Introducing The 2021 Luminous Lotus Virtual Temple

It’s been more than two decades since David Best and Jack Haye first introduced what would become the soul of Burning Man, the Temple. Originally serving as a memorial to a lost loved one, the 2000 Temple of the Mind has inspired future generations of temples. Today they are a sacred space on the edge of the playa where we go to celebrate, mourn, reflect, or just be. The Temple ascribes whatever meaning each of us needs in that moment.

Now as we enter another circle around the sun where we gather in a virtual environment, the significance of the Temple doesn’t dissipate with this digital version of Burning Man. It still provides the healing experience we seek — especially as we look around the world today — with the knowledge that walls don’t define the Temple experience.

It is thus with great enthusiasm that we introduce the 2021 Virtual Temple.

“The Luminous Lotus Temple is a standalone, multi-sensory, interactive, and artistic immersive destination for connection, community building, and well-being,” said Simeone Scaramozzino, producer of the Luminous Lotus Temple Experience. “When the people of our community engage in the synaesthetic exploration of the immersive Temple, it is the team’s wish that they rediscover how energies, geometries, patterns, sound, and light influence our path to enlightenment and emotional sovereignty.”

The Luminous Lotus Temple Experience will officially open August 29 to September 5, 2021, and welcomes early app downloads and avatar creation in mid-August. Please visit the Luminous Lotus Temple website to RSVP to receive up-to-date information regarding app availability (PC and Mac), avatar creation, and offerings instructions so you are beautifully prepared for your journey. The official Virtual Temple Burn ceremony will conclude your experience on September 5th at 8pm PDT.

Inspired by the Lotus Temple in Delhi, India, and the textured basketwork akin to the Cultural Center by Renzo Piano in the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia, the 2021 Luminous Lotus Temple fuses petals with portals to create an interactive spiritual journey.

The Temple design comes from artist Roger Carr, with support from Tamara Kalo and Rick Irving. The dedicated immersive experience is created and produced by Simeone Scaramozzino and his team, known for the awe-invoking 2020 Ethereal Empyreal Experience Virtual Temple Burn.

For the most up-to-date information about the Luminous Lotus Temple — from how to RSVP to making offerings — please visit our 2021 Virtual Temple Kindling page.

An Exploration of the Soul and Shadows

The team behind the 2021 Luminous Lotus Temple has synthesized the technological with the spiritual to deliver an “exploration of the soul and shadows through meditation, sacred geometry, numerology, sound, and light.” It is a journey of introspection and transformation for all amidst a shapeshifting world.

Designed for inclusion, expression, exploration, socialization, connection, and healthy disconnection, virtual travelers are invited to create avatars to journey through the Temple’s symbolic stages of transformation. The unique healing vibrations of the Temple will transport you to “alternate realms of adventure into your emotions.” It is here within these realms that one can also privately or publicly create either written, audio, or visual offerings as well as invite others via text or voice chat to share in these moments.

It is the faith within ourselves that the 2021 Lotus Temple harnesses to help us find enlightenment, perseverance, and hope. This sense of purity, a “rebirth and the ability to triumph over obstacles,” as expressed by the Virtual Temple team, is woven through the interactive fabric of the experience where the global community of Burners and beyond is welcomed to trust the “unseen path leading to the light.”

Cover image courtesy of the Luminous Lotus Temple Team, 2021