Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 85 – Snape’s Riddle (HP Chapter 16)
Harry needed Hermione’s mental powers to help him figure out Snape’s riddle, but the type of strict logic she took pride in couldn’t get her through the Indigo flames. She could only see things that were external. She had no capacity to see her Shadow Selves. Her Vanity (a false picture of our self) and Pride (defending that false picture) were obstructing her going on.
This was Initiation Ritual, which is a presentation of the knowledge required to travel the Path, so the kids haven’t actually done what is required yet.
Snape’s Riddle can be understood on a variety of levels. Hermione tells us that “Everything we need is here on this paper,” but she could only understand its literal meaning. Its spiritual revelations, hints, and esoteric meanings were lost to her.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind:
When we enter the Path, we do so because of a strong desire for Liberation. We want to go Home. The Path requires us to face our inner demons, remember our True Self, and come face-to-face with our Adversary. Facing our Adversary can be dangerous. The false aspects of our self will fight for their life. It’s painful to see ourselves for what we are. Moving forward requires us to give up the safety of our false belief systems and security.
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find:
On a physical level, Snape and Draco were the two that taught Harry how to love his enemies, but the two polarities we experience at each level also help us. To move onward, however, also takes two helpers: the Spirit and the One Power. The Son and The Father.
One among us seven will let you move ahead:
Quirrell/Voldemort gave Harry the tool he needed to move into the Initiation of knowledge, but on a spiritual level, the next step for Harry was to remember his True Self. The only one who can help us move forward is the Divine Essence. Drinking the Elixir of Life doesn’t just put a stopper in death, it causes us to unite with the full manifestation of the One Power.
Another will transport the drinker back instead:
It is our critical self, our subjective consciousness (our Hermione) that judges, condemns, and keeps us locked within the confines of the illusion of separateness and the false picture we have created of our self. If we don’t give that consciousness up and replace it with unity, compassion, and the necessary strength to face our true opponent, our own darkness and false beliefs within, we will move backward instead.
Two among our number hold only nettle wine:
Stinging nettle grows wild. It is the Devil’s Apron. The leaves and stems are covered with hairs that sting, similar to how a rose has thorns. Female and male nettle plants are entirely separate entities. Nettle is associated with lightning because that’s where it got its sting. The underworld serpent is said to have given it some of its poison. We see that in Harry. The consequence of facing his opponent as a baby left him with a piece of Voldemort within his mind.
Legend says the stinging nettle teaches us about transformation because when you cook it (the Alchemical process), the hairs wilt and neutralize the sting. Our opponent can be tamed. We don’t have to stay subjected to our conditioned mindset, our false selves, or false beliefs.
Nettle wine doesn’t benefit from aging though. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Path is long because we choose to make it so. Nettle wine is a soft blue color and considered the King of country wines. Blue represents the Divine Spirit, so our perceived opponent is not who we believe it is.
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line:
We are warned about there being three faces or points in the path that can bring death. Harry faces Voldemort three times: as a baby, in the graveyard, and at the very end when he stops defending his self and sacrifices his self instead. This was another caution that we must be ready and prepared to face our opponent at each point in the Path. However, Lockhart (our ego, vanity, and pride), the false Moody (our not-I’s), and Umbridge (the blamer and controller) also bring death.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
Our journey home requires us to make choices. That isn’t the same thing as Agency. We choose between Life and Death. Not choosing causes us to stall in our progression or evolution at Level Seven because not choosing is how we dam ourselves. A dam blocks the flow of Life. Until we enter into Life, we are forced to pay for our own sins by way of karma.
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide, You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side:
The left side is our subjective consciousness: logic, analytical thought, organization, and structure. It’s the side of the Tree of Life that deals with physical creation, strength, judgment, severity, knowledge, and intellect. We’re told that’s where to look for the poison.
Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onward, neither is your friend:
When it comes to duality and polar opposites, neither end of the spectrum will help us reach our goal. Although poison is on the left, moving to the extreme right won’t move us forward either. Both sides of our fractured awareness serve Mammon, but in different ways.
It is only when we have thoroughly cleansed our self, and have found the balance between Severity and Mercy, that we can activate the power of self-sacrifice. Giving away everything we own – our private interpretations, opinions, and personal power – allows us to unite with the Absolute.
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, Neither drawf nor giant holds death in their insides:
The world is full of people at different places on the Path. We are not good or evil. Good and Evil are manmade constructs. There is Life and there is Death. Neither Masters of Compassion (Hagrid/giant) nor the Divine Essence within us (Harry Potter/the dwarf) holds death within them.
Voldemort is Death. His servants (the false aspects of our self) bring Death. Their program is Death. We are a composite of Life and Death until we choose Life. At that point, the power of transformation, the Violet Flame, begins to transmute the darkness we have inside into Light and Life.
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight:
Alchemy is about uniting our male and female energies in holy marriage. It’s about uniting Heaven and Earth. Once that marriage takes place, we are the same on the inside even though men and women look different on the outside. There is no marriage or giving in marriage in Heaven. There is only the Transformed Soul. However, unity doesn’t stop with ourselves. Uniting with the Holy Spirit, and then the One Power causes our perceived opponent to dissolve.
Both the black and white chess pieces at first appeared to be different, but once you drink the Elixir of Life, you realize they are exactly the same because everything comes from One essence—the same essence. Regardless of which side you’re participating in, partaking of one enables you to receive the fruit from both. The Higher Self (not Voldemort) and Lower Self are the same. At that point, personal power ceases to exist.
Since Hermione informed Harry that everything they needed to move him forward was found within the riddle, the same holds true for us. Professor Snape gave Harry the Key to Salvation: the Elixir of Life. He was the perfect image of the Severity of the Law swallowed up in the radiance of Merciful Love. He offers the same to us, but we have to stop judging him, learn to listen, and “use” the Elixir he offers