Introduction to the Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z

When getting to know the Beatles, you will encounter many strange seeming things, some of which might seem absurd in context, others will just be ubiquitous or suggest a deeper meaning not immediately apparent on the surface. Part of getting to understand the Beatles Mysteries begins with learning to read between the lines, backwards, inverse or upside-down. Here I will begin to examine some of the Beatles symbols, iconography and lyrics in order to flesh out deeper meanings behind what appears on the surface to be a disordered raft of psychedelia and Lewis Carroll-ian imagery.

I will be getting many of my interpretations from the books, The Illustrated Signs & Symbols Sourcebook: An a to Z Compendium of over 1000 Designs by Adele Nozedar (2008), (Hereafter ISS). or Mark O'Connell and Raje Airey'sThe Complete Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols. 2007, (Hereafter CESS). Other internet sourced information will be linked to, or cited,  for your own verification. Also- 1,001 Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Imagry and its Meaning, by Jack Tresidder, Chronicle Books. 2003.(Hereafter 1,001S)

I'd like to briefly introduce the author of my main research source: "Adele Nozedar has long been fascinated by the power of symbols and visual signs, which led her to the formal study of alchemy. As well as being a researcher, Adele has exhibited photographic work and runs a studio in Wales." I was particularly interested in drawing references from her book because of her British cultural heritage and focus, which I find most important for trying to understand the worldview and cultural perspectives of the Beatles members.

I'm not suggesting, necessarily that the Beatles meant to infer the symbolic meanings of all these things (One can mention an apple without meaning anything about sexuality), but I do believe that at least John was very aware of imagery in art and the language of symbols through his education in the art academy, and his interests in authors like James Joyce and Lewis Carroll.  

"In Nature's Temple, living pillars rise
Speaking sometimes in the words of abstruse sense
Man walks through woods of symbols, dark and dense,
Which Gaze at him with fond familiar eyes. 

Like distant echoes blent in the beyond
In unity, in a deep darksome way,
Vast as black night and vast as splendid day,
Perfumes and sounds and colors correspond"
 - Charles Baudelaire
 (Wikipedia: "April 9, 1821 – August 31, 1867 Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the 19th century."   Side Note: Looking into Charles Baudelaire leads to some fascinating insights, and "The Flowers of Evil" is a very worthwhile poetry collection to look into. Flowers play a prominent role in Beatles imagery, and his Poem "Le Soleil/The Sun" is an interesting poem to have in mind while looking into the Sun references made by the Beatles, both as a group and in several individuals' songs (Ou est le Soleil?)

"Whether consciously or unconsciously, the symbol carries the sense of joining things together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts, as shades of meaning accrue to produce a complex idea."- Mark O'Connell and Raje Airey, The Complete Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols. 2007.

We'll begin here, but look forward to more to come in the future! I originally intended to post this all as one post (the introduction and the entries), but after completing it, I found it was far too long for anyone's patience...so little bites, in alphabetical order, to follow!