Between Death and Rebirth

10 lectures, Berlin, November 5, 1912 – April 4, 1913 (CW 141)

“For some years now, the relationship of human beings living on the physical plane to the spiritual worlds has changed.... Now we are living in an age when the soul needs only to be receptive and duly prepared, and then revelations from the spiritual worlds will be able to flow into it. Individual souls will become more and more receptive and, being aware of their task in the present age, they will find this inflow of spiritual knowledge to be a reality.” ― Rudolf Steiner (Nov. 5, 1912)

In this absorbing series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner discloses factors in our life on Earth that will influence our experiences in the spiritual world after death―and, conversely, factors in the spiritual world that will affect our next life on Earth. He focuses on the period in the afterlife when an individual has been through kamaloka, the “purgatory” in which one’s soul is purified. Once the soul has been cleansed of its astral sheath, it becomes open to cosmic influences and expands into the planetary sphere, where it can begin preparation for reincarnation and a new human life on Earth.

Steiner addresses the vital relationship of the living to the dead―in particular, how those on Earth can influence the souls of those who have died. He also discusses sleep and death and our seven-year life cycles. In addition, he offers a “Christmas gift” in the form of a lecture on Christian Rosenkreutz and Gautama Buddha, ending with a grand picture of the Mystery of Golgotha―showing that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross only seemed to be a death, whereas in reality it enabled the momentous birth of the “Earth Soul.”

Long out of print, the freshly revised text in this new edition is complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by Prof. Frederick Amrine and features an index.

This volume is a translation from German of Das Leben zwischen dem Tode und der neuen Geburt im Verhältnis zu den kosmischen Tatsachen (GA 141).

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.