Mystery Knowledge & Mystery Centers
GA 232
These lectures begin with a far-reaching study of man’s life of soul and lead on to experiences of cosmic, earthly and human existence gained in those institutions known as the Mysteries of which modern scholarship knows only external details without being able to give more than hypothetical explanations of their meaning. The knowledge presented in this volume is the outcome of investigations into the evolution and history of the Cosmos, the Earth, and Man, made possible by the spiritual seership of Rudolf Steiner. This must be realised at the very outset.
After the preliminary lectures on the nature and functions of the human soul, a wonderful drama is presented of the development of the Earth, including graphic descriptions of the metals, their connection with the planets and their curative properties. The origins of plants and animals are outlined and the connection of Man with the Earth and its evolution, past and future, is made abundantly clear.
The particular Mysteries described, with their main contents and the experiences undergone, are those of Artemis in Ephesus, of Hibernia, of Eleusis, of Samothrace, of the Middle Ages. Indications are also given of the conditions to be fulfilled in the modern age before Initiation is achieved. A comprehensive chapter of evolution—both spiritual and physical—is thus available in this publication.
| 1. | On Man’s Life Of Soul | November 23, 1923 |
| 2. | The Effect Of The Soul Upon Physical Man | November 24, 1923 |
| 3. | Penetration Into The Inner Core Of Nature Through Thinking And Will | November 25, 1923 |
| 4. | Man’s Connection With The Earth | November 30, 1923 |
| 5. | Mineral, Plant And Animal Creation | December 1, 1923 |
| 6. | The Ephesian Mysteries Of Artemis | December 2, 1923 |
| 7. | The Mysteries Of Hibernia I | December 7, 1923 |
| 8. | The Mysteries Of Hibernia II | December 8, 1923 |
| 9. | The Great Mysteries of Hibernia | December 9, 1923 |
| 10. | The Chthonic and the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Transition from Plato to Aristotle | December 14, 1923 |
| 11. | The Secret Of Plants, Metals And Human Beings | December 15, 1923 |
| 12. | The Mysteries of the Samothracian Kabiri | December 21, 1923 |
| 13. | The Transition from the Spirit of the Ancient Mysteries to That of the Mediaeval Mysteries | December 22, 1923 |
| 14. | Strivings for Spiritual Knowledge During the Middle Ages and the Rosicrucian Mysteries | December 23, 1923 |