2523017 eBook Antroposofia EnG Rudolf Steiner Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts

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Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts

$<2T'2TS

The titles gi+en by Rudolf Steiner to his Letters to Mem!ers are shown in

italics/ The related dates were appended by him at the time of writing/ The

titles in plain type for the Leading thoughts are added in this edition for the

con+enience of students! and the dates refer to the issue of the members,

news sheet "#as in der Anthroposophischen $esellschaft %orgeht& in which they

were first published/ The +arious numbering systems are gi+en for the

con+enience of Groups wor-ing also with earlier editions/

Anthroposophical Leading 'houghts

i "T % to 3/ Anthroposophy ().*.*+

ii "T ; and */ The Soul,s =uestions *+.* *+

iii "T 4 and )/ "ifeless and "ife 1odies *.,.*+

i+ "T to %9/ $onsciousness! Astral 1ody -.,.*+

+ "T %% to %3/ Self:consciousness! the > I ? (.,.*+

+i "T %; to %4/ Three forms of the > I ? *,.,.*+

+ii "T %) to %(/ 1ody! Soul and Spirit ,/.,.*+

+iii "T 9 to / &ree Spiritual Acti+ity .+.*+

i@ "T 3 to */ '@periences after 6eath (,.+.*+

@ "T 4 to / 'ntry into the Spiritual #orld */.+.*+

@i "T ( to 3%/ Imagination! Inspiration! Intuition *).+.*+

@ii "T 3 to 3;/ Threefold Man +.0.*+

@iii "T 3* to 3)/ 1ody as picture of Soul and Spirit ((.0.*+

1n the 2icture34ature of Man

@i+ "T 3 to ;9/ Moral "aw and uman #ill (5.0.*+ @+ "T ;% to ;3/ Karma! Good and '+il *0.0.*+

@+i "T ;; to ;4/ ow Karma should be Studied (..*+

@+ii "T ;) to ;(/ Karma leads from 2ature to Spirit 5..*+

@+iii "T *9 to */ istory in the "ight of Karma (0..*+

@i@ "T *3 to **/ "ife after 6eath **..*+

@@ "T *4 to */ Kingdoms of 2ature and of Spirit *-..*+

@@i "T *( to 4%/ Man,s Relation to the ierarchies .).*+

6nderstanding of the Spirit7 8onscious E9perience of Destiny @@ii "T 4 to 4*/ Inner and <uter <bser+ation (,.).*+

2





@@iii "T 44 to 4/ The ierarchies and the Soul */.).*+

Spiritual :ingdoms and ;uman Self :nowledge/

@@@i+ "T 4( to )%/ The ierarchies and Man,s 1odies *).).*+

@@+ "T ) to )*/ $osmic Intelligence and Morality ,.5.*+

;ow the Leading 'houghts are to !e used

@@+i "T )4 to )/ ow to form ideas of ierarchies (/.5.*+

% At the Dawn of the Michael Age ,(.5.*+

@@+ii "T )( to %/ ow to approach the ierarchies ,(.5.*+

@@+iii "T to ;/ Stars and 'arth *+.5.*+

&rom a "ecture in "ondon *+.5.*+

'he 8ondition of the ;uman Soul !efore the Dawn of the Michael Age

,(.5.*+

@@i@ "T * to )/ $onsciousness of the ierarchies ,(.5.*+

@@@ "T to (9/ 1ehind <rdinary $onsciousness )/(/;

@@@i "T (% to (3/ Karma in the #ill (+.-.*+

@@@ii "T (; to (4/ ow Karma is grasped *(.-.*+

@@@iii "T () to ((/ KarmaB Thin-ing! &eeling! #illing *5.-.*+

@@@i+ "T %99 to %9/ Karma and Sleep 0.(/.*+

3 'he #ay of Michael and #hat 2receded <t 1ct. *+

@@@+ "T %93 to %9*/ 6itto (*.(/.*+

; Michael=s 'ask in the Sphere of Ahriman (/.(/.*+

@@@+i "T %94 to %9/ 6itto (-.(/.*+

* 'he E9periences of Michael in the course of his 8osmic Mission (-.(/.*+

@@@+ii "T %9( to %%%/ 6itto *.(/.*+

4 'he Acti%ity of Michael and the >uture of Mankind *0.(/.*+

@@@+iii "T %% to %%;/ 6itto *.((.*+

) 'he Michael38hrist E9perience of Man *.((.*+

@@@i@ "T %%* to %%)/ 6itto -.((.*+

Michael=s Mission in the 8osmic Age of ;uman >reedom -.((.*+

@l "T %% to %9/ 6itto (.((.*+

3





( 'he #orld3'houghts in the #orking of Michael and in the #orking of

Ahriman (.((.*+

@li "T %% to %3/ 6itto *,.((.*+

%9 >irst Study? At the $ates of the Spiritual Soul. ;ow Michael in the

Spiritual #orld is preparing for his Earth3Mission through the con@uest

of Lucifer *.,.((.*+

@lii "T %; to %4/ 6itto ,/.((.*+

%% Second Study? ;ow the Michael >orces #ork in the earliest unfolding of

the Spiritual Soul ,/.((.*+

@liii "T %) to %39/ 6itto ).(*.*+

% Second Study continuedB? ;indrances and ;elps to the Michael >orces

in the Dawn of the Age of the Spiritual Soul .(*.*+

@li+ "T %3% to %33/ 6itto (+.(*.*+

%3 'hird Study? Michael=s Suffering o%er ;uman E%olution !efore the 'ime

of his Earthly Acti%ity (+.(*.*+.

@l+ "T %3; to %34/ 6itto *(.(*.*+

%; A 8hristmas Study? 'he Mystery of the Logos. 8hristmas *+

@l+i "T %3) to %3(/ 6itto *5.(*.*+

%* ;ea%enly ;istory C Mythological ;istory C Earthly ;istory. 'he

Mystery of $olgotha. 8hristmas3time *+

@l+ii "T %;9 to %;3/ 6itto +.(.*0

%4 #hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into repeated Li%es on Earth. 4ew

year (-*0

@i+iii "T %;; to %;4/ 6itto ((.(.*0

%) #hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into former Li%es !etween Death

and a new irth. A Study in two parts? 2art 1ne. At the turn of the year

(-*0

@li@ "T %;) to %;(/ 6itto (5.(.*0

% #hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into former Li%es !etween Death

and a new irth? 2art 'wo. an *0

l "T %*9 to %*/ 6itto *0.(.*0

%( #hat <s the Earth in reality within the MacrocosmF an. *0

4





li "T %*3 to %**/ 6itto (.*.*0

9 Sleeping and #aking in the light of recent Studies. an. *0

lii "T %*4 to %*/ 6itto 5.*.*0

% $nosis and Anthroposophy. an. *0

liii "T %*( to %4%/ 6itto (0.*.*0

'he >reedom of Man and the Age of Michael. an. *0

li+ "T %4 to %4;/ 6itto **.*.*0

3 #here is Man as a !eing who thinks and remem!ersF >e!. *0

l+ "T %4* to %4)/ 6itto (.,.*0

; Man in his Macrocosmic 4ature. Mar. *0

l+i "T %4 to %)9/ 6itto 5.,.*0

* 'he Sense and 'hought Systems of man in relation to the #orld. Mar. *0

l+ii "T %)% to %)3/ 6itto (0.,.*0

4 Memory and 8onscience. Mar. *0

l+iii "T %); to %)4/ 6itto **.,.*0

) 'he apparent e9tinction of Spirit3:nowledge in Modern 'imes. Mar. *0

li@ "T %)) to %)(/ 6itto *-.,.*0

;istoric 8ataclysms at the Dawn of the Spiritual Soul Mar. *0

l@ "T %9 to %/ 6itto 0.+.*0

( >rom 4ature to Su!34ature. Mar. *0

l@i "T %3 to %*/ 6itto (*.+.*0

5





Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts

This +olume contains translations of the so:called >"eading Thoughts!?

brief paragraphs dealing with Anthroposophy as a Path of Knowledge/

They were written by Rudolf Steiner for Members of the

Anthroposophical Society and at a later stage were accompanied by

communications -nown as the >"etters? connected with sets of >"eading

Thoughts/? Articles with contents of a Cuite different -ind! dealing with

the character! aims and problems of the Society! are published separately!

in two +olumes entitled 'he LifeG 4ature and 8ulti%ation of Anthroposophy

and 'he 8onstitution of the School of Spiritual Science/

The >"eading Thoughts? are printed here in the order in which they

first appeared in German and are numbered consecuti+ely from % to %*!

to facilitate reference/ The translations of the "eading Thoughts and of

accompanying >"etters? are those that were printed in the periodical

Anthroposophical Mo%ement during %(; and the early months of %(*

until publication came to an end with Rudolf Steiner,s death/ The later

"etters and "eading Thoughts 0from 2o )( to the end5 formed a

continuous series and until now ha+e been a+ailable as a separate

+olume! the last edition of which was entitled 'he Michael Mystery !translated by Mrs/ '/ 1owen #edgwood/ As! howe+er! the original

translations of all the "eading Thoughts and of nearly all the "etters

accompanying them were the wor- of George and Mary Adams! they

ha+e been used throughout the present +olume for the sa-e of

uniformity of language and literary style/

6





A2TR<P<S<PI$A" "'A6I2G T<DGTS

In future there will be found in these columns something in the nature of

anthroposophical >"eading Thoughts? or principles/ These may be ta-en to contain ad+iceon the direction which members can gi+e to the lectures and discussions in the se+eral

Groups/ It is but a stimulus and suggestion which the Goetheanum would li-e to gi+e to

the whole Society/ The independence of indi+idual leading members in their wor- is in no

way to be interfered with/ #e shall de+elop healthily if the Society gi+es free play to what

leading members ha+e to offer in all the different Groups/ This will enrich and ma-e

manifold the life of the Society/

1ut it should also be possible for a unity of consciousness to arise in the whole Society E

which will happen if the initiati+e and ideas that emerge at different places become -nowne+erywhere/ Thus in these columns we shall sum up in short paragraphs the descriptions

and lines of thought gi+en by me in my lectures to the Society at the Goetheanum/ I

imagine that those who lecture or conduct the discussions in the Groups will be able to

ta-e what is here gi+en as guiding lines! with which they may freely connect what they

ha+e to say/ This will contribute to the unity and organic wholeness of the wor- of the

Society without there being any Cuestion of constraint/

The plan will become fruitful for the whole Society if it meets with a true response E if

the leading members will inform the '@ecuti+e at the Goetheanum too of the content and

nature of their own lectures and suggestions/ Then only shall we grow! from a chaos of

separate Groups! into a Society with a real spiritual content/

The "eading Thoughts here gi+en are meant to open up subFects for study and

discussion/ Points of contact with them will be found in countless places in the

anthroposophical boo-s and lecture:courses! so that the subFects thus opened up can be

enlarged upon and the discussions in the Groups centred around them/

#hen new ideas emerge among leading members in the se+eral Groups! these too can be

brought into connection with the suggestions we shall send out from the Goetheanum/ #ewould thus pro+ide an open framewor- for all the spiritual acti+ity in the Society/

Spiritual acti+ity can of course only thri+e by free unfoldment on the part of the acti+e

indi+iduals E and we must ne+er sin against this truth/ 1ut there is no need to do so when

one group or member within the Society acts in proper harmony with the other/ If such co:

operation were impossible! the attachment of indi+iduals or groups to the Society would

always remain a purely e@ternal thing E where it should in fact be felt as an inner reality/

It cannot be allowed that the e@istence of the Anthroposophical Society is merely madeuse of by this or that indi+idual as an opportunity to say what he personally wishes to say

with this or that intention/ The Society must rather be the place where true Anthroposophy





is culti+ated/ Anything that is not Anthroposophy can! after all! be pursued outside it/ The

Society is not there for e@traneous obFects/

It has not helped us that in the last few years indi+idual members ha+e brought into the

Society their own personal wishes simply because they thought that as it increased itwould become a suitable sphere of action for them/ It may be said! #hy was this not met

and counteracted with the proper firmness If that had been done! we should now be

hearing it said on all sides! ><h! if only the initiati+e that arose in this or that Cuarter had

been followed up at the time! how much farther we should be todayH? #ell! many things

were followed up! which ended in sad disaster and only resulted in throwing us bac-/

1ut now it is enough/ The demonstrations which indi+idual e@perimenters in the Society

wished to pro+ide are done with/ Such things need not be repeated endlessly/ In the

'@ecuti+e at the Goetheanum we ha+e a body which intends to culti+ate AnthroposophyitselfB and the Society should be an association of human beings who ha+e the same obFect

and are ready to enter into a li+ing understanding with the '@ecuti+e in the pursuit of it/

#e must not thin- that our ideal in the Society can be attained from one day to the ne@t/

Time will be needed! and patience too/ If we imagined that what lay in the intentions of

the $hristmas meeting could be brought into e@istence in a few wee-s, time! this again

would be harmful/

Anthroposophical Leading 'houghts gi%en out as suggestions from the $oetheanum

%/ Anthroposophy is a path of -nowledge! to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the

Spiritual in the uni+erse/ It arises in man as a need of the heart! of the life of feelingB and it

can be Fustified only inasmuch as it can satisfy this inner need/ e alone can ac-nowledge

Anthroposophy! who finds in it what he himself in his own inner life feels impelled to

see-/ ence only they can be anthroposophists who feel certain Cuestions on the nature of

man and the uni+erse as an elemental need of life! Fust as one feels hunger and thirst/

/ Anthroposophy communicates -nowledge that is gained in a spiritual way/ et it only

does so because e+eryday life! and the science founded on sense:perception andintellectual acti+ity! lead to a barrier along life,s way E a limit where the life of the soul in

man would die if it could go no farther/ '+eryday life and science do not lead to this limit

in such a way as to compel man to stop short at it/ &or at the +ery frontier where the

-nowledge deri+ed from sense perception ceases! there is opened through the human soul

itself the further outloo- into the spiritual world/

3/ There are those who belie+e that with the limits of -nowledge deri+ed from sense

perception the limits of all insight are gi+en/ et if they would carefully obser+e how they

become conscious of these limits! they would find in the +ery consciousness of the limitsthe faculties to transcend them/ The fish swims up to the limits of the waterB it must return

because it lac-s the physical organs to li+e outside this element/ Man reaches the limits of

!





-nowledge attainable by sense perceptionB but he can recognise that on the way to this

point powers of soul ha+e arisen in him E powers whereby the soul can li+e in an element

that goes beyond the hori7on of the senses/

>urther Leading 'houghts issued from the $oetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society

;/ &or certainty of feeling and for a strong unfolding of his will! man needs a -nowledge of

the spiritual world/ owe+er widely he may feel the greatness! beauty and wisdom of the

natural world! this world gi+es him no answer to the Cuestion of his own being/ is own

being holds together the materials and forces of the natural world in the li+ing and

sensiti+e form of man until the moment when he passes through the gate of death/ Then

2ature recei+es this human form! and 2ature cannot hold it togetherB she can but dissol+e

and disperse it/ Great! beautiful! wisdom:filled 2ature does indeed answer the Cuestion!

ow is the human form dissol+ed and destroyed but not the other Cuestion! ow is itmaintained and held together 2o theoretical obFection can dispel this Cuestion from the

feeling soul of man! unless indeed he prefers to lull himself to sleep/ The presence of this

Cuestion must incessantly maintain ali+e! in e+ery human soul that is really awa-e! the

longing for spiritual paths of #orld:-nowledge/

*/ &or peace in his inner life! man needs Self:-nowledge in the Spirit/ e finds himself in

his Thin-ing! &eeling and #illing/ e sees how Thin-ing! &eeling and #illing are

dependent on the natural man/ In all their de+elopments! they must follow the health and

sic-ness! the strengthening and wea-ening of the body/ '+ery sleep blots them out/ Thus

the e@perience of e+eryday life shows the spiritual consciousness of man in the greatest

imaginable dependence on his bodily e@istence/ Man suddenly becomes aware that in this

realm of ordinary e@perience Self:-nowledge may be utterly lost E the search for it a +ain

Cuest/ Then first the an@ious Cuestion arises. $an there be a Self:-nowledge transcending

the ordinary e@periences of life $an we ha+e any certainty at all! as to a true Self of man

Anthroposophy would fain answer this Cuestion on a firm basis of spiritual e@perience/ In

so doing it ta-es its stand! not on any opinion or belief! but on a conscious e@perience in

the Spirit E an e@perience in its own nature no less certain than the conscious e@perience

in the body/


4/ #hen we loo- out on lifeless 2ature! we find a world full of inner relationships of law

and order/ #e see- for these relationships and find in them the content of the >"aws of

2ature/? #e find! moreo+er! that by +irtue of these "aws lifeless 2ature forms a connected

whole with the entire 'arth/ #e may now pass from this earthly connection which rules in

all lifeless things! to contemplate the li+ing world of plants/ #e see how the Dni+erse

beyond the 'arth sends in from distances of space the forces which draw the "i+ing forth

out of the womb of the "ifeless/ In all li+ing things we are made aware of an element of being! which! freeing itself from the mere earthly connection! ma-es manifest the forces

that wor- down on to the 'arth from realms of cosmic space/ As in the eye we become

"





aware of the luminous obFect which confronts it! so in the tiniest plant we are made aware

of the nature of the "ight from beyond the 'arth/ Through this ascent in contemplation! we

can percei+e the difference of the earthly and physical which holds sway in the lifeless

world! from the e@tra:earthly and ethereal which abounds in all li+ing things/

)/ #e find man with his transcendent being of soul and spirit placed into this world of the

earthly and the e@tra earthly/ Inasmuch as he is placed into the earthly connection which

contains all lifeless things! he bears with him his physical body/ Inasmuch as he unfolds

within him the forces which the li+ing world draws into this earthly sphere from cosmic

space! he has an etheric or life:body/ The trend of science in modern times has ta-en no

account of this essential contrast of the earthly and the ethereal/ &or this +ery reason!

science has gi+en birth to the most impossible conceptions of the ether/ &or fear of losing

their way in fanciful and nebulous ideas! scientists ha+e refrained from dwelling on the

real contrast/ 1ut unless we do so! we can attain no true insight into the Dni+erse and Man/


/ #e may consider the nature of man in so far as it results from his physical and his

etheric body/ #e shall find that all the phenomena of man,s life which proceed from this

side of his nature remain in the unconscious! nor do they e+er lead to consciousness/

$onsciousness is not lighted up but dar-ened when the acti+ity of the physical and the

etheric body is enhanced/ $onditions of faintness and the li-e can be recognised as the

result of such enhancement/ &ollowing up this line of thought! we recognise that

something is at wor- in man E and in the animal E which is not of the same nature as the

physical and the etheric/ It ta-es effect! not when the forces of the physical and the etheric

are acti+e in their own way! but when they cease to be thus acti+e/ In this way we arri+e at

the conception of the astral body/

(/ The reality of this astral body is disco+ered when we rise in meditation from the

Thin-ing that is stimulated by the outer senses to an inner act of Jision/ To this end! the

Thin-ing that is stimulated from without must be ta-en hold of inwardly! and e@perienced

as such! intensely in the soul! apart from its relation to the outer world/ Through the

strength of soul thus engendered! we become aware that there are inner organs ofperception! which see a spiritual reality wor-ing in the animal and man at the +ery point

where the physical and the etheric body are held in chec- in order that consciousness may

arise/

%9/ $onsciousness! therefore! does not arise by a further enhancement of acti+ities which

proceed from the physical and etheric bodies/ <n the contrary! these two bodies! with their

acti+ities! must be reduced to 7ero E nay e+en below 7ero E to >ma-e room? for the

wor-ing of consciousness/ They do not generate consciousness! they only furnish the

ground on which the Spirit must stand in order to bring forth consciousness within theearthly life/ As man on 'arth needs the ground on which to stand! so does the Spiritual!

within the earthly realm! need a material foundation on which it may unfold itself/ And as

1#





a planet in the cosmic spaces does not reCuire any ground beneath it in order to assert its

place! so too the Spirit! when it loo-s E not through the senses into material E but

through its own power into spiritual things! needs no material foundation to call its

conscious acti+ity to life/


%%/ The Self:consciousness which is summed up in the > I ? or >'go? emerges out of the sea

of consciousness/ $onsciousness arises when the forces of the physical and etheric bodies

disintegrate these bodies! and thus ma-e way for the Spiritual to enter into man/ &or

through this disintegration is pro+ided the ground on which the life of consciousness can

de+elop/ If! howe+er! the organism is not to be destroyed! the disintegration must be

followed by a reconstruction/ Thus! when for an e@perience in consciousness a process of

disintegration has ta-en place! that which has been demolished will be built up againe@actly/ The e@perience of Self:consciousness lies in the perception of this upbuilding

process/ The same process can be obser+ed with inner +ision/ #e then feel how the

$onscious is led o+er into the Self:conscious by man,s creating out of himself an after:image

of the merely $onscious/ The latter has its image in the emptiness! as it were! produced

within the organism by the disintegration/ It has passed into Self:consciousness when the

emptiness has been filled up again from within/ The 1eing! capable of this >fulfilment!? is

e@perienced as > I /?

%/ The reality of the > I ? is found when the inner +ision whereby the astral body is -nown

and ta-en hold of! is carried a stage further/ The Thin-ing which has become ali+e in

meditation must now be permeated by the #ill/ To begin with we simply ga+e oursel+es

up to this new Thin-ing! without acti+e #ill/ #e thereby enabled spiritual realities to

enter into this thin-ing life! e+en as in outer sense perception colour enters the eye or

sound the ear/ #hat we ha+e thus called to life in our consciousness by a more passi+e

de+otion! must now be reproduced by oursel+es! by an act of #ill/ #hen we do so! there

enters into this act of #ill the perception of our own > I ? or 'go/

%3/ <n the path of meditation we disco+er! beside the form in which the > I ? occurs in

ordinary consciousness! three further forms. 0%5 In the consciousness which ta-es hold ofthe etheric body! the > I ? appears in picture:formB yet the picture is at the same time acti+e

1eing! and as such it gi+es man form and figure! growth! and the plastic forces that create

his body/ 05 In the consciousness which ta-es hold of the astral body! the > I ? is manifested

as a member of a spiritual world whence it recei+es its forces/ 035 In the consciousness Fust

indicated! as the last to be achie+ed! the > I ? re+eals itself as a self:contained spiritual 1eing

E relati+ely independent of the surrounding spiritual world/


%;/ The second form of the > I ? E first of the three forms that were indicated in the last

section E appears as a >picture? of the I/ #hen we become aware of this picture:character!

11





a light is also thrown on the Cuality of thought in which the > I ? appears before the

ordinary consciousness/ #ith all manner of reflections! men ha+e sought within this

consciousness for the >true I/? et an earnest insight into the e@periences of the ordinary

consciousness will suffice to show that the >true I? cannot be found therein/ <nly a

shadow:in:thought is able to appear there E a shadowy reflection! e+en less than apicture/ The truth of this sei7es us all the more when we progress to the > I ? as a picture!

which li+es in the etheric body/ <nly now are we rightly -indled to search for the > I ?! for

the true being of man/

%*/ Insight into the form in which the > I ? li+es in the astral body leads to a right feeling of

the relation of man to the spiritual world/ &or ordinary consciousness this form of the > I ?

is buried in the dar- depths of the unconscious! where man enters into connection with

the spiritual being of the Dni+erse through Inspiration/ <rdinary consciousness

e@periences only a faint echo:in:feeling of this Inspiration from the wide e@panse of thespiritual world! which holds sway in depths of the soul/

%4/ It is the third form of the > I ? which gi+es us insight into the independent 1eing of man

within a spiritual world/ It ma-es us feel how! with his earthly:sensible nature! man stands

before himself as a mere manifestation of what he really is/ ere lies the starting:point of

true Self:-nowledge/ &or the Self which fashions man in his true nature is re+ealed to him

in Knowledge only when he progresses from the thought of the > I ? to its picture! from the

picture to the creati+e forces of the picture! and from the creati+e forces to the spiritual

1eings who sustain them/


%)/ Man is a being who unfolds his life in the midst! between two regions of the world/

#ith his bodily de+elopment he is a member of a >lower world?B with his soul:nature he

himself constitutes a >middle world?B and with his faculties of Spirit he is e+er stri+ing

towards an >upper world/? e owes his bodily de+elopment to all that 2ature has gi+en

himB he bears the being of his soul within him as his own portionB and he disco+ers in

himself the forces of the Spirit! as the gifts that lead him out beyond himself to participate

in a 6i+ine #orld/

%/ The Spirit is creati+e in these three regions of the #orld/ 2ature is not +oid of Spirit/

#e lose e+en 2ature from our -nowledge if we do not become aware of the Spirit within

her/ 2e+ertheless! in 2ature,s e@istence we find the Spirit as it were asleep/ et Fust as sleep

has its tas- in human life E as the > I ? must be asleep at one time in order to be the more

awa-e at another E so must the #orld:Spirit be asleep where 2ature is! in order to be the

more awa-e elsewhere/

%(/ In relation to the #orld! the soul of man is li-e a dreamer if it does not pay heed to theSpirit at wor- within it/ The Spirit awa-ens the dreams of the soul from their ceaseless

wea+ing in the inner life! to acti+e participation in the #orld where man,s true 1eing has

12





its origin/ As the dreamer shuts himself off from the surrounding physical world and

entwines himself into himself! so would the soul lose connection with the Spirit of the

#orld in whom it has its source! if it turned a deaf ear to the awa-ening calls of the Spirit

within it/


9/ &or a right de+elopment of the life of the human soul! it is essential for man to become

fully conscious of wor-ing acti+ely from out of spiritual sources in his being/ Many

adherents of the modern scientific world:conception are +ictims of a strong preFudice in

this respect/ They say that a uni+ersal causality is dominant in all phenomena of the

worldB and that if man belie+es that he himself! out of his own resources! can be the cause

of anything! it is a mere illusion on his part/ Modern 2atural Science wishes to follow

obser+ation and e@perience faithfully in all things! but in its preFudice about the hiddencausality of man,s inner sources of action it sins against its own principle/ &or the free and

acti+e wor-ing! straight from the inner resources of the human being! is a perfectly

elementary e@perience of self:obser+ation/ It cannot be argued awayB rather must we

harmonise it with our insight into the uni+ersal causation of things within the order of

2ature/

%/ 2on:recognition of this impulse out of the Spirit wor-ing in the inner life of man! is the

greatest hindrance to the attainment of an insight into the spiritual world/ &or to consider

our own being as a mere part of the order of 2ature is in reality to di+ert the soul,s

attention from our own being/ 2or can we penetrate into the spiritual world unless we

first ta-e hold of the Spirit where it is immediately gi+en to us! namely in clear and open:

minded self:obser+ation/

/ Self:obser+ation is the first beginning in the obser+ation of the Spirit/ It can indeed be

the right beginning! for if it is true! man cannot possibly stop short at it! but is bound to

progress to the further spiritual content of the #orld/ As the human body pines away

when bereft of physical nourishment! so will the man who rightly obser+es himself feel

that his Self is becoming stunted if he does not see wor-ing into it the forces from a

creati+e spiritual #orld outside him/


3/ Passing through the gate of death! man goes out into the spiritual world! in that he

feels falling away from him all the impressions and contents of soul which he recei+ed

during earthly life through the bodily senses and the brain/ is consciousness then has

before it in an all:embracing picture:tableau the whole content of life which! during his

earthly wanderings! entered as pictureless thoughts into his memory! or which E

remaining unnoticed by the earthly consciousness E ne+ertheless made a subconsciousimpression on his soul/ After a +ery few days these pictures grow faint and fade away/

13





#hen they ha+e altogether +anished! he -nows that he has laid aside his etheric body tooB

for in the etheric body he can recognise the bearer of these pictures/

;/ a+ing laid aside the etheric body! man has the astral body and the 'go as the

members of his being still remaining to him/ The astral body! so long as it is with him! brings to his consciousness all that during earthly life was the unconscious content of the

soul when at rest in sleep/ This content includes the Fudgements instilled into the astral

body by Spirit:beings of a higher #orld during the periods of sleep E Fudgements which

remain concealed from earthly consciousness/ Man now li+es through his earthly life a

second time! yet so! that the content of his soul is now the Fudgement of his thought and

action from the standpoint of the Spirit:world/ e li+es it through in bac-ward order. first

the last night! then the last but one! and so on/

*/ This Fudgement of his life! which man e@periences in the astral body after passingthrough the gate of death! lasts as long as the sum:total of the times he spent during his

earthly life in sleep/


4/ <nly when the astral body has been laid aside E when the Fudgement of his life is o+er

E man enters the spiritual world/ There he stands in li-e relation to 1eings of purely

spiritual character as on 'arth to the beings and processes of the 2ature:-ingdoms/ In

spiritual e@perience! e+erything that was his outer world on 'arth now becomes his inner

world/ e no longer merely percei+es it! but e@periences it in its spiritual being which was

hid from him on 'arth! as his own world/

)/ In the Spirit:realm! man as he is on 'arth becomes an outer world/ #e ga7e upon him!

e+en as on 'arth we ga7e upon the stars and clouds! the mountains and ri+ers/ 2or is this

>outer world? any less rich in content than the glory of the $osmos as it appears to us in

earthly life/

/ The forces begotten by the human Spirit in the Spirit:realm wor- on in the fashioning

of earthly Man! e+en as the deeds we accomplish in the Physical wor- on as a content ofthe soul in the life after death/


(/ In the e+ol+ed Imaginati+e Knowledge there wor-s what li+es as soul and spirit in the

inner life of man! fashioning the physical body in its life! and unfolding man,s e@istence in

the physical world on this bodily foundation/ <+er against the physical body! whose

substances are renewed again and again in the process of metabolism! we here come to the

inner nature of man! unfolding itself continuously from birth 0or conception5 until death/

<+er against the physical Space:body! we come to a Time:body/

14





39/ In the Inspired Knowledge there li+es! in picture:form! what man e@periences in a

spiritual en+ironment in the time between death and a new birth/ #hat Man is in his own

1eing and in relation to cosmic worlds E without the physical and etheric bodies by

means of which he undergoes his earthly life E is here made +isible/

3%/ In the Intuiti+e Knowledge there comes to consciousness the wor-ing:o+er of former

earthly li+es into the present/ In the further course of e+olution these former li+es ha+e

been di+ested of their erstwhile connections with the physical world/ They ha+e become

the purely spiritual -ernel of man,s being! and! as such! are wor-ing in his present life/ In

this way! they too are an obFect of Knowledge E of that Knowledge which results with the

further unfolding of the Imaginati+e and Inspired/


3/ In the head of man! the physical <rganisation is a copy! an impress of the spiritual

indi+iduality/ The physical and the etheric part of the head stand out as complete and self:

contained pictures of the SpiritualB !eside them! in independent soul:spiritual e@istence!

there stand the astral and the 'go:part/ Thus in the head of man we ha+e to do with a

de+elopment! side by side! of the physical and etheric! relati+ely independent on the one

hand! and of the astral and 'go:organisation on the other/

33/ In the limbs and metabolic part of man the four members of the human being are

intimately bound up with one another/ The 'go:organisation and astral body are not there

!eside the physical and etheric part/ They are within them! +italising them! wor-ing in their

growth! their faculty of mo+ement and so forth/ Through this +ery fact! the limbs and

metabolic part of man is li-e a germinating seed! stri+ing for e+er to unfoldB stri+ing

continually to become a >head!? and E during the earthly life of man E no less continually

pre+ented/

3;/ The rhythmic <rganisation stands in the midst/ ere the 'go:organisation and astral

body alternately unite with the physical and etheric part! and loose themsel+es again/ The

breathing and the circulation of the blood are the physical impress of this alternate union

and loosening/ The inbreathing process portrays the unionB the outbreathing theloosening/ The processes in the arterial blood represent the unionB those in the +enous

blood the loosening/


3*/ #e understand the physical nature of man only if we regard it as a picture of the soul

and spirit/ Ta-en by itself! the physical corporality of man is unintelligible/ 1ut it is a

picture of the soul and spirit in different ways in its se+eral members/ The head is the most

perfect and complete symbolic picture of the soul and spirit/ All that pertains to the systemof the metabolism and the limbs is li-e a picture that has not yet assumed its finished

forms! but is still being wor-ed upon/ "astly! in all that belongs to the rhythmic

15





<rganisation of man! the relation of the soul and spirit to the body is intermediate

between these opposites/

34/ If we contemplate the human head from this spiritual point of +iew! we shall find in it a

help to the understanding of spiritual Imaginations/ &or in the forms of the head!Imaginati+e forms are as it were coagulated to the point of physical density/

3)/ Similarly! if we contemplate the rhythmic part of man,s <rganisation it will help us to

understand Inspirations/ The physical appearance of the rhythms of life bears e+en in the

sense:perceptible picture the character of Inspiration/ "astly! in the system of the

metabolism and the limbs E if we obser+e it in full action! in the e@ercise of its necessary

or possible functions E we ha+e a picture! supersensible yet sensible! of pure

supersensible Intuitions/

16





<2 T' PI$TDR':2ATDR' <& MA2

Supplementary to the last set of Leading 'houghts

It is most important that it should be understood through Anthroposophy that the

ideas which a man gains by loo-ing at outer 2ature are inadeCuate for the obser+ation of

Man/ The ideas which ha+e ta-en possession of men,s minds during the spiritual

de+elopment of the last few centuries fail to realise this fact/ Through them men ha+e

grown accustomed to thin-ing out natural laws! and to e@plaining by means of them the

phenomena which are percei+ed by the senses/ They then turn their attention to the

human organism! and thin- that that too can be e@plained through bringing the laws of

2ature to bear upon it/

2ow this is Fust as though! in considering a picture which a painter had created! we

only too- into account the substance of the colours! their power of adhering to the can+as!

the way in which these colours were applied! and similar things/ 1ut such a way of

regarding the picture does not re+eal what is contained in it/ =uite other laws are acti+e in

the re+elation contained in the picture than those which can be percei+ed by considering

such points as these/

It is a Cuestion of realising that in the human being too something is re+ealed which

cannot be grasped from the standpoint of natural law/ If anyone has once thoroughly

made this conception his own! then he will be able to understand man as a picture/ A

mineral is not a picture in this sense/ It re+eals only what is directly e+ident to the senses/

To a certain e@tent when regarding a picture we loo- through what the senses percei+e

to its spiritual content/ And so is it also in the obser+ation of the human being/ If we truly

understand the human being in the light of natural law! we do not feel that these laws

bring us into contact with the real man! but only with that through which he re+eals

himself

#e must e@perience spiritually that when we regard a man only from the point of +iewof natural law! it is as if we stood before a picture seeing only >blue? and >red!? and Cuite

unable through an inner acti+ity of the soul to relate the blue and red to that which re+eals

itself through these colours/

#hen +iewing things from the standpoint of natural law we must percei+e the mineral

in one way! the human being in another/ In the case of the mineral it is! for the spiritual

understanding! as if we were in immediate touch with what is percei+edB but in the case of

man it is as though we could only come as near to him through natural laws as to a picture

which we do not see clearly with the eye of the soul but only touch and feel/

1





#hen once we ha+e gained the perception that man is a >picture? of something! we

shall be in the right mood of soul to progress to that which manifests in this picture/

The pictorial nature of man does not manifest in one way only/ An organ of sense is in

its nature least of all a picture! and mostly a -ind of manifestation of itself li-e the mineral/The human organs of sense approach nearest to natural laws/ "et us but contemplate the

wonderful arrangement of the eye! which by natural laws we are able to comprehend/ It is

the same with the other organs! though not often so clearly e+ident/ It is because the sense

organs! in their formation! show a certain compactness/ They are arranged in the organism

as complete formations! and as such assist in the perception of the outer world/

1ut it is otherwise with the rhythmic actions in the organism/ They are not complete!

but e+anescent! the organism in them continually forming and then declining/ If the sense

organs were li-e the rhythmic system! we should percei+e the outer world in a perpetualgrowth/

The sense organs are li-e a picture on the wall/ The rhythmic system is li-e the scene

that unfolds itself if can+as and painter are imaged by us at the conception of the picture/

The picture is not yet there! but it comes more and more into being/ In studying the

rhythmic system! we ha+e to do with a perpetual process of becoming/ A thing that has

already come into e@istence remains in e@istence! for a time at any rate/ 1ut when we study

the human rhythmic system we find the process of becoming! the upbuilding process!

followed directly and without a gap by the passing out of e@istence! the destructi+e

process/ In the rhythmic system there manifests itself a picture! coming into e@istence! but

ne+er finished nor complete/

The acti+ity which the soul discharges in conscious de+otion to what is brought before

it as the finished picture! may be styled <magination/ <n the other hand <nspiration is the

e@perience that must be unfolded in order to comprehend a growing picture/

1ut this is different again in the contemplation of the metabolic and limb system/ ere

it is as if one was before a bare can+as and unused paints! and an artist not e+en painting/

To get a perception of the metabolic and limb system! one must get a perception that hasas little connection with the senses! as ha+e the bare can+as and unused paints with that

which is afterwards the artist,s picture/ And the acti+ity that is de+eloped by the soul in

pure spirituality out of the metabolic and limb system is as when! upon seeing the painter

and an empty can+as and unused paints! one e@periences the picture to be painted later/ In

order to understand the metabolic and limb system the soul must e@ercise the power of

<ntuition/

It is necessary that the acti+e members of the Anthroposophical Society should

concentrate in this way on the essential and fundamental nature of anthroposophicalstudy/ &or it is not only the -nowledge one gains by study but the e@perience achie+ed

thereby that matters/

1!





