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Sources of spiritual science - Anthroposophy

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This provides a non-exhaustive overview of some key names in the areas of philosophy, theosophy,
mysticism, hermetics, magic, astrology, alchemy but also art, science and religion including esoteric
christianity. One can include theurgy, paganism, and various branches such as enochian magic or
hermetic qabbalah.

Why this listing of names and sources of different streams? Because ultimately they all come together
and merge in the wisdom where science, art and religion meet. These things have been split up and
separated into different branches but ultimately all have the same roots.

The 100 to 150 key names listed below are mostly all pre-1900, and does not include the large wave of
anthropophists that incarnated next to and after Rudolf Steiner. These well-known names are 'the tip of
the iceberg' of a stream and subsegment of the population consisting of many hundred thousand souls.
Hence, these 100 are to be seen in the same way as how some 40 key names were listed for the
development of the foundation of mineral science in the last 400 years (see Mineral science#Historical
development)

Aspects

• spiritual scientific research with the clairvoyant faculty of 'intuition'; see Clairvoyant research of
akashic records
• lineage:
◦ "St Paul was the first to use the word Theosophy, and used it already in its current meaning as
we do for spiritual science" (1905-06-19-GA090B). The term Theosophy was renewed and
received a foundation with Jacob Boehme (1575 – 1624), and afterwards in the late 20th
century with the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875 by a.o. Helena Blavatsky (who
wrote Isis Unveiled in 1877).

• Inspiration:
◦ In the 1924 Karmic Relationships lectures, Rudolf Steiner makes various mentions of initiates
inspiring incarnate individuals:
▪ Julian Apostate-Tycho Brahe inspiring Schelling and Froschhammer. See more on
Individuality of Julian the Apostate#.5B1.5D - Individuality of Julian the Apostate and
Wotan - Buddha
▪ Tolstoj inspired by same spiritual power that stood behind the Gothic initiate Ufilas
▪ Charlemagne inspired by Titurel
▪ Ovid inspiring Latini
◦ Furthermore Rudolf Steiner also mentioned the following works were inspired directly by
masters of the White Lodge:
▪ 'The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz' (with anonymous authorship and
Johann Valentin Andreae as the scribe)
▪ 'Isis Unveiled' (1877) by Helena Blavatsky, inspired by Master Rosenkreutz
▪ 'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins, inspired by Master Hilarion

The wave from 1879

Introductory notes

Regarding the period 1880-1905 one can observe that leadership of the White Lodge was looking for
channels to infuse the new teachings for the age of Michael starting 1879 at the end of the period of
darkness (also known as kali yuga). Especially the masters called Morya and Koot Hoomi came to the
foreground and approached individuals such as Blavatsky, the 'two chelas' (see below), but far more
stories abound (just one example being that of Vsevolod Soloyov, brother of the famous philosopher, in

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1884).

Note this was also the time of 'spiritism', see Hints of future etheric force technology#Aspects

