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The Hortus Conclusus Cycle comprises:
1. The Book of the Royal Art
(Only the last, revised, and enlarged edition of 1932. The "Royal Art" referred to here is the Indian Raja Yoga. I merely use the term symbolically, however, for something infinitely more sublime than what this name connotes at present.)
I. The Light from Himavat and the Words of the Masters:
The Call of the Luminary to the Soul. The Harvest. The All Infinite One. Know Thyself. The Masters in the Realm of Spirit. The Dangers of Conceit.
II. From the Land of the Luminaries:
The Threshold. The King's Question. The Journey. The Night of Easter. Communion.
III. The Will to Joy:
To All That Seek the Light. The Doctrine. Postlude.
2. The Book on The Living God
(Only the last, revised edition of 1927)
The Tabernacle of God is with Men. The "Mahatmas" of Theosophy. Meta-Physical Experiences. The Inner Journey. The En-Sof. On Seeking God. On Leading an Active Life. Of "Holy Men" and "Sinners." The Hidden Side of Nature. The Secret Temple. Karma. War and Peace. The Unity among Religions. The Will to Find Eternal Light. Mankind's Higher Faculties of Knowing. On Death. The Spirit's Radiant Substance. The Path Toward Perfection. On Life Everlasting. The Spirit's Light Dwells in the East. Faith, Talismans, and Images of God. The Inner Force in Words. A Call from Himavat. Giving Thanks. Epilogue.
3. The Book on Life Beyond
(Only the last, revised edition of 1929)
Introduction. The Art of Dying. The "Temple of Eternity" and the World of the Spirit. The Only Absolute Reality. What Should One Do?
4. The Book on Human Nature
(Only the last, revised edition of 1928)
Introduction. The Mystery of "Male and Female." The Path of Woman. The Path of Man. Marriage. Children. The Mankind to Come. Conclusion. A Final Word.
5. The Book on Happiness (1920)
Prelude. Creating Happiness as Moral Duty. "I" and "You." Love. Wealth and Poverty. Money. Optimism. Conclusion.
6. The Way to God (1924)
Faith and Fantasy. Real Knowledge. Dreaming Souls. Truth and Reality. Yes and No. The Ultimate Struggle. Perfection.
7. The Book of Love
(Only the last, revised edition of 1931)
The Lord of Love. The Fire of Eternal Love. Light of Deliverance. The Creative Powers of Eternal Love.
8. The Book on Solace (1924)
On Grief and Seeking Comfort. What Grief Can Teach. On Sundry Foolish Things. The Healing Powers of Work. To Comfort the Bereaved.
9. The Book of Dialogues (1920)
Testimony. Knowing and Being. Light and Darkness. The Might of the Spirit. The Jewel of the Heart. Transmutation. The Dialogue About the East Within. The Dialogue About a Master's Dying. The Garden. The Foolish Pupils. The Night of Trial. Timeless and Temporal Self. The Kingdom of the Soul. On Finding One's Self. On Mankind's Elder Brothers. On Magic.
10. The Secret (1923)
Beginning. The Discourse by the Shore. The Monastery of San Spirito. Southern Night. The Rocky Island. The Voyage. Epilogue.
11. The Wisdom of St. John (1924)
Introduction. The Master's Image. The Luminary's Mortal Life. The Aftermath. The Missive. The Authentic Doctrine. The Paraclete. Conclusion.
12. Signs Along the Way (1928)
Promise. Experience and Phenomenon. On Knowing and Conveying Knowledge. The Art of Reading. On Letters. Personality Cult. Compulsive Criticizing. Who Was Jakob Böhme? The Gift of Healing. Dangers of Mysticism. Twenty-two didactic texts in verse.
13. The Mirage of Freedom (1930)
Fata Morgana. Necessity. Community. Authority. Divisiveness. Economic Mismanagement. Competition. Catchword Fever. Self-Expression. Religion. Science. Awareness of Reality.
14. The Way of My Readers (1932)
Whom I Consider My Reader. Essential Distinctions. Needless Self-Torment. Unavoidable Difficulties. Dynamic Faith. The Greatest Obstacle. The Reader and His Companions. Inner Life and Outer World. How My Books Ought to Be Used.