&rom what has here been e@plained our study will lead us to the following "eading

Thoughts/


3/ #e ha+e shown how man is to be regarded in his picture:nature and in the spirituality

which thereby re+eals itself/ <nce this perception is attained! then! in the spiritual world

where we see man li+ing and mo+ing as a Spirit:being! we are also on the point of seeing

the reality of the moral laws of the soul/ &or the moral world:order is then re+ealed as the

earthly image of an order belonging to the spiritual world/ The physical world:order and

the moral are welded together now! in undi+ided unity/

3(/ &rom out of man! there wor-s the human #ill/ This #ill confronts the >"aws of 2ature?

which we deri+e from the e@ternal world! as something altogether foreign to their essence/The nature of the sense:organs can still be scientifically understood by +irtue of their

li-eness to the obFects of e@ternal 2ature/ In the acti+ity of these organs! the #ill! howe+er!

is not yet able to unfold itself/ The nature that manifests itself in the human rhythmic

system is already far less li-e any e@ternal thing/ Into this system the #ill can already

wor- to some e@tent/ 1ut the rhythmic system is in constant process of coming:into:being

and passing:away! and in these processes the #ill is not yet free/

;9/ In the system of metabolism and the limbs we ha+e a nature which manifests itself in

material substances and in the processes they undergoB yet are the substances and

processes in reality no nearer to this nature than are the artist and his materials to the

finished picture/ ere! therefore! the #ill is able to enter in and wor- directly/ 1ehind the

human <rganisation li+ing in >2atural "aws!? we must grasp that inner human nature

which li+es and mo+es and has its being in the Spiritual/ ere is the realm in which we can

become aware of the real wor-ing of the #ill/ &or the realm of sense! the human #ill

remains a mere word! empty of all content! and the scientist or thin-er who claims to ta-e

hold of it within this realm! lea+es the real nature of the #ill behind him and replaces it in

theory by something else/


;%/ In the third of the last "eading Thoughts! we pointed to the nature of the human #ill/

<nly when this is realised! do we enter with understanding into a sphere of the world

where 6estiny or Karma wor-s/ So long as we percei+e only that system of law which

holds sway in the relations of the things and facts of 2ature! our understanding is entirely

remote from the laws that wor- in 6estiny/

;/ #hen the law in 6estiny is thus percei+ed! it is re+ealed at the same time that 6estiny

cannot come into e@istence in the course of a single physical life on 'arth/ So long as heinhabits the same physical body! man can realise only the moral content of his #ill in the

way that this particular physical body! within the physical world! allows/ <nly when he

1"





has passed through the gate of death into the sphere of the Spirit! can the Spirit:nature of

the #ill come to full effect/ Then will the Good and the '+il be se+erally realised E a

spiritual realisation to begin with E in their corresponding outcome/

;3/ In this spiritual realisation man fashions and forms himself between death and a new birth/ e becomes in !eing an image of what he did during his earthly lifeB and out of this

his being! on his subseCuent return to 'arth! he forms his physical life/ The Spiritual that

wor-s and wea+es in 6estiny can only find realisation in the Physical if its corresponding

cause withdrew! before this realisation! into the spiritual realm/ &or all that emerges in our

life by way of 6estiny proceeds out of the SpiritualB nor does it e+er ta-e shape within the

seCuence of physical phenomena/


;;/ #e should pass on to a spiritual:scientific treatment of the Cuestion of 6estiny by

ta-ing e@amples from the life and e@perience of indi+idual men and women! showing how

the forces of 6estiny wor- themsel+es out! and the significance they ha+e for the whole

course of human life/ #e may show! for instance! how an e@perience which a man

undergoes in his youth! which he can certainly not ha+e brought upon himself entirely of

his own free will! may none the less to a large e@tent gi+e shape to the whole of his later

life/

;*/ #e should describe the significance of the fact that in the physical course of life

between birth and death the good may become unhappy in their outer life! and the wic-ed

at any rate apparently happy/ In e@pounding these things! pictures of indi+idual cases

carry more weight than theoretical e@planationsB they are a far better preparation for the

spiritual:scientific treatment of the subFect/

;4/ '+ents of 6estiny which come into the life of man in such a way that their determining

conditions cannot possibly be found in his present life! should be cited/ &aced with such

happenings! a purely reasonable +iew of life already points in the direction of former li+es

on 'arth/ It must of course be made clear by the +ery way in which these things are

described that no dogmatic or binding statement is implied/ The purpose of such e@amplesis simply to direct one,s thoughts towards a spiritual:scientific treatment of the Cuestion of

6estiny/


;)/ <f all that is latent in the forming of man,s 6estiny! only the +ery smallest part enters

the e+eryday consciousness/ et the un+eiling of our 6estiny teaches us most of all! how

the Dnconscious can indeed be brought to consciousness/ They in effect are wrong! who

spea- of what is! for the time being! the Dnconscious! as though it must remain absolutelyin the realm of the un-nown! thus constituting a barrier of -nowledge/ #ith e+ery

2#





fragment of his 6estiny that is un+eiled to him! man lifts into the realm of consciousness

something that was hitherto unconscious/

;/ In so doing man becomes aware that the things of 6estiny are not wo+en within the life

between birth and death/ Thus the Cuestion of 6estiny impels him most of all to thecontemplation of the life between death and a new birth/

;(/ $onscious human e@perience is thus impelled by the Cuestion of 6estiny to loo-

beyond itself/ Moreo+er! as we dwell upon this fact! we shall de+elop a true feeling for the

relation of the 2atural and the Spiritual/ e who beholds the li+ing sway of 6estiny in the

human being! stands already in the midst of spiritual things/ &or the inner connections of

6estiny ha+e nothing of the character of outer 2ature/


*9/ It is most important to point out! how the study of the historic life of man-ind is called

to life when we show that it is the souls of men themsel+es! passing from epoch to epoch

in their repeated li+es on 'arth! who carry o+er the results of one historic age into another/

*%/ It may easily be obFected that such a line of thought robs history of its nai+e and

elemental force/ 1ut this obFection is untrue/ <n the contrary! our +ision of historic life is

deepened when we can trace it thus into man,s inmost being/ istory becomes more real

and more abundant! not poorer and more abstract/ In describing these things we must!

howe+er! unfold true sympathy and insight into the li+ing soul of man! for we ga7e deepinto the soul along these lines of thought/

*/ The epochs in the life between death and a new birth should be treated in relation to

the forming of Karma/ &urther "eading Thoughts will indicate the way in which this can

be done/


*3/ The unfolding of man,s life between death and a new birth ta-es place in successi+estages/ &or a few days after passing through the gate of 6eath the whole of the past earthly

life is seen in li+ing pictures/ This e@perience re+eals at the same time the gradual

se+erance of the +ehicle of the past life from the human soul:and:spirit/

*;/ In a time that comprises about a third of the past earthly life! the soul disco+ers in

spiritual e@periences the effect which this life must ha+e in accordance with an ethically

Fust #orld:order/ 6uring this e@perience the purpose is begotten in the soul to shape the

ne@t earthly life in a corresponding way! and thus to compensate for the past/

**/ There follows a purely spiritual epoch of e@istence/ 6uring this epoch! which is of longduration! the soul of man E along with other human souls -armically connected with

21





him! and with the 1eings of the ierarchies abo+e E fashions the ne@t life on 'arth in the

sense of Karma/


*4/ The epoch of e@istence between death and a new birth! when the Karma of man is

fashioned! can be described only by the results of spiritual research/ 1ut it must always be

borne in mind that such description appeals to our intelligence/ #e need only consider

with open mind the realities of the world of the senses! and we become aware that it points

to a spiritual reality E as the form of a corpse points to the life that in:dwelt it/

*)/ The results of Spiritual Science show that between death and birth man belongs to

Spirit:-ingdoms! e+en as he belongs between birth and death to the three -ingdoms of

2ature. the mineral! the plant and the animal/

*/ The mineral -ingdom is recognisable in the form of the human being at any gi+en

momentB the plant -ingdom! as the etheric body! is the basis of his growth! his becomingB

the animal -ingdom! as the astral body! is the impulse for his unfolding of sensation and

+olition/ The crowning of the conscious life of sensation and +olition in the self3conscious

spiritual life ma-es the connection of man with the spiritual world straightway apparent/


*(/ <pen:minded contemplation of Thin-ing shows that the thoughts of the ordinary

consciousness ha+e no e@istence of their own! but arise only as the reflected images of

something/ Man! howe+er! feels himself to be ali+e in his thoughts/ The thoughts are not

ali+e! but he himself is li+ing in them/ This life has its source in Spirit:beings! whom we

may describe 0in the sense of my boo-! 1ccult Science5 as the 1eings of the Third ierarchy

E a -ingdom of the Spirit/

49/ '@tended to the life of &eeling! the same open:minded contemplation shows that the

feelings! though they arise out of the body! cannot ha+e been created by it/ &or their life bears in it a character independent of the bodily organism/ #ith his bodily nature man can

feel himself to be within the world of 2ature/ et Fust in realising this with true self:

understanding! he will feel that with his world of &eeling he is in a spiritual -ingdom/ This

is the -ingdom of the Second ierarchy/

4%/ As a being of #ill! man,s attention is directed not to his own bodily nature! but to the

outer world/ #hen he desires to wal- he does not as-! >#hat do I feel in my feet? but

>#hat is the goal out there! which I desire to reach? In willing! man forgets his body/ In his

#ill he belongs! not to his own nature! but to the Spirit:-ingdom of the &irst ierarchy/

22

http://www.rsarchive.org/Books/GA013/English/

http://www.rsarchive.org/Books/GA013/English/





D26'RSTA26I2G <& T' SPIRITB

$<2S$I<DS 'P'RI'2$' <& 6'STI2

This wee- something will be gi+en in the communications addressed to members in these

columns! which may ser+e to bring us to a further understanding of the wee-ly >"eading

Thoughts/?

The understanding of anthroposophical truth can be furthered if the relation which

e@ists between man and the world is constantly brought before the human soul/

#hen man turns his attention to the world into which he is born and out of which he

dies! he is surrounded in the first place by the fullness of his sense:impressions/ e forms

thoughts about these sense:impressions/

In bringing the following to his consciousness. >I am forming thoughts about what my

senses re+eal to me as the world!? he has already come to the point where he can

contemplate himself/ e can say to himself. In my thoughts > I ? li+e/ The world gi+es me

the opportunity of e@periencing myself in thoughts/ I find myself in my thoughts when I

contemplate the world/

And continuing to reflect in this way! he ceases to be conscious of the worldB he

becomes conscious of the > I ?/ e ceases to ha+e the world before himB he begins to

e@perience the self/

If the e@perience be re+ersed! and the attention directed to the inner life in which the

world is mirrored! then those e+ents emerge into consciousness which belong to our life,s

destiny! and in which our human self has flowed along from the point of time to which our

memory goes bac-/ In following up the e+ents of his destiny! a man e@periences his own

e@istence/

In bringing this to his consciousness. >I with my own self ha+e e@perienced something

that destiny brought to me!? a man has already come to the point where he willcontemplate the world/ e can say to himself. I was not alone in my fateB the world played

a part in my e@perience/ I willed this or thatB the world streamed into my will/ I find the

world in my will when I e@perience this will in self:contemplation/

$ontinuing thus to enter into his own being! man ceases to be conscious of the self! he

becomes conscious of the worldB he ceases to e@perience himself! he becomes feelingly

aware of the world/

>I send my thoughts out into the #orld! there I find myselfB I sin- into myself! there I

find the #orld/? If a man e@periences this strongly enough he is confronted with the great

riddles of the #orld and Man/

23





&or to ha+e the feeling. I ha+e ta-en endless pains to understand the world through

thin-ing! and after all there is but myself in this thin-ing E this gi+es rise to the first great

riddle/ And to feel that one,s own self is formed through destiny! yet to percei+e in this

process the onward flow of world:happenings E this presents the second riddle/

In the e@perience of this problem of Man and the #orld germinates the frame of mind

in which man can so confront Anthroposophy that he recei+es from it in his inner being an

impression which rouses his attention/

&or Anthroposophy asserts that there is a spiritual e@perience which does not lose the

world when thin-ing/ <ne can also li%e in thought/ Anthroposophy tells of an inward

e@perience in which one does not lose the sense:world when thin-ing! but gains the Spirit:

world/ Instead of penetrating into the ego in which the sense:world is felt to disappear!

one penetrates into the Spirit:world in which the ego feels established/

Anthroposophy shows! further! that there is an e@perience of destiny in which one does

not lose the self/ In fate! too! one can still feel oneself to be acti+e/ Anthroposophy points

out! in the impartial! unegoistic obser+ation of human destiny! an e@perience in which one

learns to lo+e the world and not only one,s own e@istence/ Instead of staring into the world

which carries the ego on the wa+es of fortune and misfortune! one finds the ego which

shapes its own fate +oluntarily/ Instead of stri-ing against the world on which the ego is

dashed to pieces! one penetrates into the self! which feels itself united with the course of

e+ents in the world/

Man,s destiny comes to him from the world that is re+ealed to him by his senses/ If

then he finds his own acti+ity in the wor-ing of his destiny! his real self rises up before

him not only out of his inner being but out of the sense:world too/

If a person is able to feel! howe+er faintly! how the spiritual part of the world appears

in the self! and how the self pro+es to be wor-ing in the outer world of sense! he has

already learned to understand Anthroposophy correctly/ &or he will then realise that in

Anthroposophy it is possible to describe the Spirit:world which the self can comprehend/

And this will enable him to understand that in the sense:world the self can also be foundE in a different way than by di+ing within/ Anthroposophy finds the self by showing how

the sense:world re+eals to man not only sense:perceptions but also the after:effects of his

life before birth and his former earthly li+es/

Man can now ga7e on the world perceptible to his senses and say. It contains not only

colour! sound! warmthB in it are acti+e the e@periences passed through by souls before

their present earthly life/ And he can loo- into himself and say. I find there not only my

ego but! in addition! a spiritual world is re+ealed/

In an understanding of this -ind! a person who really feels E who is not unmo+ed by

E the great riddles of Man and the #orld! can meet on a common ground with the Initiate

24





who in accordance with his insight is obliged to spea- of the outer world of the senses as

manifesting not only sense:perceptions but also the impressions of what human souls

ha+e done in their life before birth and in past earthly li+es! and who has to say of the

world of the inner self that it re+eals spiritual e+ents which produce impressions and are

as effecti+e as the perceptions of the sense:world/

The would:be acti+e members should consciously ma-e themsel+es mediators between

what the Cuestioning human soul feels as the problems of Man and the Dni+erse! and

what the -nowledge of the Initiates has to recount! when it draws forth a past world out of

the destiny of human beings! and when by strengthening the soul it opens up the

perception of a spiritual world/

In this way! through the wor- of the would:be acti+e members! the Anthroposophical

Society may become a true preparatory school for the school of Initiates/ It was theintention of the $hristmas Meeting to indicate this +ery forciblyB and one who truly

understands what that Meeting meant will continue to point this out until sufficient

understanding of it can bring the Society fresh tas-s and possibilities again/

May the "eading Thoughts to be gi+en in this number proceed! therefore! out of this

spirit/


4/ In our sense:perceptions! the world of the senses bears on to the surface only a portionof the being that lies concealed in the depths of its wa+es beneath/ Penetrati+e spiritual

obser+ation re+eals within these depths the after:effects of what was done by souls of men

in ages long gone by/

43/ To ordinary self:obser+ation the inner world of man re+eals only a portion of that! in

the midst of which it stands/ Intensified e@perience in consciousness shows it to be

contained within a li+ing spiritual Reality/

4;/ The destiny of man re+eals the wor-ings! not only of an e@ternal world! but of theman,s own Self/

4*/ The e@periences of the human soul re+eal not only a Self but a world of the Spirit!

which the Self can -now by deeper spiritual -nowledge as a world united with its own

being/


44/ The 1eings of the Third ierarchy re+eal themsel+es in the life which is unfolded as a

spiritual bac-ground in human Thin-ing/ In the human acti+ity of thought this life is

25





concealed/ If it wor-ed on in its own essence in human thought! man could not attain to

&reedom/ #here cosmic Thought acti+ity ceases! human Thought:acti+ity begins/

4)/ The 1eings of the Second ierarchy manifest themsel+es in a world:of:soul beyond

humanity E a world of cosmic soul:acti+ities! hidden from human &eeling/ This cosmicworld:of:soul is e+er creati+e in the bac-ground of human &eeling/ <ut of the being of

man it first creates the organism of &eelingB only then can it bring &eeling itself to life

therein/

4/ The 1eings of the &irst ierarchy manifest themsel+es in spiritual creation beyond

humanity E a cosmic world of spiritual 1eing which indwells the human #illing/ This

world of cosmic Spirit e@periences itself in creati+e action when man wills/ It first creates

the connection of man,s being with the Dni+erse beyond humanityB only then does man

himself become! through his organism of #ill! a freely willing being/

26





SPIRITDA" KI2G6<MS A26 DMA2

S'"&:K2<#"'6G'

Through the "eading Thoughts which ha+e been sent out from the Goetheanum during

the past wee-s to the members of the Anthroposophical Society! the soul has been directed

to the 1eings of the spiritual -ingdoms with whom man is connected from abo+e! Fust as!

from below! he is connected with the -ingdoms of 2ature/

True self:-nowledge may become the guide through which man finds his way into

these spiritual -ingdoms/ And when such self:-nowledge is stri+en after in the right way!

then the understanding will be awa-ened for what Anthroposophy is able to ma-e -nown

through its insight into the life of the spiritual world/ 1ut self:-nowledge must be

practised in the true sense! not as a mere rigid ga7ing into one,s inner being/

1y means of such a true self:-nowledge one arri+es in the first place at what li+es in

memory/ In thought:pictures! the shadow of what was a direct and li+ing e@perience in the

past is called up into consciousness/ Anyone seeing a shadow will! out of an inner impulse

of thought! be guided to the obFect which threw the shadow/ e who bears a memory

within him cannot in this direct way turn the eye of his soul to the e@perience which li+es

on in the memory/ 1ut when he truly reflects on his own nature he will be obliged to say to

himself. that he himself! in his soul:being! is what his e@periences ha+e made of him E

those e@periences which throw their shadows into the memory/ The memory:shadowsappear in the consciousnessB in the soul there shines what in the memory is shadow/ 6ead

shadow li+es in the memoryB li+ing being li+es in the soul in which the memory is acti+e/

It is only necessary that this relationship of the memory to the actual soul:life should be

made clearB and in this stri+ing for clearness in self:-nowledge a man will then percei+e

that he is on the path to the spiritual world/

Through memory! man is loo-ing at the spiritual in his own soul/ 1ut in the ordinary

consciousness he does not arri+e at a real grasp of what he thus loo-s upon/ e loo-s in

the direction on somethingB but his loo- meets with no reality/ Anthroposophy! out ofImaginati+e Knowledge! shows the way to this reality/ Through it we are referred from the

shadow to that which gleams and shines/ Anthroposophy does this! in that it spea-s of the

etheric body of man/ It shows how the physical body is acti+e in the thought:shadow

picturesB but how in the gleaming and shining the etheric body li%es/

#ith the physical body man is in the sense:worldB with the etheric body he is in the

etheric world/ In the sense:world he has his en+ironmentB in the etheric world also/ And

Anthroposophy spea-s of this latter en+ironment as the first of the hidden worlds in

which man is li+ing/ It is the -ingdom of the Third ierarchy/

2





"et us now approach speech in the same way that we ha+e considered memory/ It issues

from within man Fust as does the memory/ It connects him with a certain state of being! as

memory unites him with his own e@periences/ In words! too! there is an element of

shadow/ This is deeper than the shadow of the thoughts of memory/ #hen man inwardly

casts the shadow of his e@periences as his memories! his own hidden self is acti+e in thewhole process/ e is there when the light casts the shadow/

In speech there is also a process of shadow:casting/ The words are the shadows/ #hat

is it in this case that shines Something stronger shines! because words are stronger

shadows than are the thoughts of memory/ The element in the human self which in the

course of an earthly life can produce memories! cannot create words/ Man must learn

these in connection with other human beings/ Something which lies deeper in him than

that which casts the shadow of memory must ta-e part in this process/ In this case

Anthroposophy spea-s from Inspired Knowledge of the astral body! as in the case ofmemory it spea-s of the etheric body/ The astral body is added to the physical and etheric

bodies as a third part of the human being/

This third part! too! has a cosmic en+ironment about it/ This is made up of the Second

ierarchy/ In human language we ha+e a phantom of this Second ierarchy/ As to his

astral body! man li+es within the pro+ince of this ierarchy/

#e may go still further/ In speech a portion of man,s being is engaged/ #hen he spea-s

he brings his inner being into motion/ That which surrounds this inner being remains at

rest/ The mo+ement of speech wrings itself loose from the human being while he remains

at rest! but the whole man comes into motion when he brings into acti+ity all that belongs

to his limbs/ In such mo+ement man is no less full of e@pression than in memory and

speech/ Memory e@presses his e@periences/ The nature of language consists in its being the

e@pression of something/ In the same way the man whose whole being is in motion

e@presses something/

Anthroposophy points out that this >something? is another part of the human being/

&rom Intuiti+e Knowledge it spea-s of the >real Self? or > I /? This too! it finds! has a cosmic

en+ironment! namely the &irst ierarchy/

#hen man approaches the thoughts in his memory he meets with the first

supersensible element E his own etheric being/ Anthroposophy points out to him the

cosmic en+ironment corresponding to it/ #hen man considers himself as one who ma-es

use of language he finds his astral being/ This is no longer comprehended in that which

only acts inwardly! li-e memory/ It is seen by Inspiration as that which in the act of

spea-ing shapes a physical process out of the Spiritual/ Speech is a physical process/ At its

foundation lies an acti+ity which proceeds from the sphere of the Second ierarchy/

2!





#hen the whole man is in motion there is a more intense physical action than in

speech/ 2ot merely a part of man is moulded! the whole man is gi+en shapeB and in the

physical being which li+es and mo+es in form! the &irst ierarchy is acti+e/

In this way! then! true self:-nowledge can be culti+ated/ 1ut in doing this man does notgrasp his own Self alone/ Step by step he comprehends the parts of his body. the physical

body! the etheric body! the astral body and the Self/ And by comprehending these he also

reaches up! step by step! to higher worlds which li-e the three -ingdoms of 2ature! the

animal! plant and mineral -ingdoms! belong! as the three spiritual -ingdoms! to the whole

Dni+erse in which his being is unfolding/


4(/ The Third ierarchy re+eals itself as pure soul and spirit/ It li+es and mo+es in all thatman e@periences in the soul! in his inner life/ 2either in the etheric nor in the physical

could any processes arise if this ierarchy alone were acti+e/ Soul:life alone could e@ist/

)9/ The Second ierarchy re+eals itself as soul and spirit that wor-s in the etheric/ All that

is etheric is a manifestation of the Second ierarchy/ This ierarchy! howe+er! does not

re+eal itself directly in the physicalB its power e@tends only to etheric processes/ <nly

etheric and soul:life could e@ist if the Third and the Second ierarchy alone were acti+e/

)%/ The &irst and strongest ierarchy re+eals itself as the spiritually acti+e principle within

the physical/ It ma-es the physical world into a $osmos/ The Third and the Secondierarchy are the 1eings who minister to it in this acti+ity/


)/ As soon as we approach the higher members of man,s being E the etheric! the astral

body and the 'go E organisation E we are obliged to see- for man,s relation to the beings

of the spiritual -ingdoms/ It is only the physical body,s organisation which we can

illumine by reference to the three physical -ingdoms of 2ature/

)3/ In the etheric body the Intelligence of the $osmos becomes embodied in the human

being/ That this can happen! reCuires the acti+ity of cosmic 1eings! who! in their combined

wor-ing! shape the etheric body of man! e+en as the physical forces shape the physical/

);/ In the astral body the spiritual world implants the moral impulses into the human

being/ That these can show forth their life in man,s <rganisation! depends on the acti+ity

of 1eings who are able not only to thin- the Spiritual! but to shape it in its reality/

)*/ In the 'go:organisation man e@periences himself! e+en in the physical body! as a Spirit/

That this can happen! reCuires the acti+ity of 1eings who themsel+es! as spiritual 1eings!li+e in the physical world/

2"





<# T' "'A6I2G T<DGTS AR' T< 1' DS'6

Those who want to ta-e an acti+e part in the Mo+ement may find in the "eading Thoughts

that are gi+en out from the Goetheanum! an impulse and stimulus that shall enable themto bring unity and wholeness into all anthroposophical acti+ity/

They will find in them! as they recei+e them wee- by wee-! guidance for deepening

their understanding of the material that is already at hand in the "ecture:$ourses and for

putting it forward in the Group meetings with a certain order and harmony/

It would without doubt be more desirable for the lectures gi+en in 6ornach to be

carried at once in all directions to the indi+idual Groups/ 1ut one has to remember what

complicated technical arrangements such a course would necessitate/ The '@ecuti+e at theGoetheanum are ma-ing e+ery possible effort in this direction! and still more will be done

in the future/ 1ut we must rec-on with the possibilities that e@ist/ The aims that found

e@pression at the $hristmas Meeting will be realised/ 1ut we need time/

&or the present those Groups that ha+e members who +isit the Goetheanum! hear the

lectures there and can bring bac- the substance of them into the Group meetings! ha+e an

ad+antage/ And Groups should recognise that the sending of members to the Goetheanum

in this way is a +ery good thing to do/ <n the other hand! howe+er! the wor- that has

already been achie+ed within the Anthroposophical Society and that is embodied in the

printed $ourses and "ectures! should not be under+alued/ If you ta-e up these $ourses

and call to mind from the titles what is contained in this one and in that! and then turn to

the "eading Thoughts! you will find that you meet with one thing in one $ourse! another

in another! that e@plains the "eading Thoughts more fully/ 1y reading together passages

that are found separated in different $ourses! you will disco+er the right points of +iew for

e@pounding and elaborating the "eading Thoughts/

#e in the Anthroposophical Society are wasting opportunities all the time if we lea+e

the printed $ourses Cuite untouched and only want always to hear >the latest? from the

Goetheanum/ And it will readily be understood that all possibility of printing the $ourseswould gradually cease if they were not widely made use of/

Another point of +iew also comes into consideration/ In spreading the contents of

Anthroposophy! a strong sense of responsibility is necessary in the first place/ #hat is said

about the spiritual world must be brought into a form such that the pictures of spiritual

facts and beings which are gi+en are not e@posed to misunderstanding/ Anyone who hears

a lecture at the Goetheanum will recei+e an immediate and direct impression/ If he repeats

the contents of what he heard! this impression can echo from himB and he is able so to

formulate them that they can be rightly understood/ 1ut if they are repeated at second orthird hand! the possibility of inaccuracies creeping in becomes greater and greater/ All

these things should be borne in mind/

3#





The following point of +iew is! howe+er! probably the most important/ The point is not

that Anthroposophy should be simply listened to or read! but that it should be recei+ed

into the li+ing soul/ It is essential that what has been recei+ed should be wor-ed upon in

thought and carried into the feelingsB and the "eading Thoughts are really intended to

suggest this with regard to the $ourses already printed and in circulation/ If this point of+iew is not sufficiently considered! then the nature of Anthroposophy will be constantly

hindered from manifesting itself through the Anthroposophical Society/ People say! though

only with apparent Fustice. >#hat use is it to me to hear all these things about the spiritual

worlds if I cannot loo- into those worlds for myself? <ne who spea-s thus does not

realise that such +ision is promoted when the wor-ing out of anthroposophical ideas is

thought of in the manner indicated abo+e/ The lectures at the Goetheanum are so gi+en

that their contents can li+e on and wor- freely in the minds of the hearers/ The same

applies also to the contents of the $ourses/ These do not contain dead material to be

imparted e@ternally! but material which! when +iewed from different aspects! stimulatesthe +ision for spiritual worlds/ It should not be thought that one hears the contents of the

lectures and that the -nowledge of the spiritual world is acCuired separately by means of

meditation/ In that way one will ne+er ma-e real progress/ 1oth must act together in the

soul/ And to thin- out anthroposophical ideas and allow them to li+e on in the feelings is

also an e@ercise of the soul/ A person grows into the spiritual world with open eyes if he

uses Anthroposophy in the manner we ha+e described/

&ar too little attention is paid in the Anthroposophical Society to the fact that

Anthroposophy should not be abstract theory but real life/ Real life! that is its natureB andif it is made into abstract theory this is often not at all a better but a worse theory than

others/ 1ut it becomes theory only when it is made such E i/e/ when one -ills it/ It is still

not sufficiently realised that Anthroposophy is not only a conception of the world!

different from others! but that it must also !e recei%ed differently/ Its nature is recognised and

e@perienced only when one recei+es it in this different way/

The Goetheanum should be loo-ed upon as the necessary centre of anthroposophical

wor- and acti+ity! but one ought not to lose sight of the fact that the anthroposophical

material which has been wor-ed out should also be made use of in the Groups/ #hat is

wor-ed out at the Goetheanum can be obtained gradually by the whole Anthroposophical

Society in a full and li+ing sense! when as many members as possible come from the

Groups to the Goetheanum itself and participate as much as possible in its acti+ities/

1ut all this must be wor-ed out with heart and mindB the mere imparting of the

contents of the lectures each wee- is useless/ The '@ecuti+e at the Goetheanum will need

time and will ha+e to meet with sympathetic understanding on the part of the members/ It

will then be able to wor- in accordance with the intention of the $hristmas Meeting/


31





)4/ To call forth an idea of the &irst ierarchy 0Seraphim! $herubim and Thrones5 we must

try to create pictures in which the Spiritual E i/e/ that which can be beheld only in the

Supersensible E re+eals its wor-ing! in forms that come to manifestation in the world of

sense/ Spiritual being! portrayed in sense:perceptible imagery. such must be the content of

our thoughts about the &irst ierarchy/

))/ To call forth an idea of the Second ierarchy 0Kyriotetes! 6ynamis! '@usiai5 we must

try to create pictures in which the Spiritual re+eals itself E not in sense:perceptible forms

E but in a purely spiritual way/ Spiritual being! portrayed not in sense:perceptible but in

purely spiritual imagery. such must be the content of our thoughts about the Second

ierarchy/

)/ To call forth an idea of the Third ierarchy 0Archai! Archangeloi! Angeloi5 we must try

to create pictures in which the Spiritual re+eals itself not in sense:perceptible forms! noryet in a purely spiritual way! but in the way in which Thin-ing! &eeling and #illing come

to e@pression in the human soul/ Spiritual being! portrayed in the imagery of a life of soul.

such must be the content of our thoughts about the Third ierarchy/

32





AT T' 6A#2 <& T' MI$A'" AG'

1efore and until the ninth century after the Mystery of Golgotha! the human being stood

in a different relation to his thoughts from that which he has had in later times/ e did notha+e the feeling that he himself brought forth the thoughts that li+ed in his soul/ e

regarded them as inspirations from a spiritual world/ And when he had thoughts about

what he percei+ed with his senses! e+en these thoughts were to him re+elations of the

6i+ine that spo-e to him from the things of the senses/

#hoe+er has spiritual +ision will understand this e@perience/ &or when something that

is real in the spiritual sense communicates itself to the soul! one ne+er has the feeling.

