Ita Wegman spent the last three years of her life in Tessin, in the Casa Andrea Cristoforo. In this secluded province, largely protected from the destructive events of those years and imbued with certain forces, she developed a great work for the future, gathering, leading, and nurturing people both therapeutically and spiritually, preparing for the war's end with the full intensity of her being. Her last three years were a period of devotion to Rudolf Steiner and his work, as well as to esoteric Christianity-to the forces of the Archangel Michael and to Christ for the present and future. She continued to take a great interest in the difficulties of her time and never ceased to participate in events-taking in refugee children and the homeless, keeping up extensive correspondences with others, struggling with aid organizations and various agencies, caring daily for the afflicted and for patients and colleagues. On March 4, 1943, Ita Wegman passed into the spiritual worlds, well prepared and with all of the spiritual intentions of a Christian initiate. This book contributes to documenting the final phase of Ita Wegman's life, focusing on the forces of the future that emerged in her. It draws on her notebooks from her time in Ascona, as well as from her extensive correspondence and memories of those who lived and worked at Casa Andrea Cristoforo. She remained upstanding, free, and positive with an esoteric Christian orientation and felt that she was obligated only to her conscience and to the spiritual world for which Rudolf Steiner stood and that she served. This book was originally published in German as Die letzten drei Jahre. Ita Wegman in Ascona 1940-1943 (Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 2004).

Discovered in Egypt in 1945, the fascinating and challenging Nag Hammadi writings forever changed our understanding of early Christianity. State-of-the-art and the only volume of its kind, Introduction to "Gnosticism": Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds guides students through the most significant of the Nag Hammadi texts. Employing an exceptionally lucid and accessible writing style, Nicola Denzey Lewis groups the texts by theme and genre, places them in the broader context of the ancient world, and reveals their most inscrutable mysteries. Ideal for use in courses in Early Christianity/Origins of Christianity, Christianity to 1500, Gnostic Gospels, Gnosticism, Early Christian Writings, Orthodoxy and Heresy, and New Testament Studies, Introduction to "Gnosticism" is enhanced by numerous pedagogical features, including images of the manuscripts, study and discussion questions, annotated bibliographies, tables, diagrams, and a glossary.

The writings of H.P. Blavatsky, the chief Founder of the modern Theosophical Movement, are becoming with every day more widely known. They constitute in their totality one of the most astounding products of the creative human mind. Considering their unequalled erudition, their prophetic nature, and their spiritual depth, they must be classed, by friend and foe alike, as being among the inexplicable phenomena of the age.

The focus of this book is the spiritual work in the "school"-the community-of Michael. What does this mean? At the end of the eighteenth century, the Archangel Michael revealed the new mystery that has manifested on Earth as spiritual science, or anthroposophy. Its essence involves the renewal of our knowledge of the mysteries of karma and human destiny. Those who are drawn to this school have a special relationship to the human faculty of thinking-their inner feeling for truth has the strength of iron. This feeling for truth helps them to become companions of Michael at the threshold of the spiritual world. These talks deal with the spiritual path of anthroposophy in its Christian Rosicrudian aspect. Tomberg speaks openly and honestly about meditation, the various stages of consciousness (imagination, inspiration, and intuition), the "guardian of the threshold," and the esoteric trials one encounters along the way. He concludes by describing the life of Rudolf Steiner as the life of a Christian initiate.

