The Rudolf Steiner Archive

The subject of our study today will appear at first comparatively remote; nevertheless, these things can interest us in a certain sense even for our everyday life. The motif of today's lecture will be what is called by a name borrowed from ancient times; namely, Chaos. What this word really refers to lies even beyond what we understand as Heaven. Not only the wonderful old Grecian myth speaks of Chaos when it says that the most ancient Gods were born out of the Chaos; the legends and myths of other nations, too, are acquainted with this Chaos, albeit under a different name. In the Norse Saga we find it designated as Ginnungagap, the Yawning Abyss, from which there arises on the one hand the cold Niflheim, and on the other hand, the hot Muspelheim. The beginning of the Bible also refers to it in the words: “In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth; and the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the waters. Then there resounded the Word of the Godhead: “May Light become.” And it became light. And the Godhead perceived the Light and perceived that it was beautiful, and severed the World of Light from the World of Darkness.”

“The earth was without form and void”—these are only other words for the Chaos out of which the highest Spiritual Beings are born. What is the Chaos? With these old words for very lofty concepts things have taken a strange course in human evolution. For a long time past men have lost the right feeling and right conception of them; they no longer know what was meant when such words were said. The materialistic age scarcely has words any more to truly characterize what underlies such concepts as of Chaos. Indeed, many words have assumed quite a different meaning. Formerly it was different; the word corresponded to the spiritual meaning of the object; that is to say, to the concept. Our words today have been divided and distributed, so to speak, into so many materialistic meanings, referring, as they do, to the outer and material objects. They are no longer applied to the spiritual meaning. Whoever hears a word today applies it to what it represents in the sense world, and no longer thinks of relating it to the Spiritual World. Among the manifold reasons for the founding of this spiritual movement is one that is connected with the transmutation of the word. If this spiritual movement, this spiritual stream, did not find entry into the world before the end of this century, such a movement would probably be quite impossible in a hundred years' time. We have just been able to catch at the favourable conditions. Why so? In a hundred years' time it would be no longer possible at all to express in the words of ordinary language the ideas of super-sensible facts in their true nature. We should no longer understand them, for the words are more and more assuming the character where they can only be applied to material things and conditions. So it would gradually have come about that people would no longer understand the spiritual teachings at all, because everything would at once be applied to the material world. Spiritual knowledge must bring about an actual renewal of language. The words must be given a new stamp; new values must be lent to the words once more. Men must once more gain the feeling that there is something inherent in these words, that certain words intend something that points to higher worlds. It is the task of this spiritual movement to carry up into the higher worlds not only deeds, but words. In former ages this was done; and we must try to find again the feelings of those human beings who were far more directed to the non-material ideas—far more attracted to the Spiritual World than the feelings of our time.

It is very interesting to take up an old book and enter into it, and transplant one's feelings into such an ancient work, and read out of it the spirit of the author. Take, for instance, the Physica by Amos Comenius, who lived from 1592–1671. His Physica are physics of which the man of today will not be able to make very much in his way of thinking. He speaks of physical things, yet always referring to the spiritual background of spiritual forces and beings. Many things are described in this book, which were objects of real knowledge at that time. Comenius, the great educationist and thinker of the 17th Century, not only comprised all the knowledge of his time, but developed deep and original thoughts of his own on men and events, and discovered deep spiritual relationships. He is a remarkable and very strange personality.

In the 14th and 15th centuries there were quite a number of such people. In that time the Rosicrucian Order was founded; it guarded and preserved the occult secrets in their form for the New Age. Originally it consisted of seven members only. Down to our own times it has secretly carried on and handed on the great occult teachings. No one in the outer world ever discovered anything about Rosicrucians—no one who was not a Rosicrucian himself; no one could write about it. Whatever has been published on it is either quite unreliable, or if correct, came out of betrayal. Only today has the time come when something of the teachings of the Rosicrucians can be published and can be communicated to the world in general. But there are, and there were in those times, many ways and means of letting such spiritual movements flow into the general life of culture. It was, for instance, through such an influence, from a secret Rosicrucian stream, that Lessing said at the conclusion of his essay, The Education of the Human Race, that man is born again and again in the world: “Is not the whole of Eternity mine?” For one who knows, this is a sign that something of the Rosicrucian Movement worked upon Lessing, albeit in a way of which he himself remained unconscious, when he wrote these words on reincarnation. There are, in fact, many ways and means whereby this influence was poured out on men without their even knowing it. Nor does it matter if the work that is done, the influence that is wielded, is or is not attached to a name. Nowadays lawsuits are enacted against the stealing of thoughts, of the spiritual property of others. Lawsuits against plagiarism were never instituted by the Rosicrucians. They did not mind what the personal source was from which such things went out; the main thing was that they came into the world. It is a vicious custom of our time to institute legal proceedings against the stealing of thoughts.

Amos Comenius, the great educationalist, was among those who possessed higher knowledge as a result of a high spiritual development, and who, in consequence of the Rosicrucians, raised himself into the higher worlds by a strong and energetic will. It is very useful for mankind to enter into the thoughts of Comenius. Likewise it is useful to enter deeply into the thoughts of John van Helmont, a contemporary of Amos Comenius, who was also a Rosicrucian.

We all of us are familiar with the word which many people believe to be very old—the word ‘gas’. Many people today are only familiar with it as the gas we use for lighting. But we know from Physics that most substances can be transformed into gas. Without further thought one might imagine that the word was as old as any other. Gas and ‘gaseous’ were unknown concepts before the time of Comenius and Helmont. Helmont was the first; he invented the word ‘gas’. It was in 1615 that he wrote the work in which this word first occurs.

When one uses a new word, one must have some definite occasion to do so. Helmont was the first to give to mankind the idea, the concept of a gas which is current today. What occasion had he for the concept of a gas? When you heat water, and cause it to evaporate, water vapour or steam arises in the first place. Steam is not yet a gas; it is something you can still see with your eyes. It is the same substance which was formerly there in the water, divided there into finer particles. You can divide the great majority of substances into vapour. But you can heat them still further. By further heating you can get a condition where the substance is no longer visible; it passes over into quite another form. This new condition, the vapourous state in a higher form of development, is what we call the gaseous state; it is a vapourous condition at a higher level of temperature. Helmont, who was also a Rosicrucian, worked like Comenius, and with similar results. Before the Rosicrucians Helmont and Comenius, the gaseous state was unknown in this form. It was in the case of carbonic acid gas that Helmont first realized the nature of the gas. Helmont came to the idea that among the states of substance there is also the gaseous state, and in his work Ortus Medicinale we find the following sentence: “This spirit which was hitherto unknown, I will name with a new name: ‘Gas’.” We can learn a great deal from this sentence. Helmont calls what he describes as gas, “Spiritum”; that is, a Spirit. That is to say, the transparent substance he has constituted is for him the instrument for a spiritual being. He sees in it the expression for a spiritual being, and he calls this Spirit by a new name: Gas. He was well aware that when the gas was cooled, strange, cloud-like phenomena appeared. The gas became vapourous and watery again. To him the gas was a transparent and clear foundation from out of which something more dense and condensed arises. To him the gas was a parable in the sense of Goethe's saying: “Everything transient is but a parable.” Hence we can understand how much Van Helmont recognized in the process wherein a gas is cooled and condensed. Miniature worlds went forth from the gas, for Helmont. A human being who could feel in this way could also say: This unknown Spirit, I name “Gas.’ In contemplating this world he said to himself: How did all this that is here, originally come to be? Originally it arose from something that one cannot see, from out of which, however, as from a gas, the Universe was formed. Once upon a time, the whole Universe was Spiritum, purely spiritual. As the clouds of misty vapour are formed out of the gas, so out of the transparent, radiant, unclouded infinity of the Spiritual, all things that now exist emerged.

Already in primeval times and among primitive peoples we find good parables and comparisons for that which we have just described. Primitive peoples sometimes see even the material world still in a spiritual way. In the breath that flows from the mouth, that turns to steamy vapour by contact with the outer air, they see something arising out of the soul's nature, and condensing. This was regarded as a parable of the origin of the world out of the Spirit. The breath, for them, came from the inner being, from the soul; thus the whole world to them was the result of the outbreathing of the Godhead. This ancient idea contains quite another concept of Spirit than man has today. Space, to them, was not a great infinite void in which there is absolutely nothing, as it is to the man of today. For those who stood on the ground of Occult Science, space was the all-spreading spirit whose parable they saw in the unclouded gas. In it they saw the source from out of which all seeds of things are created, and spring forth through the Word of the original Divine Spirit. Not endless emptiness is space; space is originally Spirit. We are ourselves condensed space, for space is Spirit. If all things were dissolved again, seemingly there would be an endless void around us; but this apparent void would contain all things that have ever been. It is no empty nothingness. The visible world is space condensed. This was clear to Helmont, too; he knew the world foundation, the world origin, from out of which all beings are condensed. Van Helmont had this thought: the gas is very thin, transparent; the light goes through. You do not even divine its existence. But in relation to the world origin, even the gas is a condensation. Nevertheless, one can understand, one can conceive the cosmic origin thereof. You can gain an idea of the Spiritual if you imagine that the gas is itself a vapour of the Spirit, just as the steam is vapour of the gas. With this conception in his soul, Van Helmont said: “I have described this vapour by the name ‘gas;’ it is not far removed from the Chaos of the ancients. Helmont coined the word ‘gas’ from the word ‘chaos.’ It is an extremely interesting connection in the world order. We are thus led by Helmont to a living conception of space, not empty and infertile like the concept of space for the man of today, but a concept of space appearing infinitely fertile, bearing countless seeds. The infinitude that is spread out is the seed from out of which we issue. Everything that is in the world is space condensed; it is the infinite Spirit who shows Himself to us in place of a mere empty space.

When we transplant ourselves into the condition of space (when space was still altogether spiritual) and we trace its condensation out of the laws of this space itself, then we shall clearly feel the beautiful words of the Bible: “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth, and the Earth was without form and void, and the Spirit of the Godhead brooded and weaved over the depths.”

Imagine how originally the pure, spiritual transparent space was there. What happened in this pure transparent space? In this same space is also the extended gaseous air. As the thoughts that rise from our soul, when they are spoken in the word, bring the air around us into vibration, and every word shapes itself into forms in the air, quite silently and unseen by us, so did the Spirit of God hover over the waters. Into the waters the creating words of the Godhead were spoken. Now let us imagine the empty widespread cosmic space; fertile, rich in seeds, and resounding into it, the Word of the Godhead, working formatively into this space. Then we hear the words of the Bible. This Chaos, this cloud mist of the earth that was emerging was still waste and void: and the Spirit of the Godhead worked and wove, brooding thereover. First was the Spiritual World; then the Chaos revealed to begin with, in a kind of cloudiness, all that was to become. So do we recognize the depths of the religious documents. Human beings must gradually regain the feelings with which we understand such things.

But the Chaos works not only in the beginning of world evolution; it works on and on; it is present even today. Just as around us are the harmonies of the spheres, the harmonious heaven, so all around us is the Chaos, all things are permeated by it. It was the first and original foundation. Then it became cloudy; the seeds were formed; the shapes and forms arise; worlds were formed out of the Chaos. But just as when a gaseous mass condenses, something remains behind that works on between the single condensing particles, so likewise of the original Spirit something remained behind. And so the Chaos works on and lives on, along with the world. Everything is still permeated by the Chaos—every stone, every plant, every animal is permeated by the Chaos. Our soul and our Spirit are permeated with the Chaos. Such as he here is, the soul and the Spirit of man also partake in the Chaos.

This Chaos is at the same time the essential reason of the constant and ever-present fertility in nature. Let us take a simple example: the working of Chaos appears wherever animal excrements occur. The New Year's crop springs from the ploughed land, after manure has been put into it—manure which lends the land fertility and causes the crop to spring and thrive. What has happened in such a case? What was the manure, to begin with? The manure, too, was perhaps at one time a beautiful, marvelously-formed plant, an entity in the world that had also once been formed out of the Chaos. Then it served as nourishment for the animals, and the useless substances were excreted again. Now the manure mingles with the soil; it is a return of beings into Chaos. Chaos is working in manure, in all that is cast out; and unless, at some time or other, you mingle Chaos with the Cosmos, further evolution is never possible. The process we here have before us on its lowest level will enable us to rise to an understanding of the word ‘chaos’ with respect to higher realms. Cosmos cannot work alone. Everything in the Cosmos has grown from causes, from things that went before—not only all physical things, but intellectual and moral teachings, too, arise from causes that were planted once before.

It is Cosmos when a Goethe, a Schiller, a Lessing have done their work. When a schoolmaster comes and assimilates and passes on all the beautiful things that are found in the works of these great men, he can only do so because the causes are already there for him. But with the man of genius it is not so; he works out of the Chaos. New impulses, new entries into evolution, new concepts arise and begin to take effect. Genius is like a fresh spark; it is out of the ordinary just because a union there takes place between the Cosmos and the Chaos; thereby a new thing arises not connected with the laws of evolution that come from olden time. It enters in from other worlds like a Divine spark. Genius is the marriage of the past with the present, of the Cosmos with the Chaos. Hence the peculiar feeling and influence which the occult pupils of olden times experienced when the name ‘Chaos’ was spoken. It is only felt as merely waste and void by those human beings who stand entirely on the ground of what is working from the past. But something new must arise out of the Chaos; there must be a union with something new to work in this spiritual movement. This movement has arisen because mankind needs to be fertilized with a fresh spiritual seed; and we must realize that it is not a question here of carrying on and merely evolving existing things and past things, but that entirely new seeds must spring forth from the Chaos. He who would understand this movement must understand that in this movement we cannot work out of the Cosmos of our worthy forebears, but that new things must come into the world as if out of the Chaos. Thereby humanity is spiritually fertilized. Spiritual Science realizes concepts and ideas that are not taken from the past, as when the geologist, for instance, derives his knowledge from the past of our earth. For Spiritual Science the future form is the important thing. There are laws of the future that must flow out of the Chaos into the Cosmos. It is important for man to receive into himself ideas, feelings and impulses of will, taken directly from that form which the Spirit had, before it took shape out of the Chaos. Such ideas out of the Chaos, taken from the higher worlds, are the signs and symbols. Such symbols and signs were intended to be given to us among those things that underlie all occult science, all imaginative knowledge. In the Cosmos that is about to become, there are the Spiritual Beings. Out of the Chaos they work in upon the human soul in new impulses; new condensations arise and take effect.

That which is presented in the Seven Seals is not yet in the Cosmos, but it is in the Chaos. Out of the Chaos they work upon the human soul. If they work in the right way, then the Chaos works livingly, and leads the human being into worlds that lie beyond the Cosmos. This is what it means when the human being has recourse to such pictures. We feel the overwhelming influence of the Chaos that contains the seed of all things, when we let these things work upon us. Thus we can see how comprehensive the idea of Chaos is for anyone who understands it in the right way. It is the Chaos from out of which the physical arises. Whether it be the Greek Philosophy or the Bible, or the Indian Philosophy of the A-Chaos, the Akasha—all this shall remind us that that which was in the Beginning works throughout all time. To him who is bound to the sense world, the Chaos appears waste and void. But he who penetrates it in a spiritual sense can hear the harmonies of the spheres resounding through it. Today it is still possible for single human beings to get a feeling for some of these words that come from the spiritual world. Hence it is the time to speak of these things.

