10 lectures, various cities, 1913-1914 (CW 152)

In February of 1913--a landmark year for Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy--the first General Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society was held. In September, the Foundation Stone for the Goetheanum was laid in Dornach. The ground for Anthroposophy as we know it today was established.

Such is the background for the remarkable lectures contained in this volume. Outwardly, they begin to set the record straight. Inwardly, they seek to establish a right relationship of service to Christ and the spiritual worlds in accord...

Letters, Documents, Ritual Texts, and Lectures from the Cognitive-Ritual Section of the Esoteric School: 1904-1919
Documents of a New Beginning after the First World War: 1921-1924 (CW 265)

To ground his project of founding the new mysteries of Anthroposophy in spiritual history, Rudolf Steiner always sought to unite with and transform where possible the older initiatory streams such as Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism.

In November 1905, both Steiner, who was General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society and Arch Warden of its Esoteric...

Two Lectures Cycles, Followed by Two Christmas Lectures Dornach, October 3-7
and December 12-20, 1914; Dornach, December 26 and Basel, December 27, 1914 (CW 156)

These two lecture courses, given just after the beginning of World War I, stand as a kind of unexpected gift. A few months later, once the war became a reality, the possibilities for esoteric work would change and it would become more difficult to do spiritual research. But in the short interval before the true horror of the conflict unfolded, Rudolf Steiner--almost by the way--was able to give these lectures,...

"This is one of the meanings of the Mystery of Golgotha: the attainment of the unity of humanity from within. Externally, human beings are becoming more and more different. The result will be not sameness but difference over the Earth, and human beings must exert all the more force from within to attain unity" --Rudolf Steiner (lecture 4)

In this collection, Rudolf Steiner describes the evolutionary task facing contemporary humanity in preparing to enter the sixth epoch. In the past, human souls felt a strong connection with the group soul to which they belonged. Today, all...

10 lectures, Helsinki, April. 3-14, 1912 (CW 136)

In the architecture of Rudolf Steiner's great cosmological temple, this extraordinary course of lectures on spiritual beings forms the central pillar with other important texts such as the fourth chapter of An Outline of Esoteric Science (CW 13); The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World (CW 136); and Inner Experiences of Evolution (CW 132). These works--outlining a revolutionary angelological cosmology--are at the heart of Steiner's mission to transform our understanding of the world by laying down a...

Notes written from memory by the participants and meditation verses by Rudolf Steiner (CW 266/2)

In this second of three volumes from Rudolf Steiner's early Esoteric School, we find a further deepening of spiritual practice and training. Steiner explains the requirements one must meet to become a serious student of esotericism. In addition, he gives directions--always emphasizing the increasing need for earnestness--for the transformation of the inner life, for the development of new spriritual forces and capacities, and for recognizing and overcoming the dangers that arise on a spiritual...

By "mantric sayings," Rudolf Steiner means content given by the spiritual world to be absorbed and experienced in meditation. Thus the volume contains intuitive insights received "from the spiritual world" and, as such, the vehicle to return us to it. The meditations were often given personally to others for general use, as well as for specific situations or needs such as healing and strengthening, in relation to those who had died, or for anthroposophic work. In other words, these short texts are to be performed--to be experienced. In this sense, they are directive--enjoining us to "Do this...

This book presents and explores a little-known example of Rudolf Steiner's efforts to bring, in a practical way, a contemporary embodiment of the wisdom that once lived in the ancient mysteries. In this instance, a sequence of fifteen images of the Madonna, intended originally for contemplation under supervision in a clinical setting as a new form of therapy for those suffering soul wounds.

In a 1908 lecture, Steiner addressed the subterranean spiritual links connecting ancient Egypt and our own time and described certain healing functions of the Isis Mysteries. He connected the Madonna...

Rudolf Steiner's work and words, still largely undiscovered as compared to their value for humanity, continue to point the way toward a different path-a way of knowing that encompasses the fullness, the breadth and depth of life and the worlds we inhabit.