In listening to the changing language of the year, said Rudolf Steiner, we can rediscover our individual nature. These meditative verses, one for each week of the year, help to awaken a feeling of unity with nature while simultaneously stimulating a discovery of the self. Through intensive work, Steiner's unique meditations can lead to a feeling of oneness with the world. This budget-priced pocket version features Owen Barfield's pioneering translation - 'paraphrased for an English ear' - based on more than 50 years studying the text. As Barfield argues, no simple translation can convey the 'thrust' of the verses. In his words: 'It is this quality which the version that follows especially aims to suggest - at the expense, where necessary, of close reproduction.'

Some people's path to anthroposophy leads them directly to Rudolf Steiner's early work and The Philosophy of Freedom, and this becomes the philosophical basis for their future exploration. Rudolf Steiner referred to this as a 'safe' approach.But many people's destiny leads them directly to anthroposophy itself, or via one of its practical initiatives, making it difficult sometimes for them to relate to the cognitive basis of anthroposophy. In this unique study Sergei O. Prokofieff offers fresh means of access to Rudolf Steiner's crucially important book, The Philosophy of Freedom. Prokofieff indicates why The Philosophy of Freedom is so important to anthroposophy. It is here that Rudolf Steiner lays the foundations for his method of research. In Steiner's own words: "One who is willing can indeed find the basic principles of anthroposophy in my Philosophy of Freedom". Prokofieff discusses the Christian nature of the anthroposophical method of cognition, and how it is integrally related to freedom and love. This in turn reveals the deeply Christian roots of The Philosophy of Freedom and its importance for modern Christian esotericism. In fact, says Prokofieff, the book holds a 'central position ...in the spiritual history of the Occident'. In considering its multifaceted 'cosmic-human dimension', the author discusses The Philosophy of Freedom in relation to the Mystery of the Resurrection, the Working of the Hierarchies, the Being Anthroposophia, the Fifth Gospel, Rudolf Steiner's Path of Initiation, the Rosicrucian and Michaelic Impulses, the Life Between Death and Rebirth, the Foundation Stone, the Christian Mysteries of Karma and the Science of the Grail.

In what has been referred to as 'the most advanced course in anthroposophy', Rudolf Steiner addresses one of the great questions of our time: the role of evil in human development. He speaks of the year 666, when three time streams intersected - the familiar linear stream and two 'lateral' streams - and the reoccurrence of the 666-year rhythm in history. At the heart of this mystery is the being Sorat ('the beast'), who attempted to flood humanity with premature spiritual knowledge by inspiring the scholars of the ancient Academy of Gondishapur. Although responsible for the saving of Aristotle's works, Steiner describes how the Academy generated tremendous but dangerous gnostic wisdom, which eventually spread through the Christian monasteries and inspired Western scientific thought. Its immediate negative impact, however, had to be counteracted by the Prophet Muhammad and the founding of Islam. In contrast to the 666-year rhythm in history, the 333-year rhythm is connected to the healing forces of the Mystery of Golgotha. The year 333 was a central point in the post-Atlantean age, but also a pivotal moment in establishing the Christ Impulse and the new equilibrium it brought to humanity, allowing people to gain wisdom through their own efforts. Such wisdom enables insight into three key areas: supersensible knowledge of birth and death; understanding of an individual's life; and the ability consciously to confront the adversarial beings of Lucifer and Ahriman. Steiner addresses a host of additional themes, including occult Freemasonry in Anglo-American countries; materialism in the Roman Catholic Church; prophetic and apocalyptic vision; dualism and fatalism in pre-Christian times; and the delusion of time and space. Seeking to awaken his listeners to the urgency of the tasks ahead of them, he urges that spiritual understanding be enlivened with enthusiasm, fire and warmth of heart.

