Sources of spiritual science

This provides a non-exhaustive overview of some key names in the areas of philosophy, theosophy, mysticism, hermetics, magic, astrology, alchemy but also art, science and religion including esoteric christianity. One can include theurgy, paganism, and various branches such as enochian magic or hermetic qabalah.

Why this listing? Because ultimately they all come together and merge in the wisdom where science, art and religion meet. All these things have been split up and separated into different branches but ultimately all have the same roots.

These 100 names are mostly all pre-1900, and not members of the large wave of anthropophists than incarnated next to and after Rudolf Steiner. The well-known names are 'the tip of the iceberg' and a stream or subsegment of the population consisting of many hundred thousand souls. Hence, these 100 are to be seen in the same way as how some 40 key names were listed for the development of the foundation of mineral science in the last 400 years.

Inspiration

In the 1924 Karmic Relationships lectures, Rudolf Steiner makes numerous mentions of initiates inspiring incarnate individuals, eg Julian Apostate-Tycho Brahe inspiring Schelling and Froschhammer, Tolstoj inspired by same spiritual power that stood behind the Gothic initiate Ufilas, Charlemagne inspired by Titurel, Ovid inspiring Latini, etc. See also the diaries from Karl König.

The wave from 1879

Notes and observations

Regarding the period 1880-1905 one can observe that leadership of the White Lodge was looking for channels to infuse the new teachings for the age of Michael starting 1879 at the end of the period of darkness (also known as kali yuga). Especially masters Morya and Koot Hoomi came to the foreground and approached individuals such as Blavatsky, the 'two chelas' (see below), but far more storied abound (just one example being that of Vsevolod Soloyov, brother of the famous philosopher, in 1884).

The first major injection of the old wisdom in the new times was channeling through Helena Blavatsky. The masters concerned were Morya and Koot Hoomi). Other initiatives were the famous Mathatma letters.
- Note: Later also Alice Bailey published information received via masters Djual Khul, and Dion Fortune from Master Rakoczi and Master Jesus. Sometimes the earthly descriptions sound a bit funny and all too human to be taken seriously, but then there is a mix with genuine elements of wisdom, maybe pointing to the difficulties in such channeling.
- When erroneous or confusing info was spread such as the Sinnett book Esoteric Buddhism, reactions came in the form of Harrison's Transcendental universe or Rudolf Steiner who commented and positioned those sources.
Interestingly books popped up such as by 'two chelas' or 'three initiates'. See eg the introduction for the book of the two chelas for background.
Many souls incarnated that caused a wave of renewal of ancient traditions in magic or alchemy or a modern footing (eg Riedel and Dubuis), sometimes also esoteric (eg rune magic by Spiesberger).
Certain authors created amazing volumes of books (eg W.W. Atkinson, Sivananda Saraswati, ..), whereas other books became widespread bestsellers despite their subject matter and the fact the individuals were not publicly influential (eg Manly Hall, just as earlier Barrett).
Rudolf Steiner played a central role in this movement, because here the White Lodge had someone who was clairvoyant from youth but had a scholarly training foundation and scientific credentials. Initially the masters also spoke through Steiner. At times he explicitly said so in certain lectures (referring to masters Koot Hoomi, Hilarion, Morya), in other instances this left such an impression that it was reported by others (eg Vreede on the courses on spiritual hierarchies). After Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner was able to create a stable movement and into this current many thousands of souls incarnated. The same can also be said for the larger theosophical movement worldwide that grew thanks to Annie Besant.
Note the true masters are usually or always operating behind the scenes and incarnate as individuals unknown to the world. This was the case for Rudolf Steiner's masters, and the principle was also explained by Daskalos (see references below) and can be read in or deduced from other sources.

1870 onwards

H.P. Blavatsky
- Isis Unveiled (1875 -> 1877)
- The Secret Doctrine (1888)
- The esoteric character of the gospels (1887-8)

Helena Blavatsky also produced a lot of material as the editor of the magazine The Theosophist. Later prolific writers such as Arthur E. Powell (1882-1969) and Ernest Wood (1883-1965) worked under Annie Besant (and the much disputed Leadbeater) to produce more structured and readable materials, mainly based on Blavatsky's source material (potentially complemented and mixed with less trustworthy information and/or illustrations from Leadbeater and others). There are many more theosophists with excellent materials, such as a.o. Gottfried de Purucker (1874-1942) and Geoffrey Barborka (1897-1982).

