Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing the enigmatic gate of DEATH that is The VEIL.
Now, if one were to venture through the corridors of the Ministry of Magic for long enough,
they’d likely, eventually, find themselves standing before the enigmatic Veil - a haunting
manifestation nestled within the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries.
And when faced with such an enigmatic wizarding structure, it’s hard not to ask questions.
What IS the Veil?
Who created it?
And how does the Veil connect to the wizarding world's understanding of life, death, and
the beyond?
Join me as we apparate through time and space, diving deep into the mysteries of the Veil
and shedding light on its presence within Wizarding History.
What IS it?
You may remember the heart-stopping moment when, in "Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix," we stepped in to the Department of Mysteries — a tangled labyrinth of enchantment
and hush-hush operations tucked within the heart of the Ministry of Magic.
And who could forget the ‘Unspeakables’?
Highly dedicated and secretive witches and wizards that dedicated their lives to working
in the Department.
But perhaps the most chilling revelation to come from our introduction to this department
is The Veil.
This ancient relic, time-worn and filled with whispered secrets, resides in an ebon-drenched
chamber known as the Death Chamber.
This stone dais, draped with a crumbling, ripped, and strangely mesmerising black veil,
was like nothing we'd seen before in our journey through the Wizarding World.
The massive ancient stone archway, which stands in the center of the Death Chamber, acts as
a sort of portal between the lands of the living and the dead.
It is believed that those who step through the veil (or fall through) become trapped
in the world of death.
Those who stand close enough (and have belief in the afterlife) are also able to hear faint
whisperings that appear to come from ‘the other side’.
Some characters in the series, like Harry and Luna, found themselves able to hear the
beckoning from the other side of this draped enigma.
On the other hand, characters less touched by death or perhaps shielded from it — like
Hermione and Ginny — heard nothing but silence.
For these reasons, many believe the Veil to be a glimmering threshold guiding departed
souls into the next realm.
A gateway between the realms of the living and the dead that was created by ancient witchcraft.
At least that’s ONE theory.
Another theory posits that the Veil was created by the Department of Mysteries as a means
to study death and the "other side" more closely.
After all, the Ministry is no stranger to tampering with forces beyond their comprehension,
as we've seen with the Time-Turners and dangerous prophecies.
Fortunately, J.K.
Rowling herself has weighed in on the enigma of the Veil, confirming its prevalence as
"the divide between life and death" during a July 2007 interview with Bloomsbury.
While she didn't go into detail about the Veil's origins, it's clear that the Veil holds
great significance in the world of Harry Potter, embodying a powerful connection between the
realms of the living and the deceased.
Expanding on this further, there’s actually a phrase in the English language, “beyond
the veil”, that refers to the mysterious state beyond death.
The phrase in turn originates from a Hebrew phrase, describing the location of the Tabernacle
in a Jewish temple.
History
The ministry of magic is the primary form of government in the magical world - at least
in the UK, and was founded in 1707 along with the appointment of the very first Minister
for Magic Ulick Gamp.
Like a muggle government, the ministry’s responsibilities are vast, as they are the
primary body that attempts to sustain law and order in the magical world.
And like any system of government, in an effort to cover as much ground as possible, the primary
governmental body is systematically divided to focus on different sectors of the wizarding
world.
These ‘sectors’ or ‘departments’ cover the more common areas like the Department
of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Transportation, but there are also
OTHER departments reserved for less..obvious pursuits.
This brings us to level 9 and the enigmatic Department of Mysteries.
The department of mysteries is responsible for studying the mysteries of the wizarding
world, mysteries associated with love, space, thought, time, death, and other things.
Basically anything that is unknown.
The divisions of this department are broken up by area of study, and includes the following:
The brain room, the hall of prophecy, the death chamber, the love chamber, the space
chamber and the time room.
These rooms are accessed via the ‘room of doors’ - a large circular room where everything
is black.
But well above anything else, the most mysterious thing about the Department of Mysteries is
that it actually preceded the existence of the Ministry itself.
The Ministry was established in 1707 and the Department of Mysteries had activity as early
as 1672.
At least activity that’s documented.
Given that the VEIL is located inside of the Department of Mysteries, I’d be willing
to bet that this ancient archway also far preceded the existence of the Ministry.
In fact, given that this structure pre-dates the Ministry of Magic, I’d like to put forth
the idea that the Ministry of Magic (and Department of Mysteries) were actually constructed around
it, marking the chamber off as a place of significance.
To expand on this further, let me next take a look at…
Who Created It?
Now, let me first just say that the answer of WHO created the veil has never been explicitly
mentioned ANYWHERE.
However, there is one theory that stands out to me above the rest, and that’s that DEATH
himself created the enigmatic archway.
The figure of 'death' plays a significant role in the Harry Potter series, specifically
in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Drawing from "The Tale of the Three Brothers," which is a story featured in "The Tales of
Beedle the Bard," Death interacts with the three fabled Peverell brothers and bestows
upon them three magical objects.
These objects, known as the Deathly Hallows, encompass the Elder Wand, the Resurrection
Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak.
Each object in the story can be correlated to the desire to control or cheat death.
The Elder Wand, which is represented by the vertical line in the symbol, is believed to
be the most powerful wand in existence.
It signifies the desire for power, and its wielders often meet an untimely end due to
the constant pursuit of power over death.