15. The Mystery of Golgotha (Only the last, revised, and enlarged edition of 1930)
The Mystery of Golgotha. Our Most Terrible Enemy. Love and Hate. The Growth of the Soul. Spiritual Guidance. Occult "Exercises." Mediumship and Artistic Creativity. At the Final Source of Life. One Does Not "Gain" Admission to the "White Lodge." Senseless Speculations.
16. Cult and Ceremonial Magic (1924)
Preface. The Work of Man. Myth and Reality. Myth and Cult. Cult as Form of Magic. On Magic and on Timeless Knowledge. The Light Within. Conclusions to Be Drawn.
17. The Meaning of this Life (1927)
A Word to the Reader. The Sin of the Fathers. Man's Highest Goal. The "Evil" in Man. Glimpses of the World of Light. The Virtues of Silence. Truth and Verities. Conclusion.
18. More Light (Only the last, revised edition of 1936)
A Guiding Word. To Those That Have Tired of Sleeping. The Masters Who Build the Cathedral of Man. Theosophy and Pseudotheosophy. Matter, Soul, and Spirit. Essentials to Be Understood. The Mysteries of Artistic Creation. The Kabbalah. The Light of Truth in Christianity. The Secret of the Ancient Lodges. Proper Worship.
19. The Highest Goal (1925)
The Call of the Spirit. The Two Paths. On Seeking and Finding. Eternal Light. The Colors of Eternal Light. About the Highest Goal. The Ways of the Ancients. The Blessings Within Work. The Powers of Love. The Master of Nazareth.
20. Resurrection (1926)
Foreword. Resurrection. What the Wise Consider Knowledge. Law and Chance. Wasted Labors. The Carnival of Occultism. Inner "Voices." The Powers of Fear. The Limits of Omnipotence. New Life. Festive Joy. The Virtues of Laughter. Self-Conquest. Perfection.
21. Worlds of Spirit (1922)
Preface. The Guidance. The Return. The Visual Experiences. Postlude. Twenty spiritual perspectives: Emanation. In Principio Erat Verbum. Lux in Tenebris. Te Deum Laudamus. Time and Space. Aeonic Creation. Germs of Future Worlds. Worlds Unfolding. Birth of the Cosmos. Labyrinth. Seeking Form. Astral Light. Sodom. Inferno. De Profundis. Revelation. Enlightenment. Fulfillment. Victory. Himavat.
22. Psalms (1924)
Inferno. Redemption. Understanding. Promise. Liberation. Fulfillment.
23. On Marriage (1925)
The Timeless Sanctity of Marriage. On Love. On Life Together. On Joy and Sorrow. On Temptation and Danger. The Demands of Daily Life. The Will Toward Unity. The Heredity of Happiness. Eternal Bonds.
24. On Prayer (1926)
The Sacred Mystery of Prayer. Seek, and You Shall Find. Ask, and You Shall Be Given. Knock, and It Shall Be Opened Unto You. Spiritual Renewal. Make This Your Prayer: Twenty-Two Prayers.
25. Spirit and Form (1924)
The Question. Outer World and Inner Life. House and Home. On Shaping Joy. On Shaping Sorrow. The Art of Living.
26. Scintillas (1921)
Twenty-Two German Mantras. In connection with these texts ought to be read the small brochure "The Use of Mantras" (1928).
27. Words of Life (1923)
A Call to the Soul. I Who Am. Reflection. Love. Action. Struggle. Peace. Energy. Life. Light. Trust. Enlightenment. Vow.
28. Above the Everyday (1934)
Thirty-four didactic texts in verse. Part I.
29. Reality Eternal (1934)
Twenty-seven didactic texts in verse. Part II.
30. Living in Eternal Light (1934)
Thirty-two didactic texts in verse. Part III.