• The first major injection of the old wisdom in the new times was channeling through Helena
Blavatsky, either directly or indirectly (behind the scenes, eg A.P. Sinnett, the Mathatma letters,
perhaps even the 'two chelas'). The masters concerned were Morya and Koot Hoomi.
◦ Note: Later also Alice Bailey published information received via masters Djual Khul, and Dion
Fortune from Master Rakoczi and Master Jesus. Sometimes the earthly descriptions sound a bit
funny and all too human to be taken seriously, but then there is a mix with genuine elements
of wisdom, maybe pointing to the difficulties in such channeling.
◦ When erroneous or confusing info was spread such as the Sinnett book Esoteric Buddhism,
reactions came in the form of Harrison's 'Transcendental universe' or Rudolf Steiner who
commented and positioned those sources.
• Also books by anonymous authors popped up, for example written by 'two chelas' or 'three
initiates'. See eg the introduction for the book of the two chelas for background.
• Many souls incarnated that caused a wave of renewal of different ancient traditions in magic or
alchemy or a modern footing (eg Riedel and Dubuis), sometimes also esoteric (eg rune magic by
Spiesberger).
• Certain authors created an amazing volume of books (eg W.W. Atkinson, Sivananda Saraswati, ..),
whereas other books became widespread bestsellers despite their subject matter and the fact the
individuals were not publicly influential (eg Manly Hall, just as earlier Barrett).
• Rudolf Steiner played a central role in this movement, because here the White Lodge had someone
who was clairvoyant from youth ànd had a scholarly training foundation and scientific credentials.
Initially the masters also spoke through Steiner. At times he explicitly said so in certain lectures
(referring to masters Koot Hoomi, Hilarion, Morya), in other instances this left such an impression
that it was reported by others (eg Vreede on the courses on spiritual hierarchies). After Blavatsky,
Rudolf Steiner was able to create a stable movement and into this current many thousands of souls
incarnated. The same can also be said for the larger theosophical movement worldwide that grew
thanks to Annie Besant.
• Note the true masters are usually or always operating behind the scenes and incarnate as
individuals unknown to the world. This was the case for Rudolf Steiner's masters, and the principle
was also explained by Daskalos (see references below) and can be read in or deduced from other
sources.

1870 onwards

• H.P. Blavatsky
◦ works
▪ Isis Unveiled (1875 -> 1877)
▪ The Secret Doctrine (1888)
▪ The esoteric character of the gospels (1887-8)
◦ Note that Helena Blavatsky also produced a lot of material as the editor of the magazine The
Theosophist. Later prolific writers such as
▪ Arthur E. Powell (1882-1969) and
▪ Ernest Wood (1883-1965) worked under Annie Besant (and the much disputed
Leadbeater) to produce more structured and readable materials, mainly based on
Blavatsky's source material (potentially complemented and mixed with less trustworthy
information and/or illustrations from Leadbeater and others). There are many more
theosophists who produced excellent materials, such as a.o.
▪ Gottfried de Purucker (1874-1942) and
▪ Geoffrey Barborka (1897-1982).

• Anna Kingsford (1846–1888)

• Rama Prasad: Nature's Finer Forces, The Theosophist 1887-1889, published as The Science of Breath
& the Philosophy of the Tatwas in 1897
◦ note : Blavatksy had certain reservations Mr. Rama Prasad is not an Occultist, only an excellent
Sanskrit scholar, a university graduate and a man of remarkable intelligence

• A.P. Sinnett (1840-1921): Esoteric Buddhism (1883)

◦ a bestseller with impact, see eg lecture dedicated to this book: 1903-11-17-GA090A)

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• Trevor Barker: 'The Mahathma letters to A.P. Sinnett' (V1 in 1923, V2 in 1926, V3 in 1962, V4 in 1993)
◦ letters written between 1880-1884 by Masters Koot Hoomi and Morya, in total 145 - not
intended to be published
◦ extra info on the Theosophy wiki, 'online version
• Two chelas: 'Man: Fragments of a forgotten history' (1885)
◦ note: 'Theosophy and the occult hierarchy' is article extracted from the above book
• Franz Hartmann (1838-1912)
◦ publisher of the theosophical periodicals Lotusblüten (1893-1900) and Neue Lotusblüten
(1908-1914)
◦ author of many spiritual scientific and theosophical books in German, oa: Magic: White and
Black (1886)
◦ also books on the lives of Paracelsus, Boehme, Jehoshua (Christ-Jesus)
• C.G. Harrison: The transcendental universe (six lectures) (1894)
• Annie Besant: Ancient wisdom (1897)
◦ note: Rudolf Steiner referenced and commented on this book, eg in lectures of 1904-01-26-
GA090A and 1904-02-02-GA090A
• The three initiates: The Kybalion (1908)

• Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942)

