Steiner, Rudolf; Max Gysi and Clifford Bax (trans.); Edouard Schuré (biography)

The Way of Initiation, or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds [with] Initiation and Its Results [TWO VOLUMES]

New York: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply, 1923; 1916. Sepia frontispiece. Third American edition; second American edition. Publisher's full green cloth, title and decorations stamped in gilt. [ii], 163, [iii, blank]; [vi, blank], 134, [4, blank]. 8" x 5.5" Touch of foxing upper edges, gilt of v. 1 and cloth of v. 2 lightly rubbed, else near fine. Overall extremely tight and internally clean copies. Item #245537

PHILOSOPHER GONE GURU

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) dreamed of being a philosopher but was destined to be labeled a pseudoscientist. The tipping point came when Steiner, intensely interested in Goethe and Nietzsche, was invited to speak to the Theosophical Society. Already interested in esoteric slants on philosophy, Steiner eventually led their German section before he (and his followers) split to form the Anthroposophy Society. Steiner introduced a distinctly Western approach to spirituality, complete with Christianity and natural science, where it was possible to engage in spiritual discovery by penetrating behind sense-perception. Scientific in form, Anthroposophy exploded in the esoteric world, with Steiner's 1904 publication of The Way of Initiation serving as a foundational text for followers' transition from mere mystic or occultist to higher Initiate.

First published in English in 1908 and 1909, The Way of Initiation and its sequel Initiation and Its Results made their way to the United States through Theosophical Society's strong tans-Atlantic ties, presented here in third and second American editions. A cornerstone of twentieth-century esoterica, step into this New Age guru's "scientific exploration of the spiritual world."

Price: $1,350.00