The unique scholarship and artistic sensitivity of Prof. Dr Hermann Beckh (1875-1937) is in the process of being rediscovered. The great linguist, Orientalist and Christian priest - an active music-lover who also composed - penned pioneer works on our musical system that are respected by musicians and musicologists. This volume brings together two revised versions of his best-loved books. The Essence of Tonality is written '...for musicians and music-lovers who, because of their particular musicality experience something spiritual - and for spiritual seekers and sensitive people who, because of their particular spirituality, have experienced a connection with music.' Beckh believed a spiritual view of tonality would ensure music's, and humanity's, future. The author elucidates the correspondence of the circle of fifths (the keys) to the zodiac. Research should be directed towards the twelve vital, spiritual key-centres, as expressing the cosmic rhythms in which we all live, rather than the abstract twelve chromatic notes of atonality. In The Parsifal Christ-Experience, Beckh's original insights throw new and powerful light on the search for meaning in our age, for a knowledge of the heart. In the poetic libretto and remarkable music of his final creation, Wagner - acknowledged by Bruckner as 'the Master' - presents the Grail legend and its imagery. The psychological drama and its ultimate solution provide insights to anyone who is prepared to reflect on inner experience. Through Beckh's references to Wagner's own letters, as well as a remarkable letter from Nietzsche, the reader gains knowledge of the true nature of Wagner and his work.

How awake are we to our inner being, our true nature? How much self-knowledge do we really have? In relation to our intrinsic self, we can easily feel like a novice. In truth, we face a long journey before we can fully understand ourselves - and we are equally unpractised in relating to our 'shadow' and inner wounds. The path described in this book is an inward one, concerned with strengthening our individuality. Based on life-long research, Karsten Massei has created a valuable workbook for knowing and healing ourselves. In a series of short chapters, he explains the interplay and tensions between the human individual and the nature of our 'inner and cosmic child'. Both are complex entities but are directly related; both are deeply connected with our destiny. Our experiences with our inner child are often still in the earliest stages - but cultivating a relationship with her, noticing her, holding conversations with her, is vital, and offers us ever deepening experiences. As our insights expand, our frailties, deficiencies and inner wounds become apparent. The being of the inner child wants to educate us to become inwardly truthful and authentic. Only honest engagement with the traumas and vulnerabilities of our soul will enable a true picture of ourselves to arise. Child of the Cosmos contains surprising perspectives arising from the author's personal experiences, opening up a clear path of personal development. The text is complemented with seven special meditations to assist us in engaging with the challenges ahead.

In 1919 Rudolf Steiner spoke about the future physical incarnation of the being of Ahriman. This would take place before 'a part' of the third millennium had passed, and was inevitable - but it was also necessary that people were aware of this event and recognized it, for earthly culture would be destroyed if the world were to fall completely to Ahriman. The situation we find ourselves in today shows Ahriman's unmistakable signature: the rapid destruction of nature, zoonotic diseases and pandemics, huge social inequalities, and the overall dominance of high finance. In this short book Peter Selg presents a timely overview of the challenges we face, beginning with a pithy and concise survey of Steiner's commentary on Ahriman's incarnation and the conditions that would characterize it. This is followed by a study of Ahriman's depiction in the mystery drama The Souls' Awakening. Steiner's remarkable personification of Ahriman on stage - portraying his strategies and activities - provides vital instruction for humanity. Selg concludes with an evaluation of 'the Battle for Human Intelligence' taking place in contemporary culture through materialistic ideas such as transhumanism. In their recent book Covid-19: The Great Reset, for example, Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret propose wholesale economic, geopolitical, environmental and technological revisions to society - ideas that need to be understood and confronted in human thought and consciousness. The Future of Ahriman is a crucial aid to comprehending our times.

'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.

Containing a wealth of material on a variety of subjects, Light for the New Millennium tells the story of the meeting of two great men and their continuing relationship beyond the threshold of death: Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) - the seer, scientist of the spirit, and cultural innovator - and Helmuth von Moltke (1848-1916) - a renowned military man, Chief of the General Staff of the German army during the outbreak of the First World War. In 1914, following disagreements with the Kaiser, Moltke was dismissed from his post. This led to a great inner crisis in the General, that in turn drew him closer to Steiner. When Moltke died two years later, Steiner maintained contact with his excarnated soul, receiving communications that he passed on to Moltke's wife, Eliza. These remarkable and unique messages are reproduced here in full, together with relevant letters from the General to his wife. The various additional commentaries, essays and documents give insights to themes of continuing significance for our time, including the workings of evil; karma and reincarnation; life after death; the new millennium and the end of the last century; the hidden causes of the First World War; the destiny of Europe, and the future of Rudolf Steiner's science of the spirit. Also included are Moltke's private reflections on the causes of the Great War ('the document that could have changed world history'), a key interview with Steiner for Le Matin, an introduction and notes by T. H. Meyer, and studies by Jurgen von Grone, Jens Heisterkamp and Johannes Tautz.