• James Morgan Pryse (1859-1942)
◦ translation of and commentary on the gospels based on a esoteric understanding, oa The
Sermon on the Mount, The Magical Message According to Iônannês, The Restored New
Testament, Reincarnation in the New Testament, The Apocalypse Unsealed.
◦ see theosophy.wiki profile and what is said here:
▪ " James M. Pryse who first instructed me in magic, conjuring up pictures in the astral
light, and holding them before my inner eyes so that I could see initiation scenes, the
evolution of the astral from the physical, the movement of cells and forces in the body. A
good deal of what he wrote in the interpretation of the Apocalypse he showed me in the
"glass". He was one of the few members of the Theosophical Society who knew things for
himself and had a good deal of occult power. He was really rather a mysterious person
whose talk and writing had personal knowledge behind it. He, Judge, H.P.B., Subba
Row,Damodar, and Jasper Niemand were the only members of T.S. who had their own
sources of knowledge, as far as I can know. Most of the others wrote either out of
intuition or retold what they had read: though Pryse said Archibald Keightley; who rarely
wrote, knew a good deal.
• William Walker Atkinson (1862-1932) - also wrote under the names of Theron Q. Dumont and Yogi
Ramacharaka, wrote no less than 100 books
• Max Heindel (1865-1919), oa: The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (1909) and the founding of The
Rosecrucian Fellowship (TRF) in Amercia
• Paul Foster Case (1884-1954)
• Manly P. Hall (1901-1990):
◦ 'The Secret Teachings of All Ages' (1928), see online version
◦ archive.org books and newsletters online
• Karl Spiesberger (1904-1992)
• Francis Israel Regardie (1907-1985)

also two ladies who channeled theosophy in a peculiar way; mainly in the period after Blavatsky, Besant
(and Leadbeater) had died (so after 1934)

• Dion Fortune, born Violet Mary Firth (1890-1946)

◦ The Mystical Qabalah (1935)
◦ The Cosmic Doctrine (1949)
• Alice Bailey, born Alice LaTrobe Bateman (1880-1949)
◦ Initiation, human and solar (1922)
◦ A treatise on cosmic fire (1925)

The special category

The following are set apart because a clear link with and their explicit statements about the White Lodge.
Steiner and Daskalos were explicit about their Masters.

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• Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)

• Beinsa Douno (1864-1944), born Peter Dounov
• Franz Bardon (1909-1958) - an adept from the White Lodge that entered into the body of the 14-year
old boy Franz Bardon in 1924
• Stylianos Atteshlis, known as Daskalos (1912-1995)

Each of these four guides was surrounded by or followed by student-teachers following in their footsteps,
examples are:

• Beinsa Douno .. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (1900-1986), born Mikhail Dimitrov Ivanov
• Franz Bardon .. Rawn Clark

A new science

• John E.W. Keely (1837-1898)

• Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
• Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958)
• Edward Bach (1886-1936)
• Walter Russell (1871-1963) - illumination in 1921

Alchemy and Astrology

• Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985)

• Frater Albertus (Dr. Albert Riedel) (1911–1984)
• Jean Dubuis (1919 – 2010)

In this period also various magical and occult orders were started, such as: the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn (1887-1903), Fraternitas Saturni (1926-), The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, Ordo Templi
Orientis (O.T.O.)

Others

1 - Indian sages form a category on its own and do not directly appear in this western stream. However
wise men from India did influenced the western world in various ways: Tagore won the Nobel Prize
literature, Yogananda became famous in the US and spread Kriya Yoga, and then there were the likes of
Paul Brunton, Rene Guenon and others who studied the Indian spiritual masters and teachings.

Below just a selection of a few names from the many:

• Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

• Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)
• Ramani Maharshi (1879-1950)
• Sivananda Saraswati (1887-1963) founded modern Divine Life Society in 1936 and wrote some 300
books
• Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) .

