Books by rudolf steiner

Based on a series of lectures delivered by Rudolf Steiner in Paris, 1906 and transcribed by Eduard Schuré, An Esoteric Cosmology is a concise but powerful book and essential reading for students of Steiner. A wide variety of topics are covered, including Intellect, the Mission of Christianity, Manicheism, God, Man and Nature, Involution and Evolution, History of Yoga, The Gospel of St. John, Christian Mysticism, The Astral World, The Devachanic World (Heaven), Dreams, The Evolution of Planets and Earth, Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Human Will, Redemption and Liberation and the Apocalypse.

'From the contents of original Greek drama and the soul drama of the present day that leads to self-knowledge, Rudolf Steiner develops his thought processes - pulsating with lively contemplation - about wonders of the world, trials of the soul and revelations of the spirit!' - Marie Steiner In this remarkable interpretation of Greek mythology, Rudolf Steiner goes beyond Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell in reading mythological figures such as Demeter, Persephone, Eros and Dionysos as primordial archetypes of macrocosmic thinking, feeling and will. Moreover, he explains in detail how this archetypal consciousness was gradually lost, giving way to new-found, subjective experience of these faculties, which in turn opens up possibilities for human freedom. His overarching theme of 'the evolution of consciousness' is grand in its sweep, but Steiner also shows himself to be the master of telling details. Lectures include: 'The origin of dramatic art in European cultural life and the Mystery of Eleusis'; 'The living reality of the spiritual world in Greek mythology and the threefold Hecate'; 'Nature and spirit'; 'The entry of the Christ Impulse into human evolution and the activity of the planetary gods'; 'The merging of the ancient Hebrew and the Greek currents in the Christ-stream'; 'The ego-nature and the human form'; 'The Dionysian Mysteries'; 'Eagle, Bull and Lion currents, Sphinx and Dove'; 'The two poles of all soul-ordeals'; and 'On Goethe's birthday'. The freshly revised text features an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine, colour images and an index.

Rudolf Steiner is considered a Spiritual Science Master and the knowledge he shares through this book will reveal a hidden reality. This reality influences everyday occurrences but not many people are aware of it and those who are, rule the world. Please enjoy "The Way of Initiation: How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds" by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.

Rudolf Steiner is considered a Spiritual Science Master and the knowledge he shares through this book will reveal a hidden reality. This reality influences everyday occurrences but not many people are aware of it and those who are, rule the world. Please enjoy "The Way of Initiation: How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds" by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.

Rudolf Steiner is considered a Spiritual Science Master and the knowledge he shares through this book will reveal a hidden reality. This reality influences everyday occurrences but not many people are aware of it and those who are, rule the world. Please enjoy "The Way of Initiation: How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds" by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.

The present lecture has remained unpublished either in German or in English since 1940, and the original publication is exceedingly rare. Thus I have appended the German original of 1940 at the end of the volume. It is an extraordinary lecture, which discusses the earlier incarnations of the German dramatist and philosopher Friedrich Schiller, the poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine, and the French occultist Eliphas Lévi. In each case, Steiner describes how future karma was formed in the various planetary spheres during the life between death and rebirth, and in response to the specific previous incarnation. In a mere twenty pages, scenarios of a vast scope are conjured forth.

• THE SUPER PHYSICAL WORLD AND ITS GNOSIS In this practical age and because of the many various claims of the day, it is but natural that people, who hear of transcendentalism should at once ask the question: "How may we for ourselves know the truth of such statements?" Indeed, it is noticeable, as a characteristic of the majority, that they will accept nothing on faith, or mere "authority," but wish rather to rely entirely upon their own judgment. Therefore, when a mystic undertakes to explain something of the super physical nature of man, and of the destiny of the human soul and spirit before birth and after death, he is at once confronted with that fundamental demand. Such doctrine, they seem to think is important only when you have shown them the way by which they may convince themselves of its truth.
• Rudolf Steiner was a philosopher, social thinker, architect, and esotericist. His philosophical work, which he termed spiritual science, sought to provide a connection between the cognitive path of Western philosophy and the inner and spiritual needs of the human being. In The Way of Initiation, Steiner details the exercises and moral qualities to be cultivated on the path to a conscious experience of 'supersensible' realities. His short but powerful book is intended as a guide for achieving spiritual vision.

