In an extraordinary exposition, Lorenzen - an expert beekeeper and student of contemporary spiritual science - describes the `Logos mysteries', based at the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where priestesses were known as `Melissas' (`honeybees') and the sacrificial priests were called `Essenes' (or `bee-kings'). These cultic mysteries, he says, bore remarkable parallels to the workings of a bee colony - specifically in the relationship between the queen and worker bees to the spiritual `group-soul' of the bees. Lorenzen commences his unique study with a discussion of flowers and insects, exploring their common origins. He then describes the beginnings of the honeybee, its connection with the fig wasp, and the subsequent controlled transformation of the latter that took place in pre-historic mystery-centres. Breeding the honeybee from the fig wasp - a sacred deed performed at consecrated sanctuaries - was part of the `Fig-tree mysteries'. The initiates behind this task developed the ability to commune with the bees' group-soul and to work consciously on the mutual development of the hive and humanity. This concise but rich work features an illuminating foreword by Heidi Herrmann of the Natural Beekeeping Trust as well as a lucid introduction by translator Paul King that explains the anthroposophical concepts employed by Lorenzen in his text.

Today's orthodox notions of science--which is to say, of knowing--are exceedingly narrow; they posit, implicitly or otherwise, that the only knowledge possible, if any, is that of the physical world. But the skeleton key to unlocking the door, behind which lies the root of the problems and difficulties of our age, and thus their solution, is to be able to fully answer this question: What is it to know something? This question lies at the foundation of spiritual science. Rudolf Steiner had first to solve it for himself, pointing the way for others to do the same (in, for example, his Philosophy of Freedom), long before he could give such lectures as these. Rudolf Steiner's work and words, still largely undiscovered as compared to their value for humanity, continue to point the way toward a different path--a way of knowing that encompasses the fullness, the breadth and depth of life and the worlds we inhabit. This knowing--which is to say, science--does not ignore or even contradict the narrower physical sciences of technologists and other specialists, but offers an expansive understanding of reality that also includes a deeper engagement with those aspects of our experience that we are told are beyond the ken of science. But is truth not accessible through art? Are poetry and literature, indeed the beauty and wisdom of each human language, not portals through which we can glimpse truths, every bit as real (though of a different order) than those we might grasp through a microscope? These thirteen lectures were given in Dornach, Switzerland, from January to May 1915, between the fifth and ninth month of World War I. Given the interrupted, fragmented nature of this sequence, one might assume that the lectures could not possibly present a tight, coherent whole. This is not the case. Rudolf Steiner lays down the framework for the series in a concise but detailed manner in the first two lectures, and then goes on to demonstrate in lecture after lecture how, on this basis, many aspects of life reveal the hidden presence and activities of the realities--and the approach--he has established in the framework. In fact, it is humbling to witness Rudolf Steiner's powers of attention and presence of mind: to see how, after a significant interval, in the same tone of voice and with seamless continuity, he can pick up and further develop and interweave his announced intention: namely, to provide "a detailed look at things we have been considering for years."

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.

As a spiritual teacher, Rudolf Steiner wrote many inspired and beautifully-crafted verses. Often they were given in relation to specific situations or in response to individual requests; sometimes they were offered to assist generally in the process of meditation. Regardless of their origins, they are uniformly powerful in their ability to connect the meditating individual with spiritual archetypes. Thus, the meditations provide valuable tools for developing experience and knowledge of subtle dimensions of reality. Matthew Barton has translated and selected Steiner's verses, sensitively arranging them by theme. In this collection - to promote harmony and healing - Rudolf Steiner helps us discover a renewed sense of our true place in the world. The verses show how we can learn to know ourselves by looking outwards to the substances and processes at work in the cosmos, and in contrast to know the world by looking inwards to the microcosmic depths of the human self. By integrating spirit and matter within, we heal divisions in our relationships with others. For modern people, increasingly divorced from a living relationship with nature, these verses help to unfold a world of interconnections.

In the uncertainty following the end of the First World War, Rudolf Steiner perceived a unique opportunity to establish a healthy social and political constitution. He began lecturing throughout post-war Germany, often to large audiences, about his social ideas. Here, speaking to a more intimate grouping at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, Steiner seeks to deepen the themes of social threefolding, showing specifically how new social thinking is integral to anthroposophy. Steiner speaks of the superficiality of the materialistic view of history, originating with the economic shift amongst the population at the time of the Reformation. Back in Egyptian-Chaldean times, initiates ruled out of spiritual impulses. Later, in the Greco-Roman period, priests had power over their congregations. Today, homo economicus - or `economic man' - has become the dominant idea, with the capitalist and the banker taking control. But the healing of social relationships can only come about through different modes of thought; the life of spirit must be separated not only from politics but also from economics. True social understanding allows for comprehension of karma - the appreciation of each person's individual destiny. In parallel, says Steiner, we should work towards a global consciousness, as true social ideas are founded on people feeling themselves to be citizens of the world. In an important corollary, Steiner studies the incarnations of three significant spiritual beings in human evolution: Lucifer, Christ and Ahriman. Lucifer incarnated in the third pre-Christian millennium, Christ incarnated at the dawn of a new age, whilst an incarnation of Ahriman in the West is immanent. Ahriman is preparing this incarnation by insidiously promoting various ideas, for example that economic security is sufficient for healthy public life. A new wisdom must be achieved out of free human will, says Steiner, or else we will succumb to Ahriman.