2 - In the same timeframe additional influences came from (many) others, some names of other teachers
as examples:

• George Gurdjieff (ca 1870-1949) and Ouspensky (1878-1947)

• Samael Aun Weor (1917-1977), born Victor Manuel Gomez Rodriguez

The period 1750-1880

• William Law (1686-1761)
• Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772)
• Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781)
• Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801)
• Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (1743-1803)
◦ pupil of Jacob Böhme (re 1917-01-08-GA174)
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

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• Karl von Eckartshausen (1752-1803)

◦ The Cloud upon the Sanctuary
◦ Magic: the principles of higher knowledge
• William Blake (1757-1827)
• Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814)
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
• Francis Barrett (ca 1775): 'The magus' (1801)
• Novalis - Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772-1801)
• Friedrich Schelling (1775-1854)

Transition period 1830-1880

Some clairvoyant people had already incarnated before the 'wave of 1879) and written works about
theosophy or magic or the spiritual, but they have been forgotten or moved to the background since:

• Allan Kardec or Hippolyte Rivail (1804-1869)

• Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875)
• Lazar von Hellenbach (1827-1887)

Pioneers of science

• Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)

• Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843)
• Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach (1788-1869)
• Albrecht von Herzeele (1821-unknown; publications upto 1883)

Preparers of a new future

• Kasper Hauser (1812? - 1833)

• Leo Tolstoy or Tolstoj (1828-1910)
◦ The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1893)
• Herman Grimm (1828-1901)
• Wladimir Solowjew or Solovyov (1853 - 1900)
◦ The meaning of love

The new age (1400 to 1750)

See also:

• regarding the rosecrucian spiritual impulse at the start of the 17th century: Note [1] - Historical
perspective - waves and counterwaves in the Discussion area on the Jacob Boehme page
• more info: Impulses from waves of reincarnating souls#Note .5B1.5D - Examples of clusters of
karmically related souls representing an impulse

Listing:

• Nicolas of Cusa (1401-1464)

◦ see GA007
• Marcello Ficino (1433-1499)
◦ Corpus Hermeticum (1471) - based on texts from around the 2nd century or before
◦ 'Three Books on Life' (1489)
• Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)
◦ see also 1924-01-06-GA233A, together with Raymond of Sabunda; Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
was his pupil (1916-10-01-GA0171)
• Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516)
◦ for link with Agrippa and Paracelsus, see GA007
• Johann Georg Faust (ca. 1480–1540)
• Raphael (1483-1520)
• Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim (1486–1535): 'Three Books of Occult Philosophy'

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• Paracelsus (1494 -1541)

• Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus (1503-1566)
• Guillaume Postel (1510-1581)
• John Dee (1527–1609)
• Valentin Weigel (1533-1588) - see GA007
• Julius Sperber (approx. 1540-1616)
• John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes) (1542–1591): 'Dark Night of the Soul'
• Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
• Giordano Bruno (1548-1600)
• Heinrich Khunrath (1560-1605)
• Benedictus Figulus (1567-1619) - in the alchemical stream of Parecelsus
• Robert Fludd (1574-1637): 'Utriusque Cosmi maioris salicet et minoris metaphysica' (1618)
◦ pupil of Paracelsus (re 1917-01-08-GA174)
• Jakob Boehme (1575-1624)
• Jan Baptist van Helmont (1577–1644)
• Arthur Dee (1579–1651)
• Johann Valentin Andreae (1586-1654): 'Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz anno 1459'
(1616)
◦ not written by, but only written down by a human being (1923-12-09-GA232)
• Henry Madathanas - pseudonym of unknown German author of 'The Golden Age restored' (1622),
later translated into
• Thomas Vaughan (1621-1666): 'Anthroposophia Theomagica'
• Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
• Angelus Silesius (1624 – 1677)
• Miguel de Molinos (1628-1696) or (1640-1697)
• Basilius Valentinus or Basil Valentine (16/17th century)
• Anton Josef Kirchweger (-d.1746)

Middle ages period (1000-1400)

Up to the year 1000

• Jesus ben Pandira (approx. one century BC) - see eg 1911-11-04-GA130

• Philo of Alexandria (ca 15 BC - 50)
• Paul of Tarsus (5-67) and Dionysus Areopagite (Master, see the White Lodge), the first to use the
word 'theosophy'
• John the Apostle (6-100) - Individuality of Christian Rosenkreutz (Master, see the White Lodge)
• Apollonius of Tyana (15-100)

