Arthur Stuttaford catches some of this in his article of the October 11, 1999 National Review. He writes,

"It's no surprise…when Rowling reveals leftish social prejudices all too typical of the British intelligentsia. Harry's main rival at the school, nasty Draco Malfoy is-two strikes-both rich and aristocratic. Meanwhile, the dysfunctional Dursleys are a caricature of the vicious bourgeoisie that would have delighted Vyshinsky. They are contrasted with the poor-but-happy Weasleys, a wizard household that befriends Harry."

Page after page after page the reader’s minds are exposed to charms and casting spells. Here is just a partial list of the ones I have come across –

Accio – The summoning charm
Alohomora – A spell to unlock doors
Animagi/Animagus – By this spell wizard(s) are able to transform into an animal form
Adava Kedavra – The killing curse
Cruciatus Curse – Torture curse
Dissendium – A spell to open a secret passage
Expecto Patronum – A spell of protection
Expelliarmus – A disarming charm
Finite Incantatem – A charm used to stop a student commotion
Homorphus Charm – A charm which turns a werewolf back into human form
Impervios – Charm to repel water
Locomo mortis – spell for the leg-locker curse
Lumos – a charm to light the end of a magic wand
Mobiliarbus – Magical spell to move objects
Nox – A charm used to turn out the light on a magic wand
Oblviate – A memory modifying charm
Peskidiksi Pesternomi – Spell used to get rid of destructive Cornish pixies
Petrificus Totalus – Spell to cause someone to be motionless
Rictusempra – A tickling charm
Serpensortia – A charm to summon snakes
Tarantallegra – A dancing spell
Transfiguration – A spell which changes the nature of a person or object completely

Divination (fortunetelling) is commonly mentioned, taught and practiced.

Here are a few examples.

Harry is called a "true seer" in The Prisoner of Azkaban, with the gift of divination powers. This is confirmed in the 4th book when his clairvoyant powers are exercised. Further, a professor assigns Harry and company the task of mapping out their astrological birth charts. That is divination as well. There are other examples of divination…

Arithmancy – This is an actual early form of numerology where divination is made through numbers, especially those associated with a person’s name.

Rememberballs -- Marble sized balls that turn red to tell the holder if they have forgotten something.

Parseltongue – Snake language spoken by a dark wizard in communication with snakes.

Mirror of Erised – This is a divination mirror with writing around the frame that reads -- Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.  Hold the sentence up to a mirror and carefully read the reflection, ignoring the spaces. It reads: I show not your face, but your heart's desire

It does not take long to realize that magical potions made with various herbs and fungi play an important part in the witchcraft of Harry Potter and company. We read in book 1 – "Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses…where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for." In deed, Doreen Valiente (a real witch) writes, "…witches would have an herb garden and use its products in their spells."  Look at some of the ingredients used in the sorcery of the Potter books.

Thujone – You will find this drug used in Potter potions. It is a dangerous psychedelic drug used to make a drink called Absinthe. Absinthe was very popular in the 1700’s but has been illegal for sale or manufacture in the United States since March 16, 1915.

Mandrake – This herb is used in Potter Potions as well. It is a real herb. The mandrake has long been known for its poisonous properties. In ancient times it was used as a narcotic and an aphrodisiac, and it was also believed to have certain magical powers. Its forked root, seemingly resembling the human form, was thought to be in the power of dark earth spirits. It was believed that the mandrake could be safely uprooted only in the moonlight, after appropriate prayer and ritual, by a black dog attached to the plant by a cord. Human hands were not to come in contact with the plant. In medieval times it was thought that as the mandrake was pulled from the ground it uttered a shriek that killed or drove mad those who did not block their ears against it. After the plant had been freed from the earth, it could be used for beneficent purposes, such as healing, inducing love, facilitating pregnancy, and providing soothing sleep.

Monkshood – Is another herb used in Potter potions. It is also called Aconite and wolfsband. The entire plant, including root, herb and seed, is a deadly poison if taken in sufficient dosage.  Aconite is generally used in a very dilute form in homeopathy. If you are interested in the occult connection of homeopathy read my report located on my web page at ..\NewAge\na-med.htm

Wormwood – Is the common name for a perennial herb or shrub whose leaves and flowers contain the toxic terpene thujone. In a Potter’s potion it is mixed with ashphodel said to make a powerful sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the "drought of the living dead." Just as Wormwood is a real herb (and dangerous) so is ashphodel. Though there are several types according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, I believe the Potter variety is the Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), also of the family Liliaceae. It is a small herb growing in boggy places in Great Britain with rigid, narrow leaves and a stem bearing a raceme of small golden-yellow flowers.