>There is the spiritual perception! and I myself am de+eloping the thought with which to

understand it/? 1ut one sees the thought which the perception contains! and which is gi+enwith it! no less obFecti+ely than the perception itself

0#hen dates are gi+en in this connection! they are to be ta-en only as a rough

indication of the periodB the transition ta-es place Cuite gradually/5 Spea-ing! in this sense!

we may say that the ninth century saw the lighting:up! in the souls of men! of the

indi+idual personal intelligence/

Man began to ha+e the feeling. "< myself form my thoughts.& And this forming of thoughts

came to be the thing of first importance in the soul,s life! so that man saw in the intellectual

e@perience the +ery essence and being of his soul/ In earlier times men had had an

imaginati+e conception of the soul/ To them the essential thing about the soul was not that

it formed thoughts! but that it partoo- of the spiritual content of the Dni+erse/ It was the

supersensible! spiritual 1eings whom they concei+ed to be thin-ing! and E e@tending

their influence into the human being E thin-ing into him as well/ That which li+es in the

human being of the supersensible! spiritual world E this they felt as the soul/

As soon as we penetrate with higher +ision into the spiritual world! we meet with real

and concrete spiritual !1eings! spiritual Powers/ In old teachings the Power from whom the

thoughts in things proceed was designated by the name Michael/ This name we may stillapply! for it is true that human beings! once upon a time! recei+ed the thoughts of Michael/

Michael held sway o+er the $osmic Intelligence/ 1ut from the ninth century onwards men

no longer felt that Michael was inspiring the thoughts into them/ The thoughts had fallen

away from his dominion E fallen out of the spiritual world into the indi+idualised souls

of men/

enceforth it was within man-ind that the life of thought was e+ol+ed/ To begin with!

men were uncertain as to what it was they had in their thoughts/ This uncertainty found

+ery real e@pression in the scholastic teachings/ The Schoolmen were di+ided into2ominalists and Realists/ The Realists! led by St/ Thomas ACuinas and those who stood

near to him! still felt the old closeness and -inship between thought and thing/ ence they

33





saw in the thoughts a reality li+ing in the things/ They regarded the thoughts of man as

reality which flows o+er from the things into the human soul/

The 2ominalists felt +ery strongly the fact that the soul forms its thoughts/ They felt

that the thoughts were merely something that e@isted subFecti+ely in the soul and hadnothing to do with the obFects/ They were of the opinion that thoughts are only names man

forms for things/ 0They did not spea- of >thoughts? but of >uni+ersals!? but that does not

come into consideration for the principle of the theory! as thoughts always contain

something uni+ersal as compared with the indi+idual obFects/5

#e may say that the Realists wished to remain faithful to MichaelB e+en though the

thoughts had fallen from his sphere into that of man! they wished! as thin-ers! to ser+e

Michael as the Ruler of the intelligence of the $osmos/ The 2ominalists deserted Michael!

with respect to the unconscious part of their soul/ They did not consider Michael as theowner of the thoughts! but man/

2ominalism spread abroad and increased in influence up to the last third of the

nineteenth century/ Then at this period those persons who were able to percei+e the

spiritual e+ents in the Dni+erse felt that Michael had followed the stream of intellectual

life/ e is see-ing a new metamorphosis of his cosmic tas-/ &ormerly he allowed the

thoughts to stream from the spiritual outer world into the souls of menB since the last third

of the nineteenth century he wishes to li+e in the human souls in which the thoughts are

formed/ In earlier times the human beings related to Michael saw him de+elop his acti+ity

in the spiritual sphereB they now -now that they ought to let Michael dwell in their heartsB

they now dedicate to him their spiritual life which is based upon thoughtB they now! in

their free and indi+idual life of thought! allow themsel+es to be instructed by Michael as to

which are the right paths of the soul/

#hen those who in their former 'arth:life recei+ed their thoughts by inspiration! i/e/!

who were ser+ants of Michael! had returned to earthly life at the close of the nineteenth

century! they felt urged towards a +oluntary Michael community of this description/ They

now loo-ed upon the one who had formerly inspired them with thoughts as their guide in

forming higher thoughts/

<ne who understands how to obser+e such things -nows what a great change too-

place in the last third of the nineteenth century with respect to the life of human thought/

1efore that time man could only feel how thoughts formed themsel+es in his own beingB

from the time indicated he is able to raise himself abo+e his own beingB he can turn his

mind to the SpiritualB he there meets Michael! who pro+es his ancient -inship with

e+erything connected with thought/ e liberates thought from the sphere of the headB he

clears the way for it to the heartB he en-indles enthusiasm in the feelings! so that the

human mind can be filled with de+otion for all that can be e@perienced in the light ofthought/

34





The Age of Michael has dawned/ earts are beginning to ha+e thoughtsB spiritual

fer+our is now proceeding! not merely from mystical obscurity! but from souls clarified by

thought/ To understand this means to recei+e Michael into the heart/ Thoughts which at

the present time stri+e to grasp the Spiritual must originate in hearts which beat for

Michael as the fiery Prince of Thought in the Dni+erse/


)(/ Spiritually! we can approach the Third ierarchy 0Archai! Archangeloi! Angeloi5 by

learning to -now Thin-ing! &eeling and #illing! so as to percei+e in them the Spiritual that

wor-s in the soul/ Thin-ing! to begin with! places not an effecti+e reality! but only pictures

into the world/ &eeling li+es and mo+es in this realm of picturesB bears witness to the

presence of a reality in man! but cannot li+e it or e@press it outwardly/ #illing unfolds a

reality which presupposes the e@istence of the body but does not consciously assist in itsformation/ The spiritual reality that li+es in our Thin-ing! to ma-e the body the foundation

of this Thin-ingB the spiritual reality that li+es in our &eeling! to ma-e the body share in

the e@perience of a realityB the spiritual reality that li+es in our #illing! consciously to

assist in fashioning the body E all this is ali+e in the Third ierarchy/

9/ Spiritually! we can approach the Second ierarchy 0'@usiai! 6ynamis! Kyriotetes5 by

awa-ening to see the facts of 2ature as the manifestations of spiritual being that indwells

them/ The Second ierarchy then has 2ature for its dwelling:place! there to wor- upon

the souls/

%/ Spiritually! we can approach the &irst ierarchy 0Seraphim! $herubim! Thrones5 by

awa-ening to see the facts that confront us in the -ingdom of 2ature and of Man as the

deeds 0creations5 of spiritual being that is wor-ing in them/ The &irst ierarchy then has

the -ingdom of 2ature and of Man as the outcome of its wor-! wherein it unfolds its

1eing/


/ Man loo-s upward to the worlds of starsB what is there presented to his senses is butthe outer manifestation of those Spirit:beings E and their deeds E of whom we ha+e

spo-en as the 1eings of the spiritual -ingdoms or ierarchies/

3/ The 'arth is the scene of action of the three 2ature -ingdoms and of the human

-ingdom! inasmuch as these ma-e manifest the outward and sensible glory of the acti+ity

of spiritual 1eings/

;/ The forces! wor-ing from spiritual 1eings into the earthly -ingdoms of 2ature and into

the -ingdom of Man! are re+ealed to the human Spirit in the true E that is! the spiritual E

-nowledge of the starry worlds/

35





T' $<26ITI<2 <& T' DMA2 S<D"

1'&<R' T' 6A#2 <& T' MI$A'" AG'

Today I will ta-e the opportunity of gi+ing some further thoughts in line with my article

>At the 6awn of the Michael Age?/

The Michael Age has ta-en its rise in the e+olution of man-ind at a time that follows on

the one hand the predominance of the intellectual >forming of thoughts!? and on the other

hand the turning of human perception and +ision to the outer world of the senses! to the

physical world/

Thought:forming is in its nature not essentially an e+olution in the direction of

materialism/ That which in bygone times came to the human being as something inspiredinto him! namely! the world of ideas! became! in the time that preceded the Michael epoch!

the property of the human soul/ The soul no longer recei+es the ideas >from abo+e? out of

the spiritual content of the $osmos. it draws them itself acti+ely forth out of the human

being,s own spiritual nature/ Man has thereby become ripe for reflection upon his own

spiritual being/ itherto he did not penetrate to these depths of his own nature/ e saw in

himself as it were a drop out of the sea of cosmic spirituality! a drop that has separated

itself off for the time of this earthly life! only to unite itself again when the earthly life is

o+er/

The thought:forming that goes on in the human being mar-s an ad+ance in human

self:-nowledge/ Jiewed from the supersensible! it appears thus/ The spiritual Powers that

we may designate with the Michael:name held rule o+er the ideas in the spiritual $osmos/

The human being e@perienced these ideas by parta-ing with his soul in the life of the

Michael:world/ This e@perience has now become his own! and a temporary separation of

the human being from the Michael:world has therewith come about/ #ith the inspired

thoughts of earlier times man recei+ed at the same time the content of the spiritual world/

Since this inspiration has ceased and man now forms his thoughts from his own acti+ity!

he is referred to the perception of the senses to find a content for these thoughts/ Thus was

man obliged to fill with material content the spirituality that he had won/ e fell into the

materialistic outloo- in the +ery epoch of time that brought his own spiritual being a stage

higher in de+elopment/

This is easily liable to misunderstanding/ #e may obser+e only the >fall? into

materialism and lament o+er it/ #hilst! howe+er! the perception and +ision of this age had

to be limited to the e@ternal physical world! there was unfolding within the soul! as actual

e@perience! a purified and self3su!sisting spiritually of the human being/ And now in the

Michael Age this spirituality must no longer remain as unconscious e9perience ! it must

become conscious of its own proper nature/ This signifies the entry of the Michael 1einginto the human soul/ &or a certain length of time man has filled his own spirit with the

36





material side of 2atureB he is to fill it again with cosmic content consisting of a spirituality

that is his +ery own/

Thought:forming was lost for a time in the Matter of the $osmosB it must be found

again in the cosmic Spirit/ Into the cold! abstract world of thought can enter warmth! canenter a spirit:reality that is filled with being/ That represents the dawn of the Michael Age/

The consciousness of freedom could de+elop only in the depths of the human soul

through this separation from the thought:being of the world/ #hat came from the heights

had to be found again in the depths/ &or this reason the de+elopment of the consciousness

of freedom was connected first of all with a -nowledge of 2ature that was directed only to

the e@ternal/ #hile man was unconsciously de+eloping his mind in the formation of clear

ideas! his senses were directed outward solely to what is material! but this did not in any

way disturb the tender seed that was beginning to germinate in the soul/

1ut the e@perience of the Spiritual! and together with it the %ision of the Spiritual! can

re:enter the +ision of the outward material world in a new way/ The -nowledge of 2ature

acCuired during the age of materialism can be comprehended in the soul,s inner life in a

spiritual way/ Michael! who has spo-en >from abo+e!? can be heard >from within!? where he

will begin to dwell/ Spea-ing more imaginati+ely this may be e@pressed as follows. The

Sun:nature which for long periods man recei+ed only from the $osmos! will begin to shine

within his soul/ e will learn to spea- of an >inner Sun/? This will not pre+ent him from

-nowing himself to be an earthly being during his life between birth and deathB but he will

recognise that this his earthly being is led !y the Sun/ e will learn to feel as a truth! that a

being places him! in his inner nature! into a light which shines indeed upon earthly

e@istence but which is not en-indled within it/ In the dawn of the Michael Age it may still

seem as if all this were +ery far remote from humanityB but >in the spirit? it is nearB it only

needs to be >seen/? A +ery great deal depends upon this fact! that the ideas of man do not

merely remain >thin-ing!? but in thought de+elop sight/


*/ It is in the wa-ing day:consciousness that man e@periences himself to begin with!during the present cosmic age/ This e@perience conceals from him the fact that in this

wa-ing state the Third ierarchy is present in his e@perience/

4/ In the dream:consciousness man e@periences! in a chaotic way! his own being

unharmoniously united with the Spirit:being of the world/ #hen the Imaginati+e

$onsciousness is realised as the other pole of the dream:consciousness! man becomes

aware that the Second ierarchy is present in his e@perience/

)/ In dreamless sleep:consciousness man e@periences! all unconsciously! his own beingunited with the Spirit:being of the #orld/ #hen the Inspired $onsciousness is realised as

3





the other pole of the sleep:consciousness! man becomes aware that the &irst ierarchy is

present in his e@perience/

3!





AP<RISMS &R<M A "'$TDR' T< M'M1'RS

GIJ'2 I2 "<26<2 <2 ADGDST ;T! %(;/

In the present stage of its e+olution the human consciousness unfolds three forms! the

wa-ing! the dreaming! and the dreamless sleeping consciousness/

The wa-ing consciousness e@periences the outer world through the senses! forms ideas

about it! and out of those ideas can create such as portray a purely spiritual world/ The

dreaming consciousness de+elops pictures in which the outer world is transformed! as! for

instance! when the sun shining on the bed is e@perienced in dream as a conflagration in all

its details/ <r a man,s own inner world may appear before him in symbolic pictures! as! for

instance! the throbbing heart in the picture of an o+er:heated o+en/ Memories also re:

appear transformed in the dream consciousness/ #hat these memory pictures contain isnot borrowed from the world of the senses! but from the spiritual world/ owe+er! it is not

possible through the memory pictures to penetrate with understanding into the spiritual

world! because they are Fust too dim to rise into the wa-ing consciousness! and because

what little may be percei+ed cannot be really understood/

1ut it is possible in the moment of wa-ing to grasp so much of the dream world as to

become aware that it is the imperfect copy of a spiritual e@perience which has happened in

sleep! but which for the most part e+ades the wa-ing consciousness/ In order to

comprehend this! it is only necessary to shape the moment of wa-ing in such a way thatthe outer world is not conFured all at once before the soul! but that the soul! without as yet

regarding the outer world! feels itself surrendered to what has been e@perienced within/

In the dreamless sleep consciousness the soul passes through e@periences which mean

nothing more for the memory than an indifferent period of time between falling asleep

and wa-ing/

These e@periences may be spo-en of as non:e@istent! until the way into them has been

opened up through spiritual scientific in+estigation/ 1ut if this ta-es place! if the

Imaginati+e and Inspired consciousness described in anthroposophical literature bede+eloped! then out of the dar-ness of sleep the pictures and inspirations belonging to the

e@perience of pre+ious li+es on 'arth ma-e their appearance/ It then becomes possible to

sur+ey also the content of the dream consciousness/ This cannot be grasped by the wa-ing

consciousnessB it has to do with the world in which man dwells as a disembodied soul

between two earthly li+es/

If one learns to -now what is hidden behind the dream: and sleep:consciousness in the

present age! then the way is clear to the understanding of the forms of human

consciousness in past ages/ <ne cannot! howe+er! arri+e at this by means of outerin+estigationB for e+idence recei+ed from the outer world shows only the after:effects of

the e@periences of human consciousness in prehistoric times/ Anthroposophical literature

3"





gi+es information as to how! by means of spiritual in+estigation! one may attain to the

+ision of such e@periences/

It is found by means of spiritual research that in ancient 'gyptian times man possessed

a dream:consciousness which was much more li-e the wa-ing consciousness than it is atthe present day/ The memory of the dream e@periences passed into the wa-ing

consciousness! and the latter pro+ided not only the sense impressions that can be grasped

in clearly outlined thoughts! but in addition to these the Spiritual that is at wor- in the

world of the senses/ Man,s consciousness thereby li+ed instincti+ely in the world he had

left when he incarnated on the 'arth E the world he will re:enter when he passes through

the gate of death/

Inscribed monuments and other records preser+ed from ancient times gi+e to those

who penetrate them with an impartial mind! clear e+idence of a consciousness of this -ind! belonging to an age of which no outer relics e@ist/

In ancient 'gyptian times the sleep:consciousness contained dreams of the spiritual

world! Fust as the sleep consciousness of the present day contains dreams originating from

the physical world/ 1ut among other peoples we find in addition another -ind of

consciousness/ The e@periences undergone during sleep passed o+er into the wa-ing

consciousness in such a way that there was an instincti+e +ision of repeated earthly li+es/

The traditions regarding the -nowledge of repeated earthly li+es possessed by ancient

humanity originate from these forms of consciousness/

In the de+eloped Imaginati+e consciousness we find again the dream:consciousness

which in ancient times was dim and instincti+e! only in the Imaginati+e consciousness it is

fully conscious! li-e our wa-ing life/ And through the Inspired -nowledge we become

aware of the pre:historic instincti+e insight which still saw something of the repeated

earthly li+es/

Modern writers of wor-s on the history of humanity ma-e no note of this

transformation in the forms of human consciousness/ They would li-e to belie+e that on

the whole the present forms of consciousness ha+e e@isted as long as humanity has beenon the 'arth/ And what! in spite of this! does point to other forms of consciousness! +i7/!

the myths and fairy:tales! they would prefer to loo- upon as the result of the poetic

fantasy of primiti+e man/


/ In the wa-ing day:consciousness man e@periences himself! during the present cosmic

age! standing in the midst of the physical world/ This e@perience conceals from him the

presence! within his being! of the effects of a life between death and birth/

4#





(/ In dream:consciousness man e@periences! in a chaotic way! his own being

unharmoniously united with the spiritual being of the world/ The wa-ing consciousness

cannot sei7e the real content of the dream:consciousness/ To the Imaginati+e and Inspired

$onsciousness it is re+ealed how the Spirit:world through which man li+es between death

and birth is helping to build up his inner being/

(9/ In dreamless sleep:consciousness man e@periences! all unconsciously! his own being

permeated with the results of past earthly li+es/ The Inspired and Intuiti+e $onsciousness

penetrates to a clear +ision of these results! and sees the wor-ing of former earthly li+es in

the destined course E the Karma E of the present/


(%/ The #ill enters the ordinary consciousness! in the present cosmic age! only throughThought/ 2ow in this consciousness we always ha+e to ta-e our start from something

sense:perceptible/ Thus! e+en of our own #ill! we apprehend only what passes from it

into the world of sense:perceptions/ In the ordinary consciousness it is only by obser+ation

of himself in thought that man is aware of his #ill:impulses! Fust as it is only by

obser+ation that he is aware of the outer world/

(/ The Karma that wor-s in the #ill is a property belonging to it from former li+es on

'arth/ This constituent of the #ill cannot therefore be apprehended with the ideas of our

ordinary sense:e@istence! which are directed only to the present earthly life/

(3/ 1ecause they are unable to ta-e hold of Karma! these ideas refer what is unintelligible

to them in man,s impulses of #ill to the mystic dar-ness of the bodily constitution!

whereas in reality it is the wor-ing of past earthly li+es/


(;/ #ith the ordinary life in ideas transmitted through the senses! man is in the physical

world/ &or this world to enter his consciousness! Karma must be silent in his thin-ing life/

In his life of ideation! man as it were forgets his :arma/

(*/ In the manifestations of the #ill! Karma wor-s itself out/ 1ut its wor-ing remains in

the unconscious/ 1y lifting to conscious Imagination what wor-s unconsciously in the

#ill! Karma is apprehended/ Man feels his destiny within him/

(4/ #hen Inspiration and Intuition enter the Imagination! then! beside the impulses of the

present! the outcome of former earthly li+es becomes perceptible in the wor-ing of the

#ill/ The past life is re+ealed! wor-ing itself out in the present/


41





()/ &or a cruder description it is permissible to say. Thin-ing! &eeling and #illing li+e in

the soul of man/ &or greater refinement we must add. Thin-ing always contains a

substratum of &eeling and #illingB &eeling a substratum of Thin-ing and #illingB #illing

a substratum of Thin-ing and &eeling/ In the life of thought! howe+er! Thin-ing

predominatesB in the life of feeling! &eeling predominatesB and in the life of will! #illingpredominates o+er the other contents of the soul/

(/ The &eeling and #illing of the life of Thought contain the -armic outcome of past li+es

on 'arth/ The Thin-ing and #illing of the life of &eeling -armically determine the man,s

character/ The Thin-ing and &eeling of the life of #ill tear the present earthly life away

from Karmic connections/

((/ In the &eeling and #illing of Thin-ing man li+es out his Karma of the pastB in the

Thin-ing and &eeling of #illing he prepares his Karma of the future/


%99/ The thoughts of man ha+e their true seat in the etheric body/ There! howe+er! they are

forces of real life and being/ They imprint themsel+es upon the physical body! and as such

>imprinted thoughts? they ha+e the shadowy character in which the e+eryday

consciousness -nows them/

%9%/ The &eeling that li+es in the Thoughts comes from the astral body! and the #illing

from the 'go/ In sleep the human etheric body is certainly irradiated with the world of hisThoughts! but man himself does not parta-e in it/ &or he has withdrawn! with the astral

body the &eeling of the Thoughts! and with the 'go their #illing! out of the etheric and the

physical/

%9/ The moment the astral body and 'go loose their connection during sleep with the

Thoughts of the etheric body! they enter into connection with >Karma? E with the

beholding of the e+ents through repeated li+es on 'arth/ To the e+eryday consciousness

this +ision is denied! but a supersensible consciousness can enter into it/

42





T' #A <& MI$A'"! A26 #AT PR'$'6'6 IT

It is not possible to percei+e in the right light how the Michael Impulse brea-s into human

e+olution! if one shares the conception which is uni+ersally accepted today! as to therelation of the new world of ideas to 2ature/

It is thought. There outside us is 2ature with all that she accomplishes and isB within

us are the ideas/ These ideas are thoughts about the things of 2ature! or about the so:

called "aws of 2ature/ The thin-ers of today are concerned first of all to show how to form

such ideas as shall stand in a true relation to 2ature! or in which the true 2atural "aws

shall be contained/

It is of little importance to them how these ideas are related to the man himself! whohas them/ 1ut in truth there can be no real insight until this Cuestion is raised. #hat does

Man e@perience through the natural:scientific ideas of modern times

The answer can be arri+ed at in the following way/

Man feels today that the ideas are formed within him through the acti+ity of his soul/

e has the feeling that he himself forms his ideas! while only the sense:perceptions come

to him from without/

Man did not always feel in this way/ In times past he did not realise the content of hisideas as something he had made himself! but as something recei+ed through inspiration

from the supersensible world/

There were +arious stages of this feeling/ And these stages depended on that part of a

man,s being in which he e@perienced what today he calls his ideas/ Today! in the period of

the de+elopment of the Spiritual Soul or $onsciousness Soul! what is contained in the

>"eading Thoughts? of the last number is wholly true. E Thoughts ha+e their true seat in

the human etheric body/ There! howe+er! they are real! li+ing forces/ They imprint

themsel+es in the physical body! as such Limprinted thoughts they possess the shadowycharacter -nown to ordinary consciousness/

2ow one can go bac- to times in which the thoughts were directly e@perienced in the

>'go/? 1ut in those times they were not shadowy as they are today! nor were they merely

li+ingB they were full of soul and spirit/ 1ut this means that the man did not only think his

thoughtsB he had as an e@perience the perception of concrete spiritual beings/

'+erywhere amongst the peoples of antiCuity one finds the consciousness that loo-ed

up to a world of spiritual beings/ The historical remains of this are described today as a

consciousness that e@pressed itself in myths and mythologies! which are not considered of

much importance for an understanding of the real world/ And yet with this consciousness

43





man stands in his own world E in the world of his true origin E whereas with his present

consciousness he is lifted out of his own world/ Man is a spiritB and his world is the world

of spiritual beings/

The ne@t stage was one in which the element of thought was no longer e@perienced bythe 'go but by the astral body/ The soul here loses the direct +ision of the Spiritual/

Thought appears as an element which is ensouled and ali+e/

At the first stage! that of the +ision of concrete spiritual beings! man does not feel at all

strongly the necessity of connecting what he sees with that which he percei+es through his

senses/ The phenomena perceptible to the senses are seen to be the deeds of what he

obser+es supersensibly! but he does not feel impelled to de+elop a special science of that

which is directly seen by spiritual +ision/ Moreo+er! the world of spirit:beings which he

sees is so rich that his attention is directed to it abo+e all things/

It is different at the second stage of consciousness/ ere the concrete spiritual beings

are hiddenB their reflection appears in the form of an ensouled life/ Man begins to relate

the >life of 2ature? to this >life of souls/? In the beings and processes of 2ature he see-s the

acti+e spirit:beings and their deeds/ The result of this stage of consciousness may be seen

historically in that which appeared later as the Cuest of the alchemists/

#hen at the first stage of consciousness man >thought? the spirit:beings! he li+ed

entirely in his own beingB and at the second stage! too! he is still Cuite near to his origin/

1ut at both stages it is Cuite impossible for man to de+elop! in the true sense of the word!

his own inner impulses of action/

A spirituality which is of li-e nature with himself acts in him/ #hat he seems to do is

the manifestation of processes which come about through spirit:beings/ #hat man does is

the sensibly physical manifestation of a real spiritual and di+ine e+ent which stands

behind/

A third epoch in the de+elopment of consciousness brings thought to consciousness in

the etheric body! but as li+ing thought/

The Gree-s li+ed in this consciousness when Gree- ci+ilisation was at its prime/ The

ancient Gree- did not form thoughts for himself and then loo- out upon the world with

them as with his own creations! but when he thought he felt that a life was being -indled

within him E a life which also pulsated in the obFects and e+ents outside him/

Then for the first time there arose in man the longing for the freedom of his own

actions E not yet true freedom! but the longing for it/

Man! who felt the life and acti+ity of 2ature asserting itself in him! could de+elop the

longing to detach his own acti+ity from the acti+ity which he percei+ed outside him and

44





around him/ 1ut after all! this outer acti+ity was still percei+ed as the final result of the

acti+e spirit:world! which is of li-e nature with man himself/

<nly when the thoughts were imprinted in the physical body and when the

consciousness e@tended only to this imprint E then only did the possibility of freedomarise/ This condition came with the fifteenth century A6/

&or the e+olution of the world the important point is not! >#hat is the significance of

the ideas of modern natural science with regard to 2ature? &or in effect these ideas ha+e

assumed their forms! not in order to pro+ide man with a certain picture of 2ature! but in

order to bring him forward to a certain stage in his e+olution/

#hen thoughts laid hold of the physical body! spirit! soul and life had been e@cluded

from their immediate contents! and the abstract shadow attaching to the physical bodyalone remained/ Thoughts such as these can ma-e only what is physical and material into

the obFect of their -nowledge! for they themsel+es are only real in the physical and material

body of man/ Materialism did not originate because material beings and processes alone

can be percei+ed in e@ternal 2ature! but because man had to pass through a stage in his

de+elopment which led him to a consciousness at first only capable of seeing material

manifestations/ The one:sided de+elopment of this necessity in human e+olution resulted

in the modern +iew of 2ature/

It is Michael,s mission to bring into human etheric bodies the forces through which the

thought:shadows may regain lifeB then the souls and spirits in the supersensible worlds

will incline towards the enli+ened thoughts! and the liberated human being will be able to

li+e with them! Fust as formerly the human being who was only the physical image of their

acti+ity li+ed with them/


%93/ In the e+olution of man-ind consciousness descends on the ladder of unfolding

Thought/ There was an earliest stage in consciousness when man e@perienced the

Thoughts in the 'go:e@perienced them as real 1eings! imbued with Spirit! soul and life/ Ata second stage he e@perienced the Thoughts in the astral bodyB henceforth they appeared

only as the images of Spirit:beings E images! howe+er! still imbued with soul and life/ At

a third stage he e@perienced the Thoughts in the etheric bodyB here they manifest only an

inner stirring! li-e an echo of the Cuality of soul/ At the fourth! which is the present stage!

man e@periences the Thoughts in the physical body! where they appear as the dead

shadows of the Spiritual/

%9;/ In li-e measure as the Cuality of Spirit! soul and life in human Thought recedes! man,s

own #ill comes to life/ True freedom becomes possible/

45





%9*/ It is the tas- of Michael to lead man bac- again! on paths of #ill! whence he came

down when with his earthly consciousness he descended on the paths of Thought from

the li+ing e@perience of the Supersensible to the e@perience of the world of sense/

46





MI$A'",S TASK I2 T' SP'R' <& ARIMA2

#hen man loo-s bac- on his e+olution! and calls up before his inner eye the special

characteristics which his spiritual life has assumed for the last fi+e hundred years! hecannot help recognising! e+en within the ordinary consciousness and if but faintly! that

since this period the whole earthly e+olution of man stands at a significant and critical

point/

In the last study I referred from one point of +iew to this significant turning:point/ <ne

loo-s up from this point into the distant past of e+olutionB one sees how the soul:force in

man which today is acti+e as the force of intelligence! has changed in the course of time/

In the present period! thoughts E dead abstract thoughts E ma-e their appearance inthe field of human consciousness/ These thoughts are bound up with the physical body of

manB man is obliged to recognise that they are of his own generating/

In primiti+e times! when man turned his soul in the direction in which today his

thoughts are re+ealed to him! he saw 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings/ e -new himself bound to

these 1eings in his whole nature! e+en down to the physical bodyB he was obliged to

recognise himself as their offspring/ 1ut he not only owed his !eing to them! he also owed

them what he accomplished/ Man had no will of his own/ #hat he did was a manifestation

of 6i+ine #ill/

1y degrees! as described in the last study! man attained to a will of his own! at a period

which dawned about fi+e hundred years ago/

1ut this stage was far more different from all those which preceded it than any of them

from one another/

#hen the thoughts pass o+er into the physical body! they lose their li+ingness/ They

are dead forms! spiritually dead/ Pre+iously! though belonging to man! they were at the

same time organs of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings to whom man belonged/ They were actualwill in man/ And through them the man felt himself in li+ing union with the spiritual

world/

#ith his dead thoughts he felt himself cut off from the spiritual world/ e felt himself

entirely remo+ed to the physical world/

1ut this means also that he is now in the sphere of the Ahrimanic spirituality/ The

Ahrimanic spirituality had no great power in the regions in which the 1eings of the higher

ierarchies retained man as in their own sphere E when as in primiti+e ages the higher

1eings themsel+es acted directly in man! or when! as in later times! they wor-ed in him

through their ensouled or li+ing reflection/ As long as this wor-ing of supersensible 1eings

4





within the doings of man continued E that is until about the fifteenth century E the

Ahrimanic powers had! within the e%olution of mankind ! only a faintly echoing power! if one

may e@press it so/

The description of Ahriman,s acti+ity gi+en in the Persian religion is not incontradiction with this statement/ &or that religion refers to Ahriman,s acti+ity! not within

the human soul! but in a world bordering directly upon the world of the human soul/

Ahriman,s action! as there described! does indeed affect the world of the human soul from

a neighbouring spirit:world! but it does not directly interfere/

This direct interference has only become possible in the space of time which began

about fi+e hundred years ago/

Thus man is at the close of a stream of e+olution within which his nature hasde+eloped out of a di+ine spirituality which finally dies to itself in the abstract intelligence

of man/

Man has not remained in the di+ine:spiritual spheres in which he originated/

#hat began fi+e hundred years ago for the consciousness of man had already ta-en

place for a wider sphere of his whole being at the time when the Mystery of Golgotha too-

place on the 'arth/ It was then that! imperceptibly to the consciousness of the maFority of

human beings at that time! human e+olution gradually glided out of a world in which

Ahriman has little power! into one in which his power is great/ This gliding into a differentstratum of the world was completed in the fifteenth century/

Ahriman,s influence upon man in this stratum of the world is possible and can act so

destructi+ely because the acti+ity of the Gods related to man has died in this sphere/ 1ut

man could not de+elop free:will in any other way than by entering a sphere in which the

6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings connected with him from the +ery beginning were not ali+e/

$onsidered cosmically! the Mystery of the Sun is contained in the nature of this

e+olution of humanity/ The 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings connected with his origin were unitedwith that which E up to that important turning:point in his e+olution E man was able to

percei+e in the Sun/ These 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings ha+e separated from the Sun and ha+e

left there only the part of them that has died! so that the bodily nature of man can now

recei+e through the Sun only the power of dead thoughts/

1ut these 1eings ha+e sent $hrist from the Sun to the 'arth! &or the welfare of

humanity $hrist has united is being with the dead part of di+ine:spiritual e@istence in

Ahriman,s -ingdom/ Thus two things are possible for man! and through this possibility his

freedom is guaranteed. E to turn to $hrist consciously in the spiritual frame of mind

which he possessed subconsciously during the descent from the +ision of supersensible

4!





spirit:e@istence to the use of intellectB or to wish to feel his se+erance from spirit:e@istence

and thus fall in the direction ta-en by the Ahrimanic powers/

umanity has been in this situation since the beginning of the fifteenth century/ It was

prepared E for e+erything ta-es place gradually in e+olution E after the Mystery ofGolgotha! which! as it is the greatest e+ent that has happened on the 'arth! is destined to

rescue man from the destruction to which he must be e@posed because he is to become a

free being/

2ow we may say that what has hitherto been done by humanity itself within this

situation has ta-en place half unconsciously/ It has led to what is good in the modern

2ature:conception which li+es in abstract thought! and it has led to many practical

principles of life! eCually good/

1ut the age in which man could unfold his life thus unconsciously in the dangerous

sphere of Ahriman has come to an end/

It is the duty of the in+estigator into the spiritual world to draw the attention of

humanity to the spiritual fact that Michael has ta-en o+er the spiritual guidance of human

affairs/ Michael does what he has to do in such a way that he does not thereby wield an

influence o+er human beingsB but they may follow him in freedom! in order with the

$hrist power to find the way out of that sphere of Ahriman which they were obliged to

enter/

<ne who honestly! out of the deepest being of his soul! can feel himself one with

Anthroposophy! understands this phenomenon of Michael truly/ And Anthroposophy

would li-e to be the message of this mission of Michael/


%94/ Michael goes upward again along the paths by which man-ind descended! stage by

stage in the e+olution of the Spirit! down to the e@ercise of the Intelligence/ Michael!

howe+er! will lead the #ill upward! retracing the paths by which the #isdom descendedto the final stage of Intelligence/

%9)/ &rom this moment onward in world:e+olution! Michael merely shows his way! so that

man may follow it in perfect freedom/ This distinguishes the present guidance by Michael

from all preceding guidances of the Archangels! including e+en those of Michael himself/

&or the former guidances did not only re+eal their wor-ing/ They wor-ed themsel+es out

in man/ ence in the wor-ing of his own life man could not be free/

%9/ To see and understand that this is so. this is the present tas- of man/ &or then he will

find! with all the forces of his soul! his spiritual path within the Age of Michael/

