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commented on the emergence of this prominent Theosophical leader in his book Afterlife:
An Investigation of the Evidence for Life After Death:
And then—it seemed to happen overnight—Dr. Steiner had become head of
the Berlin Lodge of the Theosophical Society, and was being accepted by an
increasing number of people as a kind of Messiah. Its membership increased
remarkably. Mrs. Besant had met Steiner, and been impressed. She had
seemed a little concerned about the strange, mystical Christianity preached
by Steiner, but then, Madam Blavatsky had taught that all religions are roads
to the same truth, so that was no cause for alarm. Steiner certainly seemed
to accept Madame Blavatsky‘s basic teaching that the present human race is
the fifth ‗root race‘ (the fourth were the inhabitants of Atlantis) and that we
all go through many reincarnations ...[He] talked with staggering authority
about the childhood of Christ and the various spiritual movements in Western
history. (Wilson, 1987, pp. 167-168)
In 1904 the Master moved out of Anna Eunicke‘s house and into the Berlin Theosophical
headquarters where the occultist Marie von Sievers lived. She became Steiner‘s adoring and
devoted disciple, helping him organize his life and attending his lectures. His wife Anna
Eunicke died in 1911, and Steiner eventually married Marie von Sievers in 1914.
All his adult life Steiner participated in various secret societies and magical orders,
establishing some of his own. For example, he joined the Masonic rite led by Heinrich Klein
and Franz Hartman, who initiated Steiner into the ―Brothers of Light and the Rosicrucian
Illuminati‖ (King, 1970, p. 206). He also bought a membership in ―Memphis-Misraim‖ from
Theodore Reuss in 1905 (Koenig, http://www.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/steiner.htm paragraph
8), and used that ritual as a basis for his ―Mizraim Aeterna,‖ which he hoped would restore
the Eleusinian mysteries. Rituals of ―Mystica Aeterna‖ were celebrated only in the presence
of Rudolf Steiner and by members of the Theosophical Society (Koenig, paragraph 17). The
mystagogue created an ―Esoteric School‖ that held closed meetings and utilized some
Masonic rituals. In 1921 the ―Esoteric School‖ was transformed into the ―Free University for
Hermeticism‖ (Koenig, paragraph 39). Steiner borrowed extensively from Blavatsky‘s
doctrine and took from the French occulist Eliphas Levi‘s Dogma and Ritual of High Magic
(Koenig, paragraph 45). Steiner‘s Apocalyptic Seals are almost identical to Levi‘s seals
pictured in the book. Steiner inspired others, like Max Heindel, to found the Rosicrucian
Fellowship in Oceanside, California (Jenkins, 2000, pp. 82-83), and L. Ron Hubbard of the
Church of Scientology.
Steiner told followers of his clairvoyant abilities and other psychic powers, claiming to read
the Akashic record to obtain information and channel Zarathustra. The Akashic Record is
believed to be an invisible chronicle that records every word spoken and deed performed by
mankind since the beginning of time. Occult believers say this record can be found in the
ether and read by clairvoyants. Steiner taught believers how to read to the dead and to
meditate on the deceased‘s handwriting in order to communicate with those that have died.
He lectured profusely on topics such as reincarnation, hypnotism, occult science,
Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, mystery centers of the middle ages, astral bodies, gnomes as
life forms, angels, karma, Christian mysticism, how to see spiritual beings, modern
initiation, Atlantis, Lemuria, etc. Steiner‘s sermons, setting out his occult teachings, were
recorded by his disciples and published in more than 350 volumes. In a paper such as this,
it is only possible to scratch the surface of the vast body of tenets that he imparted to his
followers.
During his time as General Secretary of the Theosophical Society, Steiner built Rosicrucian
Temples. One lay beneath the Stuttgart House, although many of his followers who met
upstairs knew nothing of its existence. In 1912, after a doctrinal rift with Annie Besant over

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 127
her claim that Jiddu Krishnamurti was a reincarnation of Christ, the charismatic prophet
instigated a schism in the Theosophical Society. Steiner took most of the German and
Austrian believers with him to establish his own esoteric religion, Anthroposophy, in order to
be free from Besant‘s theological restraints and impositions. Steiner and some followers
moved to Dornach, Switzerland, to build their utopia which included an enormous mystical
temple known as the Goetheanum. The original intricately carved and painted wooden
building burned down during Steiner‘s day but was replaced by a subsequent temple
designed by Steiner and constructed out of concrete. The second Goetheanum remains the
world headquarters and spiritual center for Anthroposophy today.
Steiner also developed a spiritual medicine system based on his ―Spiritual Science‖ which
incorporates alchemical, astrological, Cabalistic, and other magical concepts. His views on
illness are unorthodox when compared to contemporary scientific medicine, but they are still
upheld and promoted by his followers. For example, Steiner viewed certain bacilli as
―nothing else than physically embodied demons generated by lies,‖ (Steiner, 1981b, p. 69)
and he claimed that certain children with learning disabilities are not really human but
inhabited by beings that do not belong to the human race:
The girl L.K. in class 1...is one of those cases that are occurring more and
more frequently where children are born and human forms exist which
actually, with regard to the highest member the ego, are not human at all but
are inhabited by beings who do not belong to the human race...They are very
different from human beings where spiritual matters are concerned. For
instance they can never memorise sentences, only words. I do not like
speaking about these things, as there is considerable opposition about this.
Just imagine what people would say if they heard that we are talking about
human beings who are not human beings. Nevertheless these are facts.
Furthermore, there would not be such a decline of culture if there were a
strong enough feeling for the fact that some people, the ones who are
particularly ruthless, are not human beings at all but demons in human form.
But do not let us broadcast this. There is enough opposition already. Things
like this give people a terrible shock. People were frightfully shocked when I
had to say that a quite famous university professor with a great reputation
had had a very short period between death and re-birth and was a re-
incarnated negro scientist. But don‘t let us publicize these things. (Steiner,
1986, pp. 36-37)
Errors resulting from devotion to the dark god, Ahriman, will be punished in the form of
diseases in a following lifetime. Too much sex and desire for sensual pleasure in a past life
will be paid back with a case of pneumonia in the next life. Karma will punish selfishness
with malaria. Developing healing forces and overcoming diseases enables the human to
evolve onwards and upwards on Steiner‘s evolutionary path, towards his prophetic future.
Vaccines are frowned upon by many Anthroposophists because they interfere with karmic
compensation:
...Let us assume that many epidemics, communal causes of illness, can be
traced to the fact that victims are seeking to remove what they have
karmically fostered within themselves. This is the case, for instance, with
smallpox which is the organ of unlovingness. Although we may be in a
position to remove the possibility of this disease, the cause of unlovingness
would still remain, and the souls in question would then be forced to seek
another way for karmic compensation either in this or in another incarnation.
(Steiner, 1995a, p. 144)