The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Incarnation. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was born to Johann Baptist Steiner and Franziska Steiner on February 1861 in Kraljevec, Hungary (now Croatia) where he lived the first year and a half of his life. While February 27th is the date most frequently given by Steiner as his date of birth — as indicated in Rudolf Steiner's Unfinished Autobiography — a posthumous Autobiographical Fragment states that he was born February 25th and baptized two days later. The family lived briefly in Mödling, Austria (1862) and then moved to Pottschach where his father worked as a telegraph operator for the Austrian Railways. There in a remote station along the Southern Austrian Railway, young Rudolf lived with his parents, younger sister Leopoldine (1864-1927) and deaf-mute brother Gustav (1866-1941) in a beautiful, rural landscape which lay in the shadow of the intruding industrialization of the telegraph and railroad.

Rudolf Steiner would later reveal he was born during a time when a great cosmic war was underway in the spiritual realm between these polar forces of spiritual beauty and dark materialism. Long ago in 33 A.D., through what Steiner refers to as The Mystery of Golgotha, balance was reestablished on Earth through the sacrifice, physical death, and resurrection of a fully Christ-filled human being, Jesus Christ, thereby rescuing humanity from eternal death and devolution. See also From Jesus to Christ. Now, humanity was once again in danger of dark forces overtaking them. See Michaelmas and the Soul-Forces of Man. From the 1840s until 1879, Christ's emissary, Archangel Michael, and his legions waged war against this new uprising of the Dragon of materialism. See The Battle between Michael and ‘The Dragon’. Steiner's entire life story reflects his mission to awaken the human soul to spirit and transform our darkened world through Christ. Rudolf Steiner brought the stream of anthroposophy into human evolution in this context.

Both of these personalities entered his life the year Archangel Michael banished the Dragon Ahriman and his legions out of the heavens and into the earthly realm, thereby jeopardizing human evolution itself. See Rudolf Steiner's Autobiography, Chapter III. Steiner refers to this battle of polarities and its impact on humanity again and again. "In the autumn of 1879 this battle ended by certain Spirits of Darkness being cast down from the spiritual world to the Earth. Since then they have been working among men, creeping into their impulses of will, into their motives, into their ideas, indeed into all human affairs. And so, since the autumn of 1879, certain Spirits of Darkness have been among humanity and if men wish to understand earthly happenings, they must be alive to the presence of these Beings. It is absolutely correct to say that in the year 1879 these Beings were cast down to the Earth. This made the heavens free but the Earth full of them. From that time onwards their habitation is no longer to be found in the heavens—they are on Earth." See Behind the Scenes of External Happenings.

Rudolf Steiner's life necessarily pivoted away from philosophy void of spirit as characterized by Nietzsche. Steiner found he must reject Nietzche's view of a will-driven "superman" amid two fundamental forces of human nature: Apollo (the god of lucid wisdom, order and logic) and Dionysus (the god of chaos, madness, intoxication and irrationality). Instead, Rudolf Steiner evolved his ideas of the Christ-filled human being who must balance the polar forces of Lucifer and Ahriman through heart-felt thinking, a warmth or Gemüt, of which he had a direct experience. See Friedrich Nietzche (made available for the first time here in English). While Nietzsche did indeed go mad, Steiner flourished. He furthered his task of introducing esotericism into German literature by publishing Goethe's Secret Revelation about the "green snake and the beautiful lily" in the Magazin für Literatur. Meanwhile, contact with the working class was established as Dr. Steiner began teaching almost every evening at the Berlin "Workers' Education School" where he honed his lecturing skills.

Phoenix. Now enlivened with a personal experience of the Christ and the "Mystery of Golgotha," Steiner began to openly speak about results of his own original esoteric insights. Thinking back on that time, he recalls, "The thought then hovered before me that the turn of the century must bring a new spiritual light to humanity. It seemed to me that the exclusion of human thinking and willing from the spirit had reached a climax. A revolutionary change in the process of human evolution seemed to me a matter of necessity." See Rudolf Steiner's Autobiography.

With the death of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (August 25, 1900), Steiner closed out the more traditional, philosophical phase of his life as if it were a death of part of himself. An expert on Nietzsche, he gave memorial addresses for him on three different occasions, a summary of which is now available in this newly translated Short Excerpt from a Lecture on Friedrich Nietzsche. Steiner's first memorial speech for Nietzsche, given in Berlin on September 13, 1900, can be read in Friedrich Nietzsche, Fighter for Freedom. Steiner also wrote Friedrich Nietzsche as a Poet of the Modern Worldview in memory of Nietzsche. Dr. Steiner's dear friend Ludwig Jacobowski also died in December and Steiner published, among other tributes, a Memorial to Jacobowski in Das Magazin für Litertur and a biographical sketch, Ludwig Jacobowski: A portrait of the poet's life and character. Steiner assumed Jacobowski's leadership of Die Kommenden, the group of writers, artists and scientists that met for readings and lectures in Berlin.

