The Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner

The Original 50 Lecture Cycles:

Rudolf Steiner's esoteric lecturing activity began in 1902 and immediately attracted a small but loyal following. Many took notes for personal use (these would eventually be published starting in the 1950s; some are being published for the first time even in this decade). As interest in Steiner's work increased, newly interested listeners naturally wanted to know what they had missed. You did not need to attend more than a few lectures to notice that Steiner had a unique ability to speak in great depth on a wide variety of topics without every directly repeating himself. So people began to share their notes with friends.

Before long a vibrant subculture of lecture-note trading had developed. This in turn lead to two developments. The first was the effort to produce more comprehensive notes of every lecture (knowing that they would be widely circulated; people all over were asking for them). This eventually resulted in multiple professional stenographers recording everything Steiner said publicly. But the transition was gradual, and through at least 1912 most lectures were recorded by advanced amateurs.

The second change was the decision to begin officially publishing the notes once demand got beyond the ability to easily re-copy them by hand (this was in the days before photocopy machines). So beginning in 1909 Steiner's followers in Germany began publishing the major lecture cycles. Steiner would travel to a city for a week-long series of lectures, they would be recorded, reconstructed into print, edited and then published. Steiner reluctantly agreed to the process, but insisted on a disclaimer that these efforts were not editorially reviewed by him and could contain errors. Steiner only ever reviewed the texts of two cycles, one of which is CW 121, and did make quite a few corrections. The rest remain un-reviewed. The first 50 lecture Cycles were published in Steiner's lifetime, and formed the core of the early Anthroposophical movement. They became incorporated in the Complete Works, which by its numbering tends to obscure the order in which material became publicly available (you can see the whole Complete Works in date order on our site). On this page you can see the first fifty cycles in the order they appeared.

CW 95 (Cycle 1)
At the Gates of Theosophy
Original German Title: Vor dem Tore der Theosophie

CW 99 (Cycle 2)
The Theosophy of the Rosicrucians
Original German Title: Die Theosophie des Rosenkreuzers

CW 103 (Cycle 3)
The Gospel of John
Original German Title: Das Johannes-Evangelium

CW 105 (Cycle 4)
World, Earth, the Human Being: Their Being and Developments, as well as their Reflection in the Connection between Egyptian Mythology and modern Culture
Original German Title: Welt, Erde, Mensch, deren Wesen und Entwickelung sowie ihre Spiegelung in dem Zusammenhang zwischen ägyptischem Mythol und gegenwärtiger Kultur

CW 106 (Cycle 5)
Egyptian Myths and Mysteries in Relation to the active Spiritual Forces of the Present
Original German Title: Ägyptische Mythen und Mysterien im Verhältnis zu den wirkenden Geisteskräften der Gegenwart

CW 104 (Cycle 6)
The Apocalypse of John
Original German Title: Die Apokolypse des Johannes

CW 110 (Cycle 7)
The Spiritual Hierarchies and their Reflection in the Physical World. Zodiac, Planets and Cosmos.
Original German Title: Geistige Hiearchien und ihre Wiederspiegelung in der physischen Welt. Tierkreis, Planeten, Kosmos

CW 112 (Cycle 8)
The Gospel of John in Relation to the three other Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke
Original German Title: Das Johannes-Evangelium im Verhältnis zu den drei anderen Evangelien, besonders zu dem Lukas-Evangelium.

CW 113 (Cycle 9)
The Orient in the Light of the Occident. The Children of Lucifer and the Brothers of Christ
Original German Title: Der Orient im Lichte des Okzidents. Die Kinder des Luzifer und die Brüder Christi

CW 114 (Cycle 10)
The Gospel of Luke
Original German Title: Das Lukas-Evangelium

CW 120 (Cycle 12)
The Revelation of Karma
Original German Title: Die Offenbarung des Karma

CW 122 (Cycle 14)
The Secrets of the Biblical Creation-Story. The Six-Day Work in the First Book of Moses
Original German Title: Die Geheimnisse der biblischen Schöpfungsgeschichte. Das Sechtagwerk im 1. Buch Moses

CW 123 (Cycle 15)
The Gospel of Matthew
Original German Title: Das Matthäus-Evangelium

CW 126 (Cycle 16)
Occult History. Esoteric Observations of the Karmic Relationships of Personalities and Events of World History
Original German Title: Okkulte Geschichte. Esoterische Betrachtungen karmischer Zusammenhänge von Persöblichkeiten und Ereignissen der Weltgeschichte

CW 116 (Cycle 17)
The Christ-Impulse and the Development of I-Consciousness
Original German Title: Der Christus-Impuls und die Entwicklung des Ich-Bewußtseins

CW 129 (Cycle 18)
Wonders of the World, Trials of the Soul, and Revelations of the Spirit
Original German Title: Weltenwunder, Seelenprüfungen und Geistesoffenbarungen

CW 131 (Cycle 19)
From Jesus to Christ
Original German Title: Von Jesus zu Christus

CW 134 (Cycle 20)
The World of the Senses and the World of the Spirit
Original German Title: Die Welt der Sinne und die Welt des Geistes

CW 136 (Cycle 21)
The Spiritual Beings in Celestial Bodies and the Realms of Nature
Original German Title: Die geistigen Wesenheited in den Himmelskörpern und Naturreichen

CW 137 (Cycle 22)
The Human Being in Light of Occultism, Theosophy and Philosophy
Original German Title: Der Mensch im Lichte von Okkultismus, Theosophie und Philosophie

CW 138 (Cycle 23)
On Initiation. On Eternity and the Present Moment. On the Light of the Spirit and the Darkness of Life
Original German Title: Von der Initiation. Von Ewigkeit und Augenblick. Von Geisteslicht und Lebensdunkel.