Madame Blavatsky's Victorian-era masterpiece is now scaled down to its essentials, providing the most readable, accessible experience ever of one of history's seminal occult works.
"The Secret Doctrine," Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's masterwork on the origin and evolution of the universe and humanity itself, is arguably the most famous, and perhaps the most influential, occult book ever written. Published since 1888 only in expensive, two-volume editions of some 1,400 pages, it has long eluded the grasp of modern readers- until now.
This single-volume edition, abridged and annotated by historian and Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes, places the ideas of "The Secret Doctrine" within reach of all who are curious. In particular, Gomes provides a critical sounding of the book's famous stanzas on the genesis of life and the cosmos- mysterious passages that Blavatsky said originated from a primeval source and which form the heart of "The Secret Doctrine." Gomes scrupulously scales down the book's key writings on symbolism to their essentials, and offers notes and a glossary to illuminate arcane references. His historical and literary introduction casts new light on some of the book's sources and on the career of its brilliant and elusive author, one of the most intriguing personages of the nineteenth century.
At once compact and representative of the work as a whole, this new edition of "The Secret Doctrine" brings unprecedented accessibility to the key esoteric classic of the modern era.

Utilizing spiritual-scientific research methods, Jesaiah Ben-Aharon gives an astonishing first-hand testimony of Rudolf Steiner's declarations regarding the new Christ Revelation, and offers his own findings on the Spiritual Event of the Twentieth Century. Based on occult Imaginative consciousness, he gives a unique account of events which took place in the spiritual world during the war and turmoil on earth in the period 1933-45. His words have a particular significance for an understanding of the work of the grouping of souls which the seer and spiritual teacher Rudolf Steiner called the 'Michael School'. Through coming to a fully conscious comprehension of the Spiritual Event of the Twentieth Century, the author asserts, we may gain the courage needed to renew and enliven the spiritual science of Anthroposophy as 'the universal human language of our age'. This second edition features an extensive introductory essay.

In this title, time-honoured rules of ethical and spiritual conduct are presented along with warnings against pitfalls of psychic development. There is no shortcut to wisdom, no instant enlightenment, for inner unfolding cannot be induced artificially. While the path toward conscious union with our inner divinity demands the utmost devotion, fidelity, and perseverance, it is also 'bright with joy, and lighted with the fires of the spirit'. This book reproduces the first two sections of "Fountain-Source of Occultism", so that the seeker may have readily to hand an inspired vision of the path before him.

D.N. Dunlop (1868-1935) combined remarkable practical and organizational abilities in industry and commerce with gifted spiritual and esoteric capacities. A personal friend of W.B. Yeats and Rudolf Steiner, Dunlop was responsible for founding the World Power Conference (today the World Energy Council), and played leading roles in the Theosophical Society and later the Anthroposophical Society. In his business life he pioneered a cooperative approach towards the emerging global economy. Meyer's compelling narrative of Dunlop's life begins on the Isle of Arran, where the motherless boy is brought up by his grandfather. In a landscape rich with prehistoric standing stones, the young Dunlop has formative spiritual experiences. When his grandfather dies, he struggles for material survival, but devotedly studies occult literature. The scene moves to Dublin, where Dunlop becomes a friend of W.B. Yeats and the poet-seer A.E., and develops an active interest in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy. Arriving in London via New York, Dunlop is now a lecturer, writer and the editor of a monthly journal - but alongside his esoteric interests he rises to a foremost position in the British electrical industry, masterminding the first World Power Conference. Dunlop's life is to change forever through his meeting with Rudolf Steiner, which '...brought instant recognition'. He was immediately convinced that Steiner was '...the Knower, the Initiate, the bearer of the Spirit to his age'. Dunlop's close involvement with anthroposophy, leading to his eventual position as Chair of the British Society, is described in detail: from the momentous conferences in Penmaenmawr and Torquay to his transformative relationships with Eleanor Merry, W.J. Stein, Ita Wegman and Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz. Meyer features important material on the Anthroposophical Society's tragic split, that allows for a true evaluation of this difficult period in the organization's history. This second, enlarged edition features substantial additions of new material as well as an Afterword by Owen Barfield.

In these remarkable lectures, Rudolf Steiner reestablishes the human being as a participant in an evolving, dynamic universe of living spiritual beings: a living universe, whole and divine. He does so in concrete images, capable of being grasped by human consciousness as if from within.

