Good thread.

I am a big Ledhead, I've had them in my sig and avatar before. Love the music but I will admit that that of all the devil-worship rumors, this probably has the most credance.

The "Crowley/Page" house you refer to is called Boleskein House and is on the border of the Loch Ness if I remember correctly.

He also named his eldest daughter Scarlett which I beleive is also a Crowly reference, though I don't know to what.

I do not think that ZOSO has much to do with it though. I beleive that it is actually an astrological reference that works like this:

Page's sign was Capricorn. (Jan. 9).
The metal associated with that sign is... wait for it... lead!
Long ago, in some alchemical texts, this was represented by a sign relatively close to the ZOSO symbol.
Some people also think it is a representation of the Capricorn symbol.

From what I have read they were all pretty heavily involved in the occult, especially Page and Plant. Many attribute Bonham's freakish death on a curse of sorts.

Jimmy Page does in fact own and actually lives in an old castle estate that was once owned by Mr. Crowley. Their music, album covers, lyrics all delve deeply into the occult.

And I have always heard the legend that Stairway played in reverse said something to the effect of "My sweet Satan".

If any band ever did sell their souls to the dark side in exchange for musical talent it would have been these guys. No band before or since can even come close to their skill level as a group...IMO of course

It might be hard to prove truth or debunk this. Given the fact that unless he has admitted to it, it's all hear say.

I had heard something similar but I chalked it up to a rampant ramblings of an older (I was fifteen at the time) person who hated rock and roll.

I will be interested in seeing what knowledge comes to light here!

Originally posted by BlackOps719
And I have always heard the legend that Stairway played in reverse said something to the effect of "My sweet Satan".

I have provided a link in the opening post that has the entire 'Stairway to Heaven' in reverse. And yes - it's there. You can listen if you like. WARNING - it's really creepy in reverse!

Wow have not thought about this in years.Iam huge led zep fan.I say yes it was ment to be played backwards and hear things what a great promotion to sell even more records.

I'm not too surprised. To me (or the new me that sees the real 'reality') a person or group who worships the devil, satan, lucifer, etc., is simply thanking that entity for coming to the aid of our civilization. Sure Eden would have been a nice place to hang out, but there was no catalyst to get us off our comfortable arses in order to evolve our souls.

Really looking at seeing what pops up here. Our parents were told Elvis was Satan. Buddy Holley too. We got it with Zepp, Black Sabbath, etc. This sounds different though. Good thread.

Originally posted by asmeone2
some people say dragons = satan worship:

Some people also say dragons = chinese symbology.

But from what I have been reading, Zepplin and Page himself
were not into the oriental imagery.

I could be wrong - but that's what I've read so far.

Originally posted by intrepid
Really looking at seeing what pops up here. Our parents were told Elvis was Satan. Buddy Holley too. We got it with Zepp, Black Sabbath, etc. This sounds different though. Good thread.

I think that that they at least knew their occult stuff very well. And by "they" I mean 95% Pag ehere.

I do not necesarily think that means selling their souls to the devil, though.

If you look into the history of the band it was almost completely Page's pet project after the breakup of the Yardbirds. It was in fact called "The New Yardbirds" until Keith Moon of The Who joked that the new band was "going to go down like a lead balloon." or summat.

In addition to being helluva talented to Page's credit he was also a perfectionist and very determined to see his projects through, and thanks to his previous musical experience he had understanding of how to market a band, as well as the connections to see LZ really well marketed.

Despite a lot of drug use he has always struck me as a smart guy, and well-versed in occult topics. I wouldn't doubt for a second that he beleived the things that he alluded to but I think he would be smart enough not to sell his soul to the devil... but smart enough also to know that it would help to sell records if people beleived that he did.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by asmeone2
some people say dragons = satan worship:

Some people also say dragons = chinese symbology.

But from what I have been reading, Zepplin and Page himself
were not into the oriental imagery.

I could be wrong - but that's what I've read so far.

In Led Zeppelin fandom circles there is a rumor that Page is 1/4 Chinese that just will not die. So that might count as "into oriental imagery."

Keep in mind that a lot of this stuff is not necessarily "evil" but more of a rebellion against forced or narrow-minded religious upbringing.

If a kid is constantly told "You're going to hell if you dont follow our rules", chances are he's going to dabble in stuff like this or even create provocative stuff like backward-masking of songs and be a Crowley follower.

Crowley himself was an occultist...which does not equal satanist. An occultist is someone who studies hermetic arts such as meditation and yoga. The whole "satan" hype was a smokescreen of his to ward off the uninitiated. He couldnt care less about worshipping anyone...much less satan.

The real evil-doers are found much deeper underground...in child prostitution, organized crime, etc....not in a rebellious rock band, imo.