I believe, a time will come when greater distance makes the conflicts in the Anthroposophical Society - which at first sight seem so ugly - appear as part of the struggle for anthroposophy in the twentieth century. When this future dawns it will be important to be able to reach back to a historical documentation of what happened. - Emanuel Zeylmans Following the re-founding of the Anthroposophical Society at the Christmas Foundation Meeting in 1923, Ita Wegman, Rudolf Steiner's closest collaborator at the end of his life, became the object of intense opposition, systematic exclusion, and misunderstanding. This ostracism and misinformation continued after her death, kept alive by prejudice and untruths that created an atmosphere that made a clear and unbiased view of her role in Anthroposophy impossible. Because no real biography existed, even the open-minded and impartial found it difficult to make an informed judgment. This lack was filled by Emanuel Zeylmans' three-volume work, Who Was Ita Wegman? To write it, he researched 100 undated notebooks, 2,000 manuscript pages, and 6,000 letters. Sifting through these was an enormous labor. To reach the esoteric heart of "the Wegman question" took him twelve years. What he found was extraordinary and of paramount importance to anyone interested in Anthroposophy and the divisive karma of its history. In Ita Wegman and Anthroposophy, Wolfgang Weirauch of the German journal Flensburger Heft interviews Emanuel Zeylmans. Speaking candidly about the deepest aspects of his revelatory findings, Zeylmans describes how his passionate need unfolded to understand what happened both to Ita Wegman and Anthroposophy. He talks of meetings with those who knew her intimately. He tells of her collaboration with Rudolf Steiner and her fraught relations with Marie Steiner and Edith Maryon, both of whom also had special relationships with Steiner. He describes the Christmas Foundation Meeting and the conflicts that followed Steiner's death that led to Ita Wegman's expulsion from the Executive Council. Though this book will be of special interest to those who want to understand the history of the Anthroposophical Society, it would be a mistake to consider it a book about the past. It is a book about the future of Anthroposophy.

In a rich contemplation of Christian life and practise, Louise Mary Sofair relates the events in the Gospels to the rhythms of the year. Viewing the key Christian festivals from the perspective of the twelve months of the yearly cycle, she points to relevant events in the Gospels, focusing on the role of women. In the second part of the book she celebrates the biographies of twelve influential women who played significant roles in humanity's development - from the medieval Clare of Assisi and Eleanor of Castile to the more recent Edith Stein and Ita Wegman. In her concluding chapter, the author discusses the meaning of the Eternal Feminine and its implications for the future of humanity. With reference to the Book of Revelation she describes how, '...the united masculine, spiritual element and feminine, higher-soul element of the future human being...gives an invitation to all those who wish to share in the community of eternal Life.' Although centred on themes of feminine spirituality, this book is relevant to anyone interested in the task of personal transformation and the healthy progress of the human race.

"Every moral deed and every physical action in human life is connected in the human heart. Only when we truly learn to understand the configuration of he human heart will we find the true fusion of these two parallel and independent phenomena: moral events and physical events." -Rudolf Steiner Today we know very little about the true nature of the human heart. Our knowledge arises only from a materialistic or an emotional standpoint. However, the human heart, as Rudolf Steiner knew and taught, is both spiritual and physical-the place where body and soul come together. It is the place of their unity. We have lost this knowledge, yet it is integral to the Western understanding of what gives humanity its vocation-our spiritual/physical, our earthly/heavenly nature. In this astonishing and inspiring book, Peter Selg focuses on the evolution of the spiritual understanding of the heart as transmitted through Aristotle, the Gospels, and Hebrew Scriptures to the Middle Ages, when, in the light of the Mystery of Golgotha and its sacramental life, it was synthesized and transformed by Thomas Aquinas, after whom, with the rise of modern science it, was lost until Goethe began a process of recovery and development that led to its complete renewal and transformation in Rudolf Steiner. The Mystery of the Heart tells this story in three parts. Part one, "The Anthropology of the Heart in the Gospels," examines the spiritual anthropology of the heart in the Gospels in the light of Ezekiel's prophetic saying: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a living heart of flesh." Part two, "De Essentia et Motu Cordis," describes Aristotle's understanding of the heart and its transformation and deepening in Aquinas. Part three, "The Heart and the Fate of Humanity," examines the spiritual-scientific view of the heart as developed in Rudolf Steiner's teachings. Also included is an appendix containing selected meditative verses and therapeutic meditations for the heart.

