“The path to the Emerald City is paved with yellow bricks. It is not always an easy path to follow, but its color is so bright it can be readily recognized. The Yellow Brick Road reminds me of the color of the sun. In a bath of yellow sunlight, nothing is hidden. Even shadows disappear when the sun is at the apex of its journey across the sky. Symbolically, this ball of fire is associated with the light of conscious awareness.”
“In Eastern mythology, mystics describe a coiled yellow snake that lies at the base of the spine as kundalini energy. It represents a potential power that releases and travels up the spinal column when an individual attains enlightenment. Just as the golden snake penetrates the unconscious regions of the psyche, the Yellow Brick Road passes through dark and confusing territories in Oz. Like a labyrinth that twists and turns in opposite directions until it reaches the center core, the Yellow Brick Road does eventually lead Dorothy and her friends home. When their journey is complete, they are able to relax in a state of wholeness, contentment, and recognition of who they are. In Eastern traditions this is called a state of enlightenment.”
Excerpt from The Wisdom of Oz: Reflections of a Jungian Sandplay Therapist by Gita Dorothy Morena
Artwork by Whale Song Partridge
