Robert Lawlor
Encyclopedia
Robert Lawlor is a mythographer, symbol
ogist and New Age
author of several books.
After training as a painter and a sculptor, he became a yoga student of Sri Aurobindo
and lived for many years in Pondicherry, India, where he was a founding member of Auroville
. In India, he discovered the works of the French Egyptologist and esotericist, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz
, which led him to explore the principles and practices of ancient sacred science.
Between 1965-8, Robert met his wife, Deborah Lawlor. In 1972, they left Auroville for a year so Robert could study sacred geometry
and read Sri Aurobindo. They came back to Auroville in 1973 until 1975.
In 1979, Lawlor (then living in Tasmania
) participated in the Lindisfarne Fellows Conference, held at Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm, with Keith Critchlow
from London
. In 1980, Lawlor met together with William Irwin Thompson
and Rachel Fletcher to teach in the Lindisfarne Institute's Summer Program in Sacred Architecture, which provided the context for the design and building of the Lindisfarne Chapel. Critchlow's Twelve Criteria for Sacred Architecture derives from a lecture given at this time. In 1981, a gathering of about 50 members of the Lindisfarne Association
met in Crestone, Colorado
under the name, Homage to Pythagoras
, which included Lawlor, Thompson, Fletcher, Chritchlow, Christopher Bamford, Arthur Zajonc
, Anne Macaulay
, Kathleen Raine
, Robert Bly
, Joscelyn Godwin
, John Michell
, and Ernest McClain.
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ogist and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
author of several books.
After training as a painter and a sculptor, he became a yoga student of Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
and lived for many years in Pondicherry, India, where he was a founding member of Auroville
Auroville
Auroville is an "experimental" township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Pondicherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa and designed by architect Roger Anger...
. In India, he discovered the works of the French Egyptologist and esotericist, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz
René Adolphe Schwaller de Lubicz , born in Alsace-Lorraine, was best known for his 15-year study of the art and architecture of the Temple of Luxor in Egypt and his subsequent book The Temple of Man...
, which led him to explore the principles and practices of ancient sacred science.
Between 1965-8, Robert met his wife, Deborah Lawlor. In 1972, they left Auroville for a year so Robert could study sacred geometry
Sacred geometry
Sacred geometry is the geometry used in the planning and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, tabernacles; as well as for sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art...
and read Sri Aurobindo. They came back to Auroville in 1973 until 1975.
In 1979, Lawlor (then living in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) participated in the Lindisfarne Fellows Conference, held at Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm, with Keith Critchlow
Keith Critchlow
Keith Barry Critchlow is an artist, lecturer, author, and professor of architecture in England, and a co-founder of the Temenos Academy.He was educated at the Summerhill School and the Royal College of Art...
from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1980, Lawlor met together with William Irwin Thompson
William Irwin Thompson
William Irwin Thompson is known primarily as a social philosopher and cultural critic, but he has also been writing and publishing poetry throughout his career and received the Oslo International Poetry Festival Award in 1986. He describes his writing and speaking style as "mind-jazz on ancient...
and Rachel Fletcher to teach in the Lindisfarne Institute's Summer Program in Sacred Architecture, which provided the context for the design and building of the Lindisfarne Chapel. Critchlow's Twelve Criteria for Sacred Architecture derives from a lecture given at this time. In 1981, a gathering of about 50 members of the Lindisfarne Association
Lindisfarne Association
The Lindisfarne Association is a group of intellectuals of diverse interests organized by cultural historian William Irwin Thompson for the "study and realization of a new planetary culture"...
met in Crestone, Colorado
Crestone, Colorado
Crestone is a statutory town in Saguache County in Southwestern Colorado, United States. The population was 73 at the 2000 census. It is a small village at the foot of the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Range, in the northern part of the San Luis Valley. Crestone was a small mining town, but...
under the name, Homage to Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
, which included Lawlor, Thompson, Fletcher, Chritchlow, Christopher Bamford, Arthur Zajonc
Arthur Zajonc
Arthur Guy Zajonc is a professor of physics at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He is also a noted anthroposophist who served as the General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America...
