Dipping Into the Universal Well

Do you remember back to your high school days (or maybe you're still in them!), when your English Lit teacher loved to drone on about the subtextual layers in works from authors such as Faulkner or Shakespeare? Did Shakespeare really intend in Hamlet for the poisoning of the old king through his ear to speak to the veracity of what one hears through them?  I mean really, what author could have intended every single one of those thematic details English teachers like to needle out and torment their students with on tests? ;-)

But honestly, I have to say that the sort of minute analysis I suffered through in English class was a drop in the cauldron compared to the frenzy I whole-heartedly engaged with once Harry Potter hit the scene. Talk about your theories and comparisons to every fable, myth, and work of literature ever created! Surely, JK Rowling couldn't have meant but a small fraction of them.

Or could she?

To better analyze how these subtextual references work for a writer, let me do what all writers do. Let me tell you a story...

This one concerns a young man often called the orphan because his father was murdered by an evil lord, who then tried to kill the young orphan as well. Fortunately, the orphan's magical mother was able to save his life, and so he grew to adulthood with the desire to right the great wrongs the evil lord had committed, avenge his father's murder, and reclaim his father's inheritance, which the evil lord had stolen from him. Numerous times the orphan faced the evil lord, but neither was able to finish off the other. For years, they battled bitterly and often violently to prove themselves in escalating challenges, which caused great trouble in their divided lands.  Finally, the orphan triumphed, and with his success, reunited the people.  The evil lord was banished for eternity.

But wait, you say.  You know this story.  It's Harry Potter!

And yet, the story I was conveying is an Egyptian myth several thousand years old.

Osiris was the wise deity ruler over Egypt with his wife Isis by his side. Together they brought prosperity, peace, and order to Egypt.  However, Seth -- Osiris and Isis' brother -- seeing what they had, decided to steal the throne for himself.  He plotted to kill Osiris and then Isis' son, Horus, as well. Powerfully magical, Isis was able to protect her son from Seth's evil attack.

Horus was destined to avenge his father's murder when he was old enough to reclaim his inheritance. Horus and Seth battled for many years until finally the combatants were called before the Ennead -- a council of nine prevailing gods -- to decide the matter by tribunal. Proving himself the better, Horus was awarded his father's position, reclaimed his birthright, and united the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt forever after. Depending on the version of the myth, Seth was either banished or killed.



Many of the details in the myths of Horus, Isis, Seth, and Osiris sound weird and out of place when compared to Harry Potter.  (For example, at one point, after Isis shows mercy to Seth, Horus lops off his mother's head). However, when you step back from the myths and look at their overall meaning, there are many points of comparison -- so many as to make it highly probable that JKR is deliberately weaving the Egyptian myth in as a motif.



Comparing The Osiris-Isis-Horus Egyptian Myth to Harry Potter

1. Osiris and Isis were the benevolent and wise deity rulers of Egypt. -- James and Lily were Head Boy and Girl at Hogwarts.
2. Osiris was murdered by Seth in his attempt to claim the throne of Egypt. -- James was murdered by Voldemort in his attempt to gain power over the wizarding world and immortality for himself.
3. Seth then tried to murder Horus (Osiris and Isis’ son) by transforming himself into a snake and biting the young child.-- Voldemort tried to murder Harry (James and Lily’s son), and we're very familiar with Voldemort's passion for snakes.
4. Isis saved Horus from Seth. -- Lily saved Harry from Voldemort.
5. Horus was hidden away on an island to protect him from Seth until he came of age. -- Harry was hidden in the home of his aunt to protect him from Voldemort until he came of age, and lastly, when the letters started arriving, even onto an island. (In fact, in JKR's 1st draft of Philosopher's Stone, James and Lily lived with Harry on an island, and this is where they were killed!)
6. Seth stripped Horus’ inheritance from him by taking the throne in his defeat of Osiris. -- Voldemort essentially stripped Harry’s inheritance from him by forcing the young Harry into a Muggle existence, completely unaware of the wizarding world, for 10 long years.
7. Horus grew up to avenge his father's murder. -- Harry grew up to avenge not only his father's, but many other murders as well.
8. Horus was represented frequently by a falcon or a hawk and considered a god of the sky. -- Harry can fly brilliantly.

9. Because of his victory over Seth, the lord of Upper Egypt, Horus, the lord of Lower Egypt, was considered the uniter of Egypt. -- By series' end, Harry reunited the wizarding world, both those who have always been open to "Mudbloods," and those who oppose and fear them.  This reunification is most clearly represented by the Malfoy's role in the final battle and their presence in the Great Hall after it was all over.
10. Osiris represented the deceased king, while Horus was the embodiment of the living pharaoh. -- James is dead, but Harry is the Boy-who-Lived.
11. Seth was strongly connected to the serpent Apep, and in later myths the two were considered one. -- Voldemort is strongly linked with the basilisk and Nagini. Plus, he speaks Parseltongue.
12. Seth was believed to have white skin and red hair and eyes. -- Voldemort has white skin and red eyes.

