>From: MCGILARN.JABBA@law.mail.cornell.edu (MCGILARN)
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 14:27:00 -0500

  Lambda Symbol Explanation

The following is from Joseph P. Goodwin, More Man Than You'll
Ever Be: Gay Folklore and Acculturation in Middle America,
(Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989), p. 26:

"The lowercase Greek letter, lambda, carries several meanings.
First of all, it represents scales, and thus balance.  The Greeks
considered balance to be the constant adjustment necessary to
keep opposing forces from overcoming each other.  The hook at the
bottom of the right leg of the lambda represents the action
required to reach and maintain balance.  To the Spartans, the
lambda meant unity.  They felt that society should never infringe
on anyone's individuality and freedom.  The Romans adopted the
letter to represent `the light of knowledge shed into the
darkness of ignorance.'  Finally, in physics the symbol
designates an energy exchange.  Thus the lambda, with all its
meanings, is an especially apt symbol for the gay liberation
movement, which energetically seeks a balance in society and
which strives through enlightenment to secure equal rights for
homosexual people."

Hope it helps... Have a good holiday and a safe New Year.