4"





T' 'P'RI'2$'S <& MI$A'" I2 T' $<DRS'

<& IS $<SMI$ MISSI<2

It is possible to follow the progress of man-ind from the point of +iew of man himself!

from the stage of consciousness in which he felt himself as a member of the 6i+ine:

Spiritual order! up to the present time! when he is conscious of himself as an indi+idual!

freed from the 6i+ine:Spiritual! and able to thin- for himself/ In our last study this point of

+iew was ta-en/

1ut it is also possible! through supersensible +ision! to ma-e a picture of what Michael

and those who belong to him e@perience during this e+olutionary process E i/e/ to

describe the facts of it as they appear to Michael himself/ This shall now be attempted/

There is an earliest epoch in e+olution! where it is only possible to spea- of what ta-es

place among 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings/ ere one has to deal with the actions of the Gods

alone/ Gods fulfil what the impulses of their natures inspire! and are satisfied in this their

acti+ity/ #hat they themsel+es e@perience in all this is alone important/ 1ut in one corner

of this field of the Gods, acti+ity! something resembling man-ind is to be obser+ed! as

forming a part of their di+ine acti+ity/

The spiritual 1eing who from the beginning directed his ga7e towards man-ind is

Michael/ e so orders the di+ine acti+ities that in one part of the $osmos man-ind may

e@ist/ And his own acti+ity is of the same nature as that which is re+ealed later in man as

intellectB but this intellect is acti+e as a force that streams through the $osmos! ordering

ideas and gi+ing rise to actual realities/ In this force Michael wor-s/ is office is to rule the

cosmic intellectuality/ And he wills the further progress in his domain! which consists in

this. E that that which wor-s as intelligence throughout the whole $osmos should later

become concentrated within the human indi+iduality/ As a result the following ta-es

place. E there comes a time in the e+olution of the world when the $osmos subsists no

longer on its own present intelligence! but on the cosmic intelligence belonging to the past/

&or the present intelligence must then be sought in the stream of human e+olution/

#hat Michael desires is to -eep the intelligence! which is de+eloping within humanity!

permanently in connection with the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings/

1ut in this he is meeting with opposition/ #hat the Gods accomplish in their e+olution!

in that they release the cosmic intellectuality so that it may become a part of human

nature! stands re+ealed as a fact within the world/ If there are beings with power to

percei+e this fact! then they can ta-e ad+antage of it/ And such beings do indeed e@ist/

They are the Ahrimanic beings/ It is their nature to absorb into themsel+es all that comes

forth from the Gods as intelligence/ They ha+e the capacity to unite with their own beingthe sum:total of all intellectuality! and thus they become the greatest! the most

comprehensi+e and penetrating intelligences in the $osmos/

5#





Michael foresees how man! in progressing more and more towards his own indi+idual

use of intelligence! must meet with these Ahrimanic beings! and how by uniting with them

he may then succumb to them/ &or this reason Michael brings the Ahrimanic Powers

under his feetB he continually thrusts them into a deeper region than the one in which man

is e+ol+ing/ Michael! thrusting the dragon at his feet into the abyss. that is the mightypicture which li+es in human consciousness of the supersensible facts here described/

'+olution progresses/ The intellectuality which was at first entirely in the sphere of

di+ine spirituality! detaches itself so far that it becomes the element which ensouls the

$osmos/ That which pre+iously had only radiated from the Gods themsel+es now shines

as the manifestation of the 6i+ine from the world of the stars/ &ormerly the world had

been guided by the 6i+ine 1eing himself. it is now guided by the 6i+ine manifestation

which has become obFecti+e! and !behind this manifestation the 6i+ine 1eing passes

through the ne@t stage of his own de+elopment/

Michael is again the ruler of the cosmic intelligence! in so far as this streams through

the manifestations of the $osmos in the order of ideas/

The third phase of e+olution is a further separation of the cosmic intelligence from its

origin/ In the worlds of the stars the present order of ideas no longer holds sway as the

6i+ine manifestationB the stars mo+e and are regulated according to the order of ideas

implanted in them in the past/ Michael sees how the cosmic intellectuality! which he has

hitherto ruled in the $osmos! proceeds on its way to earthly humanity/

1ut Michael also sees how the danger of humanity succumbing to the Ahrimanic

Powers grows greater and greater/ e -nows that as regards himself he will always ha+e

Ahriman under his feetB but will it also be the case with man

Michael sees the greatest e+ent in the 'arth,s history ta-ing place/ &rom the -ingdom

ser+ed by Michael himself $hrist descends to the sphere of the 'arth! so as to be there

when the intelligence is wholly with the human indi+iduality/ &or man will then feel most

strongly the impulse to de+ote himself to the power which has made itself fully and

completely into the +ehicle of intellectuality/ 1ut $hrist will be thereB through is greatsacrifice e will li+e in the same sphere in which Ahriman also li+es/ Man will be able to

choose between $hrist and Ahriman/ The world will be able to find the $hrist:way in the

e+olution of humanity/

That is Michael,s cosmic e@perience with that which he has to go+ern in the $osmos/ In

order to remain with that which he has to go+ern! he enters upon the path that leads from

the $osmos to humanity/ e has been on this path since the eighth century A6/ but he

really only too- up his earthly office! into which his cosmic office has been changed! in the

last third of the nineteenth century/

51





Michael cannot force human beings to do anything/ &or it is Fust through intelligence

ha+ing come entirely into the sphere of the human indi+iduality that compulsion has

ceased/ 1ut in the supersensible world first bordering on this +isible world! Michael can

unfold as a maFestic! e@emplary action that which he wishes to display/ e can show

himself there with an aura of light! with the gesture of a Spirit 1eing! in which all thesplendour and glory of the past intelligence of the Gods is re+ealed/ e can there show

how the action of this intelligence of the past is more true! more beautiful and more

+irtuous in the present than all that is contained in the immediate intelligence of the

present day! which streams to us from Ahriman in decepti+e! misleading splendour/ e

can point out how for him Ahriman will always be the lower spirit! under his feet/

Those persons who can see the supersensible world bordering ne@t upon the +isible

world! percei+e Michael and those belonging to him in the manner here described!

engaged in what they would li-e to do for humanity/ Such persons see how E through thepicture of Michael in Ahriman,s sphere E man is to be led in freedom away from Ahriman

to $hrist/ #hen through their +ision such persons also succeed in opening the hearts and

minds of others! so that there is a circle of people who -now how Michael is now li+ing

among men! humanity will then begin to celebrate &esti+als of Michael which will possess

the right contents! and at which souls will allow the power of Michael to re+i+e in them/

Michael will then wor- as a real power among men/ Man will be free and yet proceed

along his spiritual path of life through the $osmos in intimate companionship with $hrist/

>urther Leading 'houghts issued from the $oetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society withreference to the preceding studyB

%9(/ To become truly conscious of the wor-ing of Michael in the spiritual order of the

#orld! is to sol+e the riddle of human freedom in relation to the $osmos! in so far as the

solution is necessary for man on 'arth/

%%9/ &or >&reedom? as a fact is directly gi+en to e+ery human being who understands

himself in the present period of man-ind,s e+olution/ 2o one can say! >&reedom is not!?

unless he wishes to deny a patent fact/ 1ut we can find a certain contradiction between this

fact of our e@perience and the processes of the $osmos/ In contemplating the mission ofMichael within the $osmos this contradiction is dissol+ed/

%%%/ In my 2hilosophy of >reedom 0Philosophy of Spiritual Acti+ity5 the >&reedom? of the

human being in the present world:epoch is pro+ed as an essential element of

consciousness/ In the descriptions here gi+en of the Mission of Michael! the cosmic

foundations of the >coming:into:being? of this &reedom are disclosed/

52

http://www.rsarchive.org/Books/GA004/








T' A$TIJIT <& MI$A'" A26 T'

&DTDR' <& MA2KI26

ow does man stand today in his present stage of e+olution with respect to Michael and

his hosts

Man is surrounded today by a world which was once of a wholly di+ine:spiritual

nature E di+ine:spiritual being of which he also was a member/ Thus at that time the

world belonging to man was a world of di+ine:spiritual being/ 1ut this was no longer so in

a later stage of e+olution/ The world had then become a cosmic manifestation of the 6i+ine

SpiritualB the 6i+ine 1eing ho+ered behind the manifestation/ 2e+ertheless! the 6i+ine:

Spiritual li+ed and mo+ed in all that was thus manifested/ A world of stars was already

there! in the light and mo+ement of which the 6i+ine:Spiritual li+ed and mo+ed andmanifested itself <ne may say that at that time! in the position or mo+ement of a star! the

acti+ity of the 6i+ine and Spiritual was directly e+ident/

And in all this E in the wor-ing of the 6i+ine Spirit in the $osmos! and in the life of

man resulting from this di+ine acti+ity E Michael was as yet in his own element E

unhindered! unresisted/ The adFustment of the relation between the 6i+ine and the

uman was in his hands/

1ut other ages dawned/ The world of the stars ceased to be a direct and present

manifestation of 6i+ine:Spiritual acti+ity/ The constellations li+ed and mo+ed! maintaining

what the 6i+ine acti+ity had been in them in the past/ The 6i+ine:Spiritual dwelt in the

$osmos in manifestation no longer! but in the manner of its wor-ing only/ There was now

a certain distinct separation between the 6i+ine Spiritual and the cosmic #orld/ Michael!

by +irtue of his own nature! adhered to the 6i+ine:Spiritual! and endea+oured to -eep

man-ind as closely as possible in touch with it/

This he continued to do! more and more/ is will was to preser+e man from li+ing too

intensely in a world which represents only the #or-ing of the 6i+ine and Spiritual E

which is not the real 1eing! nor its Manifestation/

It is a deep source of satisfaction to Michael that through man himself he has succeeded

in -eeping the world of the stars in direct union with the 6i+ine and Spiritual/ &or when

man! ha+ing fulfilled his life between death and a new birth! enters on the way to a new

'arth:life! in his descent he see-s to establish a harmony between the course of the stars

and his coming life on 'arth/ In olden times this harmony e@isted as a matter of course!

because the 6i+ine:Spiritual was acti+e in the stars! where human life too had its source/

1ut today! when >the course of the stars is only a continuing of the manner in which the

6i+ine:Spiritual wor-ed in the past! this harmony could not e@ist unless man sought it/Man brings his di+ine:spiritual portion E which he has preser+ed from the past E into

53





relation with the stars! which now only bear their di+ine:spiritual nature within them as

an after:wor-ing from an earlier time/

In this way there comes into man,s relation to the world something of the 6i+ine!

which corresponds to former ages and yet appears in these later times/ 'hat this is soG is thedeed of Michael/ And this deed gi+es him such deep satisfaction that in it he finds a portion

of his +ery life! a portion of his sun:li-e! li+ing energy/

1ut at the present time! when Michael directs his spiritual eyes to the 'arth! he sees

another fact as well E +ery different from the abo+e/ 6uring his physical life between

birth and death man has a world around him in which e+en the #orking of the 6i+ine:

Spiritual no longer appears directly! but only something which has remained o+er as its

resultB E we may describe it by saying it is only the accomplished #or- of the 6i+ine:

Spiritual/ This accomplished #or-! in all its forms! is essentially of a 6i+ine and Spiritual-ind/ To human +ision the 6i+ine is manifested in the forms and in the processes of

2atureB but it is no longer indwelling as a li+ing principle/ 2ature is this di+inely

accomplished wor- of GodB 2ature e+erywhere around us is an image of the 6i+ine

#or-ing/

In this world of sun:li-e 6i+ine glory! but no longer li+ingly 6i+ine! man dwells/ et as

a result of Michael,s wor-ing upon him man has maintained his connection with the

essential 1eing of the 6i+ine and Spiritual/ e li+es as a being permeated by God in a

world that is no longer permeated by God/

Into this world that has become empty of God! man will carry what is in him E what

his being has become in this present age/

umanity will e+ol+e into a new world:e+olution/ The 6i+ine and Spiritual from

which man originates can become the cosmically e@panding uman 1eing! radiating with

a new light through the $osmos which now e@ists only as an image of the 6i+ine and

Spiritual/

The 6i+ine 1eing which will thus shine forth through umanity will no longer be thesame 6i+ine 1eing which was once the $osmos/ In its passage through umanity the

6i+ine:Spiritual will come to a realisation of 1eing which it could not manifest before/

The Ahrimanic Powers try to pre+ent e+olution from ta-ing the course here described/

It is not their will that the original 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers should illumine the Dni+erse in

its further course/ They want the cosmic intellectuality which they themsel+es ha+e

absorbed to radiate through the whole of the new $osmos! and in this intellectualised and

Ahrimanised $osmos they want man to li+e on/

#ere he to li+e such a life man would lose $hrist/ &or $hrist came into the world with

an Intellectuality that is still of the +ery same essence as once li+ed in the 6i+ine Spiritual!

54





when the 6i+ine:Spiritual in its own 1eing still informed the $osmos/ 1ut if at the present

time we spea- in such a manner that our thoughts can also be the thoughts of $hrist! we

set o+er against the Ahrimanic Powers something which can sa+e us from succumbing to

them/

To understand the meaning of Michael,s mission in the $osmos is to be able to spea- in

this way/ In the present time we must be able to spea- of 2ature in the way demanded by

the e+olutionary stage of the $onsciousness Soul or Spiritual Soul/ #e must be able to

recei+e into oursel+es the purely natural:scientific way of thin-ing/ 1ut we ought also to

learn to feel and spea- about 2ature in a way that is according to $hrist/ #e ought to

learn the $hrist:"anguage E not only about redemption from 2ature! about the soul and

things 6i+ine E but about the things of the $osmos/

#hen with inward! heartfelt feeling we realise the mission and the deeds of Michaeland those belonging to him! when we enter into all that they are in our midst! then we

shall be able to maintain our human connection with the 6i+ine and Spiritual origin! and

understand how to culti+ate the $hrist "anguage about the $osmos/ &or to understand

Michael is to find the way in our time to the "ogos! as li+ed by $hrist here on 'arth and

among men/

Anthroposophy truly +alues what the natural:scientific way of thin-ing has learned to

say about the world during the last four or fi+e centuries/ 1ut in addition to this language

it spea-s another! about the nature of man! about his e+olution and that of the $osmosB for

it would fain spea- the language of $hrist and Michael/

If both these languages are spo-en it will not be possible for e+olution to be bro-en off

or to pass o+er to Ahriman before the original 6i+ine:Spiritual is found/ To spea- only in

the natural:scientific way corresponds to the separation of intellectuality from the original

6i+ine and Spiritual/ This can indeed lead o+er into the Ahrimanic realm if Michael,s

mission remains unobser+ed/ 1ut it will not do so if through the power of Michael,s

e@ample the intellect which has become free finds itself again in the original cosmic

intellectuality! which has separated from man and become obFecti+e to him/ &or that

cosmic intellectuality lies in the original source of man! and it appeared in $hrist in fullreality of being within the sphere of humanity! after it had left man for a time so that he

might unfold his freedom/

>urther Leading 'houghts issued from the $oetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society with

reference to the preceding studyB

%%/ The 6i+ine:Spiritual comes to e@pression in the $osmos in different ways! in

succeeding stages. 0%5 through its own and inmost eingB 05 through the Manifestation of

this 1eingB 035 through the acti%e #orking ! when the 1eing withdraws from theManifestationB 0;5 through the accomplished #ork ! when in the outwardly apparent

Dni+erse no longer the 6i+ine itself! but only the forms of the 6i+ine are there/

55





%%)/ In the modern conception of 2ature man has no relation to the 6i+ine! but only to the

accomplished #or-/ #ith all that is imparted to the human soul by this science of 2ature!

man can unite himself either with the powers of $hrist or with the dominions of Ahriman/

%%;/ Michael is filled with the stri+ing E wor-ing through his e@ample in perfect freedomE to embody in human cosmic e+olution the relation to the $osmos which is still

preser+ed in man himself from the ages when the 6i+ine 1eing and the 6i+ine

Manifestation held sway/ In this way! all that is said by the modern +iew of 2ature E

relating as it does purely to the image! purely to the form of the 6i+ine E will merge into

a higher! spiritual +iew of 2ature/ The latter will indeed e@ist in manB but it will be an echo

in human e@perience of the 6i+ine relation to the $osmos which pre+ailed in the first two

stages of cosmic e+olution/ This is how Anthroposophy confirms the +iew of 2ature which

the age of the Spiritual Soul has e+ol+ed! while supplementing it with that which is

re+ealed to spiritual seership/

56





T' MI$A'":$RIST:'P'RI'2$' <& MA2

#hen with deep and earnest feeling a human being ta-es the inner +ision of Michael,s

being and his deeds into his outloo- on life! there will dawn upon him the trueunderstanding of the way in which this world is to be ta-en by man E this world which is

neither the 6i+ine 1eing! nor the Manifestation! nor Acti+e #or-ing! but the Accomplished

#ork of the Gods/ To loo- with -nowledge into this world is to ha+e before us forms and

formations which spea- aloud of the 6i+ineB in which! howe+er E if we are under no

illusion about it E independent! li+ing! 6i+ine 1eing cannot be found/ 2or must we

consider merely our -nowledge of the world/ It is true that with respect to -nowledge this

configuration of the world! as it surrounds man at the present day! is re+ealed most

stri-ingly/ 1ut more essential for e+eryday life is our feeling! our willing and wor- in a

world which E though in its formation we may well feel it to be 6i+ine E cannot really bee@perienced as acti+ely imbued with 6i+ine life/ In order to bring real moral life into such

a world! the ethical impulses I ha+e described in my boo- 2hilosophy of >reedom are

necessary/

&or the man who feels truly! Michael,s 1eing and his present world of deeds can shine

forth in this world of the 6i+ine accomplished wor-/ Michael does not enter into the

physical world as a phenomenal appearance/ e -eeps himself with all his acti+ity within

a supersensible region E albeit one which borders directly upon the physical world of the

present phase of world:e+olution/ Thus it can ne+er happen that men,s +iew of 2ature will be led away into the fantastic through the impressions they recei+e from the 1eing of

MichaelB nor will they be inclined thereby to shape their ethical and practical life in this

world E 6i+ine as it is in its form! but +oid of 6i+ine life E as if impulses could be there

in it which did not reCuire to be sustained! ethically and spiritually! by man himself/ If we

transplant oursel+es into the Spiritual! be it in thin-ing or in willing! we shall always be

obliged to approach Michael/

#e shall thereby li+e spiritually in the following way/ #e shall accept both our

-nowledge and our life in the manner in which we are obliged to accept them since the

fifteenth century/ 1ut we shall hold fast to Michael,s re+elation/ #e shall let this re+elation

shine li-e a light into the thoughts we recei+e from 2atureB we shall carry it as warmth in

our hearts when we ha+e to li+e in accordance with a world which is the accomplished

wor- of the 6i+ine/ #e shall then place before us not only the obser+ation and e@perience

of the present world but also that which Michael ma-es possible for us! namely a past

condition of the world E one which Michael! through his 1eing and his deeds! brings into

the present/

If it were otherwise E if Michael were to wor- in such a manner that he carried his

deeds into the world which at the present time man must -now and e@perience as thephysical E man would now learn of the world! not that which in reality is in it but that

5








which was in it/ This illusory conception of the world! when it ta-es place! leads the human

soul away from the reality that is suited to it and into another E into a "uciferic one/

The manner in which Michael brings the past into acti+ity in present human life is the

one which is in accordance with the true spiritual progress of the world and containsnothing "uciferic/ It is important that in the human mind there should be a correct idea of

the way in which! in Michael,s mission! e+erything "uciferic is a+oided/

To ha+e this attitude towards the light of Michael which is dawning in human history

means at the same time to be able to find the right way to $hrist/

Michael will point out the right road with respect to the world which lies about man!

for him to -now and be acti+e in it/ The way to $hrist will ha+e to be found within/

It is Cuite comprehensible that! during the period in which the -nowledge of 2ature

has the form gi+en to it by the last fi+e centuries! the -nowledge of the supersensible

world should also ha+e become such as humanity now e@periences/

2ature has to be -nown and e@perienced in such a manner that the Gods are nowhere

in it/ In conseCuence of this! man in this form of his relation to the world! e@periences

himself no longer/ Inasmuch as he is a supersensible being! the position of his Self with

respect to 2ature which is in accordance with this age yields him nothing at all regarding

his own being/ 2or! if he has this position alone in +iew! can he li+e ethically in a manner

in -eeping with his true humanity/

2aturally! this causes people to pre+ent the modern way of -nowledge and of life from

entering into anything that relates to the supersensible nature of man! nay to the

supersensible world at all/ They separate this latter realm from anything accessible to

human -nowledge/ A sphere of Re+elation by &aith! apart from science or abo+e it! is set

up in contradistinction to the sphere of what is -nowable/

1ut o+er against this there stands the purely spiritual acti+ity of $hrist! who since the

Mystery of Golgotha can be reached by the human soul/ The soul,s relation to $hrist neednot remain indefinite or dimly mystical in feelingB it can become one that is Cuite concrete!

humanly deep and clearly e@perienced/

Then! from the life together with $hrist! there flows into the human soul what it ought

to -now regarding its own supersensible being/ The religious re+elation must then be felt

in such a manner that the li+ing e@perience of $hrist continually streams into it/ It will

become possible for life to be filled with $hrist! through $hrist being percei+ed as the

1eing who gi+es to the human soul the -nowledge of its own supersensible nature/

Thus the Michael e@perience and the $hrist e@perience will in the future be able to

stand side by side/ Through Michael man will find the path into the supersensible world in

5!





the right way with respect to the outer world of 2ature/ <ur +iew of 2ature! without

being falsified in itself! will then be able to stand by the side of a spiritual +iew of the

world and of man inasmuch as he is a cosmic being/

Through his true attitude to $hrist man will be able! in the acti+e intercourse of his soulwith $hrist! to e@perience what he could otherwise only recei+e as a traditional re+elation

by faith/ e will be able to e@perience the inner world of the soul,s life as one that is shone

through by the SpiritB and he will also e@perience the outer world of 2ature as one that is

upborne by the Spirit/

If man were to gain information about his own supersensible nature without his life in

union with $hrist! this would lead him out of his own reality and into that of Ahriman/

$hrist bears within imself! in a manner true to the whole $osmos! the impulses for the

future of humanity/ To unite with $hrist signifies for the human soul to recei+e into itself!in a mariner true to the $osmos! its own seeds for the future/ <ther beings who already at

the present time manifest forms which will be cosmically right for man only in the future!

belong to the Ahrimanic sphere/ To unite oursel+es with $hrist in the right way is also to

preser+e oursel+es in the right way from the Ahrimanic/

Those who strictly demand that the re+elations of religious faith shall be preser+ed

from the in+asions of human -nowledge are unconsciously afraid that by such ways as

this man might come under Ahrimanic influences/ This fact must be appreciated/ 1ut it

should also be appreciated that it is to the honour and true recognition of $hrist when that

gift of grace! which is the inflowing of the Spiritual into the human soul! is ascribed to the

li+ing e@perience with im/

Thus in the future the Michael e@perience and the $hrist e@perience can stand side by

sideB man will thereby find his right path of freedom between the "uciferic de+iation into

illusions in thought and life! and the Ahrimanic allurement into forms of the future which

may satisfy his pride but cannot as yet be his present forms/

To fall into "uciferic illusions means not to become fully Man E not to wish to

progress to the stage of spiritual freedom but to wish to halt! as God:Man! at a prematurestage of e+olution/ To succumb to Ahrimanic temptations means not to be willing to wait

until at a certain stage of human de+elopment the right cosmic moment will ha+e come!

but to wish to forestall this stage/

Michael38hrist will stand in future as the guiding word at the entrance to the path upon

which man may arri+e at his world:goal! in a way that is cosmically right! between the

"uciferic and the Ahrimanic powers/

>urther Leading 'houghts issued from the $oetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society withreference to the preceding studyB

5"





%%*/ Man goes on his way through the $osmos in such manner that his loo-ing bac- into

past ages can be falsified by the impulses of "ucifer! and his thin-ing into the future

decei+ed by the allurements of Ahriman/

%%4/ To the falsifying influences of "ucifer he finds the right relation when he imbues hisattitude to life and -nowledge with the 1eing and the Mission of Michael/

%%)/ Moreo+er! in so doing he pro+ides against the allurements of Ahriman/ &or the path of

the Spirit into e@ternal 2ature! which Michael inspires! leads to a right relation to the

domain of Ahriman! inasmuch as a true and li+ing e@perience with $hrist is also found

thereby/

6#





MI$A'",S MISSI<2 I2 T' $<SMI$ AG'

<& DMA2 &R''6<M

#hen the wor- of Michael at the present time is approached through spiritual e@perience!

it becomes possible! from the spiritual:scientific point of +iew! to obtain light on the cosmic

nature of &reedom/

This does not refer to my Philosophy of &reedom 0or >Philosophy of Spiritual Acti+ity!?5

which is based on the purely human faculties of cognition! where these are operati+e in

the field of the spirit/ In order to follow the thought of this boo-! it is not yet necessary to

Foin company with the beings of other worlds/ 1ut it may be said that the Philosophy of

&reedom prepares the way for the understanding of the freedom which! in spiritual

connection with Michael! can then be e@perienced/ And this is as follows/

If freedom is to be a li+ing reality in human action! then that which is accomplished in

the light of it must be completely independent of man,s physical and etheric organisation/

There can be no freedom e@cept through the > I !? and the astral body must be able to

+ibrate in harmony with the free acti+ity of the > I !? so that it may be able to transmit it to

the physical and etheric bodies/ 1ut this is only one side of the matter/ The other side

becomes clear in connection with the mission of Michael/ &or it is also true that what man

e@periences in freedom must not in any way affect his physical or etheric body/ #ere this

to happen! he would ha+e to lose entirely what he had gained during his e+olution underthe influence of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing! and 6i+ine:Spiritual Manifestation/

#hat man e@periences through this his en+ironment which is but the accomplished

#or- of the 6i+ine and Spiritual! must ta-e effect on his spiritual nature 0i/e/ his 'go5 only/

is physical and etheric <rganisation must only be affected by that which flows on! in the

stream of e+olution! not in his outer en+ironment! but within his own being! and which

had its origin in the 1eing and Manifestation of the 6i+ine:Spiritual/ 1ut this must not

wor- together with that in the human being which li+es in the element of freedom/

All this is only made possible because Michael carries o+er from the far past ofe+olution something that brings man into connection with that 6i+ine:Spiritual reality

which in the present day no longer penetrates the physical and etheric <rganisation/

Through this the foundation is being laid! within the mission of Michael! for a human

intercourse with the spiritual world which does not interfere at all with the wor-ing of

2ature/

It is inspiring to see how the human being is raised by Michael into the spiritual

sphere! whereas the unconscious and subconscious elements which de+elop beneath the

sphere of freedom are uniting e+er more strongly with the world of matter/

61











Man,s position with respect to the world will in the future become more and more

incomprehensible to him if he is not prepared to recognise! in addition to his relations to

the beings and processes of 2ature! such relations as this to the Michael Mission/ <ur

relations to 2ature are recognised by loo-ing at them from withoutB our relations to the

spiritual world proceed from something li-e an inner con+ersation with 1eings to whomwe ha+e opened up the way by adopting a spiritual +iew of the world/

In order! therefore! for man to realise the impulse of freedom! he must be able to hold

at a distance certain influences of 2ature which affect his being from the $osmos/ This

>holding at a distance? is ta-ing place in the sub:consciousness! when in the consciousness

there are the forces which represent the life of the 'go in freedom/ &or the inward

perception of man himself there is the consciousness of his acti+ity in freedom! but for the

spiritual 1eings connected with man from other spheres of the Dni+erse it is different/ The

1eing from the hierarchy of the Angeloi! who leads human e@istence from one earthly lifeto another! sees at once how the matter stands regarding human action in freedomB he sees

how man thrusts away from himself cosmic forces which want to form and mould him

further E which want to gi+e to his 'go:organisation the necessary physical supports! as

they did before the age of Michael/

Michael! who is a member of the hierarchy of the Archangeloi! recei+es his impressions

with the aid of the 1eings of the Angeloi:hierarchy/ e de+otes himself! in the manner here

described! to the tas- of bringing to man from the spiritual part of the $osmos forces

which can replace those from the realm of 2ature which ha+e been suppressed/

e accomplishes this by bringing his acti+ity into the most perfect accord with the

Mystery of Golgotha/

The forces which man reCuires for the compensation of suppressed impulses of 2ature

when he acts through freedom! are contained in the acti+ity of $hrist within earthly

e+olution/ 1ut man must then really bring his soul into that inner life in union with $hrist!

of which we ha+e already spo-en in these articles on the Michael Mission/

#hen a man faces the physical Sun and recei+es from it warmth and light he -nowsthat he is li+ing in a reality/ In the same way he must li+e in the presence of $hrist! the

spiritual Sun! who has Foined is life to that of the 'arth! and recei+e acti+ely from im

into his soul that which in the spiritual world corresponds to warmth and light/

e will feel himself permeated by >spiritual warmth? when he e@periences the >$hrist in

me/? &eeling himself thus permeated he will say to himself. >This warmth liberates my

human being from bonds of the $osmos in which it may not remain/ &or me to gain my

freedom the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing of prime+al times had to lead me into regions where it

could not remain with me! where! howe+er! it ga+e me $hrist! that is forces might bestow upon me as a free human being what the 6i+ine:Spiritual prime+al 1eing once

62





ga+e me by way of 2ature! which was then also the Spirit:way/ This warmth leads me bac-

again to the di+ine sources! whence I came/?

