Questions for wiccans and Pagans on Harry Potter?

Question

Let's hear form the experts this time...

Okay, here's a big question. How close does Harry Potter follow real Witchcraft beliefs? Are the spells in there real? What is fake about the Harry Potter books in relationship to the actual religion of Witchcraft (sorry if I'm using the wrong words here, so correct me if I'm wrong).

Thanks! I know this could be a long post, but I would like to find out from people who actually practice witchcraft on this. Any information you would like to share would be appreciated.

Comment for the Christians warning me about Harry Potter because it's about Witchcraft
Have you read the books? If not, please stay out of this discussion because you are not informed. I've read all of the books and am a Christian.

Answer 1

the spells are fake. for the most part.

most wiccan and pagan beliefs see magic and spellcraft as a focus of energy in an attempt to create a positive effect. not always a visible effec. usually it is in the form of sending positive energy to a friend or loved one to aid in healing or to help them through a hard time in life.

spellcraft usually takes a lot of meditation and focus and time.
you simply are not going to say 2 words and wave a wand and levitate an object. where as levitation os possible it takes some work to accomplish it, and is generaly useless othen than as a game or a way to show off.

most of us are very religious people and see no need to show off or to proove what we do is real.
(to a believer no proof is needed and to a skeptic no ammount of proof is enough)

there are some very close pagan traditions that are talked about in Harry Potter. the fearies and their discriptions are pretty close to how the fey act. some of the instruction that is granted by the teachers is very accurate but missing some key parts that would make it "real Magick"

a good example if this is in the prisioner of askaban...

when the dark arts teacher is teaching Harry how to stop the Dementors. the magical phrase "Expecta Patronum" is largely worthless unless used as a symbol or a focus.
however the idea behind the spell...
use all of your love, concentrate on your good feelings and focus that into a shield...this is spellcraft, with a few key things missing.
they do not explain how to focus or exactly what to focus it into or onto.

many things that are described in the castle are of European Pagan tradition....

the passwords to open the Griffendore house are the names of a set of 16 runes used in Geomancy (earth divination)

even in the movies there are hidden symbols and such than only a Pagan would catch.

the tea leaf divination from the 3rd book it a real and true tradition.
again they do not explain exactaly how it works but it does.

the dragons and their descriptions are accurate to folkloric tales from their respective areas.

brooms are not for flying .....but for ritual cleaning of a house...
they are used to sweep the negative energies from the house.

i could go on for about 2 years on this but i think you get the idea.

Yogi

Answer 2

There is no link between the two. Those who say there is obviously didn't do any research in either the books, the author of the books or "witchcraft" at all. These are the people who claim all Wiccans are witches, which is simply not true. Same for Pagans. Most pagans are Not witches.

Witchcraft itself is not a religion. It's a craft... a tool to use. Whereas Wicca is an earth-based religion where some of it's members use witchcraft.

For those who are totally against Harry Potter books, do you watch Disney movies? Or read any of the Wizard of Oz books? Why is Harry Potter ostracized while these are upheld as "good clean fun for kids"? I find it rather hypocritical when people do this type of thing. They take a fictional book and try to make it real so they can tear it apart claiming the "witches are coming to get our children!" Which is the silliest thing I've seen mature adults do in a long time.

Answer 3

Harry Potter is fiction based on misconceptions and stereotypes. Real witchcraft is nothing like that. The closest thing to reality in those books/movies is the teacher who works with plants and mixes herbs for teas, poultices and the like. Witchcraft is a term that was conceived to convert pagan midwives and shamans to christanity. Often those people were the ones who knew the land and what herbs would heal a wound or ease the pain of childbirth. It has since been manipulated to represent evil.

Answer 4

That's kind of like saying "What is real about Star Wars?" Harry Potter is fiction.

Think of spells as a different way of praying and you're closer to reality. I believe that any effects of a spell the result of natural forces, not any mumbo-jumbo. Witchcraft seeks to utilize the natural forces of nature (yes, that is redundant, but it sounds right to me!) to affect the world around us.

Witch and Wicca are both words that have their root in the Old English word for "wise"

Answer 5

Not even close. To the world of Harry Potter magic is taught as a school class similar to chemistry. In Wicca, it is a tool of our religion. To my recollection Harry Potter novels don't even deal with spirituality.

If you really want to read a book about Wicca I would suggest Scott Cunningham's "The Truth About Witchcraft Today"

There hasn't been a fiction book, movie, or TV show that comes close to what we believe.

Answer 6

As many of you already know, Rowlings researches magickal history quite thoroughly. Many of the names you see are real, but they are purely fictionalized. There is very little in Harry Potter that resembles real witchcraft.

For example.

Most witches practice within a religious context. (Although Witchcraft itself is not a religion but something that is done within a religious context. Like say, revivals, singing hymns, etc.) They may (or may not) dress up in robes like they wear in Harry Potter, or they may go skyclad (naked) or they may simply wear everyday street clothes. Spells are rituals, they are generally involved and include prayers and invocations.

Like in Harry Potter, most witches prefer to work by candlelight. Many also prefer to live and work in isolated places. We also sometimes refer to non-magickal people as "muggles", but we got the idea from Harry Potter.

Magick is never instantaneous. You don't see the effects right away. It works with the laws of nature and everything happens in its season.

We can't fly on brooms. We wish we could. I would probably puke though. Brooms are used for cleansing ritual space and sometimes for certain spells.

There is very little evidence of any sort of religion in Harry Potter. They do celebrate Christmas and Halloween, but they do it in a very secular way.

In other words, it's pretty much all fake. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to our religious practices. But we don't mind, because we think it's all in good fun.

Answer 7

I never read the books, but from what I've seen in the movies, the spells used in the stories are just latin words thrown together. In Wicca (witchcraft is accectable) spells must be worked out carefully, said in rhyme and be mindful not to cause harm to or put a sell on another living creature. One can not cause something to transformation from one species to another or anything outlandish like that. To put it most easily, a spell is the same as a prayer just said in rhyme. Hope this helps

Answer 8

I'm no expert on Wicca, though I've read a little bit.
I've read all the Harry Potter books and I can tell you right up and I've seen really very little in common between Wicca and Harry Potter magic. lol
Most of the Harry Potter spells are just made up psudo-latin phrases lol

Answer 9

no clue myself (haven't read the book) but interested to see the answers

Answer 10

Wtichcraft and Harry Potter. One is a work of fiction focusing on spells and the like, the other is a popular series of books for children.