Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 22 hours ago

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Rudolf Steiner and Owen Barfield thought that William Blake anticipated much of their own work.

Energy, for Blake, wasn't just that which does work, as Newtonian physics defines it, but is the spirit within all things drawing them back to God.

The empirical senses are comprehended fully as spiritual senses, carrying us over the thresholds of perception into infinity.

So how does Blake illuminate the insights of Steiner? How do Steiner and Barfield help us understand the importance of Blake?

This talk by Mark Vernon was given at Rudolf Steiner House in London on 9th November 2025 as part of a day on Owen Barfield organised by Rudolf Steiner House and the Temenos Academy.

"Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination is Mark's book on William Blake - markvernon.com/books/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-the-imagination

"A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness" is Mark's book on Christianity through the lens of Barfield's insights - markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity

For more on Mark's work - markvernon.com