... What we were also responsible for in international terms was the holding of the Munich Congress. You were able to get an idea of our intentions from the design of the congress hall, the images of the seals and columns with which the hall was decorated, and the nature of the entire program. The intention was to make a start, to allow Theosophy to be more than just a collection of abstract dogmas, but to give it influence over the life that surrounds us. No one can be under the illusion that the way in which we have succeeded in harmonizing the entire organization of the congress was more than a weak beginning compared to what lives as Theosophical thought. But everything has to start somewhere. If the German Section has only shown what intentions could prevail at such a congress, shown how the life that lives in the soul can also be expressed in form, in art and in being together, then the German Section has done what it was able to contribute on this particular occasion. From such inspiration, the strength can arise that will gradually make it possible for the Theosophical Society to be not just a place for spreading these or those dogmas, but to intervene deeply in the whole life of the human being.

What also needs to be mentioned is the fact that the budgeted expenditure for the congress, which amounted to 4,500 marks, has been greatly exceeded. The congress has become all the more beautiful as a result. It is deeply gratifying to note that on this occasion in particular there has been such a spirit of understanding, especially in the German Section. We needed a lot of money; but it has been shown that where it matters to sustain the Theosophical life, there is also understanding and a willingness to make sacrifices. Therefore, there is no deficit to report.

No less emphasis should be placed on the deeply satisfying fact that those who were able to have worked in an incredibly dedicated manner. Everything that had to be done was done by our dear friends in Munich in a way that was not only dedicated but also thoroughly understanding, so that what is called Theosophical unity and harmony was most beautifully realized in this work. There was no one who was not willing to do the most demanding spiritual work alongside the most menial work, which is necessary at such a congress. People who had never done such work in their entire lives carried large items that were intended for this or that purpose; others hammered, others painted large columns; in short, it was all dedicated work. Donations ranging from the thousand-mark note to the ten-pfennig piece were collected. The administration, which had been taken over from Munich, was prudent in everything except the work that showed how real achievement, real cooperation, harmonizes people. We brought it to the point where the deeply satisfying performance of the Mystery Drama of Eleusis could take place. If you could realize what had to be done to make it happen, from the translation from the French to the sandals on the feet of the actors, who were all members and had to undergo weeks of rehearsals; if you knew how it all went , how beautifully and harmoniously everything went, how the work was carried by the common idea and the devotion of the feeling, then you could appreciate the practical value that arises when a common bond of work embraces everyone. Just as the plant harmoniously strives towards the sun, so people become harmonious when they are ruled by the same feelings.

We have the good spirit of this corps of contributors to our Munich Congress to thank for the fact that everything has turned out as it has. The spirit of harmony really did live in the Munich working group during all these preparations, and in this respect it could, to a certain extent, serve as a model for the way in which people in the Theosophical Society can work together and collaborate in general. It is to be hoped that this somewhat different way of working, which the German Section has been trying to achieve for five years, will not only be recognized in the International Theosophical Society, but will also have a somewhat fruitful effect. The International Theosophical Society can only flourish if each section contributes its share on the altar of joint, theosophical international activity.

It hardly needs saying that the most heartfelt thanks of the German Section of the Theosophical Society go to Fdonard Schure, the author of the mystery drama. However, it should be emphasized that we are deeply indebted to Bernhard Stavenhagen, the famous pianist and sensitive composer, who, in the midst of his busy and demanding workload, took it upon himself to provide the musical part of the dramatic performance at my request. The deep impression that this composition made on all those present will remain in their memories. The beautiful harmony between the musical creation and the mystery was felt by everyone.

An Introduction to the Portfolio with Fourteen Images

The fourteen plates presented here are reproductions of the “seals and symbols” used to line the interior of the building where the Congress of the “Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society” took place on May 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1907 (in Munich). They are not arbitrary “symbols” that can be interpreted rationally, but spiritual-scientific “characters” that must be taken as befits true spiritual science. These do not invent such “signs” out of their own minds or arbitrary imagination, but only reflect in them what is really present as a vision to the spiritual perception in the supersensible worlds. No speculation, no intellectual explanation, however ingenious, is appropriate in the presence of such signs, because they are not invented, but merely provide a description of what the so-called “seer” perceives in the invisible worlds. The signs reproduced here are a description of experiences in the “astral” and “spiritual” (devachanic) worlds. The “seals” of the first seven tablets represent such real facts of the astral world and the seven “columns” represent similar facts of the spiritual world. However, while the seals directly reflect the experiences of “spiritual vision”, this is not the case with the seven columns. For the perceptions of the spiritual world cannot be compared to “seeing”, but rather to “spiritual hearing”. In this, it must be borne in mind that one should not think of it as too similar to “hearing” in the physical world, for although it can be compared to it, it is nevertheless very unlike it. The experiences of this spiritual hearing can only be expressed in an image if they are translated from “sounding” into form. This has been done with these “columns”, but their essence can only be understood if the forms are thought of as plastic (not painterly).

In the sense of spiritual science, the causes of the things of the physical world are to be found in the supersensible, invisible. What manifests itself physically has its archetypes in the astral world and its spiritual primal forces (primal sounds) in the spiritual world. The seven seals give the astral archetypes of human development on earth in the sense of spiritual science. When the “seer” on the “astral plane” follows this development into the distant past and distant future, it presents itself to him in the given seven seal images. He has nothing to invent, but merely to understand the facts he perceives spiritually.

SEAL I comprehensively represents the entire evolution of man on earth. This seal, as well as other seals in the series, can also be found, in a sense, described in the “Revelation of St. John” (Apocalypse). For anyone who is able to understand this writing in a spiritual-scientific sense sees in it nothing other than the description given in words of what the “seer” perceives in an archetypal way as the development of humanity on the astral plane. Thus, such a person also understands the first words of this writing, which (approximately correctly rendered) read as follows: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God has offered him to illustrate to his servants how the necessary events will shortly take place; this is sent in ‘signs’ by God's angel to his servant John. He has expressed the 'Word' of God and its revelation through Jesus Christ in the way he saw it.” The ‘signs’ that he saw have been depicted by the recorder of the ‘secret revelation.’ — One can see that the following seals are in many ways similar to what is described in the Apocalypse, but not quite. For our pictures are based on a spiritual-scientific method which, although it is in harmony with all traditions, has been developed in its own form since the 14th century in those circles that have had the task of cultivating these things since that time, in accordance with the modern spiritual needs of humanity. Nevertheless, the description here, where it matters, is given with reference to the “Revelation of St. John”. It should be expressly noted that some of the seven seals have already been published in this or that work of modern times; but the initiate in such matters will be able to find that these other renderings differ in some respects from the form given here, which seeks to present the genuine spiritual-scientific basis.

The description of the first seal can be compared with that in the Apocalypse. “And I turned to hear the sound that came to me; and I saw seven golden lamps, and in the midst of the lamps the image of the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot and girded about the loins with a golden girdle. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. And his feet were like glowing coals of a fiery furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. And in his right hand were seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face in its brightness was like the shining sun.” In general images, the most comprehensive secrets of human development are pointed out. If one wanted to present in detail what the seer can see from these images, one would have to write a thick book. Only a few hints are made. Every sign, every form on the seal images is meaningful, and what is said here can only be a little of much. Among the organs and means of expression in the human being, there are some which, in their present form, represent the downward stages of development of earlier forms, and which have thus already passed their degree of perfection. Others, however, represent the initial stages of a development that moves in an ascending direction. Such members in the human being are still imperfect today and will have to fulfill completely different, higher tasks in the future. The organ of speech represents an organ that will be something much higher and more perfect in the future than it is at present, with all that belongs to it in a human being. In touching on this, one touches on a great secret of existence, which is also called the “mystery of the creative word”. This gives a hint of the future state of this organ, which will one day, when man has spiritualized, become a productive (creative) organ.

In myths and religious stories, this future spiritualized form of production is indicated by the appropriate image of a fiery “sword” coming out of the mouth. The first stages of man's development on earth took place at a time when the earth was still “fiery”; and it was out of the element of fire that the first human embodiments took shape; at the end of his earthly career, man himself will radiate his inner being creatively outwards through the power of the element of fire. This progressive evolution from the beginning to the end of the Earth is revealed to the “seer” when he beholds the archetype of the evolving human being on the astral plane, as depicted in the first seal. The beginning of the evolution of the earth is represented by the fiery feet, the end by the fiery countenance, and the complete power of the “creative word” to be attained last of all by the fiery sword that comes out of the mouth. During this process of development, the becoming of the human being and the powers that are thereby unfolded are successively influenced by forces that are expressed in the seven stars of the right. Thus, each line and each point in the picture represents something that is connected with the comprehensive developmental secret of the human being.

SEAL II represents one of the first developmental stages of humanity on earth, with everything that goes with it. In distant prehistoric times, the human being on earth did not yet have what is called an individual soul. In those days, what was present in him was what animals, which are still at an earlier stage of human development, still have today: the group soul. When, through imaginative clairvoyance, human group souls are traced on the astral plane in retrospect to prehistoric times, it becomes clear that the various forms of these can be traced back to four basic types. And these are represented in the four apocalyptic animals of the second seal: the lion, the bull, the eagle and that figure which also approaches the individual soul of the present man as the group soul and which is therefore also called: the “human being”. This touches on the truth of what is often so dryly allegorized in the four animals.

SEAL III represents the secrets of the so-called harmony of the spheres. Man experiences these secrets in the interim between death and a new birth (in the “spirit realm” or what is called “Devachan” in the common theosophical literature). However, it should be noted that all these seals only represent the experiences of the astral world. But other worlds than the astral world itself can be observed in it. Our physical world can be observed in its astral-plane counterparts. And the spiritual world can be seen in its after-images on this plane. Thus, the third seal represents the astral after-images of the “spirit world”. The angels blowing trumpets represent the spiritual primal beings of the world phenomena; the sounds of the trumpets themselves represent the forces that flow from these primal beings into the world and through which the beings and things are built and sustained in their becoming and working. The “apocalyptic riders” represent the main points of development through which an individual human being passes in the course of many embodiments, and which are represented on the astral plane by the riders on their horses: a horse shining white, expressing a very early stage of soul development; a horse of fiery color, pointing to the warlike ; a black horse, corresponding to that stage of the soul where only the outer physical perception of the soul is developed; and a green shimmering horse, the image of the mature soul, which has mastery over the body (hence the green color, which results as an expression of the life force working from the inside out).

SEAL IV represents, among other things, two columns, one rising from the sea and the other from the earth. These columns hint at the secret of the role played by red (oxygen-rich) blood and blue-red (carbon-rich) blood in human development. The human 'I' undergoes its development in the cycle of the earth by physically expressing its life in the interaction between red blood, without which there would be no life, and the blue blood, without which there would be no knowledge. Blue blood is the physical expression of the powers that give knowledge, but which in their human form are connected with death; and red blood is the expression of life, which in its human form could not give knowledge by itself. Both in their interaction represent the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, or also the two columns on which life and the knowledge of the ego develop further to that degree of perfection where man will become one with the universal earth forces. This latter state of the future is shown on the seal by the upper body, which consists of clouds, and by the face, which has appropriated the spiritual powers of the sun. Man will then no longer absorb “knowledge” from outside into himself, but will have “swallowed” it into himself, which is indicated in the book in the middle of the seal. Only through such “devouring” on a higher level of existence do the seven seals of the book open, as they are also indicated on Seal III. In the “Revelation of St. John” we find the significant words about this: “And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it...”

SEAL V represents a higher stage of human development, which will occur when the earth has united with the sun again and man will no longer work merely with the forces of the earth, but with the forces of the sun. The “Woman who gives birth to the sun” refers to this future human being. Certain forces of a lower nature, which live in man and prevent him from fully developing his higher spirituality, will then have been expelled from him. These forces are represented in the seal, on the one hand, by the beast with the “seven heads and ten horns” and, on the other, by the moon at the feet of the solar man. For spiritual science, the moon is the center of certain lower forces that still work in the human being today and that the man of the future will subjugate.

SEAL SIX represents the purified human being, not only spiritualized but also having become strongly spiritual, who has not only overcome the lower forces but transformed them so that they are at his service in an improved form. This is expressed by the tamed “beast”. In the Book of Revelation we read: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”

SEAL VII is the reproduction of the “mystery of the Holy Grail”. It is the astral experience that reflects the universal meaning of human development. The cube represents the “space world”, which is not yet permeated by any physical being or physical event. For spiritual science, space is not just the “void”, but is the carrier that holds the seeds of all physicality in an as yet invisible way. Out of it, the whole physical world precipitates, as a salt precipitates out of a still completely transparent solution. And what, in relation to the human being, is formed out of the world of space, undergoes a development from the lower to the higher. Out of the three spatial dimensions, which are expressed in the cube, the lower human powers first develop, visualized by the two serpents that give birth to the purified higher spiritual nature, which is represented in the world spirals. Through the upward growth of these higher forces, the human being can become a recipient (chalice) for the reception of the pure spiritual world, expressed by the dove. Thus man becomes the ruler of the spiritual powers of the world, of which the rainbow is the image. This is only a very sketchy description of this seal, which contains within itself immeasurable depths that can reveal themselves to him who, in devoted meditation, allows it to take effect upon him. This seal is circumscribed by the truth saying of modern spiritual science: “Ex deo nascimur, in Christo morimur, per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus,” “From God I am born; in Christ I die; through the Holy Spirit I am reborn.” In this saying, the meaning of human development is fully indicated.

In the congress hall, one of the seven columns reproduced in the second series of pictures was placed between every two of these seals. As already indicated above, the capitals of these columns depict the experiences of the “seer” (which is actually no longer an appropriate name in this field) in the “spiritual world”. It is about the perception of the primal forces that exist in spiritual tones. The plastic forms of the capitals are translations of what the “seer” hears. But these forms are by no means arbitrary, but rather as they naturally arise when the “seeing man” allows the “spiritual music” (harmony of the spheres), which flows through his entire being, to act on the forming hand. The plastic forms here are truly a kind of “frozen music” that expresses the secrets of the world. That these forms appear as column capitals seems self-evident to anyone who understands the situation. The basis of the physical development of earthly beings lies in the spiritual world. From there it is “supported”. Now all development is based on a progression in seven stages. (The number seven should not be understood as the result of “superstition”, but as the expression of a spiritual law, just as the seven colors of the rainbow are the expression of a physical law.) The earth itself passes through seven states in its development, which are designated by the seven planetary names: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. (For an understanding of this, see my “Occult Science” or the essays “From the Akasha Chronicle” in “Lucifer-Gnosis”. But it is not only a heavenly body that advances in its evolution; every evolution passes through seven stages, which, in the sense of modern spiritual science, are designated by the terms for the seven planetary conditions. The spiritual supporting forces of these conditions are reflected in the forms of the Capitals of the Columns in the manner described above. But we shall not arrive at a true understanding of this matter if we base our observation of the forms only on a rational explanation. We must look into the forms with a feeling and intuitive perception and let the capitals act on us as forms. If we fail to do this, we shall believe that we have before us only allegories or, at best, symbols. We shall then have misunderstood everything. The same motif runs through all seven captains: a force from above and one from below, which first strive towards each other, then, reaching each other, work together. These forces can be felt in their fullness and in their inner life and then the soul itself can experience how they expand, contract, embrace, devour, unlock and so on, in a lively, formative way. We will be able to feel this complication of forces, just as we feel the plant's “shaping” from its living forces, and we will be able to sense how the line of force first grows vertically upwards in the column, how it unfolds at the bottom in the plastic forms of the capitals, which open and unlock to the forces coming towards them from above, so that a meaningful capital becomes. First the power from below develops in the simplest way, and you strive just as simply towards the power from above (Saturn column);

He who can feel all that is expressed in these “columns” of world events feels the all-embracing laws of all being, which solve the riddles of life in a very different way from abstract “laws of nature”.

