The letters in the first part of this volume record that Rudolf Steiner was asked to give esoteric instruction immediately upon his appointment as General Secretary of the German Section of the Esoteric School of Theosophy in 1902. Soon afterward, he was appointed Arch-Warden in Germany and the Austrian Empire, with "full authority to call meetings of the school, to organize groups and appoint wardens, and to do all that was necessary for the welfare of the school."
Having thus preserved continuity (in this case with the theosophical impulse), Steiner began his work as an independent esoteric teacher, teaching from his own experience.
This volume collects and documents the outer circle of Steiner's esoteric work. Contained here, primarily in the letters, are specific exercises that he gave to his students. The lectures and circulars allow us to glimpse the birth of the anthroposophical movement out of the theosophical movement of the nineteenth century; and of special interest, there are the teachings concerning the "Masters" and their relationship to the evolution of humanity.
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.
Hella Wiesberger, an early and longtime editor of The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner (
Gesamtausgabe, or GA) and a leading figure of the Steiner archive in at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, passed away in Hombrechtikon, Switzerland, in December 2014 at the age of ninety-five. She retained her full mental capacity and continued a full work schedule until the very end. After 1948, when Marie Steiner died, she devoted all her efforts to administrating the Rudolf Steiner estate.
Christopher Bamford (1943-2022) was born in Cardiff, South Wales, and lived for a while in Hungary and then in Scotland. He studied as an undergraduate at Trinity University in Dublin and earned his master's degree at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. For nearly thirty years, he was Editor in Chief at SteinerBooks (Anthroposophic Press) and its imprints. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he lectured, taught, and wrote widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions. His books include a selection of his numerous introductions, Encountering Rudolf Steiner: Introductions to Essential Works (2022); Healing Madonnas: Exploring the Sequence of Madonna Images Created by Rudolf Steiner and Felix Peipers for Use in Therapy and Meditation (2017); An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (2003); and The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity (1990). He also translated and edited numerous books, including Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science (2001); The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz (1984); and Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness (1982). Essays by Mr. Bamford are included in The Best Spiritual Writing 2000 ("In the Presence of Death") and The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 ("The Gift of the Call"). Christopher passed over the threshold on May 13, 2022, at his Mt. Washington, Massachusetts home.