And in this feeling there will grow together in man! in inner warmth of soul! the

e@perience in and with $hrist and the e@perience of real and true humanity/ >$hrist gi+esme my humanity? E that will be the fundamental feeling which will well up in the soul

and per+ade it/ #hen this feeling is once there! another comes. man feels raised by $hrist

beyond mere earthly e@istence! he feels one with the starry firmament around the 'arth

and with all that can be recognised in this firmament as Spiritual and 6i+ine/

It is the same with the spiritual "ight/ Man can feel himself fully in his true human

nature by becoming aware of himself as a free indi+idual/ A certain dar-ening is howe+er

connected with this/ The 6i+ine:Spiritual of prime+al times no longer shines/ The prime+al

"ight appears again in the "ight brought by $hrist to the human ego/ In the life in unionwith $hrist this blissful thought may shine li-e a sun through the whole soul. >The

glorious primal 6i+ine "ight is here againB it shines! although its light comes not from

2ature/? And man unites himself! while in the present! with the spiritual! cosmic forces of

"ight belonging to that past when he was not yet a free indi+idual/ And in this "ight he

can find the paths which lead him aright as a human being! when in his soul he unites

himself! with understanding! with the Michael Mission/

Then in the Spirit:warmth man will feel the impulse which so carries him o+er into his

cosmic future! that in this future he will be able to remain true to the original gifts of

6i+ine Spiritual 1eings! albeit he has e+ol+ed in their worlds to free indi+iduality/ And in

the Spirit:light he will feel the power which leads him with open eyes and e+er higher and

wider consciousness to the world in which as a free human being he will find himself

again with the Gods of his origin/

If man wishes to continue in the original e@istence and -eep the primal nai+e 6i+ine

Goodness which held sway in him! and shrin-s from the full use of freedom E it leads

him! in this present world in which e+erything tends to de+elop his freedom! to "ucifer!

who wishes the present world to be denied/

If man de+otes himself to present e@istence and wishes the natural world alone to hold

sway 0the natural world which is accessible to the present intellect and which is neutral

with respect to Goodness5! if he wishes to e@perience the use of freedom in the intellect

alone! then in this present world where e+olution needs to be continued in deeper regions

of the soul! while freedom rules in the upper regions E he will after all be led to Ahriman!

who wishes to see the present world transformed into a $osmos of pure intellectuality/

$ertainty of soul and spirit flourishes in those regions where man feels that in the

direction of the outer world his ga7e rests spiritually on Michael! and in the directiontowards the inner being of the soul on $hrist/ It is that certainty through which he will be

63





able to tra+erse the cosmic path upon which he will! without losing his origin! in the

future find his true perfection/


%%/ That action alone can be free in which no process of 2ature! either within man or

without him! plays an acti+e part/

%%(/ 1ut there is also the other pole! the opposite aspect of this truth/ #hene+er the

indi+iduality of man wor-s freely! a 2ature:process is suppressed in him/ In an unfree

action this process of 2ature would indeed be present! gi+ing to the human being his

cosmically predestined character/

%9/ To the man who with his own life and being really parta-es in the present and future

stages of #orld:e+olution! this character is not +ouchsafed by way of 2ature/ 1ut it comes

to him by way of the Spirit when he unites himself with Michael! whereby he also finds

the way to $hrist/

64





T' #<R"6:T<DGTS I2 T' #<RKI2G <&

MI$A'" A26 I2 T' #<RKI2G <& ARIMA2

#hen one considers the relation of Michael to Ahriman! one may well feel impelled to as-.

ow are these spiritual Powers related to one another in the cosmic sense! seeing that both

of them are acti+e in the unfolding of the forces of Intellectuality

In the past Michael unfolded the Intellectuality throughout the $osmos/ e did this as

the ser+ant of the 6i+ine Spiritual Powers! to whom both he himself and man owed their

origin/ And he wishes not to depart from this relationship to Intellectuality/ #hen

Intellectuality was loosened from the 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers in order to find its way into

the inner being of man! Michael resol+ed thenceforth to assume his true relationship to

man-ind in order that in man-ind he might find his relationship to the Intellectuality/ 1uthe wanted to do all this only in the sense of the 6i+ine Spiritual Powers and as their

ser+ant still/ &or with these Powers he has been united e+er since his own origin and that

of men/ Therefore it is his intention that Intellectuality shall flow in future through the

hearts of men! but that it shall flow there as the self:same force which it was in the

beginning when it poured forth from the 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers/

It is altogether different with Ahriman/ e is a 1eing who long! long ago se+ered

himself from the stream of e+olution to which those 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers belong of

whom we are spea-ing/ In an age of primal antiCuity he set himself up beside them as anindependent power in the $osmos/ This 1eing! though in the present day he is there in the

world of space to which man belongs! e+ol+es no relationship of inner forces with the

1eings rightly belonging to this world/ It is only through the Intellectuality! loosened from

the 6i+ine Spiritual 1eings! which comes into this world! that Ahriman E finding himself

a-in to it E is able in his own way to unite himself with man-ind/ &or in an ancient and

prime+al past he already united with himself this Intellectuality which man recei+es in the

present as a gift from the $osmos/ Ahriman! if he succeeded in his intentions! would ma-e

the intellect! gi+en to man-ind! similar to his own/

2ow Ahriman appropriated Intellectuality to himself in an age when he could not

ma-e it an inner reality within him/ It has remained in his being as a force! utterly

detached from anything of heart or soul/ Intellectuality pours forth from Ahriman as a

cold and free7ing! soulless cosmic impulse/ Those human beings who are ta-en hold of by

this impulse bring forth that logic which seems to spea- for itself alone! +oid of

compassion and of lo+e! which bears no e+idence of a right! heartfelt! inner relationship of

soul between the human being and what he thin-s and spea-s and does/ In real truth it is

Ahriman who spea-s in this -ind of logic/

1ut Michael has ne+er appropriated Intellectuality to himself/ e rules it as a 6i+ine:Spiritual force while feeling himself united with the 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers/ And when

he per+ades the intellect it becomes manifest that the intellect can eCually well be an

65





e@pression of the heart and soul as an e@pression of the head and mind/ &or Michael has

within him all the original forces of his Gods as well as those of man/ $onseCuently he

does not con+ey to the intellect anything that is soulless! cold! frosty! but he stands by it in

a manner that is full of soul and inwardly warm/

erein! too! lies the reason why Michael mo+es through the $osmos with earnest mien

and gesture/ To be inwardly united in this way with intelligence means at the same time to

be obliged to fulfil the reCuirement that into it shall be brought no subFecti+e caprice! wish

or desire/ <therwise logic becomes the arbitrary acti+ity of one being! instead of the

e@pression of the $osmos/ Michael considers that his special +irtue consists in strictly

maintaining his being as the e@pression of the #orld:1eing! -eeping within himself all that

would ma-e itself felt as his own being/ is aims are directed towards the great purposes

of the $osmosB this is e@pressed in his mien/ is will! as it approaches man! must reflect

what he sees in the $osmosB and this is shown in his attitude! his gesture/ Michael isearnest in all things! for earnestness! as the manifestation of a being! is a reflection of the

$osmos from this beingB smiling is the e@pression of that which proceeds and radiates

from a being into the world/

<ne of the Imaginations of Michael is the following. he rules through the passage of

timeB bearing the light from the $osmos really as his own beingB gi+ing form to the

warmth from the $osmos as the re+ealer of his own beingB as a being he -eeps steadily on

his course li-e a world! affirming himself only by affirming the world! as if leading forces

down to the 'arth from all parts of the Dni+erse/

$ontrast this with an Imagination of Ahriman. As he goes along he would li-e to

capture space from timeB he has dar-ness around him into which he shoots the rays of his

own lightB the more he achie+es his aims the se+erer is the frost around himB he mo+es as a

world which contracts entirely into one being! +i7/! his own! in which he affirms himself

only by denying the worldB he mo+es as if he carried with him the sinister forces of dar-

ca+es in the 'arth/

#hen man seeks freedom without inclining towards egoism E when freedom becomes

for him pure lo+e for the action which is to be performed E then it is possible for him toapproach Michael/ 1ut if he desires to act freely and at the same time de+elops egoism E

if freedom becomes for him the proud feeling of manifesting himself in the action E then

he is in danger of falling into Ahriman,s sphere/

The Imaginations we ha+e Fust described shine forth from a man,s pure lo+e for the

action 0Michael5! or from his own self:lo+e in acting 0Ahriman5/

#hen man feels himself as a free being in pro@imity to Michael he is on the way to

carry the intellectual power into his >whole man?B he thin-s indeed with his head! but hisheart feels the brightness of the thought or its shadeB the will radiates forth the essential

being of man by allowing thoughts! to stream into it as intentions and aims/ Man becomes

66





thing itself/ #e must also loo- to recognise the 1eings from whom it proceeds/ Thus for

the $osmic Thoughts we must see whether it is Michael or Ahriman who bears them out

into the world and through the world/

%/ Proceeding from the one 1eing E by +irtue of his relation to the world E the samething will wor- creati+ely and wholesomelyB proceeding from another! it will pro+e fatal

and destructi+e/ The $osmic Thoughts carry man into the future when he recei+es them

from MichaelB they lead him away from the future of his sal+ation when Ahriman has

power to gi+e them to him/

%3/ Such reflections lead us e+er more to o+ercome the idea of an undefined Spirituality!

pantheistically concei+ed as holding sway at the root of all things/ #e are led to a

conception that is definite and real! capable of clear ideas about the spiritual 1eings of the

ierarchies/ &or the reality is e+erywhere a reality of 1eing/ #hatsoe+er in it is not 1eing!is the acti+ity that proceeds in the relation of one 1eing to another/ This too can only be

understood if we can turn our ga7e to the acti+e 1eings/

6!





&IRST STD6. AT T' GAT'S <& T' SPIRITDA"

S<D" 0$<2S$I<DS2'SS:S<D"5/ <# MI$A'"

I2 T' SPIRITDA" #<R"6 IS PR'PARI2G &<R IS'ART:MISSI<2 TR<DG T' $<2=D'ST <&

"D$I&'R

A clear light is thrown upon the entrance of Michael into the e+olution of the world and

humanity at the end of the nineteenth century! by a study of the spiritual history of the

preceding centuries/

The epoch of the Spiritual Soul ta-es its rise at the beginning of the fifteenth century/

1efore this time a complete change is ta-ing place in the spiritual life of man-ind/ It is

e+ident on loo-ing bac-! that Imaginations still play a large part in human perception/

Single indi+iduals! it is true! ha+e already associated themsel+es in their soul:life with

pure >concepts?B but the soul:life of the greater number of people consists in a struggle

between Imaginations on the one hand! and ideas born from the purely physical world on

the other/ This is true! not only as regards ideas concerning e+ents in the world of 2ature!

but also those concerning the de+elopments of history/

#hat spiritual obser+ation is able to disco+er in this direction is confirmed throughout

by e@ternal e+idence/ "et us now loo- at some instances of this/

The way in which people in pre+ious centuries had thought and spo-en about

historical e+ents had found its way into writing Fust before the age of the Spiritual Soul set

in/ Thus we ha+e preser+ed to us out of this time >sagas? and the li-e! in which a true

picture is gi+en of how >history? was represented in past times/

A fine e@ample is the story of >Gerhard the Good!? contained in a poem by Rudolf of

'ms! who li+ed in the first half of the thirteenth century/ >Gerhard the Good? is a rich

merchant of $ologne/ e underta-es a Fourney to Russia! "i+onia and Prussia! to buysables! and then tra+els farther to 6amascus and 2ine+eh to get sil-:stuffs and similar

merchandise/

<n the homeward Fourney he is dri+en out of his course by a storm/ In the strange

country in which he finds himself he becomes acCuainted with a man! who is -eeping a

number of 'nglish -nights! and the betrothed of the King of 'ngland! in capti+ity/ Gerhard

sacrifices all that he has acCuired on his Fourney by trading! and recei+es the prisoners in

e@change/ #hen the ships arri+e at the point where the ways of the tra+ellers part!

Gerhard sends the -nights home! but the King,s betrothed he detains! in the hope that the

bridegroom! King #illiam! will come to fetch her himself! as soon as he recei+es news of

her release! and of the place of her abode/ The King,s bride and the maidens who

6"





accompany her are entertained by Gerhard in the best way imaginable/ She li+es! li-e a

much lo+ed daughter! in the house of her deli+erer from capti+ity/ A long time passes

without the King coming to ta-e her away/ Then! in order to ensure his foster daughter,s

future! Gerhard decides to marry her to his son/ &or the supposition is possible that

#illiam is dead/ The wedding of Gerhard,s son is being celebrated! when an un-nownpilgrim arri+es/ It is #illiam/ e has wandered about for a long time! searching for his

betrothed/ Gerhard,s son unselfishly resigns her and she is gi+en bac- to #illiam/ 1oth

remain for a time with GerhardB then the latter fits out a ship to con+ey them to 'ngland/

#hen Gerhard,s prisoners E who ha+e been restored to honour E are first able to greet

him in 'ngland they wish to ma-e him -ing/ 1ut he is able to reply that he is bringing to

them their lawful -ing and Cueen/ They! too! had thought #illiam dead and wished to

choose another -ing to rule their country! which during #illiam,s wanderings had fallen

into a chaotic state/ The $ologne merchant renounces all the honours and riches offered to

him and returns to $ologne! there to be again the simple merchant he had been before/The story goes on to relate how <tto I! King of Sa@ony! Fourneys to $ologne to ma-e the

acCuaintance of Gerhard the Good/ &or the powerful -ing has succumbed to the

temptation to count upon >earthly recompense? for much that he has done/ Through

becoming acCuainted with Gerhard he learns from his e@ample how a simple man does an

unspea-able amount of good E sacrificing all the goods he had acCuired in order to

liberate capti+esB restoring to #illiam his son,s affianced brideB then ta-ing the trouble to

con+ey #illiam to 'ngland again! etc/ E without desiring any earthly reward whate+er

for it! but lea+ing all reward to the ruling of 6i+ine Pro+idence/ The man is uni+ersally

-nown as >Gerhard the Good?B the -ing feels that he himself recei+es a strong moral andreligious impulse through becoming acCuainted with Gerhard,s mind and character/

The story which I ha+e briefly outlined abo+e E in order not merely to indicate by

name something that is little -nown E shows Cuite clearly from one aspect the mental

attitude of the age before the coming of the Spiritual Soul in the e+olution of humanity/

Those who enter into the spirit of the story! as told by Rudolf of 'ms! will be able to feel

how the e@perience of the earthly world has changed since the time of King <tto 0the tenth

century5/

2otice how! during the age of the Spiritual Soul! the world has in a certain way become

>clear? to the mental eye of man! as regards the comprehension of physical e@istence and its

de+elopment/ Gerhard tra+els with his ships as if in a mist/ e only -nows the small

portion of the world with which he wishes to come in contact/ In $ologne you hear

nothing of what is ta-ing place in 'ngland! and you ha+e to search for years for a person

who is in $ologne/ ou get to -now about the life and property of another man such as the

one on whose shore Gerhard is cast on his homeward Fourney! only when you ha+e been

brought directly by destiny to the place/ The present:day grasp of circumstances in the

world is related to that of those earlier times as the loo-ing into a broad! sunlit landscapeis to the groping about in a dense fog/

#





#hat is related in connection with Gerhard the Good has nothing to do with what we

call >historical? now:a:days! but it is all the more concerned with the character and mood of

soul and with the whole spiritual situation of the time/ It is these! and not the single e+ents

in the physical world! which are depicted in Imaginations/

In the picture before us! we see a reflection of how man not only feels himself as a

being who li+es and is acti+e as a member in the chain of e+ents in the physical world! but

also feels spiritual! supersensible 1eings wor-ing into his earthly e@istence and ha+ing

connection with his will/

The tale of Gerhard the Good shows how the twilight dimness! which! in respect of the

penetration of the physical world! preceded the period of the Spiritual Soul! turned man,s

ga7e to the +ision of the spiritual world/ Man did not see the !readth of the physical world!

but he saw all the more into the depth of the spiritual/

et in the period that we describe! it was no longer the same as it once had been when a

twilight clair+oyance showed to man-ind the spiritual world/ The Imaginations were

thereB but when they appeared within the human soul! it was already in its apprehension

of things strongly disposed in the direction of thought/ The result of this was that men no

longer -new how the world that re+ealed itself in Imaginations was related to the world of

physical e@istence/ ence! to people who were already holding more strongly to the

thought element! these Imaginations seemed to be fictions! in+ented at will and ha+ing no

reality/

Men no longer -new that through the Imaginations they saw into a world in which

man stands with a Cuite different part of his being than in the physical world/ Thus in the

picture before us! two worlds stand side by sideB and in the way the story is told! both

worlds bear a character that would ma-e one belie+e the spiritual e+ents to ha+e ta-en

place in among the physical e+ents! and Fust as perceptibly as these/

In addition to this! the physical e+ents in many of these tales are in utter confusion/

People whose li+es are centuries apart appear as contemporariesB e+ents are transferred to

another place or period/

&acts of the physical world are +iewed by the human soul in such a way as one can

really only +iew what is spiritual! for which Time and Space ha+e a different significance/

The physical world is depicted in Imaginations instead of in thoughts/ <n the other hand!

the spiritual world is wo+en into the narrati+e as if one were dealing! not with a different

form of e@istence! but with something that was a continuation of physical facts/

A historical conception that -eeps to the physical only! thin-s that the old Imaginations

of the 'ast! of Greece! etc/! ha+e been ta-en o+er and interwo+en poetically with thehistorical subFects that were occupying men,s minds at the time/ The writings of Isidor of

1





Se+ille of the se+enth century are said to contain a regular collection of old legendary

>motifs/?

et this is merely an e@ternal point of +iew! and has significance only for those who

ha+e no understanding of that condition of soul which still -nows itself to be in directconnection with the spiritual world! and which feels itself impelled to e@press this

-nowledge in Imaginations/ #hether a writer ma-es use of his own Imagination! or

whether he applies! in an understanding and li+ing way! one that has been handed down

through history! is not the essential point/ The essential point is that the soul is orientated

towards the spiritual world and sees both its own actions and the e+ents in the course of

2ature as forming a part of that world/

It is howe+er true that in the way stories and legends were told in the time before the

dawn of the epoch of the Spiritual Soul! a certain tendency to error is noticeable/

Spiritual obser+ation sees in this tendency the wor-ing of the "uciferic powers/

That which urges the soul to recei+e the Imaginations into its e@perience is the result

not so much of faculties possessed by the soul in ancient times E through a dreamli-e

clair+oyance E but rather of faculties present in the periods between the eighth and the

fourteenth centuries A6/ These faculties were already pressing more strongly towards an

understanding! in terms of thought! of what was percei+ed by the senses/ 1oth -inds of

faculties were present simultaneously during the transition period/ The soul was placed

between the old orientation! which penetrates to the spiritual world and sees the physical

only as in a mist! and the new orientation! which is centred on physical happenings and in

which the spiritual +ision fades/

The "uciferic power wor-s into this wa+ering balance of the human soul/ It wants to

pre+ent man from attaining to complete orientation in the physical world/ It wants to -eep

him! with his consciousness! in spiritual realms that were adapted for him in ancient

times/ It wants to pre+ent pure thin-ing! directed towards the understanding of physical

e@istence! from flowing into Ms dreamli-e! imaginati+e conception of the world/ It is able

to hold bac-! in a wrong way! man,s power of perception from the physical world/ It is nothowe+er! able to maintain in the right way the e@perience of the old Imaginations! and so

it ma-es man reflect imaginati+ely! and yet at the same time he is not able to transplant his

soul completely into the world in which the Imaginations ha+e their full +alue/

At the dawn of the Spiritual Soul epoch! "ucifer is acti+e in such a manner that!

through him! man is transplanted to the supersensible region immediately bordering on

the physical in a way not in -eeping with his nature/

#e can see this Cuite clearly in the legend of 6u-e 'rnst 0er7og 'rnst5! which wasone of the fa+ourite legends of the Middle Ages and was related in wide circles/

2





6u-e 'rnst has a disagreement with the 'mperor! who is determined to ma-e war

upon him unFustly and bring him to ruin/ The 6u-e feels impelled to escape from this

untenable relation with the head of the State by ta-ing part in the $rusade to the 'ast/ In

the e@periences which he goes through before he reaches his destination! the physical and

spiritual are wo+en together in saga form in the manner indicated/ &or instance! the 6u-e!in the course of his wanderings! encounters a people with heads shaped li-e those of

cranes/ e is dri+en ashore on the Magnet Mountain! which draws ships with magnetic

power! so that people who come into the +icinity of the mountain cannot escape! but are

doomed to a miserable end/ 6u-e 'rnst and his followers effect their escape by sewing

themsel+es up in s-ins! and letting themsel+es be carried on to a hill by griffins! who are

accustomed to capture those dri+en on to the Magnet MountainB thence! after cutting the

s-ins! they escape in the absence of the griffins/ The continuation of the Fourney leads them

to a people whose ears are so long that they can fling them round them li-e a cloa-B and to

yet another people whose feet are so large that when it rains! they can lie on the groundand spread their feet o+er them li-e umbrellas/

e comes from a race of dwarfs to a race of giants! etc/ Many similar things are related

in connection with the 6u-e 'rnst,s Fourney to the $rusades/ The >"egend? does not let one

feel in the right way how! whene+er Imaginations enter into the story! an orientation is set

up towards a spiritual world! and how e+ents are then related through pictures which are

enacted in the astral world! and which are connected with the #ill and &ate of earthly

man/

This is also the case with the beautiful >Story of Roland!? in which $harles the Great,s

crusade against the heathen in Spain is commemorated/ It is related there 0as if in

confirmation of the 1ible5 that in order that $harles the Great could attain the end he was

stri+ing for! the sun stopped in its course! so that one day became as long as two/

In the case of the >2ibelung Saga!? one can see how in! 2orthern lands it has -ept a

form that maintains more purely and directly the perception of the Spiritual! whereas in

$entral 'urope the Imaginations are brought nearer to physical life/ In the 2orthern form

of the story the Imaginations are referred to an >astral world?B in the $entral 'uropean

form of the "ay of the 2ibelungs! the Imaginations glide o+er into the perception of the

physical world/

The Imaginations appearing in the "egend of 6u-e 'rnst refer in reality to what is

e@perienced !etween the e@periences in the physical sphere! in an >astral world!? to which

man belongs Fust as much as to the physical/

If one applies spiritual +ision to all this! then one sees how the entrance into the Age of

$onsciousness signifies outgrowing a phase of e+olution in which the "uciferic powers

would ha+e pre+ailed o+er man-ind! had not a new e+olutionary impulse come into thehuman being through the Spiritual Soul with its force of intellectuality/ That orientation

towards the spiritual world which would lead into the paths of error is hindered through

3





the Spiritual SoulB the ga7e of man is drawn away and turned upon the physical world/

'+erything that happens in this direction withdraws humanity from the "uciferic powers

that are misleading it/

Michael is already at this time acti+e for humanity from the spiritual world/ e ispreparing his later wor- from out of the supersensible/ e is gi+ing humanity impulses

which preser+e the former relation to the 6i+ine:Spiritual world! without this preser+ation

adopting a "uciferic character/

Then in the last third of the nineteenth century Michael himself presses forward into

the physical earthly world with the acti+ities which he has e@ercised in preparation from

out of the Supersensible! from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century/

umanity had to undergo a period of spiritual e+olution for the purpose of freeingitself from that relation to the spiritual world which threatened to become an impossible

one/ Then the e+olution was guided! through the Michael Mission! into paths which

brought the progress of 'arth humanity once more into a good and healthy relation to the

spiritual world/

Thus Michael stands in his acti+ity between the "uciferic #orld3picture ! and the

Ahrimanic #orld3intellect/ The #orld:picture becomes through him a #orld3re%elation full

of wisdom! which re+eals the #orld:intellect as 6i+ine #orld3acti%ity/ And in this #orld:

acti+ity li+es the care of $hrist for humanity E e+en in the #orld:acti+ity which can thus

re+eal itself to the heart of man out of Michael,s #orld:re+elation/

>urther Leading 'houghts issued from the $oetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society in

connection with the a!o%e study of Michael=s supersensi!le preparation for his earthly missionB

%;/ The dawn of the age of $onsciousness 0the age of the Spiritual Soul5 in the fifteenth

century was preceded! in the twilight of the age of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul! by a

heightened "uciferian acti+ity! which continued for a certain time e+en into the new

epoch/

%*/ This "uciferian influence tried to preser+e ancient forms of pictorial conception of the

world in a wrong way/ Thus it tried to pre+ent man from understanding with

Intellectuality and entering with fullness of life into the physical e@istence of the #orld/

%4/ Michael unites his being with the acti+ity of man-ind so that the independent

Intellectuality may remain E not in a "uciferian! but in a righteous way E with the 6i+ine

and Spiritual from which it is inherited/

4





S'$<26 STD6. <# T' MI$A'" &<R$'S #<RK

I2 T' 'AR"I'ST D2&<"6I2G <& T'

SPIRITDA" S<D"At the time when the Spiritual Soul was entering the e+olution of man-ind on 'arth! it

was difficult for the 1eings of the spiritual world ne@t to this earthly e@istence to approach

man-ind/ The form assumed by earthly e+ents at that time pro+es that +ery peculiar

conditions were necessary in order to enable the Spirit to find its way into the physical life

of man-ind/ 1ut it shows another thing as well! and in a way that is often most

illuminating/ It shows how! at a point when the Powers of the past are still at wor- and

those of the future already beginning their acti+ity! one spiritual influence tries to find its

way into the earthly life of man-ind in +igorous opposition to another/

1etween %33( and %;*3 a chaotic! de+astating war begins between &rance and 'ngland/

It lasts for more than a hundred years/ In the chaos of this war! which was due to a certain

spiritual current unfa+ourable to the e+olution of man-ind! e+ents which would otherwise

ha+e brought the Spiritual Soul into humanity more Cuic-ly were definitely hindered/

$haucer! who died in %;99! laid the foundations of 'nglish literature/ #e need only

remember the great spiritual conseCuences which too- their start in 'urope from the

founding of this literature! and we shall see the importance of the fact that such an e+ent

was not able to wor- itself out freely! but fell into the midst of the confusions of a

prolonged war/ Moreo+er! already in %%* that way of political thought which can recei+eits true stamp and character through the Spiritual Soul had begun in 'ngland/ The further

e+olution of this fact! too! fell into all the hindrances of war/

This was a time when the spiritual forces! see-ing to e+ol+e man according to the

potentialities laid in him from the +ery beginning by yet loftier 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers!

encountered their strong ad+ersaries/ These ad+ersaries wish to di+ert man into channels

other than those appointed for him from the beginning/ If they were to succeed! man

would not be able to apply the forces of his origin to his further e+olution/ is cosmic

childhood would remain unfruitful for him/ It would become a dying! withering partwithin his being/ The conseCuence would be that man could then fall a prey to the

"uciferic or Ahrimanic Powers and lose his own true and proper de+elopment/ If the

ad+ersaries of man-ind had succeeded in their efforts E if they had not only put

hindrances in the way! but achie+ed complete success E the entry of the Spiritual Soul

could ha+e been pre+ented/

An e+ent which re+eals the inpouring of the Spiritual into the earthly e+ents in a most

clear and radiant way is the appearance and subseCuent history of Noan of Arc! the Maid of

<rleans 0%;% : %;3%5/ The impulses for what she does lie in the deep! subconscious

foundations of her soul/ She follows dim inspirations from the spiritual world/ <n the

'arth there is confusion and disorder! through which the age of the Spiritual Soul is to be

5





hindered/ Michael has to prepare from the spiritual world his later missionB this he is able

to do where his impulses are recei+ed into human souls/ Such a soul li+es in the Maid of

<rleans/ And Michael also wor-ed through many other souls! although this was possible

only in a minor degree and is less apparent in outer historical life/ In e+ents such as the

war between 'ngland and &rance he met with opposition from his Ahrimanic ad+ersary/

In our last number we spo-e of the "uciferic ad+ersary Michael found at the same time/

And indeed! this ad+ersary is particularly apparent in the course of e+ents following upon

the appearance of the Maid of <rleans/ &rom these e+ents it may be seen that man-ind no

longer -new how to deal with an inter+ention of the spiritual world in the destiny of

humanity! which could be understood and also recei+ed by men into the will as long as

Imaginati+e understanding e@isted/ The earlier attitude towards such inter+ention became

impossible when the Intellectual Soul ceased to actB the attitude corresponding to the

Spiritual Soul had not at that time been disco+eredB nor has it yet been achie+ed/

Thus it came about that 'urope was moulded from the spiritual world without men

understanding what was happening! and without that which they were able to do ha+ing

any appreciable influence on this process/

The significance of this e+ent! the determining causes of which lay in the spiritual

world! will be percei+ed if one tries to imagine what would ha+e happened in the fifteenth

century had there been no Maid of <rleans/ There are some who wish to e@plain this

phenomenon materialistically/ It is impossible to come to an understanding with such

people because they arbitrarily interpret in the materialistic sense something that is

ob+iously spiritual/

In certain directions of spiritual stri+ing! too! it may now be clearly seen that humanity

can no longer find the way to the 6i+ine:Spiritual without difficulty! e+en though men

search with resolution/ There are difficulties which did not e@ist in the age when insight

could still be gained with the aid of Imaginations/ In order to Fudge correctly what is here

meant! all that is necessary is to see in a clear light those indi+iduals who come forward as

philosophical thin-ers/ A philosopher cannot be Fudged by his effect on his age alone! nor

by obser+ing how many people ha+e accepted his ideas/ e is rather the e9pression ! themanifestation in person for his age/ The philosopher presents in his ideas that which the

greater part of humanity bears within it as its frame of mind! unconscious feelings and

impulses of life/ "i-e a thermometer which registers the degree of the surrounding

warmth! he registers the mental condition of his age/ The philosophers are no more the

causes of the psychology of their age than the thermometer is the cause of the surrounding

temperature/

$onsider! from this point of +iew! the philosopher RenO 6escartes! who wor-ed when

the age of the Spiritual Soul had already commenced/ 0e li+ed from %*(4 to %4*9/5 Theslender support for his connection with the spirit:world 0the world of true being5 is the

6





e@perience >I thin-! therefore I am/? In the centre of self:consciousness! in the > I !? he tries to

feel realityB and indeed! only so much as the Spiritual Soul can tell him/

And he endea+ours intellectually to understand the rest of the Spiritual by inCuiring

what guarantee the certainty of his own self:consciousness gi+es for the certainty ofanything else/ Regarding the truths handed on to him historically he always inCuires. Are

they as clear as the >I thin-! therefore I am? And if he can answer this in the affirmati+e he

accepts them/

In this -ind of human thought is not the Spirit eliminated from all obser+ation that is

directed towards the things in the world The manifestation of the Spirit has withdrawn to

the pin:point support in self:consciousnessB all else! as it shows itself directly ! is +oid of any

re+elation of the Spirit/ <nly indirectly! by the intellect in the Spiritual Soul! can the light of

this spirit:re+elation be thrown on that which lies outside self:consciousness/ The man ofthis age allows the content of his Spiritual Soul! which is as yet almost empty! to stream

towards the spiritual world with intense longing/ A tiny ray goes thither/

The beings in the Spirit:world immediately bordering upon the 'arth:world! and the

human souls on 'arth! come to one another with difficulty/ Michael,s supersensible

preparation for his later Mission is also e@perienced by the human soul only under the

greatest hindrances/

In order to grasp the essential nature of the frame of mind e@pressed in 6escartes!

compare this philosopher with St/ Augustine! who! in the outer formulation of it! sets up

for the e@perience of the spiritual world the same support as 6escartes/ 1ut in St/

Augustine it ta-es place out of the full force of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/ St/ Augustine

03*; : ;395 is Fustly found to be related to 6escartes! but his intellect is still the remnant of

what is cosmic! whereas that of 6escartes is the intellect that is already entering the

indi+idual human soul/ In the progress of spiritual stri+ing from St/ Augustine to

6escartes it may be seen how the cosmic character of the power of thought is lost and how

it then reappears in the human soul/ 1ut it can also be seen at the same time with what

difficulty Michael and the human soul come together so that Michael may lead in man

what he once led in the $osmos/

The "uciferic and Ahrimanic forces are at wor- to pre+ent this union/ The "uciferic

forces want man to unfold only that which was proper to him during his cosmic

childhoodB the Ahrimanic forces! which are opposed to the "uciferic and yet co:operate

with them! would li-e to de+elop only those forces which were gained in later ages of the

world! and so let the cosmic childhood of man wither away/

Dnder increased resistances such as these! the human souls in 'urope digested the

spiritual impulses contained in old world:conceptions which had streamed from the 'astto the #est through the $rusades/ The Michael:forces li+ed +ery strongly in these





conceptions/ The $osmic Intelligence! the rulership of which was the ancient spiritual

heritage of Michael! was dominant in these old world:conceptions/

ow could they be recei+ed! seeing that there was a chasm between the forces of the

spirit:world and the human souls These forces came to the Spiritual Soul which was only Fust beginning to e+ol+e/ <n one side they met with the hindrance gi+en in the Spiritual

Soul itself which was still but little de+eloped/ And on the other they no longer found a

consciousness supported by Imagination/ The human soul could not with full insight unite

them with itself/ They were accepted either Cuite superficially or superstitiously/

#e ha+e to pay attention to this frame of mind if we wish to understand the

mo+ements of thought connected on the one hand with the names of #ycliffe! uss and

others! and on the other with the name of >Rosicrucianism/?


connection with the foregoing Second Study of the Michael >orces in the earliest 6nfolding of the

Spiritual SoulB

%)/ At the beginning of the Age of $onsciousness! man e+ol+ed the intellectual forces of

his soul only to a small e@tent as yet/ ence there arose a gap between what the soul of

man in unconscious depths was longing for! and what the forces from the region of

Michael,s abode could gi+e him/

%/ <wing to this gap! there was a greater possibility for the "uciferic powers to hold man bac- in the forces of cosmic childhood! thus bringing about his further e+olution! not on

the paths of the 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers with whom he was united from the beginning!

but on the paths of "ucifer/

%(/ Moreo+er there was a greater possibility for the powers of Ahriman to wrest man

away from the forces of his cosmic childhood! thus dragging him down! for his further

e+olution! into their own domain/

%39/ 2either of these dangers was realised! for the forces of Michael were after all at wor-/1ut the spiritual e+olution of man-ind had to ta-e place under the resulting hindrances!

and it was thus that it became what it has! in fact! hitherto become/

!