These pictures are intended to show how spiritual insight can take shape, come to life and be artistically expressed. Note that the pictures depict living forces of existence in the higher world; and these higher spiritual forces have a profound effect on the observer of the pictures. They act directly on forces that, corresponding to them, lie dormant in every human being. But their effect is only right if one looks at these pictures with the right inner soul disposition. Those who look at the pictures with theosophical mental images and theosophical feelings in their hearts will receive the most sacred from them. If you want to hang them anywhere or put them anywhere, where you will encounter them with everyday thoughts and feelings, you will feel an unfavorable effect, which can go as far as a bad influence on your physical life. You should act accordingly and only enter into a relationship with the pictures that is in harmony with a devotion to the spiritual worlds. Such pictures should serve as decoration for a room that serves a higher life; they should never be found or viewed in places where people's thoughts are not in harmony with them.

Description of the situation by Max Gümbel-Seiling

We were in the living room of the family home, which stood alone in the forest. There were about 24 people present. Rudolf Steiner stepped in front of the table, behind which we were standing, with the document he had written. First he explained the sign of the macrocosm, which he had drawn on it with simple lines. Around the six-pointed star formed by two intersecting triangles, two dragons closed, biting each other's tails. Above was a white, winged dragon, below a dried-up, dark one. On the right were the words, one above the other: “Above all as below,” and one read, starting from the left, going up: “Below all as above.” Then we all signed the document, which Rudolf Steiner rolled up and placed in a bottle under the foundation stone. It was late in the evening, but Rudolf Steiner wanted to wait for the moon before we followed him outside to a forest ravine where the small, open-topped building lay. “Dear sisters and brothers,” Rudolf Steiner began. We were standing close together in front of him, filling the small space. First he spoke of the laying of the foundation stone in ancient times, when a priest voluntarily allowed himself to be walled into the ground, then of the slave whom the Romans forced to do so, and finally of the present-day meaning of the foundation stone. He then performed the laying of the foundation stone himself.

Approximate rendering of the words of Dr. Rudolf Steiner at the laying of the foundation stone of the Rose Cross Temple of the Malsch Lodge, “Francis of Assisi.” Rendering from the memory of Hilde Stockmeyer.

Human skeletons have been found among the ruins of many old buildings. The reason for this is that people used to know that a building had to develop an inner life. Originally, however, this meant the spiritual life, which must flow through every building if it is to bring blessing. A decadent time took this to mean something external and created the custom of walling a slave alive under the building. What should really be buried with the foundation stone are the feelings and thoughts and blessings of those who build the building and those who want to use it.

So we too want to lower the foundation stone of this temple into the lap of our mother earth, in the light of the rays of the full moon, which shine on us, surrounded by the green plant world that entwines the building. And like the moon reflects the bright sunlight, so we want to reflect the light of the spiritual-divine beings. We want to turn trustingly to our great Mother Earth, who lovingly carries and protects us, and we want to entrust her with the charter of the building... [Here followed the description of the document].

At the same time as the document, we want to lower our wishes, our blessings, all of us who are gathered here, and remember this moment often and often and what has made our hearts and souls glow. Then our intentions will continue to work, promoting and protecting the construction of this temple, the existence of the Malsch Lodge. We implore the blessing of the Masters of Wisdom and of the harmony of feelings upon this stone and upon the Lodge of Malsch, and the blessing of all high and highest beings, of all spiritual hierarchies connected with the evolution of the earth. We implore them to let their power flow into this foundation stone and continue to work in it, so that everything that is thought, felt, willed and done through this stone may be in harmony with them and inspired by their spirit.

May the light of the spirits of the East shine upon this building
The spirits of the West may reflect it;
The spirits of the North may solidify it
And the spirits of the South may warm it,
So that the spirits of the East, West,
North and South may flow through it.

With great pain, our mother earth has solidified. Our mission is to spiritualize her again, to redeem her, by reworking her into a spirit-filled work of art through the power of our hands. May this stone be a first foundation stone for the redemption and transformation of our planet, and may the power of this stone increase a thousandfold.

When we still rested in the bosom of the Godhead, sheltered by divine powers, the all-pervading and enveloping Father Spirit wove in us. But we were still unconscious, not in possession of independence. Therefore we descended into matter to learn to develop self-awareness here. Then came evil, then came death. But in matter also worked the Christ and helped us to conquer death. And so, by dying in Christ, we live. We shall overcome death and, through our mighty strength, spiritualize matter and deify it. Thus will awaken in us the power of the Holy Spirit.

So let the word resound as a truth here at this point:

Ex Deo nascimur,
In Christo morimur,
Per Spiritum sanctum reviviscimus.

From God I am born,
In Christ I die,
Through the Holy Spirit I resurrect.

Address by the architect Carl Schmid-Curtius

As the builder of this house, it is my privilege to address the first words of greeting and welcome to you at today's house dedication.

The abundance of feelings that move me at the handover of this building, our new Theosophical home, should above all find expression in my heartfelt thanks to all those who, with their advice and support, have actually made this building possible. Once I have thus fulfilled the noblest duty of someone who has accomplished a work with the help of others, I may summarize my many wishes for this house, in which Theosophy is to be taught for many generations to come, that I say: In these rooms, the occult motifs have been arranged according to a fundamental idea under higher guidance and approval; we know that everything that surrounds us here is the expression of a spiritual. May these forms all serve to promote Theosophical work and may this building always be dedicated to the spirit in which it was built!

I hereby hand over the keys of the house to the building association of the Stuttgart branch association, and express my heartfelt thanks for their loyal support. I also wish them all the best and much success in their work in these beautiful rooms.

Address by the chairman of the Stuttgart branch association's building association, Jost del Monte

On behalf of the building association, I take over the key of this house.

If you, my dear Mr. Schmid, have addressed words of thanks to all those who have helped you to accomplish this work, we are well aware that these thanks must go above all to the one whose profound knowledge alone made it possible to develop the ideas embodied in these rooms, and each of us shares your sentiments with all our hearts. And as far as these thanks are directed at us, let me tell you that we have regarded it as a very special favor to be allowed to participate in this work. We leave it to our dear guests to judge the extent to which the work has been successful; but let me add one thing: working together with you in harmony has given us great satisfaction, and we fully appreciate the amount of dedicated work this work has required of the builder. We thank you very much and are pleased to be able to say this to you from this point.

Furthermore, we would like to thank all those who have generously contributed to this undertaking, and in particular we would like to mention one of our members who, with a large, fundamental donation, has made it possible to fulfill our long-held wish.

And finally, on behalf of the building association, let me express our joy at being able to celebrate the inauguration of the house together with so many friends from outside. We thank you for your interest in our celebration and warmly welcome you. We have been able to create a stronghold for theosophical life through our loyal cooperation; this house is now complete, and the building association has thus fulfilled its primary task. I now hand over the key to this house to the Stuttgart branches, which may become a place of loyal work for them.

Address by the Chairman of the Association of Stuttgart Branches Adolf Arenson

On behalf of the Association of Stuttgart Branches, I take possession of the key to this house.

It has been designed and built in accordance with spiritual rhythms and spiritual laws that have been transmitted to us by our esteemed teacher.

The forms and designs that confront us, the signs and images that give the room its character, are drawn from those spheres that underlie our earthly one; we should always be mindful of this, and the work we do in this house should strive to achieve harmony with our surroundings. The symbols that look down on us – they shall become inner life through our work.

Sacred is the space in its arrangement - in its holiness it shall be animated by our work. It shall become a home for the Highest, which has become ours through high spiritual powers. And we want to protect with all our strength the good that has been entrusted to us. We solemnly swear this.

In this spirit, we ask our esteemed leader to consecrate the place of our future work.

Consecration speech by Rudolf Steiner

All of us gathered here today feel the significance and consecration of this moment. And perhaps at this hour many a heart here will ask itself what the greater significance and the greater consecration lies in, whether in the fact that we have before us, and whose importance for the theosophical life in our circles we cannot sufficiently feel, or whether in the symbolic meaning, in the symbolic importance of what we are allowed to begin here today. The most beautiful and solemn words at this moment are undoubtedly those that resonate quietly in the hearts of those gathered here, and it is hardly my duty to express these unspoken words that now fill our hearts. We feel the significance of the fact that from now on, for the first time, the spirit that has been maintained for years within our Central European Theosophical Society can be realized in a space that, wherever we we turn our eyes, surrounds us with signs and features of what is so intimately connected with all that we strive for as an impulse for our knowledge, which should lead us into the supersensible worlds. And basically, the full weight of this moment can be summed up in a few words: for the first time we are surrounded by a home, by a space that is ours. A concept can easily be associated with such words, but it must be a distant one. Such a word can be associated with the concept of selfishness; but the word cannot and must not be understood by us in this sense, but solely and exclusively in the sense that we now have a space around us that belongs in an intimate and personal way to what we strive for in the spiritual worlds; and if we allow the weight of these words to weigh on our soul, then the all-embracing feeling of gratitude to all those who have made it possible for us to stand today before such a fact will spring up.

However, if we want to go back to the first sources of this possibility, we have to go back years, we have to look back on the dedicated theosophical work that has been done here in this place for years, and we have to remember the beautiful way in which the most diverse most diverse theosophical impulses have interacted here in this place, how mystical-inner and theosophical-intellectual striving have been lovingly combined here for years, and how harmoniously people with of the most diverse temperaments and working methods, but who were all able to harmonize their working methods, temperaments and characters because the deepest impulse lived in them, which we can express as theosophical love, as a theosophical feeling and striving for peace. We would have to reach far into what has been achieved here on the horizon of our theosophical life if we wanted to characterize everything that has finally been condensed into one impulse. So we can say: born here out of diligent, energetic work in the theosophical field was an understanding of the needs of real theosophical life.

This has captured the heart of one of our dear friends, who was able to turn an idea into reality, which must surely always live in all our hearts. Therefore, our thanks must go to the person who made the basic donation for this building, which was conceived in the noble theosophical spirit and can be entered in the memory of the theosophical development. Thus, relatively early in our theosophical striving, a home for our 'Theosophy' was created here, showing a reflection of our thinking and feeling in every detail. The impulse given by our dear friend is, first of all, an invitation to work in a dignified manner in the home that has been given to us. Thus, we feel, as we have done from the very beginning, that not only what lies before our eyes, what affects our senses, is theosophically ours, but we feel at this moment that space is also, in a sense, morally ours; and we feel this space permeated by theosophical love and theosophical willingness to make sacrifices, the love of those who have worked here for years, devotedly and self-sacrificingly, to give the impulse of theosophical understanding, and the love of the one who first made this room possible. And we may say that we also feel the exemplary nature of this present moment in many respects. It has often been emphasized how Theosophy must find its way into all branches and activities of the human spirit, of the soul life and of the outer life.

Just as everything comes from the spirit, so should all human activity be imbued and inspired by the spirit, and so we must regard it as a fact to be recognized in the true sense as a theosophical result, that we have found in our own midst the man who with what our theosophical spirit is. And you all undoubtedly feel at this moment that our dear Mr. Schmid, who has executed this building, has combined his best theosophical feeling and thinking with what the outside world has given him as his artistic ability. We can feel happy with him about this fact. What do we feel when we take a look at everything that surrounds us! Above all, we feel that not only the skill of a master builder, but also the heart of a theosophical master builder has worked here. As true as it is that we stand in awe of the way our friend Schmid implements what 'Theosophy is' in his art, it must also be true that we are full of gratitude for all the love that he was able to put into this building. I think it has also been a task for you, my dear Mr. Schmid, which filled your heart with joy, with the kind of joy that belongs to the realm of spiritual feeling and that arises when a person is allowed to let his ability to work, his creative urge, his skill flow into the forces of spiritual life. But we consider it a favorable karma of our theosophical movement that we have found precisely this master builder, who — as I, perhaps more than anyone outside Stuttgart, can assure you — has shown a wonderful devotion and understanding for what architecture in this case can offer to spiritual life. And we may be glad if a similar relationship can be achieved in the future.

And now let us, who have come together from the most diverse regions to celebrate this hour with our friends here, remember not only the general, sacrificial and dedicated work that has been done, but also the more specific work that has had to be done in recent years. Just think back to nine and a half months ago, when we were able to lay the foundation stone for this building, and consider all the selfless work that had to be done beforehand. Consider further what had to be done by our friends in Stuttgart, by the inner circle of the Society, which today took possession of this building, so that we can be united within this theosophical new structure. It would be impossible to describe this laborious and devoted work. But one thing in particular should be emphasized about this work. Let me mention a fundamental aspect of such theosophical work! You are all undoubtedly filled with joy and heartfelt satisfaction at how our Theosophical Society has grown; but on such an occasion we should not forget that, although it is the greatest happiness in the sense that one can speak of it here, that it has grown so much, with the growth the difficulties in the management of the affairs of this very Society are also growing considerably.

Things such as those that are now appearing before us, full of significance and laden with meaning, must be accomplished by people who, at the time of their creation, can put their whole hearts into the work. This makes it necessary to speak of the fundamental nerve of such a matter at this moment. The more our Society grows, the more it seems as if such work should be placed in the hands of all theosophists. That cannot be! That is impossible! But something else is possible: that the genuine work on such a project should be carried out in an exemplary manner, almost pedagogically, for all those who profess to be our followers. What will be the best in social terms if our movement is to realize in numerous fruits what it has as a germ? It will not be voting and majority decisions, but the trust that one person can place in another personally and individually; that trust that consists in letting the small groups that have to carry out one or the other work work without hindrance. Then they can work as we have worked here. Let us not disturb those who, sacrificing their hearts, are attached to what should promote our great goal, and let us give them complete freedom to work, let us not surround them with the obstacles of know-it-alls who cannot possibly be there! And when the small circle here has been working quietly for years, demanding that trust, then we may say: If we may judge from the fruit on the germ, then what is in any case in line with the theosophical work has proven itself here in the most brilliant way. The work that we see today is, in the fullest sense, a glorious vindication of the trust that we had in the faithful work of this small building association that has been at work here. With understanding and trust, we express our gratitude for the exemplary work of this building association.

When you leave this room today or tomorrow, take this feeling with you: how different it is to be able to devote ourselves to theosophical thoughts in such an environment than in an environment that we encounter when we have to work elsewhere. Let us feel in this moment how the word can expand for us: This space is ours. What does this mean in yet another sense? What was said at the laying of the foundation stone can be repeated in a modified way: “We have built a temple for the Spirit we serve.” How differently we can feel connected to this spirit within such a building! And we then understand the longing for images of the beautiful, magnificent model that has been given to us here. Perhaps more than any words that could otherwise be spoken, this room itself can speak to those who are able to create afterimages; it speaks in a clearly audible way of the necessity to be surrounded by that which is our spirit's temple. And if there has been talk in Munich of another, similar building, only to be executed on a larger scale, then consider as a beautiful intensification of all these words, which can only be spoken with the mouth, what this room is able to say to you. When we enter it with understanding, dwell in it, and leave it to return to it again and again, does it not emphasize the necessity of such buildings in other places as well?

If we allow our feelings free rein for a moment, we cannot but say that human karma works in the strangest ways. We could be filled with emotion that this building of ours could be placed in this region of this country. Let us remember how much of the intellectual life of Central Europe has sprung precisely from these regions. Think of how, in a quiet, earnest, intimate way, a 18th-century spirit wrote the fervent worship of the spirit that reigns and weaves through all worlds in a friend's book with three words: “One in All.” The unfortunate ZZölderlin, from a sense of the spirit in the universe, wrote the words to his philosophical friend in this very area: “One in All.” The word that was written out of deep feeling in this area has often been repeated. It was written in the family register of a man whose philosophical spirit filled all of Germany and, in fact, the whole of the educated world.

