Rudolph Discussion #3: Alchemy

In order to understand the alchemical imagery inherent in the television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, one must first understand alchemy itself and the way that it expresses itself in works of art, specifically in literature and film.  The goal of alchemy is to achieve the production of the Philosopher’s Stone: an artifact that produced the Elixir of Life and also could transmute base metals (such as lead) into pure gold.  In alchemy, the path to the production of the Stone was a sequence of metallurgical/symbolic/spiritual stages known as the Magnum Opus (English: the Great Work).  The Work is separated into three convenient stages – nigredo (the blackening), albedo (the whitening), and rubedo (the reddening).  In the rubedo, the Stone is produced.

           

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Rudolph Discussion #1: The Rudolph Triptych

No, its not Robert Ludlum’s new Christmas-themed novel. It is a Christmas tradition in my family to sit down at some point during the Christmas season and watch all of the Christmas specials from my childhood. Classics such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story all have their special places in my heart, but no movie stays with me like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. From Hermey the Misfit Elf to the Island of Misfit Toys, the movie is perfect. However, it wasn’t until I had read John Granger’s The Deathly Hallows Lectures that I realized the esoteric, alchemical imagery hidden within the story of the reindeer-savior of Christmas.

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Quidditch for the Sages

Since this blog is just sort of a ranting post, I thought I would share with you a teensy observation I have made about the Harry Potter series, which I adore. Because most of you may not realize this, one of the "scaffoldings" upon which the narrative of the Potter series is designed is called "Literary Alchemy." Rowling employs symbols and allegory relating to the ancient alchemical Magnum Opus in order to underscore her protagonist's quasi-apotheosis in Deathly Hallows. We are probably not all acquainted with the finer points of alchemy, but this is of little importance. What I wanted to point out was how Quidditch, the main sport of the wizarding world and an event important to 6 out of 7 of Rowling's books, reinforces the alchemical references. In particular, I wanted to talk about the Golden Snitch.

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