Leader. Rudolf Steiner wrote the first of a series that was published by Marie Steiner in 1931 as The Stages of Higher Knowledge. These essays originally appeared in the journal Lucifer-Gnosis as a direct continuation of Steiner's previous essays: How to Know Higher Worlds. He also published in Lucifer-Gnosis his first writings on "the threefold social organization" such as The Science of Spirit and the Social Question. Steiner gave lectures on Schiller and Our Times. He further continued large lecture tours throughout Germany, including those now available as GA 90b, Self-Knowledge and God-Knowledge II. In a lecture series The Foundations of Esotericism, Steiner instructed a small group of active members of the newly formed Theosophical Society of Berlin. From May to January 1906, he gave lectures now contained in Part II & III of GA 93, The Temple Legend including two lectures on Freemasonry from the point of view of Spiritual Science.

The General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society met in October, the notes of which indicate the challenges of the Theosophical Movement at the time. Steiner reports the growth of the total number of members in the German Section had increased to 377 as compared to 256 the previous year (8 left, 3 died, and 132 joined). After being offered to establish a Masonic Memphis-Misraim lodge for the Theosophical Society in Germany, Dr. Steiner and Madame v. Sivers attended a ceremony to which Rudolf Steiner warned caution was urgently needed: "We are dealing with a “framework”, not with more in reality. At the moment there is nothing behind it. The occult powers have withdrawn from it completely." See Correspondence with Marie Steiner, November 30, 1905. With this in mind, he then pursued and accepted Appointment as Grand Master of the Egyptian Rite of Misraim in Germany to direct a chapter under the name Mystica Aeterna in which he revitalized this ancient rite. This became the Cognitive Cultic Section (also known as the Misraim Service) of the Esoteric School. See GA 265 and GA 265a.

Strength. Rudolf Steiner traveled extensively, by train, automobile, and sometimes driving himself to give lectures in Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia and his first two lecture tours to Norway and Sweden. Highlights include lecture cycles: The Influence of Spiritual Beings Upon Man (Berlin), The Gospel of St. John (Hamburg), The Apocalypse of John (Nuremberg), Universe, Earth and Man (Stuttgart), Egyptian Myths and Mysteries (Leipzig), Nature and Spirit Beings (Leipzig) of which we offer an exclusive translation. Rudolf Steiner's essay, Philosophy and Anthroposophy, is also published in Lucifer-Gnosis.

As they entered their seventh year, the Seventh General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society was held in Dornach, reporting significant membership growth from 1150 compared to 872 the previous year. There were 37 branches compared to 28 in 1907. To protect the "theosophical treasure" they had created out of the tabula rasa they were given, the Board approved a modification to the statutes ensuring Board members who have served seven terms remain for life together with an Advisory Board made up of representatives of local branches. In addition, one rogue member, Dr. Hugo Vollrath, was expelled from the Society per Rudolf Steiner's insistence. Annie Besant would in 1911 appoint Vollrath as the Secretary of her new "Order of the Star of the East" and then expel Steiner and the German Section in 1912. See Tenth General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society.

Proselytizer. Rudolf Steiner published An Outline of Esoteric Science wherein he builds upon his earlier book, Theosophy dealing with the evolution of Man and the Earth. He continued his public and private lectures: The Principle of Spiritual Economy (Germany tour); The Spiritual Hierarchies, (Dusseldorf); The Gospel of John in Relation to Other Gospels (Kassel); The East in the Light of the West (Munich); The Gospel of St. Luke (Basel); Wisdom of Man (Anthroposophy) (Berlin); Metamorphoses of the Soul (Berlin); and The Christ Impulse and the Development of the Ego-Consciousness (Berlin). In the night of the first full moon in April, Rudolf Steiner presided over the Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Model Building in Malsch during the inauguration of the Francis of Assisi branch. This small, open-topped building symbolized the Rose Cross Temple and led to the building of the first Goetheanum. See Implications Following from the Munich Congress - Malsch.

In June, Rudolf Steiner attended the Theosophical Congress in Budapest, which was perhaps the last meeting between Rudolf Steiner and Annie Besant. As written by Marie Steiner, "[T]he dispute with the leaders of the Theosophical Society began. These leaders were trying to push back the Christian esoteric current of Western occultism by founding the “Star of the East” soon after and proclaiming Krishnamurti as the reincarnated savior." See The Budapest International Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society. During that Congress, Mrs. Besant announced that Dr. Steiner had been awarded the Subba-Row Medal in recognition of his services to Theosophical literature. See Personal Report on the Budapest Congress. In October, with tensions rising within and against the new direction of the Theosophical Society, Steiner delivers seminal lectures on anthroposophy which he attempted to rework into the unfinished book intended to be a short outline of Anthroposophy, now known as Anthroposophy, A Fragment.

