A Notable Theosophist - L.
Frank Baum...is
best known as the author of the popular children’s book
The Wizard of Oz,
on which the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland was based.... He firmly
believed in reincarnation...
and believed that he and his wife had been together in many past
states.... Theosophical ideas permeate his work and provided the
inspiration for it. Indeed, The Wizard can be regarded as
Theosophical allegory... The story came to Baum as an inspiration,
and he accepted it with a certain awe as a gift from outside, or perhaps
from deep within, himself. Frank Baum... was our first and perhaps
greatest Theosophical writer for children."
Read about Theosophy
in
The International Agenda
and
Popular Occultism
L. Frank Baum
and the
Not-So-Wonderful Wizard of Oz:
"L. Frank Baum... was interested in Theosophy (which he and his wife joined in 1896), and
The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz
is on page 36 of the Theosophical University Press 1989-90 catalogue, which features
'the principle source-writings of the modern Theosophical movement and seeks to provide a...comprehensive presentation of the ancient wisdom-tradition.'
...
"Concerning Theosophy, Baum pronounced, 'God is Nature, and Nature God," and in the Aberdeen, South Dakota
Saturday Pioneer (January 25, 1890) he wrote of 'an eager longing to penetrate the secrets of Nature --
an aspiration for knowledge we have thought is forbidden.'
"...the Theosophists are
'searchers for truth' and 'admit the existence of God -- not necessarily a personal God.' He believed in the theory of elementals (invisible, vapory beings) popularized in Madame Blavatsky's
Isis Unveiled (1877), and like the
Rosicrucians' belief in the combining of God and nature, and not unlike William Butler Yeats' (Mason and Fabian) search for a new mysticism.
"Baum believed in
reincarnation, in
karma, that there was no devil, and 'that man on earth was only one step on the ladder that passed through many states of consciousness, through many universes, to a final state of Enlightenment,' according to Michael Patrick Hearn in his book,
The Annotated Wizard of Oz (1973). Hearn is also quoted in Children's Literature Review (CLR), vol. 15, as saying
'The author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was...well
read in the occult sciences.....
"In the
Saturday
Pioneer (October 18, 1890), Baum wrote that 'the absurd and legendary devil
is the enigma of the Church,' and in the Oz books, he said there were both
'good' and 'bad' demons and witches....
"Before meeting the
Wizard in Oz, the cowardly lion says he will do what's necessary until the
Wizard 'promises to give us what we desire'; in Masonic initiation, the
individual is asked, 'What do you most desire?'"
Potter called Christ-like
Minister compares boy wizard
to Jesus in new book
:
The latest praise for the widely popular book and movie series comes on the heels of last month's blessing from the Vatican. Officials at the Vatican talked glowingly about the Potter series at a news conference about the New Age movement.
"The author, J.K. Rowling, is a Christian by conviction in her way of living and in her writing. I don't see the least problem in the Harry Potter films," the Rev. Peter Fleetwood, a former official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, told reporters.
"I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world. They aren't bad. They aren't serving as an anti-Christian ideology."
....The Rev. John Killinger, author of the new book "God, The Devil and Harry Potter," says Harry is far from being a devil or a witch. Rather, says the Presbyterian minister and academic, he actually is a Christ-like figure. Killinger calls the four-book series "a modern interpretation of the gospel."
....People have asked Brock what the difference is between Harry Potter and Snow White or "The Wizard of Oz."
"The difference is that in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Snow White is the heroine," Brock said. "In '
The Wizard of Oz,' Dorothy is the heroine and the wizard turned out to be a con man. ... In Harry Potter, Harry is the hero and he is a witch. That is a big crossover there in their approach. I don't know what the pope is thinking."
Music Publishing:
"EMI is the world's largest music publisher in terms of copyrights owned, controlled or administered, with rights to more than one million musical compositions and offices in 30 countries. EMI's diverse repertoire includes numerous pop music hits, American standards, country songs, classical works... and the rights to the film score of Singing in the Rain and the music in the
Wizard of Oz. EMI concentrates on discovering, promoting and nurturing gifted songwriters around the world, working with new and established writers to build a body of work to be appreciated by future generations and making the music of yesterday relevant to the audience of today....Composers and writers represented by EMI include David Bowie, Janet Jackson, Carole King, Queen, Rodney Jerkins, Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Phil Collins, Genesis, The Verve and Robbie Williams....Savage Garden, Sting, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Texas, Rod Stewart and Aerosmith.
... A&R, the art of identifying the next great writer, the next great song, is the single most important function EMI performs."