# Zeppelin symbols **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 15, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771 "2001-09-15T04:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/1 "2001-09-15T04:57:20Z")
Regarding [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mledzeppelin.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mledzeppelin.html) Somewhere in the mid-'70s, a stoner classmate of mine did his English 101 speech on Led Zep, and claimed Plant’s symbol indicated his voice was as soft as a feather. Umm, sure… (Personal aside: I was probably the only guy in my high school who didn’t like Zeppelin. I recently joined one of those mail-order-CD clubs, and Zep’s Greatest Hits was one of the offerings. I figured, I’d never pay good money for this stuff, but as one of my free selections, why not? Well, I can honestly say, it was worth what I paid. What WERE all my friends smoking?) – Beruang ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/2 "2001-09-15T05:02:50Z")
Singer Jimmy Page explains on “Led Zeppelin: The Black Mountain Side” Actually, that should read Guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![cappycue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cappycue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cappycue)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/3 "2001-09-15T12:48:49Z")
Am I dense or is this a trick? I have no idea what the “certain US soap company” referred to at the end of this article might be and came here hoping to find the answer. Then…when I got here and read the first message, the one regarding what people who like Led Zep may have been smoking I was moved to reply. I, for one, was smoking some sort of herbal substance back then but have long since given up that and other childish behaviors (IMHO) in favor of a successful adult life. I do, though, continue to enjoy Led Zep and think they are one of the best, if not _the best_, rock and roll/blues bands ever to come down the pike. I would suggest that the writer of the earlier post remove his prejudiced ear plugs and give a listen to that “free” CD he received without prejudging all who may enjoy good music as “stoners”. BTW…nothing is free. The only way that CD from the club was free was if you do not intend to fulfill the membership obligation which you agreed to. Then it wouldn’t be free…it would be stolen. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/4 "2001-09-15T14:05:02Z")
There was a long-standing rumor about Proctor and Gamble. Probably still is. Utterly groundless. ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/5 "2001-09-15T22:20:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cappycue \* > \*\*Then…when I got here and read the first message, the one regarding what people who like Led Zep may have been smoking I was moved to reply. I, for one, was smoking some sort of herbal substance back then but have long since given up that and other childish behaviors (IMHO) in favor of a successful adult life. I do, though, continue to enjoy Led Zep and think they are one of the best, if not _the best_, rock and roll/blues bands ever to come down the pike. I would suggest that the writer of the earlier post remove his prejudiced ear plugs and give a listen to that “free” CD he received without prejudging all who may enjoy good music as “stoners”. \*\* Hey, no offense intended! (I guess I shouldn’t disable smilies in my posts.) Just joking. Even though I never liked Zeppelin, they _are_ the soundtrack to my high school days. I don’t know about your high school, but at mine, everyone who liked Zeppelin was smoking something. Of course, pretty much everyone who liked oxygen was smokinbg something… At the risk of sending my own thread hurtling into The Pit or IMHO, let me just say “different strokes” – but for my money, there _were_ one or two good slow blues-ish numbers; as for the rest, the lyrics were by turns misogynistic or incoherent; and the music was a muddled mess – though I grant that may just be a bad digital remix. Really bad. No. I mean _REALLY_ bad! And, at the risk of hijacking my own thread, let me say that I am aware there is no free lunch, let a lone a free CD. However, I have found that if you shop the sales you can keep your per-unit price well under list (which is what CDs generally sell for in stores, anyway), and the shipping and handling are usually worth the savings in time. Although there is no pleasure on this Earth greater than a good used CD store… Peace, love, and augmented sevenths, – Beruang ---