Upon his return to Germany, Rudolf Steiner's father died January 22nd. He needed to travel from Sweden to the inauguration of the Novalis branch in Strasbourg, Germany on January 23rd. See Novalis and Spiritual Science. Then Steiner went to Pforzheim where his mother and siblings lived to be with them after his father died. See Letter to Marie von Sivers, January 30, 1910. In July-August, Rudolf Steiner wrote the first of the Four Mystery Dramas entitled The Portal of Initiation. In September, he gave a lecture on it in Basel, Self-Knowledge as Portrayed in the Rosicrucian Mystery, The Portal of Initiation. Other lecture series include: Macrocosm and Microcosm (Vienna); The Manifestations of Karma (Hamburg); The Mission of the Folk Souls (Oslo); Genesis, Secrets of the Biblical Story of Creation (Munich); Gospel of Matthew (Bern); Background to the Gospel of St. Mark (Berlin); Occult History (Stuttgart); Wisdom of the Soul (Psychosophy) (Berlin); and The first of a series of Faust lectures that would be continued through 1915.

Evangelist. Despite growing tensions within the Theosophical Society, Steiner wrote the second of the Four Mystery Dramas entitled The Soul's Probation. He also gave three private lectures (June 6, 7, and 8th) which he then edited for publication as the book The Spiritual Guidance of Mankind. It is a key contribution to our understanding of the working of the Christ impulse in humanity, revealing the higher self of the human being as the same higher self of humanity that lived in Jesus during the three years between the Baptism (at age 30) and the Crucifixion (at age 33). At the International Philosophical Congress in Bologna on April 8 Rudolf Steiner further evangelized his views in the Section for the Philosophy of Religions giving a paper on The Psychological Foundations of Anthroposophy. See also A Word about Theosophy at the Fourth International Congress of Philosophy. He continued giving lecture series in various cities, including: Wisdom of the Spirit (Pneumatosophy) (Berlin); Occult Physiology (Prague); Wonders of the World (Munich); Esoteric Christianity and the Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz (Lugano, Neuchâtel, Leipzig, Munich); From Jesus to Christ (Karlsruhe); The Inner Realities of Evolution (Berlin); and The World of the Senses and the World of the Spirit (Hanover).

The President of the Theosophical Society, Mrs. Annie Besant, proclaimed a young Indian boy, Jiddhu Krishnamurti, the incarnation of the Christ and founded the "Order of the Star of the East" to promote this idea. This was in direct opposition to Rudolf Steiner's perception that the physical incarnation of Christ could occur once during the history of the earth as he carefully articulates in his lectures given in June 1911, The Spiritual Guidance of Mankind. Additionally, the next year Mrs. Besant appointed as the Secretary of the new organization the very man who in 1908 Dr. Steiner had expelled from the German Section of the Theosophical Society, Dr. Vollrath. See Seventh General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society and Tenth General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society. Adding to these challenges, Marie von Sivers fell ill and Anna Steiner Eunike died on March 17.

Trailblazer.Rudolf Steiner forged forward despite the crisis in the Theosophical Society. He wrote the third of the Four Mystery Dramas entitled The Guardian of the Threshold. He also published A Road to Self-Knowledge as an "amplification" of his earlier book, Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment. Continuing to introduce new spiritual practices, he published the The Calendar of the Soul. Additionally, he began introducing the new arts of Eurythmy and Speech Formation and the initial preparations for establishing the Anthroposophical Society began. During all of that work, lecture tours also continued: The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz (Vienna); Spiritual Beings in the Heavenly Bodies and in the Kingdoms of Nature (Helsinki); Earthly and Cosmic Man (Berlin); The Spiritual Foundations of Morality (Norrköping); Man in the Light of Occultism, Theosophy, and Philosophy (Oslo); The Gospel of St. Mark (Basel); Life between Death and Rebirth (Berlin); and The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of St. Paul (Cologne).

On May 8, Rudolf Steiner for the last time celebrates White Lotus Day, commemorating the death of the founder of the Theosophical Society, Madame Helena Petrova Blavatsky. In October, Rudolf Steiner refused to recognize the Theosophical Society lodge dedicated to the Star of the East and later decides to expel all Theosophical Society members belonging to the Order. See The Eleventh General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society for a review of the events, including letters. In December, the rules and admission requests of the new Anthroposophical Society are written. A lecture given on December 28th, Dr. Steiner acknowledges the "starting-point of the foundation of the Anthroposophical Society" from that which they had always carried on under the name of theosophy. See The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul: Lecture 1.

