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  • May 06, 2024

    What do the 4 Led Zeppelin symbols mean?

    By Nicole Kaplan
    What do the 4 Led Zeppelin symbols mean?
    Now we couldn't let too much time pass without doing a blog about Led Zeppelin!
    Considering the fact that Led Zeppelin is our all time favorite band we could quite possibly write a blog that would be 100 pages long!
    But for now, we are just going to narrow it down to one topic!

    What do the 4 Led Zeppelin symbols mean?

    Let's take a trip back to the psychedelic era of the 1960's and enter the secretive, mystical mind of Led Zeppelin and uncover what the iconic 4 symbols mean!

    Who are Led Zeppelin?

    In a nutshell, Led Zeppelin is a legendary rock band that formed in London in 1968!

    The four members are: Jimmy Page (guitarist), Robert Plant (singer), John Paul Jones (bassist/keyboardist), and John Bonham (drummer). Led Zeppelin is known for their innovative music style blending blues, rock, and folk. 

    They had the biggest tours, the biggest sound, the biggest record sales, and the biggest reputation. With well over 200 million albums sold worldwide, quite simply, Led Zeppelin is one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music. 

    Rebel Zeppelin

    Most critics were against Led Zeppelin from the beginning. Zeppelin had a bad reputation when it came to press and critics like Rolling Stone magazine ripped apart every album they released. Led Zeppelin's third album, "Led Zeppelin 3", took the biggest hit with critics. It is the most folky sound in their discography and listeners were confused. Reacting to all the negative press "Led Zeppelin 3" received, Zeppelin wanted to rebel against critics for their next album.

    Led Zeppelin 4 artwork cover

    "Led Zeppelin 4" had originally been scheduled to release months earlier, but problems with it's engineering, and then a dispute with Atlantic Records over the sleeve art ensured it was long overdue.

    There had been a number of production issues with the fourth album and Atlantic thought the cover (a framed photograph of an old peasant man) was artistic suicide, and wanted to change it.

    Jimmy Page was a visionary and saw things very differently. He withheld the master tapes until Atlantic finally gave in and Led Zeppelin got their way.

     


    The origins of the 4 Led Zeppelin symbols

    The album "Led Zeppelin 4" is technically untitled. There is no catalogue number, no band name, no title, just a mysterious picture on the cover. The only way to know the contents inside was to buy the album. Led Zeppelin 4 was only identified by 4 symbols, symbolizing the identity of each band member.

    With no mention of Zeppelin's name on the album, Jimmy Page insisted that "the music would speak for itself" and the album would be officially titled by the four symbols together. 

    What do the 4 Led Zeppelin symbols mean? 

    Zoso is Jimmy Page's symbol and a mysterious one at that as he has never publicly revealed the meaning behind it, just that it resonates with him.

    There has been a lot of speculation behind the meaning of Zoso, such as a satanic meaning or his star sign, Capricorn, the astrology sign for Saturn.

    Jimmy Page was always into black magic and the occult references are obvious on the album's artwork.
    The inside sleeve is the image of "The Hermit" from the tarot card.

    The feather in a circle is Robert Plant's symbol- "circle of life" meaning truth or courage, and has also been associated with Ma'at, the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice.

    The 3 circles is John Bonham's symbol and a simple meaning as well. A symbol of the holy trinity: father, mother, and child.

    The Celtic symbol is John Paul Jones. Trinity bound by circle- representing an individual with confidence and competence.

    "'Four symbols' tops UK charts"

    In a move that frightened the executives at Atlantic Records, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album was released without any written information on the outside packaging and without any title whatsoever.
    Despite these perceived disadvantages, the album went on to become not only Led Zeppelin's biggest seller but also one of the best selling albums by any artist, ever.
    Led Zeppelin confused fans even further while promoting "Led Zeppelin 4" (or "Four Symbols") with signage and billboards introducing a new mysterious band without a name!
     


    Our product picks to express your love for Led Zeppelin:

    Led Zeppelin 4

    From lighter acoustic songs like Going to California to the explosive rock like Black Dog, Led Zeppelin 4 defines Zeppelin at their most creative.
    The masterpiece Stairway to Heaven is also included which contributed to the album's success. Stairway was never released as a single in the US so if fans wanted to hear the song they had to buy the entire record.
    Some say it's over played, bland and dated, but for me it still retains it's magic.
    I know it's cliché but Stairway is my favorite Zeppelin song.

    Since the release of Led Zeppelin 4, the four symbols have been the most iconic logo to represent Led Zeppelin, and it's still used to this day!

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