Rama Prasad: Nature's Finer Forces, The Theosophist 1887-1889, published as The Science of Breath & the Philosophy of the Tatwas in 1897
- note : Blavatksy had certain reservations Mr. Rama Prasad is not an Occultist, only an excellent Sanskrit scholar, a university graduate and a man of remarkable intelligence

A.P. Sinnett: Esoteric Buddhism (1883)
Trevor Barker: 'The Mahathma letters to A.P. Sinnett' (V1 in 1923, V2 in 1926, V3 in 1962, V4 in 1993)
- letters written between 1880-1884 by Masters Koot Hoomi and Morya, in total 145 - not intended to be published
- extra info on the Theosophy wiki, 'online version
Two chelas: 'Man: Fragments of a forgotten history' (1885)
- note: 'Theosophy and the occult hierarchy' is article extracted from the above book
Franz Hartmann (1828-1912), oa: Magic: White and Black (1886)
C.G. Harrison: The transcendental universe (six lectures) (1894)
The three initiates: The Kybalion (1908)

Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942)
William Walker Atkinson (1862-1932) - also wrote under the names of Theron Q. Dumont and Yogi Ramacharaka, wrote no less than 100 books
Max Heindel (1865-1919), oa: The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (1909) and the founding of The Rosecrucian Fellowship (TRF) in Amercia
Paul Foster Case (1884-1954)
Manly P. Hall (1901-1990):
- 'The Secret Teachings of All Ages' (1928), see online version
- archive.org books and newsletters online
Karl Spiesberger (1904-1992)
Francis Israel Regardie (1907-1985)

also two ladies who channeled theosophy in a peculiar way; mainly in the period after Blavatsky, Besant (and Leadbeater) had died (so after 1934)

Dion Fortune, born Violet Mary Firth (1890-1946)
- The Mystical Qabalah (1935)
- The Cosmic Doctrine (1949)
Alice Bailey, born Alice LaTrobe Bateman (1880-1949)
- Initiation, human and solar (1922)
- A treatise on cosmic fire (1925)

The special category

The following are set apart because a clear link with and their explicit statements about the White Lodge. Steiner and Daskalos were explicit about their Masters.

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)
Peter Dounov, known as Beinsa Douno (1864-1944)
Franz Bardon (1909-1958)
Stylianos Atteshlis, known as Daskalos (1912-1995)

A new science

Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958)
Edward Bach (1886-1936)
Walter Russell (1871-1963)

Alchemy and Astrology

Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985)
Frater Albertus (Dr. Albert Riedel) (1911–1984)
Jean Dubuis (1919 – 2010)

In this period also various magical and occult orders were started, such as: the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903), Fraternitas Saturni (1926-), The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)

Others

Indian sages form a category on its own and do not directly appear in this western stream. However wise men from India did influenced the western world in various ways: Tagore won the Nobel Prize literature, Yogananda became famous in the US and spread Kriya Yoga, and then there were the likes of Paul Brunton, Rene Guenon and others who studied the Indian spiritual masters and teachings.

Below just a selection of a few names from the many:

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)
Ramani Maharshi (1879-1950)
Sivananda Saraswati (1887-1963) founded modern Divine Life Society in 1936 and wrote some 300 books
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)

In the same timeframe many other influences came from others, examples are George Gudjieff (ca 1870-1949) and Ouspensky (1878-1947).

The period 1750-1880

William Law (1686-1761)
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772)
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781)
Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801)
Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (1743-1803)
- pupil of Jacob Böhme (re 1917-01-08-GA174)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Karl von Eckartshausen (1752-1803)
- The Cloud upon the Sanctuary
- Magic: the principles of higher knowledge
William Blake (1757-1827)
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)
Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814)
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
Francis Barrett (ca 1775): 'The magus' (1801)
Novalis - Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772-1801)
Friedrich Schelling (1775-1854)

Transition period 1830-1880

Some clairvoyant people had already incarnated before the 'wave of 1879) and written works about theosophy or magic or the spiritual, but they have been forgotten or moved to the background since:

Allan Kardec or Hippolyte Rivail (1804-1869)
Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875)
Lazar von Hellenbach (1827-1887)
Anna Kingsford (1846–1888)

Pioneers of science

Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)
Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843)
Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach (1788-1869)
Albrecht von Herzeele (1821-unknown; publications upto 1883)