Catalyst. This year Rudolf Steiner separated from the Theosophical Society and founded the Anthroposophical Society. In his autobiography, he recounts how the Theosophical Society showed signs reminiscent of spiritualism and Eastern influences under Annie Besant and Steiner warned members that the part of the Society under his direction had nothing to do with such things. Thus, on February 2nd, in the The Eleventh General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society the council voted to expel the members of the 'Order of the Star of the East' who refused to resign. Dr. Steiner noted the German section really logically was no longer in existence; rather a new entity, the Anthroposophical Society, took its place. The next day, February 3rd, they held the First General Assembly of the Anthroposophical Society, what Steiner called "the starting point of a significant effort to consilidate and expand the old work" with "new color" in hope that their anthroposophical affairs will flourish.

On September 20, 1913, the double-dodecahedron foundation stone of the first Goetheanum was placed in Dornach, Switzerland as "a symbol for us in its double twelve-foldness of the striving human soul, as a microcosm sunk into the macrocosm." This powerful address is here made available for the first time in English. Likewise, The History of the Johannesbau and Goetheanum Associations offers a full history of the developments from 1911 to 1924. Steiner would live at the site where the foundation stone was laid in Dornach the remainder of his life.

Rudolf Steiner completed his Four Mystery Dramas with the fourth play entitled The Soul's Awakening. He also published The Threshold of the Spiritual World which together with A Road to Self-Knowledge (often published together), are intended to complete and amplify his other writing but can also be read independently. His travels to give lectures continued, including: The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity (Berlin); The Effect of Occult Development (The Hague); The Secrets of the Threshold (Munich); The Fifth Gospel (Oslo, Berlin, Hamberg, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne); and Christ and the Spiritual World: The Search for the Holy Grails (Leipzig).

In August, World War I was declared in Germany. Rudolf Steiner gave a short course in Dornach on First Aid as as well as lectures On the Outbreak of the First World War and The Destiny of Individuals and of Nations. Additional lecture cycles included: The Inner Nature of Man and Life between Death and Rebirth (Vienna); Christ and the Human Soul (Norrköping); The Balance in the World and Man, Lucifer and Ahriman (Dornach); The Kalevala (Dornach); and a continuation of his previous lectures on The Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson (Dornach). Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers were married December 24, continuing Dr. Steiner's speaking schedule together with A Christmas Lecture on December 26 and then Cosmic New Year: the Dream Song of Olaf Asteson. Also over New Year's, Steiner gave a series of eight lectures in Dornach, Art as Seen in the Light of Mystery Wisdom.

Tripartism. The Russian Revolution was underway and the United States had entered World War I. In this climate, Rudolf Steiner brought forth his ideas for social stability first articulating the “threefold nature of the human being” in The Human Soul and Body in the Light of Knowledge of Nature and Spirit. In June, he further set forth his ideas on the “threefold nature of the social organism” in The Threefold Social Order and the Ideals of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”. In September, Rudolf Steiner then published The Riddles of the Soul, his representation of the three-fold nature of the human organism. In it, he describes the relation of the three soul forces of thinking, feeling, and willing to the three systems of the body: the nervous, rhythmical, and metabolic.

Despite WWI, the construction of the Goetheanum continued. Dr. Steiner primarily remained in Germany delivering new lecture cycles including: The Karma of Untruthfulness II; Cosmic and Human Metamorphoses ; Building Stones for an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha ; The Karma of Materialism; and The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness. He also published The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz in Das Reich, the journal of poet and alchemist Alexander Bernus who launched the magazine in the middle of the war to elevate intellectual life at the time. Among those who worked for the journal in the first year were Hans Ludwig Held, Max Pulver, Friedrich Alfred Schmid-Noerr, Rudolf Steiner and Carl Unger.

Reformer. With the end of World War I, Rudolf Steiner wrote and lectured on a new conception of social organization, shedding light on socialist theories, Marxism, world-historical events and offering practical indications of requirements for a healthy social structure. Expounding upon his three-folding ideas first presented in 1917, he published The Threefold Social Order. In this book, Rudolf Steiner presents his central ideas on the threefold nature of the social organism, relating the three aspects of the individual (thinking/perceiving, feeling/valuing, and willing/planning/acting) to the proper function of three realms of society (cultural-spiritual, the production-economic, and the “sphere of rights” including legal rights). His writings and lectures on such a "Threefold Commonwealth" are published as a collection in The Renewal of the Social Organism. He spoke extensively on social issues at factories and elsewhere, including talks given in Zurich which have been published as The Social Question. See also Spiritual-Scientific Consideration of Social and Pedagogic Questions, Thoughts during the time of the war (1915) and further writings on the events of the World War in that same volume.

