To the Readers of the Monthly Astronomical Letters With the present issue the second year of the Monthly Astronomical Letters comes to a close. For some time it has been a problem whether it would be wise to continue with these letters for another period. We have come to the conviction that, if we would decide to continue, the character of this publication would have to be altered entirely. On the other hand the basis of the letters seems to be still too small to justify launching out on a bigger scale. This may be possible after some time of preparation, but for the present we have decided to discontinue the letters. One more word may be said about the problem of the application of the New Star Wisdom. There are many realms of life and knowledge in which this wisdom can be applied. Generally speaking it would mean an enormous enrichment of cultural life if the aspects of the starry world would be taken more into consideration. The arrangement and the judgment of the facts and events on this planet on which we live could be elevated into a realm of spiritual surety and dignity. Many of the social difficulties and catastrophes that humanity faces at present could be avoided if our culture could be guided according to the grand spiritual facts that reveal themselves in the events of the starry world. We have pointed out already in the first letter that a future spiritual culture of humanity will need a new star wisdom more and more. Even if the time is not quite ripe for the realization of this impulse on a large scale, the seeds of the future must be sown now. We must be absolutely clear about one question. It is not possible to carry the aspects and suppositions of the traditional astrology into any such new outlook. This should also have become clear in the course of the letters. The aim of traditional astrology is chiefly prediction. For the most part, it only meets the curiosity and the egoism of people with regard to the uncertainty of the future. Unfortunately, this is also the reason why this astrology very often has to work on an almost businesslike basis and, therefore, is involved into the subjectivistic psychology of attraction and expansion of sale in the business world. In the letters we endeavored to show that cosmology has its roots in the ancient mysteries. There, in the sanctuaries of the temples, it was used in order to guide the disciples of the esoteric teaching to the fulfillment of their tasks. Since that time this grand wisdom of the stars, which hitherto had been guarded hermetically, has been dispersed into the outside world through all kinds of channels. It came into hands that did not fully understand it any longer, and it deteriorated into empty shells of rules from which the true meaning and the spirit had disappeared long ago. The present age must start to find the true wisdom of the stars again. Through Rudolf Steiner, the gates toward the attainment of a new cosmology have been opened wide. But above everything else, we have to realize one important fact in human evolution, and this is the development of the ego. If we compare the social life in ancient Egypt, for instance, with the conditions in our modern time, then we can become aware of the enormous changes that have taken place since those past ages. In ancient Egypt the social organism was built up hierarchically. The priests and kings were the acknowledged and absolute leaders of their peoples. They had unrestricted power over their subjects; they acted, as it were, as the earthly representatives of the Gods. In our age, we consider democratic principles as the ideal of the social organism. Modern humanity has become ego conscious, and people do not want to be led by others. They consider themselves to be able to cope with their own affairs and also to arrange the social necessities in concord and agreement with their fellow human beings. Therefore, it is not possible to re-institute the applications of the old star wisdom in our age. People of today do not want to be governed by the stars, and this is justified. We have to learn to become masters of ourselves, especially in such subtle matters as individual destiny. Everything has to be arranged according to the requirements of the age of freedom. On the other hand, we must also realize that the relationship between humanity and the starry universe has changed considerably during the last two thousand years. The fact of the development of freedom in humanity cannot be considered only from the human point of view. It would not have been possible without a corresponding deed of the divine world. In the letters we #160;#160;have often pointed out that the stars were experienced in olden days as the garments of the Gods. The seer in the old mysteries could behold the Gods through the medium of those garments. Yet in the age of freedom, the Gods have withdrawn into a still higher realm. This is the fact of human freedom — only expressed in different words. They have left the “garments” behind. The stars still bear the qualities imprinted into them by the divine beings, such as a clock might work according to the original intentions of its maker. Thus modern clairvoyance recognizes the fact that we cannot speak of an “influence” of the stars upon the human being any longer. They have become “silent”. Still, modern clairvoyance recognizes also another important fact: the human being enters the physical world with regard to the individual birth time in such a way that a harmony is established between its destiny and the course of the stars. It may sound strange to modern minds, but mighty spiritual beings who are strongly connected with the spiritual evolution of humanity have arranged this connection for the sake of the star-Beings. Through it, there has been established one of the most profound and exalted tasks of humanity, which will be fully realized only in a very distant future. Human beings will imprint their spiritual essence more and more into the world of the stars, and thus they will even create a new universe in remote ages to come, but they have to start this evolution during the present age. The stars have become a gigantic mirror of the spirit of human beings. Looking into it, we can perceive the grand spiritual image of our own being standing behind us and waiting for fulfillment. To read the features of this Spirit Man, or Spirit “I”, in the script of the stars is the task of a new cosmology and astrology. This impulse is not only justified, it will become a cultural necessity in future.