Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 87 – Magician Meets the Devil (HP Chapter 17)
Inside the next room – where Harry was expecting to face Snape – he came face-to-face with Quirrell. In the tarot, this is where the Magician comes face-to-face with the Devil. Having taken the Elixir of Life offered to him by Professor Snape and moving through the Black Flames of self-remembrance, Harry now meets reality.
Harry is completely shocked! That’s what happens to us when we first discover the Truth about our inner world, but little shocks also occur along the way to help our Real Self wake up whenever it slips back into a napping state. This meeting, however, was different. It teaches Harry that the Devil wasn’t who Harry thought it was. “But I thought – Snape –“
Quirrell laughed. It was a cold, sharp laugh, not his normal quivering self. It seems that the role of Devil is played by someone we least suspect. “Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn’t he?” Quirrell reminded us of our tendency to judge by appearances.
It’s within Professor Snape’s heart that the Truth can be found, not his conditioned self that manifests to the world. His Love for Lily was his motivating force. His Love for the Rose gave him his strength. His balance – Mars on one hand, and Venus on the other – was perfect subconscious control, but we don’t recognize or understand any of that. When he offered Harry his aid, that gesture was also misunderstood.
Quirrell didn’t think much of Snape. Conditioned man is always comparing himself to others and finding them lacking. However, Quirrell found Snape’s snooping useful. In Quirrel’s perspective, that snooping covered up any suspicion that he was after the Stone. He believed he knew what was going on, but he didn’t realize that Professor Snape and Dumbledore were working together as One.
Harry was confused. Professor Snape had tried to kill him. That’s what Ron and Hermione told him. Harry trusted that information because his friends gave it to him, but it was not correct. “No, no, no. ‘I’ tried to kill you.”
In our unsaved condition, “I” is an imposter, one of the many aspects of our Natural Man or conditioning that’s running around controlling things. Our Real Self is sleeping or distracted. When we begin the Path of Self Knowledge, our Real Self wakes up. When that happens, imposters try to destroy him. They refer to themselves as “I” or “me.” For that reason, the Ego is often the first person we are introduced to when we enter the Path.
In the beginning, these false personality aspects are strong. They don’t want to give up their throne and kingdom. They enjoy controlling us. It makes them feel safe and important, so they want us to continue identifying with them. In a very real sense, they do whatever they have to, to eliminate their competition. That’s what Voldemort tried to do the night he marked Harry as his equal. However, our awareness isn’t a single entity. It’s legion. It’s been fractured. Jo describes this fractured condition as Voldemort’s soul being torn or ripped into seven pieces, but we actually have far more than seven imposters running around our world and kingdom.
Ron and Hermione believed that Snape had tried to kill Harry, so that’s what Harry believed, but Quirrell was actually the dangerous one. It’s our mechanical programming and conditioning we took upon ourselves as children that destroy us and keep us imprisoned within the ideals of the world. Our false belief systems grow ever larger as we age, and our consistent search for pleasure and avoidance of pain produces the inner turmoil. It’s these false aspects of our personality that we believe are us.
Hermione accidently knocked Quirrell over at Harry’s first Quidditch game. Although our self is legion, it’s divided into two opposing groups. These two groups are referred to as “the quarreling couple.” Hermione represents the side of our self that’s called the tormentor, or inner critic. She believes in pleasing others, doing what those she considers authorities tell her to do (rules, and information found in books), and that she needs to be different, so others will pay attention to her and approve of her.
This side of our awareness knocks out the Ron part of our awareness and takes over control of the mind whenever she feels the need to fight for her way or beliefs. This was why Professor Snape considered Hermione a “Know-it-All.”
The Ron side of our awareness tends to complain when he feels the need to manipulate others into giving him his way. He seeks after instant gratification, sticks up for his perceived rights, and finds fault with others (blame) in order to alleviate his own discomfort. He is much like Quirrell’s sniveling self.
In Quirrell’s viewpoint, if Hermione hadn’t bumped into him, he would have succeeded in causing Harry to fall. He blames Hermione for his lack of success in eliminating Harry.
“Snape was trying to save me?” Harry found that hard to believe. Snape wasn’t what Harry would consider an ally, and yet, Professor Snape was the one who was about to reveal to Harry the secrets of lesser powers (physical objects such as the Philosopher’s Stone) and how weaker Wizards seek after these power objects and attempt to use them. This lesson was reinforced in Book 7 with the Sword of Gryffindore and the items that make up the Deathly Hallows being physical objects that those seeking power ignorantly attempt to secure for themselves.
“Of Course,” Quirrell said. That’s why he wanted to referee the next match – to make sure that Quirrell didn’t try it again – but Quirrell wouldn’t have been able to do anything with Dumbledore there. This time he blamed Dumbledore for his lack of success. Quirrell was looking outwardly, similar to Alchemists that thought they could literally turn lead into gold. But the power isn’t found within the sword, resurrection stone, cape of invisibility, or Dumbledore’s wand. These are merely tools that lead us toward finding the True Power that lies within ourselves.
Quirrell also gave us a false impression that Professor Snape’s role is protector, but an ally doesn’t protect. He endows. When Quirrell attempted to kill Harry at the first Quidditch Match, Professor Snape didn’t confront Quirrell or try to take him out, he cast a countercurse to endow Harry with the power to save himself.
It was Dumbledore that attended the second Quidditch Game as protector. Professor Snape played the role of referee. A referee watches over the Game and ensures that both sides play by the rules. Dumbledore watches over Harry himself.
Jo loudly proclaimed Professor Snape’s innocence. He wasn’t Harry’s enemy. He wasn’t evil. He’s different. He has strange habits when compared to the rest of the mortal world. He always dresses in black, a color that most of us fear. Although it represents Nigredo and some attribute it to the Shadow Self, in Snape’s case, his black attire was due to his mourning for Lily. He kept to himself. He lived in seclusion. He didn’t socialize. He didn’t even eat with the other members of The Order of the Phoenix, because he didn’t take into himself anything that he considered polluted.
All of this made him unpopular. It brought him under suspicion because we see him through one of our self’s distorted perception. We misinterpret who he is as well as his actions because our conditioned self judges him to be inferior to our selves. Even the teachers at Hogwarts misjudged him to be an enemy. The only one who believed in him and trusted him was Dumbledore