Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
ISBN: 9781621480976
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Rudolf Steiner gave thousands of lectures in his lifetime, usually without notes, and, with very few exceptions, with nothing more than chalk and a blackboard if he chose to accompany his speech with some kind of visual illustration. A notable exception is the presentation that constitutes the main part of this book. Given in June 1921, in Bern just eighteen months before its tragic destruction by fire, this lecture and slide show (consisting of a hundred slides) is both the closest thing we have to a guided tour of the original Goetheanum by its architect and a profound statement of artistic purpose. In addition to the lecture and slide show that comprise the main content of this volume, the introduction by John Kettle serves to place Steiner's artistic contribution to architecture in the context of early twentieth-century Expressionism and Organicism. Frederick Amrine's thorough bibliographic essay highlights the most important secondary literature on Steiner's architecture and provides a sound entry to further exploration and study.
Toward a New Theory of Architecture
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
ISBN: 9781621480976
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Rudolf Steiner gave thousands of lectures in his lifetime, usually without notes, and, with very few exceptions, with nothing more than chalk and a blackboard if he chose to accompany his speech with some kind of visual illustration. A notable exception is the presentation that constitutes the main part of this book. Given in June 1921, in Bern just eighteen months before its tragic destruction by fire, this lecture and slide show (consisting of a hundred slides) is both the closest thing we have to a guided tour of the original Goetheanum by its architect and a profound statement of artistic purpose. In addition to the lecture and slide show that comprise the main content of this volume, the introduction by John Kettle serves to place Steiner's artistic contribution to architecture in the context of early twentieth-century Expressionism and Organicism. Frederick Amrine's thorough bibliographic essay highlights the most important secondary literature on Steiner's architecture and provides a sound entry to further exploration and study.
Publisher: Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
ISBN: 9781621480976
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Rudolf Steiner gave thousands of lectures in his lifetime, usually without notes, and, with very few exceptions, with nothing more than chalk and a blackboard if he chose to accompany his speech with some kind of visual illustration. A notable exception is the presentation that constitutes the main part of this book. Given in June 1921, in Bern just eighteen months before its tragic destruction by fire, this lecture and slide show (consisting of a hundred slides) is both the closest thing we have to a guided tour of the original Goetheanum by its architect and a profound statement of artistic purpose. In addition to the lecture and slide show that comprise the main content of this volume, the introduction by John Kettle serves to place Steiner's artistic contribution to architecture in the context of early twentieth-century Expressionism and Organicism. Frederick Amrine's thorough bibliographic essay highlights the most important secondary literature on Steiner's architecture and provides a sound entry to further exploration and study.
Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting of the First Goetheanum
Author: RUDOLF STEINER
Publisher: Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
ISBN: 9781621482048
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
The planning, construction, and execution of the functional work of art that was the First Goetheanum was an endeavor that occupied Rudolf Steiner for the better part of seven years. Every detail, from the seemingly small-such as the shape and feel of the door handles-to the grand motifs of the paintings on the ceilings of the cupolas and the building's intended sculptural centerpiece, was lovingly designed to meet and inspire the individual human beings who would some day encounter it, not with didactic symbolism, but with the transparent reality of the spiritual foundation of humanity and the world, and the open possibility to both know this spiritual foundation and to work with it practically and artistically for the good of all. The lectures contained in this volume, which Steiner accompanied with just over 100 slides (here reproduced) were given to various audiences when the building was very near to completion, before it was destroyed by fire. Complemented by a Foreword by the esteemed architect Douglas Cardinal, as well as an important and revelatory Introductory essay by David Adams ("The Form-Function Relationship in Architecture and Nature: Organic and Inorganic Functionalism"), this volume of The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner is essential reading for anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic motivation of Rudolf Steiner as an artist and architect, while also clearing up many of the misunderstandings that the building and its sculptural and painted components have inevitably given rise to, both then and now. Book jacket.
Publisher: Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
ISBN: 9781621482048
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
The planning, construction, and execution of the functional work of art that was the First Goetheanum was an endeavor that occupied Rudolf Steiner for the better part of seven years. Every detail, from the seemingly small-such as the shape and feel of the door handles-to the grand motifs of the paintings on the ceilings of the cupolas and the building's intended sculptural centerpiece, was lovingly designed to meet and inspire the individual human beings who would some day encounter it, not with didactic symbolism, but with the transparent reality of the spiritual foundation of humanity and the world, and the open possibility to both know this spiritual foundation and to work with it practically and artistically for the good of all. The lectures contained in this volume, which Steiner accompanied with just over 100 slides (here reproduced) were given to various audiences when the building was very near to completion, before it was destroyed by fire. Complemented by a Foreword by the esteemed architect Douglas Cardinal, as well as an important and revelatory Introductory essay by David Adams ("The Form-Function Relationship in Architecture and Nature: Organic and Inorganic Functionalism"), this volume of The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner is essential reading for anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic motivation of Rudolf Steiner as an artist and architect, while also clearing up many of the misunderstandings that the building and its sculptural and painted components have inevitably given rise to, both then and now. Book jacket.
Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner and Work on the First Goetheanum
Author: Assya Turgeniev
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
ISBN: 9781902636405
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Assya Turgeniev was a Russian artist and one of Rudolf Steiner's most important co-workers, best known for her engraving work on the colored windows of the first Goetheanum building in Dornach, Switzerland. In these unique reminiscences, she provides eye-witness reports of the burning of the first Goetheanum, the time surrounding the death of Rudolf Steiner, the early performances of his Mystery Plays, Steiner's lecturing and travels abroad, the artistic work on the Goetheanum, the carving of the "Group" statue, and the Christmas plays and "Faust. She also describes the development of eurythmy, and recounts her memories of Marie Steiner, Edith Maryon and others. Turgeniev initially set out to write a complete account of the period during which Anthroposophy was founded and developed, but illness prevented her from doing so. Nevertheless, the fragment which constitutes this book is one of the most valuable accounts available.
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
ISBN: 9781902636405
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Assya Turgeniev was a Russian artist and one of Rudolf Steiner's most important co-workers, best known for her engraving work on the colored windows of the first Goetheanum building in Dornach, Switzerland. In these unique reminiscences, she provides eye-witness reports of the burning of the first Goetheanum, the time surrounding the death of Rudolf Steiner, the early performances of his Mystery Plays, Steiner's lecturing and travels abroad, the artistic work on the Goetheanum, the carving of the "Group" statue, and the Christmas plays and "Faust. She also describes the development of eurythmy, and recounts her memories of Marie Steiner, Edith Maryon and others. Turgeniev initially set out to write a complete account of the period during which Anthroposophy was founded and developed, but illness prevented her from doing so. Nevertheless, the fragment which constitutes this book is one of the most valuable accounts available.
Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855840960
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
"Leading thoughts" and letters for members of the Anthroposophical Society (CW 26) "The leading thoughts here given are meant to open up subjects for study and discussion. Points of contact with them will be found in countless places in the anthroposophic books and lecture courses, so that the subjects thus opened up can be enlarged upon and the discussions in the groups centered around them." -- Rudolf Steiner This key volume contains Rudolf Steiner's "leading thoughts," or guiding principles, and related letters to members of the Anthroposophical Society. Using brief, aphoristic statements, Steiner succinctly presents his spiritual science as a modern path of knowledge, accompanied by "letters" that expand and contextualize the guiding thought. These 185 thoughts constitute invaluable, clear summaries of Steiner's fundamental ideas--indeed, they contain the whole of Anthroposophy. They are intended not as doctrine, but to stimulate and focus one's study and discussion of spiritual science. "Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe.... Anthroposophy communicates knowledge that is gained in a spiritual way.... There are those who believe that with the limits of knowledge derived from sense perception the limits of all insight are given. Yet if they would carefully observe howthey become conscious of these limits, they would find in the very consciousness of the limits the faculties to transcend them." -- Rudolf Steiner This volume is a translation of Anthroposophische Leitsätze, Der Erkenntnisweg der Anthroposophie--Das Michael-Mysterium (GA 26).
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855840960
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
"Leading thoughts" and letters for members of the Anthroposophical Society (CW 26) "The leading thoughts here given are meant to open up subjects for study and discussion. Points of contact with them will be found in countless places in the anthroposophic books and lecture courses, so that the subjects thus opened up can be enlarged upon and the discussions in the groups centered around them." -- Rudolf Steiner This key volume contains Rudolf Steiner's "leading thoughts," or guiding principles, and related letters to members of the Anthroposophical Society. Using brief, aphoristic statements, Steiner succinctly presents his spiritual science as a modern path of knowledge, accompanied by "letters" that expand and contextualize the guiding thought. These 185 thoughts constitute invaluable, clear summaries of Steiner's fundamental ideas--indeed, they contain the whole of Anthroposophy. They are intended not as doctrine, but to stimulate and focus one's study and discussion of spiritual science. "Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe.... Anthroposophy communicates knowledge that is gained in a spiritual way.... There are those who believe that with the limits of knowledge derived from sense perception the limits of all insight are given. Yet if they would carefully observe howthey become conscious of these limits, they would find in the very consciousness of the limits the faculties to transcend them." -- Rudolf Steiner This volume is a translation of Anthroposophische Leitsätze, Der Erkenntnisweg der Anthroposophie--Das Michael-Mysterium (GA 26).
