Sun at Midnight: The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West By Geoffrey Ahern Still the standard critical work on the Anthroposophical movement, this penetrating study of Rudolf Steiner’s esoteric legacy is an invaluable guide for both the student and the general reader. ISBN-13: 9780227172933 Specifications: 234x156mm, 256pp, Paperback Price: £19.50 • US$42.50 Publication: April 2009 Order this Title Now

About this Book

A revised and updated edition of the book, first published in the Eighties, that still remains the main critical work written from outside the movement.

This engaging introduction to Anthroposophy is written from the unique point of view of the English-speaking outside world. Employing Anthroposophical and external sources alike, Ahern offers an unbiased look into one of the world’s most interesting mystical societies.

Sun at Midnight guides the reader through Anthroposophy’s beginnings as an offshoot of Theosophy, the life of its founder, Rudolf Steiner, and the movement’s place in Western esoteric history while offering an accessible and incisive look into its deeper esoteric beliefs. Waldorf schools and bio-dynamics are woven together with the hardening of spirit into matter to create a fascinating image of Anthroposophy in all its facets.

Further details about the book is available at:
http://www.sun-at-midnight.com/

Contents

Part I. The Development of the Rudolf Steiner Movement
1. 'Must I Remain Silent?' A Life of Rudolf Steiner
2. The Establishment of the Movement
3. How the Movement is Organised

Part II. Thought & Deed in Anthroposophy
4. Meditations and Applications
5. Man Today, Karma and the Macrocosm
6. The Evolution of the Macrocosm

Part III. Gnosis in the West, or the Western 'Esoteric Tradition'
7. From Gnosticism to Rosicrucianism
8. Modernity and Gnosis

Part IV. Different Perspectives
9. Interpretive Visions
10. Western Orthodoxy, Mysticism and Gnosis

About the Author

Geoffrey Ahern is Fellow of the Centre for Leadership Studies of the University of Exeter. His areas of research involve the functioning of organisations, communities and the inner city. He studied law at Oxford University and gained a PhD in sociology of religion at London School of Economics. The author’s publications include the previous edition of Sun at Midnight and Inner City God, co-authored with Grace Davie.