Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 32 – Harry Learns About The Fall (HP Chapter 9)
Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, was short, with gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk. She is of a high progressive level and well qualified to teach the students how to fly. She told the students to stand next to a broomstick, place their right hand over the broom, and say: “Up!” This command reflected how Aunt Petunia in the beginning of the book woke Harry up in exactly the same way. The inference was that Madam Hooch would attempt to get the students to awaken to a higher level of consciousness. Our right hand is actually controlled by the left side of the brain, but right- and left-hand symbolism doesn’t reflect that. Basic right- and left-hand symbology depends on which spiritual tradition is influencing the work. Eastern tradition holds an opposite perspective to Western tradition. In this case, the right hand represents an attempt to move to a higher state of reality because the functions of the right side of the uppermost brain are creativity, instinct, and intuition. Madam Hooch taught the students to handle their brooms and mount them in a very specific, orderly way. This programs and prepares the mind and body to fly. Harry’s broomstick immediately flew into his hand, but the others had trouble. Hermione’s broom just rolled around on the ground, while Neville’s didn’t move at all. Harry wondered if the brooms were reacting to the students’ fears because Neville’s tone clearly said he didn’t want to fly. For spells to work properly, you have to mean it, but Hermione’s struggle also shows that mental focus is essential. Madam Hooch gave the students specific instructions: They were to wait for the whistle and then kick off from the ground hard, keep their brooms steady, hover a few feet in the air, and then come back down by leaning forward slightly. The instructions were clear and designed to introduce the students to the mechanics of flying, but Neville was afraid he’d be left behind, so he kicked off before the teacher blew her whistle. This represents the danger of trying to ascend before we are spiritually, mentally, and emotionally ready. Neville’s broom shot straight up into the air, nearly 20 feet high. The act of flying will take the students to the Etheric level. This pattern of ascension mimicked the way Neville bounced when dropped from the second-story window. When Neville looked down at the ground, however, he panicked. The fear caused him to slip sideways off the broom because fear is a lower form of consciousness. It’s emotion. Sideways movement gives the impression that Neville didn’t lose spiritual ground by what he did, but he did fall to the earth and in consequence, broke his wrist. Meanwhile, his broom continued to fly off toward the forbidden forest and disappeared. The inference here was that even though Neville was harmed in the fall, the broom would have taken him to far greater dangers within the forest if he had not fallen. In essence, the fall was a blessing for him because it allowed Neville to escape the dangers the forbidden forest held: something worse than death. Madam Hooch ordered the students to stay put while she escorted Neville to the hospital. She told them that if they touched the brooms, they would be expelled. Draco began laughing and poking fun at Neville as soon as the teacher disappeared. That started an argument among the students, which Draco chose not to participate in. Draco appears to be an instigator. He enjoyed riling people up, but then he moved on to something he found more interesting. While the others were busy arguing, Draco discovered that Neville had dropped his Remembrall in the fall. This further defined the forgotten memory as being Neville’s fall out of the upstairs window when he bounced into the road. Only this time, he didn’t bounce. He had forgotten that he knew how to fly. We are similar to Neville in that we have forgotten where we came from. We have forgotten that we know how to bounce. We know how to fly without a broom for a crutch, but we do not remember. We have forgotten all. Like Neville, we are filled with insecurities and fear, have fallen off our broom, and broken our wrist. Our teacher has escorted us to a hospital wing where we have spent many hours sleeping our lives away. The hospital bed cuts us off from the presence of the Lord, due to the errors of our fathers, but the wisdom of Him from which we have come is greater than Voldemort’s. On one hand, we have been saved from a fate worse than death: without experiencing duality, we cannot know God and become love. On the other hand, the Great Creator has prepared a way for our escape from Voldemort’s grasp – if, and when, we choose to enter the strait gate that leads to our Liberation. Draco snatched Neville’s Remembrall out of the grass and held it up. For Draco, it glittered in the sunlight, inferring that Draco was not what he appeared to be anymore than Snape was. Many of us live in a world where we have to hide our true nature in order to survive or protect those we love. Others are a product of our upbringing and experiences. Some of us, like Draco, are a combination of the two. The calling to begin the path that will lead us home comes to all, not just those who have prepared themselves to receive it. “Give that here, Malfoy.” Harry spoke quietly. At the sound of his voice, the arguing among the others stopped, and they turned to watch the confrontation. Watching what is happening within our mind, the contention and internal war, is being alluded to here. Harry had given Draco a chance to do the right thing, but he rejected Harry’s invitation of peace and threatened to hide the glittering ball – maybe up a tree. Draco reminds me more of a sneaky snake than a dragon. Because of Harry’s protective instincts, Draco knew that Harry would rise to the bait if he gave him the right suggestion. Draco had pushed one of Harry’s buttons, and Harry didn’t let him down. “Give it here!” he yelled. Harry’s emotional reaction signaled the contest had begun.