Rosicrucian Esotericism (Used)

Rosicrucian Esotericism

10 lectures, Budapest, June 3–12, 1909 (CW 109)

These lectures present an overview of western Rosicrucian esoteric knowledge, elaborating on the nature of the human being; the physical world as an expression of spiritual forces and beings; the stages of earth evolution in Lemuria, Atlantis, and after Atlantis; and the human being’s experience after death.

Further themes of the cycle include the soul in the world around us, the configuration and metamorphoses of the physical body, the evolutionary stages of the Earth before the Lemurian epoch, and karma, reincarnation and initiation.

This volume, together with The Principle of Spiritual Economy, completes the bulk of the German volume Das Prinzip der spirituellen Oekonomie im Zusammenhang mit Wiederverkörperungs Fragen (Bn/GA 109). It was translated from shorthand reports that were not revised by Rudolf Steiner.

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.