"Rudolf Steiner's Riddles of Philosophy: Presented in an Outline of Its History is not a history of philosophy in the usual sense of the word. It does not give a history of the philosophical systems, nor does it present a number of philosophical problems historically. Its real concern touches on something deeper than this, on riddles rather than problems. Philosophical concepts, systems and problems are, to be sure, to be dealt with in this book. But it is not their history that is to be described here. Where they are discussed they become symptoms rather than the objects of the search. The search itself wants to reveal a process that is overlooked in the usual history of philosophy. It is the mysterious process in which philosophical thinking appears in human history. Philosophical thinking as it is here meant is known only in Western civilization. Oriental philosophy has its origin in a different kind of consciousness, and it is not to be considered in this book. "What is new here is the treatment of the history of philosophic thinking as a manifestation of the evolution of human consciousness. Such a treatment requires a fine sense of observation. Not merely the thoughts must be observed, but behind them the thinking in which they appear. "To follow Steiner in his subtle description of the process of the metamorphosis of this thinking in the history of philosophy we should remember he sees the human consciousness in an evolution. It has not always been what it is now, and what it is now it will not be in the future. This is a fundamental conception of anthroposophy." --From the introduction by Fritz C. A. Koelln:

A Life with Colour is the first complete survey of Gerard Wagner's biography and his artistic intentions, featuring dozens of illustrations and more than 120 colour plates. The life and work of Gerard Wagner (1906-1999) were closely aligned to the artistic-spiritual stream connected with the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. He first heard of the Goetheanum - and of its destruction by fire at New Year 1922/23 - whilst still a youth. In 1926, he made his first visit to Dornach, but his intended stay of a week turned into a lifelong sojourn of over 73 years. He found there an active, striving community with which he felt intimately connected. From the start, Gerard Wagner immersed himself in the various artistic impulses that Rudolf Steiner had instigated. This, together with an intensive study of anthroposophy, formed the basis upon which he forged his own approach to painting. The many years he spent in colour experimentation led him to discover objective principles within the language of colour and form that are an inspiration to many today. His paintings, first shown at the Goetheanum in the early 1940s, were exhibited internationally, most notably at the Menshikov Palace, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia, in 1997. '[Wagner's] whole being bowed before the mystery of colour in a loving, joyful yet serious way, full of devotion and dignity. His life and work itself became a living metaphor of the creative power of colour.' - Christian Hitsch 'Caroline Chanter has not only accomplished a great and seminal study that illuminates the life and work of Gerard Wagner, but has done a great service also to the Goetheanum and its School of Spiritual Science.' - Peter Selg '[Gerard Wagner was] a soul which on earth was devoted so selflessly and in such purity to the beings that are revealed... in forms and colours. He helped them to utterance and manifestation in this world of ours.' - Sergei O. Prokofieff

Freedom for the spiritual-cultural life, equality and democracy for human rights, initiative and solidarity for the economic sphere! Revolutions happen when society does not change and evolve. Stagnation and resistance create a situation in which a leap in development is required. In nature, living organisms suffering from inner blockages must heal or die. The same applies to the social organism - society - which occasionally requires drastic change in order to avoid complete collapse or violent revolution. With his oft-repeated phrase 'We are the Revolution!', the artist and social activist Joseph Beuys was intimating that true transformation develops from within, in an artistic or creative way. People are the source of metamorphosis in the social realm. But in modern times a 'we' is also required - an agreement with others. The individual connects with fellow human beings, in active cooperation, as a solid foundation for healthy forms of co-existence. In a series of clear and insightful essays, Ulrich Roesch builds on the 'threefold' social thinking of Rudolf Steiner, Joseph Beuys and others, presenting ideas for change in the context of twenty-first century life. Our world has become one through global division of labour and mutual dependence, and this calls for new thinking and rejuvenated social forms. Roesch compares the spirituality and social action of Mahatma Gandhi and Rudolf Steiner, takes the living example of a biodynamic farm as a social organism, and studies the tangible situation of the production and worldwide sale of bananas as a symptom of inequitable commerce.

