Well, here we are, the final blog post in our Life Lessons in Harry Potter series! In January, Erica Haskett & I decided to re-read our favorite series and follow up each book with a blog post filled of all the crucial life lessons, spiritual metaphors, and takeaways we found in each of them. This has been so much fun to do!

I personally really enjoyed re-reading all of them. I first started reading Harry Potter in 2001 after 10 year old me saw the Sorcerer’s Stone in theaters. I thought it was the greatest thing I had ever seen and asked my mom to buy me the books. Then, I believe I did my second full read through as a 20 year old after the conclusion of the films in 2011. So I believe this is actually only my third re-read through, despite having seen each of the films hundreds of times. Reading these stories now as a 30 year old hit me differently than they did when I was 10 and later 20. They’re still my absolute favorite things in the world, but they speak to me on a different level. They’re more than just stories: they’re guidance, they’re inspiration, they’re hope, they’re magic, they’re real life. There are just so many beautiful lessons embedded within that we can apply to each of our own lives, because after all, our own lives are a magical world too.

Deathly Hallows. First of all, I may be super biased because this my favorite book in the entire world, but it’s just so good. Re-reading it again just further cemented to me how absolutely well done this novel is. It’s a masterpiece, a work of art, and perfect culmination of seven books, of ten years tied into one. I remember when this book first came out in the summer of 2007. Amazon had promised that they’d deliver it to you by 12pm which was such a new, exciting, unheard of thing. I remember receiving it in the mail, a 15 almost 16 year old, and then reading it non-stop for like 2 and 1/2 days. I was so glad it was summer vacation so I couldread it non-stop. The book itself was amazing, thrilling, tear-inducing, emotional, and just a perfect conclusion.

The last few chapters especially, The Prince’s Tale with Snape’s entire story explained, The Forest Again where Harry accepts he must die, contemplates life, and marches towards his death - are just two of the most compelling and eloquently written chapters of any book ever. The way everything comes together in the end, the way the plans all unfolded and the dots were connected is just still so inspiring. Perfect novel 20/10. I could go on and on about how amazing this story is but that’s not the point of this blog. The point is the life lessons!

So without further ado, here are our final takeaways, for Life Lessons in the Deathly Hallows:

Erica Rose, House Slytherin

Horcruxes vs Hallows. One of the first things I loved was in the beginning when the golden trio, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, were talking about Horcruxes and wondering how they work. Hermione explains they’re like reverse bodies because when you destroy a Horcrux, the soul dies but the vessel remains, whereas a human body, the opposite is true: “If I ran you through with a sword, your soul would remain untouched” she tells Ron. It’s beautiful really because it’s true, as I always say, we’re all just made of energy. When our body can no longer live, it doesn’t affect the soul inside, our souls truly can go on forever. We are infinite beings. The same is true for the ones we love that pass on, their soul never truly leaves us.

Jumping way ahead here because it connects, but at the very end of the novel, when Harry is ready to face his death, he uses the resurrection stone and sees his parents, Lupin, and Sirius. He asks them to stay by his side as he goes to face Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and asks if the villains would be able to see his loved ones. Sirius replies, “No. We are a part of you.” Our loved ones that have gone on are always a part of us. It may sound cliche to say, but they really do live on inside our memory. While yes their souls remain and if you believe in reincarnation they will live on Earth again, but who they specifically were in this lifetime of earth, will always survive within the hearts and memory of those who are still alive.

Back to Horcruxes - whenever Ron, Hermione, or Harry wear Slytherin’s locket aka one of Voldemort’s Hocruxes, they experience enhanced fear, anxiety, and irritatbility. So here’s a sort of exercise: ask yourself, where are you allowing yourself to wear a Horcrux? If you’re feeling scared or worried or extra anxious, imagine that you are wearing a Horcrux, that it is external forces causing these feelings, and know you can take your Horcrux off at anytime. Visualize yourself wearing then removing an imaginary Horcrux and when you do, imagine all the fear, anxiety, and doubt leaving you as well.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are considering breaking into the Ministry, Harry encourages them they have to just do it, saying they could wait for three months and still never feel ready, the time to act is now. I think so many of us often get caught up in hesitating, delaying, procrastinating because we don’t feel ready. We’re afraid to start - but even if you wait and wait, you may never feel fully ready. I know I’ve said it before, but fear and excitement really are two sides of the same coin, just one has a negative expectation, the other a positive expectation . Shift your fear into excitement - instead of wondering what could go wrong, ask yourself: what could go right? You may never feel ready, but you don’t want time to pass you by, just standing at the bottom of the stairs having not made a single step forward. Take the step - just go for it, I promise you you’ll figure it out along the way, and you’ll be so glad you actually started.

