The Wizard of Oz - Part II (Metaphor)

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Following Dorothy along the yellow brick road provides a wonderful metaphorical journey through all the chakras and the lower four bodies. The tale also follows Egyptian metaphor. We are provided a clear hint of this in the opening scenes when Dorothy runs away from home with Toto, and comes across Professor Marvel in his wagon, who directly references Isis and Osiris.

Dorothy foreshadows her entire journey through Oz in that we meet all the main characters on the farm – the three farm hands are scarecrow, tin man, and the lion; Miss Gulch is the witch; Toto travels with her; and Professor Marvel becomes the Great Oz. Her fall into the pigsty even presages Dorothy’s fall into Oz. The tornado then lifts her, locked in her house, sprawled out on her bed with four legs, and hurls her down into Oz.

Metaphorically, this opening represents our fall into incarnation and the beginning of our journey to remembering our true Self. Dorothy’s house is symbolically a box, or coffin. The lower part of the house with its four sides, as well as the bed with its four legs, represent the lower self. We must journey through the first four levels of initiation in order to remember the upper three levels of Spirit – represented by the three sided, pyramidal top of the house.

Dorothy invites us into her dream when she sings “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. If we pay close attention to the lyrics, they yield clues as to what Dorothy will encounter in Oz:

"Bluebirds fly....over the rainbow, why then, oh why can’t I?”

“Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far

behind me.”

“Troubles melt like lemon drops”

“There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby”

As we enter Oz, we arrive in a land of color, in contrast to the black & white of Kansas. The Blue birds and blue sky that Dorothy sings of appear as her blue dress. She is greeted by Glinda, who descends from a star, and Dorothy’s thoughts and troubles (described as lemon drops) place us upon a journey along the ‘yellow’ brick road, where she naturally encounters a land inhabited with a lullaby league.

A concept we will often discuss in this series is that everything is out of our own mind. (This is actually a universal law – Mentalism). It is very clear from these opening scenes, that Dorothy is calling forth her own initiation and that all the characters in the movie are literally drawn from her own conscious-ness. This reminds us that all five aspects of the Egyptian metaphor are one Self.

The colors of the rainbow, and the chakra system follow a distinct order, one that is associated with a particular level of initiation in the Egyptian Ascension process. Each year, we witness a journey of the sun through each zodiacal sign, beginning with Aries and ending with Pisces (the sidereal year). At the same time, the sun travels through a grand cycle (each 2,156 years) known as the precession of the equinoxes. Placing the zodiacal signs on a clock face, with Aquarius on the top at twelve o’clock, and Leo at six o’clock, we may trace Dorothy’s path through Oz both sidereally (counter clockwise from Aries to Pisces) and precessionally (clockwise from Leo to Aquarius).

In one of the most famous scenes in the movie, upon entering Oz, Glinda the Good places ruby red shoes on Dorothy as she clicks her feet. The color red is associated with the root chakra, 6 o’clock on our wheel, and represents Leo along the Egyptian initiate’s journey.

Following the chakra system upwards, we next encounter the orange/red smoke as the wicked witch arrives - orange represents the 2nd chakra, 7 o’clock on the clock face, and Cancer on the zodiacal wheel. We then embark upon the yellow brick road (3rd chakra, 8 o’clock, Gemini) that leads us to the Emerald green city of the Wizard (4th chakra, 9 o’clock, Taurus).

As we will develop, these levels further map out the first four levels of initiation – the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, each corresponding with one of the main characters.

At the same time, the story also follows the typical sidereal (zodiacal) year. As we noted above, Dorothy first steps out in blue – the color of the 5th chakra – which corresponds with the start of the zodiacal year in Aries, and metaphorically is the starting point of creation. She has been thrown around in a tornado, an initiation by air, which is the element associated with the 4th level of initiation and astrologically represents Taurus.

We enter the cornfields and meet scarecrow. What do we notice about the color that lets us know we are in the third level of initiation? (Answer: The yellow corn, the yellow straw, and Dorothy is already on the yellow brick road). The meeting place with four directions represents a choice point, the main characteristic of level three. The scarecrow asks her to make a choice “Do you want to go this way or that way?” as he cannot make up his mind. Furthermore, the scarecrow is afraid of fire – the element associated with level three, the mental body and Gemini. (Notice the cornfields also let us know that we are still in Kansas – just a different mental construct of Dorothy).

Astrologically, where would this lead us to next? (Answer: Cancer). This is why we now meet the tin man and naturally the element he is afraid of is water (corresponding with the second level – the emotional). There is more support for this when the Tin man sings: “Just to register emotion, jealousy, and devotion.”

There is an esoteric extra in a scene in the garden where the wicked witch tempts them all with apples. This represents the fall from the Garden of Eden, which we may associate with Capricorn – the involutionary opposite of Cancer. She then stands on a green roof challenging them to continue.

Having journeyed through Gemini and Cancer, the next sign we are looking for is Leo, and who should we meet? - the Lion, the symbol of Leo. (The lion is also the king of the jungle – the physical world). Subsequently, in this short mini-cycle within the movie, we have brought in all the signs from Aries to Leo (sidereally) at the same time that we saw a progression from the red, to orange, and yellow precessionally.