**Author:** ![cappycue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cappycue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cappycue)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/6 "2001-09-17T20:22:16Z")
Sorry, no offense taken and none meant in return, although, after re-reading my post I can see why you thought that was the case. I was merely blathering along there, thinking that if you would give them more of a listen, well…you would HAVE to agree with me. No, just kidding. But then: as for this “but for my money, there _were_ one or two good slow blues-ish numbers; as for the rest, the lyrics were by turns misogynistic or incoherent; and the music was a muddled mess” I am not sure what you are listening to. As for the lyrics, well, welcome to 1970’s rock and roll. Many of those old lyrics are, when listened to from our more _enlightened_ perspectives a tad mysogynistic (try some Doors or Eric Burden or Billy Idol or even the Kinks on for size), although more of them seem to celebrate the joys of sex. As for incoherent, well if coherent lyrics were a criteria for good rock and roll an awful lot of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, The Dead, just to name a few, would be out the door. And the muddled part, well, I would suggest you look into some better stereo equipment, you are missing some of the best and cleanest guitar licks to ever be played and recorded as well as some truly amazing vocal gymnastics. I have seen their music called a “powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms…shaded and textured, filled with alternating dynamics and tempos.” (Stephen Erlewine of AMG)but not often characterized as “muddled”…As you say “different strokes”. As far as the free CD’s go, I have found that the mail order CD clubs get it from me in the shipping and handling dept. Every time I fall for one of their sales pitches I end up amazed at how I can pay twice as much for shipping and handling as I paid for the CDs themselves…amazing really, since [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) frequently ships for free and rarely for over seven bucks, even when I buy a box full. Every business has to make a buck, I suppose (except apparently [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) but maybe this will be the year they too turn a profit) and the CD clubs are a convenient way of having lots of new music arrive at your door. Way more important things going on in the world these days, anyway. God bless us all. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/7 "2001-09-18T17:07:05Z")
Just in case anyone hasn’t ever seen them, or need to look at them again, here’s a page with them all over the place (one of many). Scroll down a bit and there’s a picture of each band member with his symbol beneath him. [http://members.tripod.com/~LZTorak/zepp.html](http://members.tripod.com/~LZTorak/zepp.html) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/8 "2001-09-18T18:36:32Z")
cappycue, here’s the satanist link: [http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/procter.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/procter.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Nyrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/919ad9/32.png) [@Nyrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyrath)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/9 "2001-09-18T18:38:40Z")
I have seen the “three ovals with a circle” design described as a **triquetra**. I’m not sure of it’s origin, but it is commonly thought to be of Celtic origin. _(this is to say that most web sites I’ve seen say it is Celtic without offering any cites or references)_ Wiccans have adopted the symbol to symbolize the Maiden - Mother - Crone trinity, as the symbol can be seen as three _yoni_ symbols combined. Most recently it can be seen in the popular tv series “Charmed” ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/10 "2001-09-18T21:57:55Z")
\ One of these days, people will wake up and realize that Jimmy Page’s “Zoso” symbol is nothing more than a silly little visual joke. It’s a guy with glasses smoking a pipe. Really. Pipe is the underline, Z is the smoke, the eyes are the o’s, and the nose is the s. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/11 "2001-09-19T17:25:52Z")
Just in case, here’s a passage from Chapter 12 of L. Frank Baum’s _The Lost Princess of Oz_, which might (or might not) be significant. > [@](#): > > “What makes you so strong?” inquired Dorothy. > > “It’s the zosozo,” he explained, “which is an invention of my own. I and all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous strength. Would you like to eat some?” > > thank you," replied the girl. “I–I don’t want to get so thin.” > > “Well, of course one can’t have strength and flesh at the same time,” said the Czarover. “Zosozo is pure energy, and it’s the only compound of its sort in existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you know, or they would soon become our masters, since they are bigger that we; so I keep all the stuff locked up in my private laboratory. Once a year I feed a teaspoonful of it to each of my people–men, women and children–so every one of them is nearly as strong as I am. Wouldn’t YOU like a dose, sir?” he asked, turning to the Wizard. > > “Well,” said the Wizard, “if you would give me a little zosozo in a bottle, I’d like to take it with me on my travels. It might come in handy on occasion.” > > “To be sure. I’ll give you enough for six doses,” promised the Czarover. > > “But don’t take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu the Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that when he leaned against the city wall, he pushed it over, and we had to build it up again.” ---