Gnostics

Neoplatonism

•
• Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185 – ca. 253) - Individuality of Daskalos
◦ for Rudolf Steiner on Clemens and Origen, see 1915-12-28-GA165 (as well as 1917-04-24-GA175)
• Plotinus (204-270)
• Lamblichus (ca. 245 – ca. 325)
• Augustine (354 – 430)
• Hypathia (ca. 360 - 415) - Individuality of Marie Steiner [KRI59]
• Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (ca. 500)
• Johannes Scotus Eriugena (815–877)

Period 1000-1400

• Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153)

• Francis of Assisi (c.1182 - 1226)
• John of Hauville
◦ poet, mentioned in 1924-08-18-GA243
• Albertus Magnus (1193–1280)

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• Rumi (1207-1273)
• Brunetto Latini (c. 1220–1294) - teacher of Dante
• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - Individuality of Rudolf Steiner [KRI36]
• Ramon Llull (1235–1315)
• Arnaldus de Villa Nova (1240-1311)
• Pietro d'Abano (1257 - 1315)
• Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
• Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)
◦ mentioned in GA010, see also Meditation texts#1905-03-16-GA053
• Raymond of Sabunda (or Sabunde, born Ramon Sibiuda) (ca. 1385-1436)
◦ see oa 1924-01-06-GA233A, 1924-08-01-GA237
• 'Paracelsus major' and 'Jacob Boehme major'
◦ see 1924-08-18-GA243
•

School of Chartres

• John of Salisbury (1120-1180)

• Alain de Lille (or Alanus ab Insulis) (ca 1128 – 1202/1203)
• Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202)
• Bernardus Silvestris (1265-1321)

Christian mystics

• Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179)

• Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1327)
• Johannes Tauler (-1361)
• Jan of Ruysbroeck (1293 – 1381)
• Heinrich Suso (1295-1366)

Alchemy and Astrology

• Ibn ʿArabi (1165-1240)

• Pietro d'Abano (1257-1316)
• Nicolas Flamel (1330-1418)

Previous cultural ages

• Clemens of Alexandria (ca 301–232 BC)

Greek culture

• Individuality of Hypathia as pupil and teacher in Orphic Mysteries, teacher of Pherecydes of Syros
[KRI59]
• Pherecydes of Syros (ca 580-520 BC, teacher of Pythagoras)
• Heraclitus (ca 540-ca 480 BC)
• Cratylus (contemporary of Heraclitus) [KRI
• Pythagoras (570-495 BC)
• Parmenides (515-450 BC)
• Empedocles (490-430 BC)
• Socrates (470-399 BC)
• Plato (ca 428-348 BC)
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) [KRI36]
• no timings: Orpheus

Sixth century BC

• Lao Tzu or Laozi

• Gautama Buddha

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Ancient history of myths and legends

Ancient cultures such as the Egyptian, Persian, Indian, and the same timeframes in Europe, were
characterized by a different type of consciousness, different ways of knowledge management prevailed,
languages were symbolic. Knowledge was transferred verbatim along a lineage of teachers and disciples,
and not put into writing in the way we do today. Wisdom was conveyed in stories that were passed on
through generations.

Today we know these stories as myths, legends, sagas and fairy tales. They are a reflection of ancient
traditions and relate to what we can find in contemporary modern spiritual science. Rudolf Steiner spend
many dozens of lectures reframing this heritage into the spiritual scientific framework of evolution, see
also: Ancient history of myths and legends.

Illustrations

Lecture coverage and references

See Lecture coverage section on The Michaelic stream

1909-06-04-GA109

For people who are not clairvoyant, it is also a matter of believing information they are told by spiritual
investigators. In 1909-06-04-GA109 this question is addressed:

.. I want to speak of a matter of exceptional importance. Why is it that we must concern

ourselves with ideas and theories of spiritual science before we can ourselves actually experience
anything in the spiritual world?

