Origin of Our Logo

Perhaps you have wondered about our logo, actually a mandala, which appears every year on the cover of our Conference brochure, and on some of our other literature. What is it? Where did it come from?

The first appearance of this mandala and its companion was in the Fall 1952 issue Number 42 of Inward Light.

The first (left) one appeared on the front cover, the second one on the back cover. They were introduced by Dora Willson, who was on the editorial Board at the time. After a short time, the second one disappeared from the back cover; the first one appeared on every subsequent front cover of Inward Light until it ceased publication, and it continues to be the symbol of FCRP.

The mandalas evoked curiosity when they first appeared. To answer the questions about them, the following item appeared in a subsequent issue of Inward Light:

We have been asked from time to time about the origin and meaning of the mandalas on our cover. We are glad of this opportunity of thanking Prof. Wolfgang Seifert of Howard University for making available to us the linoleum cuts from which the cover designs were taken. Prof. Seifert writes that these were a labor of love undertaken about thirty years ago[1920's], when he was copying medieval Gothic paneling; they are from a frieze of early fourteenth century ornaments in the Cathedral Chapter Hall at Wetzler, Germany. They have, he adds, meant a good deal to him, not only for their geometrical exactitude and artistic perfection, but for their symbolism of the contemplative and of the active life. To get the full effect of the contrasting circles he advises that they be placed side by side..[S]ee how the same elements gather inwards to the center in one design, while they sweep outward in the other. If you are interested in typing yourself psychologically, you may decide which of the two appeals to you more, and deduce therefrom whether you are an introvert or an extravert! If you are well balanced, you will enjoy their rhythmic alteration, reminiscent of the heartbeat and the movement of the breath.

We don't know if the original linoleum cuts are still in existence, so these reproductions may be all that remains of Professor Seifert's work.