The Canon · No. 103
Anthroposophy
Spiritual science; the Anthroposophical Society
1912 CE – present · Esoteric / Occult · Living · Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, worldwide
VII. THE MODERN AGE — 1800 – 1945
How many
Perhaps 50,000 society members. Its institutional offshoots — Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, Camphill communities, Weleda — reach many millions.
Who began it
Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), an Austrian scholar who edited Goethe's scientific writings, led the German Theosophical Society, and broke from it in 1912–13.
What it is for
To develop a rigorous science of the spiritual world, using methods Steiner held to be as disciplined as those of natural science.
What it worships
No congregational worship in the society itself. The associated Christian Community, founded in 1922 with Steiner's help, is a separate church with a sacramental liturgy centred on Christ.
What it holds
A spiritual world exists and can be investigated by trained perception. Christ is the central event of cosmic evolution — the point at which Anthroposophy separated from Theosophy, since Steiner refused to accept Krishnamurti as the World Teacher and insisted the incarnation had already happened once and would not repeat. Humanity evolves through cultural epochs. Karma and reincarnation. Opposing spiritual forces — Ahriman (materialism, mechanisation, hardening) and Lucifer (fantasy, egotism, dissolution) — between which the human task is to hold a balance.
What it does
Meditation and exercises for developing spiritual perception. Eurythmy, a movement art. Waldorf education — around 1,200 schools worldwide, delaying formal reading, emphasising art, imagination, rhythm and outdoor work. Biodynamic agriculture, an organic system predating the organic movement, with preparations buried in cow horns and planting timed to lunar and planetary cycles; it now certifies vineyards and farms internationally under the Demeter label. Anthroposophic medicine, used alongside conventional medicine in some German and Swiss hospitals. Camphill communities for people with learning disabilities. Weleda, the cosmetics and medicines company.
After death
Detailed. After death the person reviews their life backwards over about a third of its length, then passes through the planetary spheres, working out the consequences of their deeds, before descending to a new incarnation. Karma across lives is central and is worked out in relationships — the people you are bound to now are held to be people you were bound to before. Reincarnation is understood as the mechanism by which the individual develops over cosmic time.
Its texts
The Philosophy of Freedom (1894), which Steiner regarded as his foundation; Theosophy; How to Know Higher Worlds; An Outline of Esoteric Science; roughly 6,000 recorded lectures.
Its branches
General Anthroposophical Society; the Christian Community; Waldorf education; biodynamic agriculture; Camphill movement; anthroposophic medicine.
Of note
Anthroposophy is the clearest case in the dossier of an esoteric system whose practical institutions vastly outgrew its doctrine. Most parents at a Waldorf school and most buyers of biodynamic wine have never heard of Ahriman.
Its timeline
- 1902–12 CE Steiner leads the German Theosophical Society.
- 1912–13 CE Break with Theosophy over Krishnamurti; the Anthroposophical Society founded.
- 1913–1919 CE The first Goetheanum built at Dornach, Switzerland, in carved wood.
- <strong>1919 CE</strong> The first Waldorf school opens for the children of workers at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart.
- 1922 CE The Goetheanum is destroyed by arson on New Year's Eve; Steiner designs its concrete replacement, an early landmark of expressionist architecture.
- 1924 CE The agriculture lectures that found biodynamics; the curative education course that founds Camphill.
- 1925 CE Steiner dies.
- 1935 CE The Anthroposophical Society is banned in Nazi Germany, though the relationship of some individual anthroposophists to the regime remains a subject of serious historical criticism.
- 1940s–present Global expansion of Waldorf schools and biodynamic farming.
- 2000s–present Sustained criticism of Steiner's racial statements about the evolution of peoples, which some anthroposophical bodies have formally repudiated; and public health criticism over lower vaccination rates in some Waldorf communities, linked to measles outbreaks.
Sources
Not yet checked against named sources. This entry is the house's reading; until it is checked, treat each claim as unverified. Correct it, with a source.