Man and the World of Stars: The Spiritual Communion of Mankind (No. 581)

12 lectures, Dornach, November 26 – December 31, 1922 (CW 219)

“Think of the earth with the air around it; farther outward is the cosmic ether, gradually passing over into the spiritual sphere. Here on Earth, we inhale and exhale the air. This is the rhythm of breathing. But out yonder, we pour our being into the cosmos, receiving into ourselves the Logos and the cosmic thoughts. There, we let the world, the universe, speak to us. This, too, takes place in rhythm―in a rhythm determined by the world of the stars.... Out in the universe we live in a cosmic rhythm, in that we breathe in, as it were, the moral-ethereal world; we are then within ourselves. And when we breathe it out again, we are united with the beings of the higher hierarchies.” ― Rudolf Steiner (Nov. 26, 1922)

The actions of spiritual beings in relation to the rhythm of the course of the year are brought to light in these inspiring lectures, showing how we are challenged to consciously integrate these rhythms into our earthly life. Steiner reveals that the concepts of spiritual science serve as our eyes in the spiritual world after death. He shows that we change the world when we communicate with it out of our spiritual nature, which is the true spiritual communion of humanity.

This volume is a translation of Das Verhältnis der Sternwelt zum Menschen und des Menschen zur Sternwelt. Die geistige Kommunion der Menschheit (GA 219).

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.