Virginia Sease

"The art of the future will be an art of inner maturity. What leads to artistic activity will be sensed only at a relatively advanced age in life. It will no longer be assumed that one cannot have the necessary youth forces for artistic creation in later years--as is still often asserted today. It will be found that only by way of inner deepening augmented by spiritual scientific insight are the forces released that lead to artistic creation." --Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, February 7, 1915The painter Henni Geck convinced Rudolf Steiner to paint five watercolors featured in this book: - The Moon Rider (The Dream Song of Olaf steson), January 1924- New Life (Mother and Child), February 1924- Easter (Three Crosses), April 1924- The Archetypal Plant, May 1924- Archetypal Human Being (or Archetypal Animal) July/August 1924The paintings reproduced in this book--also including a small selection from the work of the painter Gerard Wagner--are images that arise from direct color experience and "imagination" as Rudolf Steiner's describes this inner capacity. The purpose of this volume is to focus on the unique possibilities that can open up for the future of art in the world and become a means and path for spiritual-scientific inquiry." We are at a point in the fifth post-Atlantean age when current views must be directed to spiritual forms in art." --Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, August 31, 1918

Eurythmy is an art form that makes sounds visible. By incorporating zodiac gestures into their art, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, eurythmists can draw on a deep connection between the earth and the cosmos. The zodiac, as representative of the whole cosmos, is a vital part of human spirituality, acting as the backdrop to human life. But it can be hard to fathom the zodiac's secrets, even through meditation. Barfod draws a parallel between meditative exercises and eurythmy practice, and shows how zodiac gestures in eurythmy can reveal cosmic insights. This is a book for eurythmy teachers and practitioners who want to deepen their art and spiritual work.

Using the Spiritual Science of Rudolf Steiner and his lifetime of study as a framework, Dr. Katz holds the Ten Commandments against the background of cosmic evolution, including the development of the tenfold human makeup, the biblical prophets, and the turning point in time of Christ's incarnation on Earth and his -fulfillment- of the Law. In the present time of the human consciousness soul, it is imperative that we renew our view of the Ten Commandments and the whole nature and meaning of morality. With the development of -I--consciousness and autonomous human conscience, we must no longer simply follow an externally impressed law but express the spiritual inner law of conscience. The author writes: -The aim of this study is to develop a better understanding of the spiritual origin of the Commandments; the reasons for their existence; their meaning and significance; and the various metamorphoses they have undergone since their inception. Such considerations can then, we hope, open a door to the true source of human morality in general. This is of the utmost importance in our time; for all moral values--and this includes the -moral freedom- people frequently crave today--can be sustained only if such values are based on insight in the living process through which morality develops in human beings, both in the past and in our own time.-

Among Rudolf Steiner's many initiatives that evoked visible, sustained impulses, there was one that did not develop as planned - his so-called 'endowment' of 1911. This was his attempt to create a 'Society for a Theosophical Art and Way of Life', that would work 'under the protectorate of Christian Rosenkreutz'. Rudolf Steiner envisaged a grouping of individuals who were '...deeply moved by a spiritual power like the one that lived earlier in Christianity'. Through the forming of such a Society, he sought to enable a true spiritual culture to arise on earth - a culture that would 'engender artists in every domain of life'. Virginia Sease's reflections - a century after Rudolf Steiner's attempt - place a special emphasis on three considerations. Firstly, that the Endowment impulse allows us to experience the art of 'interpreting' in the Rosicrucian way. Secondly, that the best initiative, even one undertaken by a great individuality, is doomed to failure if the participants are unable to overcome their personal ambitions. And finally, that we may live with the fact that, despite the passing of time, the seeds dormant in Rudolf Steiner's attempt still have the possibility to come to fruition in the future.

In ancient times, people's experience of the divine was imbued with the feminine archetype. The world of spirit was seen to be populated by goddesses, and women were honoured as priestesses and guardians of sacred rites. The later Greek and Roman civilizations, in contrast, were characterized by the principle of patriarchy, which still dominates our culture - despite the political and social emancipation of women in the West. This unique study of the feminine archetype throws new light on the spiritual significance and meaning of the feminine principle today, as well as its task and destiny in the future. Beginning with Eve in tradition and legend, the authors provide insightful commentaries on the Queen of Sheba, the image of the Virgin in esoteric Christianity, Isis-Sophia and the Great Mother, the birth of art from the primal source of the feminine, and the importance of women in modern esotericism. Through a study of the esoteric background to human and earth evolution, Sease and Schmidt-Brabant arrive at clear and accessible perspectives that could transform human life, and in particular family culture, in our time.