'Truth is simple only for those who first wrestle their way though multiplicity. It is like a thread of many pearls.' - Rudolf Steiner Like pearls in the oyster, pearls of thought are easily overlooked. Lying hidden in texts, they keep their light under a bushel, serving the greater framework and context. But if we draw them out they begin to shine, revealing their translucent facets and intrinsic harmony. In this meditative treasure, the editor has harvested and threaded together such pearls from Rudolf Steiner's books, creating new textures and striking panoramas. Dynamic constellations of thought arise, allowing us unusual and surprising access to Steiner's spiritual and philosophical thinking. In contrast to the prevailing view that meaning arises only in context, these self-sufficient verbal universes show us that the opposite can also be true. The pearls of thought in this compact pocket book acquire enhanced meaning in isolation, mysteriously becoming independent of the thoughts and phrases that precede or follow them. This collection of quotations, free of jargon or technical terminology, is accessible to all readers interested in developing a meaningful understanding of the human being's place in the world and cosmos.

'A great deal is happening all the time in world evolution; and it falls to human beings, particularly those of our own time, to acquire real understanding of the world events in which they are involved.' In this popular lecture, Rudolf Steiner reveals that the angels - the spirits closest to human beings - are seeking to create images in human astral bodies. These images are given with the intention of bringing about 'definite conditions in the social life of the future' related to brotherhood, religious freedom, and conscious spirituality. Other spiritual beings, however, are working against the angels. If, as a consequence of their disruption, humanity sleeps though the angels' spiritual revelation, the consequences will be dire, and aberrations connected to sexuality, the misuse of medicine, and the misapplication of mechanical forces will begin to manifest.

`I send you fondest thoughts on your birthday. On this day I will think a lot of all the beautiful things which were, and are contained in our work together, and which now always stand so beautifully before my inner eye when I describe them. Let me assure you that I write this description with love.' - Rudolf Steiner to Marie Steiner, 13 March 1925 Containing all the correspondence between Rudolf and Marie Steiner to be found in their respective estates, this volume provides unique insight into the couple's pivotal relationship. The years 1901-25 were a time of struggle, as Rudolf Steiner - faithfully supported by the young Marie von Sivers (later to become Marie Steiner in 1914) - endeavoured to build a completely new spiritual movement on earth. Their letters cover everything from the esoteric view of evolution and human advancement to dealing with organizational details, challenging personalities and, of course, their own relationship. In addition to the correspondence, a number of documents have been inserted chronologically throughout the text. The famous `notes' written by Rudolf Steiner for Edouard Schure, for example, provide a unique introduction to the volume, giving profound insights into the development of the anthroposophical movement. Also included are the many versions of Rudolf Steiner's will. Comprehensive notes are provided, as well as an index of persons and an itinerary giving dates of relevant lectures and eurythmy performances.

Previously published as At the Gates of Spiritual Science, these lectures offer a fine introduction to the whole of Rudolf Steiner's teaching, as well as including valuable material which is not to be found elsewhere. With great clarity and precision, Steiner speaks of the fundamental nature of the human being in relation to the cosmos, the evolution of the Earth, the journey. of the soul after death, reincarnation and karma, good and evil, the modern path of meditative training, as well as giving answers to individual questions.Throughout, Steiner's emphasis is on a scientific exposition of spiritual phenomena. As he says in his final lecture: the highest knowledge of mundane things is thoroughly compatible with the highest knowledge of spiritual truths.

`The whole hive is really pervaded by the life of love. The individual bees relinquish love but develop it instead throughout the hive. And so we start to understand bee existence if we recognize that the bee lives in an air, an atmosphere, that is entirely impregnated with love.' From time immemorial, human culture has been fascinated by bees. Mythic pictures and writings tell of our close affinity and connection with these complex creatures, as well as the inestimable value of honey and wax. In recent years, bees have come to prominence again in the media, with reports of colony collapse and the wholesale demise of bee populations, forcing us to awaken to the critical role they play in human existence. Rudolf Steiner's unique talks reveal the hidden wisdom at work in bee colonies. Speaking in Switzerland in 1923, in response to concerns from beekeepers amongst his local workforce, Steiner delivered a series of addresses whose multi-layered content, structure and wording is unparalleled. In The World of Bees, editor Martin Dettli, a longstanding beekeeper, uses Steiner's seminal bee lectures as the main framework of the book, augmenting them with further relevant passages from Steiner's collected works. Dettli also provides substantial commentaries on the texts, placing them within the context of contemporary beekeeping. This new anthology is an essential handbook for anyone interested in beekeeping or the indispensable work that bees do for humanity. It features chapters on the origins of bees, human beings and beekeeping, the organism of the hive, the social qualities of bees, their relationship with wasps and ants, plants and elemental beings, the efficacy of honey, bee venom, as well as scientific aspects such as silica and formic acid processes and a critique of modern beekeeping.