The Elixer of Life – A potion that has the power to make a wizard or witch live forever.

Unicorn & blood drinking – There is most certainly an element of sorcery related to this creature in the Harry Potter story because it is stated that if you drink its silvery blood, it will keep you alive for a limited time if you are near death. Unicorn hair is also used in Potter potions. Let’s focus on the drinking of blood. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, we read Professor Quirrell, possessed, comes "out of the shadows, a hooded figure…crawling across the ground like some talking beast. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal’s side and began to drink its blood."

Sorcerers are said to be deceivers, children of the devil, enemies of righteousness. Why would you allow you children to be exposed to something that is perverted? Harry Potter books are perverted!!!

It is not possible to address all the aspects of witchcraft doctrine and practice associated with the Harry Potter books. Let me quickly go over just a few more. There are the wizard trading cards with the names taken from the Potter books, some who are real historical occult figures. Some of the names mentioned in the books are – Arrippa, a noted founder of Alchemy; French occultist and alchemist Nicholas Flamel (picture next page left) and wife Perenelle; There is also Paracelsus a 16th century German-Swiss alchemist, magician, physician. The list could go on and on…Merlin and Margana the witch half-sister of King Arthur; Circe, a Greek god who turns men into animals, Cliodna a Druid goddess of beauty and the otherworld.

Then there are the elementals, elemental demons or earth spirits that witches actually believe exist. They are readily seen in the Potter books. Here are a few that I have run across – water spirits (called Kappas), gnomes, pixies, banshees, elves and trolls.  The reader will also find ghosts, werewolves, vampires, centaurs, unicorns, phoenixs and merpeople all traditionally associated with the occult. Not to mention the three headed dog summoned, reminiscent of Cerebus, the three-headed hound of Hell. And what about Voldemort’s vile snake familiar in book #4. This huge snake’s name is Nagini. Do I need to remind the reader that the serpent is one of the most ancient and pervasive symbols of the occult? "The Satanic serpent of the Garden of Eden finds expression in most pagan systems as the Serpent God, from the ancient Egyptian god Set to the sacred cobras associated with both Vishnu and Shiva in the Hindu pantheon to the ophiolarty or snake worship practiced over much of pagan Africa and in Hatian voodoo. I do not think it is an accident that Rowling names the snake Nagini. In Sanskrit the name means pertaining to cobras.

I have to agree with Steve Bonta who wrote in his article Harry Potter’s Hocus-Pocus, "All of these images…seem to be derived from occult material, suggesting a sophisticated knowledge of the occult on the part of the author." Indeed Joanne Kathleen Rowling has a sophisticated knowledge of the occult. Even the London Times noted it in a July 12, 2000 article titled Muggle Adventures in Potterland. The article reads, "Magical feats and spells, fantastic charms and startling metamorphoses, conjuring exploits…Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…is crammed to the bursting with vanishings, flights, zombies, replicants, identity switches, cryptozoological monsters," etc. To a restless, channel-surfing rhythm, Rowling switches tone, now teenage psychology, now Alastair Crowley-ish Satanism."

In an 1999 interview Rowling admitted that she studied witchcraft and mythology in order to write her books more accurately. She said, "I do a certain amount of research…so when I’m mentioning a creature, or a spell…I will find out exactly what the words were, and find out exactly what the characteristics of that creature or ghost were supposed to be." She went on to say that about one-third of what she had written is based on actual occultism.  Her books are based on the so-called real occult!

Personally, I have to wonder if J. K. Rowling is a witch. Another example is the key Satanic character in the books, Voldemort. She had subtly used her French to name her key evil character, Voldemort. Voler means "to fly" or "to rob" and de means "of" and mort means "death" or "a dead man." Hence the name means the flight of death or the flight of a dead man.

 The Occult Doctrine of Dualism

Laced through ever one of Ms. Rowlings books is the yin-yang, occult doctrine of dualism. This is the key doctrine of occultism. Dualism teaches that good and evil are warring equals or, two sides of the same coin, as it were. Occultists believe that there are two equal and opposite sides of the "Force." There is good in evil and evil in good and they are all from the same origin. The ramification of this heresy is that good and evil are never clear-cut! This take on good and evil is vigorously reinforced in the Potter books by various twists suggesting that Harry and Voldemort, despite being mortal enemies, are not really that far apart. Harry, in fact, during his infant encounter with Voldemort, has actually taken on many of Voldemort’s traits, thereby absorbing some of his powers. He, like Voldemort, has the rare gift of being able to speak with snakes, and also ends up with a wand manufactured from the same source as Voldemort’s. The result of this is that, during one conflict between the dread foes, Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands cancel each other out, and the encounter ends inconclusively. In Book Four, Voldemort is restored to full strength by absorbing a phial of blood taken from Harry which, the Dark Lord explains, will impart to him those attributes that allowed Potter to resist him as an infant. Finally, Harry’s most distinctive feature, the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, was received from Voldemort and is ultimately the source of Harry’s exceptional magical abilities.