CW 139 (Cycle 24)
The Gospel of Mark
Original German Title: Das Markus-Evangelium

CW 142 (Cycle 25)
The Bhagavad-Gita and the Letters of Paul
Original German Title: Die Bhagavad Gita und die Paulusbriefe

CW 144 (Cycle 26)
The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity
Original German Title: Die Mysterien des Morgenlandes und des Christentums

CW 145 (Cycle 27)
What Significance does Occult Development of the Human Being have for his Sheathes - Physical Body, Etheric Body, Astral Body, and Self.
Original German Title: Welche Bedeutung hat die okkulte Entwicklung des Menschen für seine Hüllen - physischen Leib, Ätherleib, Astralleib - und sein Selbst?

CW 146 (Cycle 28)
The Occult Foundations of the Bhagavad-Gita
Original German Title: Die okkulten Grundlagen der Bhagavad Gita

CW 147 (Cycle 29)
The Secrets of the Threshold
Original German Title: Die Geheimnisse der Schwelle

CW 124 (Cycle 30)
Excursus in the Field of the Gospel of Mark
Original German Title: Exkurse in das Gebiet des Markus-Evangeliums

CW 150 (Cycle 31)
The World of the Spirit and its Intrusion on Physical Existence. The Influence of the Dead in the World of the Living.
Original German Title: Die Welt des Geistes und ihr Hereinragen in das physische Dasein. Das Einwirken der Toten in der Welt der Lebenden

CW 153 (Cycle 32)
The Inner Being of Humanity and Life Between Death and New Birth
Original German Title: Inneres Wesen des Menschen und Leben zwischen Tod und neuer Geburt

CW 151 (Cycle 33)
Human Thought and Cosmic Thought
Original German Title: Der menschliche und der kosmische Gedanke

CW 155 (Cycle 34)
Christ and the Human Soul. Concerning the Meaning of Life. Theosophical Morality. Anthroposophy and Christianity.
Original German Title: Christus und die menschliche Seele. Über den Sinn des Lebens. Theosophische Moral. Anthroposophie und Christentum.

CW 132 (Cycle 35)
Evolution in Light of Eternal Truth
Original German Title: Die Evolution vom Gesichtspunkte des Wahrhaftigen

CW 133 (Cycle 36)
The Earthly and the Cosmic Human Being
Original German Title: Der irdische und der kosmische Mensch

CW 141 (Cycle 37)
Life Between Death and New Birth in Relationship to Cosmic Facts
Original German Title: Das Leben zwischen dem Tode und der neuen Geburt im Verhältnis zu den kosmischen Tatsachen

CW 148 (Cycle 38)
From Akashic Research: The Fifth Gospel
Original German Title: Aus der Akasha Forschung: Das Funfte Evangelium

CW 157 (Cycle 39)
Human Destiny and the Destiny of Peoples
Original German Title: Menschenschicksale und Völkerschicksale

CW 157a (Cycle 40)
The Formation of Destiny and the Life After Death
Original German Title: Schicksalsbildung und Leben nach dem Tode

CW 166 (Cycle 41)
Necessity and Freedom in the Events of the World and in Human Action.
Original German Title: Notwendigkeit und Freiheit im Weltengeschehen und im menschlichen Handeln.

CW 167 (Cycle 42)
The Present and the Bygone in the Human Spirit
Original German Title: Gegenwärtiges und Vergangenes im Menschengeiste

CW 169 (Cycle 43)
World-being and Selfhood
Original German Title: Weltwesen und Ichheit

CW 175 (Cycle 44)
Building Blocks to an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha. Cosmic and Human Metamorphoses.
Original German Title: Bausteine zu einer Erkenntnis des Mysteriums von Golgotha. Kosmische und menschliche Metamorphose

CW 176 (Cycle 46)
Truths of Individual Human Development and the Development of Humanity. The Karma of Materialism
Original German Title: Menschliche und menschheitliche Entwicklungswahrheiten. Das karma des Materialismus.

CW 181 (Cycle 48)
Dying on Earth and the Living Worlds. Anthroposophical Gifts for Life. Necessities of Consciousness for the Present and the Future.
Original German Title: Erdensterben und Weltenleben. Anthroposophische Lebensgaben. Bewußtseins-Notwendigkeiten für Gegenwart und Zukunft.

CW 187 (Cycle 51)
How can Humanity find the Christ again? The Threefold Shadow-Existence of our Times and the New Christ-Light
Original German Title: Wie kann die Menschheit den Christus wiederfinden? Das dreifache Schattendasein unserer Zeit und das neue Christus-Licht

CW 192 (Cycle 58)
Spiritual-Scientific Treatment of Social and Pedagogical Questions
Original German Title: Geisteswissenschaftliche Behandlung sozialer und pädagogischer Fragen

And there are many more windows into the Complete Works on the main Complete Works page.