Many people will say, “The results of clairvoyant investigation are made known to us, but I
myself cannot yet see into the spiritual world. Would it not be wiser if, instead of the results of
investigation being communicated to us, I were told how I can myself develop clairvoyance?
Each individual would then be able to undertake the further development himself.”

Discussion
[1] - Various notes

• For the mainstream contemporary worldview based on mineral science, all the above have to be
placed in the category 'misguided' and pseudo-science. See also worldview wars.

• The choice was made on this website to not use information from C.W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey or
Dion Fortune, except explicitly mentioned.

In 1904, Steiner has just started lecturing and that year got appointed by A. Besant as the leader for
Germany and Austria. In these early lectures Steiner often commented on works of Helena Blavatsky,
Besant, Sinnett's Esoteric Buddhism, Mabel Collins Light on the path, etc. In these comments he did give a
personal qualification as their thruthfullness or value, and this comments fully fits into that line of other
comments.

Examples are lectures on

• Sinnett's book (1903-11-17-GA090A)

• Besant's (1904-01-26-GA090A and 1904-02-02-GA090A),
• Blavatsky and Sinnett (1904-05-26-GA089). Also later on he commented on
• Blavatsky's works in 1923-06-11-GA258 and 1923-06-11-GA258

Rudolf Steiner quite exceptionally referred to and sometimes spoke highly of certain works, 'validating'
them in a way either explicitly or through qualitative descriptions, of their truthfullness and value.

Here are some works for which this is the case:

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• 'Isis Unveiled' (1877) by Helena Blavatsky, inspired by Master Rosenkreutz

• 'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins, inspired by Master Hilarion
• 'Pistis Sophia' (1896) by George R.S. Mead

Isis Unveiled (1877) - by Helena Blavatsky

This book was inspired by Christian Rosenkreutz, before Blavatsky was misguided by certain forces
which caused Cosmic Doctrine and all her later work to deviate from her original mission and become
much more confusing and chaotic

'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins

This is a work that was directly inspired by a Bodhisattva from the White Lodge called Master Hilarion.

See also the following note by C. Jinoradasa (SWCC)

Light on the Path as it now stands consists of three elements:

• 1 - The oldest part, the original thirty rules? These thirty rules from far off Atlantis were
later translated into archaic Sanskrit, and were then written down on ten palm leaves,
having on each of the leaves three of the rules. Then one of the Masters of Wisdom,
known among us as “The Venetian”, when He lived in Alexandria in the third century
A.D., Transcribed them into Greek for the use of His pupils. Among these pupils was
Iamblichus, known to us in His present incarnation as the Master Hilarion.
• 2- The Venetian Master of Alexandria, in transcribing from Sanskrit into Greek, added to
the rules certain introductory remarks and explanations. These form the second element
of the book and are printed in the smaller Roman type.
• Early in the year 1885, Master Hilarion caused this to be written in English through
'Mabel Collins' or 'M.C' .. it fell to her lot to be a channel for a work the Master Hilarion
desired to do for the world through The Theosophical Society. Each rule with its
explanations was presented, in the form of a many dimensional concept, before the mind
of M.C., who, then, in full waking consciousness, but nevertheless under the Master's
guidance, wrote down in English as we have them now.
• 3 - Almost immediately after the publication, Master Hilarion once more gave to the
world through M.C. some additional teaching, explanatory of what He had already
given. This is the third element in the book and is printed in italics. The Master Hilarion's
additions are known as the “Notes”, and for the first edition they were printed
separately; in the second edition the “Notes” were printed in their appropriate places in
the body of the book.

...

Note: There exists another work by M.C. written under the direction of the Master Hilarion,
and reference is made to it by Him at the end of Part I of Light on the Path in these words:
“Regard the three truths. They are equal”. These three truths are in Chapter VIII of Book II of
'The idyll of the white lotus' (1884).