The Resurrection Stone, symbolized by the circle, has the ability to bring back the
dead, albeit as mere shadows of their former selves.
The stone emphasizes the desire to reconnect with the deceased and the potential dangers
of meddling with the natural order of life and death.
And lastly, The Invisibility Cloak, depicted as the triangle, grants its wearer the power
to be invisible.
In the tale, it symbolizes the acceptance of one's inevitable mortality, as the third
brother ultimately uses it to evade Death until he is ready to embrace it.
Although "The Tale of the Three Brothers" is a fictitious story within the series, it
serves as an allegory for the human desire to overcome, control, or escape death.
As such, the figure of Death, and its portrayal in the tale, represents the natural force
that all living beings must face.
It also stresses the timeless message of accepting one's mortality and the perils of attempting
to subvert the natural course of life.
And though ‘Death’ is a fictitious character even within the magical world, I can’t help
but wonder if there’s some truth to the tale of the three brothers, particularly as
all 3 Hallows have proven to be very much real.
The Veil, much like the Deathly Hallows in the tale, seems to possess incomprehensible
qualities related to life, death, and the afterlife.
Its enigmatic nature and connection to death might imply that an entity as potent as 'Death'
itself could be behind its existence.
A ‘Veil’ is even mentioned in the Tale of the Three Brothers when describing the
Second Brother’s resurrected fiancée:
Yet she was silent and cold, separated from him as though by a veil.
But I’m certainly not ignorant to the fact that the existence of some tangible form of
death opens up a whole other can of worms.
Death gave all three brothers one of the fabled Deathly Hallows- and they all had their own
unique fate.
But it also seems like, regardless of the decisions that the brothers made, or the actions
that they took, they ultimately all faced death once again- and the way that it’s
depicted in the story shows them physically encountering this same personification of
death that they faced in the beginning.
If the tale is real- and Beedle the Bard was simple retelling an aspect of history, how
did he know about what had happened?
What did he really know of the relationship between death and the brothers?
Was it fact or fiction?
One thing to consider is that the Tales of Beedle The Bard continually reinforce that
the stories are in fact the author’s original creations.
However- that certainly doesn’t mean that Beedle did not draw inspiration from his life
experiences- the things that he had done- or the people that he had met.
JK Rowling supplies the following foreword to the book:
“If his stories accurately reflect his opinions, he rather liked Muggles, whom he regarded
as ignorant rather than malevolent; he mistrusted Dark Magic, and he believed that the worst
excesses of wizardkind sprang from the all-too-human traits of cruelty, apathy, or arrogant misapplication
of their own talents.
The heroes and heroines who triumph in his stories are not those with the most powerful
magic, but rather those who demonstrate the most kindness, common sense, and ingenuity.”
There’s little evidence to support either argument- that the stories were fabricated
entirely or that Beedle drew inspiration from something that he had witnessed in his life.
However, given that the Hallows actually exist- I’m willing to bet that it was the latter.
We know the 3 hallows genuinely exist, and that can be confirmed- but was the ‘personification’
of a ‘Deathly’ figure just Beedle adding his own spin to the story?
Or was Death a real wizard?
This is where it gets tricky.
As it stands, there is no proof that suggests that death personified is indeed real.
His existence is only mentioned in ONE work- and it’s a fictional one.
To say that Death exists because of this one book for children is a stretch- particularly
as the existence of the hallows is the only real argument one could make for his existence-
and there could be many ways that the hallows themselves were created.
Albus Dumbledore didn’t seem to have have much faith in the validity of death’s existence:
“So it’s true?” asked Harry.
“All of it?
The Peverell brothers—”
“—were the three brothers of the tale,” said Dumbledore, nodding.
“Oh yes, I think so.
Whether they met Death on a lonely road . . . I think it more likely that the Peverell brothers
were simply gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating those powerful objects.
The story of them being Death’s own Hallows seems to me the sort of legend that might
have sprung up around such creations.”
It’s hard to answer the question as to whether or not death truly existed.
There are many powerful artefacts in the Harry Potter universe-and the Hallows, though powerful,
don’t seem outside the realm of possibility for other powerful witches and wizards.
With that said, if DEATH truly was responsible for creating the 3 Hallows, I’d be willing
to bet that he was also responsible for the creation of the Veil.
One other closing thought is that the Veil and the Resurrection Stone from the Tale of
the Three Brothers have undeniable similarities.
Both objects serve as ‘gateways’ or ‘barriers’ between those who are living and dead- the
only difference is the achievable level of communication.
With the stone, you can generate actual physical shades that you can directly interact with,
whereas, with the veil, it has been expressed that you can only ‘hear’, if you listen
closely, those from the land of the dead.
We know that when Cadmus (the brother who picks the stone) and Death have their interaction,
the stone that death gives Cadmus was simply picked up ‘from the riverbank’.
Whether Death enchanted that stone right then and there is up for you to decide, but given
that the Veil is constantly described as ‘crumbling’, ‘cracked’, and so ancient that it’s
barely able to stand, I think that the resurrection stone IS PERHAPS just a piece that broke off.
It may seem like a bit of a stretch, but I think there’s got to be some kind of a connection.
What do you guys think?
Do you have any theories as to who created the Enigmatic VEIL in the Ministry’s Death
Chamber?
Was Death REAL?
Are the Resurrection Stone and Veil linked in some way?
Please let me know down in the comment section below.
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Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live