'...This will generate a struggle covering the face of the whole earth. The one and only remedy for this nonsense being made of human evolution will be the path that can lead humanity to the spirit - the path of Michael, which finds its continuation in the path of Christ.' - Rudolf Steiner Speaking in the aftermath of the Great War, Rudolf Steiner presents a series of extraordinary lectures on the power and mission of the Archangel Michael. He paints on a broad canvas - in the context of cosmic and human evolution - revealing Michael's tasks in the past, present and future. Originally the countenance of Yahweh, Michael has metamorphosed from a 'night spirit' to a 'day spirit'. As 'the Countenance of Christ', Michael helps us find a balance between 'luciferic' and 'ahrimanic' tendencies. The old 'dualism' (such as good versus evil), says Steiner, needs to be replaced by the trinity of Lucifer-Christ-Ahriman. Filling our heart with the Christ Impulse creates an equilibrium between the luciferic influence that imbues our head and the ahrimanic influence at work in our limbs. Rudolf Steiner describes how humanity faces three dangers in the social sphere: spiritual life could flow into the 'pit of mendacity' ruled by Ahriman, individual rights might descend into the 'pit of selfishness' (Lucifer), and economics into cultural sickness and death (Asuras). In order to prevent European-American culture from perishing, it will be necessary to turn towards contemporary 'threefold' social ideas. Steiner also speaks about the principle of metamorphosis in connection with evolution and devolution, as evident in the design of the pillars in the newly-built Goetheanum. Architectural styles are an expression of human evolution, as can be seen in Greek temples, gothic Cathedrals, the Grail temple and the building at Dornach. Amidst many other themes, Rudolf Steiner addresses the problem of natural necessity and freedom, and the abolition of the trichotomy of body, soul and spirit at the Council of Constantinople in AD 869.

During the brief window between the two World Wars, the Rev. Prof. Hermann Beckh led research at The Christian Community Seminary in Stuttgart. In those precious years he published on music, the gospels and the ancient Mysteries. By 1930, in his Contributions to the Priests' Newsletter, he had produced the most far-reaching account of the cosmic order ever written. The typescript of this great work was destined to gather dust in the Berlin Archiv, however, until it was discovered in recent years. Published here for the first time, it is the crowning masterpiece to Beckh's Collected Works. The translated and annotated text is accompanied by Rudolf Frieling's in-depth application of Beckh's principles of the cosmic starry order to the Creed of The Christian Community, and by a number of appreciations and relevant book reviews. Through ever-deepening meditation guided by Rudolf Steiner, and his vast knowledge of Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali and Avestan sacred texts - scarcely to be equalled in Europe at the time - Beckh came to the first-hand realization that human and cosmic life was ordered. He perceived directly that this cosmic order was: good, as originating from the World-Will; true, as from World-Thinking; and beautiful, as from World-Feeling. All three could be personally experienced in disciplined consciousness that could enter dream, sleep and pre-natal life. This, then, was Beckh's method and inspiration, as shown in this extraordinary work.

In this third, enlarged edition of Lehrs' classic study, the reader is led, step by step, to a spiritual-scientific method of investigation. The author demonstrates how one can transcend the boundaries of the physical-material world, to the metaphysical origins of nature and the human being. This is a pioneering new method of training both the mind and eye, as well as other human senses, leading to a transformation from our modern 'onlooking' consciousness to a new kind of 'participative' consciousness. The beginnings of this method were formulated by Goethe (1749-1832) more than 200 years ago, but his contemporaries offered little in the way of fertile ground for his ideas. It was Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) who recognized the significance of 'Goetheanism' for the future development not only of science, but of human culture in general, and who developed Goethe's work in modern times. Man or Matter contains the systematic results of the author's work using the methods of Goethe and Steiner (the latter whom he knew personally). With this unique study, he addresses himself to anyone - with or without a specialized scientific training - who is concerned with developing the human power of cognition in the present time. This revised edition was edited by Nick Thomas and Peter Bortoft.