In this third volume in The Actor of the Future series, Dawn Langman continues to explore the integration of Steiner's research into speech, drama and eurythmy with Michael Chekhov's acting methodology. Her advanced applications of all the basic processes allow the art of the actor and speaker to evolve beyond the 'soul and body' paradigm - still broadly accepted in contemporary culture - to include dimensions of the spirit. The book contains a seminal analysis of comedy and tragedy, showing how an understanding of their esoteric roots - sprung from the Eleusis mysteries of ancient Greece - deepen our appreciation and our ability to implement the practical suggestions made by Steiner and Chekhov to differentiate the fundamental styles. A comprehensive exploration of the vowels in relation to planetary beings lays the foundation for many layers of artistic deepening and application.

'The personality who received the Christ Being into himself in his thirtieth year is a complex entelechy. Only on the basis of the Akashic Record can an accurate view be gained as to why the life of Jesus is so diversely presented in the various Gospels...' - Rudolf Steiner Previously untranslated, this collection of twelve lectures represents a middle point in Rudolf Steiner's unique exposition of the Christian gospels - his momentous courses on St John and St Luke had already been delivered, whilst his lectures on the Matthew and Mark gospels were yet to follow. Here, he examines the varying depictions of Christ in the gospels, explaining that they represent four different but complementary perspectives. Steiner's unparalleled insights are based on his firsthand ability to research the spiritual Akashic Record - the universal compendium of all events, thoughts, emotions and intentions. The twelve lectures include: 'The Gospels, Buddha and the two Jesus children'; 'Four varying depictions of Christ in the four Gospels'; 'The Mission of the ancient Hebrew people'; 'Preparations for an understanding of the Christ Event'; 'On the right attitude to Anthroposophy'; 'The Gospel of Matthew and the Christ conundrum'; 'Group souls and Individuality'; 'God within and the God in outer manifestation'; 'The Christmas tree as a symbol'; and 'A Christmas mood'. Translated by Christiana Bryan, this volume features an introduction by Tom Ravetz as well as notes and an index. Twelve lectures, various cities, 11 Oct.-26 Dec. 1909, GA 117

In March 2020, Are Thoresen contracted Covid-19. Whilst convalescing from the disease and suffering great exhaustion, he experienced a breakthrough in his daily meditation. Although he has always been able to 'see' into the spiritual world, now deeper, unknown realms appeared to his inner vision. In the soapstone surround of the fireplace in his Norwegian home, he perceived the elemental beings and forces that make up the mineral at an atomic level. A few days later, an even deeper dimension revealed itself, in the form of a void or vacuum. Here, astonishingly, was an open portal to the entire cosmos... In Travels on the Northern Path of Initiation, Thoresen shares the results of his latest spiritual investigations, including a moving, life-changing encounter with 'the Light of the World'. He details the teachings he receives from the beings Vidar and Balder - who stand as guardians to the threshold of the outer etheric world - and characterizes the Northern way of initiation, which is based on merging, or 'fading', into nature. Thoresen documents Rudolf Steiner's descriptions of this path and shows how it is reflected in the Old Norse Poetic Edda, the Kalevala and von Eschenbach's Parzival. Based on painstaking research, he describes the individual qualities of the three elemental realms, and how the adversarial forces - seeking to corrupt human senses - hinder spiritual observation of them. Thoresen's book is a powerful personal testimony to the human potential for spiritual knowledge and experience in our time.

In a concise study, Rudolf Steiner presents an inspirational sketch of the evolution of the Mysteries - from ancient Persia through Egypt and Greece, to the Christian era and the present day. He traces the line of initiates from Egyptian divinities Isis and Osiris to Moses, King Arthur's Round Table and the Holy Grail in the twelfth century. Steiner focuses on the process of initiation as a historical topic: how initiation worked in ancient Egypt and in the late Middle Ages. But his presentation is also inspirational, leading to the question: How can we advance to initiation now? He underscores the potential for achieving enlightenment today without a teacher in the flesh, and explains the four stages of the process towards initiation. He also highlights the need for strenuous efforts to overcome the subtle power of evil - in the form of Lucifer and Ahriman - through selfless work. The four lectures collected here form an important landmark in Rudolf Steiner's biography: the first being delivered on 3 February 1913 - the very day that the Anthroposophical Society was founded. First published in English under the title The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity and unavailable for many years, this edition has been re-edited by Professor Frederick Amrine and features appendices, an index as well as an introduction by Robert McDermott. Four lectures, Berlin, 3-7 Feb. 1913, GA 144

'Once one has passed through powerlessness and refinds oneself, one also finds Christ. Before we can gain access to the Christ Impulse, we must plumb the depths of our own feelings of insignificance, and this can only happen when we view our strengths and capacities without any pride.' How does one find the Christ today? Rudolf Steiner emphasizes the importance of striving for self-knowledge, the significance of experiencing powerlessness, and the eventual resurrection from powerlessness. In this important lecture, he also speaks about the ancient Academy of Gondishapur, the significance of the year 666, the mission of Islam, as well as the crucial consequences of the Ecumenical Council of 869.