So also in this book, I actually found myself really annoyed with Hermione. After the trio talks to Xenophilius Lovegood and learn about the Hallows, Harry just knows they’re real, they’re right, his invisibility cloak is one, that Dumbledore must’ve left him the resurrection stone in the Snitch, and that’s why Dumbledore gave Hermione Tales of Beedle the Bard. Hermione, however, is so adamant that it can’t be true. But it’s like why? She has no proof otherwise? And they sure as well have a lot of proof proving they most likely are true. Why is Hermione so skeptical, so negative? Not for nothing, but it’s like you literally live in a magical world where you can shoot spells out of a stick of wood, where unicorns and centaurs are running around a magical forest - but a story can’t possibly be real? An invisibility cloak, a stone that brings people back from the dead, and an all powerful wand can’t be real?????

I was talking to Erica about this because I was so annoyed, I found Hermione’s lack of faith disturbing (wait..wrong series hehehe) and I noted how back in Book 3 Trelawney told Hermione she’s so clever that she blocks her own third eye, which is immensely true. Hermione is all logic, and on the other hand Trelawney is no logic and all faith, but I think in this world you truly need a balance. Yes, you need logic, but you also do really need faith. You need to be able to trust your gut instincts. Sometimes, like Harry with the Hallows, you just know and that should be good enough. Hermione is way too negative here and adamant and it turns out she was indeed wrong.

I’m glad that Harry noted even Hermione’s dismissal couldn’t stop him from believing in it because it all made sense. YEAH HARRY! LOL And as it turns out he was right! So it’s further proof, yeah we may encounter Hermione’s in the world, those who refuse to believe, but ultimately you need to just trust your own instincts. If you believe that should be good enough. No one’s dismissal should be able to make you stop believing.

Another common theme in this entire series - expectations and perception - and Deathly Hallows is no excuse. When Harry views Snape’s memories in the pensieve, once we hit Sorcerer’s Stone time, Snape complains that Harry is arrogant and rude just like his father. Dumbledore tells him, “You see what you expect to see Severus” and notes “Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable and reasonably talented”. Our expectations truly form our entire reality, including how we perceive others. Snape went into meeting Harry expecting him to be just like James, a man who bullied him and won over the heart of Snape’s love. He went in expecting him to see a mirror image of James and that’s what he saw. While just the same, he could’ve went in expecting to see Lily’s kind heart, selfishness and intelligence, traits Harry also possess, but he couldn’t see those because of his pre-conceived notions. Again, it’s always good to check ourselves, check our perceptions and see if they’re really true or if they’re just ones we made up in our heads, ones we were expecting.

Also in Snape’s memory, once Snape has fully gone on as a double-agent, Dumbledore commends Snape’s bravery and tells him: “You know, sometimes I think we sort too soon.” I LOVE THAT. IT’s true honestly, we are so incredibly different people in our twenties and thirties than we are in our childhood years. I know I’m completely different than I was as an 11 year old. Sure, I still have some of the same core values within me, but I’ve also grown way more compassionate, wiser, understanding, stronger, and smarter than I was back then. It is truly hard to sort people as children, because we do grow and change, and we’re supposed to! Honestly, I think nearly every character in Harry Potter (and I’d say almost all of us in real life too) has a bit of each house within them. We all have our moments of bravery and leadership. We all have our moments of being clever and witty. We all have moments of being ambitious and doing whatever it takes. We all have our moments of being loyal and kind. We all have all of these all the time. I myself am a Slytherin because I’m super ambitious, but I’m also really kind and nice, and I’ve always been intelligent and a natural leader, too. We’re all all the houses combined! So while yes it’s super fun to sort ourselves into houses, in a way, we can’t be confined into one box. We’re all everything, we’re all multi-dimension human beings and can possess the full spectrum of human traits.