This is dualism! Harry is part of Voldemort and Voldemort is part of Harry. Another clear promotion of dualism is a statement by Professor Quirrell, the stuttering professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, Professor Quirrell said, "He is with me wherever I go. I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power…" He goes on to say, "Since then, I have served him faithfully."

Like Star Wars, the Harry Potter books promote the unscriptural doctrine of the devil, dualism. Some protest when I say that. They claim that the struggle between good wizard Harry Potter and evil wizard Voldemort is just like the classic struggle between good and evil that we have in the Bible! It is NOT! The Bible declares God is wholly good.

In the Bible evil is always subordinate to good. God and good are omnipotent (all powerful) and God and good ultimately win. Jesus, the Son of God is the victor and his followers are more than conqueror. The devil is the loser and he and his followers will be damned to the Lake of Fire for all of eternity. Biblical good and evil are distinct and separate. There is neither ambivalence nor ambiguity! Dualism on the other hand promotes ambivalence, ambiguity and uncertainty. Dualism is one of the key doctrines of devils. There is not both good and evil wizardry or witchcraft. All wizardry-witchcraft is evil and the Bible says so!

J. K. Rowling  promotes what the Bible condemns! These books awaken the reader’s curiosity about witchcraft, and occult powers and practices. Joanne K. Rowling finds herself in the place of Simon the Sorcerer of the bible. She is using sorcery and bewitching the children!  

To be sure Joanne Kathleen Rowling has offended many little ones by exposing them and enticing them into the occult realm. It is really happening!

The truth is that the Harry Potter books have generated so much interest in witchcraft that "The Pagan Federation has appointed a youth officer to deal with a flood of inquiries following the success of the Harry Potter books which describe magic and wizardry. The federation says the Potter books, by J. K. Rowling, and TV shows such as Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, had probably sparked the new flood of interest.

There is one more area that I will address briefly. That is the allegation that Harry and his friends are "good" characters with "good" values. Nothing could be further from the truth. Harry and Ron are rewarded when they break the rules. Headmaster Dumbledore says, "I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more rules." He goes on to say, "You will both receive Special Awards…let me see—yes, two hundred merit points for Gryffindor."  

Another illustration focuses on Hermonie. She is portrayed as a "good" character. However, Ron and Harry do not like her, that is, until she lies to protect them. Then Ron and Harry take her in and make her a part of their group. In Goblet of Fire dishonesty is glamorized and nearly everyone cheats throughout the Triwizard Tournament. Repeatedly the so called "good" characters show no remorse for their evil actions.

The Bible warns that in the last days people will reject biblical truths and believe the devil’s lies. In fact, they will be bewitched by occult fables. Harry Potters books vividly illustrate this point.

Sorcerers are among those listed in "the roll call of the damned’" who will be condemned to the lake of fire (Hell) for all of eternity.

   Some of the core concepts of Wicca and real witchcraft are absent from the world of Harry Potter:

   Wiccans worship both a God and Goddess, though there is no mention of any form of Deities at all in the Harry Potter series. Wicca is a religion after all, not just the act of casting spells. Why, there is no spirituality in these books and movies at all! 

   Traditional Wiccans belong to covens. Though the Harry Potter characters are grouped together at a school, there is clearly no coven groups to be seen.

    True spells require practice, experience, and the focused control of will. Shouting a phrase in Latin and waving a wand won't get you very far in the real world. Let's be realistic here, if we witches could really perform magick in the same way it's done in the movies, the world would be a very different place.

    As I searched the Internet looking for pro-Potter sites, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the number of articles and sites dedicated to "exposing the evil truths about Harry Potter". What surprised me even more was the blatent lies and false information they contain.

    The biblical references used to back up their claims are questionable at best, and all of them are focused on the evils of magick and Witchcraft. The connection between J.K Rowling's books and Witchcraft is all in their heads. The 'experts' don't really know anything about Witchcraft at all, and it's a shame that they are the ones yelling the loudest.

    I doubt my little voice will be heard amongst the cacophony of Christian fear and outrage. But hopefully, some people will actually stop and think about their claims before protesting these books. My point here is not to debate the Christian position on Witchcraft, but remove harmless, fantasy novels from the fray. We Witches are misrepresented enough as it is.

From Terri Paajanen,

Your Guide to Pagan / Wiccan Religion.