way that totally leaves out references to the occult. But this is not what happens in this book; instead, fantasy feeds on the occult and is fueled by it. Yes, this is just a story, but stories can teach and influence. Stories can present ideas and endorse worldviews. Does this book desensitize children to the occult? What happens when they get older and encounter peers who practice magick, cast spells, and attempt spirit contact? These practices are becoming more popular, and are already widespread among adolescents.
Harry Potter glorifies the occult. God condemns the occult. Should we take a book lightly that endorses what God has so seriously forbidden?
OK…so it won’t hold up as evidence in a court of law…all the same, taking the word of a person who is into witchcraft that reading books dealing with occult practices is harmless and OK is just silly.
