Dorothy is faced with balancing good and evil as she continues on with her journey. Good and Evil are basic archetypes that are a collective of past, present and future focused interactions between the self and anything or anyone the self meets. These are forces that we face and must all learn to manage.
She faces the responsibility of having been gifted with the Ruby Slippers! The fact that Glenda magically removes the shoes from the feet of the Wicked Witch is overwhelming to Dorothy. She is a witness to magic that holds unending power. Glenda bestows the slippers onto Dorothy’s feet. This magic is a prophecy for Dorothy to meet and to uphold. It is a statement made with a positive, yet silent projection. The projection creates the potential script that Dorothy will find the fortitude, integrity and internal power to find her freedom. She is silently promoting Dorothy’s stature from fearful girl to confidant young woman. This is the beginning phase of the metamorphosis that Dorothy will surely envelop. There is no doubt in Glenda’s mind that Dorothy will wear the shoes well, not abuse them and will grow into their power (and hers) on her journey on the yellow brick road.
The Ruby Slippers are part of the psychological development and maturation of Dorothy. Before any of us can find our power we need to understand that such power exists. Once we know of the existence of power, we choose how to hold it, how to relate to it and how to grow it.
Red is an intriguing choice, as well! In the book The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s shoes were actually silver. Silver does not have the magnitude that red has as we look into the psyche of Dorothy. What is the symbolism of red? It has many meanings.
It can symbolize blood. It can refer to the love in our lives or the lover that we carry within. The color red is filled with an array of meanings with strong emotional content. It is often what we first see when a birth takes place, it is a life-force, especially as part of the monthly cycle that women in their child bearing years experience.
In this story of Dorothy, it is her coming of age. The red shoes are put onto her feet, and she must wear them. Girls do not choose to get their monthly menses, it is put on them as part of their life cycle. Dorothy must now grow into them, walk with this new, albeit painful, extension of herself. Not knowing what her next journey will be and what parts of her she will meet. Each part of the story represents the path that she is on. It represents the aspects of her that she will meet.
Her shadow is seen in the women she encounters. The shadow is often the “unknown” figure of the same sex. This often appears when there is a part of you that you have ignored.
What is so wonderful is the ability to see that the psychology of men and women differ. In the unconscious of every woman, there is a man and vice versa. The animus is seen through the scope of the male relationships and interactions with her. Anima is actually derived from the Latin and means soul or breath of life!
The fact that Dorothy has only met women, so far, on her journey is quite interesting. She is not yet ready to meet the unconscious part of her nor is she ready to meet the male part of her that exists within.
Do you remember when you first learned to drive? Prior to that time, you’d been a passenger; you only understood what it was to be a passenger, not the driver. When you became the driver you realized what it was like to be in that role when you did it for the first time.
What do you remember about your first life experiences? What life changing experiences have you had recently? How do you feel about that which you cannot control?
If you were to talk with Dorothy as this phase of her journey continues what would you say to her?
