F.A.O. Pheonix
Dear Pheonix,
Cordial greetings and a very good day. Thankyou for your reponses and my apologies for the delay in my reply.
First, dear friend, to defend the Potter series by remarking that “the magic in Potter is purely mechanical. There is nothing “occultic” about it at all”, is to oversimplify a key problem with the book series. What you and others are turning a blind eye to is the author’s use of the symbol-world of the occult as her primary metaphor, and occultic activities as the dramatic engine of the plots. Moreover, these are presented to the child reader through attractive and ‘cool’ role models, such as the Harry and Hermione characters, who are, albeit in a fictional world, still students at a school of witchcraft and sorcery. Sadly, the pro-Potterites, in their fanatical allegiance to the books, are not prepared to allow that all of this has the potential for lowering a child’s guard, on a subconscious and spiritual level, to actual occultic activity, which is everywhere on the increase. Whilst children may rationally know that the fantasy element within the books is pure make believe, emotionally they still absorb it as real. Moreover, dear friend, you also have to take into account that there are many opportunities in the world today for the impressionable young to enter the occultic subcultures. Clearly, any children’s book series that has the potential, at least, of dulling their sensitivities to actual occultic activity is surely a must to avoid. Good Catholic parent’s will be very desirous to do all within their power to minimize this potential risk by forbidding their children to read this culturally unhealthy reading material. They will ignore their children’s petulant protests about being “joyless priggs” or adopting a Fundamentalist mindset and do what they think is in the best spiritual interests of their precious offspring, even if that does makes them unpopular or ‘uncool’ for a season. Later, especially when they are older, they will stand up and thank them for their good parenting and vigilance as regards their spiritual welfare.
What we need to remember, dear friend, is that whilst a novel may be intended to be read as pure fiction by its author, certain topics, morals or ‘values’, and even factual material embedded within the book, may still interface with the real world. It would, I think, be foolishly credulous to regard the world of fiction as some sort of air tight compartment where interaction with the real world never occurs, but unfortunately this is the impression that some pro-Potterites and their defenders convey.
Much of the defence of the Potter series seems to be that every well-adjusted person can easily distinguish fact from fantasy, thus the misgivings of its opponents are alarmist and belong only to the lunatic fringes of Christianity. However, this completely ignores the fact that children read fiction with a different consciousness than adults. It is conveniently forgotten that children are in a state of formation and that their understanding of reality is being forged at every turn.
The actual numbers of children who step from Potter-world into the actual occultic subcultures is, I agree, relatively small, thanks be unto God, but I emphasize the word relatively. Considering all the marketing hype and the unprecedented popularity of the whole Potter franchise world-wide, even the relatively small number of children who are hooked into the occultic subcultures can add up to many precious souls and a great deal of damage - perhaps damage that will have eternal consequences. Would you not agree, dear friend, that even one single child lost to the occult is a great tragedy - remember our Lord was concerned for even the one sheep who had been lost (S. Lk. 15: 3-7)?
When men defend these books by erroneously contending that the Potter series disconnect witchcraft from spiritual realities and that therefore there is no clear and present danger of a child wanting to go from fantasy witchcraft to its real life counterpart, they are leaping to a bif conclusion devoid of any empirical evidence. The books may at first glance appear to disconnect witchcraft from the spiritual and present it as perfectly innocuous and jolly exciting stuff. However, this only renders the Potter tales more potentially corrupting, since it gives to your unsuspecting child reader a false sense of what witchcraft is all about and many of us find that most disturbing, dear friend.
My plea, dear friend, is for men to at least acknowldege that the inferior Potter book series can be a doorway into the actual world of the occult and that they bridge that gap between normal happy children and the children of darkness. Moreover, this concern must be seen against the backdrop of a phenomenal resurgence of increase in occult ‘spiritualities’, a symptom of the bankruptcy of secularism. There is an innate hunger within man for the transcendent and numinous, wherein he finds his true identity and worth, but when this is denied, an inevitable void opens up within him. Indeed, this is why it is so vitally important to provide a vibrant Catholic faith that warns uncompromisingly of the dangers of a worldly conformity, especially to the youth, otherwise they will go searching elsewhere. The realm of the pseudo-mystical, which is fequently connected to the diabolical, will be waiting for them. Thus to prevent this, we ought to protect them from culturally unhealthy literature that may very well be the first push in this direction.
More to follow.
God bless.
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait
Pax