Let us also remember how intellectual life in the 18th and 19th centuries took its starting point from this very area. Theosophy, which could only have existed at that time, originated in this very area. Within the Swabian region, there were theosophical centers in the 18th century from which many colonies originated, some of which are still active today. Let us remember that it was a son of this area who came to an 18th-century seer in Thuringia, Oetinger, who represented the theosophy that was possible at that time. Through his own temperament, he found that seer personality of Central Germany who bore a name that has local significance here. Let us remember that from the vision of the 'Thuringian peoples, the theosophy of this region drew rich sources of seership. Let us remember that the great philosophers were sent to us from the same spiritual substance of this region, let us remember that the one who has become so popular within the spiritual life and who spoke the beautiful word: “Thought is an immeasurable realm, and the word is a winged tool.”

If we bear in mind that we wish to be servants of the spirit through the word in this building, which in symbols and forms is intended to be an expression of the spirit we serve, then in a somewhat modified form, transposed into our theosophical thoughts, a word that long, long ago moved and uplifted countless hearts, which had gathered together everything they had left to build a temple for the Spirit they served. And the one who was allowed to serve with his person in the construction of this temple spoke words that we may translate into our language:

"O Spirit of the Universe, You who proclaim yourself to our true self-awareness, You have graciously kept the word You gave us when You saw our work, as it has been done for years by Your servants; and it is becoming apparent today in this hour. Although the furthest reaches of the spirit are not able to grasp You, great Spirit of the Universe, You who permeate all Your works with Your thoughts, You who want to dwell in the words that may sound from our lips; how much less can these temple walls, which we have built for You, grasp You. But behold, Spirit of the Universe, You who make Yourself known in our true self-awareness, upon our will to understand, upon our yearning for knowledge of Your servants! Behold, Spirit of the Universe, Pervader of every ego, look down upon us, and let Your eyes be open over this structure, where You have decided to dwell! Hear our feelings, which urge us, through our work of letting Your spirit flow into the spaces we have dedicated to You, to show ourselves worthy of You!"

I had to resort to the words of the Old Testament, to the words of Solomon, to express what we ourselves, out of the spirit of human development that has progressed with the world, have to address like a prayer to the spirit of the universe, which dwells in all hearts that strive for true self-knowledge. If we can develop something in us of the devoted feelings that have been invoked in all times by the spirit of a community towards a building, then let us create this feeling in our hearts! As we continue to work in this room, we will see how differently our work can be done than in an otherwise indifferent space.

What, above all, is possible here? There is one thing we need that we can summarize in a single word: concentration of mind, seclusion of soul, while we devote ourselves to theosophical knowledge. We can feel what the voice of the universe itself can tell us if we tune into the spring mood. Even if it is autumn outside, we have spring in this room. Then we can understand from the language of the world spirit in nature how justified it is to seek contemplation and collection. If those who say, “Why do you shut yourselves away with your work, don't carry it out as a labor of love?” should come, then we will not answer, but let us let the great world spirit answer, which speaks from the works of nature itself. How much depends on what happens in spring! What is necessary for the salvation of the plant world that sprouts out of the earth in spring? That the seeds are taken from the full sunlight of outer activity; but in order to flourish, they must enter into the darkness, into the seclusion in which they enter in autumn. Thus, these spiritual seeds of life must be carried into the quiet home of meditation, of knowledge, of love and of peace, in order to work there quietly like the seed in the bosom of the earth; and only then can they be effectively carried out into the full sunshine of life. Such places are necessary for the interaction of human development, and insofar as we ourselves want to be bearers of the best seeds of our cultural life, it is necessary that what can be won from outside, what can only be cultivated and flourish here, be brought into the hiddenness.

Thus it is a wonderful fulfillment of karma that our first Theosophical house has been built on this very ground, like a tribute of the new spiritual life to the old. When the spirit we serve has received this shell, we ourselves feel integrated into the organism of the whole human spiritual life and know that we have a contemporary work in the highest and most sacred sense. It is contemporary because this work is connected to the spiritual current that flows from the source of spiritual life after the karma of all humanity in the present.

Therefore, we can admit it today: we feel that we have been allowed to serve those whom we regard as the source of our work, but also of our opportunity to work, with this work. We were allowed to serve the Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feelings, in whom lie the sources of our occult knowledge, with our outer work as well, and because we are allowed to feel this, we are also allowed to feel that they help us in our work. May their spirit prevail in this room, which has arisen out of theosophical devotion, which the masters of wisdom and of the harmony of feelings will honor by allowing the forces of the invisible worlds to flow into it, which we need to strengthen and invigorate what our souls themselves are capable of. I visualize the Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feelings looking down with favor upon this hour and especially upon the feelings that live in our hearts, which are the best when we pledge ourselves to fulfill the work of the Masters in this room that we have built for them. The spirits who have been connected with Theosophy in its best form, as long as it has existed, will send their help into this room; so speaks the feeling that they may do so, but so also speaks a prayer that may be addressed to them in a silent way. When the Masters of Wisdom and Harmony of Feeling, whom we invoke, work in a place where we strive for knowledge, for harmonization, for a foothold in our lives, then this work thrives.

May these good spirits of the theosophical movement bestow their blessings on me when I write out of all your hearts at this hour, not with physical words but only with spiritual words, something like a motto over the door of this house, which is to be written in our hearts , so that we need no physical eyes when we read it upon entering this house, and which we keep in our hearts when we are in this house, when we leave this house, taking with us the longing to gather again and again to cultivate Theosophy. Written over the door shall be:

Those who enter bring love to this home, those who stay inside seek knowledge in this place, those who leave take peace with them from this house.

To me it seems fitting today to speak of something that concerns us very closely; this our home for anthroposophical work in Stuttgart. Perhaps for all of you who have entered this room, and then with a kind of inner vision try to survey the feelings which come to you here, there is a word which may describe what we should like to indicate as the special characteristic of our experience today, namely, mood, feeling; we have doubtless a special feeling, an exalted frame of mind when we are gathered together in this hall. If one follows this feeling further occultly, one may from their standpoint look into the foundation of our life. The most noticeable thing is that we are surrounded by a certain shade of colour which has been used for this room a deep ultramarine. The fact that in many respects combinations of colour play a great part with us, you will also have seen from the way in which we have tried to present the Mystery Plays, and also from the colours of other rooms which we have been able to dedicate to anthroposophical work.

Now it is by no means a matter of indifference to a person in a certain frame of mind what kind of colour he is surrounded by. And further, it is not immaterial what principle shade of colour acts upon a person of this or that temperament, intellectual nature of character. It is also not immaterial for the whole human organisation whether a certain shade of colour acts upon him by being repeated again and again for a long time, or whether it acts only temporarily. You will remember that we covered the hall which served us for the 1907 Congress with a certain shade of red; but from this the conclusion must not be drawn that red is always the right colour for a lecture room. The room here we have covered with a different colour, and if one enquires the reason for these different procedures, the answer is that the hall at Munich was used for a few days for a particular festive occasion, and event which was over in a few days, and was intended to arouse the frame of mind appropriate to this occasion. But here we have a workroom in which our Stuttgart friends will do their anthroposophical work and carry on their classes again and again from week to week. Essentially we are dealing with a room which will be used for oft-recurring classes.

You will best realise the importance of colour if we describe how it affects occultists. For this it is necessary that a person should free himself completely from everything else and devote himself to the particular colour, immerse himself in it. If the person who devotes himself to the colour which covers these physically dense walls were one who had made curtain occult progress it would come about that after a period of this complete devotion the walls would disappear from his clairvoyant vision; the consciousness that the walls shut off the outer world would vanish. Now what which first appears is not merely that he sees the neighbouring houses outside, that the walls become like glass, but in the sphere that opens up there comes a world of purely spiritual phenomenon, spiritual facts and beings become visible. We need only reflect that behind everything around us physically there are spiritual beings and facts. That which lies at the foundation of the physical objects outside in a certain way become visible, what becomes visible is not the same if there are different surroundings. The worlds which surround us spiritually are of many kinds, many different kinds of elementary beings are around us, These elementary beings are not enclosed in boxes or in such a state that they live in various houses. The law of impenetrability only applies to the physical world; penetrability is the law for the higher worlds. But they cannot all be seen in the same way; according to the capacity of clairvoyant vision there may be visible and invisible beings in the same space. When spiritual beings become visible in any particular instance, depends upon the colour to which we devote ourselves. In a red room, other beings become visible than is a blue room, when one penetrates to them by means of colour. We may ask: what happens if one is not clairvoyant? That which the clairvoyant does consciously is done unconsciously by the etheric body of a person if it is not clairvoyantly trained; it enters into a certain relation with the same beings. The consequence of this is nothing less than that, according to our surroundings, we come in touch with one or another kind of spiritual beings. Now, further, it is a case of being able to establish a favourable or unfavourable connection with the beings that surround us. Let us suppose that we use a colour for the room which brings us into connection with beings who disturb us in what we do in this room, then the colour is unfavourable. Conversely, our etheric body may be assisted by spiritual beings though using the corresponding colour; this is then, of course, favourable. Now this room is devoted to repeated study through which we desire to progress in our knowledge. If we have to work in such a room as this, it is necessary that we should be able fully to devote ourselves with our entire human organisation to what is brought before us. We do not wish to be disturbed by anything, we wish to work under the best conditions so that we may take in these things as well as possible; naturally one person will take then in better, another not so well, but the best possible conditions are to be made, so that each one can devote himself—so far as it is possible in accordance with his inner organisation—to the studies which are here brought forward. The colour surrounding us here, brings us in touch with beings in our spiritual environment who come to help us in our etheric body in the spiritual truths within us. In such a building and such a room as this, we are least disturbed, our etheric body is not burdened with fighting against prejudicial influences of certain elementary beings, but the forces of our etheric body are able to work more easily.

Thus we see that for work which is continually repeated and for which there must be a certain calmness of soul as a foundation, exactly this surrounding must be chosen. Let us suppose that we have to deal with something particularly earnest, but which is temporary; in this case if we consider the occult law it is very advantageous—if we are to have not only a festive spirit but also inward strength—to surround ourselves with red. If we have to make a strong decision of the will, we must overcome the spiritual beings which penetrate in. That is to say, on festive occasions we must become strong, so that what we may become a permanent impulse; and unsympathetic weakness of disposition and does not allow earnest decisions of the will to be made, which although roused in a short time, are to remain permanently. The effects of colour are extremely important.

Now you know that under certain circumstances in the general state of our cosmic environment, we see a fundamental colour outspread above us; the blue sky. This blue of the sky is very important to the people of our age, for though the blue expanse of space working upon our souls they continually receive the call to come into touch with the beings in the great world, these beings act upon us through this colour and call upon our etheric body to think of the spiritual. With regard to the blue sky it was not always with man as it is now. The people of the present day think that men have always been as they are now, but the entire constitution of man has changed in the course of time. In those ancient days when man possessed an original clairvoyance there was no blue sky such as exists for present humanity, but at that time when he gazed out into the expanse of space, it was not limited by the blue sky, but he saw into the spiritual worlds which lie out there in space. When our ancient ancestors spoke of heaven beginning there above, that is to say, that the spiritual beings of the Hierarchies are to be found there, they expressed the literal truth.

With these colours which appear transparent (the coloured windows) it is again different from what it is in the case of a colour which is on a wall which we cannot see through. When we observe this shinning bright colour we have to say: Just as through the colour which is on the opaque walls we enter into relation with certain beings, so through the transparent shining colour, we enter into relation with other beings. While the beings with whom we come in touch through the opaque walls are primarily outspread in space, but really have nothing to do with the three kingdoms below us, the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, through shining colours we come in touch with the beings who are directly occupied with bringing the objects of the three kingdoms of nature into being. When we look particularly through shining red, we come in touch with quite a particular type of beings within the kingdom of nature. When shining red forms a kind of window through which to look clairvoyantly into the kingdom of nature, we meet with beings whose work forms the best forces for the future of our earth existence. They have to be there in the kingdoms of nature, so that inner forces may develop in man which make him more and more chaste in his blood, that is to say, in his passion life, and when we look into the kingdom of nature in this way, we are looking upon those beings which, although we may not be aware of it, incite us the most to rouse up and push forward in the purification of our passions.

Besides being surrounded here in this room by certain shades of colour, we see all kinds of tokens and symbolic figures. These are filled with meaning, although I do not mean the meaning which can be found by the intellect. Ingenious persons may discover in them all sorts of curious things, but to occultists explanations such as these mean nothing. The chief point is that these figures are actually here, and if we turn our physical eyes to any one of them, it is not merely the physical eye, but the whole organization, above all, it is the currents of the etheric body which come into motion in quite a special way, they are roused by the course of the lines and by the forms of these figures, so that the etheric body has different movements within it, according as one looks at one figure or another. This means that within the world of etheric substance, which surrounds us, with all the beings incarnated in it, the forms which we see here, are actually present, There are beings who really have these forms in the etheric world; and when we look at one of these figures our etheric body arranges itself in such a way that in its own movements it builds up forms according to these lines, that is, it produces a thought-form which then proceeds from it; and according to the thought-form, will our etheric body be able to make a real union with one or another kind of being. These figures are the means by which this may be accomplished, for when we look at them, we produce within ourselves the thought-forms, that is, the movement-forms in our etheric body. Now these figures are chosen in such a way that when looked at in a rhythmic consecutive order they yield something which is a whole, namely, something which corresponds to a certain stream of development in the outer etheric world, something which through a particular circumstance is favourable to our etheric body; our etheric body has within it the tendency to change, in a certain way it will be different when it is more perfect. The series of forms corresponding to the gradual perfecting of our etheric body will be developed in the consecutive order shown in these figures. When we display these symbolic figures, which are in accordance with certain occult facts, and can let our vision penetrate more deeply, this is a help towards what we are aiming at, and if we produce the corresponding thought-forms in the right consecutive order, we assist our inner being which is to open our understanding for the rhythm which exists when you are speaking of the seven principles of man. We have not placed these figures there merely for decoration, but because they are inwardly connected with what we wish to accomplish here.

We are placed in touch with the surrounding etheric world by means of the thought-forms which we ought to build up in the manner just described; by means of music we are placed in touch with the astral part of our surrounding world. Music acts directly upon our astral body, so that we are made receptive—because this works from within on the etheric body—to all that is incarnated in the astral word, not in the sense in which one speaks of the astral world as contained in kamaloka, but the universal astral world into which the devachanic world also streams down. The revelation through music is a more direct one than when the higher worlds clothe themselves in the forms around us in space; but that which is outspread in space, if it is in accordance with occult results, leaves us independent, whereas music constrains us.