Modern science can speak with authority regarding only a tiniest fraction of the earth's interior. We have, quite literally, scratched just the surface of our planet. Can we truly know what lies beneath our feet, in the unimaginably deep depths of the earth? Can the phenomenon of spiritual investigation add to this question? In this comprehensive volume, with notes and an introduction, Rudolf Steiner's utterances on this theme have been brought together for the first time under one cover. His unique overview gives a picture of the nine layers of the earth as they become visible via the research of the spiritual scientist. The layers range from the familiar 'mineral' on which we live, to the innermost core which Steiner connects to human and animal powers of reproduction. In between are layers such as the 'Mirror Earth', which represents qualities of extreme evil, and the 'Fire Earth', which is connected to natural catastrophes. The information Steiner conveys is never abstract or theoretical, but intimately related to the human being. The Fire Earth, for example, is acutely affected by people's will. When the human will is chaotic and untutored, says Steiner, it acts magnetically on this layer and disrupts it, leading to volcanic eruptions. He also describes other natural catastrophes - such as extreme weather and earthquakes - in connection to the interior of the earth and karma.

Civil Society has become a major power in the world. The stunning defeat of the controversial and secretive Multilateral Agreement on Investments, the massive worldwide WTO protests and the yearly meetings of the World Social Forum are testimony to its coming of age. From these significant victories, civil society continued to catch world attention with the Arab Spring, the grassroots movement that helped elect former US President Barack Obama and the significant gains of the anti-fracking campaign. With tens of millions of citizens and over a trillion dollars involved in advancing its agenda, civil society now joins the state and the market as the third key institution shaping globalization. However, it cannot fully mobilize its resources and power as it currently lacks clear understanding of its identity. Shaping Globalization argues that global civil society is a cultural institution wielding cultural power, and shows how - through the use of this distinct power - it can advance its agenda in the political and economic realms of society without compromising its identity. Nicanor Perlas outlines the strategic implications for civil society, both locally and globally, and explains that civil society's key task is to inaugurate `threefolding': the forging of strategic partnerships between civil society, government and business. Such authentic tri-sector partnerships are essential for advancing new ways for nations to develop, and for charting a different, sustainable type of globalization. Using the model of the Philippine Agenda 21, we are shown how civil society and progressive individuals and agencies in government and business are demonstrating the effectiveness of this new understanding to ensure that globalization benefits the environment, the poor and society as a whole. This reprinted edition includes a new Afterword.

Drawn by the mysterious mount Etna, Thomas Meyer sets off on a quest to discover the secrets of the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Stromboli. The Sicilian region is not only famous for the drama of its live volcanoes, but also for its associations with numerous cultural figures - ranging from Cain, Empedocles, Klingsor and the much maligned Cagliostro, through to Goethe and Rudolf Steiner. The author ponders their lives, work and karmic connections, whilst unexpected meetings with cryptic strangers result in discussions that are filled with spiritual insights and pearls of wisdom.Meyer's travelogue is at once engaging, poetic and deeply esoteric, drawing parallels between the burning lava of Etna and Stromboli and the soul lava through which our spiritual feet must wade in the present day. In meditations on the Guardian of the Threshold and the explosive popularity of football, we are led to the conclusion that today human beings need to develop 'spiritual feet' to cross the boundary to higher worlds. The author's final trip coincides with the recent natural catastrophe in Nepal, which prompts him to ask whether humanity can begin to take inner responsibility for the many such disasters - particularly earthquakes and volcanic eruptions - that take place around the world. For these natural calamities, says Meyer, are intimately related to our untamed passions and emotions.

