The letters in the first part of this volume record that Rudolf Steiner was asked to give esoteric instruction immediately upon his appointment as General Secretary of the German Section of the Esoteric School of Theosophy in 1902. Soon afterward, he was appointed Arch-Warden in Germany and the Austrian Empire, with "full authority to call meetings of the school, to organize groups and appoint wardens, and to do all that was necessary for the welfare of the school."

Having thus preserved continuity (in this case with the theosophical impulse), Steiner began his work as an independent esoteric teacher, teaching from his own experience.

This volume collects and documents the outer circle of Steiner's esoteric work. Contained here, primarily in the letters, are specific exercises that he gave to his students. The lectures and circulars allow us to glimpse the birth of the anthroposophical movement out of the theosophical movement of the nineteenth century; and of special interest, there are the teachings concerning the "Masters" and their relationship to the evolution of humanity.