The Origins of the Anthroposophical Society in the Light of the Ancient Mysteries

An esoteric study of the ancient mysteries and their relationship to the origins of the Anthroposophical Society.

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In conducting his research into the mysteries of antiquity, Frank Teichmann made a series of discoveries that connect directly to contemporary events and the tasks of the present-day. Whilst scholarly in nature and based on extensive documentation of historical sites, Teichmann’s work is no dry academic study. In The Origins of the Anthroposophical Society, he offers incisive new insights into Rudolf Steiner’s seminal esoteric deed – the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society at the Christmas Conference of 1923-24 – and considers how it impacts us today. The Conference itself, says Teichmann, ‘…did not just appear out of nowhere, nor did it happen merely as the result of a decision on Rudolf Steiner’s part. It was prepared for long beforehand.’

In the emergence of the anthroposophical movement, Teichmann reveals a conscious recapitulation and renewal by Rudolf Steiner of three types of primordial mystery. He states: ‘… the whole anthroposophical movement together with the Anthroposophical Society as it was re-founded at the Christmas Conference of 1923, was planned and prepared for in primordial times… All [Steiner’s] deeds, no matter how original they may appear in the foreground, have a deep esoteric background that contains the entire spiritual history of humanity.’ This renewal had been systematically prepared by Rudolf Steiner in three phases: through the evolution and intensification of thinking via the ‘mysteries of light’ in Greece; experiencing the spiritual through art via the ‘mysteries of space’ in Egypt; and, involving the ‘tasks of civilization’, the ‘northern’ or ‘earth mysteries’.

Teichmann’s groundbreaking book – featuring dozens of images including his own original photos of British mystery landmarks – is published here for the first time in English translation.