, Anne Macaulay
Anne Macaulay
Anne Macaulay was a British musicologist, archaeologist, author and lecturer.-Biography:Anne was born in Aithernie, Fife in Scotland near Lundin standing stones, the youngest child of Sir. David and Alison Russell...
, Kathleen Raine
Kathleen Raine
Kathleen Jessie Raine was a British poet, critic, and scholar writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently Platonism and Neoplatonism, she was a founder member of the Temenos Academy.-Life:Raine was...
, Robert Bly
Robert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
, Joscelyn Godwin
Joscelyn Godwin
Joscelyn Godwin is a composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult....
, John Michell
John Michell
John Michell was an English natural philosopher and geologist whose work spanned a wide range of subjects from astronomy to geology, optics, and gravitation. He was both a theorist and an experimenter....
, and Ernest McClain.
Published works
- The Temple in Man, R. A. Schwaller de LubiczR. A. Schwaller de LubiczRené Adolphe Schwaller de Lubicz , born in Alsace-Lorraine, was best known for his 15-year study of the art and architecture of the Temple of Luxor in Egypt and his subsequent book The Temple of Man...
(translated by Robert and Deborah Lawlor), Inner Traditions, 1977, ISBN 0-89281-570-1 (1982) - Symbol and the Symbolic: Ancient Egypt, Science, and the Evolution of Consciousness, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz (translated by Robert and Deborah Lawlor), 1978, ISBN 0-89281-022-X
- Mathematics useful for understanding Plato, Theon of Smyrna, Platonic Philosopher, translated from the 1892 Greek/French edition of J. Dupuis by Robert and Deborah Lawlor, Secret Doctrine Reference Series, Wizards Bookshelf, San Diego, 1979
- Lindisfarne Letter 10: Geometry and Architecture, 1980
- Lindisfarne Letter 12: The Lindisfarne Chapel, 1981
- Lindisfarne Letter 14: Homage to Pythagoras, 1982, ASIN B000H06P2U
- Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and practice, Thames & HudsonThames & HudsonThames & Hudson is a publisher of illustrated books on art, architecture, design, and visual culture. With its headquarters in London, England it has a sister company in New York and subsidiaries in Melbourne, Singapore and Hong Kong...
, 1989 (1st edition 1979, 1980, or 1982), ISBN 0-500-81030-3 - Earth Honoring: The New Male Sexuality, Park Street Press, 1991, ISBN 0892814284
- Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal dreamtime, Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, Ltd., 1991, ISBN 0-89281-355-5
- Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science, Christopher Bamford, 1994, ISBN 0940262630 (features 2 of Lawlor's essays, Ancient Temple Architecture and Pythagorean Number as Form, Color, and Light from the early 1980s Lindisfarne Letters)
See also
- Sacred geometrySacred geometrySacred geometry is the geometry used in the planning and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, tabernacles; as well as for sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art...
- BijaBijaIn Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term बीज bīja , literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu....
- GuruwariGuruwariGuruwari or 'Totem Design' or 'Seed Power' is an idea that appears in the Walbiri language of the culture of indigenous Australian peoples. Guruwari is intimately associated with The Dreaming.-References:...
- Lotus (symbolism)
- Mimi (folklore)Mimi (folklore)Mimis are fairy-like beings of Arnhem Land in the folklore of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. They are described as having extremely thin and elongated bodies, so thin as to be in danger of breaking in case of a high wind. To avoid this, they usually spend most of their time...
- MabanMabanMaban or Mabain is a material that is held to be magical in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It is the material from which the shamans and elders of indigenous Australia supposedly derive their magical powers.-References:...
- Rainbow SerpentRainbow SerpentThe Rainbow Serpent is a common motif in the art and mythology of Aboriginal Australia. It is named for the snake-like meandering of water across a landscape and the colour spectrum caused when sunlight strikes water at an appropriate angle relative to the observer.The Rainbow Serpent is seen as...