THE SYMBOLS...
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This page was created in an attempt to explain the meanings of the symbols above, found on the untitled fourth album, better known as Led Zeppelin IV or Zoso. The album was never really meant to have a name, a fact which the recording companies considered "commercial suicide".
 "We decided the album couldn't be called Led Zeppelin IV. Each of us decided to choose a metaphysical symbol which represented us individually." Robert Plant

 
Jimmy Page's Symbol
No one really knows for sure what Jimmy Page's symbol means. The most recent theory that seeks to explain it has it that it that it symbolizes a near-death or Tantric sex experience to unify the worlds of the living and the dead, and thus to reveal the secrets of the universe. A post on the mailing list said that a symbol very similar to Jimmy Page's was found in the book "The Collected Works, Volume 1" by Aleister Crowley. I can't remember the page number, it was either 143 or 345. I myself haven't gotten around to checking on this, but I plan to soon.
There are a few points that are worth clarifying.
  • It is not a word that can be prounounced "Zoso". 
  • The symbol was designed by Jimmy, and the only person he has revealed its meaning to was Plant, long ago, and he has since forgotten. Nigel Eaton, hurdy gurdy player on the Page & Plant world tour was reported in "Q" as having asked about it and been greeted with a deathly silence. 
  • It is unlikely to symbolize Cerebus, the guardian hound at the gates of hell. 
  • It is not a stylizied "666". 
  • The closest thing to an explanation from the man himself came on his November 1994 appearance on "Denton" with Plant. At the end of their interview a member of the studio audience yelled "What's your symbol mean Jimmy?" After some confusion as to what was being yelled, understanding dawned on Plant's face and he replied "Frying tonight". Page did not elaborate further. 
  • It most likely has absoluely nothing to do with Curious George The Monkey, known as Zoso, a character in English children's books. 
  • It has nothing to do with the pyramid of Zoser in Egypt.
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John Bonham's Symbol
Several guesses have been made as to the meaning of John Bonham's symbol, the three interlocking circles. The most accepted interpretation is that it symbolizes the relationship of the man, woman, and child. I believe that this was confirmed by John's son Jason not too long ago.
Other suggestions have been presented, some are more interesting than others. It has been said that sometimes while John Bonham  was having a drink, he would make interlocking rings from water that dripped off of the bottle. Also, it has been suggested that Bonham just liked the way the three rings reminded him of a drum set. Robert Plant observed that it was the emblem of Ballantine Beer.
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John Paul Jones's Symbol
Jones's symbol has been seen on the cover of a book about the Rosicrucians, a religious cult in the middle ages which was of some interest to Aleister Crowley and his fellow members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, such as Westcott.
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Robert Plant's Symbol
Robert Plant's symbol uses the feather of Ma'at, the Egyptian goddess of justice and fairness. It is the emblem of a writer. In the past Plant has said that it comes from the ancient Mu civilization.
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