These are but a few of the comparisons that can be made between these two stories separated by centuries, cultures, and continents.  As writers, we can learn how to weave references into our work by studying how JKR wove hers so intricately. She made various points of comparison, but although she does point the reader in the direction of Egypt through Bill Weasley, she never directly refers to the Horus myth.

Please note that the Osiris-Isis-Horus myth is not singular but plural. As the story of their holy trinity was one of the most beloved of ancient Egyptians, and developed and changed over thousands of years, this myth exists in multiple versions.

Indeed this myth struck such a profound chord of meaning among the peoples and storytellers who came later, that it has been retold repeatedly throughout history, merely with costume, scenery, and prop changes to fit the new times.  What is Hamlet if not a story of a young man battling to avenge his father's murder and the usurper of his throne?  And in the animal kingdom, we have Disney's Lion King, where Simba must defeat his uncle Scar, who murdered Simba's father, in order to reclaim his rightful role as king.

These repeated myths are comforting to us. We know the stories; we know how they must end.  Good must triumph over evil; rightful order must be restored.  But because the world around us does not often show the results we seek, we must gain reassurance through our entertainment over and over, time and time again.

The long-enduring, oft-repeated mythic themes resonate because they tap into the universal subconscious that flows between peoples of all centuries, all continents, all cultures. If you, as a writer, tap into these themes, you instantly grow your market.

Harry Potter fans go crazy seeking out all the mythic references within JKR’s world. They can find connections to almost any myth or story ever recorded. Did JKR intend all the myth connections that fans find and thrive on? Of course not! Did she intend some--many--of them? Without a doubt.

The brilliance of using myth is that by using one, you instantly gain links to all the other storytellers who have come before you and referenced that myth as well.  In other words, if with Harry Potter JKR referenced the Horus myth, then she, perhaps inadvertently, also referenced Hamlet and The Lion King and many other stories based on this common mythos, as well.  As a writer, the wealth of the eternal flow of mythic literary connections can pour forth from your pen for the price of one dip.

So, go ahead.  Dip your bucket into your well. Connect through your own portal to that ever-flowing river of human subconscious. Study the myths, their hero’s journeys, their archetypes, their themes and conflicts. Find your connection, your voice, within their stories. Then play with them. Using JKR as an example, see how you can creatively weave myth into your contemporary story.

You, and your reader, will more deeply connect with the results.

Question: What myths have you woven creatively into your own story?

About the pictures: In July 2007, I was fortunate enough to speak at a Harry Potter fan conference in London during the release of Deathly Hallows. The pictures of the Egyptian artifacts were shot at the British Museum while the fans dressed as Harry Potter characters I took at the ginormous release party at Waterstone's in Piccadilly. The line of thousands of fans waiting to purchase the last book wound around several blocks, with gawkers (like me!) and news crews everywhere. It was a blast!

That Deathly Hallows Symbol

In celebration of Deathly Hallows' release, I'm going to do something I don't usually do on this blog. I'm going to indulge myself in a post that is truly more fan speculation rather than writer analysis. What can I say? I came to Harry Potter as a fan first and foremost!

Back in the summer of 2007, after the cover for Deathly Hallows had been revealed, but before the book had been released, I, like many other HP fanatics, was caught up in exploring and speculating on every aspect of the cover for possible clues toward the forthcoming story. I was especially fascinated with that mysterious, geometric symbol on the spine of the Bloomsbury UK cover.

Having already spent a good deal of time analyzing and presenting workshops on the alchemical and Egyptian mythological underpinning of the series, I of course looked there for an understanding of the symbol. I completed an editorial analyzing it as the last segment of a 3-part essay on Egyptian mythology in Harry Potter that was published on Mugglenet.com.

Unfortunately, the editors at Mugglenet were so busy posting an onslaught of last minute theories before the final revelation, that they didn't get the last two parts of my series posted until the comment section had been shut down ahead of DH's release to prevent spoilers. So, I never got feedback on my, of course, brilliant theories! ;-)

But now that I have a blog of my own, I can subject you all to this last, lost speculation! So, if you're ready to revisit those long-gone wonderful times of plastering the Internet with wild theories before the next Harry Potter release, then sit back and grab something good to drink, because when I dip into fan speculation, I tend to get long-winded.

Harry's Sacred Egyptian Triangle
In the introduction to the essay linked above, I said:

And now for what I consider the most exciting part of this three-part editorial -- that symbol on the spine of the Bloomsbury children's cover, the one that has inspired much discussion, sparked such controversy, and appeared as the key into the last round of W.O.M.B.A.T. questions. That sign, in my opinion, is a decidedly Egyptian symbol with some mixed-in alchemical and Masonic esoteric meaning. Essentially, I think it is a composite sign of JKR’s own creation -- an Egyptian Triangle with the Eye of Horus and Tree of Life layered on top.

