A study of the geometry of plants attempts to explain the laws governing the way matter is formed into living organisms

In this concise and richly-illustrated work, Olive Whicher introduces a radical new science of living organisms, forms and processes, based on the pioneering work of Rudolf Steiner and his pupil George Adams. If we are to understand fully the laws of living nature, she argues, it is necessary to overcome the one-sided ideas of modern science – ideas that are only adequate to describe material forms and forces. We need to widen our thinking to include the ‘etheric formative forces’ – forces that are alive in ethereal space or ‘counterspace’. Such forces work in plants, for example, by drawing matter upwards in a suctional manner, in contrast to the forces of gravity, which draw downwards, and the forces of an explosion, which work upward and outward. This easily-digestible introduction will be valuable to anybody seeking to comprehend the living world around us.

E. L. Grant Watson, an English field naturalist, zoologist, and one of England's best-loved nature writers, spent a lifetime trying to bring nature and consciousness into a unified, holistic vision that would establish meaning in the world without losing wonder. The questions raised by facts of nature inexplicable in terms of conventional theories, together with insights gained from a reading of Jung--as well as by a study of early Christian gnostic literature and the anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner--brought him to an imaginative perception of living things based on the conviction of the presence in all things of a spiritual reality. "Love is of man, but wisdom is of nature, and there are times when it almost seems that the author's secret--as perhaps it will one day be the secret of a reformed scientific method--is to stand aside and let the wisdom of nature herself speak through him. "-Owen Barfield

" ... Concise explanations and descriptions - easily read and readily understood - of what we know of the chain of events and processes that connect the Sun to the Earth, with special emphasis on space weather and Sun-Climate."--Dear Reader.

These lectures -- the first on medicine by Rudolf Steiner -- outline the foundation for an anthroposophical approach to health and illness. Steiner begins with a discussion of various contemporary views of illness and pathology. He goes on to explore illnesses in relation to the whole human being, looking at the various processes and organs in relation to the human threefold organization. Homeopathy, naturopathy, and allopathy are discussed in the light of the spiritual nature of the human being and in terms of the ways various planets and the cosmos influence healing substances. On the whole, Steiner's approach rests on the long tradition of Western medicine without negating its roots. Perhaps more than anywhere else, Steiner's enthusiasm and familiarity with the subject is in evidence here. Steiner describes many specific illnesses and their treatments and how doctors must develop their ability to diagnose illnesses and prescribe treatments based on their own inner capacities.