"Rudolf Steiner's model of a spiritualized medicine could hold the key for the next growth phase in Western medicine, if it is to survive, flourish, and become consistently and deeply therapeutic instead of merely palliative." -Richard Leviton, author of Imagination of Pentecost: Rudolf Steiner & Contemporary SpiritualityRudolf Steiner, a scientist by training, lectured and wrote, at different times on medical subjects and advised physicians on their work. His view of medicine was both unconventional and precise. He could describe-based on his highly developed powers of observation and his spiritual research-processes of health and disease that escape conventional methods of medical observation. In all his lectures to doctors and in his explanations of anthroposophic medicine, Steiner emphasized that his medical concepts are not intended to replace conventional Western medicine, but to extend it; diagnosis and healing methods are expanded to include our soul and spirit. In these broadly ranging talks, Steiner introduces fundamental principles of anthroposophically extended medicine. Some of the most remarkable insights that anthroposophy brings to medicine are contained in this volume. For example, Steiner points out that the heart is not a pump and that its motion is a consequence, not the cause, of rhythmic movements in human beings. Topics include: Health problems, such as hay fever, migraine, sclerosis, cancer, tuberculosis, typhoid, and childhood diseasesThe polarity between nerve and liver cellsThe functions of the spleen and the gallbladderThe three basic processes of sensory-nervous system, rhythmic system, and metabolic-limb systemRegenerative and degenerative processesThe true nature of the nervous systemPlus many suggestions for the use of minerals, plants, and artistic therapies in healing.This Collected Works edition contains a new introduction, a chronology of Rudolf Steiner's life, and an index.

"Not only do we pass through the gate of death as immortal beings, we also enter through the gate of birth as unborn beings. We need the term unbornness, as well as the term immortality, to encompass the whole human being." (Rudolf Steiner) As anyone who has had a child knows, newborns enter the earthly world as beings different from their parents. They arrive with their own individuality, being, and history. From the beginning, they manifest an essential dignity and a unique "I," which they clearly brought with them from the spiritual world. This unborn life of a person's higher individuality guides the whole process of incarnation. It frames our lives, but we fail to recognize this because of a single-minded focus on immortality, or life-after-death, which makes us forget the reality of our "unbornness." This unbornness extends not only from conception to birth, but also includes the whole existence and history of one's "I" in its long journey from the spiritual world to Earth. Unbornness-the other side of eternity-allows us to experience the fact that birth is just as great a mystery as is death. In a new and striking way, unbornness poses the mystery of our human task on Earth. It was one of Rudolf Steiner's great gifts that he returned the concept of unbornness to human consciousness and language. In this brief, stunning, and moving, almost poetic work, Peter Selg gathers the key elements and images needed to begin an understanding of-and wonder at-the vast scope of our unbornness. Drawing on and expanding on Steiner's work, as well as Raphael's Sistine Madonna and the poems of Nelly Sachs and Rainer Maria Rilke, Selg unveils this deepest mystery of human existence. After reading it, one will never look at a child or another human being in the same way again. Life after death life before birth; only by knowing both do we know eternity. (Rudolf Steiner) Unbornness is a translation of Ungeborenheit: Die Praexistenz des Menschen und der Weg zur Geburt (Verlag Ita Wegman Institut, 2009).

"The New Essential Steiner" is an illuminating, completely new introduction to the philosophy and essential writings of Rudolf Steiner, introduced and edited by Robert McDermott, who also edited the now-classic "Essential Steiner." This new volume offers selections from a wide variety of Steiner's published works, presenting a broad, accessible overview of Anthroposophy. In his introduction, McDermott recounts Steiner's life and work, from his childhood and education to his work as a natural scientist, philosopher, scholar, educator, artist, interpreter of culture, and seer. He places Steiner in relation to major traditions of thought and explores the genesis and development of Anthroposophy. Although Rudolf Steiner is considered by many to be the greatest spiritual seer and philosophical thinker of the twentieth century and is credited with major cultural contributions such as the worldwide Waldorf school movement and the ever-growing biodynamic agricultural movement, he nevertheless remains relatively unknown to both academics and the public. The purpose of this volume is to redress that situation by introducing Steiner's work to a broader audience and making his name more universally recognized. "The New Essential Steiner" includes selections from Steiner's writings, which are grouped into chapters that demonstrate the breadth of his thinking and spiritual accomplishments.

"Love mediated by way of the senses is the wellspring of creative power, of what is coming into being. Without sense-born love, nothing material would exist in the world; without spiritual love, nothing spiritual can arise in evolution. When we practice love, cultivate love, creative forces pour into the world" (Rudolf Steiner). This new collection brings together all of Rudolf Steiner's main lectures and writings on love -- from earthly love to the nature and function of spiritual love. These pieces are essential reading for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of our true mission and the purpose of human evolution on Earth. Topics include: The Division of the Sexes; The Mission of Reverence; The Teaching of Compassion and Love; Wonder, Compassion, and Conscience; Faith, Love, and Hope; as well as the title lecture. Topics include: The Division of the Sexes; The Mission of Reverence; The Teaching of Compassion and Love; Wonder, Compassion, and Conscience; Faith, Love, and Hope; as well as the title lecture.

