Just yesterday I wrote about the Walters Art Museum and how they’ve been posting images of their collection on-line. I specifically mentioned the Four Evangelists, and the Wheel of Fortune and World cards.
Following tradition, both cards in the Smith Waite Tarot depict the Gospel writers as the Lion, the Bull, the Eagle, and the Human.
The video below shows almost the same characters come to life on a snowy porch in Unalaska, Alaska.
A little fox has filled in for the bull (which certainly shakes things up on a metaphoric level), but the eagle, cat, and human are all present.
Of course you don’t see the human because she’s doing the filming, but she’s there with the rest of them being a living archetype.
As I wrote about yesterday regarding Jay-Z, J.K. Rowling has also been dealing with occult controversy for years. Ever since her Harry Potter first hit the streets, people have been tearing the books apart looking for signs.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Some Christians have slammed them as being a satanic influence on children and a stepping stone into the demonic world of the occult. Others have come to their defense, even going so far as to say that Harry is an allegory for Christ.
It’s possible that Rowling, a Christian herself, was trying to write Christian novels hidden in magical storylines. As far as I know though, she’s never said so.
Isn’t it more likely that she’s been using themes of death and magic to write stories about a good guy hero going through the trials and tribulations of growing up. Can’t we find similar stories throughout cultures and time? Hasn’t anyone read Joseph Campbell?
Harry is on the hero’s journey. Maybe his story sounds more Christian than not, but does it really have to be either biblical or satanic? A good story, like a good Tarot deck, can be read from many perspectives.
Unless Rowling comes right out and says “Harry Potter is Jesus” or a Tarot designer says “the Hierophant is the Pope”, why insist on locking it down?
Let a symbol be a symbol, and an archetype breathe. Name them if you like and learn from them, but don’t get hung up on which team they play. More often than not, they play for them all.