READERSVOICE.COM: How did you find out about Anthroposophy and the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner in 1989? Can you give a brief idea what it’s about? Do you think these ideas will always underpin your writing?
ADRIANA KOULIAS: I came across Anthroposophy when I was on holidays at my mother’s house.
I saw a book by Rudolf Steiner called The Four Mystery Plays on the coffee table, I picked it up and I was intrigued from the first page.
I didn’t understand any of it however, and it wasn’t until I had studied philosophy for the best part of ten years that I felt ready to pick it up again.
Rudolf Steiner was a philosopher who lived at the turn of the last century.
His life’s work is founded on consciousness and cognition. He developed techniques for the development of spiritual awareness through study, concentration, meditation and clear, critical thinking.
He called his philosophy Anthroposophy which means ‘wisdom of the human being’ and though it’s not religious it seeks to work through Christianity to enhance our respect and knowledge of all religions and their unique and valued contributions to the world.

Many people know about Steiner schools, bio dynamic farming, eurythmy and Anthroposophical medicine but may not be aware that these were inspired and founded by Rudolf Steiner almost a hundred years ago!
I am drawn to the idea of bringing something different to fiction writing.
I want to explore another dimension and Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy inspires me to do this.
It inspires me to fill the historical gaps with possibilities, to look beyond history to what it doesn’t tell us, to impulses that lie behind external events – namely to make connections, to discover and uncover secrets.
I love secrets. I know this has dictated Temple of the Grail and will continue to dictate future books.
RV: I was interested in how your mother and grandmother had strong religious interests, particularly about how your mother conducted exorcisms for the Catholic Church. What sort of stories did she tell about these exorcisms?
AK: My mother and my grandmother were the two most important role models in my life, particularly in the sense that they were both mystical and religious.

My grandmother was a tiny woman, no taller than a child, but she had an immense spiritual strength.
She could stop storms with a command, she could tell the sex of a baby with a look and she was known to be able to heal just about anything with herbs.
If she had lived some centuries earlier she would have been burnt at the stake as a witch or a Cathar.
My mother carried on the tradition and began searching for the right religion from the time I was six. She did it all, from Buddhism to Mormonism and later she went back to the catholic church for a brief time where her spiritual talents were recognised and she was blessed by a priest to conduct exorcisms.
At this time I was not living at home, but she did tell many stories of touching people and having them fall at her feet while she prayed over them.
I can’t really say too much else except that much of what you hear about exorcisms is true. I drew heavily on my mother and grandmother for some of the monkish characters in Temple of the Grail.