Another remedy to the social problems of the time was offered through education. See Steiner's lectures, Education as a Social Problem, given one month before the opening the first Waldorf school in the context of post-war Germany. Inaugurating a worldwide educational movement, the Free Waldorf School (Freie Waldorfschule) was then founded in Stuttgart by Emil Molt and headed by Rudolf Steiner until his death. For an overview of this form of education, visit our compilation under the Education topic. Dr. Steiner gave the ‘first course’ in natural science, The Light Course, to the teachers of the new Stuttgart Waldorf School as an inspiration for developing the physics curriculum. It is based on Goethe's approach to the study of nature. He also gave a series of talks which served as part of the basic training of teachers at the first Waldorf School, the General Human Knowledge as the Basis of Pedagogy, commonly known as The Study of Man. It covers topics such as mental pictures and will; memory and imagination; the soul activities of thinking, feeling, and willing; the forces of sympathy and antipathy; the twelve senses; the hierarchy of forces that move the will; and more. Additionally, there were further developments of speech, drama, and eurythmy as reflected in The Genius of Language, which was part of the first Waldorf Teacher Training, and The Origin and Development of Eurythmy. A Eurythmy Performance of Goethe’s Faust was held at the nearly completed Goetheanum in November.

Architect. On September 26th, The Opening of the First Goetheanum was celebrated in a serious mood with the conviction "that a new spirit of science must be carried into the lecture halls from new spiritual sources of research, into all the individual disciplines." The building stood as "an outward sign" of this new Spiritual Science with the aim to unite the "trinity of art, science and religion." The History of the Johannesbau and Goetheanum Associations offers a full history of the developments from 1911 to 1924. Three lectures from 1920 are included together with prior talks in Architecture, Sculpture and Painting of the First Goetheanum which includes many images of the beautiful original construction. There, from the Goetheanum, Eurythmy performances were held with remarkable addresses by Steiner and translated into English in The Origin and Development of Eurythmy 1918–1920 and The Origin and Development of Eurythmy 1920–1922.

Not only artistic endeavors arose out to the Goetheanum in Dornach; two companies were founded to begin to promote and implement a new threefold social order. With Dr. Steiner as Chairman, Futurum A.G. was established "to place economic life on a healthy associative footing and shape intellectual life in such a way that legitimate talents are brought into a position in which they can be expressed in a socially fruitful way." Additionally, Der Kommenden Tag, "The Day to Come" was formed to "bring about the atmosphere of social life through its institutions, through the associative union of enterprises."

The new Anthroposophical Society affirmed its foundation "on purely spiritual goals" with "practical" applications in society, including the Waldorf School. It was noted this effort would face hostility, which was already becoming clear, just as their other initiatives did. See Newsletter To all Working Groups of the Anthroposophical Society. Unfortunately, due to the world situation, they had not yet been able to hold a general assembly.

Throughout the year, Rudolf Steiner continued lecturing widely on social issues, education, the sciences, and the arts. In March, he gave his Second course for scientists The Warmth Course in which he strove to extend modern ideas of physics through the understandings of the nature of warmth, its relationship to the four states of matter, to light, to color, and to the sub-earthly and super-earthly realms. Immediately following this, he gave twenty-one lectures as the first course for physicians, Anthroposophic Medicine and Physiology and Therapeutics.He also gave the so-called "Bridge" lectures, which were considered preparatory lectures for the 1924 Course for Young Doctors. He spoke of the human being as the model of creation, the microcosm within the greater macrocosm, in Man — Hieroglyph of the Universe. Also, in Dornach in May he gave three lectures offering a deep intellectual analysis of Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, and Thomism, The Redemption of Thinking. In September and October, Rudolf Steiner implored his listeners to develop themselves beyond the limits of ordinary cognition so they might perceive the Spirit active in the phenomena of nature. See The Boundaries of Natural Science.

With all of this success, hostility, mockery and ridicule were brewing among Rudolf Steiner's opponents. Accusations were made claiming Rudolf Steiner was a Jesuit, a Jew, a Communist, and even a madman who "dares to have every attack, every feverish dream of his brain cast in concrete, carved in wood, ground into glass and painted on the wall." See Social Life, Lecture II. Likewise, criticisms of the Warldorf schools and the lack of diligence in the faculty wore heavily on Dr. Steiner. See for example, Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner. Thus, in November, to clarify his teachings, Dr. Steiner began a lengthy series of public lectures to crowds of non-anthroposophists, delivering his talks with the skillful precision necessary to negating misunderstandings and caricatures of his teachings. See The Essence of Anthroposophy. He continued such public lectures in Oslo, Norway through December, giving eight talks on the Foundations of Anthroposophy.