A Timeless Classic of Theosophical literature.

Rudolf Steiner was the most prolific and arguably the most influential philosopher of his era. This book throws light on the development of the thoughts of this remarkable individual and reveals Steiner's engagement throughout his life with the world of theosophy. The author's experience on the subject comes through in a clear and authoritative manner. It leaves the reader asking for more on the subject while at the same time the content of this book requires a few rereading to fully appreciate it. This work profoundly impacted the development of alternative spirituality in the early twentieth century. In summation, this unusual book is a must-read classic for all students of enlightenment-both novices and seasoned scholars alike.

The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (The Philosophy of Freedom): A Modern Philosophy of Life Developed by Scientific Methods

There are two fundamental problems in the life of the human mind, to one or other of which everything belongs that is to be discussed in this book. One of these problems concerns the possibility of attaining to such a view of the essential nature of man as will serve as a support for whatever else comes into his life by way of experience or of science, and yet is subject to the suspicion of having no support in itself and of being liable to be driven, by doubt and criticism, into the limbo of uncertainties. The other problem is this: Is man, as voluntary agent, entitled to attribute freedom to himself, or is freedom a mere illusion begotten of his inability to recognise the threads of necessity on which his volition, like any natural event, depends? It is no artificial tissue of theories which provokes this question. In a certain mood it presents itself quite naturally to the human mind. And it is easy to feel that a mind lacks something of its full stature which has never once confronted with the utmost seriousness of inquiry the two possibilities-freedom or necessity. This book is intended to show that the spiritual experiences which the second problem causes man to undergo, depend upon the position he is able to take up towards the first problem. An attempt will be made to prove that there is a view concerning the essential nature of man which can support the rest of knowledge; and, further, an attempt to point out how with this view we gain a complete justification for the idea of free will, provided only that we have first discovered that region of the mind in which free volition can unfold itself.

Als ich vor sechs Jahren die Werke Friedrich Nietz-sches kennen lernte, waren in mir bereits Ideen aus-gebildet, die den seinigen ähnlich sind. Unabhängig von ihm und auf anderen Wegen als er, bin ich zu An-schauungen gekommen, die im Einklang stehen mit dem, was Nietzsche in seinen Schriften: "Zarathust-ra―, "Jenseits von Gut und Böse―, "Genealogie der Moral― und "Götzendämmerung― ausgesprochen hat. Schon in meinem 1886 erschienenen kleinen Buche "Erkenntnistheorie der Goetheschen Weltanschau-ung― kommt dieselbe Gesinnung zum Ausdruck, wie in den genannten Werken Nietzsches.

Rudolf Steiner characterizes the relationship between inner and outer realities. In a sense deeper than normally recognized, the mind/body split is the result of a fear to penetrate the mind, the inner human being. This lack of inner courage rebounds on society and civilization producing the terrible conditions modern humanity finds itself surrounded by. Healing will come only when we summon the courage to penetrate the hidden mysteries within. These themes and many more are explored in these insightful lectures. "The modern, materialistic world conception is a product of fear and anxiety. This fear lives on in the outer actions of human beings, in the social structure, in the course of history...Why did people become materialists, why would they admit only the outer, that which is given in material existence? Because they were afraid to descend into the depths of the human being." -Rudolf Steiner, Cosmosophy Volume 1 RUDOLF STEINER (1861-1925) became a respected and well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, particularly known for his work on Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his earlier philosophical principles into an approach to methodical research of psychological and spiritual phenomena. His multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, philosophy, religion, education (Waldorf schools), special education (the Camphill movement), economics, agriculture (biodynamics), science, architecture, and the arts (drama, speech and eurythmy). In 1924 he founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which has branches throughout the world.

