The Hidden Meanings of "The Wizard of Oz"
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I don't know about you but I've always felt as if the movie “The Wizard of OZ” had a deeper meaning. It was just a sense I had. Later I had heard that there were hidden meanings to the story. So I decided to do a little research and I found out that there is a common understanding that the “Wizard of Oz” is chocked full of allegory. The most common explanation comes from a school teacher in upstate New York. He taught a lesson that compared the major themes of “The Wizard of Oz” with the controversy over the gold standard during the turn of the century. The major symbolism is as follows:
OZ = ounces
The Yellow Brick Road = Gold
Ruby Slippers (was silver slippers ) = Silver
Poppies = Opium or Drugs
Snow = Cocaine
Emerald City = The Federal Reserve
The Munchkins = The Little People or the Small People as BP CEO would have it!
Straw-man = Some say Farmers some say “straw man”
Tin Man = Some say industrial workers others say it represents T.I.N. Tax Identification Number
Cowardly Lion = William Jennings Bryant who wanted to use silver instead of gold as standard currency.
The Wizard = The President
Toto = The Press
Dorothy = The common American man or woman
Now, while most may accept this explanation; there was just something that made me delve a bit further. I don't know but this explanation was just a little to sanguine for my inquisitive mind. And so I dug a bit deeper. I began to look into the author of “The Wizard of Oz”, L. Frank Baum.
Jackpot!!!
It would appear that L. Frank J. Baum was a member of the Theosophical Society. According to Wikipedia the definition of Theosophy is:
Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and mysticism. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Spiritual Hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. The founding members, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), and William Quan Judge (1851–1896), established the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875.
The Theosophical Society is another Satanic organization closely related to Freemasonry, the Occult, Rosicrucianism, Spiritism and other mystery religions.
Here is what “The Wizard of Oz” story is really about:
Dorothy is unsatisfied with Kansas and seeks a place without trouble “Over the Rainbow”. This is her “spiritual” quest, the beginning of her desire for more than the material world or Kansas. She is whisked away by a tornado to the land of Oz where she starts on her journey to the Emerald City wearing the ruby slippers. The ruby slippers were silver and the silver slippers are a symbol for the silver chord that links the material world to the spiritual world. The silver chord is referenced in the Bible but is used by occultist to describe the link between this world and is especially used in reference to astral projection. The Scarecrow represents intellect, the Tin man represents emotion and the Cowardly Lion represents courage...all of which are needed to gain enlightenment according to Theosophy. In order for Dorothy to obtain enlightenment she must vanquish the Wicked Witches of the East and West, a symbol of the world, a horizontal axis of evil and most probably the dark side. She listens to Glenda, the Good Witch, who is her guide to the light and her vertical, spiritual guide (much like people involved in witchcraft today who say there are evil witches and good witches). The Wizard is organized religion. Toto which represents her intuition uncovers the charade. Near the end, Dorothy follows her intuition when she follows Toto instead of staying in the balloon and returns to Kansas through the power of the shoes and her own ability (the god within). Finally, Dorothy returns home successfully combining her material and spiritual side achieving enlightenment.
So the next time you watch “The Wizard of Oz” you might just see more than you anticipated.
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Did you know about the allegorical references to this story?
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The way i heard it, Frank L balm told this story to his sick niece while she was dying. He then wrote it down, and thats where the story came from. I had no idea something so fary tale could have so much behind it.
Thanks Captain Jimmy..
the pink umbrella, I never came across that in my research but I suppose it could be.
Great info, Brie. Thanks!!
Thanks, I found it interesting so I thought you all might too!
Brie, I do not know if you have already thought about Alice in Wonderland.
It would be interesting.
Awww another one for sure! No, I haven't looked into that one, not yet.
Brie, I read recently that Baum came up with OZ when he looked at his file cabinet. A-N on one drawer and O-Z on another. this seems more plausible to me, matter what the authors religious affiliations were. I remember when people were raging about Peter, Paul and Mary singing "puff the magic dragon", that is was all about smoking pot. soon that story was everywhere and finally Peter Yarro said, "this song isn't about anything but the loss of youthful innocence and you can tell everyone that you got it straight from the dragons mouth". I remember laying for hours as a child. looking at the clouds. I learned back then that if you look at the clouds long enough, you'll begin to see what you're looking for. are the dragons really there? or are they just clouds, the Wizard of OZ is just a fairy tale and puff the magic dragon is just a sad little song.