Unlike other works on this theme, Sergei Prokofieff's short book is not a straightforward introduction. Presupposing an acquaintance with the basic principles of anthroposophy, it focuses instead on the central Christological insights which form the core of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy. "What is Anthroposophy?" is a personal work in the sense that it reflects an individual's own endeavors to build a connection to anthroposophy. As the author states in his Preface: '...as soon as we comprehend anthroposophy as something living, we are concerned not merely with defining it intellectually but, rather, with developing a real relationship to it...' He elaborates: 'The content [of this book] will probably reveal more about the author and his relationship to anthroposophy than about it itself, for its nature is basically beyond description and consequently evades any purely intellectual definition.' This is a valuable addition to the introductory literature on anthroposophy from an established and well-respected author.

From the moment that Marie von Sivers met Rudolf Steiner in 1902, their relationship became key to the development of anthroposophy. Marie Steiner's immense contribution is well known in the fields of eurythmy, speech, the arts, and in her management and publication of Steiner's literary estate - but she also assisted in almost every aspect of Rudolf Steiner's work. So why has she been so neglected by the anthroposophical movement? Driven by this central question, the authors of this penetrating study came to the conclusion that the karma and mission of Marie Steiner-von Sivers is of vital importance to the present and future spiritual and cultural development of the West. They evaluate Marie's 23-year partnership with Rudolf Steiner, but also her three previous incarnations: in the Ancient Orphic Mysteries, as the Neoplatonist Hypatia, and as Albertus Magnus. The lives, deeds, cultural legacies and thought of these various personalities are addressed through a series of lucid essays, interspersed with studies on the missions of both Rudolf and Marie Steiner. These are supplemented with short extracts from literature which reverberate with the word, helping to reveal the intimately intertwined karmic missions of Marie Steiner-von Sivers and her work-companion and soul-partner, Rudolf Steiner.

This text, outlining a new methodology for the study of human nature, dates from 1910 and was found after Rudolf Steiner's death among his unpublished papers. Steiner had dealt with the same theme earlier in lectures. Asked for a written version, he tried to write down what he had said, but found himself unable to do so-the language would not completely relinquish the words. Nevertheless, what he was able to put down remains a major intellectual and spiritual accomplishment of the twentieth century. Steiner presents anthroposophy, which lies between anthropology and theosophy, as a way of studying the human being. Where anthropology studies the human being on the basis of the senses-i.e. by observation within the limits of the scientific method-theosophy recognizes the human as a spiritual being on the basis of inner experience and seeks to understand what it means to be human in a spiritual world. Between these two approaches-basically those of science and religion-lies anthroposophy, which seeks to study human beings as they present themselves to physical observation, while at the same time seeking to derive indications of the spiritual foundations of phenomena by a process of phenomenological intensification. The results of such phenomenological intensification, though fragmentary and incomplete, are of enormous importance. They constitute the first steps toward a truly cognitive psychology, one that demonstrates the richness of the phenomenological approach to the human being as a sensory organism. Starting from there, Steiner unfolds the seven life processes, the nature of I-experience, the meaning of the human form, and its complex relation to higher spiritual worlds. This is a key work, whose time has truly arrived.

