Cycles of Death and Rebirth in the Harry Potter Series

1. Cycles of Death and Rebirth in the Harry Potter Series Leslie Barnhart

2. Revivals, Resurrections, and Reincarnations • Difference between resurrections, reincarnations, and revivals/ resuscitation: • Resurrection: body was dead and came back to life as same person • Reincarnation: body died, spirit took on new body and came back to life • Resuscitation/ revival: body never died, came close to death but returned to life with new spirit

3. Talk to a neighbor or write down all the “revivals” you remember from the series (canon or movies) Brainstorm:revivals within the series

4. Which are which from your lists • Revivals • PS: Harry from Hogwarts’ basement • CS: Harry, Fawkes restores health; Ginny: Harry restores life by destroying LV; • CS: 7 beings restored from petrification (Ms. Norris, Sir Nick, Colin Creevey, Justin F-F, Penny Clearwater, Hermione Granger, Ginny…) • PoA: Harry and Hermione restored by the lake • GF: Harry returns from the graveyard to Hogwarts (symbolic death) • OoP: Harry survives LV’s possession • HBP: Draco survives near-death in bathroom • HBP: Harry saved from lake • DH: multiple… pool, fire, killing curse… • Resurrections • CS: Fawkes in office • PoA: Sirius at lake • OoP: Fawkes in Ministry • HBP: Dumbledore – Spirit carried off as Fawkes (returns to heaven) • DH: Harry from Forbidden Forest • Reincarnations • GF: Lord Voldemort in graveyard

5. Cycles of Death and Rebirth • Big picture: Deathly Hallows: Harry returning from “Avada Kadavra” curse • Each book in canon: Harry goes through a death and rebirth, each one mastering new element (earth, water, air, fire, astral plane, black, white, and red stages) • Death/near death – rebirth cycles accelerate towards end of canon: multiple events in “Half-Blood Prince” and “Deathly Hallows”

6. Drivers of Cycles • Symbolism – Harry’s path marked by mastery of different elements, immersed in element to master it (come out on top) • Religious overtones – dying to old self/ understanding, rebirthing to new self/ understanding • Conversion facilitated when people sense an end is near

7. Closer Look at HBP • Harry – Insights – Illumination!! • Lead-ins: Draco’s near death leads to his conversion – fiery cross in bathroom, Draco never hurts anyone thereafter • Beginning with Climax of quest (Destroy the horcruxes) – near-deaths for those around Harry leads to his alchemically centered transformation: • Earth: Aragog dies; • Water: Inferi – death all around Harry; • Air: Dumbledore dies; • Fire: Hagrid’s Hut up in flames (near death for Hagrid) • Astral plane: Fawkes departs, never to return • End of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s lives as students at Hogwarts • Ultimate understanding: everything has an end

8. Deathly Hallows: Rebirth after Death • Begins with Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s departure from World • Dying to self, being reborn: more common name: baptism

9. Deathly Hallows: Earthly Element • “Baptism” through earthly element • The trio descends into the Ministry of Magic: • Definition of who they are: wizards, their community, their identity • Nearly caught, stuck in depths of Ministry • Escape from tainted identity, working together • Emerge with locket Horcrux – cursed exit

10. Deathly Hallows: water element • Attracted by Sword of Gryffindor – symbol of the cross, the spirit • Free-willing entrance into water, full immersion, locket/ curse strangles Harry – death imminent • Rebirth - “Baptism” from Ron, Harry has new insights • Emerges with Horcrux destroyer

11. Deathly Hallows: Air Element • Immersed in air on back of dragon escaping from Gringotts • Dragon: Symbol of immortality, death to self • Air: breath, time, spirit – • Air is very cold, they hunger, thirst, ache from cold • Emerge from air together, solidly in purpose, with Horcrux

12. Deathly Hallows, Fire Element • Room of Requirement: Fiendfyre surrounds everyone, kills Crabbe • Symbolic of fires of hell and death, consuming fire that destroys that which is evil within us • Trio emerges from fire with another horcrux destroyed, reborn in their acceptance of their parts in the end of LV • Draco and Goyle revived in turn

13. Deathly Hallows, Astral Plane • In Forbidden Forest, Harry is hit with “Killing Curse”, somewhere between death/ life • Immersed in Astral Plane – meets up with Albus Dumbledore “in his head” • Can choose whether to go on to death, or return to life • Emerges from Astral plane with new understanding, reborn without horcrux attachment

14. Conclusion • Spiraling death/ rebirth cycles throughout series – revival, reincarnation, and resurrection • One of J. K. Rowling’s main themes -There is life beyond the end • Entirety of canon summarized through the snitch: Once we accept the inevitability of our own deaths, we are apple to accept the resurrection beyond

15. Reflection • When have you experienced near-death experiences? • Did they change how you understood the world around you? • Did it drive you to a more spiritual understanding of who you are? • Would Harry be who he is without any of the experiences he had at Hogwarts?

16. Thoughts, comments