Study of Man
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855841878
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
14 lectures, Stuttgart, August 20 - September 5, 1919 (CW 293) Although these lectures were given to teachers as preparatory material, they are by no means concerned only with education. Study of Man is Steiner's most succinct presentation of his human-centered spiritual psychology, and it is accessible to anyone genuinely interested in the questions of human existence. His approach is unique because it considers not only the influences that affect humanity from the past, but also future states of consciousness and being. Reprinted here in the original "classic" translation by A.C. Harwood and Helen Fox, these lectures were given in 1919 to the teachers of the Waldorf school in Stuttgart--the first to be based on the educational ideas of Rudolf Steiner. After eighty-five years of Waldorf education--and exponential growth around the world--this volume remains the basic study text for teachers in Steiner schools. As well as providing a basis for the work of educators, Study of Man will be of special interest to parents, counselors, psychologists, and students of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy--for whom this volume provides a fundamental picture of the human being according to the anthroposophic understanding of the world. This book is a translation of Allgemeine Menschenkunde als Grundlage der Pädagogik (GA 293), published by Rudolf Steiner Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach.
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855841878
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
14 lectures, Stuttgart, August 20 - September 5, 1919 (CW 293) Although these lectures were given to teachers as preparatory material, they are by no means concerned only with education. Study of Man is Steiner's most succinct presentation of his human-centered spiritual psychology, and it is accessible to anyone genuinely interested in the questions of human existence. His approach is unique because it considers not only the influences that affect humanity from the past, but also future states of consciousness and being. Reprinted here in the original "classic" translation by A.C. Harwood and Helen Fox, these lectures were given in 1919 to the teachers of the Waldorf school in Stuttgart--the first to be based on the educational ideas of Rudolf Steiner. After eighty-five years of Waldorf education--and exponential growth around the world--this volume remains the basic study text for teachers in Steiner schools. As well as providing a basis for the work of educators, Study of Man will be of special interest to parents, counselors, psychologists, and students of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy--for whom this volume provides a fundamental picture of the human being according to the anthroposophic understanding of the world. This book is a translation of Allgemeine Menschenkunde als Grundlage der Pädagogik (GA 293), published by Rudolf Steiner Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach.
Education for Adolescents
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880104050
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
8 lectures, Stuttgart, June 12-19, 1921 (CW 302) In these eight talks on education for teenaged young people, Steiner addressed the teachers of the first Waldorf school two years after it was first opened. A high school was needed, and Steiner wanted to provide a foundation for study and a guide for teachers already familiar with his approach to the human being, child development, and education based on spiritual science. Steiner's education affirms the being of every child within the world of spirit. This approach works within the context of the child's gradual entry into earthly life, aided by spiritual forces, and children's need for an education that cooperates with those forces. Some of Steiner's remarks may be controversial, but unbiased study will lead to an appreciation of the profound thought and wisdom behind what is presented here. German source: Menschenerkenntnis und Unterrichtsgestaltung (GA 302).
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880104050
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
8 lectures, Stuttgart, June 12-19, 1921 (CW 302) In these eight talks on education for teenaged young people, Steiner addressed the teachers of the first Waldorf school two years after it was first opened. A high school was needed, and Steiner wanted to provide a foundation for study and a guide for teachers already familiar with his approach to the human being, child development, and education based on spiritual science. Steiner's education affirms the being of every child within the world of spirit. This approach works within the context of the child's gradual entry into earthly life, aided by spiritual forces, and children's need for an education that cooperates with those forces. Some of Steiner's remarks may be controversial, but unbiased study will lead to an appreciation of the profound thought and wisdom behind what is presented here. German source: Menschenerkenntnis und Unterrichtsgestaltung (GA 302).
The Anthroposophic Movement
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855844672
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
In describing the development of Anthroposophy, Steiner illumined the philosophies that lie at its roots. He speaks of Madame H. P. Blavatsky, of the anti-Christian forces in the world, and of the 'homeless' souls who seek a spiritual scientific understanding of the world and humanity.
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855844672
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
In describing the development of Anthroposophy, Steiner illumined the philosophies that lie at its roots. He speaks of Madame H. P. Blavatsky, of the anti-Christian forces in the world, and of the 'homeless' souls who seek a spiritual scientific understanding of the world and humanity.
