Old and New Methods of Initiation
Fourteen Lectures Given in Dornach, Mannheim and Breslau from 1 January to 19 March 1922
These fascinating and wide-ranging lectures deal not only with the theme of initiation into the ancient mysteries and how that contrasts with what is required today of people treading a spiritual path of knowledge, but also covers such topics as the working of Lucifer and Ahriman in the threefold organization of the human being; the development of religious life in the post-Atlantean cultural epochs, particularly with reference to the pagan Old Testament streams; the relationship of the individual to the folk spirit; the need to think with exactitude and impartiality; and the role of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition in helping to understand the human being.
The last four lectures examine in some detail the impulse of freedom behind the work of Goethe and Schiller, particularly Faust and the Aesthetic Letters, and draw interesting connections with Shakespeare on the one hand and the French Revolution on the other. Behind all the lectures stands Rudolf Steiner’s stress on the importance of understanding the transition from the Fourth into the Fifth cultural epoch, and how imperative it is to work free of the intellectualism of our age through the development of imagination.
Contents:
Lecture I: The working of Lucifer and Ahriman in the human being’s body, soul and spirit.
Lecture II: Distinction between human beings of East, West and the middle region. Contemplation of the Christ-being.
Lecture III: The development of religious life during the post-Atlantean cultural periods.
Lecture IV: Intimate aspects of soul and spiritual life. Crossing the threshold. Contrast between West and East.
Lecture V: Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition as actions on the way to reincarnation. The individual’s relationship to the folk spirit — the cause of disorder among nations.
Lecture VI: Ancient Mystery wisdom — ‘the prince of this world’, an opponent of Christ. Two main aspects of initiation. Cultivation of the will.
Lecture VII: Old and new methods of initiation. Thinking with exactitude. Impartiality.
Lecture VIII: Metamorphosis of soul aspects during life on earth and life in the spiritual world. The heathen and Old Testament streams.
Lecture IX: The threefold human organism and repeated earthly lives. The heathen stream and the Old Testament stream. Cyprianus (Calderón) and Faust (Lessing and Goethe).
Lecture X: Threefold man in relation to the four elements and to Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition. The need for spiritual life.
Lecture XI: Shakespeare, Goethe and Schiller in connection with the spiritual change of the fifteenth century.
Lecture XII: The spiritual struggle of Goethe and Schiller during the age when intellectualism triumphs over ancient spirituality.
Lecture XIII: Recapitulation of the previous two lectures. The search for access to the spiritual world out of a modern constitution of soul.
Lecture XIV:Â The ideal of freedom in the work of Schiller and Goethe. The French Revolution. How can man as a social being achieve freedom?
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 (see right). 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.
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