Zig Zag

The three ideas that first come to mind when using the term zig-zag are rolling papers, a symbol for lightning, and a pattern such as found on Charlie Brown’s shirt.

First the rolling papers and some stoner trivia:
Why are they called zig-zag?
Who is the male image on zig-zag packaging?
How is this related to Lord Tennyson’s poem? Poems name? Famous quote?
Of the three classic rolling papers, all are French. What are the other two and associated symbology?

Name refers to interleaved packaging (like facial tissues), in which removal of one paper, pulls out and exposes the end of the next. Male image is of a French light infantry troop found in northern Africa, called “zouave”, I have used the name Zwav. (spoken to rhyme with Beyonce). The origin story involves a soldier whose clay pipe was destroyed by a bullet, he attempted to roll his tobacco using a piece of paper torn from a musket cartridge. Though commonly called captain Zig-Zag, I like Zwav, a shortened form of Z-wave but pronounced differently. In Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, we get the famous quote:

“Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”
― Alfred Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade

The Crimean War and specifically the Battle of Balaclava, was the backdrop for the poem in which 666 soldiers (mostly british but included french zouave), lost a battle. Many have expanded the term (zouave), to include any soldiers wearing similar uniforms such as in the American Civil War. Current Shriner uniforms would be described as zouave. I like the symmetry of the connection between the Shriner’s support of burn hospitals and rolling papers. The other two iconic paper brands, TOP (spinning top image) and JOB (artwork of Alphonse Mucha)

The use of a zig-zag to represent lightning is common across many cultural boundaries. Associated ideas include: the power of change, forces of nature beyond our understanding or control. This further accentuates its connection with Father Sky. As an important symbol of change – and rapid change at that – lightning is connected with rain and the fertility and cleansing that it causes. The rune sig was used by the Nazi’s, looking like the lightning bolt, but often representing the sun. The “secret service” or SS used the double bolt symbology, but changed the spelling from sig to sieg (meaning victory). Sieg Heil as a salute therefore translates to “Hail Victory”. The rock band Kiss uses a graphic “S-S”, which closely resembles zig-zag and sieg-sieg, and they are forced to alter their graphical representation in countries like Germany and Israel (were laws prohibit use of Nazi symbols).

Christopher Caldwell has stated that "What makes Charlie Brown such a rich character is that he's not purely a loser. The self-loathing that causes him so much anguish is decidedly not self-effacement. Charlie Brown is optimistic enough to think he can earn a sense of self-worth, and his willingness to do so by exposing himself to humiliations is the dramatic engine that drives the strip. The greatest of Charlie Brown's virtues is his resilience, which is to say his courage. Charlie Brown is ambitious. He manages the baseball team. He's the pitcher, not a scrub. He may be a loser, but he's, strangely, a leader at the same time. This makes his mood swings truly bipolar in their magnificence: he vacillates not between kinda happy and kinda unhappy, but between being a "hero" and being a "goat". The zig-zag shirt emphasizes the up and down aspects of life, as does his catch phrase “good grief”.

All of that to get to the punchline, in symptom evaluation forms all good-bad sectrum will be replaced with the good-grief paradigm, symptoms aren’t always bad just the grief to get the good.

So the next time you need an attitude adjustment, get your papers, fez and yellow and black shirt and prepare for change, maybe contact the Freemasons. Just try to avoid the valley of Death.

P.S. when playing scrabble, zig and zag are both valid words but unfortunately zwav is not, (zouave is legal).