Topics include: The Three States of Night Consciousness ? The Changing Experience of Breathing in the Course of History ? The Inquiry and Formulation of the Cosmic Word in Breathing In and Out ? The teaching of the Risen One ?  The Threefold Sun and the Risen Christ ? and more.

Mani, the founder of the spiritual movement which has come to be known as Manichaeism, established an influential teaching that spread swiftly across Asia, Africa and parts of Europe but was later brutally suppressed. Little was known about this 'Gnostic religion' until archaeological findings in the twentieth century revealed important aspects of Mani's biography and philosophical thought. Many years before these physical discoveries, Rudolf Steiner provided key esoteric insights, based on his personal spiritual-scientific research, into Mani's life and work. Richard Seddon assembles pieces of the academic and esoteric puzzle, offering a lively and colourful picture of Mani and Manichaeism. He gives a succinct outline of Mani's life, the fundamental aspects of his teachings, and a description of Manichaeism's future spiritual role. Seddon creates an image of a mighty Christian initiate leading a movement with the critical task of transforming, and ultimately redeeming, evil.

Relationships are built through dialogue - through exploring heartfelt questions that lead to liberating personal insights. This book shows how such dialogue can transform relationships and build community. However, true meeting and healing conversations take effort. Encounter involves light and dark. Relationships bring out sympathy and antipathy. In an age of digital communications and internet-based encounters - when alienation and loneliness are very real issues - this new edition of Margarete van den Brink's classic work is more vital than ever. The process of inner development - leading ultimately to the unification of the human self with its higher, spiritual being - involves a transformation in our everyday selves. In this act of initiation, the art of conversation plays a central role. The words which people speak to each other contain a force that can work in an invigorating and life-enhancing way. This force - which can be more precious than light itself - is the highest creative principle, the Word referred to in the Gospel of St John, which created everything that exists. Informed by the insights of anthroposophy, More Precious than Light indicates the path towards the spirit and the lost power of the Word, transforming relationships and building community. True encounter can only be fostered through building real connections with our fellow human beings.

Given his energetic involvement in practical initiatives and extensive lecturing, Rudolf Steiner had little time to write books. Of those he did write - belonging almost entirely to the earlier years of his work - four titles form an indispensable introduction to his later teaching: Knowledge of the Higher Worlds, Occult Science, The Philosophy of Freedom and Theosophy. Theosophy focuses on a psychology based not on the usual duality of body and mind, but on the more ancient division of body, soul and spirit. Steiner describes in detail the functions and organs of these three aspects of the human being, and the objective realms to which they belong. Just as the body derives from and belongs to the material world, so do the human soul and spirit belong to their own specific realms. These are the dimensions through which all human beings travel in the life after death, and in which - after passing the 'midnight hour' - we prepare to seek our destiny, or karma, in a new life. Theosophy features one of the most comprehensive and condensed of all Steiner's accounts of these realms, and of the experiences which our immortal being undergoes in passing through them. The book ends with a chapter on the modern 'path of knowledge', in which Steiner describes the exercises through which every person may develop the latent powers of perception which are necessary for a knowledge of metaphysical worlds.

In ancient times, people's experience of the divine was imbued with the feminine archetype. The world of spirit was seen to be populated by goddesses, and women were honoured as priestesses and guardians of sacred rites. The later Greek and Roman civilizations, in contrast, were characterized by the principle of patriarchy, which still dominates our culture - despite the political and social emancipation of women in the West. This unique study of the feminine archetype throws new light on the spiritual significance and meaning of the feminine principle today, as well as its task and destiny in the future. Beginning with Eve in tradition and legend, the authors provide insightful commentaries on the Queen of Sheba, the image of the Virgin in esoteric Christianity, Isis-Sophia and the Great Mother, the birth of art from the primal source of the feminine, and the importance of women in modern esotericism. Through a study of the esoteric background to human and earth evolution, Sease and Schmidt-Brabant arrive at clear and accessible perspectives that could transform human life, and in particular family culture, in our time.