"...En toda ciencia oculta existe un principio que nadie debe transgredir si quiere alcanzar un objetivo cualquiera. Cualquier disciplina oculta debe grabar en el discípulo este principio: Todo conocimiento que busques meramente para enriquecer tu propio saber y para acumular tesoros personales, te desviará del sendero; pero todo conocimiento que busques para madurar en la tarea del ennoblecimiento humano y de la evolución cósmica, te hará adelantar un paso más. Esta ley requiere una observancia inexorable. Nadie puede considerarse, discípulo antes de haber hecho de esta regla la pauta de su vida. Brevemente puede sintetizarse esta verdad de la disciplina espiritual como sigue: Toda idea que para ti no se convierta en ideal, destruye una fuerza de tu alma; toda idea que se convierta en ideal, crea dentro de ti fuerzas vitales."

Le seuil du monde spirituel par Rudolf Steiner.Rudolf Steiner né le 27 février 1861 à Donji Kraljevec (Croatie/Empire d'Autriche) et mort le 30 mars 1925 à Dornach (Suisse), est un intellectuel, polygraphe et occultiste autrichien, puis suisse.Principalement connu comme fondateur de l'anthroposophie, une doctrine spirituelle, dans un second temps, il va proposer sur la base de cette doctrine, des applications dans le domaine de l'éducation, l'agriculture, la médecine. Ces pratiques, qu'il développa dans les années 1920, sont considérées comme pseudo-scientifiques, mais elles persistent de nos jours à travers plusieurs disciplines.Écrivain prolifique, il a écrit plus de vingt ouvrages sur la philosophie, la spiritualité et l'occultisme et tenu plus de six mille conférences réunies aujourd'hui dans plus de trois cent volumes, retranscrites à partir de notes sténographiées (en grande partie non relues par lui). Ses ouvrages principaux sont: Une théorie de la connaissance chez Goethe, Vérité et Science, La Philosophie de la liberté5 ou Les Énigmes de la philosophie6.Après des études écourtées à la Technische Hochschule de Vienne (université technique de formation des ingénieurs), il travailla à la Goethe und Schiller-Archiv de Weimar (Archives de Goethe et Schiller) comme responsable de l'édition des oeuvres scientifiques de Goethe. Il fut ensuite rédacteur en chef du Magazin für Literatur à Berlin. Devenu membre de la Société théosophique, puis secrétaire général de la section allemande en 1902, il s'en sépare dix ans plus tard pour fonder la Société anthroposophique, qui constituera son cadre de travail durant les quinze dernières années de sa vie. Durant ces dernières quinze années le centre de son activité se situera à Dornach, près de Bâle, en Suisse.Rudolf Steiner naît à Nieder Kraliewitz en 1861 (aujourd'hui Kraljevec), à l'époque partie de l'Empire d'Autriche, actuellement en Croatie, de parents autrichiens. En 1869, sa famille s'installe à Neudörfl, aujourd'hui en Autriche. Il entre au collège moderne et technique (Realschule) de Wiener Neustadt en 1872. Trois ans plus tard, il commence à s'intéresser à la philosophie. En 1877, il étudie la pensée de Kant.En 1879, il obtient son diplôme[Lequel ?] de fin d'études avec félicitations. Il continue à étudier la philosophie, en particulier Fichte. En octobre, il devient étudiant à l'École supérieure technique de Vienne et se lie avec son professeur de littérature, Karl Julius Schröer, philologue et grand connaisseur de l'oeuvre de Goethe. Il suit également des cours de philosophie à l'université. En 1880 il fait la connaissance de Félix Kogutzki (1833-1909), le cueilleur de simples (herbes médicinales ou aromatiques) qui l'initie à l'occultisme traditionnel et lui aurait fait rencontrer un maître spirituel éminent.En 1882 Schröer conseille Steiner à Josef Kürschner, en tant qu'éditeur de l'oeuvre scientifique de Goethe. La famille Steiner s'installe à Inzersdorf am Wienerberge, dans les environs de Vienne. En 1883, il achève le premier volume pour Josef Kürschner (parution en 1884). En octobre il met fin à ses études supérieures, car il s'intéresse davantage à la philosophie.En 1884 Steiner devient le précepteur des enfants des époux Specht, et se consacre au jeune Otto, qui est hydrocéphale. Il entame une correspondance avec Edouard von Hartmann. En 1886 il fréquente le salon de la poétesse Marie Eugenie Delle Grazie (de) et les théologiens de son entourage. Il accepte de collaborer à l'édition des oeuvres scientifiques de Goethe dans la grande édition de Weimar, celle dite de la Grand Duchesse Sophie . Il étudie les archives de Goethe et de Schiller et fait paraître en 1886 son ouvrage Fondements d'une épistémologie de la conception goethéenne du monde compte particulièrement tenu de Schiller.

