Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 79 – Finding the Key to What’s Going On (HP Chapter 16)
Harry looked around the room. Now that he had discovered his deception – that the false aspects of his self was not him – he needed to act. There was several broomsticks they could use, but there were hundreds of keys available!
This made me think about our initial search for Light and Knowledge. There are literally thousands of different spiritual traditions and philosophies from which to choose, all claiming to hold the one truth. The same goes for psychology. Thousands of people claim to have the Key that can heal or fix us.
As Harry faced Voldemort in the graveyard, what he came to understand was that nothing he had previously believed or been taught was true. NOTHING! In fact, Harry actually became a conduit through which the One Power could perform its Marvelous Work by letting go of all that he thought was true. Because of that, Harry learned how the forces of nature were his to use and control, but that required Harry to let go of his own will and bring his desires into harmony with the Divine.
Ron checked out the lock. They were looking for a large, old-fashioned key (old magic), probably silver (symbolized by Venus) like the door handle. Venus was sometimes used to represent our Desires. The idea isn’t to kill our desire, but to clear away our illusions and the false aspects of our self, so we can evolve or transform our self into the Truth.
Each of the kids jumped onto a broomstick and kicked themselves into the air. They were moving to a higher vibration, but the Keys dove and twisted so quickly, it was impossible for any of them to catch one alone.
Jo told us that Harry being the youngest Seeker in a century wasn’t an accident. There are no coincidences. He had a knack for spotting things that other people didn’t see. After weaving through a whirl of rainbow feathers, Harry finally spotted the Key he needed. The Sign of the Rainbow is sometimes placed before the White phase of Alchemy and sometimes placed afterwards. Jo placed it first. It is a sign that the Alchemical process has firmly rooted itself and will not fail. Sort of like a prophecy.
The Key Harry needed was large and silver with a bent, bright blue wing. A bent wing with crumpled feathers made me think about how the kids bent time in Book 3. This reminded me of how everything is circular. The key looked like it had already been caught before and roughly stuffed into the keyhole. While the physical reality would be Quirrel’s doing, (he’s already in the subconscious realm), this also alerts us to the idea of multiple lives.
In Book 3, the kids returned to several events they had already lived through and attempted to do things differently the second time around. Their initial motivation was to save Sirius from what they believed was a fate worse than death: losing his soul. By returning to the past and bending time, they were also able to save additional lives. What we watch the kids experience is how the past and present are interconnected. Events in the present were actually experiences the kids had lived through and performed already in the past.
It was during this repetition that Harry came to a greater knowledge about himself. Something he didn’t learn the first time around. That suggested we repeat the first four levels of the Alchemical process until we find the Key that teaches us to how face the darkest parts of our self. At Level 3, the realization that Harry and his father were One set the stage for his illusions and self-deceptions to dissolve at Level 4. In fact, the idea that he and his father were One is what he used to find the strength to face Voldemort in the graveyard alone.
Ron headed in the direction that Harry was pointing, but he crashed into the ceiling and nearly fell off his broom. Moving into the realms of the subconscious mind isn’t easy because our self-deceptions are difficult to see. Crashing into the ceiling was a result of Ron’s misjudgment, but he is also controlled by his emotions. It seemed to infer that many of us have tried to catch this Key, but have failed, because of our false ideas about self-improvement, will power, and emotions.
Ron was following Harry’s instructions, so it wasn’t about resistance or even his stubborn Will, but more about his inability to do what was required. For Ron, the horcrux he had to face at the end of the series was about his insecurities. However, the polarities at this point are grace versus ugliness. Grace is another term for sacrifice, but Jo is keeping that fact hidden by showing us how ungraceful Ron is.
Harry has a Plan. The Divine Will always has a Plan. He assigned Ron to come at the Key from above. This revealed that we have a better chance at seeing and catching the Key if we keep our consciousness heightened during the process. Awareness is essential.
On the other hand, Harry placed Hermione below them with the instruction not to allow the Key to get below her. This inferred that receiving information from our subconscious mind requires us to take a new look at our thoughts. We basically want to put our critical, analytical self aside, but we also need to come to a new realization about what our thoughts are.
Harry intended on diving into the center and taking The Middle Path between Ron and Hermione. By doing that, he hoped to catch the Key.
The Key dodged both Ron and Hermione. They didn’t have the degree of focus and attention that Harry did. By keeping his view strictly on the Key and streaking down the middle of the pair (akin to having an Eye single to the Glory of God), Harry was able to pin the Key against the stone wall with one hand. That one hand represented how sharp our focus needs to be in order to succeed.
The Key itself wasn’t magical. Jo was using it as a concentration device similar to the way Joseph of Egypt or Nostradamus used a cup to Divine with when they entered into their own subconscious realms. The principle here is that to get ourselves through our own locked door, we have to stop looking for Salvation outside of ourselves and start looking for the Truth within. The graveyard scene at the end of Book 4 seems to be the turning point in making that happen for Harry.
Ron and Hermione cheered at Harry’s victory. The Key struggled in Harry’s hand. The false aspects of our self don’t like to be caught. But he held onto it. He could easily drop the Key before he used it if he didn’t keep a firm grip. Even after we have discovered what’s really going on, and how to cleanse our self, we still need to stay aware.
Getting the most out of the experiences with our subconscious mind requires our normal consciousness to stay alert and our analytical mind to take a back seat. That’s what allows the communication with the inner parts of our self to take place.
After landing, with Key in hand, Harry ran toward the large wooden door. This seemed to mirror Harry fleeing from Voldemort in the graveyard after he had cleared away his misconceptions, and learned that the powers of the One were his to use. When Harry reached the door, he rammed the Key into the lock and turned it. However, the moment the lock clicked, the Key took flight again, looking even more battered now that it had been caught and used twice.
This seemed to indicate that it had taken Harry a couple of times or more to move past this point. That’s typical. Turning within is a difficult feat. Most people don’t have the strength to look themselves in the eye. In addition, the Key wiggling out of Harry’s grip inferred that we don’t need to keep the Key once we understand what it is, and how to use it.
“Ready?” Harry asked the other two. When they nodded, he pulled open the door that led to his subconscious mind