13 lectures in Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Masch, and Penmaenmawr, 1907–1923 (CW 284)Unnoticed by most people at the time, a significant moment in spiritual history took place at Whitsun (Pentecost) in Munich in 1907. Known as “the Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society,” this event witnessed Rudolf Steiner’s emergence onto the public stage as an independent esoteric Christian spiritual teacher with a world mission to transform planetary culture through what would come to be called “Anthroposophy.” The event (and hence Anthroposophy itself) was placed under the sign of Christian Rosenkreutz and the cultural impulse of Rosicrucianism, which, since its initial appearance in the early seventeenth century, had gone underground to be transmitted through the centuries by small, more-or-less hidden esoteric groups. In the Congress, however, the original aim of the movement―a “general reform” of human society through the unity of art, science, and religion―was proclaimed anew and with the firm intent to put it into practice.This volume thus marks not only the birth of Anthroposophy as a spiritual movement of cultural renewal―from which would flow new initiatives in art, science, religion, education, agriculture, medicine, architecture, and drama―but also the articulation of this activity as the evolutionary tip of human consciousness reaching back to the primordial mystery centers. Collected here, with Steiner’s lectures and descriptions, are essays and reports on the Theosophical Congress of Whitsun 1907, as well as documents relating to some of the direct consequences of the Congress, especially those leading to the design and construction of the first Goetheanum. An extensive color section of facsimiles, photographs, and plates includes the esoteric and symbolic artistic work (the seals and columns) created for the congress hall. This “Collected Works” edition contains an introduction, illustrations, a chronology of Rudolf Steiner’s life, editorial notes, and an index. Contents:   On the Munich Congress  Rosicrucian Initiation  Planetary and Human Evolution  Remarks on the Seals of Columns  Report on the Congress  Various reports and commentaries  The Apocalyptic Seals  Symbols and Sings and the Working of Chaos  Speech at the Laying of the Malsch Foundation Stone  In what Sense are we Theosophists and in what Sense Rosicrucians?  Sixty-four pages of color reproductions of the meeting program, columns and seals, Steiner's sketches of the new Goetheanum, and more. This volume is a translation of Bilder okkulter Siegel und Säulen. Der Münchner Kongress Pfingsten 1907 und seine Auswirkungen (GA 284).

Rosicrucianism Renewed: The Unity of Art, Science & Religion: The Theosophical Congress of Whitsun 1907

Religion & Spirituality

Christopher Bamford

Rudolf, Steiner

Occult & Paranormal

SteinerBooks

The year is 1916. Europe is entering the third year of the most devastatingly brutal war yet known. The high hopes and idealistic expectations for the newly dawned twentieth century have been very quickly met with the murderous visage of modern warfare. (The death toll would eventually reach 35 million souls.) Such is the context and ever-present background to these presentations, informing both their mood and content. Rudolf Steiner gave these eight lectures to the members of the Anthroposophical Society in various European cities throughout 1916, and they are all heartfelt attempts to address--practically--some of the fundamental questions living strongly in his listeners, who must be always be considered, to some degree, as co-creators of the content: Given the fundamental reality of reincarnation, how do the so-called dead remain connected to us? What meaning do these countless sacrificial deaths have? What are the immediate experiences of those who have died? These are a few of the burning questions addressed. The answers given are anything but theoretical. But there is something else here as well. It could be summed up by the title of the lecture that forms the heart of this collection, given in Z rich on October 10, 1916: "How Can Today's Poverty of Soul be Overcome?" The "today" referred to is not only the "today" of the early twentieth century, it is the epoch in which we are living now; and the overcoming of this "poverty of soul," the wholeheartedly human advice for doing so, only becomes more valid, more urgent, by the hour.

The Connection between the Living and the Dead (Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner)

This book has the ambition to stage a multi-phased resistance to the power that images exert in the contemporary world, and, at the same time, to offer something like the keys to the transformation of that power. Peter Lamborn Wilson