(My editorial is very long, but if you're interested, it will give you greater insight to the theories below).


My argument was thus:

1) the triangle represented the sacred Egyptian Triangle or Golden Triangle, a symbol of the goddess Isis, her deceased husband Osiris, and their child Horus. These three together were the sacred, holy family and thus symbolized eternal love and the new life that is born of that love. (Through earlier parts of my editorial, I'd already analyzed how Isis = Lily, Osiris = James, and Horus = Harry).

2) the circle inside the triangle represented the Eye of Horus, a symbol of Divine protection and restoration, and ancestor of the Eye of Providence watching out from afar, giving guidance.

3) the line bisecting both triangle and circle from top to bottom represented the Tree of Life, a symbol of life, obviously, but also of a central pillar that had roots in the underworld, a trunk in our world, and branches into the realms of the gods.

Now, as it's been over three years since Deathly Hallows has been released, read, reread, and digested, I can look back on this speculation and see how my original theory fit in with the reality of the book (or at least my opinion of it!).

How JKR used this Egyptian symbolism in her created Hallows:

1) The invisibility cloak was the one Hallow handed down from father and son through the generations.  It represented love and protection and for Harry was almost always shared among his only living family -- his friends Ron and Hermione.  Notice that it was quite frequently the three of them under that cloak, Harry's own golden triangle of friendship and love.

2) The Resurrection Stone had the ability to bring the dead back, just not to real life.  For Cadmus, it drove him crazy to be with a love he could never truly possess again.  But for Harry, who sought not to possess but to be counseled, the stone brought him the comfort from the guidance of those who had gone before him.  Lily, James, Lupin, and Sirius truly gave him divine loving guidance and protection on his walk to meet Death.  And of course, we must not forget Dumbledore, who through the blue eyes of his brother Aberforth in the fragment of a mirror, still watched out for Harry throughout this last book.

3) If you look at that line on the Bloomsbury cover representing the wand, you'll see that it's actually a spear, with a pointed tip at its head.  As the most powerful wand created, the Elder Wand had the ability to pierce the Veil of Death by both sending its master's adversaries across the veil, and supposedly preventing its master from making the trip himself.  Of course, it failed to do the latter.  However, the elder wand, this stick from a tree, is an ironic symbol of the Tree of Life in its human-mangled transformation into a Death Stick.

Even back in 2007, I never believed that JKR in her actual text would use any of these words: Egyptian Triangle, Eye of Horus, Tree of Life, but rather that these meaning were subtextual, hidden below the surface, to provide an extra layer of depth and meaning to her rabid readers.  Of course, all this is conjecture on my part, and I may be totally off the mark in the meaning and images she was drawing upon when she created her Hallows.

But there is one thing I am sure of...when dealing with an author of JK Rowling's caliber, she most definitely had carefully, thought-out meaning and well-researched imagery behind each of those symbols.  And when she finally issues the Harry Potter Encyclopedia, I'm hoping we'll find out these final secrets!

PS: I have more to say on this and will probably add a few more thoughts into the comments as they go.  But this post is already very long and not sure how into this stuff anyone else but myself will be!

Mad-Eye's Mad Eye

I want you to look at the three images I have on this post and see if you recognize any similarities.

Let's start with the first image, the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus.

The Eye of Horus was an amulet of healing and resurrection. One of the most revered and powerful amulets in ancient Egypt, the Eye provided protection from evil. It was a symbol of royal strength and assisted in the rebirth of the deceased.

As the granddaddy of apotropaic amulets, meaning a talisman that turns back harm or evil, the eye amulet was so popular that it spread throughout the region and the centuries, morphing and adapting to various cultures, but always retaining the staring single eye. It is truly very old magic.

The Eye still exists in various incarnations even today. It is very popular throughout the Middle East, especially in Turkey where it is known as nazar boncugu. In Turkey you will still see this amulet nailed over doors to homes, decorating the hulls of ships, and pinned to the clothing of young children, placed there protectively by their loving mothers.

Now let's look at Mad-Eye's mad eye.

From Goblet of Fire:

But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady.  The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue.  The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye -- and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.  (p. 184-185)

Hmm. An all-seeing round eye with the colors of black, blue, and white... Ya think there's a connection?

A few years ago, when E.L. Fossa of Wizarding World Press pointed out to me the similarities between JKR's creation and the Turkish nazar boncugu, I felt a bit dimwitted.  Here I was, married to a Turk, having lived in Turkey many years, with many boncuks hanging in my house, on my keychain, or pinned to my children's clothes when they were babies, and I'd not made that connection.  Yet, I was only then learning how to look below the surface in a Harry Potter novel.