'All existence is spirit. Just as ice is water, so matter is also spirit. Mineral, vegetable, animal or human - all are a condensed form of spirit.' - Rudolf Steiner In the two lecture courses featured in this volume, Rudolf Steiner presents a radical new paradigm. Tackling the central dilemma of modern civilization - the polarisation of science and spirituality - he seeks to broaden natural science through a comprehensive spiritual science. Rather than harking back to old spiritual forms or religions, Steiner's approach is based on a conscious and systematic intensification of thinking and perception. Rudolf Steiner approaches this spiritual-scientific task from two perspectives. In Kassel, Germany, he deepens insight into theosophy and Rosicrucianism, showing their relationship to science and religion. Although presented as an 'introduction', Steiner was never interested in simply providing information - not even in the form of new revelations - and his insights are from fresh angles and with new illustrative examples. These lectures deepen and develop key elements found in his fundamental works Occult Science, An Outline and Theosophy. Also featured are the fascinating question-and-answer sessions from the Kassel lectures. In Basel, Switzerland, Rudolf Steiner discusses that most esoteric of the accounts of the life of Christ: the Gospel of John. Whilst the focus is on the gospel, basic tenets of spiritual science, human existence and world evolution are considered, as is the concept of karma and the true nature of Christianity. In both sets of lectures Steiner dwells on the Prologue to the Gospel of John (given in his own translation), which offers a meditative approach to gaining insight into both the gospel and Christianity as a whole. Rather than distancing us from life, each of the lectures in this volume brings us closer to reality. As Rudolf Steiner states: 'Rosicrucian theosophy...does not make us into eccentrics, outsiders, but into friends of existence, for it doesn't look down on everyday life, alienating us from our mission on earth; it brings us closer.'

`From time to time in the history of humanity, extraordinary individualities appear, carrying with them great tasks which are difficult to assess. Through this lens, the events around Kaspar Hauser (1812-1833) can be seen as signposts to one of the most important mysteries of modern times, which will radiate far into the future. Kaspar's appearance and the essence of his being are deeply connected with the question of the identity of the human being itself.' - From the Foreword. This book offers a unique, creative approach to the mystery of Kaspar Hauser - the teenage boy who was found abandoned on the streets of Nuremberg, barely able to walk, speak or write. Introducing the subject with a historical overview, Eckart Boehmer goes on to offer multiple artistic approaches to comprehending the enigma of Kaspar Hauser's brief and tragic life. He presents poems from his cycle I not human, I Kaspar, a short story entitled `Crossing the Border', and a play about Hauser's mentor, `Feuerbach or an Example of a Crime Against the Human Consciousness Soul'. These are followed by transcripts of two lectures held during the Kaspar Hauser Festival in New York, which reflect on esoteric research carried out in the last twenty years. The volume concludes with short meditations followed by an interview with the author on his biographical connections to the theme. Inspired by the Kaspar Hauser Festival in Ansbach and the Kaspar Hauser Research Circle, this valuable book offers many imaginative gems for deeper contemplation.

In two related studies, Peter Selg tracks the groundbreaking of first Goetheanum from September 20, 1913, in the context of the so-called Michael movement, the primary active pulse brought by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 that explicitly indicates the anthroposophic movement and its formal society. The author shows the fundamental importance of this beginning in Dornach. He illuminates the fateful goal of the "School of Spiritual Science" with Rudolf Steiner's karma lectures, not only providentially in sense that it involved individualities, but also with regard to the future progress of human civilization. This monograph builds on Peter Selg's book Rudolf Steiner's Foundation Stone Meditation: And the Destruction of the Twentieth Century and Sergei O. Prokofieff's Rudolf Steiner's Sculptural Group: A Revelation of the Spiritual Purpose of Humanity and the Earth. Originally published in German as Grundstein zur Zukunft. Vom Schicksal der Michael-Gemeinschaft by Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts, 2013.

How can we best achieve our personal goals - not just to benefit ourselves but also our loved ones and wider communities? Mastering Life introduces comprehensive and effective methods to transform the self, enhanced by the meditative use of magical symbols and sacred words. These help us identify our aspirations, combining goal contemplation, visualization and meditation techniques. Through these processes, we can gain control over spiritual forces that work within our destiny, attracting favourable outer circumstances in everyday life. Dr Gruenewald offers a set of practical tools: * A spiritual symbol and mantra for meditation that can enhance our capacity to manifest harmonic goals. * Contemplation - courageous conversation with our resourceful self - to enrich imagination and willpower. * Resilience-building techniques, active listening, mindful nature observation and transformation of negative emotions. * Harmonization of our goals with the developmental needs of others, in freedom and love. * Contemplative work with the initiatory Temple Legend narrative (featured in the book). In this accessible handbook, the author shows how we can call upon the assistance of spiritual beings and masters who serve the development of humanity - including Christian Rosenkreuz, whose pupils have long used magical symbols and verses for meditative and ritualistic work.