Preparers of a new future

Kasper Hauser (1812? - 1833)
Leo Tolstoy or Leo Tolstoj (1828-1910)
- The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1893)
Herman Grimm (1828-1901)
Wladimir Solowjew or Vladimir Solovyov (1853 - 1900)
- The meaning of love

The new age (1400 to 1750)

Middle ages period (1000-1400)

Up to the year 1000

Philo of Alexandria (ca 15 BE - 50)
Paul of Tarsus (5-67) and Dionysus Areopagite (Master, see the White Lodge)
John the Apostle (6-100) - Individuality of Christian Rosenkreutz (Master, see the White Lodge)
Apollonius of Tyana (15-100)
Plotinus (204-270)
Augustine (354 – 430)
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 500)
Johannes Scotus Eriugena (815–877)

Period 1000-1400

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153)
Francis of Assisi (c.1182 - 1226)
Albertus Magnus (1193–1280)
Rumi (1207-1273)
Brunetto Latini (c. 1220–1294)
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - Individuality of Rudolf Steiner
Ramon Llull (1235–1315)
Pietro d'Abano (1257 - 1315)
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

School of Chartres

John of Salisbury (1120-1180)
Alain de Lille (or Alanus ab Insulis) ( c. 1128 – 1202/1203)
Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202)
Bernardus Silvestris (1265-1321)

Christian mystics

Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179)
Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1327)
Johannes Tauler (-1361)
Jan of Ruysbroeck (1293 – 1381)
Heinrich Suso (1295-1366)

Alchemy and Astrology

Ibn ʿArabi (1165-1240)
Pietro d'Abano (1257-1316)
Nicolas Flamel (1330-1418)

Previous cultural ages

Greek culture

Pherecydes of Syros (ca 580-520 BC, teacher of Pythagoras)
Heraclitus (ca 540-ca 480 BC)
Pythagoras (570-495 BC)
Parmenides (515-450 BC)
Empedocles (490-430 BC)
Socrates (470-399 BC)
Plato (ca 428-348 BC)
Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Ancient history of myths and legends

Ancient cultures such as the Egyptian, Persian, Indian, and the same timeframes in Europe, were characterized by a different type of consciousness, different ways of knowledge management prevailed, languages were symbolic. Knowledge was transferred verbaim along a lineage of teachers and disciples, and not put into writing in the way we do today. Wisdom was conveyed in stories that were passed on through generations.

Today we know these stories as myths, legends, sagas and fairy tales. They are a reflection of ancient traditions and relate to what we can find in contemporary modern spiritual science. Rudolf Steiner spend many dozens of lectures reframing this heritage into the spiritual scientific framework of evolution, see also: Ancient history of myths and legends

Illustrations

Lecture coverage and references

See Lecture coverage section on The Michaelic stream

For people who are not clairvoyant, it is also a matter of believing information they are told by spiritual investigators. In 1909-06-04-GA109 this question is addressed.

.. I want to speak of a matter of exceptional importance. Why is it that we must concern ourselves with ideas and theories of spiritual science before we can ourselves actually experience anything in the spiritual world?
.
Many people will say, “The results of clairvoyant investigation are made known to us, but I myself cannot yet see into the spiritual world. Would it not be wiser if, instead of the results of investigation being communicated to us, I were told how I can myself develop clairvoyance? Each individual would then be able to undertake the further development himself.”

Discussion

Notes

For the mainstream contemporary worldview based on mineral science, all the above have to be placed in the category 'misguided' and pseudo-science. See also worldview wars.

The choice was made on this website to not use information from C.W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey or Dion Fortune, except explicitly mentioned.

Rudolf Steiner's comments on other works

In 1904, Steiner has just started lecturing and that year got appointed by A. Besant as the leader for Germany and Austria. In these early lectures Steiner often commented on works of Blavatsky, Besant, Sinnett's Esoteric Buddhism, Mabel Collins Light on the path, etc. In these comments he did give a personal qualification as their thruthfullness or value, and this comments fully fits into that line of other comments.

Examples are lectures on Sinnett's book (1903-11-17-GA090A) or Besant's (1904-01-26-GA090A and 1904-02-02-GA090A), or Blavatsky and Sinnett (1904-05-26-GA089). Also later on he commented on Blavatsky's works in 1923-06-11-GA258 and 1923-06-11-GA258

Rudolf Steiner quite exceptionally referred to and sometimes spoke highly of certain works, 'validating' them in a way either explicitly or through qualitative descriptions, of their truthfullness and value.

