At the time of these lectures Steiner was planning to inaugurate the second section of the Esoteric School, which was to deal in a direct way with a renewal - out of his own spiritual research - of ritual and symbolism. He gave these lectures as a necessary preparation, to clarify the history and nature of the cultic tradition. He thus discusses principally Freemasonry and its background, but also the Rosicrucians, Manichaeism, the Druids, the Prometheus Saga, the Lost Temple, Cain and Abel - and much else besides.

Theosophy is a key work for anyone seeking to know the fundamentals of spiritual reality as described by Rudolf Steiner.

In this foundational work, Rudolf Steiner describes the human being in terms of his various physical and spiritual principles, leading the reader carefully from the obvious physical component and successively bringing to view each of the more subtle members and their particular characteristics. He places the human complex within the stream of time, detailing the course of development of the various members in the distant past, those which are especially being elaborated in our present, and those which will only come to fruition in the distant future.

Theosophy is an essential work which should be studied before exploring more advanced subject matter.

Anthroposophic Press
Written 1904, GA9
Trans: C. E. Creeger
256pp; paperback
ISBN: 9780880103732

In Transforming the Soul - Volume 1, Rudolf Steiner describes various soul tendencies and predispositions which must be transformed in order to arrive at a healthy, mature and reliable understanding of oneself and of the spiritual realms which give rise to the world we live in.

Previously titled: True and False Paths in Spiritual Investigation

In these lectures, Rudolf Steiner deals with the fundamental aspects of human consciousness and methods of examination of the spiritual realms. He points out how these have changed in the course of human evolutionary history, and the importance of utilizing the spiritual forces which are consistent with our own time, which is characterized by the development of the Consciousness Soul since the early 15th century, and the solar forces of Michael since the late 19th century. The dangers of using atavistic practices in order to experience psychic/spiritual phenomena are stressed.