We now come to a kind of action on human beings which affects the etheric body by first stimulating the astral body, also by means of the element of space, and we may also study an example of this in this room. Up above you see two pictures which were contributed to this special occasion by our friend, Stockmeier. These two pictures will later be painted differently, and they will then produce the full effect intended. The effect of these two pictures together, not of each one singly, is somewhat as follows; when first one picture works and then the other afterwards, under all circumstances, whether it is wished or not, the one picture and afterwards the other will together rouse up thought-forms particular formations in the astral body. This remains in the sub-consciousness, and because it is contained in the intention of the pictures—it is only reproduced in an abstract way by means of ideas. Our feeling may perhaps render somewhat more perceptible the thought-forms which our actual body will produce perfectly under all circumstances from these pictures, if Mr. Stockmeier, succeeds in painting them in the right way. The picture on the right; a certain astral form, an kind of dragon is vanquished by a great being who belongs to the higher Hierarchies (Raphael) merely by his magnetic gaze; and when through the development of his will man comes to receive the power of this being into his own will we shall have the powers of which the Greeks thought in connection with the divine powers of Aesclepius with which he healed. All that is contained in the spiritually magnetic gaze, which can have curative effects when it is suitable trained, may be called forth in thought if immediately afterwards we pass over to what belongs to this feeling in the other picture. The optical effects must be conveyed to the phantom, so that with the help of the phantom-forces of the physical body, the effect is strengthened which proceeds from the dragon which is then overcome by the power of Michael. When we acquire the power to feel this thought out of the forces of the universe and think how through the physical body it may receive a vehicle through the will-forces being strengthened, so that a person need no longer say in regard to such forces that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, when we have these consecutive feelings and formations of the astral body, we have something which subconsciously can strengthen the moral nature very much. Thus we can draw moral power directly from the consecutive consideration of the two pictures, and still more from three. But it must be expressly pointed out that this applies only to the united notion of such themes, not to one single theme. If it were to depend upon one picture it would have to be differently formed, the two motives would have to act together, as for example, in the Sistine Madonna; in that instance there is a crossing of two motives which can strengthen the moral nature to the highest degree. Up above the clouds out of which the angels heads are formed, and when we look at the child Jesus in the arms of the mother we perceive that it has originated through the consolidation of the same forces which bring the angels only to a cloud existence. That is one motive, in which we perceive the origin of the pure light-being of man out of the cloud-light of the universe, as it were. This motive meets that which in expressed in the mother; she is full of innocence and love, and from that which appears to us as the body, the face, the lines of the mother, we see coming forth, as it were the warmest love. Light from above, condensing into the pure light-body of the child Jesus, and warming love from below, meeting and touching in the position of the arm—the two motives blending together—this gives subconsciously to our astral body, whether it wishes it or not, if a person only has the patience to devote himself to it, the feeling: It is thy duty to bring thy love towards that which can reveal itself to thee from divine heights, so that thou takest it into thine own arms and realisest it in the world, that thou bringest impulses in life from the spiritual world. The Sistine Madonna is an alter picture in which this thought-form works together with a congregation. We have here to do with two motives which are to rouse in us the frame of mind in which we may become capable of holding fast in thought the laws and the principles of action of the spiritual world. That is the essential point in our anthroposophical work. Spiritual things are always in motion and to the untrained seer they are like dreams. It is difficult to hold fast in thought these moving, fleeting peculiarities of being, and, conversely, it is also difficult in thought to give thought itself such an inner consistency that ont receives the feeling: Thou art thinking a reality of the true spiritual world. We can receive this feeling if we allow these pictures to act upon us in the manner described, not be apathetic towards these things, but look at them repeatedly. Then the forces of the astral body are obliged to experience the effect which may be described by saying, that we come more and more to perceive the true content of anthroposophical thought. We are not coerced unawares, but this recognition is quite free; the co-operation of two motives is something which liberates the free powers of man.

Thus you see that in what surrounds us here all the laws are fulfilled which so-called white magic uses, not to work by means of any overruling force upon modern humanity, but to consider that which is to be worked upon in another human being as a sacred thing which must not be touched, which is to allow the forces of the spiritual world to come forth out of itself. If you bear in mind what has been said in this lecture you will realise how important it is to anthroposophical work that it should have its own home, for you will have received the feeling that such a home must be built and arranged within according to the laws of occultism itself, and indeed, according to laws of occultism which at first are somewhat remote. You will also understand what it means on the whole when we possess no such home and are obliged to give our lectures on Anthroposophy and carry on our studies in the ordinary rooms usually at our disposal. Our age has, indeed, very little talent in the domain which has been touched upon today, and the greatest sins are committed in the realms of form and colour. For instance, the way people dress and the colours they use are outrageous, and when one goes through the streets of a large town and looks at the shop-windows with a vision sharpened by occultism, he will be obliged to decide for himself the question whether what he sees comes from sound reason or from something else. And if the judgment as regards colour is bad, it is still worse with form. But this limited talent also exists in regard to the decoration of rooms, and when it takes place in full consciousness it is frightful to be obliged to hold our anthroposophical lectures in conventional rooms. When this fact is considered and then compared with our present surroundings, with all this which has proceeded from our intentions, which surrounds us not in any way from caprice, but as we must be surrounded, if we wish to work under favourable conditions, then we shall be able to realise the importance of what has been done here; and the words that I have said to you today are intended to help us to realise it.

A spiritual movement can be injured very much by one-sidedness; and when we devote ourselves to such a subject as the occult standpoints of the Stuttgart building¹ we must clearly understand that when some single truth is specially emphasised, a strong light falls upon this truth, and one may then easily fail to recognise what should also be observed — the other side of the matter. In order to arrive at an all-round view one should always bear this in mind. For example, to all that was said yesterday² something else must be added. Certainly, a still greater perfection is attained when we are able purely in thought to erect around us such a temple, when we are able to imagine ourselves surrounded in thought by such a home. To this end our thoughts must be so strong that they act like a physical home. This may be achieved by a great power of concentration when, alone by ourselves, we follow rules such as are given in my books, The Way of Initiation and Initiation and its Results.³

But now, in order that we may have the right ideas about the necessity of such a building, we must say that when we devote ourselves to our studies in our lodge work, we require not only that we as individuals shall produce the conditions for our concentration, but also that we shall be disturbed as little as possible by what is around us. As the human being consists not only of the physical organism but also of supersensible principles, and these are active and set up relations with our environment, it is necessary when we exert our physical thought, for us to support the efforts of our will for our etheric and astral bodies. This we can do by providing for our subconsciousness — that is, for our etheric and astral bodies — conditions which may best be set up when we are in occult surroundings.

For this reason such a building is a great benefit and becomes a necessity to us.

We must bear in mind that in a certain way the great truths are at the same time difficulties to a person, something which he must first learn to bear, something which at first may be shocking, which may upset him, because it agrees so little with his everyday life. Therefore, in order to come to the higher truths in as favourable a way as possible it is necessary to provide a building such as this so that the spiritual knowledge which awaits us may indeed come into us — and in our age the Masters of Wisdom and of Harmony of Feeling are able to give us a great deal.

Since the end of the 19th century many doors have opened to the spiritual world, and many streams of spiritual life may be led into us. It may be said that just in the immediate future, towards which humanity is now going, the conditions are becoming more and more favourable for the influx of important spiritual knowledge which can enable us to progress quickly in every respect; but in order to clear away the hindrances which come through people — after they have just slipped out of materialism — not yet being sufficiently mature to receive the great truths, we must develop within ourselves a frame of mind which brings less danger of disturbance. This can be accomplished by means of suitable surroundings; and everywhere where from our standpoint just at this time care should be taken to see all is in order, there everything will really be observed which the occult point of view demands. It is natural that the needs and wishes of one who comes into Anthroposophy should go very far to one side or another, and because on the other hand there cannot be the necessary insight, it is difficult to be obliged to deny things which the other considers right. Very often it is not perceived that the denial is for the other’s welfare, and it is especially the case that some can only await the answer to one question or another with very great difficulty.

Because all knowledge is exoteric, one has grown so accustomed to expect that fundamentally everything that a person may ask can always be answered; but to this belongs two things at least. One is that the person who wants the answer should be in the position to understand it, that is to say, that through his whole anthroposophical or theosophical development he had progressed far enough to understand the answer. Abstract reasons prompt him to put the question much earlier than it is possible for him to understand the answer which is given from occult worlds. The other is that the one asked knows the answer. In regard to certain spiritual knowledge we are just at the stage when a question may be very premature, not only for individuals but for our whole age, although the answer will doubtless be given to us in the right form in the course of time. For this reason I said in the course of lectures at Karlsruhe⁴ that an essential thing in occultism is: to be able to wait. Particularly one who perhaps has undergone a certain development must be able to do this, and most of all one who has reached a certain height of occult development. When a person considers it extremely important to answer a question at a certain time, the intellect, which is always ready to answer, may very easily conjure up an answer, even from the feeling of a trained occultist. This answer is not only false or insufficient, but it takes away for a long time the possibility of a coming to the right answer at all, hence it is necessary to be able to wait until one is favoured with an answer from the spiritual world.

This applies not only to the highest questions, but also to more elementary ones. Even to the trained occultist there is a great temptation to produce the answer out of himself, but then he will be liable to fall into error. These two pictures [in our building here in Stuttgart] are an example. Our friend Stockmeyer has said for a long time that he wishes to finish them. The answer concerning the idea was promised him as soon as it was possible. That went on for a long time. To the despair of the architect the pictures were only finished very late indeed. Where did the fault lie? It was because the answer which was necessary as a kind of occult sketch for these pictures could only be given very late. One had to wait until the intuition came. These ideas might very easily be thought out, but then they would be worthless. What is so necessary is that one should not only go the straight way, as it were, but one should also have the resignation not to excogitate something; only to exercise the intellect upon occult truths when they are there, but not in order to find them. For this purpose the intellect must be absolutely laid aside. When occult truths are there they must then be taken up and established by the intellect, it must give them a logical character. One must make a practice of this if one wishes to progress; just as when one uses details which may perhaps be elementary in order to fit them into a whole. Then what will happen if in Munich we wish to build a great hall and at the right time we have not the idea which is to be embodied? We are Anthroposophists and know that karma works not only in individual beings, but in all connections, and when we have this faith we know that when a thing is necessary it can let us wait, but it will come, and indeed at the right time. We cannot judge when the right time is, for this we need confidence in the future; if it does not come, then it is not the right thing for us. This is not fatalism, for such a faith does not prevent us from making every effort, but it directs these efforts into the right lines. We make no false attempts with our intellect, but prepare ourselves for the moment when we shall be favoured. Instead of worrying oneself in front of a sheet of paper it is better to sink into prayerful meditation and ask of karma that this moment of intuition may come.

With this is also connected what might be called the right view of the Rosicrucian principle. If one who is acquainted with the Rosicrucian Temple⁵ in a pedantic, external manner were to come into this building, and if he were to remember the rules taught him from old traditions, he would say: “You have done it all wrong, that is not Rosicrucian.” We should have to reply: That which you demand we do not wish, and could not wish it, for Rosicrucianism does not mean to carry on certain truths throughout the centuries, but it means to develop the sense for what each age can give to man from the spiritual world. That which in the l4th century might perhaps be wrong is right in our age, and in our age it must be done in this way, for our relation to the spiritual powers around us requires exactly this form. This building, therefore, is not constructed after an old pattern, but it is built in accordance with the requirements of our age.

For what is the demand made of us by the spiritual powers? I give hardly a single lecture without using the word ‘theosophical’, as this is linguistically possible, although it is not grammatically correct. Perhaps many would find our address, “My dear theosophical friends,” blameworthy.⁶ This word is purposely used because the heart of our mission may be characterised by this word. Theosophy, or Anthroposophy is something which has always existed in the world and has been cultivated in all ages in the way in which humanity had to cultivate it according to its requirements — at one time in wider circles and at another in smaller ones, according to the peculiarities of the several ages. It is something which — after all the preceding developments have taken place — may now be given in such a form that, within certain limits, it can enter into each human I, into every feeling and every stage of intellectual maturity.

Today there need be no one who, if he has the goodwill, may not receive Theosophy or Anthroposophy. For this reason it is on the one hand something external and on the other a special task of our age. From this standpoint we must consider ourselves as the vehicles of the world-movement which must be described as the theosophical or anthroposophical movement.

That within this movement, according to the capacities of the individuals, the most varied shades may be found, should be self-evident, and this has been the case in our movement in every age. When Theosophy becomes conviction it provides the ground upon which the most varied knowledge may blossom forth, but they have to be obtained on the paths of actual truth. Among those who understand the heart of occultism it is always the case that they cannot disturb one another; it is impossible for persons to disturb one another who are engaged in occult practice and through proceeding from different starting-points arrive at other formulations. That is a strict law. The occultist may not fight when he sees that other occultists have correct starting-points and are striving rightly, even if he finds their formulation clumsy. The fact that various occultists formulate what they have to say in different ways may depend upon the various starting-points, and according to how they consider it necessary to bring this or that from the higher worlds.

It is different when it becomes evident that other movements are not on the same level, when they simply set to work with more elementary conditions and then assert that this is the final truth. Not to recognise a higher standpoint is wrong. If someone were to say that Christ — whose nature we have tried for years in our spiritual movement to render more and more plain — can incarnate more than once upon the earth in a fleshly body — upon what would this assertion rest? From what you have heard and will still hear you will clearly understand that there is a Being Who works in such a way that He could sojourn but once in a physical body for three years, and cannot come again and again in a physical body. This is a truth which has always been emphasised by Rosicrucianism; and it was also clearly shown in the Mysteries. One who does not know this may arrive at an incorrect formulation from a knowledge which does not extend so far into these regions; incorrect because it uses the name Christ.

On the other hand it is possible to say: Why does the other speak differently? He speaks differently because he is not thinking at all of what we have here called Christ. He designates someone else as Christ, of whom perhaps might be said what he says, but it is not the one who is spoken of in this movement, because it is the unconditional necessity of our age — as the requirements of the Masters of Wisdom and Harmony of Feeling — that we should speak of this high Being whom we call Christ. And when we read the Gospels we may recognise and identify Him with the One who for 2,000 years has been thus described. This is an historical right, not an absolute one, of course! Although the knowledge of Him has been very imperfect for 2,000 years, He has been thus described, and we do the same for historical reasons. On this account this name ought not to be used for other beings. This is something which has always been emphasised and which today can really be quite easily understood by anyone.

It is, however, interesting to notice how difficult for some to understand this matter clearly, but those who from the very beginning have no particular inclination to enter into more detailed explanations will have felt it uncomfortable that we do not by any means make the matter concerning Christ so easy. This one could see again in Karlsruhe (when the preceding course of lectures on the subject of ‘Jesus to Christ’ was given). What was said there was only possible because of everything else which had preceded it. Thus at the present time it is not yet very easy to arrive at the Christ principle, but it is a necessity which is laid upon us by the leaders of the spiritual movement.

It is very remarkable that there has been a certain difficulty in introducing the special investigations of Rosicrucianism into the theosophical movement, and even the position of this movement is very misunderstood here; exactly in how far does this movement merit the name of a Rosicrucian movement? But I shall never say: “My Rosicrucian friends!” You may gather from this that it was never correct to consider what belongs to Rosicrucianism as something exclusive. If someone outside our movement were to say that we were Rosicrucians, that would not only be a misunderstanding, but it would be a somewhat defamatory designation for our movement. This always reminds me of a man in the market place who once said that so and so was a phlegmatic, and a woman said, “Oh, is that what he was? But I know he is a butcher!” It is somewhat similar when in order to distinguish us someone calls us Rosicrucians. This has no meaning. Rosicrucianism has flowed into our movement, it is assimilated and to a certain extent practised. How difficult it is to let this current flow in you may see in the remarkable fate of the personality to whom all we in this movement look up with great respect: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. If you follow her development from Isis Unveiled to The Secret Doctrine you will see that a great amount of Rosicrucian knowledge has streamed into Isis Unveiled. For reasons which cannot now be discovered she then swerved to one side in The Secret Doctrine, which did not further develop what could have been carried further, but on the contrary took a side path. But how strongly these Rosicrucian principles acted we may see in the third volume of The Secret Doctrine. There one finds the greatest truths next to really impossible things. One who is able to discriminate may connect this with what is being revealed today.

Thus it has come about that Helena Petrovna Blavatsky has very clearly said that it must never be thought that Christ Who is to come again will reappear in a fleshly body, but that the coming Christ must only be understood as an event which a person experiences through a connection with the spiritual world. We take the same ground that she did in this respect, when in a clearer way than was possible to her, we work out what she commenced. When she turns with such severity against the idea that Christ could incarnate again in the flesh it is not easy when the reproach is made against our movement that her most important knowledge, which sometimes is not well formulated, is violated. There is continuity, and there is no need to make this breach with the original starting-point, by coming into conflict with what concerns the coming of Christ. Although we always set what is true in place of what is false, in many things we may go back to the original statements of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. And we may know that in the form in which she now lives she wished that the continuity should be developed, which should not be an adhesion to the formulas but a working in the spirit which existed at that time. It was not a spirit of standing still, and least of all a spirit of retrogression! We work in the best way when we bring out that which was still closed to Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The doors have opened in quite a different way, especially since 1899.

