****I study books and writing. I do not endorse the people who wrote them.***

Starting with the first book in the HP series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (which became Sorcerer’s Stone for the muggles in America), an eleven-year-old boy achieves what most people set out to do in a lifetime. He obtains the Philosopher’s Stone–an alchemical symbol of immortality. 

And in the end, doesn’t it make perfect sense? 

Everyone already knows his name–he’s effectively “immortal” already. 

Alchemy Symbols in The Philosopher’s Stone

One of the main themes of Harry Potter is not witches and wizards, but alchemy. And maybe the reason there are alchemy symbols buried in the text is the nature of what can be considered “esoteric knowledge.” 

There wouldn’t be much of an audience amongst elementary school kids for something that the entire country (US) has rarely heard of–if at all. In medieval Europe, alchemy was a precursor to chemistry, so remnants of these ideas still exist in England, as well as other places in the world.

Yet, everyone’s a witch when it comes time for Halloween. It makes sense that the name of the American edition was changed to the Sorcerer’s Stone with less focus on alchemy–although to me, it seems alchemy was J.K. Rowling’s original intent with the series, and these ideas are hinted at with a subtle delivery throughout.

Teach the children alchemy.

What is the Philosopher’s Stone?

Alright then kids, the Philosopher’s Stone is the mythical stone that allows an alchemist to turn any base metal into gold. You have to understand right away that this is a figure of speech, of course. In that, you’re not going to get rich, this is just a symbol of a greater process. (Or maybe you will get rich… if that is your magnum opus). 

The purpose of hiding the truth is captured in the expression, “Don’t cast pearls before swine.”

Now to study the process, and these symbols will soon make sense. 

A Brief Introduction to Alchemy

Before chemistry, before psychology, and before modern scientific method, ideas of mind and matter were married so that there was no psychological explanation for different modes of consciousness. No one had named the unconscious anything but god. The process of alchemy itself was a matter of spirit and the divine spark within–the alchemist was to draw inspiration from this spark in order to undergo the transmutation process of the soul.

What are the base metals of alchemy? 

The base metals of alchemy are: lead, iron, tin, gold, copper, silver and mercury. These alchemy symbols often compared to the seven chakras, because there are seven of them. You split them into two groups–four for the conscious, three for the unconscious.

You start with silver, then the gold.

 

Base Metals of Alchemy Explained
Alchemy (Microcosm)	Astrology (Macrocosm)	Chakra (Spirit)
Lead	Saturn	Muladhara (Base of Spine)
Iron	Mars	Svadistthana (Naval)
Tin	Jupiter	Nanipura (Solar Plexus)
Gold	Sol	Anahata (Cardiac Plexus)
Copper	Venus	Visuddhi (Throat Plexus)
Silver	Luna	Ajna (Pituitary Gland)
Quicksilver	Mercury	Sahasrara (Pineal Gland)

 

The silver is the result of the perfecting process of the unconscious, and the gold, that of the conscious. Silver is the moon (unconscious) and gold is the sun (conscious). 

The biggest problem with this is, no one knew of the unconscious–at least not until Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung came on the scene in the 19th century. In fact, unknowing is the nature of the unconscious. It can not be known by the conscious mind but through a symbol. The nature of it is so that it is not experienced in the conscious state–only dreams or visions.

So that our memories, and the totality of our experience, is hidden beneath the surface, and we can open a doorway to our unconscious through the recognition of archetypes and synchronicities and the emotions they incite. That’s where we pull from these alchemy symbols. In the instance of Harry Potter, one of the first and purest symbols that is revealed to him from deep within his unconscious is his parents while looking into the “Mirror of Erised.”

Nicolas Flamel

Enter Nicolas Flamel. This man is given his very own chapter in the HP series and later became a character in Fantastic Beasts (can’t say much for his role in this, since I haven’t’ seen it).

He was an alchemist who was said to have discovered the Philosopher’s Stone and is mentioned throughout Harry Potter–but he was indeed a real-life human.

Nicolas Flamel was born in 1340 in a suburb of Paris, and he was a scribe, manuscript seller and known philanthropist. 

He was called to Spain to help translate a strange book, and a sage he encountered along the way identified it as The Book of Abramelin. And with the information he had gained along the way, and the help of his wife (of course), he was able to decipher the book and concoct the recipe for the Philosopher’s Stone–first, producing silver in 1382, then gold.

