Wochensprüche (Weekly Sayings; published under the title "Seelenkalender" – The Calendar of the Soul), notebook handwritten by Rudolf Steiner, philosopher and founder of anthroposophy. [Switzerland? 1918-1925]. German.
The Calendar of the Soul, one of the central texts of anthroposophy, was first printed in 1912 (based on a manuscript written that year). In 1918, a second edition was published, with several variations compared to the first edition, and with a new preface by Steiner (this edition was published as part of the anthology Durch den Geist zur Wirklichkeits-Erkenntnis der Menschenrätsel). The present notebook is presumably a transcript of the second edition, including the preface. The title page and preface are signed "Rudolf Steiner". Fine, red leather binding.
The Calendar of the Soul offers a saying (Spruch in German, can also be translated as "verse" or "mantra") for each week of the year, in accordance with the seasons – altogether 52 sayings, through which the soul can experience a feeling-unison with nature. The purpose of the book is to assist in the quest of a more profound self-knowledge, which is necessary to attain higher spiritual levels. This is part of the broader objective of anthroposophy, whose aim is to draw the modern person closer to the spiritual world he lost touch with, and to help him live a freer, more ethical life.
Steiner describes the purpose of the weekly sayings in his preface to the 1918 edition: "The course of the year has its own life. With this life the human soul can unfold a feeling-unison. If the soul opens itself to the influences that speak so variously to it week by week, it will find the right perception of itself. Thereby the soul will feel forces growing within that will strengthen it. It will observe that such inward forces want to be awakened – awakened by the soul's ability to partake in the meaningful course of the world as it comes to life in the rhythms of time. Thereby the soul becomes fully aware of the delicate, yet vital threads that exist between itself and the world into which it has been born".
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian philosopher and architect. In the early 20th century, he founded anthroposophy, a philosophy linking the spiritual man to the spiritual world. The philosophy, which applies to various areas of life – education, medicine, agriculture, architecture, and more, gained many supporters throughout the world, and from the 1960s, in Israel as well. Several anthroposophist communities exist today in Israel, in Harduf, Kiryat Tivon and elsewhere, and many anthroposophist schools operate throughout the country.
[28] leaves. 15X10.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, including some minor dampstains and ink smears. Pen inscription (in a different hand) on final leaf, "…Heidi Kind(?) 1948". Minor abrasions to spine.