6 lectures, Berlin, November 16-December 12, 1915 (CW 157a) This is a fully revised edition of the book previously published as The Forming of Destiny and Life after Death Rudolf Steiner delivered these lectures near the end of 1915 and the beginning of World War I, when the issue of death and destiny weighed on the minds of many in Europe. He describes, from a spiritual perspective, the process of crossing the threshold of death to life in the spiritual world; the soul's experience immediately after death; and the process of forming one's destiny, or karma, while we remain on Earth and later in the spirit world. Steiner also discusses the importance of our connection with those who have died and how love and reverence to the memory of the dead must be united with our love for the physical world, and how we can strengthen ourselves through meditation. In the final lecture, given on December 21, Steiner stresses the esoteric importance of the thirteen nights of Christmas and how we can consciously affect our future karma during that time. This edition includes "The Dream Song of Olaf Asteson," a Nordic poem (discussed in lecture 6) that describes in pictorial language the deep mysteries of the Christmas nights.

Reassessing human history in relation to the cosmic-earthly events of Christ's incarnation, Rudolf Steiner stresses the significance of both Gnostic spirituality and the legends of the Holy Grail. The 'Christ-Impulse', he tells us, is not a one-time event but a continuous process, beginning well before Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. This mighty impulse is a force that gives impetus to human development, such as with the extraordinary blossoming of free thinking of the last two millennia. Surveying this pattern of evolving human thought, Steiner explains the roles of contrasting historical figures, for example the great teacher Zarathustra, Joan of Arc and Johannes Keplar. We are shown the widespread influence of the clairvoyant prophetesses, the sibyls, who formed a backdrop to the Greco-Roman world. Steiner contrasts their revelations to those of the Hebrew prophets. The lectures culminate in the secret background to the Parzival narrative. Steiner illustrates how it is possible to experience the Holy Grail by reading the stellar script in the sky at Easter. Here, he provides a rare personal account of the processes he utilized to conduct esoteric research. The new edition of these much-loved lectures features a revised translation and an introduction, appendices and notes by Frederick Amrine.

Earth and humanity are involved in a fragile interplay of physical and spiritual relationships, the full spectrum of which can only be discerned by higher, finer senses. Based on actual, living discernment rather than dogmatic ideas, Karsten Massei reveals how we can unite with nature, supporting our inner development and everyday lives. We ourselves comprise the path leading to the mysteries of the earth. Through delving into nature's secrets, paradoxically we are brought back to our own being - our soul-gold, our luminosity, but also to our shadow, lower nature. Deep encounters with the earth are thus self-encounters. --- In a series of concise and accessible chapters, Massei illumines human characteristics - our senses, the quality of our listening, our soul wounds and the possibility for transformation. Likewise, he lights up the natural world - plants and animals, but also elemental beings, spirits of trees, and the great being of the earth, Christ. Amongst a wealth of interrelated themes, the author portrays death as the doorway to a new existence, describing the relationship of the dead with the earth and humanity and speaking movingly of the healing social deed of forgiveness. Founded on first-hand research, this book is full of reverence for the hidden aspects of life and their significance for personal growth.

Speaking towards the end of the catastrophic Great War, Rudolf Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of our times. Since 1879, he says, human minds have been influenced by backward angels, 'spirits of darkness', who - following their defeat in battle with Archangel Michael - were forced out of the heavens and 'fell' to the earth. This war in the spiritual worlds had consequences, and it is essential that people today are sufficiently awake to the retrogressive influences around them. In a positive sense, we can choose freely to engage with the spirits of light, who seek to emancipate human beings from bonds of race, nation and blood. In this extraordinary series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner throws light on hidden aspects of world affairs. With the Bolshevik Revolution having just taken place, he discusses events in Russia and humanity's attempts to build theoretically perfect social orders. Steiner also speaks about the roles and spiritual backgrounds of significant individuals, such as the mystics Johann Valentin Andreae, Vladimir Soloviev and Saint-Martin, the American and British politicians Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George, and world-historic figures including Charles Darwin and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The new edition of this classic work features a revised translation, notes and extensive appendices by editor Frederick Amrine, plus a new introduction by Christopher Schaefer.