So, the legend goes…he even produced a scroll outlining the steps to create the Philosopher’s Stone.

His home remains the oldest stone house in the city, where there is now a restaurant with the original inscription out front, “We plowmen and women living at the porch of this house built in 1407 are requested to everyday say an Our Father and Ave Maria praying God in his grace forgive the poor and dead sinners.”

He died in 1418 at the age of seventy-two. Some of his books would later be published in the 1600s, namely The Exposition of the Hieroglyphical Figures in 1612.

 

 

That’s right, Flamel was realer than Pinocchio–and was supposedly the closest thing to Super Saiyan we’ll get in the modern era.

Memory Palace

As of late, I’ve come to find that Harry Potter is such a memorable story. The one thing I used to pick up on as a kid was the fact that J.K. Rowling regularly repeated a bit of information that was meant to be important three times. As if three truly is the magic number.

I find that this was not by accident but intentional. I had a conversation with my sister about the the opening chapter, and she quoted the line about Dumbledore’s shoes. She mentioned how strong visuals like that really stuck out to her.

“Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man’s name was Albus Dumbledore.”

—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I recently ran across the idea of a memory palace, also known as the Method of Loci, originating during the Roman Empire. Harry Potter’s world is just one big memory palace. It’s almost as if it’s intentionally done this way so as to be much more memorable, but you’ll notice the continuation of people, places and things rarely deviates from first, the Dursley’s, then the train ride, then Hogwarts, then back to the Dursleys again. 

The fact that you can visually picture the train or the inside of Hogwarts castle is astonishing. And I find that this is the very thing that is lacking in other stories (leaving them very forgettable).

 

 

But after listening to a famous world memory champion talk about how he does it, I find that J.K. Rowling’s writing style aligns with how a memory champion builds a memory palace.

Remember when The Odyssey used to be recited aloud from memory by your local bard? No, because that hasn’t happened since ancient times, but it’s a testament to what the brain used to do and is actually capable of–and how much it’s neglected these days!

• First: Harry Potter is weird… and apparently the stranger or more unusual the image, or the stronger the image, the more memorable (gross things we don’t tend to forget, so Jelly Beans that taste like boogers are a no-brainer)
• Second: you can visualize each and every character because of how bizarre the descriptions of them are; I will never forget Petunia has a horse face.
• Third: the castle is so extensive, and yet, I bet you could name at least 10 rooms/grounds if you wanted to… you could even tell me what’s in them or who teaches in that class.

The Four Houses

And this brings me to the four houses–Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. The sorting hat splits students into four houses that are supposed to be “likeminded” in some way. When I look at the four houses of Harry Potter and the four suits of a tarot deck, a pattern begins to emerge. 

A modern deck of tarot explains the four modes of consciousness well–the Emotions, the Intellect, the Will and the Persona. That is, cups (water), swords (air), clubs (fire), and pentacles (earth).

Just as the four houses describe four types of consciousness, so too do these ideas align with the tarot. So that the four houses of Harry Potter are much like the four suits in a traditional deck of tarot. And what do these two things have in common? They describe modes of consciousness.

An alchemist must bring the four modes of consciousness together in perfect balance. This is referred to as the “quaternity” in alchemy that leads to the “quintessence” or quint which is the fifth hidden element. An alchemy symbol that describes this process is the sphinx, which has four parts that represent each of these four elements or modes of consciousness in the mind.

 

The Four Houses
Houses	Alchemy (Microcosm)	Yoga (Spirit)	Tarot
	Quintessence	Akasha
Gryffindor	Fire	Tejas	Wands
Slytherin	Water	Apas	Cups
Ravenclaw	Air	Vayu	Swords
Hufflepuff	Earth	Prithivi	Pentacles

 

The four elements come together to help make the Philosopher’s Stone. To see this alchemy symbol in the HP series spelled out, look no further than the alchemical symbol for Squaring the Circle, and that of the Deathly Hallows.

 

 

Look familiar?

Squaring the circle was a problem that greatly exercised medieval minds. It is a symbol of the opus alchymicum, since it breaks down the original chaotic unity into the four elements and then combines them again in a higher unity.

Unity is represented by a circle and the four elements by a square.

The production of one from four is the result of a process of distillation and sublimation which takes the so-called “circular” form: the distillate is subjected to sundry distillations so that the “soul” or “spirit” shall be extracted in its purest state.