31. Letters to One and to Many (1935)
Foreword. Thirty chapters in epistolary form, containing eighteen texts in verse. The letters deal with the following subjects: 1. On What the Soul Possesses. 2. On Needless Fears. 3. On Necessary Confidence. 4. About My Way of Writing. 5. On Discussing Myself. 6. What Ought to Be Accomplished. 7. About the Temple of Eternity. 8. About My Spiritual Nature. 9. How Spiritual Help Is Brought About. 10. How God Is Far from World Affairs. 11. How God Can Yet Grant Help to Individuals. 12. On the Energies of the Soul. 13. On New Editions of My Works. 14. On Polytheism and the Veneration of Saints. 15. How Life Is Lived in the Spirit. 16. On the Gentle Ways of True Awakening.17. On Mystics and Jacob Böhme. 18. What God Is in Reality. 19. On Essence and Being. 20. On Questions I Would Not Be Asked. 21. About the Number Twelve and the Bell of the Tower. 22. On the Scales That Must Fall from One's Eyes. 23. Why No Two Individuals Are Equal Before God. 24. On Professing One's Faith Before Men. 25. On Masters Who Have Fallen. 26. On Radiant Stones and Substances. 27. On Disdaining Needless Grief. 28. On the Nature and Powers of Blessing. 29. On How Eternal Things Do Not Know Time. 30. On Giving Oneself and on Silence. Conclusion.
32. Hortus Conclusus (1936)
The Dialogue at the Gate. On How Eternal Things Are Simple. On Changing One's Perspective and on the Concept of Degrees. On Forms of Consciousness and Help in Need. The Consciousness of the Departed. What Helpers from the Spirit Have to Risk. On Parodies of the Eternal Self. Again on Truth and on Reality. On Temporal and Timeless Space. On the Religious Wisdom of the East. On the Mystery That Dwells in the East. The Formal Aspect of Religions. On Faith and Acquiescence. Mistaken Images of God. On the Purpose of All Guidance. On What I Merely Must Transmit. To Whom I Have Nothing to Say. On the Life of the Eternal Soul. On the Delays Caused by Curiosity. About Man's Temporal and His Eternal Soul. On What Continues After Death. On the Eternal Soul and the Temporal Psyche. Conclusions That One Ought to Draw. Grave Misjudgments of the Psyche. On the Dilemma of Pastoral Care. On How Eternal Things Are Wholly Natural. Conclusion and Farewell. List of Works Comprising the Cycle Hortus Conclusus.
Related Works
While not included in the foregoing cycle, the following titles are nonetheless connected very closely with its aims and content. These related texts are listed here by year of publication. —Trans.
Enigmas of the Occult (1923)
Preface. Secret Knowledge and Arcane Science. Useful Planetary Energies. The Enigma of Dreams. Arts of Divination. Hypnosis. The Enigma of the Future.
My Work as a Painter (1932)
Why This Book Was Written. Why I Had to Study Painting. About My Spiritual Perspectives. My Portrait of Jesus. Profession and Calling.
The Realm of Art
(First published in 1921, this book appeared in a revised and enlarged edition in 1933)
Preface to the New Edition. Art as a Factor of Life. Is Art a Luxury? On Art "Analysis." Artistic Perception. On "Beauty" in Art. Art and Nature. Sculptural Perception. Artist and Layman. Artist, Public, and Jury. The Work and Its Technique. The Work and Its Style. The Metaphysical Component in the Work of Art. Art and World View. On "Modern" Art. Expressionism. Pointless Quarrels. On the "Limits" of Painting. Primitive Art and Archaism. Art and Virtuosity. The Art of Dilettantes. The Art of Raphael.
Codicil to the Hortus Conclusus (1937)
Seven numbered chapters on many different topics, and thus without specific titles.
Marginalia (1938)
Preface. Thirty-six didactic texts in verse. Conclusion.
On Godlessness (1939)
God as an Object of Assumption as Compared to His Reality. Living Light and Regions Closed to Thought. The Atrophy of Spiritual Perception. The Loss of God Through "Fear of the Lord." "What Is Truth?" Comments on the Texts of the Hortus Conclusus and the Related Works.
Spiritual Relationships (1939)
What the Title Signifies. Concerning the Topic. Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Appendix: Numbered Catalog of the 268 Individual Texts Comprising the Cycle Hortus Conclusus.
Miscellanea (1939)
Thirty-nine didactic texts in verse.
Gleanings I & II (1990)
Two volumes of a posthumous collection of essays, reviews, and poems, published in various newspapers and journals beteen 1913 and 1937.
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*Translated from Volume 32, Hortus Conclusus, pp. 271-278.
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