Following his major work on Rudolf Steiner's ten visits to Britain, Crispian Villeneuve studies Steiner's relationship to the British Isles in the 40 or so years before those visits took place. The theme of Steiner's early connection to British culture leads inevitably to the broader topic of his relationship to modern science. This in turn highlights the polarity and tension between the Goethean philosophic view that arises from Middle Europe, and the 'Baconian' perspective emanating from Western Europe. Interweaving these contrasting Baconian and Goethean world-views, Villeneuve presents numerous primary texts - often culled from obscure sources, and many previously unavailable in English translation - with commentary relating to Rudolf Steiner and the nineteenth century. We learn about Steiner's teachers, Karl Julius Schroer and Edmund Reitlinger, as well as English polymath William Whewell. The latter figure was perhaps the greatest admirer of Francis Bacon in recorded history, but maintained manifold connections to Middle Europe. Rudolf Steiner: The British Connection offers genuinely new and valuable research into the early life and thought of one of the greatest cultural innovators of our time.

'When we consider the plant world in all its greenery, or the stars with their golden glory; when we look at all this without forming any judgement from within ourselves but instead permit the things to reveal themselves to us...then all things are transformed from what they were in the world of the senses into something entirely different - something for which no word exists other than one which is taken from our very life of soul...' - Rudolf Steiner One of Rudolf Steiner's most fundamental objectives was to show how the spiritual world connects to and penetrates the material world. In doing so, he was pioneering a modern form of Rosicrucianism - countering traditional religious conceptions (that spirit and matter are polar opposites) as well as contemporary materialistic science (that ignores the existence of spiritual phenomena altogether). In this concise series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner shows how the human senses reveal the mysterious world of the will, which is at once a spiritual and physical phenomenon. The senses act as a portal connecting our physical and etheric bodies with what Steiner refers to as worlds of 'all-pervading will' and 'all-pervading wisdom'. He elaborates this theme, giving some unexpected and delightful insights into the senses of hearing and sight, and in particular how we experience colour. Steiner suggests that divine spiritual beings had different intentions for the formation of physical human beings, but that adversary powers caused disruption, leading to a more materialized constitution. He describes disorders in the connections between the human physical, etheric, astral and ego bodies, and the ill effects of one aspect overpowering the others. He gives insight into human glandular secretions, and why we need to eat and digest - also connected to the intervention of adversary beings. Among the many other themes tackled here, Rudolf Steiner describes the transformation of the human senses and organs, giving special consideration to the function of the larynx, which in future times will develop a special kind of reproductive power.

'Anyone who takes hold of what we call spiritual science, not with purely abstract thoughts but with his whole being, will see that this spiritual science goes right into the dexterity of the hands, that it makes a person more capable and enables him to extend his interest over wider areas and his will over a wider world.' - Rudolf Steiner Returning from travels in war-torn Europe, Rudolf Steiner gives a stark impression of the disastrous conditions of the time, encouraging deeper esoteric work as a counter to the world-situation. Speaking under the broad theme of human development in the light of anthroposophy, he analyses the gulf between contemporary culture and science - which he says are characterized by 'narrow-mindedness, philistinism and ineptitude' - and a scientific approach to the spirit. At the same time, Steiner is clear-sighted about the shortcomings of his followers, mentioning past failures and a continuing tendency towards sectarianism and dogmatic judgements. Rudolf Steiner discusses how we experience a state of separateness with the world through our physical form, whilst our aura - or soul-spiritual being - is already living actively in cosmic surroundings. A conscious crossing of the threshold into the spiritual world is urgent and necessary today, although Steiner warns of the dangers inherent in certain eastern and western approaches. The tendency of initiates of the Orient is to abandon the human race, whilst the American impulse is immersed too strongly in physical, bodily nature. And a potential demonic influence works through technology. However, a spiritual-scientific path of knowledge and development can allow us to navigate through these challenges. Other themes featured include: the threefold Sun Mystery of ancient times; the Mystery of Christ Jesus and the threefold being of man; the human limbs as thoughts of the higher hierarchies; the loss of the spiritual knowledge of the old Mysteries; the gulf between idealism and realism; the formation of language from Cosmic Intelligence; the Pythagorean School and the mendacity of the world at that time; the disintegration of words after death; the twelve senses; the spiritual impact of old people's death on the physical Earth; and the impulse of socialism. The wealth of spiritual thoughts and knowledge presented in these lectures remain as relevant today as they did when the they were first delivered. 9 lectures, Dornach, Aug. - Sept. 1918, CW 183

