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The Temple of Man

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R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz spent 15 years at Luxor attempting to solve the riddle of Egytpian civilization. His final considerations are expounded fully in The Temple of Man. Lovingly translated by Robert Lawlor, this book is at long last available in English.

From his premise the Ancient Egytpian Civilization was more advanced and complex that modern research admits, Schwaller uses the Temple Complex at Luxor to expound his theory of Sacred Science, a science based on Natural Law and personal discovery.

The information in this book requires a deep dedication to comprehend. It challenges the reader not only to diversify their own knowledge base, but also to look at the world through new eyes with a new heart.

Time will tell if Schwaller de Lubicz is right, already many of his notions are being realized as possible, and many researchers are beginning to look seriously at his work.

As his magnum opus, The Temple of Man presents his work as it was meant to be. Fully and completely. This book is destined to become a classic of independent research into the mysteries of the development of human thought.

The Temple of Man
By Schwaller de Lubicz

Original French text translated to English
by Deborah and Robert Lawlor
Published by Inner Traditions International, 1998
Language: English
ISBN: 0892815701

Review by

Dr. Colette M. Dowell


I wonder what drives personal passion so rigorously that one's lifetime is spent pursuing it. Is it the ultimate goal of resolution and the final achievement of understanding that surpasses any other desire? Or what?

Schwaller de Lubicz spent his entire lifetime pursuing his deep passion of figuring and comprehending the link between so-called cosmic realms and terrestrial nature including alchemy, physics, mathematics, geometry, art, astronomy, and, among his favorites, symbolism. He spent over fifteen years engaged in his studies of Ancient Egyptian Anthropocosmos Man and his temples. His work, The Temple of Man, reflects such skill and determination of comprehending Pharaonic Consciousness, it exceeds far beyond any other works of disciplined study along these lines I have ever encountered. The voluminous material in The Temple of Man is delivered with the great detail and gifted clarity for which Schwaller was so adept. Schwaller, however, did not achieve this great work of art by himself. Lucie Lamy, his stepdaughter and most indispensable lifelong collaborator, kept many research notes and drafted the graphics and illustrations. Deborah and Robert Lawlor demonstrated pure love in their translation of Schwaller's French text into English, (which must have been an incredible task). And Inner Traditions deserves applause for producing such a fine piece of art in book form. For the seekers of higher realms of consciousness and that of Ancient Egyptology, I know of no other book that contains so many variants of thought and data composing and revealing such a highly advanced way of thinking. The Temple of Man is a degree of education one would acquire after lifetimes of lessons.

I was positively astonished and overjoyed when I received the two volumes of The Temple of Man. The exceptional beauty in which they were bound was beholding to my eyes. The quality of graphics, illustrations and early historical photography of both the geographical nature and portraits of temples are themselves keepsakes alone. Schwaller's eloquent and scholarly way of dissecting mathematically-oriented spiritual philosophy and physics is masterful. Ancient Egyptian's Pharaonic concept of Man as the center of the Universe in physical expression as Anthropocosmos Man was not totally new to me, but the rich understanding I received from reading Schwaller's work was certainly new. When we read a few books on sacred geometry and a few books about spiritual values and divine principles, "we" (I am not speaking for all of us) tend to think we intellectually and spiritually understand our placement in the universe. I suspect, though, that we can't possibly grasp sacred geometry and divine principles until we dig to their roots and go through the deliberate deliverance of concepts and lessons that have been so deeply sculpted in the Ancient Egyptian architecture and hieroglyphics. I also suspect that we truly need to know and understand these lessons, for that is why they were given.

