L. Frank Baum joined Theosophical Society in 1892, and later, a writer of children’s stories.  In 1890, Baum already expressed an understanding of occult themes when he wrote. “The Wizard of Oz.”    Taboodata.com expresses view in: “The Occult Symbolism of the Wizard of Oz,“ “it is through a careful investigation into the author’s background however, that the story’s true meaning is revealed.”

“L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz was a member of the Theosophical Society, which is an organization based on occult research and the comparative study of religions. Baum had a deep under- standing of Theosophy and, consciously or not, created an allegory of Theosophic teachings when he wrote the Wizard of Oz. The entire story is an allegorical tale of the soul’s journey toward enlightenment. The same concept of The Yellow Brick Road, for example in Buddhism is referred to as the ‘Golden Path’ & is an integral concept in theosophical beliefs,” shares blog.  The present writer will go out on a limb to suggest Baum knew exactly what he was writing!

An abbreviated recap follows of Dorothy’s spiritual journey:  “The story begins with Dorothy Gale in Kansas, representing the material world, or the physical plane from where our spiritual journey must begin. By exhibiting a desire to seek a higher truth Dorothy has passed the Nadir, & yearns to go over the rainbow, and follow the path to illumination. She is transported to Oz by a giant cyclone which symbolizes the cycles of karma, the cycle of errors and lessons learned. It also represents the theosophical belief in reincarnation, the cycle of the multiple lives & deaths of a soul toward divinity. In occult rhetoric, the spiral represents the evolving self, the Yellow Brick Road begins as an outwardly expanding spiral. This is the soul’s journey as it ascends from the lower depths of consciousness of matter into the higher plane of the spiritual world.”

Along the path to enlightenment and self-fulfillment all the elements necessary:  brains, heart and courage are discovered within oneself.  An occult take on this inner journey follows from blog: “In order to achieve enlightenment Dorothy following the advice of the good witches of the North and South has to vanquish the wicked witches of the East and the West. This is representing the perceived duality in the battle between good & evil. Their union forming a vertical & horizontal axis representing the material world & the vertical of the spiritual dimension, this is symbolic of the marriage between the two in perpetual conflict & perfect balance. Toto represents the inner, intuitive, instinctual, most animal-like part of us. Throughout the movie, Dorothy has conversations with Toto, or her inner intuitive self. The lesson here is to listen to the Toto within. In this movie, Toto was never wrong.”    Toto is simply your gut instinct, exposing the wizard as a fraud and not accompanying the fake in his balloon.  Also, it’s intuition symbolically expressed by Toto taking every opportunity to elude the Wicked Witch of the West, again, instinct compelling one to escape a real threat.

Blog caps off Dorothy’s journey with the ultimate revelation:  “….with the help of the Good Witch of the North (her divine guide), she finally understands: everything she ever wanted could be found “in her own backyard”or point of fact-’within’.”

It is true but remains strange, Dorothy ends story where she began – but somehow changed – and venture a guess – by esoteric means?  Blog concludes story:  “…Dorothy wakes up in Kansas: at the very point where she first began. Her spiritual & physical life are irreversibly intertwined. She is now comfortable within herself, empowered and, despite her family’s disbelief in this case representing the uninitiated in esoteric traditions, Dorothy concludes- ‘There is no place like home’.”  Dorothy has been transformed by illumination even when those around her fail to comprehend it!

Vigilant Citizen includes darker aspects to occult symbolism in story and how both the movie and song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,“ used for purposes of mind control.