'Eurythmy is that very thing which dancers with a true idealism have been unconsciously seeking - that inner harmony and balance that was a natural condition of the Greeks, visible in their statues and carved figures, so that, even in a standing pose, movement seems to flow through them.' Eurythmy is an expressive art of movement in which specific gestures relate to the sounds and rhythms of speech, to the tones and rhythms of music and to soul experiences, such as joy and sorrow. In this succinct and accessible booklet, the authors present a clear introduction to this contemporary art form in the context of the impulse of dance today. What is eurythmy, and how does it relate to other arts of movement and dance? What is eurythmy's purpose, and why did Rudolf Steiner create it in the early twentieth century? These and many more questions are answered in this extended essay, supplemented by 35 sketches of eurythmy figures by Rudolf Steiner that illustrate gestures of movement, feeling and character.

'We learn gradually to raise our eyes not only to material existence; instead we discover spiritual entities and their actions wherever we look in the universe...We get to know the deeds of these spirits. We are alive and active and we are within the spiritual entities and their activities.' - Rudolf Steiner This classic series of lectures presents systematic knowledge on many different spiritual entities, ranging from the higher hierarchies of angels down to hindering demons. Basing his presentation on spiritual-scientific research, Rudolf Steiner intends to awaken us to the existence of these beings and how they interact with all aspects of our lives. Steiner describes how animals, plants and minerals have group souls - with even an inert stone having a spiritual counterpart in the invisible world. The various planets in the cosmos are connected to great spiritual beings and hierarchies too, as is the zodiac, which is not a static band of fixed stars but is also evolving. Steiner gives a remarkable picture of how Christ relates to the zodiacal constellations and to our own higher aspects. Spiritual entities are associated with the evolution of earth and the previous stages of its existence - and here Steiner elaborates relevant chapters of his book Occult Science, An Outline, explaining how our task on earth is ultimately to develop love rather than wisdom (which was the goal of earth's previous stage). From cosmic considerations, Steiner leads to the spirits of the kingdoms of nature - the elemental beings, with their four classes connecting to the four elements - gnomes, undines, sylphs and salamanders, or earth, water, air and fire spirits. He describes how elemental beings are created by human activities - with coercion of the views of others leading to 'demons', lying leading to 'phantoms', and bad social systems to 'spectres'. Spirits are also created in the association of humans and animals, whilst other spiritual entities connect us with the arts. Steiner emphasises the importance of developing and appreciating the arts - such as music, sculpture, architecture, painting and poetry - for the sake of humanity's future evolution.

`This gave my mother the opportunity of mentioning to Dr Steiner an idea... Could one affect the physical body in a healing, strengthening and regulating way through certain rhythmical movements of the etheric body - which after all was the centre of all that was rhythmical - as well as of health and illness? Dr Steiner not only enthusiastically affirmed this possibility, but spontaneously declared himself ready to give the necessary directions which I could then work out with my mother's help.' - Lory Maier-Smits Alongside original material by Rudolf and Marie Steiner, this volume features unique first-hand accounts of the birth of the art of eurythmy by a number of its early students and practitioners. The practical and artistic stages of its development are chronicled in detail, alongside reports from the first public performance onwards. Rudolf Steiner offers inspiration to the original eurythmists to make their own discoveries - to perceive and fashion in movement their creative `inner voice'. The artistic principles are established for later development and elaboration, to reveal and foster human creativity in many poetic and musical contexts. Through the text, links between eurythmy and temple-dances, that accompanied ancient initiations, gradually emerge. The impulse to dance is rediscovered as inherent in the `lost Word', or the primordial root language still available in `genetic etymology'- the sounds of speech used in all languages. Music eurythmy, we learn, did not start from dancing, but from the archetypal structure of the musical system. Consequently, we can witness directly how an eloquent performing art can properly develop when technique and inspiration meet. The text is supported by extensive supplementary material, including eurythmy forms, a chronological survey, notes and indexes.