S'$<26 STD6 0$<2TI2D'65/ I26RA2$'S A26

'"PS T< T' MI$A'" &<R$'S I2 T' 6A#2

<& T' AG' <& T' SPIRITDA" S<D"Throughout 'urope! the incorporation of the Spiritual Soul brought about a disturbance in

the e@periences of religious faith and ritual/ A clear sign of the coming disturbance may be

seen about the turn of the ele+enth and twelfth centuries in the arising of the >Proofs of

God? 0especially in the wor- of Anselm of $anterbury5/ The e@istence of God now had to

be pro+ed by intellectual reasoning/ The desire to do such a thing could only arise when

the old way of e@periencing >God? with the forces of the inner soul was +anishing/ &or we

ne+er set out to pro+e by logic what we e@perience in such a way/

The old way was to percei+e with one,s inner soul the 1eings or Intelligences! up to theGodhead/ The new way! arising at this time! was to e+ol+e intellectual thoughts about the

Prime &oundations of the Dni+erse/ The former way was supported by the forces of

Michael in the spiritual realm of 'arth/ 1ehind the thought:forces directed to the things of

outer sense! the forces of Michael eCuipped the soul with faculties to percei+e di+ine 1eing

and Intelligence in the Dni+erse/ <n the other hand! for the second way to find its

fulfilment! the inner union of the soul with the forces of Michael must first be de+eloped

and accomplished/

In the sphere of religious ritual! e+en the central doctrine of the oly $ommunion began to totter/ #e find this happening in far:spread regions of the religious e@perience of

man! from #ycliffe in 'ngland 0fifteenth century5 to uss in 1ohemia/

In oly $ommunion man was able to find his union with the spiritual world which

was opened up to him through $hrist/ &or he was able to unite his being with $hrist in

such a way that the fact of the outer sense:union was at the same time a spiritual fact/

The consciousness of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul was able to form an idea of this

union/ &or the Mind:Soul still possessed ideas! both of Spirit and of Matter! near to one

another E so that it was possible for it to concei+e the one 0Matter5 passing o+er into the

other 0Spirit5/ Ideas of this -ind! howe+er! cannot possibly be so intellectualistic as to

reCuire at the same time proofs of God,s e@istence/ Such ideas must still contain something

of the li+ing Imagination which enables man to feel! in Matter! the Spirit that is acti+e in itB

and in the Spirit! the stri+ing towards Matter/ Ideas of this -ind ha+e the cosmic forces of

Michael behind them/

Thin- only how much was beginning to totter for the human soul at that time. how

much of what was connected with the innermost and holiest e@perience of menH

Personalities arose E uss! #ycliffe and others E in whom the e@istence of the SpiritualSoul shone out most radiantly/ Their inner state of soul was such as to unite them with the

Michael forces with an intensity that would not come for others till centuries afterwards/

"





&rom the +oice of Michael in their hearts! they proclaimed the worthiness of the Spiritual

Soul to rise to the conception of the deepest religious mysteries/ They felt that the

Intellectuality which was coming with the Spiritual Soul must be able to include in the

realm of its ideas that which had been attainable! in older times! by Imagination/

<n the other hand! the historical and traditional attitude of the human soul to these

things had in +ery wide circles lost all its inner force and strength/ #hat history refers to

as the e+ils and abuses of religious life which were dealt with by the great $ouncils of

Reform in the age when the Spiritual Soul was beginning its acti+ity E all this is

connected with the life of those human souls who! not yet feeling the Spiritual Soul within

them! were on the other hand no longer able to find in the old Intellectual or Mind:Soul a

sufficient source of inner strength or certainty/

istorical e@periences of men! such as were laid bare at the $ouncils of $onstance and1asle! may be said to re+eal. E in the spiritual world abo+e the down:pouring of the

Intellectuality see-ing to find its way to men! and in the earthly realm below! the wor-ing

of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul! no longer in accordance with the time/ The Michael forces

are ho+ering between! loo-ing bac- to their own past union with the 6i+ine:Spiritual! and

down upon the human realm/ The human realm li-ewise enFoyed the same union in the

past! but it must now pass into a sphere in which Michael will help it from the Spirit!

though he may not unite his own inner being with this realm/ Absolutely necessary as it is

in cosmic e+olution E yet signifying! to begin with! a disturbance in the balance of the

$osmos E this stri+ing of Michael underlies that which man-ind had to e@perience in thatage e+en with respect to the most sacred truths/

#e ga7e deeply into the characteristic features of that age when we turn our thoughts

to $ardinal 2icholas of $usa/ 0<ne may read what I ha+e said about him in the boo-

>Mysticism at the 6awn of Modern Spiritual "ife /// Mysticism and Modern 'hought /?5 is

personality is li-e an outstanding monument of time/ e wants the affairs of the world

directed by points of +iew! which E instead of fighting the abuses and e+ils of the physical

world by re+olutionary tendencies E meet them with healthy common:sense! see-ing to

restore to the proper channel those things which ha+e become di+erted from it/ #e

recognise this tendency in the influence he brought to bear at the $ouncil of 1asle! and

generally within his ecclesiastical community/

Thus 2icholas of $usa is fully inclined towards the great change in e+olution which

comes with the unfolding of the Spiritual Soul/ <n the other hand he brings forth thoughts

and ideas which re+eal in a most radiant way the wor-ing of Michael,s forces within them/

Into the midst of his age he places the good old ideas which! in the epoch when Michael

still ruled the $osmic Intellectuality! led the human soul to the unfolding of faculties to

percei+e the 1eings and Intelligences in the $osmos/ The >"earned Ignorance? of which he

spea-s is a perception o+er and abo+e that which is directed to the outer world of sense Ea perception which leads man,s thin-ing beyond the intellectuality of ordinary -nowledge

!#









into a region where! in ignorance or emptiness of -nowledge! the Spiritual is ta-en hold of

by a pure! inner e@perience of seership/

Thus 2icholas of $usa is a personality who! feeling in his own soul:life the disturbance

of the cosmic balance by Michael! would li-e intuiti+ely to contribute as much as possibletowards the turning of this disturbance to the welfare of humanity/

1etween the things of the spiritual life that came to light in this way there li+ed

something else which remained hidden/ $ertain indi+iduals who percei+ed and

understood the position of the Michael:forces in the Dni+erse! wished to prepare the

forces of their own souls in such a way that they might consciously enter the spirit:realm

bordering upon the earthly sphere E the realm in which Michael ma-es his efforts on

behalf of humanity/

They sought Fustification for this spiritual enterprise by conducting themsel+es

outwardly in life! in their calling and in other circumstances! in such a way that their life

could not be distinguished from that of other men/ 1y lo+ingly performing their earthly

duties in the ordinary sense they were able to turn their inner manhood freely towards the

Spiritual which we ha+e described/ #hat they did in this direction was something

between themsel+es and that with which they united themsel+es >in secret/? As regards

what too- place in the physical realm! the world was at first apparently Cuite unaffected

by this spiritual stri+ing/ And yet all this was needed in order to bring souls into the

necessary union with the Michael:world/ It was not a Cuestion of >Secret Societies? in any

bad sense! nor of anything that tried to hide because it feared the light of day! but rather of

persons coming together! and in so doing con+incing themsel+es that each one in their

circle possessed the true consciousness of the Michael Mission/ Those who thus wor-ed

together did not spea- of their wor- before others who through lac- of understanding

could only ha+e disturbed the aims they had set themsel+es/ These aims consisted

primarily in wor-ing in spiritual streams which flow! not within earthly life! but in the

spirit:world ne@t to it! but which ne+ertheless cast their impulses into earthly life/

This gi+es an indication of the spirit:wor- of human beings who indeed li+e in the

physical world but co:operate with 1eings who belong to the spirit:world E 1eings whodo not themsel+es enter the physical world or incarnate in it/ #e are here spea-ing of

those who! with +ery little reference to the real facts! are named in the world as the

>Rosicrucians/? True Rosicrucianism lies absolutely in the line of acti+ity of the Michael

Mission/ It helped Michael to prepare on 'arth the spirit:wor- which he wished to prepare

for a later age/

#e shall be able to estimate what could be achie+ed thereby if we consider the

following/

The abo+e:described difficulties! nay! impossibilities! for Michael to wor- into human

souls! are connected with the fact that Michael himself! in his essential being! does not

!1





wish to come in contact in any way with the physical present of earthly life/ e wishes to

remain in the ne@us of forces which e@isted for Spirits of his -ind! and for human beings!

in the past/ Any contact with that with which! in present earthly life! man is o!liged to come

in contact E this Michael could only consider as a pollution of his being/ 2ow in ordinary

human life the spiritual e@perience of the soul wor-s into the physical earthly life! andcon+ersely the latter reacts upon the former/ It is a reaction which e@presses itself

especially in man,s frame of mind and in the direction of his soul towards some earthly

thing/ An interaction of this -ind is as a rule the case E though not in+ariably E especially

in persons engaged in public life/ ence the hindrances to Michael,s wor- in many of the

Reformers were +ery great/

The Rosicrucians o+ercame the difficulty in this direction by -eeping their e@ternal life

E which consisted in their earthly duties E Cuite apart from their wor- with Michael/

#hen Michael! together with his impulses! came in contact with what a Rosicrucianprepared in his soul for him! he found himself in no way e@posed to the danger of meeting

what was earthly/ &or! through the state of soul which he purposely culti+ated! anything

earthly was -ept away from that which united the Rosicrucian with Michael/

In this way the true Rosicrucian stri+ing formed for Michael the path here on the 'arth

towards his coming earthly Mission/


connection with the a!o%e Study of the ;indrances and ;elps to the Michael >orces in the Dawn of

the Age of the Spiritual SoulB

%3%/ In the beginning of the Age of the Spiritual Soul! the Intellectuality now emancipated

in man wanted to occupy itself with the truths of religious faith and ritual/ The life of the

human soul was thereby brought into uncertainty and doubt/ Men tried to pro+e by logic

spiritual realities that were formerly a direct e@perience within the soul/ They tried to

understand! nay e+en to determine by logical deduction! the contents of sacred ritual

which can only be ta-en hold of in spiritual Imaginations/

%3/ All this is connected with the fact that while Michael is determined to a+oid any -indof contact with the present earthly world! which man must enterB yet at the same time it is

still his tas- to guide in man the cosmic Intellectuality which he administered in ages past/

Thus there arises through the Michael:forces a disturbance in the cosmic balance albeit! a

disturbance necessary for the further progress of world:e+olution/

%33/ Michael,s mission was made easier for him by certain personalities E the genuine

Rosicrucians E who arranged their outward life on 'arth so that it in no way interfered

!with their inner life of soul/ They could thus de+elop forces within them! whereby they

wor-ed together in spiritual realms with Michael! without the danger of entangling him inpresent earthly happenings! which would ha+e been impossible for him/

!2





TIR6 STD6. MI$A'" IS SD&&'RI2G <J'R DMA2

'J<"DTI<2 1'&<R' T' TIM' <& IS 'ART"

A$TIJITAs the new Age of $onsciousness proceeds! it grows less and less possible for Michael to

connect himself with the e@istence of man-ind in general/ Intellectuality has become

human and is now entering humanity/ &rom it the Imaginati+e conceptions! which could

re+eal to man the 6i+ine 1eing and Intelligence in the $osmos! are +anishing/ The

possibility for Michael himself to approach man begins only with the last third of the

nineteenth century/ 1efore that time it was only possible by those paths which were sought

for in the true Rosicrucian sense/

#ith his own budding intellectuality! man loo-s out into 2ature/ e sees there aphysical and etheric world! in which he himself is not contained/ Through the great ideas

of men such as $opernicus and Galileo! he attains a picture of the world e@ternal to man/

1ut he loses the picture of himself/ #hen he ga7es on himself he has no possibility of

reaching any insight as to what he truly is/

In the depths of his being! that which is destined to bear and sustain his intelligence is

being awa-ened in him/ #ith this! his 'go becomes united/ Thus man now bears a

threefold nature within him. first! in his spirit:and:soul being! manifesting as physical:

etheric! that which originated once upon a time! in the old Saturn and Sun epochs! andthen e+er and again placed him within the -ingdom of the 6i+ine:Spiritual/ It is here that

the uman 1eing and the Michael 1eing go together/ Secondly! man bears within him his

later physical and etheric nature! that which e+ol+ed in him during the Moon and 'arth

epochs/ All this is the wor- and acti+e wor-ing of the 6i+ine:Spiritual/ 1ut the 6i+ine:

Spiritual itself is no longer li+ing and present within it/ It only becomes fully li+ing and

present once more when $hrist passes through the Mystery of Golgotha/ In that which is

at wor- spiritually in the physical and etheric body of man! $hrist can indeed be found/

Thirdly! man has within him that part of his soul and spirit which recei+ed new being

in the Moon and 'arth epochs/ ere Michael has remained acti+e 0whereas in the part of

man that is inclined towards the Moon and 'arth! he has become more and more inacti+e/5

In the former Michael has preser+ed! for man! his picture of Man and the Gods together/

e was able to do this until the dawn of the new age of $onsciousness E the age of the

Spiritual Soul/ Then the spirit and soul of man san- down! as it were! entirely in the

physical:etheric nature! in order to draw forth from there the Spiritual Soul/

Radiantly there arose in the consciousness of man what his physical and his etheric

body could tell him about the physical and etheric in the world of 2ature/ And what hisastral body and 'go had been able to tell him about himself +anished away from his

+ision/

!3





And so! with these their conceptions about Man! men li+e in empty pictures! in

illusions/ They are fore+er running after a picture of Man which they only imagine that

they ha+e! while in real truth there is nothing in their field of +ision/ >The power of the

spiritual Sun shines upon their souls/ $hrist imself is wor-ingB but they are not yet able

to percei+e is presence/ The power of the Spiritual Soul holds sway in the bodyB but itstill will not enter into their souls/? That is appro@imately the inspiration one can hear of

what Michael says in great an@iety/ Is it possible that the forces of illusion in man will gi+e

the >6ragon? so much power that it will be impossible for Michael to maintain the balance

<ther persons try with more inward artistic power to feel 2ature at one with man/

Mighty are the words in which Goethe described #in-elmann,s wor- in a beautiful boo-.

>#hen the healthy nature of man acts as a whole! when he feels himself in the world as in

a great! beautiful! maFestic and worthy whole! when harmonious case gi+es him pure! free

delightB then would the Dni+erse! if it were conscious of itself! shout aloud for Foy! asha+ing reached its goal! and mar+el at the clima@ of its own de+elopment and being/? That

which stimulated "essing with fiery spirit and ensouled erder,s wide outloo- on the

world! rings out in these words of Goethe/ And the whole of Goethe,s own wor- is li-e a

many:sided re+elation of these his own words/ In his >Aesthetic "etters?! Schiller has

described an ideal human being who! in the sense described in the abo+e words! bears the

Dni+erse within himself and realises it in social intercourse with other human beings/ 1ut

whence comes this picture of Man It shines li-e the morning sun o+er the 'arth in spring/

1ut it has entered into human feeling from study of the ancient Gree-s/ It arose in men

with a strong inward Michael:impulseB but they could gi+e form to this impulse only byturning the mind,s eye to days of yore/ #hen Goethe wished to e@perience >Man!? he felt

himself in the greatest conflict with the Spiritual Soul/ e sought for Man in Spino7a,s

philosophyB but only during his tour in Italy! when he studied the nature of Gree- art! did

he feel that he had a glimpse of him/ e went away finally from the Spiritual Soul! which

is stri+ing upwards in Spino7a! to the Intellectual Soul or Mind:Soul which was gradually

dying out/ owe+er! with his far:reaching conception of 2ature he was able to carry o+er

an infinite amount from the Intellectual Soul into the Spiritual Soul/

Michael also loo-s with earnestness upon this search for Man/ #hat is in accordance

with his idea is indeed entering here into the spiritual e+olution of man. E it is that human

being who once beheld the 6i+ine 1eing and Intelligence when Michael still ruled it from

the $osmos/ 1ut if this were not laid hold of by the spiritualised force of the Spiritual Soul

it would in the end ine+itably slip away from Michael,s control and come under the sway

of "ucifer/ The other great an@iety in Michael,s life is! lest in the oscillation of the cosmic

spiritual state of balance "ucifer might gain the upper hand/

Michael,s preparation of his Mission for the end of the nineteenth century flows on in

cosmic tragedy/ 1elow! on the 'arth! there is often the greatest satisfaction in the wor-ing

out of the new picture of 2atureB whereas in the region where Michael wor-s there is atragic feeling regarding the hindrances to the coming of the picture of Man/

!5





&ormerly Michael,s austere! spiritualised lo+e li+ed in the sun,s rays! in the shimmering

dawn! in the spar-ling of the starsB this lo+e had now acCuired most strongly the note of

loo-ing down at humanity with awa-ening sorrow/

Michael,s situation in the $osmos became tragically difficult! but it also pressed for asolution Fust at the period of time which preceded his earthly mission/ Men were able to

-eep intellectuality only in the sphere of the body and there only in the sphere of the

senses/ <n one hand! therefore! they recei+ed into their +iews nothing that the senses did

not tell themB 2ature became the field of the re+elations of the senses! considered Cuite

materially/ The forms of 2ature were no longer percei+ed as the wor- of the 6i+ine:

Spiritual but as something de+oid of spirit! and yet something of which it is affirmed that

it brings forth that spiritual element in which man li+es/ <n the other hand! as regards a

Spirit:world! men would now accept only what the historical accounts narrated/ 6irect

+ision of the Spirit wor-ing in the past was discredited! as was the +ision of the Spirit inthe present/

In the soul of man there now li+ed only that which came from the sphere of the

present! which Michael does not enter/ Man was glad to stand on >sure? ground/ e

belie+ed he possessed this because in >2ature? he sought no thoughts! in which he might

ha+e had to fear the presence of arbitrary fancies/ 1ut Michael was not glad/ In his own

sphere! beyond man! he had to wage war with "ucifer and Ahriman/ This resulted in

tragic difficulty! because "ucifer is able to approach man the more easily! the more Michael

E who indeed also preser+es the past E is obliged to -eep himself away from man/ Andthus a se+ere battle for man too- place between Michael and Ahriman and "ucifer in the

spiritual world immediately bordering upon the 'arth! while on the 'arth itself man -ept

his soul in action against what was beneficial to his e+olution/

All this applies of course to the spiritual life of 'urope and America/ #e should ha+e to

spea- differently with respect to that of Asia/


connection with the a!o%e 'hird Study? Michael=s suffering o%er ;uman E%olution !efore the 'ime

of his earthly Acti%ityB

%3;/ In the +ery earliest time of the e+olution of the Spiritual Soul! man began to feel that

he had lost the picture of umanity E the picture of his own 1eing E which had formerly

been gi+en to him in Imagination/ Powerless as yet to find it in the Spiritual Soul! he

sought for it by way of 2atural Science or of istory/ e wanted the ancient picture of

umanity to arise in him again/

%3*/ Man reaches no fulfilment in this way/ &ar from becoming filled with the true being of

umanity! he is only led into illusions/ 1ut he is unaware that they are soB he thin-s theyha+e real power to sustain umanity/

!6





%34/ Thus! in the time that went before his wor-ing upon 'arth! Michael had to witness

with an@iety and suffering the e+olution of man-ind/ &or in this time men eschewed any

real contemplation of the Spirit! and thus they se+ered all the lin-s that connected them

with Michael/

!





A $RISTMAS STD6.

T' MST'R <& T' "<G<S

<ur study of the Michael Mystery was irradiated by thoughts of the Mystery of Golgotha/

&or! in effect! Michael is the Power who leads man towards the $hrist along the true way

of man,s sal+ation/

1ut the Michael Mission is one of those that are repeated again and again in rhythmical

succession in the cosmic e+olution of man-ind/ In its beneficial influence on earthly

man-ind it was repeated before the Mystery of Golgotha/ It was connected in that time

with all the acti+e re+elations which the $hrist:&orce E as yet e@ternal to the 'arth E had

to pour down to the 'arth for the unfolding of man-ind/ After the Mystery of Golgotha!

the Michael Mission enters the ser+ice of what must now be achie+ed in earthly humanitythrough $hrist imself/ In its repetitions! the Michael Mission now appears in a changed

and e+er:progressing form/ The point is that it appears in repetitions/

The Mystery of Golgotha! on the other hand! is an all embracing #orld:e+ent! ta-ing

place once only in the whole course of the cosmic e+olution of man-ind/

It was only when humanity had reached the unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul

that the e+er:continued danger which was there potentially from the beginning E the

danger lest humanity,s e@istence should become se+ered from the e@istence of the 6i+ine:

Spiritual E made itself fully felt/

And in the same manner in which the soul of man loses the conscious e@perience in

and with the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings! there emerges around him that which we today call

>2ature/? Man no longer sees the essence and being of umanity in the 6i+ine:Spiritual

$osmosB he sees the accomplished wor- of the 6i+ine:Spiritual in this earthly realm/ To

begin with! howe+er! he sees it not in the abstract form in which it is seen today E not as

physically sensible e+ents and entities held together by those abstract ideal contents which

we call >2atural "aws/? To begin with! he sees it still as 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing E 6i+ine:

Spiritual 1eing surging up and down in all that he percei+es around him! in the birth anddecay of li+ing animals! in the springing and sprouting of the plant:world! in the acti+ity

of water:wells and ri+ers! in cloud and wind and weather/ All these processes of being

around him represent to him the gestures! deeds and speech of the 6i+ine 1eing at the

foundation of >2ature/?

<nce upon a time! man had seen in the constellations and mo+ements of the stars the

deeds and gestures of the 6i+ine 1eings of the $osmos! whose words he was thus able to

read in the hea+ens/ In li-e manner! the >facts of 2ature? now became for him an

e@pression of the Goddess of the 'arth/ &or the 6i+inity at wor- in 2ature was concei+edas feminine/

!!





&ar down into the Middle Ages! the relics of this mode of conception were still at wor-

in the souls of men! filling the Intellectual or Mind:Soul with an Imaginati+e content/

#hen men of -nowledge wanted to bring the >processes of 2ature? to the

understanding of their pupils! they spo-e of the deeds of the >Goddess/? It was only withthe gradual dawn of the Spiritual Soul that this li+ing study of 2ature! filled as it was with

inner soul! grew unintelligible to man-ind/

The way in which men loo-ed in this direction in the age of the Intellectual or Mind:

Soul is reminiscent of the Myth of Persephone and of the mystery that underlies it/

Persephone! the daughter of 6emeter! is compelled by the God of the Dnderworld to

follow him into his -ingdom/ '+entually it is achie+ed that she spends one:half of the year

only in the 2ether world and dwells for the remainder of the year in the Dpper world/

This Myth of Persephone was still a great and wonderful e@pression of the way in

which Man! in an age of immemorial antiCuity! had percei+ed and -nown the e+olutionary

process of the 'arth in dream:li-e clair+oyance/

In prime+al times all the world:creati+e acti+ity had proceeded from the surroundings

of the 'arth/ The 'arth itself was only in process of becoming! and moulded its e@istence

in cosmic e+olution from out of the acti+ities of the surrounding world/ The 6i+ine:

Spiritual 1eings of the $osmos were the creators and moulders of the 'arth,s e@istence/

1ut when the 'arth was far enough ad+anced to become an independent hea+enly body!6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing descended from the great $osmos to the 'arth and became the

'arth:6i+inity/ This cosmic fact the dream:li-e clair+oyance of prime+al man-ind had seen

and -nownB and of such -nowledge the Myth of Persephone remained E but not only

this/ &or indeed! far down e+en into the Middle Ages! the way in which men sought to

-now and penetrate into >2ature? was still a relic of the same ancient -nowledge/ It was

not yet as in these later times! when men only see according to their sense:impressions!

i/e/! according to that which appears on the surface of the 'arth/ They still saw according

to the forces that wor- upwards to the surface from the depths of the 'arth/ And these

>forces of the depths? E the >forces of the 2ether world? E they saw in mutual interplaywith the influences of the stars and elements wor-ing from the 'arth,s en+ironment/

The plants in their +aried forms grow forth! re+ealing themsel+es in many:coloured

glory/ Therein are at wor- the forces of Sun and Moon and Stars! together with the forces

of the 'arth,s depths/ The ground and foundation for this is gi+en in the minerals! whose

e@istence is entirely conditioned by that part of the cosmic 1eings which has become

earthly/ Through those hea+enly forces alone! which ha+e become earthly! roc- and stone

shoot forth out of the 2ether world/ The animal -ingdom! on the other hand! has not

assumed the forces of the earthly depths/ It comes into being through those world:forcesalone which are at wor- from the surroundings of the 'arth/ It owes its growth!

de+elopment and surging life! its powers of nutrition! its possibilities of mo+ement! to the

!"





Sun:forces streaming down to the 'arth/ And under the influence of the Moon:forces

streaming down to the 'arth it has the power to reproduce itself It appears in manifold

forms and species because the starry constellations are wor-ing in manifold ways from the

$osmos! shaping and moulding this animal life/ The animals are! as it were! only placed

down here on 'arth from out the $osmos/ It is only with their dim life of consciousnessthat they parta-e in the earthly realmB with their origin! de+elopment and growth! with all

that they are in order to be able to percei+e and mo+e about! they are no earthly creatures/

This mightily concei+ed idea of the e+olution of the 'arth li+ed once upon a time in

man-ind/ The greatness of the conception is scarcely recognisable any longer in the relics

of it which came down to the Middle Ages/ To attain this -nowledge one must go bac-!

with the true +ision of the seer! into +ery ancient times/ &or e+en the physical documents

that are e@tant do not re+eal what was really present there in the souls of men! sa+e to

those who are able to penetrate to it by a spiritual path/

2ow man is not in a position to hold himself so much aloof from the 'arth as do the

animals/ In saying this! we are approaching the Mystery of umanity as well as the

Mystery of the Animal Kingdom/ These Mysteries were reflected in the animal cults of the

ancient peoples! and abo+e all in that of the 'gyptians/ They saw the animals as beings

who are but guests upon the 'arth! and in whom one may percei+e the nature and acti+ity

of the spiritual world immediately adFoining this earthly realm/ And when in pictures they

portrayed the human figure in connection with the animal! they were representing to

themsel+es the forms of those elementary! intermediate beings who! though they areindeed in cosmic e+olution on the way to humanity! yet purposely refrain from entering

the earthly realm! in order not to become human/ &or there are such elementary!

intermediate beings and in picturing them the 'gyptians were but reproducing what they

saw/ Such beings! howe+er! ha+e not the full self:consciousness of man! to attain to which

man had to enter this earthly world so completely as to recei+e something of this earthly

nature into his +ery own/

Man had to be e@posed to the fact that in this earthly world! though the wor- of the

6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings with whom he is connected is indeed present here! yet it is only

their accomplished work/ And Fust because only the accomplished wor-! se+ered from its

6i+ine origin! is present here! therefore the "uciferic and Ahrimanic beings ha+e access to

it/ Thus it becomes necessary for man to ma-e this realm of the 6i+ine:accomplished

wor-! permeated as it is by "ucifer and Ahriman! the field of action for one part E namely!

the earthly part E of his life,s de+elopment/

So long as man had not progressed to the unfolding of his Intellectual or Mind:Soul!

this was possible! without man,s nature becoming permanently se+ered from its original

6i+ine:Spiritual foundation/ 1ut when this point was reached! a corruption too- place in

man E a corruption of the physical! the etheric and the astral bodies/ To an ancientscience! this corruption was -nown as something that was li+ing in man,s nature/ It was

-nown as a thing that was necessary in order that consciousness might ad+ance to self:

"#





consciousness in man/ In the stream of -nowledge that was culti+ated in the centres of

learning founded by Ale@ander the Great! there li+ed an Aristotelianism which! rightly

understood! contained this >corruption? as an essential element in its psychology/ It was

only in a later time that these ideas were no longer penetrated in their inward essence/

In the ages before the e+olution of his Intellectual or Mind Soul! man was! howe+er!

interwo+en still with the forces of his 6i+ine:Spiritual origin! so much so that from their

cosmic field of action these forces were able to balance and hold in chec- the "uciferic and

Ahrimanic Powers that reach out to man on 'arth/ And from the human side enough was

done by way of co:operation to maintain the balance! in those actions of Ritual and of the

Mysteries! wherein the picture was unfolded of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing di+ing down

into the realm of "ucifer and Ahriman and coming forth again triumphant/ ence in times

prior to the Mystery of Golgotha we find in the religious rites of different peoples pictorial

representations of that which afterwards! in the Mystery of Golgotha! became reality/

#hen the Intellectual or Mind:Soul was unfolded! it was through the reality alone that

man could continue to be preser+ed from being se+ered from the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings

who belonged to him/ The 6i+ine had to enter inwardly as 1eing! e+en in the earthly life!

into the <rganisation of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul which! during earthly e@istence! has

its life from what is earthly/ This too- place through the 6i+ine:Spiritual "ogos! $hrist!

uniting is cosmic destiny with the 'arth for the sa-e of man-ind/

Persephone came down to the 'arth in order to sa+e the plant -ingdom from being

obliged to form itself from what belongs only to 'arth/ That is the descent of a 6i+ine

Spiritual 1eing into the 2ature of the 'arth/ Persephone! too! has a -ind of >resurrection/?

but this ta-es place annually! in rhythmical succession/

<+er against this e+ent E which is also a cosmic e+ent occurring on the 'arth E we

ha+e for ;umanity the descent of the "ogos/ Persephone descends to bring 4ature into its

original direction/ In this case there must be rhythm at the foundationB for the e+ents in

2ature ta-e place rhythmically/ The "ogos descends into humanity/ This occurs once

during human e+olution/ &or the e+olution of humanity is but one part in a gigantic

cosmic rhythm! in which! before the stage of man,s e@istence! humanity was somethingaltogether different! and in which! after this stage is passed! it will be something altogether

different againB whereas the plant life repeats itself as such in shorter rhythms/

&rom the age of the Spiritual Soul onwards it is necessary for humanity to see the

Mystery of Golgotha in this light/ &or already in the age of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul

there would ha+e been a danger of man being separated! if the Mystery of Golgotha had

not ta-en place/ In the age of the Spiritual Soul a complete dar-ening of the Spirit:world

would needs come about for human consciousness! if the Spiritual Soul could not

strengthen itself sufficiently to loo- bac- in inward +ision to its 6i+ine:Spiritual origin/ If!howe+er! it is able to do this! it finds the cosmic "ogos! as the 1eing #ho can lead it bac-/

It fills itself with the mighty picture which re+eals what too- place on Golgotha/

"1





The beginning of this understanding is the lo+ing comprehension of the cosmic

$hristmas! the cosmic Initiation:2ight! the festi+e remembrance of which is celebrated

each year/ &or the Spiritual Soul! which first recei+es the element of Intellectuality! is

strengthened by allowing true lo+e to enter into this! the coldest element of soul/ And the

warmth of true lo+e is there in its highest form when it goes out to the Nesus child whoappears on 'arth during the cosmic Initiation:2ight/ In this way man has allowed the

highest earthly Spirit:fact! which was at the same time a physical e+ent! to wor- upon his

soulB he has entered upon the path by which he recei+es $hrist into himself/

2ature must be recognised in such a way that in Persephone E or the 1eing who was

still seen in the early Middle Ages when they spo-e of >2ature? E it re+eals the 6i+ine

Spiritual! original and eternal &orce out of which it originated and continually originates!

as the foundation of earthly human e@istence/

The world of Man must be so recognised that in $hrist it re+eals the original and

eternal "ogos who wor-s for the unfolding of the Spirit:being of man in the sphere of the

6i+ine Spiritual 1eing bound up with man from the 1eginning/

To turn the human heart in lo+e to these great cosmic facts. this is the true content of

the festi+al of remembrance which approaches man each year when he contemplates the

cosmic Initiation:2ight of $hristmas/ If lo+e such as this li+es in human hearts! it

permeates the cold light:element of the Spiritual Soul with warmth/ #ere the Spiritual

Soul obliged to remain without such permeation! man would ne+er become filled with the

Spirit/ e would die in the cold of the intellectual consciousnessB or he would ha+e to

remain in a mental life that did not progress to the unfolding of the conscious Spiritual

Soul/ e would then come to a stop with the unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/

1ut in its essential nature the Spiritual Soul is not cold/ It seems to be so only at the

commencement of its unfolding! because at that stage it can only re+eal the light:element

in its nature! and not as yet the cosmic warmth in which it has indeed its origin/

To feel and e@perience $hristmas in this way will enable the soul to realise how the

glory of the Di%ine3Spiritual eingsG whose images are re%ealed in the StarsG announces itself tomanG and how man=s li!eration takes placeG within the precincts of the EarthG from the 2owers

which wish to alienate him from his origin/

0$hristmas! %(;5


connection with the foregoing 8hristmas StudyB

%3)/ The acti+ity in the e+olution of the #orld and Man-ind which comes about through

the forces of Michael! repeats itself rhythmically! though in e+er:changing and progressing

forms! before the Mystery of Golgotha and after/

"2





%3/ The Mystery of Golgotha is the greatest e+ent! occurring once and for all in the

e+olution of man-ind/ ere there can be no Cuestion of a rhythmic repetition/ &or while

the e+olution of man-ind also stands within a mighty cosmic rhythm! still it is one E one

+ast member in a cosmic rhythm/ 1efore it became this <ne! man-ind was something

altogether different from man-indB afterwards it will again be altogether different/ Thusthere are many Michael e+ents in the e+olution of man-ind! but there is only one e+ent of

Golgotha/

%3(/ In the Cuic- rhythmic repetition of the seasons of the year! the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing

which descended into the depths of 'arth to permeate 2ature,s process with the Spirit!

accomplishes this process/ It is the ensouling of 2ature with the >orces of the 1eginning

and of 'ternity which must remain at wor-B e+en as $hrist,s descent is the ensouling of

Man-ind with the Logos of the 1eginning and of 'ternity! whose wor-ing for the sal+ation

of man-ind shall ne+er cease/

"3





'AJ'2" IST<R E MT<"<GI$A" IST<R E

'ART" IST<R/ T' MST'R <& G<"G<TA

In the spatial $osmos we ha+e the contrast of the Dni+ersal spaces and the 'arthly centre/

In the Dni+ersal spaces the stars! as it were! are scattered wide! while from the 'arthly

centre forces are streaming out in all directions into the far spread Dni+erse/

To man as he stands in the world in the present cosmic epoch! it is only as a great

totality that the glory of the stars and the wor-ing of the earthly forces can represent the

finished wor- of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings with whom he in his inner being is connected/

1ut there was once a cosmic epoch when the glory of the stars and the forces of the

'arth were still a direct spiritual re+elation of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings/ At that time!man in his dim consciousness felt the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings acti+ely wor-ing in his own

nature/

Another epoch of time ensued/ The starry hea+ens became se+ered! as a corporeal

e@istence! from the 6i+ine:Spiritual wor-ing/ There originated what we may call the

>#orld:spirit? and the >#orld:body/? The #orld:spirit is a multitude of 6i+ine:Spiritual

1eings/ In the former epoch these 1eings had wor-ed from the starry places inward to the

'arth/ All that had shone forth from uni+ersal space! all that had radiated by way of forces

from the earthly centre! was in reality Intelligence and #ill of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings!

who were wor-ing creati+ely upon the 'arth and 'arth humanity/

In the later cosmic epochs E after the Saturn and Sun e+olutions E the wor-ing of the

Intelligence and #ill of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings became more and more spiritually

inward/ That in which They had been acti+ely present in the beginning became the >#orld:

body?. the harmonious arrangement of stars in uni+ersal space/ "oo-ing bac- on these

matters with a spiritual world:conception! we may e@press it thus. &rom the original

spirit:body of the #orld:creati+e 1eings! the #orld:spirit and the #orld:body were

e+ol+ed/ And in the ordering and mo+ement of the stars! the #orld:body now shows what

the Intelligent and #ill:imbued wor-ing of the Gods once upon a time was li-e/ &or thecosmic present howe+er! what was once the 6i+ine Intelligence and #ill li+ing and

mo+ing freely in the stars! has become fastened in the fi@ed "aws of the starry uni+erse/

Today! therefore! that which shines inward from the starry worlds to man on 'arth is

no longer an immediate e@pression of 6i+ine #ill and 6i+ine Intelligence! but it is a sign

that has come to stand. E a sign of what the 6i+ine #ill and Intelligence was! once upon a

time! e+en in the +ery stars/ Potent as it is to call forth wonder in the human soul! we must

recognise in the sublime formation of the starry hea+ens a re+elation of the Gods which is

of the pastB we cannot percei+e in it their present re+elation/

"4





That! howe+er! which in the shining of the stars is >of the past!? is >present? in the Spirit:

world/ And in this >present? Spirit:world! man with his own true being dwells/

Studying the formation of the world! we must loo- bac- to an ancient cosmic epoch when

the #orld:spirit and the #orld:body still wor-ed as an undi+ided unity/ Then we musten+isage the middle epoch ! in which they unfold as a duality/ And at length we must thin-

into the future E into the third epoch when the #orld:spirit will once again ta-e up the

#orld:body into its acti+e wor-ing/

&or the old epoch! it would ha+e been impossible to >calculate? the constellations and

the courses of the starsB for these were then the e@pression of the free Intelligence and free

#ill of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings/ Moreo+er! in the future they will once again become

>incalculable/?

>$alculation? has a meaning only for the middle cosmic epoch/

And this holds good! not only of the constellations and the mo+ements of the stars! but

of the wor-ing of the forces which radiate from the earthly centre to the far:spread

Dni+erse/ That which wor-s >out of the depths? also becomes >calculable/?

