The Goddess

The Goddess: From Natura to the Divine Sophia

An Introductory Reader

With his philosophical and scientific training, Steiner brought a new systematic discipline to the field of spiritual research, allowing for fully conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries.

Samples of his work are to be found in this book of edited texts, which gathers excerpts from his many talks and writings on various themes and feature editorial introductions, commentary, and notes.

Topics Include:

• Rediscovering the Goddess Natura
• Retracing our Steps – Mediaeval Thought and the School of Chartres
• The Goddess Natura in the Ancient Mysteries
• The Goddess in the Beginning – the Birth of the Word
• Esoteric Christianity – the Virgin Sophia
• The Search for the New Isis
• The Renewal of the Mysteries
• The Modern Isis, the Divine Sophia

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.