Pistis Sophia (1896) - by George Mead

G.R.S. Mead (1863-1933) was very close to Blavatsky as her secretary and joint secretary of the Esoteric
Section of the Theosophical Society. In the theosophical congress of 1902 seemingly Steiner met G.R.S.
Mead (1863-1933) (see eg 'Rudolf Steiner Herald of a New Epoch' by Stewart Easton).

Steiner refers to the Pistis Sophia also in 1916-01-02-GA165 (with an fragment that he puts in context),
reference in 1915-12-29-GA165, and in GA211 (where he makes the link with the spiritual breathing
process). Sease and Schmidt-Brabant, in 'Paths of the Christian Mysteries' expand on the importance of
the Pistis Sophia for Steiner.

The title 'Pistis Sophia' refers to a Gnostic text discovered in 1773.

[3] - The 20 year period period 1877-1897

1/ Projecting ourselves back in time to the period before Rudolf Steiner started teaching, we can list some

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milestones publications from the list above in chronological order, to get a feel for how the major
influences came about. Below are some of the most influential books. The goal is not to be exhaustive,
just to link some key books against the timeline. Note: Hartmann is added as a key theosophical author
but not known in the English speaking world. Kingsford, Harrison are part of the Christian esoteric
stream, to complement the 'eastern theosophical' stream. Also shown are main books by Leo Tolstoj,
Vladimir Soloviev and Rudolf Steiner in this time period.

One can feel oneself into the fact that in this timeframe, souls had been incarnating who were longing for
spiritual science, and the below presents a first 'wave', whereby some books became quite influential or
even bestsellers.

2/ Another way to look at this is that 1879 is when Rudolf Steiner was born, so this happened while he
was growing up. Steiner's comprehensive lecturing in the period 1904-1924 presents a second wave
(resulting also in several hundred volumes of the later published Rudolf Steiner's Gesamtaubsgabe (GA)).
This perspective is important because one thus positions 1877-1879 as one major wave, the period
1904-1924 can be regarded a second one, but it does not stop there. In the 20th century, this continued
with ao the work of Franz Bardon on self-initiation, and the teachings of Beinsa Douno and Daskalos.

However, rather than expecting more teachers to come and hold our hand, it becomes ever more
important for mankind and human individuals on Earth to pick up and create their own from what was
brought and taught. This is related to the aspects of human responsability (see Meaning of Free Man
Creator) and the future Father impulse. One may expect more human initiates to appear 'amongst us'
that act as an inspiration point and guidance for others.

3/ Some key books (14 in list below currently):

• 1877
◦ Isis unveiled (Blavatsky)
• 1882
◦ The perfect way (Anna Kingsford) - published 1882 New York, 1888 in London

• 1883
◦ Esoteric buddhism (Sinnett)
• 1885:
◦ Light on the path (Mabel Collins)
◦ Man: Fragments of forgotten history ('two chelas')
• 1886:
◦ Magic: white and black (Franz Hartmann)
• 1888
◦ The secret doctrine (Blavatsky)
• 1893:
◦ The kingdom of God is within you is (Tolstoj)
• 1894:
◦ The transcendental universe (Harrison)
◦ The meaning of love (Soloviev)
◦ Philosophy of freedom (Steiner)
• 1896:
◦ Pistis Sophia (George Mead)
• 1897
◦ Ancient wisdom (Besant)
◦ Nature's finer forces - The science of breath (Rama Prasad)

• Spiritual science
• Mystery School tradition
• White Lodge
• The Michaelic Stream
• Rudolf Steiner and the White Lodge
• More sources on the topic of initiation
• Clairvoyant research of akashic records

References and further reading

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• 'Man: Fragments of Forgotten History', by 'two chelas' (1885)

• 'Transcendental Universe' (1894) - six lectures by C.G. Harrison given in 1893
• 'Nature's Finer Forces - The Science of Breath', by Rama Prasad (1897, published in The Theosophist
1887-1889)

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