**Author:** ![Sea\_Sorbust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Sea\_Sorbust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sea_Sorbust)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/12 "2001-09-19T20:54:18Z")
One of my favorite albums. Particularly like the third cut (can’t remember the name) and, of course, Stairway. Always wondered what the symbols meant. Thanks. Is there any way to say the title–the symbols–in one mouthful of sound? ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/13 "2001-09-19T22:27:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sea Sorbust \* > \*\*Is there any way to say the title–the symbols–in one mouthful of sound? \*\* Yeah. “Led Zep 4.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sea\_Sorbust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Sea\_Sorbust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sea_Sorbust)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/14 "2001-09-19T22:49:05Z")
😃 ---
**Author:** ![cappycue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cappycue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cappycue)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/15 "2001-09-20T00:07:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Irishman \* > \*\*cappycue, here’s the satanist link: > [http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/procter.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/procter.htm) \*\* Thanks for this, Irishman. I can’t believe I never heard any of that… must have been too busy smoking herb and listening to Led Zep. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PbZep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58f4c7/32.png) [@PbZep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PbZep)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/16 "2001-09-20T17:56:38Z")
I’ll let y’all figure out my feelings about the mighty Zep. I’ve heard of the fourth album referred to by a number of names. The shortest, that I recall, is “Runes”. For those that don’t enjoy the music, to each his own. When pressed to pick my favorite Zep song, it happens to be on that album: Misty Mountain Hop. Pb, wondering how long it took everyone else to figure out that the s in Zoso wasn’t an f. ---
**Author:** ![Songbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Songbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Songbird)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/17 "2001-09-20T22:40:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cappycue \* > **Am I dense or is this a trick? I have no idea what the “certain US soap company” referred to at the end of this article might be and came here hoping to find the answer.** You’re not dense, Cappy, just a youngster. The reference is to one of Cecil’s favorite legends, as evidenced in his classic column about Procter & Gamble. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_283.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_283.html) As usual, Cecil puts to bed another urban legend – this time the one about the Satanistic soap (why exactly DOES it float then? Cecil covers that one, too, in a later column). Hope this helped. We on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board live to serve … just as long as it doesn’t involve cleaning up Cecil’s office. SDStaff Songbird, still sitting in a brook by the tree Straight Dope Science Advisory Board ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/18 "2001-09-21T12:35:42Z")
Corrective action has been/is being taken on the singer/guitarist flub. Thanks for calling it to our attention. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/19 "2001-09-23T00:39:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Page has, however, spoken out on your question of his doing the Faustian thing. He collects occult books and paraphernalia. He was a devotee of Aleister Crowley (a famous English occultist and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn) to the point of buying Crowley’s old house. But, Page says he is not a Satanist. I wasn’t aware Crowley was a satanist 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Songbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Songbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Songbird)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771/20 "2001-10-01T17:06:08Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by erislover \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I wasn’t aware Crowley was a satanist 😕 \*\* Never said he was. We said he was an “occultist,” which is what interested Page in him. Crowley did, however, have some Satanic interest, which is why some may have thought Page did, too. Here is one of Crowley’s poems entitled “Hymn to Lucifer:” "Ware, nor of good nor ill, what aim hath act? Without its climax, death, what savour hath Life? an impeccable machine, exact He paces an inane and pointless path To glut brute appetites, his sole content How tedious were he fit to comprehend Himself! More, this our noble element Of fire in nature, love in spirit, unkenned Life hath no spring, no axle, and no end. His body a bloody-ruby radiant With noble passion, sun-souled Lucifer Swept through the dawn colossal, swift aslant On Eden’s imbecile perimeter. He blessed nonentity with every curse And spiced with sorrow the dull soul of sense, Breathed life into the sterile universe, With Love and Knowledge drove out innocence The Key of Joy is disobedience." Doesn’t sound like a stairway to heaven to me. 😉 SDStaff Songbird Straight Dope Science Advisory Board [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zeppelin-symbols/81771.md?page=2)