Disintegration. As early as January 1st, administrative challenges had arisen within the Waldorf schools. Rudolf Steiner acknowledged that the Anthroposophical Society was too weak and prone to sectarian tendencies to do what was asked of it. See Soul Economy, Lecture X. Both of the anthroposophical businesses, Die Kommenden Tag and Futura A.G., were failing. Nevertheless, Rudolf Steiner actively continued his public lecture tour, Anthroposophy and the Riddle of the Soul, gaining a spotlight and applause from the media and public at large. The Wolff & Sachs concert agency had initiated and organized a lecture tour to give a picture of the spiritual currents of the time, showcasing the most important speakers through public lectures. Rudolf Steiner's first lecture tour with the agency sold out quickly even though they took place in the largest halls in the cities. Thus, a second tour, Anthroposophy and Knowledge of the Spirit was organized for May.

While Dr. Steiner's public impact increased and the popularity of anthroposophy exploded, strong opposition began to arise. Prominent journalists, authors, and scientists positioned themselves against both Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy in numerous critical, polemical, and even inflammatory newspaper articles, books, and lectures. These tensions became evident in 1921, the day after Steiner's 60th birthday, when in front of the lecture hall in Amsterdam, Dr. Karel Hendrik Eduard de Jon of the University of Leiden, distributed protest pamphlets entitled, "Dr. Steiner, A Swindler Like No Other!" The attack was later repeated by Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch, who distributed pamphlets under the same title in Hanover on January 25, 1922. Organized, targeted hostility called people to disrupt Rudolf Steiner's May 15th talk in Munich and subsequent engagements on the tour. Due to growing militant opposition, Steiner refused a third tour organized by Wolff & Sachs. (See GA 80a-c Editor Notes in German.)

Despite such opposition, Steiner gave introductory lectures on The Impulse for Renewal in Culture and Science and Fundamentals of Anthroposophical Medicine. He spoke at the Hague in the spring giving the lecture So That Man may Become Fully Human and returned again in autumn. Then, June 1-12 he attended the "East/West Congress" of the Anthroposophical Society in Vienna where he delivered ten lectures on The Tension Between East and West to an audience of about two thousand. August was spent lecturing extensively in Oxford, discussing the Spiritual Ground of Education and social issues. He also continued lecturing to private audiences on more esoteric matters, including Old and New Methods of Initiation and The Mysteries of the Sun and Death and Resurrection. Another book was forthcoming, as Dr. Steiner published Cosmology, Religion and Philosophy based on lectures given at the Goetheanum known as the "French Course" given for French members utilizing a translator. Other key lecture series included World Economy; a course for theologians which led to The Founding of the Christian Community; and in December: Man and the World of Stars, Anthroposophy and Science, and a series of Lectures for the Workers of the Goetheanum that continued through 1924.

On New Year's Eve, the original Goetheanum was tragically destroyed by arson, just one hour after Rudolf Steiner finished his lecture, Spiritual Knowledge is a True Communion. In this address, he interestingly discussed the continual dance of creation and destruction as an act of trans-substantiation and cosmic ritual, reiterating, "[W]e as human beings, by a deliberate, loving act of human will, transform that which has become matter, back again into spirit." Dr. Ita Wegman, Steiner’s main physician, later reported that the burning of the Goetheanum shattered Rudolf Steiner's etheric body and he too began to leave this world; his physical constitution began to decline from that point forward. "In comparison to other people, I have really already died on earth," was something he often said.

Awakening. With the embers of the First Goetheanum still burning, Rudolf Steiner addressed the anthroposophical community on New Year's day in familiar yet profound esoteric terms. In his Introduction to the Epiphany Play, he acknowledged the over ten years of "devoted, self-sacrificing love and work" that was destroyed in one night. That night, Steiner continued his lecture cycle The Origins of Natural Science in the nearby carpentry shop where the yet unfinished sculpture of the Representative of Humanity, Christ Jesus, remained balancing the forces that seek to prevent mankind from fulfilling its spiritual calling. As he articulated in his lecture series, Awakening to Community, Dr. Steiner calls for an awakening to spirit in their encounters with others to plant the seeds of the spirit of the Goetheanum — a spirit transformed into love — within the hearts of mankind. In his address to member in June, he warned the Anthroposophical Society would collapse if the members did not have the courage for the self-reflection necessary to wake up to the spiritual world. See Responsibility to Anthroposophy. Facilitating their awakening would be his primary task the rest of his life. A Pentecost was needed within the souls of his pupils.

The destruction of the first Goetheanum meant 1923 was dominated by efforts to rebuild and reorganize the Anthroposophical Society. See The Purpose of Anthroposophy and the Goetheanum. While there was much talk about insurance money and financial concerns, Steiner encouraged the group to rebuild the movement with spiritual intention. He was clear that the anthroposophic impulse needed to arise within the hearts of the members themselves rather than from the building or the Anthroposophical Society. In addition to struggling Waldorf schools, both businesses that had launched to facilitate the anthroposophical impulse in society, Die Kommenden Tag and Futura A.G., failed and were closed. See Closing Address on 'Futurum' And the ‘Coming Day’. and Current Social and Economic Issues for more detail. Dr. Steiner was adamant "financial experiments" and efforts striving to get money and give money within the Anthroposophical Society must not happen again.

