THE MICHAEL MYSTERY

From the time of the Foundation Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society (Dornach, Christmas to the New Year, 1923–24) until his death shortly before Easter 1925, Rudolf Steiner wrote a weekly letter addressed to the members of the Anthroposophical Society. The letters were printed in the members' supplement to the Goetheanum Weekly and in its English edition, Anthroposophical Movement.

This book represents the second of two volumes. The earlier letters speak of the character and aims of the Anthroposophical Society and the social tasks arising in the anthroposophic movement. They deal with the problems encountered in the common study of Spiritual Science (Anthroposophy) and in its presentation to the world at large, relating it to the prevailing science and civilization of the time.

With the exception of the first two (issued in August 1924, while he was in England) the letters in this volume were written by Rudolf Steiner from his sickbed during his final illness. During these last six months of his life, the letters―always written in the very early hours of the morning―came with unfailing regularity. The last of the letters was printed two weeks after his death. These letters form a continuous series and were given the appropriate collective title The Michael Mystery. As such, they constitute an invaluable addition to the great teacher's fundamental works on Spiritual Science.

The present volume is a revised edition of the translation originally made by the late Mrs. E. Bowen-Wedgwood, first published as a book in 1930 and again in 1933.

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. 


Marjorie Spock was born Sept. 8, 1904, in New Haven, Connecticut, the second child and first daughter of six children. The Spock family was prominent in New Haven; her father was a corporate lawyer, and her older brother, Dr. Benjamin Spock, became a renowned pediatrician. Marjorie became a student of Anthroposophy as a teenager in Dornach during the 1920s, and became a eurythmist, teacher, biodynamic gardener, and the author and translator of numerous books. In the 100th year of her life, she produced, directed, and choreographed a video about eurythmy, followed by two short training films when she was 101 and 102 years of age. Marjorie Spock died at her home in Maine, Jan. 23, 2008, at the age of 103.