Without taking into account anything that has gone before, we try to penetrate into the meaning and importance of the Christ Principle. This leads us naturally to join on to the occult investigations which have been made with special care in Rosicrucian circles since the l3th century.

But those who have heard my various courses and lectures will know that we are not now teaching the Rosicrucianism of the 13th century. We are Rosicrucians of the 20th century! It is our task to join on to the principles which Rosicrucianism possessed, to utilise them in theosophical progress. We cannot do otherwise than recognise that what has thus been found is something higher in every way than anything else in the world with respect to the Christ Principle. We must, however, admit that on account of the energy with which this principle has been worked out the teachings regarding Karma and Reincarnation passed into the background. Therefore we are dealing not with the spirit of an historical epoch, nor with the spirit of Rosicrucianism, but with the Spirit of Truth. It is quite indifferent to us where one faith or another appears, we have to deal with the Spirit of Truth, and on this account all division into categories and forms must always give rise to misunderstandings in our movement; we desire only to serve the Truth, as was described with respect to our small festival. We wish to represent not what this or that age has said, but what comes directly from the spiritual world. That which can be recognised by the human intellect is our concern; in accordance with this we shall lead our movement further, and with respect to all other creeds we may call ourselves theosophists, according to the motto of our movement: No religion is higher than Truth. In this respect we take the most theosophic ground.

For this reason we surround ourselves not with a building modelled according to Rosicrucian pattern but with one that is planned for a particular object. For example, the size of the space is the external condition for this. Perhaps we should have been quite unable to add one thing or another if the space had been larger or smaller. No scheme is of any value, but we have to wait for what comes to us as a gift from spiritual worlds. In other words, our whole effort is to understand something that sounds so simple: To open our hearts to the spiritual world which is always around us, to understand words such as those which Christ said: “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” If someone were to examine the work we have done in past years he will not be able to say that we present Christianity in a way it was thought in the early centuries. We desire to acquire the spirit which wishes to come close to Christ as He is today; and only when we have recognised that this Christ is a living One we shall illuminate what took place in former times.

In the same way we consider Buddha as a living One, who follows his principle that Buddha does not return any more in the flesh. If someone were to affirm this, we should have to reply that he understands nothing about Buddhism, for one who has risen from Bodhisattva to Buddha does not return. For Buddha lives, and he works in our movement and illuminates what he accomplished 2,500 years ago by what he does today.

Just as only he may speak of Buddha who knows him, so also only he who knows Christ may speak about Him. Therefore if someone says that a very important being will come in a fleshly body, that may be correct, but he has nothing to do with Christ. The fact is that if a person enters deeply into the nature of Christ he comes to understand that the other is making a mistake; it can never be the reverse. This brings difficulties, but it must be borne in mind — especially by one who has occasion to practise theosophical principles in the true sense — that one should exercise tolerance even towards error. But to exercise tolerance means, not to acknowledge error but to deal with it with love, otherwise it would be a sin against the Holy Spirit. We must exercise tolerance precisely because in regard to Christ we represent the Rosicrucian principle.

We can wait until opposition comes, exactly concerning Christ. If you understand this word, the principle of the most real search for truth and on the other hand real tolerance, you will be able to answer for yourselves the question: In what sense are we Theosophists and in what sense are we Rosicrucians?

• 1. The Branch-House in Stuttgart; the first building specially erected and designed for anthroposophical work; opened by Rudolf Steiner in October, 1911.
• 2. Special Building for Anthroposophy at Stuttgart from an Occult Point of View, Stuttgart, 15 October 1911
• 3. The Way of Initiation is an early version of the first half of the book entitled Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment. The book Initiation and Its Results corresponds to the second half of Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment.
• 4. Course of lectures From Jesus to Christ, GA 131
• 5. See description of the Temple of the Holy Grail in The Younger Titurel by Albrecht von Scharfenberg, about 1270 AD.
• 6. This lecture was given prior to the exclusion of the German Section from the Theosophical Society. Since then Dr. Steiner’s movement has continued as the Anthroposophical Society.

following a lecture by painter Arild von Rosenkrantz

It was requested that I add something to the interesting remarks of Baron Rosenkrantz about art and its future task, and that I also give a picture of the Goetheanum as it will look in the future.

I would like to answer these questions only with a few suggestions, suggestions that relate more to the elaboration of an artistic impulse or artistic impulses in the future — although I do not mean that these artistic impulses can be undertaken arbitrarily or deliberately by any human beings; but to a certain extent one sees them in what is currently being prepared, in the direction that art in particular will have to take in the near future. I mean this in the following way.

On the one hand, we see the old impulses of human work and human civilization persisting in all areas, in the fields of science and artistic creation, and in the realm of religious feeling. But on the other hand, we also see how, in a great number of people, in more people than one would usually think, vague undercurrents prevail, longings for something. These longings one would like to fathom in the field of anthroposophical work; one would like to get to the bottom of them, so to speak. And it seems to me that in fact a large part of what anthroposophy wants to assert itself as in the present day actually meets such vague, more or less unconscious longings of numerous people in the present.

And precisely because in the past three to four centuries, intellectuality has basically flooded everything, because intellectuality has taken deeper root in human souls than one might think, that is why people today find it so difficult to bridge the gap between an indefinite longing and that which can give this indefinite longing a revelation in earthly work. We see this when we look at spiritual science itself.

During my lectures here, I have often had to mention how this spiritual science must be extracted from research into the supersensible worlds through imagination, inspiration and intuition, but how, when this research presents its results, ordinary common sense can approach these research results with complete understanding. And it is actually only the clinging to old prejudices when one does not find enough strength in the soul to approach the results of spiritual science without prejudice.

What people today so often object to about the results of spiritual science actually stems from an undefined fear deep within the soul. Basically, people are afraid of the results of spiritual science. Everything that the last few centuries have brought forth in human civilization so completely contradicts spiritual science that it appears as something completely unknown to most people. One always fears the unknown; but one does not want to admit this fear to oneself, and so one dresses this fear up in so-called logical refutations, in logical criticism.

Those who can see through things will recognize everywhere how the logic of the opponents of spiritual science is basically nothing more than an excuse of the soul for the fear that one has of it.

And so it is in the artistic field. One hears it said extraordinarily often: Yes, spiritual science wants to ascend to the higher worlds through ideas, through scientific discoveries; but science suppresses free artistic creation. Those who really want to create artistically must, so it is said, be free of all ideas, of all knowledge; they must create out of pure imagination. And there are very many poets, painters, musicians, in fact artists in all fields, who now have the very fear that if they approach spiritual science too much, their imagination will dry up; that they will then no longer be able to let their imagination unfold freely, but would in a sense only reproduce through colors and sounds what occurs in spiritual science.

Yes, you see, my dear attendees: there were indeed many struggles at the old Goetheanum. It is true that those who do not have a profound artistic impulse come to a kind of outer symbolism, outer allegory, out of a certain misunderstanding of this school of thought. I can readily admit that there have been an extraordinary number of anthroposophists and theosophists who have sought the artistic in ideas that are then painted, or for that matter sometimes even composed, and the like. When you entered such an anthroposophical or theosophical space and saw these symbolic and allegorical, straw-like images, you could despair! All artistic feeling had been driven out! I can say that there were certainly well-meaning friends who, when the old, burnt Goetheanum was being rebuilt, began to want to add all kinds of symbols. But I always resisted this in the strongest possible way! With this Goetheanum, everything had to be created out of a truly artistic form. Every line, every form had to be created in such a way that the matter was viewed purely from an inner artistic perspective.

Therefore, the forms of the Goetheanum were not really to be interpreted, but basically only to be looked at. When friends or other external visitors came to the Goetheanum, they always wanted to be shown around, and they then asked to be accompanied by this or that person and for explanations of how the columns are designed, the capitals are designed, the architraves are designed – how things are painted. They should be given the inner meaning everywhere.

When I myself led friends, I usually said as an introduction: What I am about to say to friends or visitors is extremely unpleasant to me. And I have never been more possessed with such antipathy towards what I myself say than when I had to explain these forms of the Goetheanum; for they were not there to be explained, to be grasped in concepts, but to be looked at, to be grasped artistically, aesthetically!

And why was this so? This can best be illustrated by the human being itself. You see, you can study the human being — study it according to what science has produced as such science over the last three to four centuries. But you can only get so far, only as far as the physical organism. At the moment one wants to go higher in the higher links of human nature, one cannot do so without letting the world enter into an artistic understanding of the human being, because the world itself creates artistically where it creates spiritually. So that no one can understand the human being who cannot let the scientific pass into the artistic in his own inner vision.

Modern science then comes along and says: Yes, the one to whom it happens that he passes from science into artistry, he strays from the path of logic, from the observations of logic that must be present in science. He is no longer a scientist.

One can continue to declaim for a long time, my dear audience, but when nature does not create as one declaims, when nature at a certain point no longer begins to be so naturalistically logical, but rather to be artistic itself, then only he who becomes artistic in the last moment can approach nature.

And so it is precisely with true anthroposophy. It does not want to and cannot, because that does not correspond to its essence. It does not want to be something merely alive and ideal, but at a certain moment, what is vividly and scientifically expressed in ideas, passes directly into the artistic and the creative. And that is why every time one only begins to describe the human etheric body, even the description, which for my sake is still similar to the currently used science, will immediately turn into artistic expression, into artistic visualization.

And as soon as one comprehends this intensively, one will find everywhere that anthroposophy, that truly spiritual science is not something alien to art or even hostile to art, but that it will lead precisely into a truly artistic future.

This was truly demonstrated in practice in the old Goetheanum. The old Goetheanum had such a ground plan that if you drew a center line, the axis was symmetrical on both sides; but then there was no further symmetry, except for the left-right symmetry.

The columns of the auditorium had capitals that were not all the same, but were in a progressive development, in such a way that the capital of the first column on the left and right was relatively simple. The second column had a somewhat more complicated capital. And so it went on. But the artistic creation of these capitals was such that, inwardly, in the sensation of the line, in this contemplation of the curves, everything in the form of the second capital emerged directly from the first, and the third from the second. And so one surrendered purely to the life in lines, surfaces, curves.

And so it turned out that, I might say, one was finished with the seventh column by itself. There one had a form with the lines, curves: one could not go beyond that, one had to stop there.

Now people see the seven columns and think: that is a deeply mystical number, it is based on an old formula, on something that lives on in superstition and the like. But that is not the case! If you create purely artistically, you have to stop at seven. Just as the rainbow has seven colors, the musical scale has seven notes from the prime to the octave - the octave is the repetition of the prime - so you have seven columns.

But something else becomes apparent in the course of such work: Now, the second capital has emerged from the first through metamorphosis, from the second through experienced metamorphosis, and so on, and seven have been created. Then you stand and look at it. You look at your own work and discover all kinds of things in it that you hadn't even thought of! For example, when I had the seventh pillar capital, I compared it with the first and discovered that, of course artistically manipulated, all the forms that were concave in the first were convex in the last; and all those that were convex in the first were concave in the last. So that if you turned some around, you could put the last one into the first: the seventh into the first, the sixth into the second, the fifth into the third, and the fourth remained in the middle by itself. That happened all by itself.

You see, you had the certainty that you had not read anything of human arbitrariness into things, but that you had worked from the life of the forms themselves; that you had connected yourself with the creative cosmic world itself; that you also this, that one also grasps what lives and rules in nature on another level; that what one did was not human allegorizing, but that one has, so to speak, woven oneself into nature's creation, and now creates like nature.

But this is also true artistic creation, and all the arts in the future will more or less return to this. That was the artistic creation in all great art epochs. And that is what has also shone through in all the individual examples given in Baron Rosenkrantz's excellent lecture. That is what you can see everywhere, especially where new artistic impulses emerge in the evolution of the earth. From new impulses one then receives the courage and hope that new art forms can really arise out of what can be experienced in spiritual science.

In 1887, the painter Karl Stockmeyer (1857-1930) built the “Waldhaus” on the outskirts of the village of Malsch, not far from Karlsruhe. It was run as a guest house by his wife Johanna (died July 22, 1923), from 1908/09 on mainly for friends of the movement seeking rest and recreation. Since the death of Karl Stockmeyer, the Waldhaus has become a curative education home.

The oldest Stockmeyer daughter, Hilde (1884-1910), who had found Rudolf Steiner first in 1904 (and through her in 1906/07 also her parents and siblings), founded and ran the Franz von Assisi branch at the Waldhaus until her early death. The younger daughter, Waldtraut Stockmeyer-Schöpflin-Döbelin (1888-1951), later made a significant contribution to biodynamic agriculture in Norway. Their son E.A. Karl (1886-1963) was not only a pioneer in the development of the Waldorf school movement, but was also involved in Rudolf Steiner's architectural ideas from an early stage. As a twenty-one-year-old student, he took part in the Munich Congress with his parents and siblings. Deeply impressed by the new forms of the capitals, he asked Rudolf Steiner in 1908 about the bases and the architecture belonging to the columns. On the basis of the information given to him by Rudolf Steiner, he developed the idea for a model, which he built with the help of his father in 1908/09 at the Waldhaus.

Rudolf Steiner came to Malsch three times in this context: the first time in the summer of 1908; the second time at Easter 1909 for the laying of the foundation stone of the model and the inauguration of the Franz of Assisi branch.¹ The laying of the foundation stone took place at the rising of the first spring full moon in the night from April 5 to 6, 1909. In addition to Rudolf Steiner, Marie von Sivers and the Stockmeyer family, a number of other friends of the movement were present. The address by Rudolf Steiner reproduced on the following pages was written down from memory afterwards by Hilde Stockmeyer. Rudolf Steiner dedicated an impressive obituary to her (in library no. 261 “Unsere Toten” [Our Dead]), who died just one year later. A brief description of the situation and of Rudolf Steiner's address at the laying of the foundation stone was given by the actor Max Gümbel-Seiling in his memoirs 'With Rudolf Steiner in Munich', The Hague 1945. This description precedes Hilde Stockmeyer's account of the address. Rudolf Steiner came to Malsch for the third time in October 1911, immediately before his trip to Stuttgart for the inauguration of the Stuttgart house. Stockmeyer's son and father were both also involved in the underground domed room in the Stuttgart house, which was built according to the Malsch model.

At that time, the model in Malsch could only be built and plastered by E.A. Karl Stockmeyer in the raw. It was only when he retired to Malsch in his old age and already ill that he again became active in the model building in 1956/57, together with other interested friends – in particular the architect Albert von Baravalle, Dornach, and Klara Boerner, Malsch. In 1959, the Malsch Model-making Association was founded and the small building was handed over to it for renovation, completion and further maintenance. The renovation work and the artistic design were carried out by Albert von Barayvalle and completed in 1965.

Hella Wiesberger

• 1. This lecture of April 6, 1909 can be found in Library No. 109/111 “The principle of spiritual economy in connection with questions of re-embodiment”.

The first lectures on spiritual science in Munich were given by Rudolf Steiner in November 1904 at the invitation of the two leaders of the later Munich main branch, Sophie Stinde (1853-1915) and her friend Pauline Gräfin von Kalckreuth (1856-1929). Sophie Stinde, sister of the then well-known writer Julius Stinde and a talented landscape painter herself, from that point on put all her strength into the service of Rudolf Steiner's movement; in his own words, in a truly “exemplary” way. “There is so much,” he said at her cremation ceremony, ”when the path of spiritual work is taken, which must be placed in human hands, of which one can be sure that they will carry it out in such a way that one might not even be able to carry it out oneself... And Sophie Stinde was one of those people who helped in the most vigorous way when action was needed (Ulm, November 22, 1915, in library no. 261 “Unsere Toten” [Our Dead]).