We have a tendency to view a mural or bas-relief of a man leading cows with nets and birds as just possibly a legend of how Egyptian people might have farmed; but particular hieroglyphic and "hieratic" writing is so much more than that. It reveals in its SYMBOLIQUE, tutorial lessons in both scientific and spiritual esoteric realms. These laws and lessons reflect knowledge of spirit manifesting into matter and the harmonic growth and relationship between the two. This lost wisdom, in a sense, is a form of physics. In modern terms we would label such equivocal philosophy as quantum physics and even holographic physics. "Pharaonic mentality rejected metaphysical and rational thought. The hieroglyphic form of writing makes the syllogistic system of such a rational science impossible. Pharaonic mathematics confirms this attitude."..."Duality within Unity, the incomprehensible truth of the Trinity." ("VOLUME and CONSCIOUSNESS")

Believing, learning and knowing are the three gates of entry into the Temple. The Temples are encoded with practical, physical and spiritual lessons. To the Anthropocosmos Man, the Universe is a projection of human consciousness. Consciousness is volume. The architecture in the Temples expresses volume in form. The Anthropocosmos Man interprets conscious gestation as volume and form and depicts various stages of gestation as particular proportions contained within a sphere. Proportionality creating form and rhythms in our daily life are functions known as neters in Egyptian language. An example of natural form and rhythm is the cycle of our hours based upon days, upon the revolution of the Earth, upon the lunar, around the equinoxes, around the solar calendar and so on. Neters have different implied esoteric terms pertaining to their functions, mathematical equations and geometric laws. The Pharaohs appointed distinct symbols and developed many items of measure befitting these neters, some of which are known as fathoms, cubits and canons. Architects enveloped the Temples with such engineering and design that when the entire complex or even just fragments of itself was viewed as a model, monumental points such as foundations, joints, bas-reliefs, transparencies, murals and hieroglyphics contained the philosophy and teachings of the Ancient Pharaohs. Anthropocosmos Man views himself as true physical expression of the genesis of functions and believes Man to be the center of the Universe.

Anthropocosmos Man had configured the vital moment of Genesis in mathematical terms and was able to express this creation by way of geometry propagating into greater proportions. They had realized the square roots of 2, 3, and 5, and the perpetual golden mean ratio "phi" associated with pentagonal and hexagonal geometry expressed in the physical development of organic creatures in relationship to the growth and size of their different body parts. The Temple of Luxor is architecturally rendered to exhibit within its design the same proportions as the proportions of Man, thus also exhibiting the mathematical and geometrical structure of the Cosmos and its locale within human consciousness. Pharaonic Consciousness not only recognized Man as the center of the Universe but was also able to formally equate it as well. In The Temple of Man, Schwaller addresses the famous Mathematical Rhind Papyrus's content and dissects it revealing their knowledge of mathematical and geometrical laws and functions.

Music to the ears engages the Universe. This Pharaonic conception divides vibrations into proportioned intervals known as tones. These tones coagulate and multiply into spherical volume resulting in resonant harmonics and unity of chords creating form, beauty and consciousness. The inner ear was therefore recognized as one of the main keys utilized to enter the gates of wisdom and knowledge. This natural form of creation is everywhere at all moments and has self-cognition. This innate knowledge is carried throughout all vibrations and travels everywhere through multiple harmonic passages creating, in effect, geometric structure and form. Therefore, in simple terms, Cosmic Man's interpretation of consciousness is vibrational volume expanding from the center of a sphere proportioned harmonically and containing innate knowledge.
Anthropocosmos Man, relating consciousness to volume and volume as spheres, and perceiving that our entire Universe functions under these principles, deduced that our solar system consisted of consistent terms of proportionality, and geometric structure. Their knowledge of the gearing system of our Universe was expressed through their Temples and measuring devices. The extent of accuracy associated with astronomical events and celestial time is uncanny. The geodetic Temples are also "consciously" oriented. Different aspects of the Pharaonic philosophy were encoded throughout their entire complexes-absolutely incredible. And here is this man in recent modern times, Schwaller de Lubicz, to come around and measure everything and read the hieroglyphics and figure out what they were communicating. We can now further understand the concepts and sciences of this historical advanced civilization. What a really far out thing to do.

Throughout The Temple of Man, you will find various passages of remarkable studies. Something very interesting to me was the bit about the Scarab. The Scarab is a beetle who is self-reproducing and "rolls" its home for a nest to re-create in. This union of singular duality expresses creation as a third sector for trinity. This in symbolique is consciousness. The human skull contains many bones that are bound together by sutural membranes. The top cross-section of the skull, viewed from the top, looks curiously suggestive of the back mantle of the Scarab beetle. This uppermost part of the skull, the crown, in both its physical characteristics and in its symbolic form pertains to consciousness. The Ancient Egyptians understood the functions of the human brain and depicted this in their choice of the Scarab insect as a symbol for representing a specific function, or neter, and their specific form of architecture. In architectural proportion, various rooms in the temples have specific monumental points referring to different functions, which have been located at precise points in the human body as well as the skull. The Temple of Man contains excerpts from the Smith Medical Papyrus of the Ancient Egyptians. This Papyrus is filled with case studies and intellectual dialogues of diagnoses and is at least indicative of the minimum degree of medical knowledge the Ancients had acquired.

