Witchcraft Goes Mainstream Part 3

I realize that some parents might view my position as extreme, yet my unequivocal message concerning the wildly popular Harry Potter series remains: Buyer Beware. Officially available for purchase July 16 at midnight, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was grasped by eager hands around the globe – hands mostly belonging to kids and teenagers. When 10.8 million copies streamed off presses, that sixth volume of a seven-part series boasted the largest initial print run of any hardcover book in history.

Potter fans contend that J.K Rowling’s series is unquestionably positive because it has motivated a TV-saturated generation of youth to read books, develops the imagination, and teaches lessons about good vs. evil. “Besides, they’re just fiction,” shout Harry’s friends, “so lighten up!” Growing numbers of Christian authors say ‘ditto.’ Some say Rowling’s mega-series can even edify the body of Christ. Pottermania marches on.

In spite of the craze, here are four sober facts Bible-believing Christians should consider:

1. A real devil exists behind the scenes (see Revelation 12:9)
2. Real occult practices originate from this sinister entity
3. Real Witchcraft is growing rapidly around the world
4. Harry Potter is a sorcerer

This author has read every Harry Potter book. I’m familiar with the arguments – pro and con. Potter supporters say, “Rowling’s books are fantasy, and the magic described has no connection to real occultism.” This is not entirely true. Here’s the proof.

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is a world-renowned occultist, a master wizard, and a practicing witch. His popular book,Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard (New Page Books, 2004), is now available on Amazon.com. In bold print the Grimoire says that its express purpose is to target the growing numbers of Harry Potter readers who have become interested in exploring real Witchcraft. Under “Acclaim for the Author,” the Grimoire unveils its mission:

…to catch the rising tide of youthful interest in benevolent magick…
…a trend reflected in the interest in Harry Potter…¹

The back cover declares: “Out of the millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide” many “want to really do the magical things J.K. Rowling writes about. But would-be wizards must rely on information passed down from wizard elders. Is there a Hogwarts anywhere in the real world? A real Albus Dumbledore? Where is the book these aspiring wizards need? Luckily for all these fans, male and female, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, today’s foremost genuine wizard, has written the essential handbook.”²

Obviously, not every kid who reads Harry Potter is going to rush out and join a coven. It’s also true that much of the magic described in J.K. Rowling’s series isn’t exactly what real occultists do. But that doesn’t make any difference. Lucifer is diabolically brilliant, and he knows that when a generation’s hero is a ‘cool’ wizard who experiences exciting supernatural power through Witchcraft, this will create an interest to explore the real thing in many young hearts. Oberon’s Grimoire is proof that occultists also realize this – even if naïve parents don’t – and they are capitalizing on the “rising tide of youthful interest in benevolent magick…a trend reflected in the interest in Harry Potter.”

The entire Harry Potter storyline divides of the world into two classes: wizards and “Muggles.” While many wizards in Rowling’s series lack many brain cells, the real heroes – Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore – are presented as ‘cool’ practitioners of ‘white magic.’ Believe it or not, this is exactly the way real witches view themselves and the world. Under “Lesson 3: Between the Worlds of Magick and Mundane,” Oberon’s Grimoire declares:

The wonderful Harry Potter books of J.K. Rowling present a mythos (that is, a foundation story) that says: Beyond the boarders of the mundane (‘Muggle,’ as she calls it) world, there is another world full of magick, and magickal people…I used the word mundane just now, to distinguish the ordinary, everyday, so-called “normal” world from the World of Magick. We call that world “Mundania” – and the people who live only in that world and know no other, we sometimes call mundanes or mundys.³

Here Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, one of the most respected occultists in the global Pagan community, tells us that J.K. Rowling’s essential Magic vs. Muggle distinction aptly expresses the perception of real witches. Take note: Oberon declares: “…the Wizard knows the importance of stories and myths, and seizes the power to tell a story in a way that shapes the future.”⁴

Did you catch that? Stories shape the future. Jesus Christ understood this perfectly, that’s why He taught in parables. According to Mr. Ravenheart, real witches understand this too. And guess what? So does Lucifer. Paul wrote, “We are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

“Nearly 11 million copies of the sixth Potter book are coming,” reported the LA Times right before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hit bookstores on July 16, 2005, at the stroke of midnight. The next day, after 7 million copies sold in less than 24 hours, Rowling’s mesmerizing tale of a cool wizard-boy once again flowed through the brains of literally millions of unsuspecting youth all over Planet Earth. And unknown to naïve parents, the tsunami-like “rising tide of youthful interest in benevolent magick” surged another notch higher. One more Potter book remains on the horizon, which will no doubt be the biggest seller of them all.

Stories shape the future.

Where are we heading?

To be continued…

1. Ravenheart, Oberon-Zell, New Page Books, p. i (2004)
2. Ibid, back cover
3. Ibid, pp. 2-3
4. Ibid, p. x