and his Hogwarts education, is,
by anyone's standards, appalling.
So when I googled the Transfiguration,
a festival traditionally celebrated
in the church on August 6th, I was
surprised and delighted to find
a wealth of fascinating Potter-pages
dedicated to the possibilities for and limits to
magickal transformation of matter
and especially "transfiguration" (Gamp's Law)
as part of a school curriculum.
It put all talk of transfiguration into
a completely new light!
How wonderful!
Our modern western educational system
has always seemed to me to be severely lacking
when compared to the breadth of subjects
taught at Hogwarts School!
Mountain-top experiences which transcend
our everyday experience are awe-inspiring.
Magickal and cosmic-type journeys, even better.
imagine learning how it's "done" as part of
one's on-going school education!
Yet that New Testament gospel narrative*
of the way in which Christ bestrides the "gaps"
between heavenly realms and our experience
of ordinary time and reality, can leave us with
unease and even fear - as the icons show!
Only one
"human" face
is turned to
what is going on.
The others are
hiding in
terror!
For many of us,
the "problem" with magickal moments
is our attempts to hold on to them -
to try and find out how they happened
so as to be able (we hope) to recreate them!
Not all the education in the world
(or even in Hogwarts, for that matter)
could help us with this, for,
the magick is in the moment, and
moments come of their own volition;
(as all Sondheim/Into the Woods fans know!)
Perhaps we can learn this ......
1. Let us delve into discovering how to make
magick and transformation happen
and
2. When it does happen, enjoy the experience fully
rather than trying to take a mental video.
So while we are celebrating the moment,
we allow ourselves to be fully alive,
however strange things may seem!
I think Harry Potter would approve!
Blessings
John O
* Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36