After reading, re-reading and equating Schwaller's work, I realized how hard it must have been for Schwaller to pursue this knowledge. A person is either highly gifted or must have a passion which drives them so deep inside that they live their whole soul experience in search of resolution. There would be no greater honor or joy for Schwaller, besides already understanding what he knows, than for him to know that his work is being read, held in high regard and praised for the quality of passion and scope of discipline necessary to pursue and gain such insight into an ancient and forgotten past. The Temple of Man is a cocoon for me to grow through, to metamorphose into a more fully enhanced individual with enlarged capacity for conscious, spiritual and cosmic realms, as well as geometrical and mathematical laws. I finally conclude that if the entirety of our modern civilization knew and practiced the principles of the Anthropocosmos Man, our world would probably be a much more positive place to dwell. We would indeed be in touch with our God we all search for. This God as Spiritual, Natural, Mathematical and Geometric Laws are to all of Life.

Many thanks to Schwaller de Lubicz for his gargantuan endeavor and again to all those in this world who helped make this work a masterful piece of art. My life will be forever changed.

Dr. Colette M. Dowell

De Lubicz's masterpiece, available for the first time in English, has been giving a beautiful translation and presentation.

While not for the faint of heart, it is required reading for any serious student of esotericism, hermeticism, sacred geometry or ancient Egypt.

In all honesty, I haven't yet finished this two-volume set (it's a massive, dense, thought-requiring work) but it's impossible for me to imagine my opinion changing radically once I do.

Surely, this is one of the most important works of the 20th century.

I highly recommend this book to those of you interested in understanding the substance of reality. It begins very quickly and continues to delve deeper and deeper building on the principles defined in previous chapters. I have not gotten very far, as I find myself having to read and re-read paragraphs, however i am loving the challenge to understand and grasp the abstract concepts defined in these earlier pages. It is definately not an easy read, but the ideas and concepts are not easy concepts to grasp. I found the book a little more complex and detailed than I was expecting, which I find a pleasant surprise, especially for the price. I've searched far and wide for a better understanding of ancient knowledge that has now become such a vital part of everything religious, hermetic, philosophical, etc, in these times. This book is so far one of the best and most complete sources I have read, and i'm not even halfway through. It is a beautifully bound and packaged set, definately worth every penny. If you're ready to take the leap to some serious understanding, spend the money and enjoy the read. This is an incredible translation.

This vast deep work by R. A. Schwaller de Lubwicz on the Apet of the South at Luxor is unique. I have seen nothing quite like it in its incredibly precise detail and analysis of the physical and implied metaphysical aspects of this glorious Pharaonic Temple in Luxor of Old Egypt. Perhaps the Great Cathedral at Chartres, France and some of the studies on that, come close. "The Temple of Man", in its pair of very fine big books, is the result of several decades of intense study and learning onsite and offsite by the author -- with the critical help of Lucie Lamy -- she being a very dedicated assistant [and step-daughter] to de Lubicz.

I find this work already persuading me as to the vast age and Symbolique Spirit of Old Egypt. The author and assistant are very precisely detailed in the measurement and harmonic analysis of this primary structure of Old Egypt in Luxor. Related facts and ideas are presented to further understanding of the Symbolique Creativity of Old Egypt -- as demonstrated in particular by this Apet of the South. The facts, factors and aspects so re-enforce one another that I find it difficult to even partially reject the conclusions of R. A. Schwaller de Lubwitz concerning the metaphysical Symbolique Spirit of Old Egypt. This is great -- as little remains of the Old Religion of Old Egypt and its all-encompassing Symbolique Spirit +++

Not a single other Egyptologist had the intuitive insight of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz. You will notice this from the first page of this magnificent work.