Rudolf Steiner’s 1909 systematic exposition of his Anthroposophy — the cosmology of human and cosmic evolution he claimed to develop through "spiritual science" rather than received tradition. Across seven chapters the book covers the constitution of the human being (body, soul, spirit, etheric and astral bodies), sleep and death, the evolution of the world through Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth phases, and the path of supersensible knowledge or "initiation".
Steiner considered Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss the systematic counterpart to his earlier Theosophy (1904) and Knowledge of the Higher Worlds (1904–05), and revised it through four editions during his lifetime. It is one of the two or three "foundational books" inside the Anthroposophical movement — the institutional reference point that Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture and anthroposophical medicine all trace back to. The Maud and Henry B. Monges translation, later revised by Lisa D. Monges and reissued by Anthroposophic Press, has been the standard English text since 1972.
First lines
At the present time the words "occult science" are apt to arouse the most varied feelings. Upon some people they work like a magic charm, like the announcement of something to which they feel attracted by the innermost powers of their soul; to others there is in the words something repellent, calling forth contempt, derision, or a compassionate smile.
Contents
Preface to the Fourth Edition
Author’s Remarks to First Edition
I. The Character of Occult Science
II. The Nature of Man
III. Sleep and Death
IV. The Evolution of the World and Man
V. Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
VI. The Present and Future Evolution of the World and of Humanity
VII. Details from the Domain of Occult Science
Reception
One of Steiner’s three or four foundational books inside the Anthroposophical movement — the institutional reference point for Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture and anthroposophical medicine all trace back to it. Outside Anthroposophy, academic religious studies treats Steiner as an important figure in early-twentieth-century Western esotericism (Helmut Zander’s two-volume biography is the standard); his cosmological claims are not taken as factual outside the lineage. The racial material embedded in his evolutionary framework has been a recurring source of internal and external controversy.
Frequently asked
What is Occult Science: An Outline about?
It is Rudolf Steiner’s 1909 systematic exposition of his Anthroposophy. Across seven chapters it covers the constitution of the human being (body, soul, spirit, etheric and astral bodies), sleep and death, the evolution of the cosmos through Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth phases, and the path of supersensible knowledge or initiation.
Why is the book called "occult science" — is it secret?
Steiner uses the German Geheimwissenschaft (literally "secret science") not in the sense of hidden knowledge but as the science of what remains hidden from ordinary sensory perception. He insisted the material is presented as research one could in principle verify by developing the contemplative faculties he describes in chapter V, not as a closed esoteric tradition.
How does this book relate to Theosophy and Anthroposophy?
Steiner was a leader of the German branch of the Theosophical Society before founding his Anthroposophical Society in 1912. Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss appeared in 1909, during the transition: it presents the cosmology he had developed and remains the institutional reference point for Anthroposophy, Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture and anthroposophical medicine.