In this way, Sophie Stinde not only built up the actual Munich work, but she also became - renouncing the practice of art she loved - the main bearer of the organizational burden for the large Munich events: the Munich Congress in 19 07 - to whose art exhibition some of her landscape paintings also belonged - and the summer festival events that emerged from it, held annually from 1909 to 1913, with the premieres of Rudolf Steiner's mystery dramas. In this context, however, she was also the “first” to have the “bold” idea of tackling the realization of the central building, in accordance with Marie Steiner's statement. She created the necessary documentation to enable the project to be developed, and thus became the founder and first chairwoman of the Munich and then the Dornach building association.

When Rudolf Steiner spoke at the building site in Dornach for the first time since her death, he said that it was only through her deep artistic sense that she, who was “most intimately connected” to the building, was able to “unfold the will that then spreads and takes hold of many, the will for development that finds expression in this our building.” Sophie Stinde was among the very first to whom the idea of this building arose, and one can feel that we would hardly have found the way to this building from our Munich mystery thoughts if her strong will had not been at the starting point of the idea of this building.” And continuing, he said: ”Her place in the outer physical world will be empty in the future. But for those who have learned to understand her, the idea of exemplary, dedicated, sacrificial work within our ranks will emanate from this place. And this idea must live in particular in the rooms under the double dome, in the rooms in which Sophie Stinde's soul already worked during her earthly incarnation as her co-work. If we grasp our relationship to her in the right sense, it will be impossible to turn our gaze to our forms without feeling connected to her, who turned her gaze first and foremost to him to whom she dedicated her own work and in whom Sophie Stinde's soul will continue to work.” (Dornach, December 26, 1915, in Bibl. No. 261 ‘Our Dead.’)

The following chronicle illustrates how Rudolf Steiner, together with Marie von Sivers and the Munich friends, carefully prepared the 1907 congress over a long period of time in order to inaugurate the renewal of the mysteries in the modern Rosicrucian sense, in the spirit of harmonizing science, art and religion. The dates, however, mark only the most essential points in the context of the congress preparations. In between, Rudolf Steiner constantly traveled all over Germany to give lectures at various locations.

June 1906
The 1907 congress is to take place in Germany.

This was decided at the third congress of the Federation of European Sections in Paris on June 3-5, 1906.

June / July 1906
Marie von Sivers' initiative to combine the congress with a mystery play

Marie von Sivers had already conceived the idea of staging a mystery play at the congress while she was still in Paris, as can be seen from the letter to Schur dated July 18, 1906, quoted below: “The Sacred Drama of Eleusis” in Edouard Schure's reconstruction. Schure had just met Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers in person for the first time in Paris, after Marie von Sivers had already corresponded with him for seven years. It was through him that she had become aware of Theosophy and had thus met Rudolf Steiner in Berlin in 1900. Marie von Sivers wrote the letter quoted below from Landin in Mark Brandenburg, where she was staying with Rudolf Steiner and a few other friends for a short rest. Sophie Stinde, who had been appointed secretary of the congress, and Countess Kalckreuth, who had been appointed treasurer, also came there to “discuss the affairs of the Munich Congress with Dr. Steiner and Fräulein von Sivers.” The easiest opportunity for this is there... There will be a winter full of exhausting work. Pentecost is very early next year.” (Sophie Stinde to Ludwig Kleeberg, July 5, 1906.

Marie von Sivers to Edouard Schuré, from Landin, July 18, 1906: ¹

”... If the inn near your house still exists, it would be nice to see you again and rest a little in your surroundings. Then you could talk to Dr. Steiner instead of asking him questions in writing. And we could talk about staging your mystery drama. For example, the Persephone scene with the choir of nymphs in the chapter on Plato is a very beautiful prelude to the Eleusinian mystery. We have a member in Stuttgart who is very earnest and very musical.² Perhaps Theosophy will inspire him to compose the choruses. They would deserve it..."

September 1906
The Eleusis performance is discussed again with Schuré.

Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers stay with Schuré in Barr in Alsace for five days.

”... Stimulating conversations took place during the walks to the ruins of old castles, to Mont St. Odile, to the Heidenmauer. It was there that I, moving from a review of the time of the Druid mysteries to the Greeks, dared to ask Schur& the question that Dr. Steiner, as far as he was concerned, had already answered in the affirmative: whether we might dare to present his drama of Eleusis at the congress to be held in Munich next year. Schure was very pleasantly surprised...

October 1906
The time and place of the conference and its form are officially announced.

At the general assembly of the German Section in Berlin on October 21, 1906, Rudolf Steiner announced the proposal to hold the congress in Munich for “purely practical reasons,” since “only there” were the suitable forces available “for the long and demanding work.” Pentecost seemed the most appropriate time.

In answer to a question about the organization, he replied that all previous congresses should be seen as “experiments”. The task of the German Section should be to bring everything into “intimate harmony”, so that works of art, music and speech interact with the rest of the arrangements in a way that evokes a particular mood and resonates with it, striving to “evoke the ancient mysteries”, which is why the performance of a mystery play is planned.

October / November 1906
The exact congress schedule is drawn up and the necessary rooms are rented. The mystery play is to be performed by members of the society under the direction of Rudolf Steiner.

From October 27 to November 6, 1906, Rudolf Steiner gave three public lectures in Munich and a cycle of eight lectures for members of the Society. Marie von Sivers reported on it Edouard Schuré:

"We have just returned from Munich, where Dr. Steiner gave one of his cycles entitled ‘Theosophy as Illustrated by the Gospel of John’. It was magnificent. During the twelve days we were there, we also drafted the plan for the congress and rented the halls. They are to our taste – dignified, spacious, well-proportioned and free of ornamentation, so the decoration will be our responsibility. We can try to approach the idea of a temple. The stage is also large, and we will be far enough away from the audience to achieve the illusion of mystery, which is very important to us. Now we would like to ask you for permission to perform “The Sacred Drama of Eleusis”, not with actors, but by distributing the roles among members of our society. Dr. Steiner does not want any 'theater routine'; he will be our director and open up the deeper meaning of our roles for us. Since he can do everything, he will be able to do that too. He will also know how to select those who have special abilities for certain roles with a sure eye. I believe that you are not taking much of a risk, especially since the performance will not be public. Only members of the Theosophical Society will be present and the newspapers will not interfere. Only in the event of an unexpected success could one consider repeating the performance in public, provided you agree.

Now, as you said yourself, some changes would have to be made and then the finished translation given to the composer. So we have to get to work right away, because the congress is taking place at Whitsun (on May 19). Sometimes, when you take things in hand with energy and goodwill, the stars come to your aid. They inspire us and send us the good spirits. Who knows whether such an undertaking, carried out with courage and faith, might not open the door to greater successes. If you are not active yourself, you cannot expect others to take risks. Of course, you have to be prepared for a huge task. If you refuse, Dr. Steiner himself will write something in the spirit of the ancient mysteries, because we value mystery; but we would very much like yours.

It is true that Dr. Steiner wants to give me the role of Demeter, and that frightened me. I would have chosen Persephone rather than the mother of the gods. But Dr. Steiner says that this mother must have something of a nun about her and that even my mouth is particularly suitable for this role, but not for that of Persephone. I can't exactly be the one to resist; I just think that I now have the most difficult role and at the same time the one on which most depends. Above all, the scene between Zeus and Demeter would have to be changed, because it is not written for profane people, and perhaps the narration of Hecate, when she announces the will of Zeus to Demeter, would also have to be retouched a little, because in German the things are immediately much rougher.

Perhaps one could also string together individual scenes with living pictures or pantomimes, interrupted by music. In the big scenes, the choruses of the nymphs, the blessed and the mystics must alternate beautifully with the spoken word.

Of course you are overworked, I know that. But maybe the genius of the drama will take hold of you and you will succeed in combining it into a whole, which is created in individual parts.

I often return in thought to the peaceful valley of the Vosges, where we found such warm and understanding hospitality. I hope to see you and Madame Schure in Munich... If you only knew how Dr. Steiner has to work! I don't think anything like it has ever happened before...

December 1906 to February 1907
The congress program is printed and sent out.

December 8: Rudolf Steiner writes to Marie von Sivers from Stuttgart: “What about your translation of the Eleusinian Mysteries? We need to have it soon... At the beginning of January we must be able to send out the congress programs. So we will probably have to be in Munich then.

December 11th and 12th: Rudolf Steiner gives lectures in Munich.

December 20, 1906 and January 4, 1907: Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers make a private stopover in Munich on a short vacation to Venice.

January 13: Marie von Sivers writes to Edouard Schuré:

”... I understand your horror at the thought of our undertaking. I share your fear, only I have the impression that there is a necessity here. It is as if it had to happen. For us, it is a sword of Damocles hanging over the Congress, because we have now linked it in an organic way with a mystery play, and all the coincidences and potential misfortunes that threaten this performance also threaten our Congress. But we have to stick our necks out and take on the burden, without, however, losing sight of the stars. The composer has not yet said his last word, but the idea inspires him. He is now in the process of reading the work. It is Mr. Stavenhagen in Munich...

January 21: Letter from Rudolf Steiner to Marie von Sivers in Erlangen regarding the congress program.³

”... I am sending you the congress program. I have now finished it in a state that can be sent to the printer... Please have it printed immediately and exactly according to the manuscript...

I escaped for a few hours here in Erlangen today. I couldn't get off anywhere on the way from Karlsruhe to Nuremberg, and if I had been in Nuremberg this morning, you probably wouldn't have received this urgent congress matter either. Because wherever it is, the people are always there.

Please give the printer a copy of the Congress Program from last year so that he doesn't make an impossible size. And impress upon him that he should really make the text in two columns – facing each other – German-English, as it is in the manuscript.

Key passages from the program text:

The intention of the congress program is to express a unified theosophical idea. Since the theosophical worldview represents an ideal of the 'future, it is self-evident that such an idea cannot be fully expressed in the present. But perhaps it can be achieved through the organization and distribution of what is to be presented that in the whole of the congress the Theosophical guiding principles: concentration and clarity of ideas, and in particular the Theosophical mood: calm and inner composure, are expressed.

The content of the events should include: lectures in the field of the Theosophical world view, artistic performances, purely social gatherings.

The artistic performances should be chosen from the fields of visual, musical and poetic art in such a way that the individual pieces combine with the Theosophical world view to form a harmonious whole. Therefore, an attempt should also be made in one of the events to present a mystery in a dramatic way.

Essays and lectures

These will, in accordance with the practice of the congresses to date, cover:

1. All matters relating to brotherhood and the great goals of society.

2. Religion, mysticism, philosophy and science.

Including:
a) comparative religious studies,
b) mythology,
c) folklore,
d) art history,
e) historical, etc.

3. administration, propaganda, etc.

4. occultism.

The papers should be in the hands of the Secretary of the Congress by April 10. They can be written in any of the languages of the federated sections.

The visual arts

The intention is to link everything that is to be presented in this field with the entire event to create a harmonious whole. Therefore, an exhibition will not take place in a separate room, but in the spacious and pleasant congress ballroom itself. And in the choice of the works of art to be exhibited, as well as in the decorative connecting elements, a harmony is to be created that will provide a basic mood for the rest of the room. Therefore, from the fields of fine art and arts and crafts, only those achievements will be considered that fit into the framework thus defined. However, the underlying idea will be so broad that it will encompass many things.

Music

The musical performances will be in keeping with the other events and, where possible, at least in spirit, related to the Theosophical world view. They will also take place in the congress hall itself.

The Poetic Arts

These are to be emphasized through recitations and a stage presentation with a mystery play character. It is to be hoped that the efforts of the German committee will succeed in overcoming the great difficulties that this part of the program in particular will present. But it would still be desirable if, even on a modest scale, it could be shown how the Theosophical world view is able to invigorate the artistic.

The important thing about all these events is to express that 'Theosophy must not remain just a sum of theoretical views, but can be transformed into something that can be perceived by the senses and that is in keeping with the mood. In this way, it must indeed have a fertilizing effect on the rest of culture.

January 25-26, 1907: Rudolf Steiner returns to Munich for two public lectures.

February 17: Death of the founding president of the Theosophical Society, Henry Steel Olcott.

February 25: Rudolf Steiner writes to Marie von Sivers in this context:

“... However things turn out, everything will be fatal for the T. S. [Theosophical Society], but not unfavorable for the spiritual movement. Even the decline of the T. S. as such must not frighten us in any way...” (Library Assn. Nr. 262, page 106).

March 17-19: Rudolf Steiner is in Munich again and gives lectures.

April/May 1907
The rehearsal period in Munich and the design of the hall

April 6: Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers arrive in Munich. In between, Rudolf Steiner travels alone to Berlin for a short time to arrange the necessary matters for the upcoming election of the new president of the T.S.¹ On April 29, he returns to Munich. During the six-week stay, work continues non-stop on the performance of the drama and the decoration of the rooms. Marie von Sivers translates the drama into prose, which Rudolf Steiner then sets to free rhythms. He distributes the roles, directs and the scenery and costumes are also made according to his specifications. He supervises the decoration of the hall, draws sketches for the planetary seals, sculpts the capitals for the planetary seals for the actual congress program, and so on.

May 18-21, 1907 (Whitsun)
The congress as an attempt to renew Western mystery

The conference, with approximately 600 participants, was opened at 10 o'clock on May 18 by Rudolf Steiner, who was serving as the president of the conference. Annie Besant, as honorary president, spoke after the various general secretaries. During the artistic evening event, Marie von Sivers recited the Ariel scene from Goethe's Faust, Part J.

On Pentecost Sunday, May 19, Rudolf Steiner will give his first congress lecture “The Initiation of the Rosicrucian” in the morning; in the afternoon at 5 p.m., the “Sacred Drama of Eleusis” will be performed, a mystery by Edouard Schur with music by Bernhard Stavenhagen.

The following overview was enclosed with the program:

Short summary of Edouard Schuré's Sacred Drama of Eleusis

Presented at the Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society on May 19, 1907.

1. Prologue: Persephone is admonished by her mother Demeter not to let Eros move her to pluck the seductive Narcisse, but to weave at the veil of the world, in which the destinies of the world down to chaos are incorporated, but not yet the conscious life of men. The nymphs act as a warning element, they seek to persuade Persephone to fulfill the vow. Eros appears as a seducer. Persephone plucks the Narcisse of “desire” and can thus be stolen by Pluto.

Act 1, Scene 1. Demeter appears before Hecate, lamenting her pain and asking about her daughter's whereabouts. After she has heard that she has been abducted by Pluto, she wants to know where she can live among a free people and give herself over entirely to her grief. Hecate directs her to Eleusis, where the king has just died. In order to enter there unrecognized, she is transformed by Hecate into an old beggar woman.

2nd scene. Metanira, the widow of the deceased king of Eleusis, is surrounded by her three daughters, who are mourning their father's death; but she herself is only concerned that her son Triptolem should persuade the people to elect him as his father's successor. He does not want to obtain the crown by persuasion, but only to have it if the people choose him without influence. (Act 3.) Then Demeter enters (Act 4) in the guise of an old beggar woman. She is well received by the daughters and by Triptolemus, but sharply rejected by Metanira. Since Demeter (Act 5) speaks to Triptolemus alone, sparks become visible under her robe. She tells Triptolem about the loss of her daughter, and he promises to descend into the underworld to bring her back. Demeter recognizes his great nature and says that she wants to make him “the most divine of heroes”. She touches him, causing a light to appear. Metanira rushes up (Act 6), cursing Demeter, who then reveals herself and ordains Triptolem as the future priest of sacrifice at Eleusis. Metanira, however, is expelled from the sanctuary. She therefore curses Triptolem.

