Schwaller de Lubicz lived in Egypt for twelve years, studying the
temples of
Thebes in detail. He, with the French Egypologist
Alexandre Varille, developed the symbolist approach to ancient Egypt. He argued that Egyptian temples were used for mystical
initiations, and that their design incorporated symbolism expressing a belief system that combined religion, philosophy, art, and science. He believed, for instance, that the Egyptians were aware of astronomical concepts like
axial precession, which was reflected in their
religious beliefs. He linked the
astrological age of
Gemini with the development of the
dualistic themes in Egyptian religion, the age of
Taurus with the bull god
Apis, and the age of
Aries with the god
Amun, who was depicted as a ram. He also argued that the human form was the basis for
ancient Egyptian architecture, and he equated parts of the temples with parts of the human body. His three-volume work
The Temple in Man includes a drawing that compares the plan of
Luxor Temple to the shape of a human skeleton. Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince argue that these ideas were influenced by Schwaller de Lubicz's existing beliefs, such as
Syncretism and
Theosophy. Like many other esotericist figures, he believed that Egyptian civilization dated back much farther than conventional
Egyptian chronology allows. Mainstream
Egyptologists have largely ignored his claims or viewed them with hostility, although
Erik Hornung points out that his survey of Luxor Temple contains information useful to anyone studying the temple today. and he has been an inspiration to authors like
John Anthony West, whose claims about the great age of the
Great Sphinx of Giza are inspired by those of Schwaller de Lubicz, and Naomi Ozaniec. ==Works==