I also really love when Harry is facing death, (as I said earlier that entire The Forest Again chapter is incredibly beautiful and so well written, filled with so many incredible nuggets of wisdom) that he notes “Why had he never realized what a miracle he was?” Aw it’s so true. Our lives really are such beautiful miracles that we so often take for granted. Appreciate every icnh of yourself now. See the true beauty within you, see how miraculous it is that you are a living being, you’re flesh and bones and electricity and thoughts and feelings experiencing adventures on a floating rock in space. It’s really crazy when you think about it, but also really beautiful. Life is a miracle and should always be appreciated.

Finally, when Harry “dies” and meets with Dumbledore in King’s Cross station and they chat, their conversation concludes with my absolute favorite line in all of Harry Potter. I love that this one exists in both the movies and the books because it’s perfect. Harry says, “Is all this real or is it just happening inside my head?” To which Dumbledore replies,
“Of course it’s happening inside your head Harry, but why on Earth should that mean it’s not real?” 😭

Our minds have so much power. This quote here really is also the very basis of manifesting as well because if you can see it in your mind, if you can dream it, if you can feel it, you can materialize it into your reality. Your imagination is your strongest tool. Whatever you can create in your head, you can make real.

It’s also true with our intuition. Sometimes when connecting with spirit, people often think they’re just making it up. Sometimes when we feel these intuitive nudges or pulls, or get little visions, or even in our nighttime dreams, we think it’s just happening in our head -but honestly, it’s all real, it’s all very incredibly real.

Never dismiss something that’s happening inside your head - your dreams, your feelings, your visions, your thoughts, your downloads, your intuitive guidance, are all incredibly valid. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, if it’s real in your head, it’s real. <3

Erica Haskett, House Hufflepuff

Well gang-we did it! 7 books in like (4?) months, and 7 blog posts full of life lessons-what a journey this has been. Out of all the times I’ve read this series, this has been the most fun (aside from the very first time). I’m so glad Erica & I did this together!

Deathly Hallows is my second favorite to Order of the Phoenix, and wow is it full of life lessons. The main life lesson I noticed was the evolution of Harry’s intuition and how he trusted it, himself, and the universe more and more as the book went on. Initially, Harry let Ron and Hermione shut him down over and over again about horcruxes being at Hogwarts. It made perfect sense to him, but he didn’t take charge of his gut feeling. He kept circling back and circling back and circling back and then finally (with some proof from Voldemort himself) knew they were at Hogwarts and away they went. From that moment on, he did nothing but trust himself and his intuition. By the end of the book-he was in THE most phenomenal flow state EVER, which is what makes this book so epic.

Harry followed his intuition on the location of the horcruxes, on his belief in the Deathly Hallows, on greeting death, on literally everything at a point. He just accepted it all and flowed, and in doing that, in ignoring his best friend’s thoughts and opinions finally-everything fell into place instantly. So beautiful and powerful. Trust yourself and your intuition above EVERYTHING ALWAYS!

There are many more things that can be said about Deathly Hallows, but that one main lesson really covers everything, so I’ll end my portion of this blog with one of my favorite quotes from the whole series: “Just because it’s happening inside your head, Harry, doesn’t mean that it’s not real.” The power behind that statement has always struck me in a particular way as a very imaginative and creative person, and the more I’ve ventured on my spiritual journey the more powerful that’s gotten. Your imagination is powerful. Your thoughts are powerful. You create your outer world in your head first always. Know that and you can do anything.

Cheers to Harry Potter and the many many life lessons.

Oh my goodness I can’t believe this is the end! I hope you enjoyed this series sooooo much! Thank you to all of you who read any of them - and if you read all of them, you truly are a super star and both of us Erica’s are so incredibly grateful! We loved doing this and it was truly amazing.

So now … maybe time for another re-read? or a movie marathon? Or both! #HarryPotterForever! :) <3