Egyptian Myths and Mysteries

Egyptian Myths and Mysteries is a book by Rudolf Steiner, first published in 1908. This short, concentrated work collects a cycle of twelve lectures Steiner delivered in Leipzig in September 1908. Written from an anthroposophical and esoteric standpoint, it reads less like an academic history and more like a guided tour through symbolic forms and initiation traditions: Egyptian myth, the Osiris–Isis cycle, the rites of initiation, esoteric anatomy and the stages of human evolution. Steiner frames ancient Egypt as a culture whose spiritual practices and myths cast long shadows into later Western thought, and he invites the reader to re-examine those myths as living forces rather than mere antiquarian curiosities. Practical and speculative by turns, the lectures aim to reconnect modern readers with the imaginative life the Egyptians cultivated — not to replace mainstream Egyptology but to offer a complementary, visionary perspective on myth, initiation and the evolution of consciousness. For readers interested in Egyptian mythology, comparative religion, esotericism, or the history of spiritual ideas, the book provides succinct, provocative reflections that have influenced anthroposophical readers and seekers of occult-historical interpretation.