The Four Seasons and the Archangels

Book excerpt: These five profound lectures look at the cosmic forces behind the four great festivals of the year, providing a wealth of material for fruitful thought and meditation. Steiner presents great imaginative pictures that unite the heavens and the Earth through a portrayal of the activities of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. In the course of the lectures, Rudolf Steiner offers spiritual insight into subjects that include the alchemical processes of sulfur, mercury, and salt in the cosmos; the realms of humankind and plants; spiritual "combustion" processes; crystals; clouds and meteors; the movements of elemental beings in nature; and the conflicting efforts of Lucifer and Ahriman--the two great adversaries--to divert Earth from its true purpose. The Four Seasons and the Archangels includes five color plates of Rudolf Steiner's blackboard drawings made during the lectures.