The Wisdom of Sirius Black: “Potterisms” & the Importance of Mentors
Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D.
We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on, that’s who we really are.
Sirius Black
I am truly blessed to revisit Harry Potter once again as my grandchildren have become enchanted by wizardly stories.
Recently, I took a much-needed vacation from stress and busy-ness. During the long flights, I happily devoured once again the first five movies. Harry’s magical world of deep friendships, helpful ghosts, magical creatures, fascinating spells, and the war with the Dark Lord was just what the “doctor” ordered for diversion and relaxation.
Something strange and meaningful happened this time around. The first time, I had read the books as a very busy and at times, hassled mother and professional. This time, I relaxed into the stories with the growing wisdom and attention of the second half of life. In-between the mischief, the magic, and the battles, I found myself seeing and hearing the words a bit differently.
From the shadows, I reflected upon the sometimes-hidden messages of human nature, bravery, and character development. I was privy to witnessing in just a few short hours, the five-year journey of Harry and his friends, from scared young children to braver and wiser adolescents. Albeit, the characters are wizards, yet much of the deeper beauty of the series are the messages for all of us.
When I look back thoughtfully over my life to date, mentors have played hugely important roles. I have been blessed with a list of women and men who met where I was at the time and inspired me, changing my life forever. When I first “met” the staff of Hogwarts, I quickly became enamored by Albus Dumbledore. And in fact, my middle daughter, at a crucial phase in her life, was blessed with a school principal that reminded me of Dumbledore.
This time around, I fell in love with Sirius Black. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black enters stage left, an escaped prisoner of the feared place. Harry learns that Sirius was unjustly jailed without trial, for murder and for serving the Dark Lord. In fact, Sirius was not only Harry’s parents’ trusted confidant and friend, but perhaps more importantly, he was Harry’s godfather.
After briefly meeting Harry, Sirius is forced to go into hiding. However, he makes up for lost time with his godson, gifting Harry some important stories and memories of Harry’s mother and father. Amongst other miraculous acts of communication, Sirius’ fiery head appears in the flames of the fireplace at just the right moment to instruct and warn Harry.
Harry entrusts one of the deepest secrets of his soul to his godfather, a heart-wrenching fear that he himself might be like the Dark Lord. It is no wonder, because Harry’s fate has birthed within him rage, and the life-task to engage in warfare and confront death and destruction. Perhaps one of the most symbolic acts of this fear appears in the Order of the Phoenix, Professor Snape teaches Harry Occlumency to defend his mind from Voldemort’s influence.
The heartwarming scene between Sirius and Harry bespeaks volumes about human nature. Harry struggles to understand the difference between himself and the Dark Lord. Although not wizards, we can all understand this need.
With love and respect, Sirius answers Harry and, perhaps most importantly he reminds all of us:
We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on, that’s who we really are. Sirius Black
Harry meets a piece of his own inner darkness that many of us spend a lifetime hiding from. It is important that we not only meet the evil and darkness outside in the world at large. We must also know we are all capable of wrongdoing and evil. We are all capable of becoming inflated and enamored with our own power.
In the words of Carl Jung,
Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.
I am grateful that my grandchildren hear this message as they watch the magic, madness, and struggles. Harry’s hero’s journey bespeaks of the struggles we all face, albeit without wands, quidditch, and spells.
Most of all at, the Harry Potter movies are also just plain fun and captivating. Perhaps what makes this series so powerful for children and adults alike is the weaving together of magic and fun with morals and values.
I must share one amusing story. When my eldest daughter, Eliana, now mother of my two Harry Potter obsessed grandchildren, as a child became fascinated by the then new Harry series. She would excitedly wait for each new book and was capable of reciting all sorts of Potter trivia. One day, climbing down from her bunkbed, a treasured volume slipped from her hand, and she tried to catch it, so as not to lose the page. The unfortunate result was she fractured her wrist.
Unlike the infirmary at Hogwarts, as the “all powerful” parents, we were not able to magically fix the fracture or the pain. However, the miracle perhaps occurred in the power of the imagination. During her long ER wait, Eliana continued reading the book and was distracted enough from the pain until her arm could be attended to. For this we were grateful.
Sometimes gifts appear at the right moment. I recently attended a wonderful international l conference on sandplay therapy, and Lorraine, a thoughtful and wonderful colleague from overseas brought me a fidget toy, a beautiful quidditch snitch. How did she know of my current fascination? Magic?
I have a few more movies to go, so you may hear more “Potterisms” from me.
Please follow me and discover articles on mindfulness, finding peace in difficult times, Jung, longing and the Little Prince, Black Lives Matter, Amanda Gorman’s poetry and childhood nostalgia such as lighthouses and ice-cream trucks.One of my favorites is Dark Feet & Dark Wings: Wendell Berry’s Wisdom for Difficult Times.
Robin B. Zeiger is a practicing Jungian psychoanalyst, a certified Sandplay therapist, and a free-lance writer.
She is a member of the:
International Association of Analytical Psychology the Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology and president of the Israel Therapists Sandplay Association. She can be reached at rbzeiger@yahoo.com.
