Discovering the Zodiac in the Raphael Madonna Series

“In the different arts… we are presented with different languages that give expression to certain truths living in the human soul. They are often the most secret truths, the most secret knowledge, which cannot readily be reduced to rigid concepts nor clothed in abstract formula, but seek artistic expression.” Rudolf Steiner, 29th April 1909. Raphael’s paintings of the Madonna express secret truths. Rudolf Steiner described the healing effects of Raphael’s Madonnas in August 1908, and between 1908 and 1911 he directed Dr. Felix Peipers to arrange fifteen images as a therapeutic meditation for patients suffering from emotional disturbances. Sometimes called the Raphael Madonna Series, these fifteen pictures invite our active contemplation. Each image can awaken inner pictures that lift us into communion with realms beyond the physical world, stirring our feelings of wonder and reverence and opening our souls to divine mysteries.