The following is an informative but poetic article about the first Goetheanum and the new mysteries. If you want to learn about and understand the topic, this is a good way to start. But, if you’re looking for a detailed, descriptive and specific account of what happened, this may not be the best article for you.

 

Sometime about one-hundred-and-ten years ago, a group of people set out to build something, a building like literally nothing else. Each wooden pillar was intricately carved with symbols representing the evolution of humanity. The stained glass depicted designs inspired by the spiritual world, from the loftiest ideas to basic truths, that they had to invent a whole new way of etching into the glass to create. Two intersecting domes created the auditorium, with a roof completely painted with bright colours and meaningful forms and figures. A nine-metre-tall statue stood at the back with humanity, standing in the balance between two impulses. Craftspeople from all over Europe came to Switzerland, and they built it. 

It was said that just entering the great hall was enough to awaken faculties that previously lay dormant in us. It symbolised the striving of humanity to stir from dusty, cold, and hard ways of thinking and reach higher, the task of creating a balanced synthesis of the two, the cold enlightenment of science and the warmth of spirituality.

World war one had just ended. There was a real need to inspire harmony and a new consciousness amid the chaos, or something really bad could happen.

 

For under ten years, it worked. Lectures, plays, anything good you could do at such a place was probably done. Until, on the night of December 31, 1922, a fire broke out and consumed the building entirely. Despite the efforts of local firefighters and members of the anthroposophical community, the wooden structure could not be saved. The fire was probably connected to political forces of the time; though no concrete proof of its cause has ever been found.

 

This was a trial for the movement. The Goetheanum’s destruction symbolized resistance to humanity’s spiritual evolution and a manifestation of adversarial forces; the loss was an opportunity to deepen the resolve of the people who cared about humanity and reimagine the movement’s mission on a higher level. It serves as a reminder of the need for unwavering dedication, even in the face of adversity.

And while you may be used to stories that are nothing but fiction, this is all quite real. And the good people at the Goetheanum had a choice; give up, retreat, fall into further darkness, or go higher, much higher. Quit, or slam the accelerator.

Fire, a force of both destruction and purification, plays a deep symbolic role in spiritual traditions. In the case of the Goetheanum, the fire represented both a tragedy, the end of an era and a purification, preparing the way for something higher.

It also means this; We are no longer mere recipients of divine wisdom but co-creators in ongoing spiritual development.

 

Everyone involved was left with a choice, many choices. 

Just one year after the fire, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society during the Christmas Conference of 1923/24. This event was a conscious re-dedication of the mission, with the understanding of the lessons learned from the fire.

The re-founding of the society was the birth of the New Mysteries, where individuals are called to take personal responsibility for their development and actively engage with the development of humanity.

There was one clear thing to do next; build another one! The creation of the Second Goetheanum in concrete symbolized the New Mysteries in physical form. Its design reflected an even deeper understanding, representing the spiritual permanence of ideas rather than their attachment to physicality.

These events resonate especially at this time of year. In the Advent Spiral, we go in darkness and leave with the light, but we are not really given a choice here, that’s just what we do in the spiral. But in our everyday lives, we are. We do have that choice. Are we doing what we think is best? Is it helping us? Is it helping others? If not, why? What can be changed? What can you do to get even higher?

 

And if your Goetheanum ever burns down, remember that you are the one with power over your own life. Do you give up? Or do you leave with the light?