Kahden esoteerisen kristinuskon antroposofisen tuntijan suomeksi ilmestynyt teos tuo esiin Kristus-mysteerin historiaa esikristillisiltä ajoilta nykypäivään. Syvällinen ja jännittäväkin kuvaus Kristuksen voiman vaikuttamisesta mm. essealaisissa, keskiajan temppeliritareissa ja rosenkreuzilaisissa sekä 1800- ja 1900-luvulta nykyaikaan. Sisältöä:- Tietoisuussielu ja tieto Kristuksesta - Golgatan mysteerin kosminen esihistoria- Ennustukset Vanhassa testamentissa, Uudessa testamentissa ja antroposofiassa- Essealaisjärjestö, Jeshu ben Pandira, Jeesus Kristus ja kolmas vuosituhat- Kristus Jeesuksen elämä antiikin mysteeriuskontojen vaikutuspiirissä- Golgatan mysteerin seurauksena tapahtuneita muutoksia meditaatiossa ja rukouksessa- Vanhojen mysteerien jumalmaailma ja esoteerisen kristinuskon henkiset hierarkiat- Omantunnon kehitys esikristillisenä ja Golgatan mysteerin jälkeisenä aikana- Isis-Sofian kosminen olemus - keskiajan Kristus-teitä: munkit ja ritarit - Graalin salaisuuksia, Temppeliherrojen kohtaloita ja rosenkreuzilaistoimintaa- Suurten kristillisten naishahmojen elämässä ja työssä vaikuttavia mysteeri-impulsseja- Logos ja antilogos - aurinkodemoni Sorat ja kolminaisuuden vastamaailma- Uskonto ja tieto tietoisuussielun aikakaudella. Uusia uskontoja idässä ja lännessä- Uuden kristinuskon asettaminen yliaistisessa kultissa 1800-luvulla ja rakkauden karma Maan tulevaisuutenaTietoja kirjoittajista:- Manfred Schmidt-Brabant toimi vuodesta 1975 Yleisen antroposofisen seuran johtokunnassa, vuodesta 1984 kuolemaansa 2001 asti sen puheenjohtajana. - Virginia Sease on toiminut mm. saksalaisen kirjallisuuden apulaisprofessorina Occidental Collegessa Los Angelesissa. Yleisen antroposofisen seuran johtokunnan jäsen vuodesta 1984. Tekijöiltä on julkaistu 2007 teos Kristillisten mysteerien tiet Compostelasta nykypäivään.

'Whether souls have returned in physical incarnations as Platonists, as Aristotelians, as pupils of Chartres, as members of the Dominican Order, as Templars, as Cathars, or whether these souls accompany us as spiritual beings, a stream of spiritual continuity that begins in the Middle Ages flows through human history.'- Manfred Schmidt-Brabant. Why do people today look back to the Middle Ages with such interest? Do those times have anything to do with the present? In this enlightening series of lectures, Manfred Schmidt-Brabant and Virginia Sease suggest that our sense of selfhood depends on whether we can create a true relationship to the present age. But to do this we need to understand the spiritual roots of our time. These roots, they indicate, are present in the Middle Ages. The impulses that originate from that time continue to stream into modern times, helping to determine our thinking, feeling and actions. Even the biography of Europe is largely determined by what people of the Middle Ages thought, endured, believed and fought over. All of this emerges today in the consciousness of the individual and in the fabric of our communities. To aid our comprehension of this critical period, the authors embark on a broad historical survey of the culture and history - both exoteric and esoteric - of the Middle Ages. Their journey takes in King Arthur and the Celtic Mysteries; Francis of Assisi, the Franciscans and the School of Chartres; Thomas Aquinas, Averroes and the Dominicans; Cabbala and Jewish Mysticism; heretics and the Cathars; Templar secrets; spiritual Alchemy and Gothic architecture; Columbus and the Mysteries of America; and, the Consciousness Soul and the historical Figure of Faust.

'Christianity is not a matter of a religion or even a denomination; it is not a question of a particular culture. Christ is there for all humanity.' In the old Mystery cultures the human being experienced himself as a child of the Gods, or even an instrument of them. According to Rudolf Steiner's spiritual-scientific research, the birth of independent thinking came only with our present state of consciousness - through becoming aware of the individual self. But who is this self? Who am I? Virginia Sease and Manfred Schmidt-Brabant maintain that real self-knowledge is intimately connected with knowledge of the central being of world evolution: the Christ, or the 'I AM'. Focusing on the being of Christ and on Christianity, "The New Mysteries" presents a series of engaging lectures on the developing Mystery wisdom of our age. Having given an overview of the history of the Mysteries in their book "Paths of the Christian Mysteries", the authors deepen and further their study by paying special attention to the effect of the "Christ Mysteries". Among the essential themes of the new volume are the transformation of conscience, the place of prayer and meditation, and the significance of sacrifice today.

Over the past decades there has been an upsurge of interest in 'the Camino', the pilgrim's route to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. But where does this fascination in the spiritual exploration of the Middle Ages come from, and what is its significance? Rudolf Steiner stated that people have a need to live not only with external history but also with the esoteric, hidden narrative that lies behind it. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is increasingly necessary for us to live consciously with this veiled history of humanity's search for communion with the divine world. It is within this context that the Camino's historic importance is re-echoed in many souls today. Based on lifelong research and contemplation, Paths of the Christian Mysteries presents a survey of extraordinary breadth and depth, taking us from the cosmic origin of the Grail Mysteries to the supersensible Michael Cultus and the Being Anthroposophia. The intervening chapters present studies of the School of Athens, early Christian art and its Gnostic impulses, the Grail Initiation in northern Spain, the role of the Cathars and Troubadours in the Manichaean stream, the Camino to Santiago de Compostela and the esoteric aspect of music for the pilgrims, the Music of the Spheres and the Elders of the Apocalypse, the Templars as emissaries of the Holy Grail, the initiations of Christian Rosenkreutz and his relation to anthroposophical art, and the early Rosicrucian impulses in America and Europe.