Since you have also done your research on Svali, I know that you understand the connection between movies and mind control...including certain colors for programing...I think the programers probably sometimes think they are clever or funny, using main stream entertainment...sometimes I get tired of all the things they put their hands on...heaven is sounder better and better to me.
And sometimes they have more than one meaning. How easy it is for the devil to deceive when no one believes in him.
Enlydia: Heaven is very close to me and getting close by the day.
A wise man once said "what the thinker thinks the prover proves."
Once you start looking for connections, you find them everywhere. See the following segment from Crowely's Book Four:
"Every nursery rime contains profound magical secrets which are open to every one who has made a study of the correspondences of the Holy Qabalah. To puzzle out an imaginary meaning for this "nonsense" sets one thinking of the Mysteries; one enters into deep contemplation of holy things and God Himself leads the soul to a real illumination. Hence also the necessity of Incarnation; the soul must descend into all falsity in order to attain All-Truth.
For instance:
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to her cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone;
When she got there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
Who is this ancient and venerable mother of whom it is spoken? Verily she is none other than Binah, as is evident in the use of the holy letter H with which her name begins.
Nor is she the sterile Mother Ama-but the fertile Aima; for within her she bears Vau, the son, for the second letter of her name, and R, the penultimate, is the Sun, Tiphareth, the Son.
The other three letters of her name, B, A, and D, are the three paths which join the three supernals.
To what cupboard did she go? Even to the most secret caverns of the Universe. And who is this dog? Is it not the name of God spelt Qabalistically backwards? And what is this bone? The bone is the Wand, the holy Lingam!
The complete interpretation of the rune is now open. This rime is the legend of the murder of Osiris by Typhon.
The limbs of Osiris were scattered in the Nile.
Isis sought them in every corner of the Universe, and she found all except his sacred lingam, which was not found until quite recently (vide Fuller, The Star in the West)."
He continues this exposition on a number of other nursery-rhyms. See about halfway down the page here for more: http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/aba/aba2.htm
I am 100% in agreement with you Brie. There are very real spiritual forces at work. They easily manipulate the minds of men that walk in darkness. I don't expect them to see or understand. They are blind. Even though that sounds wrong to say, the bible says the same thing. I have heard many songs and watched alot of movies where my take on it was much different from what others perceived. With eyes open knowing the existence of the enemy and having some understanding of his tactics it becomes clear that he uses men as instruments to acheive his goals. Great topic for more hubs. Love the can of worms you just opened.
Many of the classics have hidden meanings!
i don't think a wikipedia entry equals good research. that point aside, could you explain how the theosophical society is a satanic organization? i'd love to hear about this since this isn't anywhere to be found beyond conspiracy websites.
I just used widipedia for a general definition geez!
If you would like to do more research I suggest you google Theosophical Society and the Occult or Satanism.
apologies for that comment. i've actually done quite a bit of research on the theosophical society and can tell you that they are _not_ a satanic organization. as for the occult, is not synonymous with satanism and "spiritism" is not a "mystery religion. i guess it's just troubling to see bad information repeated because it makes a story more interesting.
Ummm, well I beg to differ, I guess that is one way that they lure people into their groups, by saying that they are not what they are.
not sure what the implication is here, but i'm not a member of any group. can you tell me how theosophy is satanic without suggesting a google search? i'm assuming that you know. by the way, i do appreciate the conversation.
This is one definition of Theosophy: A philosophical system that teaches that one can gain knowledge of a transcendent reality through revelation or through practice of the occult tradition.
The occult tradition is Satanic.
If you want to more I suggest you take the time to study it.
thanks for the suggestion, but i'm writing my dissertation on the subject and i've studied this particular topic for a couple of years now. the occult does not equal satanism. it certainly didn't mean satanism in the late 19th century. to suggest as much is to impose a contemporary, largely christian, definition upon a set of beliefs that in no way corresponds to satanism. i'm curious, have you ever heard of the taxil hoax or the protocols of the elders of zion...another hoax? if so, do you believe that these weren't really hoaxes?
