The Spiritual Revolution of the twentieth century -- the "New Age" -- is unimaginable without the spiritualist movement and the formidable personality of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the creator of the Theosophical Society. Without these two, the work of Rudolf Steiner, G. I. Gurdjieff, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sri Aurobindo, and C. G. Jung, and could not have been what it was.

In this fascinating volume on the Theosophical movement, Rudolf Steiner, one of its leading participants, tells his own story in his own words about the origins of the theosophical movement in spiritualism and somnambulism, as well as his own version of Anthroposophy's relation to Theosophy. Steiner also relates Theosophy to its historical ground in Western esotericism, above all Rosicrucianism. He reveals events from the seventeenth century that led to the emergence of Freemasonry and other secret societies, the hidden history of the creation of Theosophy itself in the nineteenth century, and conflicts that are still reverberating between Anglo-Saxon and Germanic occult streams today.

Why should we wish to know about and seek to understand the dark, hidden realms of the Earth's interior? During the early twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner spoke of the esoteric nature of what lies beneath our feet, both physically and spiritually. He saw within the Earth the layers of "Hell" through which the Christ traveled following the Crucifixion and before the Resurrection, and how he thus united himself with the Earth and inserted himself more fully into human destiny. Steiner also spoke of how the different layers of the Earth's interior affect and interact with human beings living on Earth.

These lectures trace the subtle changes in people's ideas and feelings in connection with the development of natural science. Through this, Steiner shows the significance of scientific research and the mode of thinking that goes with it. As we look at what technology, has brought us, we can have a feeling akin to the one of pain over the death ora person. This feeling, Steiner says, will become the most important impetus to seek the spirit.