Mythes et Mysteres Egyptiens par Rudolf Steiner.Rudolf Steiner, né le 27 février 1861 à Donji Kraljevec (Croatie/Empire d'Autriche) et mort le 30 mars 1925 à Dornach (Suisse), est un intellectuel, polygraphe et occultiste autrichien, puis suisse.Principalement connu comme fondateur de l'anthroposophie, une doctrine spirituelle, dans un second temps, il va proposer sur la base de cette doctrine, des applications dans le domaine de l'éducation, l'agriculture, la médecine. Ces pratiques, qu'il développa dans les années 1920, sont considérées comme pseudo-scientifiques, mais elles persistent de nos jours à travers plusieurs disciplines.Écrivain prolifique, il a écrit plus de vingt ouvrages sur la philosophie, la spiritualité et l'occultisme et tenu plus de six mille conférences réunies aujourd'hui dans plus de trois cent volumes, retranscrites à partir de notes sténographiées (en grande partie non relues par lui). Ses ouvrages principaux sont: Une théorie de la connaissance chez Goethe, Vérité et Science, La Philosophie de la liberté ou Les Énigmes de la philosophie6.Après des études écourtées à la Technische Hochschule de Vienne (université technique de formation des ingénieurs), il travailla à la Goethe und Schiller-Archiv de Weimar (Archives de Goethe et Schiller) comme responsable de l'édition des oeuvres scientifiques de Goethe. Il fut ensuite rédacteur en chef du Magazin für Literatur à Berlin. Devenu membre de la Société théosophique, puis secrétaire général de la section allemande en 1902, il s'en sépare dix ans plus tard pour fonder la Société anthroposophique, qui constituera son cadre de travail durant les quinze dernières années de sa vie. Durant ces dernières quinze années le centre de son activité se situera à Dornach, près de Bâle, en Suisse. Il est notamment connu pour avoir été à la base de la pédagogie Steiner-Waldorf, courant pédagogique fondé sur ses conceptions éducatives. Rudolf Steiner naît à Nieder Kraliewitz en 1861 (aujourd'hui Kraljevec), à l'époque partie de l'Empire d'Autriche, actuellement en Croatie, de parents autrichiens. En 1869, sa famille s'installe à Neudörfl, aujourd'hui en Autriche. Il entre au collège moderne et technique (Realschule) de Wiener Neustadt en 1872. Trois ans plus tard, il commence à s'intéresser à la philosophie. En 1877, il étudie la pensée de Kant.En 1879, il obtient son diplôme de fin d'études avec félicitations. Il continue à étudier la philosophie, en particulier Fichte. En octobre, il devient étudiant à l'École supérieure technique de Vienne et se lie avec son professeur de littérature, Karl Julius Schröer, philologue et grand connaisseur de l'oeuvre de Goethe. Il suit également des cours de philosophie à l'université. En 1880 il fait la connaissance de Félix Kogutzki (1833-1909), le cueilleur de simples (herbes médicinales ou aromatiques) qui l'initie à l'occultisme traditionnel et lui aurait fait rencontrer un maître spirituel éminent. En 1882 Schröer conseille Steiner à Josef Kürschner, en tant qu'éditeur de l'oeuvre scientifique de Goethe. La famille Steiner s'installe à Inzersdorf am Wienerberge, dans les environs de Vienne. En 1883, il achève le premier volume pour Josef Kürschner (parution en 1884). En octobre il met fin à ses études supérieures, car il s'intéresse davantage à la philosophie.En 1884 Steiner devient le précepteur des enfants des époux Specht, et se consacre au jeune Otto, qui est hydrocéphale. Il entame une correspondance avec Edouard von Hartmann. En 1886 il fréquente le salon de la poétesse Marie Eugenie Delle Grazie (de) et les théologiens de son entourage. Il accepte de collaborer à l'édition des oeuvres scientifiques de Goethe dans la grande édition de Weimar, celle dite de la Grand Duchesse Sophie .

Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition are the basic cognitive forms of higher knowledge. We might say that everyday thinking is but a shadow cast by the enlivening thinking that is Imagination. Likewise, ordinary feeling is the shadow cast by Inspiration, and ordinary willing is the shadow cast by Intuition. We strengthen our normal faculties through meditation. Eventually, beings penetrate along the paths opened up through this meditation.

In this extraordinary lecture, hidden within a cycle on education, Rudolf Steiner describes the existential enigmas of the human soul. As we become more conscious, we begin to feel that our representations of the outer world are insubstantial, and this gives rise to unconscious fear.However, anthroposophy teaches us how to gradually overcome this fear by entering into imaginative representation. We slowly become aware of the sculptural forces of growth and metamorphosis that underlie thinking, and our thinking begins to partake of that substantiality.Our lives of volition and feeling also can be experienced in their real natures, which eventually gives us an intuition of the forces of death, which severs the soul from the body as a "last ripple" of will. A cosmic vista opens up, and our souls are given a "mainstay" just when they start to vacillate.

11 lectures in various cities, April 9, 2023 - May 26, 1924 (CW 84)

In his final lectures to the general public, Rudolf Steiner speaks with great clarity and purpose about the inner and outer need for the anthroposophil impulse in modern times. Following the fire that destroyed the first Goetheanum building in Dornach, Switzerland, Steiner had focused his efforts on rebuilding and reorganizing the Anthroposophical Society. But he also continued to travel and speak to the public--in Prague, Vienna, and Basel--to explain the purpose of the Goetheanum and to elucidate the broader aims of his spiritual work.

These lectures, including a semi-public series in Dornach, are collected here in English for the first time, along with an introduction, notes and index.

The volume features the following lectures:

- The Purpose of the Goetheanum and the Aims of Anthroposophy
- Enhancing Human Powers of Perception to Develop Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition
- Human Soul Life and the Development of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition
- Experience and Perception of the Activities of Thinking and Speech
- The Physical World and Moral-Spiritual Impulses
- Four Stages of Inner Experience
- Perceiving the Etheric World
- Soul's Eternity in the Light of Anthroposophy
- Human Development and Education in the Light of Anthroposophy
- Supersensible Perception, Anthroposophy as a Contemporary Need
- Anthroposophy and the Ethical and Religious Life
- How Do We Gain Knowledge of the Supersensible World?

This volume is a translation from German of Was wollte das Goetheanum und was soll die Anthroposophie? (GA 84).

11 lectures in Torquay, England, August 11-22, 1924 (CW 243)

In these cherished lectures, Rudolf Steiner posits a question: Why investigate the spiritual worlds at all? He then explores the contemporary need for spiritual knowledge and authentic paths that can lead to it.

Speaking in Torquay, England, at the International Summer School (organized by his friend and colleague D.N. Dunlop), Steiner surveys the differences in various types of consciousness--from ancient to modern times, in waking and dreaming, from space into time--and the changes that have taken place in relation to knowledge and science in history.

Rudolf Steiner then discusses the mystery nature of crystallized minerals and metals, such as copper and silver, and their relationship to the planets. He also describes how the ages of life can become organs of perception. In a dramatic conclusion Steiner explains the role of moon beings; ahrimanic elemental beings; and the true nature of mediumship, ectoplasm, and spiritual possession.

Presented here in a fresh translation that corrects many errors in previous editions, the text is complemented with notes, an introduction by Paul King, and an index.