Here are some works for which this is the case:

'Isis Unveiled' (1877) by Helena Blavatsky, inspired by Master Rosenkreutz
'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins, inspired by Master Hilarion
'Pistis Sophia' (1896) by George R.S. Mead

Isis Unveiled (1877) - by Helena Blavatsky

This book was inspired by Christian Rosenkreutz, before Blavatsky was misguided by certain forces which caused Cosmic Doctrine and all her later work to deviate from her original mission and become much more confusing and chaotic

'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins

This is a work that was directly inspired by a Bodhisattva from the White Lodge called Master Hilarion.

See also the following note by C. Jinoradasa (SWCC)

Light on the Path as it now stands consists of three elements:
1 - The oldest part, the original thirty rules? These thirty rules from far off Atlantis were later translated into archaic Sanskrit, and were then written down on ten palm leaves, having on each of the leaves three of the rules. Then one of the Masters of Wisdom, known among us as “The Venetian”, when He lived in Alexandria in the third century A.D., Transcribed them into Greek for the use of His pupils. Among these pupils was Iamblichus, known to us in His present incarnation as the Master Hilarion.

2- The Venetian Master of Alexandria, in transcribing from Sanskrit into Greek, added to the rules certain introductory remarks and explanations. These form the second element of the book and are printed in the smaller Roman type.

Early in the year 1885, Master Hilarion caused this to be written in English through 'Mabel Collins' or 'M.C' .. it fell to her lot to be a channel for a work the Master Hilarion desired to do for the world through The Theosophical Society. Each rule with its explanations was presented, in the form of a many dimensional concept, before the mind of M.C., who, then, in full waking consciousness, but nevertheless under the Master's guidance, wrote down in English as we have them now.

3 - Almost immediately after the publication, Master Hilarion once more gave to the world through M.C. some additional teaching, explanatory of what He had already given. This is the third element in the book and is printed in italics. The Master Hilarion's additions are known as the “Notes”, and for the first edition they were printed separately; in the second edition the “Notes” were printed in their appropriate places in the body of the book.

...
Note: There exists another work by M.C. written under the direction of the Master Hilarion,and reference is made to it by Him at the end of Part I of Light on the Path in these words: “Regard the three truths. They are equal”. These three truths are in Chapter VIII of Book II of The Idyll of the White lotus.

Pistis Sophia (1896) - by George Mead

G.R.S. Mead (1863-1933) was very close to Blavatsky as her secretary and joint secretary of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. In the theosophical congress of 1902 seemingly Steiner met G.R.S. Mead (1863-1933) (see eg 'Rudolf Steiner Herald of a New Epoch' by Stewart Easton).

Steiner refers to the Pistis Sophia also in 1916-01-02-GA165 (with an fragment that he puts in context), reference in 1915-12-29-GA165, and in GA211 (where he makes the link with the spiritual breathing process). Sease and Schmidt-Brabant, in 'Paths of the Christian Mysteries' expand on the importance of the Pistis Sophia for Steiner.

The title 'Pistis Sophia' refers to a Gnostic text discovered in 1773.

Other sources

'Man: Fragments of Forgotten History', by 'two chelas' (1885)
'Transcendental Universe' (1894) - six lectures by C.G. Harrison given in 1893
'Nature's Finer Forces - The Science of Breath', by Rama Prasad (1897, published in The Theosophist 1887-1889)

Sources of spiritual science

Contents

The wave from 1879

Notes and observations

1870 onwards

The special category

A new science

Alchemy and Astrology

Others

The period 1750-1880

Transition period 1830-1880

Pioneers of science

Preparers of a new future

The new age (1400 to 1750)

Middle ages period (1000-1400)

Up to the year 1000

Period 1000-1400

School of Chartres

Christian mystics

Alchemy and Astrology

Previous cultural ages

Greek culture

Ancient history of myths and legends

Illustrations

Lecture coverage and references

Discussion

Notes

Rudolf Steiner's comments on other works

Isis Unveiled (1877) - by Helena Blavatsky

'Light on the path' (1885) by Mabel Collins

Pistis Sophia (1896) - by George Mead

Other sources

Related pages

References and further reading