Act 2. Pluto on the throne, next to Persephone. He wants to persuade her to drink from his goblet the fruit of the pomegranate. Lamenting shadows appear before Persephone, who is tossed to and fro by her fate. They want to prevent Persephone from enjoying the fruit. A chorus of demons wants to seduce her to do so. Triptolemus appears (Act 3) with Hecate to fetch Persephone.

Act 3. Zeus laments the fate of Persephone and Triptolemus, who is now also imprisoned by Pluto. He says that only Dionysus in a new form could accomplish the work of liberation. Demeter appears. Zeus tells her that a new Dionysus must arise to liberate the damned, and that this can only come about through his, Zeus', fire combined with Demeter's light. At first, Demeter does not want to accomplish this work because she does not want the Dionysus in his new form to be torn apart again by the wild Titans. But Zeus says: this Dionysus will be stronger. Demeter sinks into sleep. From her dream, the new Dionysus is created in union with the power of Zeus. Before he appears, a “choir of invisible blessed ones” solemnly proclaims the mystery of becoming. Then Triptolemus and Pythagoras appear in a chariot drawn by fiery dragons. Persephone recognizes in Dionysus the god with whom she has always been united through longing, Dionysus in Persephone the sister to whom he belongs for all eternity. Zeus sends Triptolem as an initiated priest to Eleusis. A choir of invisible heroes speaks of the secret of initiation.

The choruses are:

Nymphs:
O Persephone! O virgin!
Heaven's chaste bride
In thy veil thou weavest
The gods' bright forms
Earth's vain delusion
Be ever far from thee!
Truth's pure radiance
Only shine for thine eye!
In the empyrean lives for you
Dionysus, the consort,
Chosen by heaven itself
Like a distant sun's chaste ray
His kiss touches you only.
From your breath he lives,
In his light you breathe —
There is no greater good
To be found in the wide universe.
Do not think of that.
Withdraw from
the vain question.

Do not search further!
Escape dangers,
threatening to humans
and also to the gods.

O divine maiden!
It is only a dream,
but it becomes a being when When guilty desire
Weaves the veil further,
Calls it into your soul.
In radiance must fade
Heaven's bliss for you,
When the promise of salvation
Sounds in vain,
Forget what Eros unchaste
May reveal to you.

Unhappy one, stop.

Beware, Petsephone,
disaster can easily
arise from magic.

Choir of invisible demons in Tartarus

Persephones Besieger,
Dem großen Pluto,
Ihm sei Ehre!
Hell rejoices
At your wedding feast.
In a thousand bonfires
Tartarus glows.
Until now,
Earth's children escaped him
In their innocence.
They were too easy
For the realm of darkness.
But now, possessed by
the goddess of the heights,
in countless numbers
we shall conquer them for ourselves.
For they will draw
the errors of their lives
and the beauty of their forms
into our realm.
This must be populated
with vain shadows,
You Stryges, Harpies
You monsters, rejoice
In the tree of lies.
Glory to Pluto!
Hell trembles with joy
And will hold
Its prey
The dark Tartarus.

Forget, forget,
You shall drink
From this chalice
And give us
The drink to
Drink the strength of life
We desire
From this chalice!
It burns in us
Hell's thirst,
It alone
Can quench it.

Choir of Shadows

You see only souls in us
Bowed down by the power of misfortune,
Wandering on this shore,
We implore

Salvation, O Queen
From you, asking you

To lead us up
Into Elysium's fields.

Do not drink, Persephone,
The red blood
In the black chalice.
And let us rise
From Hekates' darkness,
Into the Elysian realm.

Choir of the Invisible Blessed

When in the realm of dreams the spirits float
The goddess of all earthly fertility,
Then powers of creation stream through the universe,
The fervor of the gods spiritualizes the world
And people tremble to the depths of their souls.
Creation struggles out of the twilight of the senses.
New divine beings come into existence.
Men shall bow in reverence
When the holy reign of the spirits is revealed.
Forms without number stream into life
When the eye of the god sends a glance
Into the immeasurable realm of space.
Worlds germinate out of nothingness into being,
They sink out of being into nothingness,
And thus create the gods' days,
As light and darkness do for men.
But you, seed of the abyss, you souls,
Who see yourselves scattered in the realm of the dead,
The control that was previously lacking to you shall
be given into your own hands! The fiery hearth from which you once arose, was hidden from your soul until now...It will now reveal itself to you! The power of the Mother of the Gods will give life to what the Father of the Gods forms. And from the living form shall arise The new God, the strong light bearer.
And you shall receive him in your souls,
So that from his power can change,
What was mortal in you, into immortal being.

Choir of Invisible Heroes

You witnesses of deeply hidden science!
What lies at the world's deepest bottom, In the depths of the heart as a secret treasure
This sanctuary must still be closed,
Like a gem that rests in the rock.
To carry the pure ray of wisdom into the world
Is the seer's high duty,
But to betray where it lies,<
May only he who wants to lose it,

Monday, May 20: Rudolf Steiner gives his second congress lecture “Planetary Evolution and Human Evolution”.

Tuesday, May 21: Rudolf Steiner speaks about educational issues in the morning and about the hall design in the afternoon. In the evening, the congress concludes with musical performances and closing speeches.

May/June 1907

Marie von Sivers reports to Edouard Schuré on the performance of his mystery

A vivid impression of the performance and the work problems is conveyed by what Marie von Sivers reported to Edouard Schuré, who had not come to Munich himself:

"Munich, May 26, 1907. This is the first day on which I have had a few quiet hours in my room; soon people will be flocking in, but I will try to give you, if not an aperçu, then at least a few scraps of information. My long silence before the congress was most painful to me. I did not dare to ask you to come, because if the event had failed, you would have experienced embarrassing moments and undertaken a long journey with hardships to receive unpleasant impressions. And then, until the last moment, we really did not know if we would make it. The obstacles were very great. You have to bear in mind that the actors came from different cities and were only able to come together very late. One of two ladies whom we regarded as our stars and who promised to be excellent in the roles of Persephone and Hecate had to leave to care for a sister-in-law in Brussels who had suddenly gone mad. ; the other became mentally ill herself, and for a week we had her here without being able to send her to her mother, from whom she inherited the illness and from whom she was tormented throughout her life. Finally, she had to be taken to a mental hospital; it was truly a catastrophe. So the chances of the performance being a success had become very slim. After much hesitation, we decided to try a very poor young girl who has an extremely difficult life and seems quite hopeless in moments of despondency because she lacks energy. She then sits down, puts her hands in her lap and says, “I can't do it to myself.” Fortunately, she could “offer” herself the role of Persephone. That had been the question. Then the spark that had once lain dormant in her was ignited, and she became happier every day. Her voice, which was initially very weak and always slid down into her chest, grew stronger every day; but it was only in the last week that we could be sure that she would be understood. Even now, this young girl is still completely transfigured and she still has the airs and graces of a princess. These days will have been the most beautiful of her life. On the whole, the rehearsals were a source of delight and harmony for many. We always had quite a number of listeners who could never get enough and who liked the play so much that they would have liked to hear it every day. The nymphs and the phantoms were very eager, but gave us a lot to do. All these people had never acted before. Except for Triptolem, who is a professional actor but a member of the company, and me, who used to perform in amateur theaters, none of our people had ever seen the limelight. Enthusiasm replaced everything. Metanira was disappointing. The one who was supposed to play this role had to take on the role of Hecate, and the new actress, a very clever lady, showed no understanding of the stage at all. The role of Triptolemus had initially been entrusted to a young man who really wanted to act, a very pleasant fellow who looked like an ephebe, but so bleak in his gestures and so incapable of any kind of upturn in his speech that for a while we thought we would have to give up on the whole thing because of him, until the actor who was originally supposed to play Pluto arrived and replaced him with some success. Dionysos was a delightful young girl, half Italian, half Polish, who was the last to arrive and initially spoke with an accent that made us jump. She was nice, but extremely clumsy, and the final apotheosis was in danger of falling through because of her. So we had to work with her intensively every day and teach her the essence of German pronunciation. As a result, my voice, already exhausted by a cough and constant speaking during rehearsals, was in such a state that during the last week I was completely hoarse and feared that I would not be able to speak at the performance, especially since I had no opportunity to take care of myself and withdraw from all my other obligations. Apart from my duties as secretary of the German Section and of the Congress Bureau, we had to organize, just for this performance: two painting studios (for the scenery), a tailor's studio (even the costumes were all made by our members according to Dr. Steiner's specifications), and finally two further studios where our painters worked on the decoration of the hall (of the later Temple, based on drawings by Dr. Steiner). There was a flurry of activity like an anthill – feverish haste everywhere, because people only plunged into the big expenses when they were really sure – more or less – that they could play.“

”May 28. Mr. Stavenhagen (who, by the way, is not Dutch) only finished his music three days before the performance and he didn't even make it to the planned final chorus. The music was beautiful, though; I don't know what the foreigners thought of it, but the Germans thought it was “like the harmony of the spheres”. And the acting company also thought it was very beautiful: dignified, strong and ethereal – thoroughly religious.

I believe that it was beneficial for the poetry not to be mixed with music. The beautiful preludes created a mood of religious contemplation; then the word alone prevailed and the idea could emerge all the more clearly.

The Germans were truly enthusiastic; they did not make banal compliments, but they were deeply moved by the drama itself and urgently requested a repeat performance; however, this was not possible. The foreigners were more critical and reserved, but as you yourself suspected, a large number of them came with hostile feelings, determined to resist the progressive spirit, to treat with irony what went beyond their understanding, and to reject anything they considered unorthodox. But it was strange to observe how gradually their resistance diminished, and some were finally moved. The Blechs and Mr. Pascal ³ will certainly never give up their reserved attitude, but the latter is at the end of his , and the Blechs are extremely narrow-minded; I also think that it has made a strange impression on them that we emphasize the importance of your work so strongly, while they have probably passed it by through their English education. Their feelings are therefore very mixed.

You were right to recognize Dr. Steiner's hand in the translation. I don't know why Mr. Sauerwein ⁴ told you that it was mine. Incidentally, I don't know Mr. Sauerwein and have never seen him. Mr. Steiner spoke to me about him as a theosophist whom he once met in Vienna, who was at the congress on the day of the performance and who is known to you. Since he went to Paris, he asked him to greet you from us. Perhaps Mr. Sauerwein saw the two works that I translated on the book table and concluded that I am also the translator of The Sacred Drama.

I did the prose translation and only here, over the last month, has Mr. Steiner set to work to bring it into rhythms. With what difficulties! He was constantly interrupted, constantly called upon. He would leave, come back for five minutes, continue his poetic work, and then leave again, called by someone else. He worked in all the arts and crafts, and instructed everyone: painters, sculptors, musicians, carpenters, upholsterers, actors, seamstresses, theater workers, electricians. If he had had the necessary materials and workers at his disposal, he would have achieved something fabulous in a short time: the temple of the future. As it was, he could only sketch out ideas, but they will have a fertilizing effect.

With all of this, the final scenes of the drama could only be completed in a moment that already seemed highly critical to me. I had faith that they would make it, but I didn't want to rely on it; it would have been foolhardy. It would have pleased and frightened me at the same time if you had written that you were coming, but I didn't dare encourage you to do so. One does not want to challenge the protecting spirits, but only cautiously ask for their help. What has amazed me most is that I have found my voice again for the performance – as calmly and confidently as if it had never been tormented by coughing and exhausted by tiredness."

"Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, June 17, 1907. I... deeply regret not having sent you these sheets written in Munich, which I believed I would still be able to supplement in full detail. But every day brought something unexpected. For the cycle by Dr. Steiner in Munich, ⁵ About two hundred people had stayed, who simply blew us away. It was very difficult to leave. During the last days, we had ten people waiting to be received at nine o'clock in the evening. If we take the morning train, as in this case, we pack our bags between two and six o'clock in the morning without going to bed. Mr. Steiner then went directly from the train to a public lecture in Leipzig, and another followed the next day... On the morning of June 15, we had to take the train to Kassel, where a two-week cycle is now taking place....

^{6With the title “Theosophy and Rosicrucianism”, contained in Library No. 100 “Human Evolution and Christ Consciousness”.}

The Munich Congress as the starting point for the separation from the Theosophical Society

Rudolf Steiner's esoteric and artistic design of the Munich Congress also had a strong impact on social history. From the point of view of social life, it meant a large-scale attempt by Rudolf Steiner to place the Western-Christian-Rosicrucian esotericism, which he had advocated from the very beginning, in the international context of the 'Theosophical Society'. However, as he describes in his 'Autobiography' (see page 33 of this volume), this was rejected by the non-German Theosophists. This 'inner attitude' was the 'real' reason why the Anthroposophical Society could not continue as 'a part' of the Theosophical Society.

Due to the decline of the Theosophical Society, which Rudolf Steiner had already foreseen at the time, he had a long conversation with the new president, Annie Besant, during the congress, with Marie von Sivers as interpreter. Marie von Sivers later reported that in this conversation Rudolf Steiner had tried to point out to Annie Besant “in a warmly respectful but deeply insistent way” many things in this context and at the same time explain to her that from now on he was obliged to base his “own esoteric work, independently of hers, entirely on the soil of Western Christian mysticism”. She listened to this in silence.⁷ Rudolf Steiner himself once commented on this conversation to the effect that “Annie Besant said in Munich in 1907, in front of a witness [Marie von Sivers] who is always willing to testify to it, that she was not competent in relation to Christianity. And so, at that time, she ceded the movement to me, so to speak, insofar as Christianity was to be incorporated.” ⁸

Annie Besant wrote to the German Theosophist Wilhelm Huebbe-Schleiden on June 7, 1907, shortly after her return from Munich to London, in the context of this conversation: ⁹ “Dear Dr. Hübbe-Schleiden, Dr. Steiner's occult training is very different from ours. He does not know the Eastern way and therefore cannot teach it. He teaches the Christian Rosicrucian way, which is a help for some people, but it is different from ours. He has his own school and is also responsible for it. I consider him a very good teacher in his own direction and a man with real insights. He and I work in perfect friendship and harmony, but in different directions. Always your Annie Besant.” In reality, this ‘friendship and harmony’ was by no means as ‘perfect’ as Annie Besant expressed it in this letter. In the course of the following years, this became more and more apparent, until in 1912/13 the German Section of the Theosophical Society transformed itself into the independent Anthroposophical Society.

H.W.

• 1. Marie von Sivers and Edouard Schuré corresponded with each other in French. Translation by Robert Friedenthal.
• 2. Adolf Arenson, who did not write the music for the Eleusinian drama, but did write the music for Rudolf Steiner's four mystery dramas from 1910 to 1913.
• 3. This congress program must have been sent out soon afterwards. For the conference itself, Rudolf Steiner designed a different “programme booklet that was given to the visitors.” Pages 193-201 and Plate I of this booklet are reproduced in facsimile.
• 1. Immediately before the Munich Congress, H.S. Olcott's successor was elected. Annie Besant was elected.
• 3. Prominent French Theosophists.
• 4. Jules Sauerwein, who translated, among other works, “Secret Science”.
• 5. 22 May to 6 June 1907, announced in the Congress Program as “A Course on Theosophy according to the method of the Rose-Cross», printed under the title «The Theosophy of the Rose-Cross», Library No. 99.
• 7. Marie Steiner, Foreword to “Study Material from the Meetings of the Circle of Thirty, Stuttgart 1922/23”, private reproduction . Dornach 1947.
• 8. Rudolf Steiner, Address Berlin December 14, 1911, intended for Bibl.-Nr. 251; also contained in excerpts in “Aus dem Leben von Marie Steiner-von Sivers, Biographische Beiträge und eine Bibliographie” by Hella Wiesberger, Domach 1956.
• 9. The original letter in English is reproduced in facsimile in Emil Bock, “Rudolf Steiner, Studien zu seinem Lebensgang und Lebenswerk”, Stuttgart 1961.