These images and metaphors are numerous in the HP series, as we’ll see. They drew pictures in an elaborate language of symbols, that they also scattered in their texts, which correctly read by another alchemist, would give him information and procedures to follow. The symbol of this alchemical journey can be very rich when applied to Harry’s, and to other characters’, transformation in the books.Īlchemists developed a secret symbolic language because they wanted to share their knowledge only with people they thought deserving of the information: “the fraternity of the true philosophers”. This is what the alchemists called “the philosophical gold”: their own spiritual transformation was the true gold sought, the real Philosopher’s Stone. This journey was the true reward because it gave him knowledge (he was supposed to have understood the mysteries of Nature), hence wisdom, and made him a better human being. So, the Philosopher’s stone is not only an object but also the symbol of the journey the alchemist made to obtain it. It was also a personal quest as the Alchemists’ main aim was the ennoblement of the soul, symbolised by the ennoblement of the matter. But alchemy didn’t consist of laboratory work alone. First, alchemists were searching for the Philosopher’s Stone, a transformational object used to transform base metals into silver and gold and also to provide universal medical cure for illnesses, “the Elixir of Life,” made thanks to the stone. There is not only one definition of alchemy but several. But there is more than that and the aim of this paper is to suggest that JK Rowling is using the symbols of alchemy as a framework for the entire series. Moreover, Albus (white in Latin) means "the Initiate" in alchemy (Fulcanelli 109), that is to say the alchemist, "the one who knows," which fits perfectly with Dumbledore. On those cards, Dumbledore is also mentioned as an alchemist. Other real alchemists are mentioned in the books as Paracelsus and Cornelius Agrippa who figure on Chocolate frog cards (PS 77 -78). The Alchemy thread she started with some friends has has been an amazing bubbling cauldron for months now, and it is the theories born out of this work which she is presenting in this essay.Īlchemy has an important role in the Harry Potter series that JK Rowling begins with the Philosopher's Stone story and the historic character of Nicolas Flamel, a medieval French alchemist, who was meant to have discovered the Philosopher's stone with the help of his wife Perenelle. Her passion for Harry Potter and history finally met when she discovered that alchemy was a key element of the books' symbolism. A teacher by day, Audrey can be found each night in the Lexicon forum, where she keeps her HP obsession going amongst fellow Potterheads. After completing a history degree, she passed a research MA, specialising in 17th and 18th century history, and a DEA in "Western Culture and Civilisation - From Renaissance to the Eighteenth Century", which focussed particularly on religious and social history. Harry's journey towards gold: Alchemical symbols in the Harry Potter series by Audrey SpindlerĪudrey Spindler is a French 32 year old teacher who lives in a charming medieval town in South Burgundy.
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