From ancient times, people had knowledge of the zodiac's intimate involvement in the creation of physical life. They understood that the twelve realms of constellations of fixed stars in the sky emanated specific forces that were brought to life and movement by the planets. These spiritual energies created and formed all living beings on earth - including, of course, the human being. This traditional awareness has been reenlivened and given new meaning in our time through Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy. Steiner gave specific indications involving twelve individual gestures and colours that depict the forces of the twelve zodiacal regions. In this richly-illustrated collation of original artistic research - which features exciting new work on the zodiac via the mediums of sculpture, graphics and painting - these new insights are explored and illumined in twenty-seven essays and numerous full-colour images. Led by editor Gertraud Goodwin, the various contributing artists offer a rich tableau of authentic, individual approaches to understanding the zodiac, throwing light on the vast realm of creative forces around us whilst acknowledging their primary source. 'From the many relationships to other qualities, like the consonants, virtues, areas of the human body, colours, eurythmy gestures, elements (earth, water, air, fire), musical keys and many more, in which the zodiacal forces express themselves as if through different instruments, a harmony begins to emerge, which informs me of an ever rounder picture of one particular force of the Zodiac.' - Gertraud Goodwin

'Approaching the different and manifold sequences in this book...one will gradually come to realise that metamorphosis can become an ideal for knowledge, a guiding path for self-knowledge and knowledge of the world - as intuitive contemplation and as artistic creation.' - Dr Peter Wolf What is metamorphosis? Through the medium of art, sculptor Gertraud Goodwin invites us to enter the realm of time and continuously changing movement in this highly original book. With chapters by various artists and writers, interwoven with her key insights, Goodwin offers numerous points of entry to understanding the mystery of metamorphosis. Profusely-illustrated in colour, we are shown many sequences of images - of sculptures, reliefs and graphic works - which, with the aid of informed commentary, we are invited to 'read'. These images belong together, developing from one to the next - just as single experiences and events in life belong to our biographies. One motif, one movement, passes through all stages, from simple beginnings and more differentiated formations, to a culmination - and, from there, back to a more mature simplicity and concentration, which makes a new beginning possible.' In relation to the transcendent, where ordinary words fail, the language of form, texture and relations in space, like those of music in time, offer alternatives to words, perhaps less encumbered by preconceptions. These pages offer many examples of the beauties and mysteries of metamorphosis, which is itself an essential component of Nature's creative language.' - Dr Philip Kilner