In September: "At Michaelmas, 1923, for the last time in his earthly life Rudolf Steiner was able to celebrate fully a Michaelmas festival, and this he did in Vienna, the capital city of his own homeland, where he had spent so many fruitful years in his youth. Much of Germany, including Berlin, was cut off from him in that year of uncontrolled inflation but here in Vienna he could feel himself truly at home, as he refounded the Anthroposophical Society in Austria and gave these wonderful lectures on the human Gemüt (heartfelt-thinking with cosmic warmth)." See Michaelmas and the Soul-Forces of Man, Introduction. Upon his return to Dornach from Vienna, Steiner gave five Archangel lectures, The Four Seasons and the Archangels, with the same warmth of this Michaelic Mission.

In his New Year's Eve address during the Christmas Conference, entitled The Envy of the Gods - The Envy of Human Beings, Dr. Steiner explained how the First Goetheanum was a memory of the temple of Artemis (Diana) in ancient Ephesus. There, where Artemis stood as the central figure, envious gods destroyed the temple for its ability to raise human beings into the spiritual realms. For this same reason, in the Goetheanum, the Representative of Humanity, Jesus Christ, brought forth the wrath of envious human beings through arson. Rudolf Steiner implored his listeners to feel that holy flame of this sacrifice in their hearts and bear the will of the Goetheanum "onwards through the waves of progress in human evolution." The design and modeling of the second Goetheanum began with the intent to "build in the new Goetheanum a worthy monument to the body of the old Goetheanum, a worthy memorial." Concurrently with the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner gave a comprehensive survey of the history of the ancient mysteries which held keys to understanding the mysteries of the First Goetheanum, World History in the Light of Anthroposophy.

Preparations were made throughout the year for the reorganization of the Anthroposophical Society which had grown from about 3,000 when founded in 1912 to an international movement of over 12,000 members. During The Christmas Conference of 1923/1924, Rudolf Steiner re-founded the General Anthroposophical Society with new statutes and assumed its leadership, serving as its President working together with a new Board. On December 26, 1923, Dr. Steiner figuratively laid the "Foundation Stone of Anthroposophy" in the hearts of the members of the Anthroposophical Society giving The Foundation Stone Verse (Mantra) in which he urged his students to practice Spirit-recalling, Spirit-remembering, and Spirit-envisioning to enable the three, trifold Hierarchies and Trinity to penetrate their lower four bodies to raise them to their fully developed state, the "Four Times Twelve Human Being" he references in his last address the following year.

Other lecture series given that year included The Driving Force of Spiritual Powers in World History; The Cycle of the Year; Cultural Phenomena — Three Perspectives of Anthroposophy; The Evolution of Consciousness; Man as Symphony of the Creative Word; Supersensible Man; Mystery Centers; The Arts and Their Mission; Eurythmy as Visible Speech; and The Child's Changing Consciousness and Waldorf Education. He additionally continued with lectures to the workers at the Goetheanum: Health and Illness II; Cosmic Workings In Earth and Man; Rhythms in the Cosmos and in the Human Being; and Nine Lectures on Bees. Adding to all of this work, he did a lecture tour in England, and gave lecture cycles in Prague, Norway, and the Netherlands—heralding the call for humanity to awaken to Spirit.

Completion. On New Year's day, Rudolf Steiner concluded his series of talks on World History in the Light of Anthroposophy, stressing the importance of the members to awaken to the super-sensible world so that in Dornach there would be created a living center of spiritual knowledge. To guide the movement forward, Rudolf Steiner commenced articulating the core tenets of anthroposophy in succinct, powerful statements published monthly to members and compiled later in the book Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts which contains both The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy and The Michael Mystery. Also, to an audience of seasoned students of Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner delivered Anthroposophy: An Introduction which contains advanced, yet foundational material required of his students. He further gave the first of what he intended to be three classes for the School of Spiritual Science of the re-founded Anthroposophical Society as a further development of his earlier Esoteric School, Esoteric Instructions. In early May, Edith Maryon, Rudolf Steiner's partner in the art of the First Goetheanum and the sculpture of Representative of Humanity, died and was buried. See Eulogy at the Cremation of Edith Maryon. Rudolf Steiner's relationship with her is well documented in letters newly translated into English. See Correspondence with Edith Maryon: 1912–1924 In June, Dr. Steiner attends The Eleventh Annual General Meeting of the Association of the Goetheanum which would be his last. The History of the Johannesbau and Goetheanum Associations offers a full history of the developments from 1911 to 1924.