Anthroposophy (A Fragment)
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880109564
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Published in 1904 (CW 10) "Not everyone can immediately achieve spiritual vision; but the discoveries of those who have it can be health-giving life nourishment for all. The results of supersensible knowledge, when properly employed in life, prove to be not impractical, but rather, practical in the highest sense.... The acquisition of higher knowledge is not the end, but the means to an end; the end consists in the attainment, thanks to this knowledge, of greater and truer self-confidence, a higher degree of courage, and a magnanimity and perseverance such as cannot, as a rule, be acquired in the lower world." This is the classic account of the modern Western esoteric path of initiation made public by Steiner in 1904. He begins with the premise that "the capacities by which we can gain insights into the higher worlds lie dormant within each one of us." Steiner carefully and precisely leads the reader from the cultivation of the fundamental soul attitudes of reverence and inner tranquility to the development of inner life through the stages of preparation, illumination, and initiation. Steiner provides practical exercises of inner and outer observation and moral development. By patiently and persistently following his guidelines, new "organs" of soul and spirit begin to form, which reveal the contours of the higher worlds thus far concealed from us. Steiner in this important work becomes a teacher, a counselor, and a friend whose advice is practical, clear, and effective. The challenges we face in life require increasingly deeper levels of understanding, and Steiner's text helps readers to cultivate the capacities for such insights and places them at the service of humanity. This is Steiner's most essential guide to the modern path of initiation he advocated throughout his life. It has been translated into many languages and has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. How to Know Higher Worlds has been admired by some of the most brilliant minds of our time. "The methods by which a student is prepared for the reception of higher knowledge are minutely prescribed. The direction he is to take is traced with unfading, everlasting letters in the worlds of the spirit where the initiates guard the higher secrets. In ancient times, anterior to our history, the temples of the spirit were also outwardly visible; today, because our life has become so unspiritual, they are not to be found in the world visible to external sight; yet they are present spiritually everywhere, and all who seek may find them." Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment is a translation from German of the written work Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten? (GA 10).
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880109564
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Published in 1904 (CW 10) "Not everyone can immediately achieve spiritual vision; but the discoveries of those who have it can be health-giving life nourishment for all. The results of supersensible knowledge, when properly employed in life, prove to be not impractical, but rather, practical in the highest sense.... The acquisition of higher knowledge is not the end, but the means to an end; the end consists in the attainment, thanks to this knowledge, of greater and truer self-confidence, a higher degree of courage, and a magnanimity and perseverance such as cannot, as a rule, be acquired in the lower world." This is the classic account of the modern Western esoteric path of initiation made public by Steiner in 1904. He begins with the premise that "the capacities by which we can gain insights into the higher worlds lie dormant within each one of us." Steiner carefully and precisely leads the reader from the cultivation of the fundamental soul attitudes of reverence and inner tranquility to the development of inner life through the stages of preparation, illumination, and initiation. Steiner provides practical exercises of inner and outer observation and moral development. By patiently and persistently following his guidelines, new "organs" of soul and spirit begin to form, which reveal the contours of the higher worlds thus far concealed from us. Steiner in this important work becomes a teacher, a counselor, and a friend whose advice is practical, clear, and effective. The challenges we face in life require increasingly deeper levels of understanding, and Steiner's text helps readers to cultivate the capacities for such insights and places them at the service of humanity. This is Steiner's most essential guide to the modern path of initiation he advocated throughout his life. It has been translated into many languages and has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. How to Know Higher Worlds has been admired by some of the most brilliant minds of our time. "The methods by which a student is prepared for the reception of higher knowledge are minutely prescribed. The direction he is to take is traced with unfading, everlasting letters in the worlds of the spirit where the initiates guard the higher secrets. In ancient times, anterior to our history, the temples of the spirit were also outwardly visible; today, because our life has become so unspiritual, they are not to be found in the world visible to external sight; yet they are present spiritually everywhere, and all who seek may find them." Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment is a translation from German of the written work Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten? (GA 10).