Lectures include

- Nature is the Great Illusion: "Know Thyself"
- The Three Worlds and their Reflected Images
- Form and Substantiality of the Mineral Kingdom in relation to Human Levels of Consciousness
- The Secret of Research into other Realms through the Metamorphosis of Consciousness
- The Inner Enlivening of the Soul through the Qualities of Metals
- Initiation Science
- Star Knowledge
- Possible Aberrations in Spiritual Research

This volume is a translation from German of Das Initiaten - Bewußtsein. Die wahren und die falschen Wege der geistigen Forschung (GA 243). The previous edition was titled True and False Paths in Spiritual Investigation (1985).

10 lectures in Dornach, Switzerland, April 1-22, 1924 (CW 233a)

"Steiner has been able to clarify the historical reality behind the Rosicrucian story, with all its aura of glamor and fantasy. That effected, he points to the enormity of its vision for the future evolution of ideas" (Dr Andrew Welburn, from the introduction).

In the immediate aftermath of the "Mystery act" called the Christmas Foundation Conference, Rudolf Steiner chose to speak on the subjects of Rosicrucianism and modern initiation and the mystery centers of the Middle Ages. Clearly connected to the events that had just occurred in Dornach--in which he not only reestablished the Anthroposophical Society but also assumed a formal position within it--Steiner begins by exploring the intellectual life of the Middle Ages and the role that the mysteries played within it. He illumines on the foundations of Rosicrucianism, its principles of initiation, and its inherent impulse for freedom. Steiner also discusses the secret teachings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the dawn of the age of Archangel Michael.

In the second series of lectures, "The Easter Festival and the History of the Mysteries," Rudolf Steiner describes how the annual festivals developed from the mysteries themselves. He speaks of mysteries connected to spring and autumn, Adonis and Ephesus, and the significance of Sun and Moon. Throughout the volume Steiner discusses the roles of Alexander the Great and Aristotle in world history and the significance of Aristotle's "Categories."

Published for the first time as a single volume, this freshly revised text is complemented with an extensive introduction by Dr Andrew Welburn, detailed notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine, and an index.

This volume is a translation from German of Mysterienstätten des Mittelalters: Rosenkreuzertum und modernes Einweihungsprinzip Das Osterfest als ein Stück Mysteriengeschichte der Menschheit (GA 233a).

This sixth volume continues the series of translations of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophic Leading Thoughts, in which he sought at the end of his life to present the whole of anthroposophy as a succinct recapitulation. Yet everything also appears new in light of the Christmas Conference. The Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts are among the profoundest and most important texts in all of anthroposophy.

In these lectures, Steiner focuses on the vital task of developing the proper orientation toward a free spiritual life. With great compassion and understanding, he offers telling examples of how humanity must walk a conscious middle way between the two tempting powers of Lucifer and Ahriman. He describes the incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium before the Christ event, out of which flowed not just the wisdom of paganism, but also the conscious intellect we enjoy today. Ahriman, on the other hand, is shown approaching human beings through such phenomena as materialism, nationalism, and literalism, all in preparation for his incarnation in the third millennium. Keep in mind, however, that these two powers do not work separately; rather, they are working increasingly together. Our task as human beings is to hold them in balance, continually permeating one with the other. Steiner tells us that "Lucifer and Ahriman must be regarded as two scales of a balance, and it is we who must hold the beam in equipoise. How can we train ourselves to do this? By permeating what takes ahrimanic form within us with a strongly luciferic element." To accomplish this task we need a new, more conscious inner life.

Rudolf Steiner was a philosopher, social thinker, architect, and esotericist. His philosophical work, which he termed spiritual science, sought to provide a connection between the cognitive path of Western philosophy and the inner and spiritual needs of the human being. In The Way of Initiation, Steiner details the exercises and moral qualities to be cultivated on the path to a conscious experience of 'supersensible' realities. This short but powerful book is intended as a guide for achieving spiritual vision.

Reproduction of the original: The Education of Children by Rudolf Steiner

Reproduction of the original: An Outline of Occult Science by Rudolf Steiner