 Occult Science - An Outline
by Rudolf Steiner
'Classic Translation'
Occult Science - An Outline by
Rudolf Steiner is the most fundamental and comprehensive of his
written works on Anthroposophy. Written in 1909 when he was still
head of the German Section of the Theosophical Society, it provided
for the Theosophists and later the Anthroposophical movement, the
broadest framework of occult knowledge that the movement had yet
seen. Occult Science is an expansive body of knowledge which
documents the evolution of mankind, the kingdoms of nature and the
world as viewed from a purely spiritual standpoint - that is as
derived from spiritual causative agents. Unlike other attempts to
describe the formation and evolution of the world, Steiner does not
stop at symbolic abstractions such as "the 7 Rays" or generalised
mystical expressions which lead the reader nowhere. He describes
activities and events as concrete realities describing actual cosmic
beings, their characters, relationships and their various creative
activities over vast periods of cosmic time. This is knowledge that
has been known for millennia in the restricted circles of the
highest occult brotherhoods, but this is the first time it has been
communicated to the public in modern conceptual form. Much that is
described in detail here has been referred to in the major works of
H. P. Blavatsky (Isis Unveiled and Secret Doctrine) but not with the
organisation and orderly detail that is presented here. Much more is
included concerning the missions and intricacies of the series of
human cultures as well as the future development of humanity and the
world.
Occult Science is not a work of
mental speculation nor is it simply the reiteration of an occult
tradition. As the title implies, it is the result of objective
examination, but with organs of perception that modern man has no
conception of. Steiner was qualified to write such a book and speak
of these matters only because he had evolved those capacities of
spiritual perception as well as personal self-mastery that he can be
regarded as an "initiate", and in his case one of very high calibre.
Such initiates, as Steiner describes, have always been with humanity
working in various ways to assist human evolution through key
personalities. They have always - at least in recent millennia -
remained in the background, undetected by the general populace.
Steiner is the first instance in modern times when such an initiate
has entered the public arena and spoken directly, to those who would
hear, of the inner nature of human and world existence. This public
emergence was necessitated by the extreme materialism that humanity
has descended into, a condition which, if continued, would have
"buried" the human soul in false materialistic concepts and
ultimately would have bound the human being in inner misery and
illness, some of which is already being seen spreading in human
culture.
Occult Science starts with a
description of the nature of spiritual research and the faculties
involved and then leads on to the fruits of such research. The
reader is led through descriptions of the manifold nature of the
human being; the nature and significance of sleep and death; the
long and varied evolution of the world, mankind and the kingdoms of
nature - past, present and future; the nature of initiation and the
means of achieving it - with actual exercises (See Knowledge of
Higher Worlds - for a complete description); and then further
explanatory details on various aspects of the human being, the
spiritual worlds, etc.
This is not a "New Age" book with
sweet descriptions of angelic presences or "magic" formulas. It
assumes a certain degree of inner maturity in the reader and an
ability to apply oneself to a serious study of the human condition
and within this, one's own. It is not a light read. It requires
inner work to apprehend the spiritual with actual spiritual thinking
- what Steiner calls "sense-free thinking." This book, like so many
of his works, requires much of the reader. But for those who are
willing to apply themselves, the results are not merely information
taken in but inner transformation in the direction of the initiation
process. The very reading and re-reading of Steiner's works stimulates the
semi- and sub-conscious forces which become conscious faculties in
the initiate.
Occult Science - An Outline is
available both in the earlier 'Classic' translation (re-issued in
2005 by Rudolf Steiner Press) and a contemporary (1997) translation
(Anthroposophic Press/Steiner Books). This later translation is
titled: "An Outline of Esoteric Science."
Rudolf Steiner Press
GA13, Trans. George and Mary Adams
351pp; paperback
ISBN: 1-85584-136-3
To purchase this title, please
click here:
Occult Science - An Outline - Rudolf Steiner
To view the contemporary
translation, please click here:
An Outline of Esoteric Science
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