At this critical time, Rudolf Steiner communicated to the members knowledge into the deepest spiritual mysteries including Rosicrucianism and Modern Initiation and The Easter Festival in Relation to the Mysteries. In Torquay in August, Rudolf Steiner acknowledged the karmic paths that had led many personalities together in the anthropsophical movement and told how there would appear again in less than a hundred years—individuals reincarnating to carry to full and culminating effect what they began as Anthroposophists then (with Dr. Steiner) in the service of Michael's dominion. "The very understanding of these things gives rise to the impulse to return to the earth in less than a century in order to give effect to the intent and purpose of Anthroposophy." See Cosmic Christianity and the Impulse of Michael. In a series of lectures to theologians, Rudolf Steiner also spoke from his own direct experience and knowledge of the spiritual truths contained in St. John's revelations, Lectures to Priests: The Apocalypse. In this last year of Rudolf Steiner's speaking engagements he produced eight volumes of material on Karma and Reincarnation, perhaps thereby revealing his own incarnations. This year he also did extensive lecturing on Eurythmy, speech and drama. Additionally, due to his poor health, Rudolf Steiner’s unfinished autobiography was published in monthly installments throughout the year.

With his The Agriculture Course he launched the "biodynamic" farming movement, a now widely used form of sustainable, organic agriculture. He continued his education series and additionally gave a cycle Curative Education for the treatment of intellectually and physically disabled children. He expounded upon his prior work in medicine with the Course for Young Doctors. Although his health was failing, Steiner traveled to lecture elsewhere in Germany, Czechoslovakia, France, England, Switzerland, Poland, and The Netherlands.

Rudolf Steiner gave The Last Address, to members of the Anthroposophical Society on September 28th in Dornach. On the eve of Michaelmas 1924, Dr. Steiner, frail and deathly ill, summoned the strength to passionately declare his last will for the rebirth of the anthroposophical movement. Nine months earlier, he had figuratively laid "the Foundation Stone of Anthroposophy" in the hearts of the members and then fostered their spiritual growth through intensive esoteric training. He had arranged for the continuation of the society without him in hope that, with proper spiritual development of the membership, the anthroposophical impulse would be born anew. This final lecture was Rudolf Steiner's last supplication for the membership of the Anthroposophical Society to actively develop themselves to be able to carry the anthroposophical impulse forward after he was gone. The Michaelmas verse given that day is his deepest call to the Hierarchies and beckoning to humanity to take up this mission to make ourselves into worthy four-part beings (physical, etheric, astral, ego/I) filled with the Cosmic Order of the Hierarchies to radiate these twelve forces into the world. He referred to it as the "Four Times Twelve Human Being." Now, forty weeks later when a new Anthroposophical impulse was to have been born among the members, there was no one adequately prepared to fructify this impulse for humanity and carry it forward into action. As Marie Steiner recounts in The Close of the Year and the Turn of the Year 1923/1924, "We were called, but we were not chosen. We were incapable of responding to the call, as further developments showed." After his last address that left the audience stunned and in tears, he took to his sick-bed in the carpentry shop where he would remain until his death. To underscore the utmost importance of what he said and left unsaid to the members, we offer the article The Last Address: Michael and the Mission of Man to highlight key insights into this material. For an overview of the ongoing battle between Michael and the Dragon and its impact on human evolution, see Michaelmas: Conquering the Ahrimanic Forces of Darkness.

On March 30, 1925 at the age of 64, Rudolf Steiner died in the same room as the noble figure of Christ, the Representative of Man, carved by his own hand, soaring high above him. (Albert Steffen, Goetheanum, 1925.) The thrid of April was the funeral day of Rudolf Steiner. Albert Steffen, then the second President of the Anthroposophical Society, reflected, "As we realized afterwards, this day is held to be the day of Christ's death." As the poet Steffen declared in the memorial address, "May his immortal spirit be resurrected in our deeds." Rudolf Steiner was laid to rest on the property of the Goetheanum in Dornach with a simple stone slab headstone inscribed with, "EDN ICM PSSR" which represents "Ex deo nascimur - In Christo morimur - Per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus" translating as, "From God we are born - In Christ we die - Through the Holy Spirit we are revived." After Steiner's death, the Second Goetheanum was constructed from 1925-1928 in reinforced concrete in memory of the First Goetheanum.

In addition to the many works highlighted here, Rudolf Steiner leaves us with his Autobiography which yet unfinished was published by Marie Steiner after his death. The work leads up to 1907, the 46th year in Steiner's life. We also offer several other Biographies of Rudolf Steiner.

Our Introduction to Rudolf Steiner offers additional biographical information and fundamental readings. It is our mission to ensure that Rudolf Steiner legacy lives on through the protection, preservation, and promotion of his work, making it accessible to a wider audience by offering searchable English translations for research and education purposes.