They are hoaxes, this is not. You seem to see things through your own prejudices.
Satanism is one form of the occult, it is not all conclusive but I would definitely say that all of the occult leads to Satanism whether the person is aware of it or not.
the wizard of oz/satanism isn't a hoax? as for prejudices, i suppose we have that in common. since you seem to favor internet sources, i've included the definition of occultism from dictionary.com.
oc·cult·ism? ?[uh-kuhl-tiz-uhm] –noun
1.belief in the existence of secret, mysterious, or supernatural agencies.
2.the study or practice of occult arts.
there is no reference to satan in this definition. indeed the first definition could easily be applied to many christian beliefs. how does occultism lead to satanism? can this be measured?
You are very naive. I don't think it would matter what I said, you have made your mind up, you are wasting my time.
I couldn't have answered better myself, Brie.
Thanks Enlydia, for the support.
there are many conspiracy theorist out there and to be honest most of their theories are slightly worth speculating. I think you should read the book the wizard of oz and the rest of the series(Most people infact did not know that it was a series) as for the movie, in all seriousness it always creeped me out. but simply reading the book is such a delightful experience. your whole hidden meaning idea definitly has credibility but in the future i hope children can still enjoy these stories as i have.
I think you might be able to enjoy them...to the pure all things are pure, but I also think it's good to know what is the underlying theme so that one is aware and not manipulated by it.
Cool, i never looked deeper into it other than the poppies being opium and the secret scene with a hanged person in the background.
Where is that scene?
you're right of course, but honestly what child has ever been misled by the wizard of oz? the mere fact that they dont know the implications and hidden meanings of it leeds to an even more possibility of them not being manipulated by it.
I was referring to an adult (knowing the underlying themes).
oh well then in that case sorry and i suppose you're right.
lol
hi Brie, great Hub! Have you ever played Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album as a sound track to the Wizard of Oz?
Thanks...and can't say that I have.
I never knew!! Makes me want to watch other classics just to see if something strikes me different
That's all I watch and it is quite interesting because you see the corruption in our government was known about way back.
Brie, I enjoyed reading your take on the possible hidden symbols in the Wizard of Oz. I have to say I don't think Mr. Baum or the film makers purposely brought any of these into the story, but it may be possible that an amount of universal archetypes were weaved unconsciously into the work. Except for the snow part, which, I'd interpret as meaning innocence.
Btw, have you read the OZ series? My oldest daughter loved them all.
No I haven't but I've seen the movie at least a dozen times. Thanks for commenting.
Then again, sometimes a poppy is just a poppy. Good interpretation. Linking this to my Toto hub and voting it Up and Useful.
Thanks Alocsin!
i was reading along just fine.. you had me and with one word lost me.
you know when someone is speaking and what they are saying makes sense, and credible until the next thing they say is ridiculous but clearly not to them, and it puts everything they say after that in question. especially since it is intended to be taken as seriously as anything else they're saying.
as a reader, when i get to 'the theosophical society is another Satanic organization closely related to' etc.. i stop following along. i hAve to consider whether to continue because i'm wondering if you a) are a 'the earth is 6,000 yrs old' believing born again christian or b) you chose to refer to the theosophical society as 'another' satanic organization, and imply that the others are as well, after reading something that made you feel confident to use it that way. the whole sentence is expressed as a commonly agreed upon fact. since it is far from that, using it draws my attention from what you are saying to who is saying it. it is a provocative, avoidable distraction from the line of thought i was following with you.
of course if it is a)..which i doubt… never mind then. onward soldier
Sigh, I guess I'll have to do an article on the Theosophical Society. I am a born again Christian (as you can see from some of my other articles).
Let's see.Wizard of OZ was published in 1900 and the Fed was established in 1913.
I question the credibility of your teacher.
All the talk about a gold standard was going on way before 1913, do you think that that was the first time a Central Bank was established? It wasn't.
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Captain Jimmy 22 months ago
Good Hub! Interesting! Well written and researched!