The product is generally called the “quintessence,” though this is by no means the only name for the ever-hoped-for and never-to-be-discovered “One.”

It has, as the alchemists say, a “thousand names,” like the prima materia.

—Carl Jung

Initiation and The Mirror of Erised

The alchemist must extract the deepest desire hidden in the unconscious mind and use it to purify the quality of their total consciousness. Yet knowing the purest desire of your heart is not something that comes easily or naturally due to the nature of differing aspects of consciousness (the persona, self, shadow, anima/animus) and their effects on the total psyche. 

 

 

The persona is a mask that the conscious mind must wear to regulate thoughts and operate within the currently established order of things or within the confines of what is considered “normal” by modern day standards. On the other hand, the shadow is everything in which the person must repress or send to the forgotten realms of their own consciousness (automatic emotions, memories or internal desires–although as pure as thought itself, are not always permitted to surface, and for good reason), as these very real perceptions do not belong within the confines of the established persona.

Meeting of Persona and Shadow

Conflicting thoughts are what the alchemist strives to amend. These internal desires that exist unbeknownst to the awareness of everyday consciousness wreak havoc on the mind. They begin to surface in elusive ways, such as in the form of dreams or visions or even interfere with regular thought patterns or send a wave of emotions into the present (without apparent cause). 

The shadow is, more often than not, the part of your unconscious that you know the least–your conscious mind does not identify with it and keeps these thoughts beneath the surface. You may come to know the symptoms of this desire that lurks in the depths of the unconscious, but how is the meaning of these symptoms diagnosed? It’s not easy to understand… that which can only be conveyed through a symbol and only experienced in a dream-like state.

Much of the unconscious can be understood through the use of archetypes and symbols. These archetypes are symbols attached to common emotions experienced by humans, no matter what space and time they exist within. But coming to know that which lies beyond the veil of consciousness in the invisible world of the unconscious (a realm that is not so readily perceived) can still be a daunting task. Especially when the conscious mind will do anything to stop the shadow from surfacing.

Flirting with Desire

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, this lesson is easily conveyed with the Mirror of Erised. Harry Potter looks into the mirror and sees his parents and family smiling and surrounding him. This desire of his to have a family is pronounced throughout the book in Harry’s thoughts and actions, but only when he sees his reflection does he become even conscious or aware of the weight of this desire on his life.

He expects his friend to see the same thing, not knowing that these types of desires differ greatly from person to person and what Ron Weasley would see was the glory of winning the Quidditch Cup and becoming Head Boy–or no longer being overshadowed by the older siblings in his family. This theme is also continuously pronounced throughout Ron’s character development.

But the base desire for each character is not known by them as individuals until they are each able to gaze upon the deepest desire of their heart. For upon the mirror is the inscription that reads:

“erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi”

Which translates to, “I show not your face but your heart’s desire.” In alchemy, this step is the initiation that leads to a newly established perspective. It is when you come to realize what lurks Below that you will be able to initiate a newly found outlook in the world Above–one that is unobstructed by this unknown desire that exists, persists and cannot be cured.

Arcanum X. The Black Magician (The Devil) explains the power of this inner force of consciousness (the shadow). It is usually depicted as the devil himself in the Rider Waite tarot, along with a couple chained together, symbolizing the pair becoming slaves to their senses (and failing to align these base desires with anything of use or meaning to the exterior world).

Obtaining the Philosopher’s Stone

Finally, when Harry does not want to use the stone, he is given it by the mirror anyway. That is because his intention was pure–it was aligned with the will of the total reality, and he was able to find a way to use this desire that was revealed to him through the mirror for good.

He took the “high road” in aligning his intentions with a nobler cause than his own selfish desire to live in a fantasy world with his family by manifesting a new reality for the benefit of many–finding out how to get the stone to stop the one who would use it to harm others; although his actions were still very much the result of his original vision (avenging his parents’ death). This is very much akin to the application of alchemy, in that it is necessary to align one’s desires with those of external forces if any progress is to be made.

 

 

It just goes to show that desire is part of the secret recipe of the alchemist, in that the initiation begins when there is something to intend upon and an unwavering force (from the darkest depths of the unconscious) driving the will toward it.

⚕Home⚕

 

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The Three Philosophical Principles

Who was the real Nicholas Flamel?

Facts About Nicolas Flamel

How to Hack Your Brain and Remember Almost Anything

Squaring the Circle by Carl Jung

CC: Karen Roe, HarshLight