'+erything stri+es from the older cosmic epoch towards the middle epoch! when the

Spatial and Temporal becomes >calculable!? and the 6i+ine:Spiritual as manifestation of

Intelligence and #ill must be sought for >behind? this >calculable? world/

<nly in this middle epoch are the conditions gi+en for man to progress from a dim

state of consciousness to one of free and bright self:conscious being! with a free

Intelligence and a free #ill of his own/

Thus there had to come the time when $opernicus and Kepler could >calculate? the

body of the world/ &or it was through the cosmic forces with which this moment was

connected! that the self:consciousness of man had to ta-e shape/ The seed of man,s self:

consciousness had been laid in an older timeB and now the time was come when it was far

enough ad+anced to >calculate? the far:spread Dni+erse/

<n the 'arth! >istory? ta-es place/ #hat we call >istory? would ne+er ha+e come

about if the far spaces of the Dni+erse had not e+ol+ed into the >hard and fast?

constellations and starry courses/ In >historic e+olution? on the 'arth we ha+e an image E

albeit thoroughly transformed E of what was once upon a time >hea+enly istory/? 'arlier

peoples still had this >hea+enly istory? in their consciousness! and were indeed far more

aware of it than of the 'arthly/

In earthly istory there li+es the intelligence and will of men E in connection! to begin

with! with the cosmic #ill and Intelligence of the GodsB then! independent of them/

"5





In hea+enly istory! on the other hand! there li+ed the Intelligence and #ill of the

6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings who are connected with man-ind/

#hen we loo- bac- into the spiritual life of nations! we come to an age of far:distant

antiCuity when there was present in man a consciousness of being and willing incommunion with the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings E so much so that !the istory of men was

hea+enly istory/ The man of that age! when he came to spea- of >origins!? did not relate

earthly e+ents but cosmic/ And e+en in relation to his own present time! that which was

going on in his earthly en+ironment seemed to him so insignificant beside the cosmic

processes that he ga+e his attention to the latter only! not to the former/

There was an epoch when humanity was conscious of beholding the history of the

hea+ens in mighty and impressi+e re+elations! wherein the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings

themsel+es stood before the soul of man/ They spo-e! and man in 6ream Inspirationhear-ened to their speechB they re+ealed their forms! and in 6ream:Imagination man saw

them/

This hea+enly istory! which for a long time filled the souls of men! was followed by

the mythical istory! generally regarded in our time as a poetic creation of the ancients/

Mythical istory combines hea+enly e+ents with earthly/ >eroes!? for instance! E super:

human beings E appear on the scene/ They are beings at a higher stage in e+olution than

the human being/ In a gi+en epoch! for e@ample! man had de+eloped the members of

human nature only so far as to the Sentient Soul! but the >ero? had already e+ol+ed what

will one day appear in man as Spirit:Self/ In the e@isting conditions of the 'arth! the >ero?

could not incarnate directly! but he could do so indirectly by di+ing down into the body of

a human being! and thus becoming able to wor- as a man among men/ Such beings are to

be seen in the >Initiates? of an earlier time/

To understand the true position of the facts in this world process! we must not imagine

that in the successi+e epochs man-ind >concei+ed? of the processes and e+ents in Fust this

way/ 1ut that which actually too- place! as between the more spiritual! >incalculable? and

the corporeal! >calculable? world! underwent a change/ "ong after the world:relationships

had actually changed! human consciousness in this or that nation still held fast to a world:conception corresponding to a far earlier reality/ To begin with! this was due to the fact

that the consciousness of men! which does not -eep pace e@actly with the cosmic process!

really continued to behold the old condition/ Afterwards there came a time in which the

+ision faded! but men still held fast to the old by tradition/ Thus in the Middle Ages an in:

playing of the hea+enly world into the earthly was still concei+ed out of tradition! but it

was no longer seen! for the force of Imaginati+e picture:seeing was no longer present/

In the earthly realm! the different peoples e+ol+ed in such a way as to hold fast to the

content of one or other world conception for +arying periods of time/ Thus! worldconceptions which by their nature follow one upon the other are found li+ing side by side/

Albeit! the +ariety of world conceptions is due not to this alone! but also to the fact that the

"6





different nations! according to their inner talents! did really see different spiritual things/

Thus the 'gyptians beheld the world in which beings dwell who ha+e come to a

premature standstill on the path of human e+olution and ha+e not become earthly Man/

The 'gyptians too saw man himself! after his earthly life! in the midst of all that he had to

do with beings such as these/ The $haldaean peoples! on the other hand! saw more theway in which e@tra:earthly spiritual 1eings! both good and e+il! entered into the earthly

life to wor- there/

The ancient >ea+enly istory? properly spea-ing! which belonged to a +ery long

epoch of time! was followed by the epoch of Mythological istory! shorter! but! in

comparison to the subseCuent period of >istory? in the accepted sense! none the less +ery

long/

It is! as I e@plained abo+e! only with difficulty that man in his consciousness ta-es lea+eof the old conceptions wherein the Gods and men are thought of in li+ing interplay and

co:operation/ Thus the period of 'arthly istory in the proper sense has long been

presentB it has in fact been present since the unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:soul/

2e+ertheless for a long time men continued to >thin-? in the sense of what had been

before/ It was only when the first germs of the Spiritual Soul e+ol+ed! that they began

therewith to pay attention to what is now called >istory in the proper sense/? And in this

uman:Spiritual element! which! loosed from the 6i+ine:Spiritual! becomes >istory!? the

free Intelligence and the free #ill can be e@perienced consciously by men/

Thus the #orld:process in which man is interwo+en! runs its course between the fully

calculable and the wor-ing of the free Intelligence and the free #ill/ This #orld:process

manifests itself in all concei+able intermediate shades of co:operation between these two/

Man li+es his life between birth and death in such a manner that in the >calculable? the

bodily foundation is created for the unfolding of his inner soul:and:spirit nature! which is

free and incalculable/ e goes through his life between death and new birth in the

incalculable! but in such a way that the calculable there unfolds! in thought! >within? his

e@istence of soul and spirit/ <ut of this calculable element he thereby becomes the builder

of his coming life on 'arth/

That which cannot be calculated is manifested forth on 'arth in >istory!? but into it the

calculable is incorporated! though only to a slight e@tent/

The "uciferic and Ahrimanic beings oppose themsel+es to the order which is

established between the incalculable and the calculable by the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings who

ha+e been united with man from the +ery beginningB they oppose the harmonising of the

$osmos by the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings through >measure! number and weight/? "ucifer

cannot unite anything calculable with the nature that he has gi+en to his being/ is ideal isa cosmic and unconditioned acti+ity of Intelligence and #ill/

"





This "uciferic tendency is in -eeping with the cosmic order in the realms in which

there should be happenings that are free/ And "ucifer is there the competent spiritual

helper of the unfolding of humanity/ #ithout his assistance freedom could not enter into

the human life of spirit and soul which is built on the foundation of the calculable bodily

nature/ 1ut "ucifer would li-e to e@tend this tendency to the whole $osmos/ And in this!his acti+ity becomes a conflict against the 6i+ine:Spiritual order to which man originally

belongs/

At this point Michael steps in/ #ith his own being he stands within the incalculableB

but he balances the incalculable with the calculable! which he bears within him as the

cosmic Thought that he has recei+ed from his Gods/

The position of the Ahrimanic Powers in the world is different/ They are the e@act

opposite of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings with whom man is originally united/ At thepresent time these latter are purely spiritual Powers who possess absolutely free

Intelligence and absolutely free #ill! but in this Intelligence and #ill they create the wise

insight of the necessity of the calculable and the unfree E the cosmic Thought out of

whose lap man is to unfold as a free being/ And in the $osmos they are united in lo%e with

all that is calculable E with the cosmic Thought/ This lo+e streams from them through the

Dni+erse/

In complete contrast with this! there li+es! in the greedy desire of the Ahrimanic

powers! cold hatred against all that unfolds in freedom/ Ahriman,s efforts are directed

towards ma-ing a cosmic machine out of that which he allows to stream forth from the

'arth into uni+ersal space/ is ideal is >measure! number and weight? and nothing else

than these/ e was called into the $osmos that ser+es the e+olution of humanity! because

>measure! number and weight!? which is his sphere! had to be unfolded/

The world is truly understood only by one who comprehends it e%erywhere with respect

to spirit and body/ This must be carried right into 2ature! with respect to such Powers as

the 6i+ine:Spiritual who wor- in lo+e and the Ahrimanic who wor- in hatred/ In 2ature,s

cosmic warmth which comes in spring and wor-s more strongly towards summer! we

must percei+e the lo+e of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings wor-ing through 2atureB in the icy blast of winter we must become aware of Ahriman,s wor-ing/

At midsummer! "ucifer,s power wea+es itself into the lo+e that wor-s in 2ature. E

into the warmth/ At $hristmas the power of the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings with whom man is

originally united is directed against the frost:hatred of Ahriman/ And towards spring the

6i+ine "o+e wor-ing in 2ature continually softens down the Ahriman:hatred there/

The appearance of this 6i+ine "o+e which comes each year is a time of remembrance!

for with $hrist the free element of God entered into the calculable element of 'arth/ $hristwor-s in absolute freedom in the calculable element! and in this way e renders

innocuous the Ahrimanic which cra+es for the calculable alone/

"!





The '+ent of Golgotha is the free cosmic deed of lo+e within 'arthly istory! and it can

only be grasped by the lo+e which man de+elops for its comprehension/

0About $hristmas! %(;5


connection with the foregoing on the su!Hect of ;ea%enly ;istoryG Mythological ;istoryG Earthly

;istoryG the Mystery of $olgothaB

%;9/ The cosmic process in which the e+olution of man-ind is interwo+en E reflected! in

the consciousness of man! as >istory? in the widest sense E re+eals the following

successi+e epochs. a long epoch of >ea+enly istory?B a shorter epoch of >Mythological

istory?B and the epoch! relati+ely +ery short! of >'arthly istory/?

%;%/ Today! this cosmic process is di+ided! into the wor-ing of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings in

free Intelligence and #ill which none can calculate! and the >calculable? process of the

#orld:body/

%;/ Against the calculable order of the #orld:body the "uciferian Powers stand opposedB

against all that creates in free Intelligence and #ill! the Ahrimanic/

%;3/ The '+ent of Golgotha is a cosmic deed! and free/ Springing from the Dni+ersal lo+e!

it is intelligible only by the lo+e in Man/

""





Thus in the human world of Thought there li+es as a present manifestation something

which! in order to ha+e earthly e@istence! reCuires as its basis the +ery thing that was

already e+ol+ed in man before he attained indi+idual! earthly being/

'+ery time he passes through the life between death and a new birth! man e@periencesthis stage anew/ 1ut into the world of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings! which recei+es him again

e+en as it once entirely contained him E into this world he now carries his full indi+idual

e@istence which has ta-en shape during his li+es on 'arth/ 1etween death and a new birth!

man is indeed in the present! but he is li+ing also in all the time that he has undergone

through repeated li+es on 'arth and li+es between death and a new birth/

It is different with that which li+es in the &eeling:world of man/ This is related to those

e@periences of the past which came immediately after the ones in which man was yet

unmanifest as such/ It is related! that is to say! to e@periences which man alreadyunderwent as man but when he was not yet separated from 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing!

Thin-ing and #illing/ Man in the present could not unfold the world of &eeling if it did

not arise on the foundation of his rhythmic system/ And in his rhythmic system we ha+e

the cosmic memory of the abo+e:described second stage of his e+olution/

Thus in the world of &eeling the >present? in the human soul is wor-ing together with

that which wor-s on in him from an ancient time/

In the life between death and a new birth! man e@periences the contents of the epoch of

which we are here spea-ing as the boundary of his $osmos/ #hat the starry hea+ens are

to man in the physical life on 'arth! his e@istence between his full union with the 6i+ine:

Spiritual world and his se+erance from it! is to him spiritually in the life between death

and a new birth/ In that life! there appear to him at the >world:boundary?! not the physical

hea+enly bodies! but in the place of each star the sum:total of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings!

who! as we -now! are in reality the star/

$onnected with the #ill alone and not with &eeling or with Thought! there li+es in

man that which is manifested by those earthly li+es which! when we loo- bac- on them!

re+eal already the personal! indi+idual character/ That which from cosmic sources gi+es toman his outer form! is preser+ed in this outer form as a cosmic memory/ This cosmic

memory li+es in the human form as a totality of forces/ 1ut these are not the immediate

forces of the #illB they represent that in the human organism which is the foundation of

the forces of the #ill/

In the life between death and a new birth! this region of the human being lies beyond

the >world:boundary/? Man there concei+es of it as of something that will belong to him

once more in his new life on 'arth/

In his system of ner+es and senses! man is today still united with the $osmos in the

way he was when he was manifest only germinally within the 6i+ine:Spiritual womb/

1#1





In his rhythmic system! man is today still li+ing in the $osmos in the way he li+ed

when he was already there as man! but not yet detached from the 6i+ine:Spiritual/

In his system of metabolism and limbs E the foundation for the unfolding of his #ill

E man li+es in such a way that all that he has undergone in his personal indi+idual li+eson 'arth! e+er since these began! and in his li+es between death and a new birth! wor-s on

within this system/

&rom the forces of the 'arth! man recei+es that alone which gi+es him consciousness of

self/ The physical bodily foundation of self:consciousness is due also to what the 'arth

brings about/ 1ut e+erything else in the human being has a cosmic origin! e@ternal to the

'arth/

The sentient and thought:bearing astral body with its etheric:physical foundation! allthe mo+ing life in the etheric body! and e+en that which wor-s physico:chemically in the

physical body! is of e@tra:earthly origin/ Strange as this may seem! the physico:chemical

which is at wor- within the human being is not deri+ed from the 'arth/

The fact that man e+ol+es this e@tra:earthly! cosmic life within him! is due to the

wor-ing of the planets and other stars/ All that he thus unfolds! the Sun with its forces

carries to the 'arth/ 1y the Sun! the human:cosmic element is transplanted into the earthly

realms/ 1y the Sun! man li+es as a hea+enly being on the 'arth/ And that alone! whereby

he transcends his own human formation E namely! his power to bring forth his -ind E is

a gift of the Moon/

2eedless to say these are not the only influences of Sun and Moon/ "ofty spiritual

influences also proceed from them/

#hen about $hristmas:time the Sun increases more and more in power for the 'arth! it

is the yearly influence E manifesting rhythmically in the physical:earthly realm E which is

an e@pression of the Spirit in 2ature/ The e+olution of man-ind is a single member in

what we may describe as a gigantic cosmic year! as will be e+ident from our preceding

studies/ And in this cosmic year the cosmic $hristmas is at the point where the Sun notonly wor-s towards the 'arth out of the Spirit of 2ature! but where the $hrist:Spirit! the

Soul of the Sun! descends on to the 'arth/

As in the single human being what he e@periences indi+idually is connected with the

cosmic memory! so will the human soul ha+e a right feeling of the yearly $hristmas when

he concei+es the hea+enly and cosmic $hrist:'+ent as working on and on ! comprehending it

as a memory not only human but cosmic/ &or at $hristmas:time not only man remembers

in celebration the descent of $hrist! but the $osmos does so too/

0about 2ew ear! %(*5

1#2






respect to the preceding study? "#hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into repeated Li%es on Earth&B

%;;/ "oo-ing bac- into a human being,s repeated li+es on 'arth! we find three distinct

stages/ In a remote past! man did not e@ist with indi+iduality of being! but as a germ in the6i+ine and Spiritual/ As we loo- bac- into this stage we find not yet a human being but

6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings. the Primal &orces! Principalities or Archai/

%;*/ This was followed by an intermediate stage/ Man e@isted already with indi+iduality of

being! but he was not yet detached from the Thin-ing and #illing and 1eing of the

6i+ine:Spiritual #orld/ At this stage he had not yet his present personality! with which he

appears on 'arth as a being completely self:possessed! detached from the 6i+ine Spiritual

#orld/

%;4/ The present condition is the third and latest/ ere man e@periences himself in human

form and figure! detached from the 6i+ine:Spiritual #orldB and he e@periences the world

as an en+ironment with which he stands face to face! indi+idually and personally/ This

stage began in Atlantean time/

1#3





#AT IS R'J'A"'6 #'2 <2' "<<KS 1A$K

I2T< &<RM'R "IJ'S 1'T#''2 6'AT

A26 A 2'# 1IRT A study in two parts? 2art one/

In our last study we followed human life as a whole by turning our attention to the

successi+e li+es on 'arth/ The second point of +iew! which can throw still more light upon

what was re+ealed by the first! is yielded when we consider the successi+e li+es between

death and new birth/

ere also we see that the content of these li+es! such as they are at the present time!

goes bac- only to a certain point of time in earthly e+olution/ Their content is determined by the circumstance that man carries with him through the gate of death the inward power

of self:consciousness gained in earthly life/ This also enables him to confront as an

indi+idual the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings into whose presence he comes/

This was not the case in a preceding period/ At that time man had not yet progressed

+ery far in the unfolding of his self:consciousness/ The power gained on 'arth was

insufficient to detach him from the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings and so gi+e him indi+idual

e@istence between death and new birth/ 2ot that man was then within the 6i+ine:Spiritual

1eings! but he was within their sphere of influence! so that his will was essentially theirwill! not his own/

1efore this period there lies another in which! as we loo- bac-! we do not meet with

man in his present constitution of soul and spirit at all! but we find a world of 6i+ine

Spiritual 1eings within whom man only e@ists germinally/ These 1eings are the Primal

&orces! the Archai/

And indeed! if we trace bac- the life of one human being! we find not one 6i+ine:

Spiritual 1eing but all the 1eings that belong to this ierarchy/

In these 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings li+es the will that man shall be/ The will of all these

1eings plays a part in the >becoming? of each single human being/ The cosmic aim of their

harmonious co:operation is the production of the human formB for man is still without

form in the 6i+ine:Spiritual #orld/

It may seem strange that the whole choir of 6i+ine Spiritual 1eings should wor- for a

single human being/ 1ut the ierarchies of the '@usiai! 6ynamis! Kyriotetes! Thrones!

$herubim and Seraphim also wor-ed in this way at a still earlier stage throughout the

Moon! Sun and Saturn e+olutions! in order that man might come into being/

1#4





#hat had pre+iously originated as a -ind of pre:human being on Saturn! Sun and

Moon! had no uniform shape/ Some of these pre:human beings were chiefly organised

with respect to the limbs:system! others with respect to the breast system! others again

with respect to the head:system/ These were actual human beingsB we describe them here

as pre:human only in order to distinguish them from the later stage! when the union of allthese systems appears in the human form/ The differentiation among them goes e+en

further! for we may spea- of heart:men! lung:men! etc/

The ierarchy of the Primal &orces considered it their tas- to lead into the general

human form all these pre:human beings! whose soul:life also corresponded to their one:

sided formation/ They too- o+er Man from the hands of the '@usiai/ The latter had already

in thought created unity out of the human multiplicityB but among the '@usiai this unity

was still an ideal form! a #orld:thought:form/ <ut of this the Archai moulded the etheric

form! and this form already contained the forces which made it possible for the physicalshape to originate/

#hen we obser+e these things a stupendous fact is re+ealed! +i7/! that man is the ideal

and aim of Gods/ 1ut this +ision cannot be for man the source of +anity and prideB for he

may only rec-on! as coming from himself! what he has with full self:consciousness made

out of himself during earthly life/ And! e@pressed in cosmic proportions! this is little as

compared with that foundation for his indi+idual being which the Gods ha+e created out

of the macrocosm which they themsel+es are! as the microcosm! which he is/ The 6i+ine

Spiritual 1eings confront one another in the $osmos/ The +isible e@pression of this fact isthe form of the starry hea+ens/ They wished to create in a unity as Man all that they

themsel+es are as a choir/

In order really to understand what the whole choir of the ierarchy of the Archai

accomplished when they created the human form! we must remember that there is a +ery

great difference between this form and the physical body of man/ The physical body is

made up of the physical and chemical processes in man/ These processes ta-e place in the

present human being within the human form/ 1ut this form itself is something that is

altogether spiritual/ It ought to fill us with solemn feelings when! on loo-ing at the human

form! we realise that with physical senses we are percei+ing in the physical world

something that is spiritual/ &or one who is able to see spiritually it is really the case that in

the human form he sees a true Imagination which has descended into the physical world/

If we wish to see Imaginations we must pass from the physical world to the neighbouring

spiritual world! and then we realise how the human form is related to these Imaginations/

#hen with the inner +ision of the soul man loo-s bac- o+er the li+es between death

and a new birth he finds a first period during which this human form originated/ And at

the same time the deeper relation that e@ists between man and the ierarchy of the Archai

is re+ealed/

1#5





6uring this period there is Fust an indication of the difference between earthly life and

the life between death and new birth/ &or the ierarchy of the Archai wor-s in rhythmical

epochs at the de+elopment of the human form/ In one period of their wor- the Archai

direct the thoughts which guide their se+eral wills more towards the $osmos beyond the

'arthB at another time they loo- down to the 'arth/ And out of the co:operation of what isaroused from the $osmos and from the 'arth the human form is de+eloped! which is thus

the e@pression of the fact that man is an 'arth:being and at the same time an e@tra:earthly!

cosmic being/

1ut the human form! here described as the creation of the ierarchy of the Archai!

comprises not merely the e@ternal outline of man and the formation of the surface as it is

determined by the limit of the s-in! but also the formation of the forces contained in his

carriage! in his power of mo+ement! which is adapted to the conditions on the 'arth! and

in the capacity to use his body as a means whereby to e@press his inner being/

It is owing to this creati+e wor- of the ierarchy of the Archai that man is able to

assume his upright position within the earthly conditions of gra+ity! that within these

conditions he can maintain his balance while mo+ing freely! that he can liberate his arms

and hands from the force of gra+ity and use them freely E all this he owes to the Archai!

in addition to much more that lies within him and yet has form/ All this is prepared

during the life which may also for this period be called the life between death and a new

birth/ It is here prepared in such a manner that! in the third period! at the present time!

man is himself able! during his life between death and a new birth! to wor- at this form forhis earthly e@istence/

02ew ear! %(*5


connection with the foregoing study? #hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into former li%es

!etween death and a new !irthFB

%;)/ Man,s li+es between death and a new birth also show three distinct periods/ In the

first of these! he li+ed entirely within the ierarchy of the Archai! who prepared! for thephysical world! the human form and figure which he was afterwards to bear/

%;/ Thus the Archai prepared the human being subseCuently to unfold the free Self:

consciousness/ &or this Self:consciousness can only e+ol+e in beings who can show it forth!

in the form and figure which was here created! out of an inner impulse of the soul/

%;(/ In this we see how Cualities and powers of Man-ind! becoming manifest in the

present cosmic age! were laid down in germ in ages long gone by/ #e see how the

Microcosm grows out of the Macrocosm/

1#6





#AT IS R'J'A"'6 #'2 <2' "<<KS 1A$K I2T< &<RM'R "IJ'S

1'T#''2 6'AT A26 A 2'# 1IRT

2art 'wo

In a second period man passes from the realm of the Archai to that of the Archangeloi/

#ith these! howe+er! he is no longer united in so bodily:spiritual a way as he was with the

Archai/ is union with the ierarchy of the Archangeloi is more purely spiritual/ 1ut it is

still so intimate that he cannot yet be said to ha+e been se+ered in this period from the

6i+ine:Spiritual world/

The Archangeloi ierarchy gi+es to man for his etheric body that which corresponds in

it to the form in the physical! which he owes to the Archai/ The physical body! through itsform! is adapted to the 'arth in such a way as to become on 'arth the +ehicle of self:

consciousness/ In li-e manner the etheric body is adapted to the e@tra:earthly cosmic

forces and relationships of forces/ In the physical body li+es the 'arthB in the etheric the

world of the stars/ All the inner forces which man bears within him in such a way that

while he is on 'arth he does at the same time! in his posture! mo+ement and gesture!

emancipate himself from the 'arth! he owes to the creation of the Archangeloi in his

etheric body/ As the 'arth forces are able to li+e in the physical body through its

formation! so in the etheric body there li+e the forces which stream down on all sides from

the encircling $osmos to the 'arth/ The 'arth:forces li+ing in the physically +isibleformation of the body are those which ma-e the form of man relati+ely complete! hard

and fast within itself/ SubFect to a certain metamorphosis! the main outlines of man remain

hard and fast throughout his earthly life/ is faculties of mo+ement! too! ha+e hardened

into permanent habits and the li-e/ In the etheric body on the other hand! there is

perpetual mobility! mirroring the constellations of the stars as they change during the

earthly life of man/ The etheric body shapes itself e+en in accordance with the changes in

the hea+ens as between day and nightB and it does so also with the changes that ta-e place

between the birth and death of the man concerned/

This adaptation of the etheric body to the hea+enly forces is not in contradiction to the

gradual se+erance of the starry hea+ens from the 6i+ine:Spiritual Powers! mentioned in

earlier studies/ It is true to say that in +ery ancient times 6i+ine #ill and 6i+ine

Intelligence were li+ing in the stars! and that in later times the stars passed o+er into the

Lcalculable/ Through what has now become their finished wor-! the Gods are no longer

wor-ing upon man/ 2e+ertheless! through his etheric body man gradually achie+es a

relationship of his own to the stars! Fust as he does through his physical body to earthly

gra+ity/

#hat man incorporates into his nature when at birth he descends from the Spirit:worldon the 'arth E namely the etheric body which absorbs the e@tra:earthly! cosmic forces E

is created in this second period by the ierarchy of the Archangeloi/

1#





1eing pressed down into the physical and etheric body! the spiritual forces are

transformed into their opposite/ In place of something more spiritual! the differentiation of

races and nations comes about/

#ithout the "uciferic and Ahrimanic influence! human beings on 'arth would seethemsel+es differentiated by forces wor-ing downwards from the hea+ens/ The different

groups would be to one another in their life li-e beings who willingly with lo+e! gi+e to

one another of the spiritual and recei+e in turn/ In races and nations it is earthly gra+ity

which appears through the human bodyB in the spiritual groupings a mirrored image of

the 6i+ine:Spiritual world would ha+e appeared/

#ith all this! the beginnings of what afterwards became the full self:consciousness of

man had to be implanted in his e+olution already at that time/ And this meant that E in a

mitigated form! it is true! but yet in a certain way E the prime+al differentiation ofhumanity which e@isted when man passed o+er from the ierarchy of the '@usiai to that

of the Archai remained preser+ed/

Man E as it were in a cosmic school E e@perienced this stage in his e+olution!

contemplating it with inner feeling/ True! he did not yet de+elop a -nowledge of the fact

that this was an essential preparation for his subseCuent self:consciousness/ 1ut his feeling

+ision of the forces of his e+olution at that time was none the less important for the

incorporation of self:consciousness into his astral body and his 'go/

#ith respect to Thought! the following too- place/ 1y the "uciferic Powers man was

informed with the tendency still to immerse himself in the old forms of the Spiritual!

instead of adapting himself to the new/ "ucifer indeed always has this stri+ing to conser+e

for man the earlier forms of his life/

1y this means human Thin-ing was e+ol+ed/ In the life between death and a new birth

man gradually de+eloped that faculty which in prime+al times had formed the thoughts in

him/ It was a faculty which at that time could behold the Spiritual! though it was li-e what

is now mere sense perception/ &or at that time the Physical still carried the Spiritual upon

its surface/ Today! howe+er! the faculty of thought preser+ed from that time can only wor-as restricted sense:perception/ Man,s power to lift himself in thought to the spiritual world

gradually declined/ This became fully e+ident at length when in the age of the Spiritual

Soul the spiritual world was +eiled for man in complete dar-ness/ Thus in the nineteenth

century it came about that the best men of science! unable to become materialists!

declared. #e ha+e no alternati+e but to limit our research to that world which can be

in+estigated by measure! number and weight and by the senses/ #e ha+e! howe+er! no

right to deny a spiritual world! hidden beneath this world of 2ature/ In such words they

indicated that there might be a world full of light! unknown to man ! where man can only

stare into an empty dar-ness/

1#"





And as Thought in man was misdirected by "ucifer! so was #ill by Ahriman/ Man,s

will was endowed with a tendency to a -ind of freedom which he should ha+e entered

only at a later stage/ This freedom is not realB it is but the illusion o/ freedom/ Men li+ed in

this illusion of freedom for a long time! and thereby became unable to e+ol+e the idea of

freedom in a truly spiritual way/ They +acillated to and fro! between the one opinion andthe other. that man is free! or that he is in+ol+ed in a sphere of rigid necessity/ And when

with the spiritual Age of $onsciousness true freedom came! they were unable to recognise

it! because their powers of perception had too long become entangled in the illusion of

freedom/

All that had sun- into the being of man during this second stage in the e+olution of his

li+es between death and a new birth! he carried as a cosmic memory into the third! in

which he still li+es today/ In this third stage he is related to the ierarchy of the Angeloi as

in the second to that of the Archangeloi/ <nly! this relationship to the Angeloi is such thatthrough it the full independent indi+iduality comes into being/ &or the Angeloi E not the

chorus this time! but one Angelos for one human being E restrict themsel+es to the tas- of

bringing about the right relation of the life between death and a new birth and the life on

'arth/

A fact that may seem remar-able to begin with is this/ &or the indi%idual human being

in the second stage in the e+olution of his li+es between death and a new birth the whole

ierarchy of Archangeloi was wor-ing/ Afterwards the guidance of nations and tribes

becomes the tas- of this ierarchy! and there is then one Archangelos as the &ol-:Spirit forone nation/ In the races the Primal &orces or Archai remain at wor-/ ere again! for one

race! one 1eing of the ierarchy of the Primal &orces wor-s as the Race:Spirit/

Thus the man of present time contains! in the life between death and a new birth also!

the cosmic memory of earlier stages of his life/ And in the physical world too! where

something of spiritual guidance appears as it does in the races and nations! this cosmic

memory is most distinctly present/

02ew ear! %(*5


respect to the foregoing study I2art twoJ? #hat is re%ealed when one looks !ack into former Li%es

!etween Death and a new irthFB

%*9/ In a second period of e+olution of the li+es between death and a new birth! man

entered the domain of the Archangeloi/ The seed of his later conscious Selfhood E

prepared for! in the first period! in the forming of the human figure E was now implanted

in the nature of his soul/

%*%/ 6uring this second period he was dri+en by "uciferic and Ahrimanic influences more

deeply into the physical than would ha+e happened without their inter+ention/

11#





%*/ In the third period! man enters the domain of the Angeloi! who only wield their

influence! howe+er! in the astral body and the 'go/ This third period is the presentB but

what too- place in the two former ones still li+es on in human e+olution and e@plains the

fact that in the nineteenth century E within the age of the Spiritual Soul E man stared

into the spiritual world as into +acant dar-ness/

111





#AT IS T' 'ART I2 R'A"IT

#ITI2 T' MA$R<$<SM

In these studies we ha+e contemplated the e+olution of the $osmos and umanity from

the most +aried points of +iew/ #e ha+e seen how man deri+es from the e@tra:earthly

$osmos the forces of his being! with the e@ception of those that gi+e him self:

consciousness/ These come to him from the 'arth/

The significance of the earthly realm for man is thus e@plained/ 1ut in this connection

the Cuestion must arise. #hat is the significance of the earthly realm for the macrocosm

In order to approach the answer to this Cuestion! we must turn our attention once more

to what has already been described in these pages/

The consciousness of the seer finds the macrocosm increasingly ali+e! the more his

+ision penetrates into the past/ In the far distant past! the macrocosm so li+es that there

ceases to be any Cuestion of >calculating? the manifestations of its life/ <ut of this li+ing

condition man is then brought forth as a separate being! while the macrocosm enters more

and more into the >calculable? sphere/

1ut in this it undergoes a slow process of death/ In the same measure in which man E

the microcosm E arises as an independent being from the macrocosm! the macrocosm

dies/

In the present cosmic time! a dead macrocosm is e@isting/ 1ut it was not only man who

arose in the process of its e+olution/ The 'arth too came forth out of the macrocosm/

6eri+ing from the 'arth the forces for his self:consciousness! man is far too close to it in

his inner life to percei+e its nature clearly/ In the age of the Spiritual Soul! with the full

unfolding of self:consciousness! we ha+e grown accustomed to focus our attention on the

spatial magnitude of the Dni+erse! and to loo- on the 'arth as a spec- of dust! insignificant

compared to the great uni+erse of physical space/

ence it will seem strange! to begin with! when spiritual +ision unfolds the true cosmic

significance of this alleged >particle of dust/?

In the mineral ground of the 'arth the other -ingdoms of 2ature E the animal and

plant -ingdoms E are imbedded/ In all this there li+e the forces which manifest

themsel+es in +aried forms of appearance through the seasons/ $onsider the world of

plants/ In autumn and winter it manifests the physically dying forces/ In this form of

appearance! the consciousness of the seer percei+es the nature of those forces which ha+e

brought about the gradual death of the macrocosm/ In spring and summer! forces of

growth! springing and sprouting forces! show themsel+es in the plant life/ In the growing!

