Four Symbols

The four symbols on the Led Zeppelin IV album have been controversial to many. Although the members themselves never came straight out and said what they meant, many people have since research what the symbols were.

Page once said: "We decided that on the fourth album, we would deliberately play down the group name, and there wouldn't be any information whatsoever on the outer jacket. Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing. . . . I had to talk like hell to get that one done."

Adds Robert Plant: "Each of us decided to go away and choose a metaphysical type of symbol which somehow represented each of us individually--be it a state of mind, an opinion, or something we felt strongly about, or whatever. Then we were to come back together and present our symbols."

Robert Plant's Symbol

Plant's symbol (circle around a feather) features the feather of Ma'at, the

Egyptian goddess of justice and fairness. It is also the emblem of a writer. Plant says the symbol he created was drawn from sacred symbols of the ancient Mu civilization, a fantastical place that supposedly existed until 14,000 years ago. The last remnants are said to be the primitive statues at Easter Island. Those who believe in Mu also believe in Lemuria, Atlantis and maybe even the Easter (Island) Bunny.

Jimmy Page's Symbol

Page designed his very own symbol (Zoso ). Though it resembles the alchemical symbol for Saturn, its meaning remains a mystery. The most recent fandom theory is 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.

Page's only public comment on his symbol came during a 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 Page's face and he replied simply "I eat bananas."

"You may not believe this," says Plant, "but Pagey once took me aside and said 'Look, I'm going to tell you the meaning of this once, and then I shan't ever mention it again--or at least, not for a long, long time anyway.' And would you believe that I have since forgotten what it was, and now Pagey won't tell me."

John Paul Jones's Symbol

John Paul Jones' symbol (circle over three interlocking ovals) has been seen on the cover o

f a book about the Rosicrucians, a religious cult in modern-day Russia which was of some interest to Aleister Crowley and his fellow members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, such as Westcott. The symbol purportedly represents his position of leadership in the cult

John Bonham's Symbol

Bonham's symbol (three interlocking circles) came from the same book, and Bonham just liked it (though Plant says the circles symbolize the man-woman-child trilogy). At a stop in Pittsburgh, the band noticed it was also the emblem of Ballantine beer.