Theosophy is Rudolf Steiner’s foundational introduction to anthroposophy — a comprehensive psychology based not on the conventional duality of body and mind, but on the ancient division of body, soul, and spirit. Written in 1904 (CW 9), this is Catherine E. Creeger’s contemporary translation — the modern English rendering most widely used in Waldorf teacher training today.
Rudolf Steiner in the Waldorf School: Lectures and Addresses to Children, Parents, and Teachers Lectures and addresses, 1919-1924 (CW 298) “Ultimately, isn’t it a very holy and religious obligation to cultivate and educate the divine spiritual element that manifests anew in every human being who is born? Isn’t this educational service a religious service in
The Renewal of Education 14 lectures, Basel, April 20-May 16, 1920 (CW 301) Following a lecture of November 27, 1919 requested by the Basel Department of Education, sixty members of the audience invited Rudolf Steiner to return and deliver a complete lecture course on his approach to education. These lectures are the result. Rudolf Steiner
Turning Points in Spiritual History: Zarathustra, Hermes, Moses, Elijah, Buddha, Christ Lecture collection: January 19, 1911 – January 25, 1912 (CW 60/61) “In our long human journey, individual and collective, the journey that science calls evolution, many indeed are the turning points. But they are not so much turning points in outer, material manifestation in the
The Essentials of Education 5 lectures, Stuttgart, April 8-11, 1924 (CW 308) These talks were given during an educational conference in 1924. They are the last public lectures given by Rudolf Steiner in Germany. According to one member of his audience, “Seventeen hundred people listened to him; the prolonged applause from this great crowd at
Esoteric Development: Lectures and Writings “You should not have any mystical ideas about meditation, nor should you think it is easy. Meditation must be completely clear, in the modern sense. Patience and inner soul energy are needed, and, above all, it depends on an act that no one else can do for you: it requires an
Education for Adolescents 8 lectures, Stuttgart, June 12-19, 1921 (CW 302) In these eight talks on education for adolescent-aged young people, Steiner addressed the teachers of the first Waldorf school two years after it was first opened. A high school was needed, and Steiner wanted to provide a foundation for study and a guide for
Broken Vessels: The Spiritual Structure of Human Frailty 11 lectures in Dornach, September 8-19, 1924 (CW 318) “Humans cannot be known by uncreative thoughts, because by their very nature human beings are creative. One must re-create if one wants knowledge. With today’s passive thinking, one can understand only the periphery of the human being; one
An Outline of Esoteric Science Written in 1909 (CW 13) “Esoteric science is the science of what takes place esoterically, in the sense that it is perceived not outside in nature but where one’s soul turns when it directs its inner being toward the spirit. Esoteric science is the opposite and counterpart of natural science.”
According to Luke: The Gospel of Compassion and Love Revealed 10 lectures, Basel, September 15-26, 1909 (CW 114) Rudolf Steiner was born with clairvoyant capacities, but it was not until he was forty that he could connect his inner experiences with Jesus Christ. After that “solemn festival of knowledge,” as he described it in his
The Influence of the Dead on Destiny 8 lectures, Dornach, December 2–22, 1917 (CW 179) With a single observation, Rudolf Steiner can sometimes outline a radically new reality that changes everything. Here, he introduces these extraordinary lectures by proposing that the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds “lies right in the middle of the
The Path of the Soul After Death: The Community of the Living and the Dead as Witnessed by Rudolf Steiner in his Eulogies and Farewell Addresses “We are separated from the spiritual worlds only by states of consciousness, not by spatial circumstances. States of consciousness are what separate us.” —Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner saw relationships
The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved: Unveiling the Author of John’s Gospel Based on a talk at the New York Open Center in 1999, this book on the identity of John speaks of Christian initiation in a new way—one whose time has come. What Smith has to say is both extraordinarily suggestive and remarkably conclusive. Covering a
The Temple Sleep of the Rich Young Ruler: How Lazarus Became the Evangelist John Who wrote the Gospel of John? The author identifies himself only as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and Christian tradition tells us that this disciple was the apostle John. However, during the past century, scholars have increasingly come to doubt that attribution.
Rudolf Steiner’s Intentions for the Anthroposophical Society: The Executive Council, the School for Spiritual Science, and the Sections Although the fruits of Anthroposophy—Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, Camphill, anthroposophic medicine, and so on—are relatively well known and moderately successful, their relationship to Anthroposophy and its vehicle for transmission, the General Anthroposophical Society, and the School for Spiritual
The Four Sacrifices of Christ 1 lecture, Basel, June 1, 1914 Before the sacrifice of the Mystery of Golgotha, the Christ being performed three great sacrifices in the spiritual world. Those sacrificial acts made possible the selflessness of the senses, the body’s physical organs, and the human capacities of thought, feeling, and volition. This is
Reincarnation and Immortality Written 1901 (CW 7) Rudolf Steiner’s science of spirit―occult wisdom―is presented here in a way that is readily understood by the modern reader through five lectures and one essay presented to the general public. In keeping with all of Steiner’s writings, this book in line with the Western esoteric tradition and the
The Mystery of the Trinity: Mission of the Spirit 8 lectures in Dornach, Oxford, and London, July and August 1922 (CW 214) Revised and Updated 2nd Edition In these exciting lectures given in 1922, Rudolf Steiner explores the practical consequences of Christian theological spiritual facts as they unfold in human consciousness. In part one, “The
The Karma of Vocation 10 lectures, Dornach, November 4–27, 1916 (CW 172) Usually, motivating ourselves to get through the demands of daily life is difficult enough; finding the will to excel is even harder. Our occupations can become routine and boring, leading us to to ask: What is the purpose of my work? Is it
The Easter Festival in the Evolution of the Mysteries 4 lectures, Dornach, April 19-22, 1924 (CW 233a) “The original idea of any sacred festival is to make the human being look upward from his dependence on earthly things to those things that transcend the Earth.” (from lecture 2) Rudolf Steiner leads us to an understanding