The Critique of the Image... Is the Defense of the Imagination

Diane Di Prima

Robert Kelly

Peter Lamborn Wilson

David Levi Strauss

Michael Taussig

Carolee Schneeman

Gerrit Lansing

Charles Stein

Ivan, Illich

Autonomedia

Hermeticism, or alchemy, is the ancient, primordial mystery science of nature through which people in all times and places have, for the sake of world evolution, sought to unite Heaven and Earth―divinity, cosmos, earth, and humanity, as a single whole. Selfless, intimate, dedicated to healing and harmony, Hermeticism has accompanied and sustained every religious epoch and revelation. It may be found in all historical cultures, from the traditions of India and China in the East to the Judeo-Christian West. It could even be said that Hermeticism is the primal cosmological revelation and the common ground of all spiritual traditions. Nevertheless, in the great revival of mystical, esoteric traditions and practices during the last century, Hermetic tradition―in fact, Nature herself―has been largely ignored. Today, when the Earth seems most under attack, Green Hermeticism is especially appropriate. The book explores not only the ancient Masters’ inner science, but also their science of Nature. During spring and summer 2006, Pir Zia Khan convened a series of gatherings to begin to unfold the contemporary meaning of ancient, sacred science for our time. Green Hermeticism is a partial record of that meeting. Peter Lamborn Wilson, explores the many ramifications of the alternative worldview offered by Hermeticism; Christopher Bamford provides a broad historical overview of the tradition from the Ancient Mysteries to contemporary manifestations of the alchemical tradition; while Kevin Townley brings a practical dimension to the gathering teaching the preparation of herbal elixirs and demonstrating that cosmology and philosophy can become a truly healing path for the Earth. Green Hermeticism is necessary reading for anyone seeking a spiritual and cultural path for the healing of the current ecological and cultural crisis. “In Alchemy, there is an injunction to quicken, or revive, the dead, which is illustrated by a dead tree growing verdant again. That is exactly what this wonderful and rare work does in awakening human consciousness to its Divine potential and Ultimate Destiny. Art thus helps Nature to achieve its ideal Perfection. The authors must be congratulated for their insightful words. I wholeheartedly recommend reading it again and again, and again.” 
―Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, author Alchemy: The Secret Art and The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century 
 “Environmental solutions today are largely technical, but the planetary crisis is also a crisis of soul―or better yet, of the Imagination. Too tricky for religion, too poetic for reductionist science, Green Hermeticism reheats a prophetic imagination still in love with the material world―a new alchemy of ancient nature.” ―Erik Davis, author, The Visionary State: A Journey through California's Spiritual Landscape 
 “Just when you felt numb and disenfranchised, thinking the world had become bleak and dead, along comes this rare, much needed book to remind us that there is still some sanity, depth, and creative energy percolating up from the heart of Reality. Thank God (and the Goddess Nature) for this smart and inspiring breath of fresh air! Green Hermeticism is where the wasteland ends―and where the world becomes re-enchanted with genuine living thought that goes beyond superficialities. It’s a rare pleasure to be in the presence of living minds who actually know something wonderful and have not been deadened by the opiates of capital or the tenure track. Very highly recommended.” ―David Fideler,publisher (Phanes Press) editor (Alexandria), author of Jesus Christ, Sun of God and translator of Love’s Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition (with Sabrineh Fideler) 
 “The publication of Green Hermeticism has the sense we so rarely get, of a genuine moment in cultural history. It is not just the eloquence of its authors' knowledge and arguments or that they are showing us, once again, the depth and range and beauty of alchemy, and the Hermetic tradition, and what Peter Lamborn Wilson calls Romantic Science. Nor is it even the links they establish between the Hermetic tradition and ecology, and the value of a science that perceives the world as alive rather than a machine. What makes this work significant is the sense that it shows us how we can use these ideas and knowledge to create a genuine counter to destruction and despair, an alchemy of our politics as well as of our spirit.” ―Rachel Pollack, author of 78 Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
 “Green Hermeticism reminds us that the art of the Great Work is to enter more deeply into the dynamic and practical wisdom of the universe, which is our laboratory, where work and prayer combine. When we engage with the All, we know ourselves to be one kindred with all in the viriditas―God’s greening power―where body, soul, and spirit honor each other.” ―Caitlín &amp; John Matthews, authors of Walkers Between the Worlds: The Western Mysteries from Shaman to Magus

Green Hermeticism: Alchemy and Ecology

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Kevin Townley

Reference

Lindisfarne Books

An impressionistic history of the Western spiritual tradition. Two powerful motives weave beneath the surface of our spiritual history: the desire to know and the desire to love. The secret history of the West is the story of saints, mystics, alchemists, poets, and philosophers trying to unite these two streams and celebrate the sacred marriage of Logos and Sophia, Word and Wisdom. This book, an impressionistic history of the Western spiritual tradition, follows the traces―from ancient Greece into modern times―of those who sought to know the world and themselves, while realizing that they must overcome themselves to love the world and each other. “Christopher Bamford is one of the few who can wed sagacity and beauty. Reading a text like this sets the heart on fire with love of God and gratitude for those who have devoted their lives, with whatever measure of success, to the myriad paths of the Christian life.” –from the Introduction by Philip Zaleski “Admirers of Christopher Bamford have long waited the great work on the Christian esoteric tradition that they knew he harbored. Now it appears, with all the benefits of ripeness and a life lived with rare spiritual intensity. This is a book to be read and revisited as one’s own wisdom grows, hopefully, to meet it.” –Joscelyn Godwin, author of Harmonies of Heaven and Earth “This profoundly spiritual book…reveals the hidden unity between matter and spirit, between humanity, nature and the divine. Bamford writes under the sign of Hermes and in the tradition of the great spiritual romantics Novalis, Goethe, and Blake. At heart, his work, like theirs, embodies the mystical currents of Christianity. We are fortunate indeed to have such a voice in times like these.” –Arthur Versluis, author of Restoring Paradise, Wisdom’s Children Christopher Bamford is the editor-in-chief of SteinerBooks and Lindsfarne Books. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he has lectured, taught, and written widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions, and is a contributing editor to Lapis magazine. He is the author, translator, and editor to numerous books, including The Voice of the Eagle; Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness; Homage to Pythagoras; Rediscovering Sacred Science; and The Noble Traveller. An essay of his was included in the HarperSanFransico anthology Best Spiritual Writing 2000.

An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (Codhill Press)

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Codhill Press

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Books by Christopher Bamford