The hero’s battle is always in the heart (the green chakra). Fundamentally, we must over-come our lower nature (represented by the lower chakra colors we just discussed), to remember our Self, and our true Higher nature (symbolized by the higher chakra colors). Each of Dorothy’s companions was lacking something: Scarecrow – a brain, Tin Man – a heart, and Lion – courage. The word ‘courage’ derives from the French word that means ‘heart.’ Recognizing that true thinking is only done in the heart, the common element in all three of these characters is the heart. This is why we must reach the Emerald city (the 4th level– the level of the heart) and we are “off to see the Wizard”.

On our way to the Emerald city there are several interesting encounters. One is where Dorothy and crew meet the wicked witch who is sit-ting on a roof along the road. What color is the roof – green – our next initiation?

After leaving the forest, we see the witch peering into a crystal ball. This directly pulls us back to the parallel Kansas world, where Professor Marvel used the crystal ball in his side show. This further emphasizes the tie of the Witch and the Wizard as elements of Seth.(Please see the next page for a quick character review and their corresponding aspects in Egyptian metaphor).

In ancient Egypt, Thoth represents law, and is depicted as an ibis bird scribing the law with its beak, or as a baboon in its lower form. Enter the flying monkeys. Before we can reach atonement, or self-realization, we must incorporate law (Thoth), as well as love (Hathor) and order (Maat). This unification is symbolized by the uniting of the red and white crown.

The witch now casts a sleeping spell over the red poppy fields. Seth needs Horus to stay asleep for we, as Horus, can only do battle if we are awake. (An interesting side note is that poppies are related to opium and being drugged by the world. Osiris is intoxicated by Seth before he is trapped in a coffin). If we cast our mind back to Kansas, it was Mrs. Gulch (the witch) that brought the sheriff in to capture Toto (Anubis). Anubis is Horus’ guide and companion through the world. Without a conscience in our ear, we are lost.

Who does our travelling band call? – Glinda, as Isis. The white snow that she casts over the red fields, symbolizes the atonement with the love of the divine feminine, Hathor, that is a prerequisite for Horus’ ascension.

Now, we enter the Emerald City - the heart. Our merry band appears before the Great Oz, discovers the man behind the curtain, and are given their battle instruction (bring back the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West). This is highly symbolic, for in the metaphor Horus must battle Seth, who is depicted as the sun setting in the West.

They enter the Haunted Forest, which is clearly Seth’s Domain. As Horus does battle with Seth, we watch a series of initiations. First, by air with the monkeys, next in climbing the rocks (physical) and finally in a battle with fire (mental) and water (emotional).

As we just referenced, in the metaphor, Anubis accompanies Horus through the world and up to the battle. So Toto guiding the others back to Dorothy clearly emphasizes his role.

The battle must culminate with the defeat of Seth, and the overcoming of the world. As the wicked witch melts she ex-claims: “My world, my world. Who could have thought that a good girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?” The reaction of the guards is an interesting side note. They clearly guard the witch’s world, but turn to whomever is the ruling power. In metaphor, Nephthys represents the body, and al-though a consort of Seth, is actually neutral and serves Isis when Spirit or Higher Self are present.

Dorothy returns to Oz. In the heart, everything is exposed – including the Great Oz himself in his many disguises, and as the “man-behind-the curtain”. As revealed in the metaphor, Seth is actually impotent, and lacks the power to keep Horus from victory. Our little band all discover that they had what they needed all along: Scarecrow a brain, Tin Man a heart, Lion courage, and Dorothy a way back home. When the wizard offers to take Dorothy home, Seth is rightfully in service to Horus. Dorothy and her aspects have now reclaimed the throne and have been crowned King.

In the King of the Forest Song, the Lion proclaims he is not afraid of a Hippo. This is a very direct reference to the initiate’s journey up the Nile, where at the temple of Edfu, Horus rides the hippo, in a display of dominion over the ego. Moreover, in the Lion’s song we hear the last 3 phases of our ascension up the chakras. Whereas before, the lion was afraid of the sheep (a symbol of Aries), he dons the purple regal robes and commands the fish (both symbols of Pisces), and we see an image of the Sphynx - which is the head of a man over the body of a lion. He is now singing about being the King and the attainment of knowledge as divine man, the water bearer in Aquarius.

Our journey is complete when Glinda arrives in the Emerald city. As Isis, she has overseen the whole process, and shepherded Horus’ reclaiming of the throne. This is further highlighted when Toto leaps from the Wizard’s balloon to chase a cat - a symbol of Isis as Bast.

Dorothy clicks her heels three times, a spiritual reawakening, and in the words of the final song, “there is no place like home”, we recognize that our real power and our true-home is inside us. We are a living metaphor, and like Dorothy, we are consciously writing our own story. Although we can never leave our story, we can overcome it, and return home with the complete knowledge of who we are - I AM.

“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.”