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I read "Oz" recently. I realized that

The layout of the land of Oz is similar to an eastern mandala in many ways; in particular the colouring of the lands. Also, the adventures of Dorothy and Pip/Ozma in some ways resemble a traditional mandala initiation.

I have only a vague idea of what a "mandala initiation" really implies... But I won't let that stop me.

What is a mandala, more precisely? Well, to put it shortly, it is a geometric diagram which is used in meditation and similar practices in Asia; especially in India and in tantric buddhism (which is usually understood to mean Tibetan buddhism). I'll bet you didn't expect that. If true, and I think it is, then Oz was not invented from scratch by Frank L. Baum, but the entire layout of the country is copied over esoteric religious practices.

But then, it's also a brilliant fairy-tale. I don't think this detracts anything from the brilliance of the story.

My arguments can be summed up as follows:

1. There is "nothing" outside Oz -- only desert.
2. There are four regions around a central one.
3. The mandala is entered from the East -- at least in the first story (Dorothy's).
4. Each region has a designated colour.
5. Each country or region usually has a ruler, although the Eastern country where the Munchkins live are left without one when the first story ends.
6. There is a central palace in the central region.
7. Gatekeeper(s).
8. You have to be "blind-folded" -- well, you have to wear sunglasses -- at one point, or else you will be blinded. (Although that turns out to be untrue.)
9. The use of magic chants (similar to mantras).

I don't know what it means, but Dorothy has to go through seven halls and enter three stairs. And when the group finally meets the Wizard, they are told to arrive at "four past nine". I am sure these numbers have some significance.

Having come this far I was of course wondering if these similarities were a coincidence. Was Baum a Buddhist, or something like that? That didn't appear very likely. But then he would have invented this design all by himself, which would support for instance C.G. Jung's ideas of "The Collective Unconscious" etc. The idea of a mandala...

Well, I took a quick look around on the internet. David Parker's page came up (see link below). He mentions that Baum was a theosophist -- and since Theosophy was indeed inspired by buddhism, I think it is a fair bet that this is where the link is to be found.

So now the question is: Did Baum entertain in some kind of mandala initiation? I think he did.

More about this later.

MANDALA On-line introduction to mandalas Yamantaka Mandala -- a particularly clear example of the "four + one" structure of most mandalas Early Tibetan Mandalas: The Rossi Collection -- lots of variations over a theme The Three Dimensional Mandala -- the mandala as it "really" looks Mandala Theory -- + links to 3D-movies: Entering/Coming out of mandala

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website Wizard of Oz Links Page (tiktok) alt.books.wizard-of-oz -- discussion forum The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum -- David B. Parker, Kennesaw State University The International Wizard of Oz Club Amphigory's Oz-site Wendy's Wonderful Wizard of Oz Piglet Press Tour Guide (to Oz) THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ FAQ LIST (Nate Barlow) Jim’s Wizard of Oz Links Page Download Baum's Oz-books (Project Gutenberg)

Mike L. Griebel, mgriebel@hotmail.com

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