Practical Advice to Teachers
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880108533
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A seer "sees' more than meets the eye, using the eyes of the soul along with the physical eyes. As all seeing is a form of cognition, higher seeing is the key to higher cognition or knowing. For human beings the spiritual world is hidden deep within the disguise of the world available to the senses and deep within the human psyche, and human consciousness, enmeshed as it usually is in the physical senses, cannot easily be aware of both worlds. The human soul is the link between the physical sense-imbued body and direct experience of the spirit, because it has the latent ability to focus consciousness into any number of levels. The ability to determine the focus of awareness is our great gift and our great challenge. In this practical and accessible guidebook, Dennis Klocek, building on the alchemical tradition and the Western path of initiation developed by Rudolf Steiner, shows how the soul's latent ability can be awakened by conscious acts of will and rhythmical practices. The practices begin wherever we are in our everyday lives and take the seeker through the levels of concentration--the ability to create and hold an inner image; contemplation--the ability to transform the image and make it dynamic; and meditation--the ability to reverse the image, or think it backward into inner silence. After presenting the practical exercises, along with commentary, that identify and lay out the steps, Klocek shows us how the path can be followed through to an understanding of a seemingly impenetrable alchemical image of the soul's journey as he guides us up the Alchemical Mountain to heartfelt thinking. Through such a journey, it becomes possible for human beings to live as spiritual beings among other spiritual beings. For those who are serious about developing faculties of higher knowing and seeing, The Seer's Handbook is a unique, practical, and friendly handbook of exercises, meditations, and insightful commentary that will guide both beginners and more advanced students along the path to higher worlds.
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880108533
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A seer "sees' more than meets the eye, using the eyes of the soul along with the physical eyes. As all seeing is a form of cognition, higher seeing is the key to higher cognition or knowing. For human beings the spiritual world is hidden deep within the disguise of the world available to the senses and deep within the human psyche, and human consciousness, enmeshed as it usually is in the physical senses, cannot easily be aware of both worlds. The human soul is the link between the physical sense-imbued body and direct experience of the spirit, because it has the latent ability to focus consciousness into any number of levels. The ability to determine the focus of awareness is our great gift and our great challenge. In this practical and accessible guidebook, Dennis Klocek, building on the alchemical tradition and the Western path of initiation developed by Rudolf Steiner, shows how the soul's latent ability can be awakened by conscious acts of will and rhythmical practices. The practices begin wherever we are in our everyday lives and take the seeker through the levels of concentration--the ability to create and hold an inner image; contemplation--the ability to transform the image and make it dynamic; and meditation--the ability to reverse the image, or think it backward into inner silence. After presenting the practical exercises, along with commentary, that identify and lay out the steps, Klocek shows us how the path can be followed through to an understanding of a seemingly impenetrable alchemical image of the soul's journey as he guides us up the Alchemical Mountain to heartfelt thinking. Through such a journey, it becomes possible for human beings to live as spiritual beings among other spiritual beings. For those who are serious about developing faculties of higher knowing and seeing, The Seer's Handbook is a unique, practical, and friendly handbook of exercises, meditations, and insightful commentary that will guide both beginners and more advanced students along the path to higher worlds.
World History and the Mysteries
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855845881
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description
In this landmark series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner challenges the notion that human consciousness has in essence remained the same throughout history. On the contrary, we can only see the past in its true light when we study the differences in human souls during the various historical eras. Consciousness, he says, evolves constantly and we can only comprehend the present by understanding its origin in the past. Delivered in the evenings during the course of the ‘mystery act’ of the Christmas Foundation Meeting – when Rudolf Steiner not only re-founded the Anthroposophical Society but for the first time took a formal role within it – these lectures study world history in parallel with the ancient mysteries of initiation, showing how they are intimately linked. Steiner describes consciousness in the ancient East and follows the initiation principle from Babylonia to Greece, up to its influences in present-day spiritual life. He also discusses Gilgamesh and Eabani, the mysteries of Ephesus and Hibernia, and the occult relationship between the destruction by fire of the Temple of Artemis and the burning of the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Published for the first time with colour plates of Steiner’s blackboard drawings, the freshly-revised text is complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine and an index.
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855845881
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description
In this landmark series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner challenges the notion that human consciousness has in essence remained the same throughout history. On the contrary, we can only see the past in its true light when we study the differences in human souls during the various historical eras. Consciousness, he says, evolves constantly and we can only comprehend the present by understanding its origin in the past. Delivered in the evenings during the course of the ‘mystery act’ of the Christmas Foundation Meeting – when Rudolf Steiner not only re-founded the Anthroposophical Society but for the first time took a formal role within it – these lectures study world history in parallel with the ancient mysteries of initiation, showing how they are intimately linked. Steiner describes consciousness in the ancient East and follows the initiation principle from Babylonia to Greece, up to its influences in present-day spiritual life. He also discusses Gilgamesh and Eabani, the mysteries of Ephesus and Hibernia, and the occult relationship between the destruction by fire of the Temple of Artemis and the burning of the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Published for the first time with colour plates of Steiner’s blackboard drawings, the freshly-revised text is complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine and an index.