Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 38 – Harry Learns to Play Quidditch (HP Chapter 10)
When Wood arrived, he lugged a large wooden crate onto the field. This seems to be a double play on the word “wood.” It reminded me of the biblical scriptures that talk about our man made gods we’ve created out of wood that can’t see, hear, or act. That’s how we are before we choose to return home.
Inside the box, there were four balls used to play the game. These balls represent our heart, mind, might, and strength. “I’m just going to teach you the rules this evening,” Wood said. Like the social and business games fallen man creates and plays throughout his lives, Quidditch has rules that Harry must learn. Wood considered the game easy to understand, but harder to play. Knowing the path and walking the path are not the same thing. Plus, remaining watchful and staying awake long enough to see and understand our conditioned nature is more difficult than the idea itself.
Wood explained there are seven players on each team – seven pairs of opposites we must resolve. Three of these players are Chasers and represent the body, soul, and spirit. These players throw the Quaffle to each other. It is a red ball (the heart) about the size of a soccer ball. The Chasers try to get the ball through one of the opposing team’s hoops on top of the poles to score a goal. Resolving opposites requires we take upon ourselves the characteristics of both sides.
This portion of the game teaches the Chasers to unite and work together, but it also shows the difficulty we have in achieving personal conjunction and love.
Many believe that acquiring the Red Stone is the end of the path, but the way Quidditch is played, that might not be true. The Red Stone appears to bring us to the pillars on the Tree of Life where we must then orient ourselves to God (get the Quaffle through the middle hoop) in order to take upon ourselves the Name of Christ.
Each team earns 10 points every time the red ball goes through one of the hoops. There are no restrictions on which hoop the Chasers use. All three pillars have something to teach us. Learning about Severity and Judgment is as important as learning about Mercy and Love. Harry equated this part of the game to Muggle basketball where players use two opposing hoops instead of two groups of three. But basketball represents duality and teaches competition, while this part of Quidditch seems to represent conjunction and love.
There is one player on each side called the Keeper. He protects the pillars. He keeps the opposite team from getting their red ball through the hoop and scoring. The title of Keeper made me think of Hagrid being the Keeper of the Keys, but a Keeper also puts himself in harm’s way for the sake of others. This seems to imply that there is some type of potential danger for a Master of Compassion when they reincarnate. My guess at this point is that they could potentially become stuck within the chains of their conditioning, the same as others.
Two additional props are short sticks that look like a baseball bat. Wood handed one of them to Harry. There were also two black balls (mind and might) slightly smaller than the red one, called Bludgers. Although mind and might are important qualities, they are less important than love. These Bludgers teach the students about Severity. Harry noticed the balls were straining against the straps holding them in place. Not only do they have consciousness, but these Bludgers were fighting against the straps that held them.
When Wood released one of the Bludgers, it shot straight up into the air. That’s what Neville did when he first flew a broom, only the Bludger turned and went after Harry. Harry quickly used the stick in his hand (his mind) to defend himself (his might) against the Bludger. We cannot always walk away from confrontation, but loving someone doesn’t mean we allow them to harm us. The Bludgers do harm if we fail to protect ourselves, so they seem to represent all of the things in life that we fear or that oppose us in some way.
After Harry fought the Bludger off, it zigzagged back up into the air away from Harry. A zigzag is the shape of a lightning strike that symbolizes the downward Path on the Tree of Life that resulted in The Fall, but this Bludger took the opposite course and ascended. It then flew around the two boys’ heads, insinuating that real might is of the mind, and then shot towards Wood. Instead of slugging the Bludger away as Harry did, Wood chose to dive on top of the black ball. He has embraced his physical nature. Forcing the ball back into the box, he tied the ball back down.
The Bludger was once again Wood’s prisoner. This is similar to fallen man’s condition. At times, we appear to have escaped our chains, but the forces that control us simply tie us back down. This is also what we tend to do to others.
Two Beaters on each team protect their teammates from the Bludgers. They do that by knocking the Bludgers toward the other team. “Have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?” Harry asked. Wood assured Harry that had never happened at Hogwarts. There have been broken jaws, but nothing worse. Wood believed that was because the Weasley twins (the team’s Beaters) were like Bludgers themselves. He can see things only from an external perspective. Adrenaline and other stress hormones is what gives us the might to fight off perceived danger.
The last member of the team is the Seeker. He or she doesn’t have to worry about the Quaffle (Love) or the Bludgers (Severity). Harry’s focus is the Golden Snitch, the very end of the path. That was his purpose. The Snitch was a tiny, silver-winged, gold ball about the size of a walnut. It represents Strength, the conjunction of the three gold pillars, and the resolution of Love verses Severity. It’s fast and difficult to see.
The conjunction occurs in a single moment. It’s relatively invisible to others when it happens. Dumbledore wasn’t raising Harry like a pig for slaughter. That was Snape’s perspective. It is the Seeker’s job to catch the Snitch, and catching the Snitch requires self-sacrifice.
To do that, the Seeker must weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get to the Snitch before the other team’s Seeker catches it. Although Harry’s path will bring final resolution to the pillars, he must first find his way up the mountain (again), dodging in and around the other players.
The catch was worth 150 points (wealth versus poverty is level 6), so the successful Seeker usually wins the game for the team. That makes the point of the game appear to be competition – Seeker against Seeker – but it’s more like not allowing anyone to steal our crown.
The game doesn’t end until the Snitch is caught, so the game can last a very long time – even ages. The longest game on record was three months long. They had to keep bringing substitutes into the game, so the original players could get some sleep. That translates into many, many lifetimes.
Harry had no questions. He knew what was expected of him, but realized it would not be easy. Wood decided it was too dark to practice with the Snitch, so they used golf balls that night instead. While they flew around in the air, Wood threw the golf balls in different directions, but Harry didn’t miss a single one. This infers that Harry’s travel up the mountain again was designed to give him further experience, and the fine-tuning necessary to achieve the final result.
Wood was delighted. “That Quidditch cup’ll have our name on it this year,” he said. Like fallen man, his entire focus was on acquiring material things and physical glory. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn’t gone off chasing dragons.” Wood also cannot understand why Charlie Weasley made a different choice