If I'd had any remaining doubts that JKR intended for the reader to make these connections, it was  was when she had Umbridge nail Mad-Eye's glass eye to her office door that cinched it for me.  On the surface, that was just a bit odd.  And you can bet, whenever JKR is doing something that seems odd or slightly out of place, that she's getting at a deeper meaning, most likely using a mythological reference.

But ... why would JKR pin a benevolent amulet onto a character who in the first book is a Death Eater and fraud?  I think there's an initial reason, and then a deeper one that leads to the underlying mystery of the series.

First the initial reason -- the Eye of Horus, as well as its descendant, the nazar boncugu, are amulets that represent protection from an all-seeing divinity.  In Goblet of Fire, pseudo Mad-Eye (aka Barty Crouch, Jr.) fills this role.  He sees all, knows much more than any other character what is truly going on, and is bent on protecting Harry and getting him through as champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  Unfortunately, all this protection is aimed at providing Harry as a sacrifice to his lord and master, Voldemort.

However, in the end, despite himself, Crouch's protection works effectively.  It is Barty Crouch as Mad-Eye who taught Harry how to throw off the Imperius curse, an ability that helps Harry survive his encounter with the Dark Lord and return safely to Hogwarts.

As writers, we have the option of working sub-textual meaning into our stories.  If we do so with skill and resonance, as JKR has done with Moody's eye, then we've provided a whole new layer for the reader to engage within our pages, time and time again.

So, why would JKR draw so much attention to this ancient Eygptian amulet?  I have a theory and it points to the Horcruxes.  But that's a huge 'nother post.  I'll try to do it this weekend, so check back.

Wouldn't you love to hang Moody's magical eye on your door?  Win a Turkish evil-eye bead by following this blog..

Photo credits:
Eye of Horus
Nazar Boncugu
Mad-Eye Moody 
Door with Boncuk, Turkey

When is a Horcrux not a Horcrux?

When it is an ancient Cross of Horus.

Many of you have probably heard of an ancient Egyptian amulet called the ankh, which is still popular in jewelry today.  And you may even know that it was a symbol representing eternal life.

But did you also know that it was sometimes called the Crux Ansata by Coptic Christians and early Egyptologists or also the Cross of Horus?

Why Horus?  Well, the god Horus was the son of Osiris who represented the deceased Pharoah.  Horus, however, represented the Pharoah who lived. He was commonly pictured as a falcon, lord of the skies.  In paintings on tomb walls of the Egyptian judgment scene, the weighing of the heart, you would frequently see Horus with his falcon head, carrying the ankh, the Cross of Horus, to impart the breath of eternal life to the lips of the deceased.  He could also withhold the ankh and thus deny eternal life to those whose hearts were weighted down by misdeeds.  (Note: Many Egyptian gods and goddesses were shown holding the ankh, not just Horus, but in the Weighing of the Hearts scene, it was usually Horus who carried this key to life when presenting the deceased to Osiris for final judgment).

So, what does any of this have to do with Harry Potter?  Well, my other obsession with Harry Potter, besides helping writers learn to improve their own craft, has been in tracing the Egyptian mythological references which run through JK Rowling's stories.  I think there are many, and I think the Horcrux is one of them.

Hor + Crux = Cross of Horus.

For Voldemort, his Horcruxes gave him eternal life.  But when Harry, who represents Horus, got involved, they led to his final death.  Harry urged Voldemort to account for his murderous misdeeds.  When Voldemort refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, it was Harry/Horus, who denied him eternal life.

Most fans are familiar with the Greek, Nordic, and even Druid references which JKR wove into her subtext.  But not as many picked up on the Egyptian.  I think the Egyptian may have even been primary.  In fact, I think that the whole reason for JKR to place Bill as a curse-breaker in Egypt, was to point the way there. But when I first presented the Horcrux = Cross of Horus theory back in 2005 at the Witching Hour conference in Salem MA, very few people were onto JKR's use of Egyptian subtext.  Now, lots of fans have caught on.

Over the years, I've analyzed many of these Egyptian references through the series and will share them, with time, here.  Follow the Egyptian Mythology label to read them all.

And why point these out?  Because in seeing how JKR used ancient myths and symbols as subtext for her stories, we can do the same.  This layer of subtext is what gave her series such a rich depth and hooked her readers into searching out all the clues within.

Fans delighted in finding these Easter Eggs of clues, buried within her text.  They scoured the Internet, searching out the meaning, and then plastered their theories of what was to come in the series based on their interpretation.

As writers, especially if your story has mystery or fantasy elements, weaving in this layer of subtext will delight and engage your reader.  Studying how it has been done by a successful author will help you improve your own craft.

Have you used any ancient symbols or myths to add subtext to your story?