Four Modern Mystery Dramas

Written 1910 to 1913 (CW 14)

“We see [in the mystery dramas] direct encounters of someone (Johannes) with their own double—or Doppelgänger. We see the appearance of beneficent spiritual beings on stage, such as the Guardian of the Threshold—and adversarial ones, such as Lucifer and Ahriman, experiencing how the latter two beings work and reveal (or do not reveal) themselves. We experience many forms of spiritual deceptions, trials, and breakthroughs. We experience elemental nature beings (in the fourth play) and the presence of those who have died.” — Richard Ramsbotham (introduction)

Rudolf Steiner’s four modern mystery dramas are powerful portrayals of the complex laws of reincarnation and karma, transporting us to landscapes of soul and spirit where suprasensory beings are visible, active, and influential. Through perception of those hidden worlds, we are given tools to comprehend the background of the struggles we face in everyday life—both in human relationships and in our attempts to practice spiritual development.

Written from 1910 to 1913—during periods of intense inner and outer work—the dramas present powerful testimonies to Steiner’s artistic creativity. By manifesting soul and spirit forms on stage, they foreshadow a dramatic art of the future.

Steiner planned for all four mystery dramas to be performed in August 1923, but this was rendered impossible after the first Goetheanum was destroyed by fire on New Year’s Eve 1922. The dramas were eventually performed together for the first time in 1930, and since then they have been staged regularly, in many languages, throughout the world.

This fresh rendering into English by Richard Ramsbotham also features his extensive introduction.

This volume is a translation from German of Vier Mysteriendramen (GA 14).