The Mysteries

The Mysteries

“[Rudolf Steiner’s] actual going was like a miracle. As though it were self-explanatory, he just went. To me it was as though the dice of decision were cast at the very last moment. And once they had fallen, there was no struggle, no more attempt or wish to remain on Earth. For some time, he gazed quietly before him, still spoke to me a few loving words, and then consciously closed his eyes and folded his hands.

“He was needed in the spiritual world. That was made clear. And it was also made clear that he had important things to communicate to the spiritual world, which only he could communicate.” — Ita Wegman (describing Dr. Steiner’s final moments)

This unique collection presents Ita Wegman’s principal writings and lectures on the Mysteries—both the mysteries of the ancient world, to which she felt personally connected, and the Spiritual Science of Anthroposophy, which she saw as the contemporary form of mystery wisdom.

The volume begins with Ita Wegman’s firsthand account of Rudolf Steiner’s final days and hours on earth—written immediately after his death in 1925—followed by several of her powerful letters “To All Members” and their related “Leading Thoughts.” Various longer studies are also featured, including her lecture “A Fragment from the History of the Mysteries,” delivered at the opening of the second Goetheanum in 1928; articles on Ephesus and the Colchian Mysteries; and personal impressions of Columba’s Iona, the island of Staffa (with its initiatory Fingal’s Cave), and Palestine, the land where Christ once walked the Earth.

These writings—several composed specifically for English readers—bring us closer to the inner being of Ita Wegman, offering insight into her knowledge, vision, and understanding of Anthroposophy. Her stimulating ideas illumine the transformation of the ancient mysteries to anthroposophic knowledge and activity today.

“What is our Anthroposophy other than a Mystery knowledge bestowed on us anew by our teacher Rudolf Steiner?” —Ita Wegman

About the Author

Dr. Ita Wegman (1876–1943) was born in the Dutch East Indies. She trained in gymnastics and massage and later in medicine.. She became a close student of Rudolf Steiner, who encouraged her to acquire a medical degree. She later founded the Institute of Clinical Medicine in Arlesheim, Switzerland, where she developed a medical practice based on principles of spiritual science. She was made leader of the Medical Section of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923 and, during her last years, devoted herself to work in the clinic, where she died.