112





sprouting process! the seer,s consciousness percei+es not only what brings forth the

abundant blessing of the plant life for the gi+en year! but an e9cess/ It is an e@cess of

germinating force/ The plants contain more germinating force than they e@pend upon the

growth of foliage! flower and fruit/ &or the consciousness of the seer! this e@cess of

germinating force flows out into the e@tra:earthly macrocosm/

2ow in the same manner a surplus of force streams out from the mineral -ingdom to

the e@tra:earthly $osmos/ 'his force has the tas- of carrying the forces from the plant:

world to the right places in the macrocosm/ Dnder the influence of the mineral forces! the

plant:forces become a newly fashioned picture of a macrocosm/

"i-ewise there are forces proceeding from the animal nature/ These howe+er do not

wor-! li-e the plant and mineral forces! radiating from the 'arth/ They wor- in such a way

that the plant:nature! which the mineral forces carry in clear formation into the greatDni+erse! is gathered into a sphere! so that the picture arises of a macrocosm compact and

self:contained on all sides/

It is thus the spirit:seeing consciousness beholds the essence of the earthly realm! which

stands as a newG life3kindling element within the dead and dying macrocosm/

As when the old plant has died and fallen away! the new plant! howe+er large! is

formed again from the seed in space so insignificant and small E so while the old dead

macrocosm falls asunder a new macrocosm is coming forth from this >spec- of dust!? the

'arth/

It is a true contemplation of the 'arth:nature which sees in it on all hands a

germinating uni+erse/ #e only learn to understand the -ingdoms of 2ature around us

when we feel in them the presence of this germinating life/

In the midst of it man fulfils his 'arth:e@istence/ e parta-es in the germinating life as

well as in the dead and dying/ &rom the dead he deri+es the forces of his thought/ In the

past! when the forces of his thought were coming forth from the still li+ing macrocosm!

they did not pro+ide the foundation for self:conscious humanity/ They li+ed! as growthforces! in a human being who did not yet possess self:consciousness/ >or themsel%es ! the

forces of thought must not ha+e life of their own if they are to pro+ide a basis for the free

self:consciousness of man/ #ith the macrocosm whose life has gone out! they for

themsel+es must be the dead shadows of what once was li+ing in the prime+al $osmos/

<n the other side man shares in the germinating life of the 'arth! from which he has

the forces of his will/ These forces are indeed life itself! but with his self:consciousness man

does not ta-e part in their real nature/ 6eep down within the human being they radiate

into the shadows of his thought/ The shadows of thought flow through them! and in theflowing of free thought as it unfolds within the germinating earthly nature! the full and

free human self:consciousness enters into man during this age of the Spiritual Soul/

113





The past throwing its shadows! the future fraught with the germs of a new reality meet

in the human beingB and their meeting constitutes the human life of present time/

That these things are so! is clearly re+ealed to the consciousness of the seer the moment

he enters that spirit:region which immediately adFoins the physical and in which the acti+epresence of Michael is found/

The life of all this earthly realm becomes clear and transparent when we feel at its

foundation the germ of a new Dni+erse/ '+ery single plant and stone appears in a new

light to the soul of man when he becomes aware that each of these creations is contributing

by its life or by its form to this great fact. that the 'arth in its unity is an embryo E the

seed of a macrocosm newly rising into life/

<ne should but try to ma-e the thought of these things fully li+ing in oneself! and onewill feel how much it may signify for the human heart and mind/

0Nanuary! %(*5


connection with the foregoing study? #hat is the Earth in reality within the MacrocosmFB

%*3/ In the beginning of the age of the Spiritual Soul! it became the custom to turn

attention to the physically spatial greatness of the Dni+erse/ Impressed abo+e all by this

immensity of physical appearance! men spea- of the 'arth as a mere spec- of dust withinthe Dni+erse/

%*;/ To the consciousness of the seer this >spec- of dust!? the 'arth! is re+ealed as the germ

and beginning of a new:rising Macrocosm! while the old Macrocosm appears as a thing

whose life has died away/ &or the old Macrocosm had to die! that man might se+er himself

from it with full Self:consciousness/

%**/ In the cosmic present! man parta-es with the Thought forces that ma-e him free! in

the dead MacrocosmB and with the #ill:forces! whose essence is concealed from him! inthe germinating of this 'arth:e@istence E the Macrocosm newly springing into life/

114





himself is wo+en out of the $osmos/ '+en while the dream lights up! the Astral E

-indling man to life E becomes +isible as it flows into the etheric body/ In this lighting:up

of dreams! Thought is still ali%e/ It is only after man wa-ens that Thought is gathered up

into the forces whereby it dies and becomes a shadow/

This connection between our dream:conceptions and our wa-ing thoughts is of the

greatest significance/ Man thinks within the sphere of those +ery forces whereby he grows

and li+es/ et he cannot become a thin-er until these forces die/

At this point there dawns in us a true understanding of why it is that man ta-es hold of

the reality of things in Thought/ &or in his thoughts he possesses the dead picture of that

which! wor-ing from the fully li+ing reality of the world! builds and creates him/

It is the dead picture/ 1ut this dead picture proceeds from the wor- of the greatestpainter E from the +ery $osmos/ It is true that the life remains out of it/ If it did not! the

'go of man could not unfold/ 2e+ertheless! the full content of the Dni+erse! in all its

greatness! is contained within this picture/

So far as was possible at that time and in that conte@t! I indicated this inner relation of

Thought and #orld:reality in my >Philosophy of &reedom/? It is in the passage of that boo-

where I say that there is indeed a bridge leading from the thin-ing 'go,s depths to the

depths of 2ature,s reality/

Sleep e@tinguishes the ordinary consciousness because it carries us into thegerminating life of 'arth E the 'arth as it springs forth into the new! li+ing Macrocosm/

#hen the e@tinction is o+ercome by Imaginati+e consciousness! there stands before the

human soul E not a sharply outlined 'arth in mineral! plant and animal -ingdoms of

2ature E but a +ital process! -indled to life within this 'arth and flaming forth into the

Macrocosm/

It is thus. In the wa-ing state man must lift himself with his own 'go:being out of the

being of the world! in order to attain to free self:consciousness/ And in sleep he unites with

the being of the world once more/

Such is the rhythm in the present moment of cosmic time the rhythm of man,s earthly

e@istence outside the inner being of the world while he e@periences his own being in

consciousness! and of his e@istence within the inner being of the world where the

consciousness of his own being is e@tinguished/

In the condition between death and a new birth! the human 'go li+es within the 1eings

of the Spirit:world/ Then! e+erything that was withdrawn from man,s consciousness

during his wa-ing life on 'arth comes into it again/ The macrocosmic forces emerge from

their full state of life in a far distant past to their dead and dying nature in the present/

And there emerge the earthly forces E the seed of the new li+ing macrocosm/ Then the

116







human being loo-s into his sleeping states as clearly as in his earthly life he loo-s forth

upon the 'arth that glistens in the sunlight/

The Macrocosm! as it is today! has indeed become a thing of death/ et it is through this

alone that between death and a new birth man can undergo a life which signifies!compared to the wa-ing life on 'arth! a loftier awa-ening/ &or it is indeed an awa-ening!

whereby he becomes able fully to control the forces that light up so dimly and fleetingly in

dreams/ These forces fill the $osmos! they are all:per+ading/ &rom them the human being

deri+es the impulses through which! as he descends on to the 'arth! he forms this body E

the greatest wor-:of:art of the Macrocosm/

That which lights up so dimly in the dream E deserted! as it were! by the clear light of

the sun E li+es in the Spirit:world where the spiritual Sun flows through and through it!

and where it waits until the 1eings of the ierarchies or man himself shall summon it tothe creation of a new e@istence/


%*4/ In #a-ing life! to e@perience himself in full and free Self:consciousness! man must

forego the conscious e@perience of Reality in its true form! both in his e@istence and in that

of 2ature/ <ut of the ocean of Reality he lifts himself! that in his shadowed Thoughts he

may ma-e his own > I ? his +ery own in consciousness/

%*)/ In Sleep! man li+es with the life of his en+ironment of 'arth! but this +ery lifee@tinguishes his consciousness of Self/

%*/ In 6reaming! there flic-ers up into half:consciousness the potent #orld:e@istence out

of which the being of man is wo+en and from which! in his descent from Spirit:world! he

builds his body/ In earthly life this #orld:e@istence with its potent forces is put to death in

manB it dies into the shadows of his Thought/ &or only so can it become the basis of self:

conscious Manhood/

11





G2<SIS A26 A2TR<P<S<P

#hen the Mystery of Golgotha too- place! the >Gnosis? was the mode of thought of those

among humanity who were able! already at that time! to understand this e+ent E the mostmomentous in the earthly e+olution of man-ind E with an understanding not only of

deep feeling but of clear -nowledge/

To comprehend the mood of soul whereby the Gnosis li+ed in man! we must bear in

mind that its age was the age of unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/ In this same

fact we can disco+er the cause of the disappearance E well:nigh complete E of the Gnosis

from human history/ Till we can thus understand it! the disappearance of the Gnosis is!

after all! one of the most astonishing occurrences in human e+olution/

The unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul was preceded by that of the Sentient

Soul! and this in turn by that of the Sentient 1ody/ #hen the facts of the world are

percei+ed through the Sentient 1ody! the whole of man,s -nowledge li+es in his senses/ e

percei+es the world coloured! resonant! and so forthB but within the colours and sounds!

within the states of warmth! he -nows the presence of a world of Spiritual 1eings/ e does

not spea- of >substances!? of >matter? to which the phenomena of colour! warmth! etc/! are

supposed to adhere! but of Spiritual 1eings who manifest themsel+es through the

perceptions of the senses/

In this age! there is as yet no special de+elopment of an >intellect? E there is no intellect

in man beside the faculty of sense:perception/ Man either gi+es himself up with his own

being to the outer world! in which case the Gods re+eal themsel+es to him through the

sensesB or else in his soul:life he withdraws from the outer world and is then aware of a

dim sense of life within/

1ut a far:reaching change ta-es place with the unfolding of the Sentient Soul/ The

manifestation of the 6i+ine through the senses grows dim and fades away/ In place of it

man begins to percei+e the mere sense:impressions E colours! states of warmth! etc/ E

empty! as it were! of the 6i+ine/ And within him the 6i+ine now manifests itself in aspiritual form! in pictorial ideas/ e now percei+es the world from two sides. through

sense:impressions from without! and through Spirit impressions of an ideal -ind from

within/

Man at this stage must come to percei+e the Spirit impressions in as definite a shape

and clear a form as he hitherto percei+ed the di+inely permeated sense:impressions/ And

indeed! while the age of the Sentient Soul holds sway he is still able to do this/ &or from his

inner being the idea pictures rise before him in a fully concrete shape/ e is filled from

within with a sense:free Spirit:content E itself an image of the contents of the #orld/ TheGods! who hitherto re+ealed themsel+es to him in a garment of sense! re+eal themsel+es

now in the garment of the Spirit/

11!





This was the age when the Gnosis really originated and had its life/ It was a wonderful

and li+ing -nowledge! in which man -new that he could share if he unfolded his inner

being in purity and thus enabled the 6i+ine content to manifest itself through him/ &rom

the fourth to the first millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha! this Gnosis li+ed in

those portions of humanity which were most ad+anced in -nowledge/

Then begins the age of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/ <f their own accord the #orld:

pictures of the Gods no longer rise out of the inner being of man/ Man himself must apply

an inner force to draw them forth from his own soul/ The outer world with all its sense:

impressions becomes a Cuestion E a Cuestion to which he obtains the answers by -indling

the inner force to draw forth the #orld:pictures of the Gods from within him/ 1ut these

pictures are pale now! beside their former shape and character/

Such was the soul:condition of the portion of humanity that e+ol+ed so wonderfully inancient Greece/ The Gree- felt himself intensely in the outer world of the senses! wherein

he also felt the presence of a magic power summoning his own inner force to unfold the

#orld:pictures/ In the field of Philosophy! this mood of soul came forth in Platonism/

1ut behind all this there stood the world of the Mysteries/ In the Mysteries! such Gnosis

as still remained from the age of the Sentient Soul was faithfully preser+ed/ uman souls

were definitely trained for this tas- of preser+ation/ In the time when the Intellectual or

Mind:Soul arose by way of ordinary e+olution! the Sentient Soul was -indled into life by

special training/ Most especially in the age of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul! behind the

ordinary life of culture there was a richly de+eloped life of the Mysteries/

In the Mysteries the #orld:pictures of the Gods li+ed also in this way! that they were

made the inner content of a cult or ritual/ #e ga7e into the centres of those Mysteries and

behold the Dni+erse! portrayed in the most wonderful acts of ritual/

The human beings who e@perienced these things were also those who! when the

Mystery of Golgotha too- place! percei+ed and penetrated it in its deep! cosmic

significance/ 1ut this life of the Mysteries was -ept entirely apart from the turmoil of the

outer world! in order to unfold in purity the world of Spirit:pictures/ And it becameincreasingly difficult for the souls of men to unfold the pictures/

Then it was that in the highest places of the Mysteries! Spirit:beings descended from

the spiritual $osmos! coming to help the human beings in their intense stri+ings after

-nowledge/ Thus under the influence of the >Gods? themsel+es the impulses of the age of

the Sentient Soul continued to unfold/ There arose a >Gnosis of the Mysteries? of which

only the +ery few had any notion/ And that which human beings were able to recei+e with

the Intellectual or Mind:Soul was present alongside of this/ It was the e@oteric Gnosis

whose fragments ha+e come down to posterity/

11"





In the esoteric Gnosis of the Mysteries! human beings grew less and less able to rise to

the unfolding of the Sentient Soul/ The esoteric #isdom passed o+er more and more into

the -eeping of the Gods alone/ <t is a great secret of the historic e+olution of humanity! that

>6i+ine Mysteries? E for as such we may indeed describe them E were at wor- in it from

the first $hristian centuries on into medie+al times/

In these >6i+ine Mysteries!? Angel:beings preser+ed in 'arth:e@istence what human

beings were no longer able to preser+e/ Thus did the Gnosis of the Mysteries hold sway!

while men were diligently wiping out the e@oteric Gnosis/

The #orld3picture3content ! guarded in the Gnosis of the Mysteries by Spirit:beings in a

spiritual way! while its influence was still reCuired in the progress of man-ind! could not!

howe+er! be preser+ed for the conscious understanding of man,s soul/ 1ut its deep feeling:

content had to be preser+ed/ &or in the right cosmic moment this was to be gi+en to ahumanity duly prepared to recei+e it! so that at a later stage the Spiritual Soul E fired by

the inner warmth of it E might newly penetrate into the Spirit:realm/ Thus! Spirit beings

built the bridge from the old #orld:content to the new/

<ndications of this secret of human e%olution do indeed e@ist/ The sacred Fasper cup of the

oly Grail which $hrist made use of when e bro-e the bread and in which Noseph of

Arimathea gathered the blood from the wound of Nesus E which contained therefore the

secret of Golgotha E was recei+ed into safe -eeping! according to the legend! by Angels

until Titurel should build the $astle of the Grail! when they could allow it to descend

upon the human beings who were prepared to recei+e it/

Spiritual 1eings protected the #orld:pictures in which the secrets of Golgotha were

li+ing/ And when the time was come! they let down E not the picture:content! for this was

not possible E but the full &eeling:content! into the hearts and minds of men/

This implanting of the &eeling:content of an ancient -nowledge can only ser+e to

-indle! but it can indeed -indle most powerfully the unfolding in our age E out of the

Spiritual Soul and in the light of Michael,s acti+ity E of a new and full understanding of

the Mystery of Golgotha/

Anthroposophy stri+es for this new understanding! which E as we may see from the

abo+e description E cannot be a renewal of the Gnosis/ &or the content of the Gnosis was

the way of -nowledge of the Sentient Soul! while Anthroposophy E in a completely new

way E must draw forth a content no less rich from the Spiritual Soul/

Nanuary! %(*


connection with the a!o%e Study on $nosis and AnthroposophyB

12#





%*(/ The Gnosis in its proper form e+ol+ed in the age of the Sentient Soul 0from the fourth

to the first millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha5/ It was an age when the 6i+ine

was made manifest to man as a spiritual content in his inner beingB whereas in the

preceding age 0the age of the Sentient 1ody5 it had re+ealed itself directly in his sense:

impressions of the outer world/

%49/ In the age of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul! man could only e@perience in paler cast the

spiritual content of the 6i+ine/ The Gnosis was strictly guarded in hidden Mysteries/ And

when human beings could no longer preser+e it! because they could no longer -indle the

Sentient Soul to life! spiritual 1eings carried o+er E not indeed the Knowledge:content E

but the &eeling:content of the Gnosis into the Middle Ages/ 0The "egend of the oly Grail

contains an indication of this fact/5 Meanwhile the e@oteric Gnosis! which penetrated into

the Intellectual or Mind:Soul! was ruthlessly e@terminated/

%4%/ Anthroposophy cannot be a re+i+al of the Gnosis/ &or the latter depended on the

de+elopment of the Sentient SoulB while Anthroposophy must e+ol+e out of the Spiritual

Soul! in the light of Michael,s acti+ity! a new understanding of $hrist and of the #orld/

Gnosis was the way of Knowledge preser+ed from ancient time E which! at the time when

the Mystery of Golgotha too- place! was best able to bring home this Mystery to human

understanding/

121





T' &R''6<M <& MA2

A26 T' AG' <& MI$A'"

In the human faculty of memory there li+es the personal image of a cosmic force E a

cosmic force that wor-ed upon the human being in the past! in the way re+ealed by our

last studies/ This cosmic force is still wor-ing at the present time/ It wor-s as the force of

growth! as the life:gi+ing impulse in the bac-ground of human life/ The maFor portion of it

wor-s in this way! and only a small part is separated off as an acti+ity that enters into the

conscious Spiritual Soul! where it shows itself as the force of memory/

#e must learn to see this force of memory in its true light/ #hen in the present epoch

of cosmic e+olution a man percei+es with his senses! his perception is a momentary

lighting:up of world: pictures in consciousness/ This lighting:up ta-es place when thesenses are directed to the outer world/ It illumines the consciousness and +anishes when

the senses are no longer directed outward/ That which lights up in the human soul in this

way must not ha+e duration/ &or if man did not eliminate it from his consciousness

Cuic-ly enough! he would lose himself in this content of consciousness/ e would no

longer be himself/ &or a short time only E in the so:called >after:images? in which Goethe

was so interested E the inner illumination of a sense:perception may li+e on in

consciousness/ 2or must this content of consciousness crystallise into real being/ It must

remain a picture/ It must on no account become real! any more than the picture in a

loo-ing:glass can become real/

Man would lose himself in anything that li+ed and wor-ed itself out as a reality in his

consciousness! Fust as he would lose himself in something which of its own nature

possessed duration there/ In this case! too! he could no longer be himself/

Thus our sense:perception of the outer world is an inward picture:painting by the

human soulB a painting without materialsB a painting in the ebb and flow E in the coming

into:being and the +anishing of Spirit/ As in 2ature a rainbow comes forth and passes

away! lea+ing no trace behind! so does a perception arise and pass away! without of its own

inherent nature lea+ing any memory behind/

1ut simultaneously with each perception another process ta-es its course between the

soul of man and the outer world E a process lying in the more hidden portions of the

soul:life! where the forces of growth! the life:impulses are at wor-/ In this part of the soul,s

life! not only a fleeting image but a permanent and real image is impressed in e+ery act of

perception/ Man can suffer this! for this is a part of the contents of the world! connected

with his being/ e cannot lose himself while this process is ta-ing place! any more than he

loses himself through the fact that he grows and is nourished without his own full

consciousness/

122





This second process ta-es place in e+ery act of outward perception/ And when a man

draws forth his memories from within him! it is an inward perception of that which has

remained permanent through the second process/

<nce again the soul paints a picture! but now it paints the past that is li+ing in theman,s own inner being/ And once again! while he is thus painting! no lasting reality may

form itself in consciousness ! but only a picture that arises and +anishes again/

Such is the connection in the human soul between the forming of an idea in the act of

perception and the remembering of it/

1ut the forces of memory are perpetually stri+ing to be more than they can be if man is

not to lose himself as a self:conscious being/

&or the forces of memory are relics of the past in human e+olution! and as such they

come within the realm of "ucifer,s power/ "ucifer stri+es so to condense the impressions of

the outer world in the human being that they may continuously shine as ideation in his

consciousness/

This "uciferic stri+ing would be crowned with success if it were not for the force of

Michael which counteracts it/ Michael,s force does not allow that which is painted in the

inner light to crystallise into real being! but -eeps it in the state of a fleeting picture/

1ut the e@cess of force! which presses upward from within the human being through"ucifer,s acti+ity! will be transformed in this Age of Michael into the force of Spiritual

Imagination/ &or gradually into the common intellectual consciousness of man-ind there

will enter the force of Imagination/ 1ut this does not mean that man will burden his

present consciousness with lasting realities/ is present consciousness will still be wor-ing

in the fleeting pictures that arise and +anish/ #ith his Imaginations! howe+er! he reaches

up into a higher Spirit:world! Fust as with his memories he reaches down into his own

human nature/ Man does not -eep the Imaginations within him/ They are drawn as cosmic

pictures into cosmic e@istence and thence he is able to copy them! painting them again and

again in his own life of picture:ideation/

Thus what Michael preser+es from crystallisation in the inner being of man is recei+ed

by the spiritual world/ #hat man e@periences of the force of conscious Imagination

becomes at once a part of the #orld:contents/ That this can be so! is an outcome of the

Mystery of Golgotha/ The $hrist force impresses the spiritual Imagination of man into the

$osmos/ It is the $hrist:force! united with the 'arth/ So long as it was not united with the

'arth but wor-ed upon the 'arth as the Sun:force from without! all the impulses of life

and growth went into the inner nature of man/ e was formed and maintained by them!

out of the $osmos/ Since the $hrist:Impulse has been li+ing with the 'arth! man in hisself:conscious being is gi+en bac- again to the $osmos/

123





%43/ In the moment of such ideation man is Foined to the 1eing of the Dni+erse by that

alone which he has become through his own past. through his former li+es on 'arth! and

li+es between death and new birth/

%4;/ <nly through Michael,s acti+ity and the $hrist Impulse! can man achie+e this leapacross the gulf of 2onbeing in relation to the $osmos/

125





#ith the e@periences of memory we come into the sphere of the human astral body/ In

the act of remembering there stream into the present ego not merely the results of former

'arth:li+es! as is the case in thin-ing! but into his inner being stream the forces of the

Spirit:world! which man e@periences between death and new birth/ This in:streaming

ta-es place into the astral body/

Again there is no sphere within the physical 'arth for the immediate reception of the

forces which thus stream in/ As a being who remembers! man cannot unite with the obFects

and processes percei+ed by his senses! any more than he can unite with them as a being

who forms ideas/

1ut he forms a mutual relationship with that which is not indeed physical! but which

transposes the physical into processes! into e+ents/ These are the rhythmical processes in

2ature and in human life/ In 2ature! day and night alternate rhythmically! the seasons ofthe year follow in rhythmic succession! etc/ In man! the processes of respiration and the

circulation of the blood ta-e place rhythmicallyB so do the alternating states of wa-ing and

sleeping! etc/

Rhythmical processes are nothing physical! either in 2ature or in man/ They might be

called half spiritual/ The physical as obFect +anishes in the rhythmic process/ In the act of

remembering! man,s being is transposed into his own rhythm as well as into that of

2ature/ e li+es in his astral body/

Indian oga wishes to submerge itself entirely in the e@perience of rhythm/ It wishes to

lea+e the sphere of thought! the sphere of the ego! and in an inward e@perience similar to

memory loo- into the world that lies behind the one which it is possible for the ordinary

consciousness to -now/

It is not permissible for the spiritual life of the #est to suppress the ego in order to

>-now/? It must bring the ego 0> I ?5 to the perception of the Spiritual/

This cannot ta-e place if we penetrate from the world of the senses to the world of

rhythm! and so e@perience in the rhythm only the process in which the physical becomeshalf spiritual/ Rather we must find that sphere of the Spirit world which re+eals itself in

rhythm/

Two things are therefore possible/ &irstly! the e@perience of the physical in the

rhythmical element as the physical becomes half spiritual/ This is an older path! one not to

be followed any longer at the present time/ Secondly! the e@perience of the Spirit:world!

which possesses as its sphere the cosmic rhythm within man and without him! Fust as

man,s sphere is the earthly world with its physical beings and processes/

2ow to this Spirit:world belongs e+erything that ta-es place at the present cosmic

moment through Michael/ A Spirit such as Michael brings that which otherwise would lie

12





in the "uciferic sphere into the purely human e+olution which is not influenced by "ucifer

E by choosing the world of rhythm for his dwelling:place/

All this can be seen when man enters into Imagination/ &or with Imagination the soul

li+es in rhythm! and Michael,s world is the one which re+eals itself in rhythm/

Memory stands already in this world! but not +ery deeply/ The ordinary consciousness

e@periences nothing of it/ 1ut if we enter into Imagination there emerges first of all! out of

the world of rhythm! the world of subFecti+e memoriesB and this passes o+er at once into

the archetypal pictures for the physical world which are created by the 6i+ine:Spiritual

world and which li+e in the etheric/ #e e@perience the ether which lights up in cosmic

pictures and conceals within it the creati+e acti+ity of the Dni+erse/ And the Sun:forces

wea+ing in this ether are there not merely radiant! they conFure up the archetypal world:

pictures out of the light/ The Sun appears as the cosmic world:painter/ It is the cosmiccounterpart of the impulses which in man paint the pictures of thought/

0&ebruary! %(*5


connection with the foregoing study? #here is man as a !eing who thinks and remem!ersFB

%4*/ Man as a thin-ing being! though he li+es in the realm of the physical 'arth! does not

enter into communion with it/ e li+es! a spiritual being! in such a way as to percei+e the

physicalB but the forces for his Thin-ing! he recei+es from the >spiritual 'arth!? in the sameway in which he recei+es his 6estiny E the outcome of his former li+es on 'arth/

%44/ #hat he e@periences in Memory is already within that world where in rhythm the

physical becomes half spiritual! and where such Spirit:processes ta-e place as are being

brought about in the present cosmic moment by Michael/

%4)/ e who learns to -now Thin-ing and Memory in their true nature! will also begin to

understand how man as an earthly being! though he li+es within the earthly realm! does

not become submerged in it with his full being/ &or as a being from beyond the 'arth! he issee-ing by communion with the spiritual 'arth for his Self E consciousness:for the

fulfilment of his 'go/

12!





MA2 I2 IS MA$R<$<SMI$ 2ATDR'

The $osmos re+eals itself to man! first of all! from the aspect of the 'arth and from the

aspect of what is outside the 'arth! +i7/ the world of the stars/

Man feels himself related to the 'arth and its forces/ "ife gi+es him +ery clear

instruction regarding this relationship/

<n the present age he does not feel himself related in the same way to the stars that are

around him/ 1ut this lasts only so long as he is not conscious of his etheric body/ To grasp

the etheric body in Imaginations means to de+elop a feeling that we belong to the world of

the stars! Fust as we ha+e this feeling regarding the 'arth through the consciousness of the

physical body/

The forces which place the etheric body in the world come from the $osmos around the

'arthB those for the physical body radiate from the centre of the 'arth/

1ut together with the etheric forces which stream to the 'arth from the sphere of the

$osmos there come also the #orld:impulses which wor- in the astral body of man/

The ether is li-e an ocean in which the astral forces swim from all directions of the

$osmos and approach the 'arth/

1ut in the present cosmic age only the mineral and plant -ingdoms come into a direct

relation to the astral! which streams down to the 'arth on the wa+es of the etherB not the

animal -ingdom and not the human -ingdom/

Spiritual +ision shows that in the animal embryo there li+es! not the astral that is now

streaming to the 'arth! but that which streamed in during the <ld Moon period/

In the case of the plant -ingdom we see how its manifold and wonderful forms are

de+eloped through the astral loosening itself from the ether and wor-ing o+er to the world

of plants/

In the animal -ingdom we see how! from out of the Spiritual! the astral which was

acti+e in +ery ancient times E during the Moon e+olution E has been preser+ed! and

wor-s as something stored up and preser+ed! remaining on at the present time in the

spirit:world! and not coming forth into the etheric world/

The acti+ity of this astral is! moreo+er! mediated by the Moon:forces! which ha+e

li-ewise remained in the same condition! from the pre+ious stage of the 'arth/

In the animal -ingdom we ha+e! therefore! the result of impulses which manifested

themsel+es e@ternally in 2ature in a pre+ious stage of 'arth:e@istence! whereas in the

12"





present cosmic age they ha+e withdrawn into the Spirit:world which acti+ely penetrates

the 'arth/

2ow it is manifest to spiritual +ision that within the animal -ingdom only the astral

forces which ha+e been preser+ed in the present 'arth from the former period areimportant for the permeation of the physical and etheric bodies with the astral body/ 1ut

when the animal is once in possession of its astral body! the Sun:impulses appear acti+ely

in this astral body/ The Sun:forces cannot gi+e the animal anything astralB but when this is

once in the animal! they must set to wor- and foster growth! nutrition! etc/

It is different for the human -ingdom/ This! too! recei+es its astrality to begin with from

the Moon:forces that ha+e been preser+ed/ 1ut the Sun:forces contain astral impulses

which while they remain inacti+e for the animal -ingdom! in the human astral continue to

act in the same way in which Moon:forces wor-ed when man was first permeated withastrality/

In the animal astral body we see the world of the MoonB in the human! the harmonious

accord of the worlds of the Sun and Moon/

The fact that man is able to recei+e! for the de+elopment of self:consciousness! the

Spiritual which rays forth in what belongs to the 'arth! depends upon this which belongs

to the Sun in the human astral body/ The astral streams in from the sphere of the Dni+erse/

It acts either as astrality which pours in at the present time or as astrality which streamed

in! in ancient times and has been preser+ed/ 1ut e+erything that is connected with the

shaping of the 'go as the +ehicle of self:consciousness must radiate from the centre of a

star/ The astral wor-s from the circumferenceB that which belongs to the 'go wor-s from a

centre/ &rom its centre the 'arth as a star gi+es the impulse to the human 'go/ '+ery star

radiates from its centre forces which mould or shape the 'go of some being/

This shows the polarity e@isting between the centre of a star and the sphere of the

$osmos/

&rom the abo+e it may also be seen how the animal -ingdom still stands there today asthe result of former e+olutionary forces of the 'arth,s being! how it uses up the astral

forces which ha+e been preser+ed! and how it must disappear when these ha+e been

consumed/ Man! howe+er! acCuires new astral forces from that which belongs to the Sun/

These enable him to carry on his e+olution into the future/

&rom all this it may be seen that the nature of man cannot be understood unless we are

Fust as conscious of his connection with the stars as of his connection with the 'arth/

And that which man recei+es from the 'arth for the unfolding of his self:consciousness

depends also upon the Spirit world acti+e within all that belongs to the 'arth/ The

circumstance that the Sun gi+es to man what he needs for his astral depends upon the

13#





acti+ities which too- place during the <ld Sun period/ At that time the 'arth recei+ed the

capacity to unfold the 'go:impulses of humanity/ It is the Spiritual from that period which

the 'arth has preser+ed for itself from the Sun natureB and it is preser+ed from dying out

through the present acti+ity of the Sun/

The 'arth was itself Sun at one time/ Then it was spiritualised/ In the present cosmic

age! what belongs to the Sun wor-s from outside/ This continually reFu+enates the

Spiritual which originated in ancient times and is now growing old/ At the same time this

which belongs to the Sun and acts in the present! preser+es that which belongs to a former

period from falling into what is "uciferic/ &or that which continues to wor-! without being

recei+ed into the forces of the present! succumbs to "uciferic influences/

#e may say that man,s feeling of belonging to the $osmos beyond the 'arth is in this

cosmic epoch so dim that he does not notice it within his consciousness/ And it is not onlydim! it is drowned by his feeling of belonging to the 'arth/ As man is obliged to find his

self:consciousness in the elements of the 'arth! he so grows together with them during the

early part of the age of the Spiritual Soul! that they act upon Mm much more strongly than

is compatible with the true course of his soul:life/ Man is to a certain e@tent stupefied by

the impressions of the world of the senses! and during this condition! thought which is

free and has life in itself cannot rise within man/

The whole of the period since the middle of the nineteenth century has been a period of

stupefaction through the impressions recei+ed by the senses/ It is the great illusion of this

age that the o+er:powerful life of the senses has been considered to be the right one E that

life of the senses whose aim was to obliterate completely the life in the $osmos beyond the

'arth/

In this stupefaction the Ahrimanic Powers were able to unfold their being/ "ucifer was

repulsed by the Sun:forces more than Ahriman! who was able to e+o-e! especially in

scientific people! the dangerous feeling that ideas are applicable only to the impressions of

the senses/ Thus it is e@actly in these circles that one can find so little understanding for

Anthroposophy/ They stand face to face with the results of spiritual -nowledge and try to

understand them with their ideas/ 1ut these ideas do not grasp the Spiritual because thee@perience of the ideas is drowned by the Ahrimanic -nowledge of the senses/ And so

they begin to fear that if they ha+e anything to do with the results of spiritual

in+estigation! they may fall into a blind belief in authority/

In the second half of the nineteenth century the $osmos beyond the 'arth became

dar-er and dar-er for human consciousness/

#hen man becomes able to e@perience ideas within himself once more! then! e+en

when he does not support his ideas on the world of the senses! light will again meet hisga7e from the $osmos beyond the 'arth/ 1ut this signifies that he will become acCuainted

with Michael in his own -ingdom/

131





#hen once the &esti+al of Michael in autumn becomes true and inward! then this

thought will arise in all sincerity in the mind of him who celebrates the festi+al! and it will

li+e in his consciousness. >illed with ideasG the soul e9periences Spirit LightG when sense3

appearance only echoes in man like a memory/

If man is able to feel this he will also be able! after his festi+e mood! to plunge again in

the right way into the world of the senses/ And Ahriman will not be able to inFure him/

0March! %(*5


connection with the foregoing study? Man in his macrocosmic 4atureB

%4/ In the beginning of the age of the Spiritual Soul! man,s sense of community with the

$osmos beyond the 'arth grew dim/ <n the other hand E and this was so especially in

men of science E his sense of belonging to the earthly realm grew so intense in the

e@perience of sense:impressions! as to amount to a stupefaction/

%4(/ #hile he is thus stupefied! the Ahrimanic powers wor- upon man most dangerously/

&or he li+es in the illusion that the o+er:intense! stupefying e@perience of sense:

impressions is the right thing and represents the true progress in e+olution/

%)9/ Man must find the strength to fill his world of Ideas with light and to e@perience it so!

e+en when unsupported by the stupefying world of sense/ In this e@perience of the worldof Ideas E independent and in their independence filled with light E his sense of

community with the $osmos beyond the 'arth will re:awa-en/ ence will arise the true

foundation for festi+als of Michael/

132





T' S'2S': A26 T<DGT:SST'MS <& MA2

I2 R'"ATI<2 T< T' #<R"6

#hen man first applies Imaginati+e $ognition to the contemplation of his own human

being! he begins by eliminating his own sense:system from the field of +ision/ As he now

obser+es himself! he becomes a being without the system of senses/ 2ot that he ceases to

ha+e before his soul pictures such as were pre+iously con+eyed by the sense:organs/ 1ut

he ceases to feel himself connected with the outer physical world through the sense:

organs/ The pictures of the outer physical world which he now has before his soul are no

longer con+eyed by the organs of sense/ is +ery +ision of them is proof of the fact that

e+en through the sense:connection with the outer world of 2ature! he has yet another

connection with this world E one that does not depend on the senses/ It is a connection

with the Spirit that is embodied in the world of 2ature/

In such +ision! therefore! the physical world falls away from man/ It is the earthly

world that falls away/ Man no longer feels this earthly world upon him/

It might be imagined that he would in the same moment lose self:consciousness/ &or

this would seem to follow from our pre+ious studies! which showed self:consciousness to

be an outcome of the connection of man with the 'arth:nature/ 1ut it is not so/ Man

preser+es what he has gained through the earthly nature! e+en when! after ha%ing gained it !

he di+ests himself of it in the conscious acti+ity of higher -nowledge/

1y the abo+e:described! spiritually Imaginati+e +ision! the fact is re+ealed that man,s

sense:system is not! fundamentally spea-ing! at all intensely connected with his being/ It is

not really he who li+es in this sense:system! but his en+ironment/ It is the outer world with

its nature which has built itself into the sense:organisation of man/

Therefore! when he becomes an Imaginati+e seer! man really regards his sense:system

as a portion of the outer world/

It is indeed closer to his being than the world of 2ature around himB but still! it belongsto the outer world/ It is only distinguished from the remaining outer world in this! that

man can di+e down into the latter with acti+ity of -nowledge through sense:perception

and in no other way/ Into his own sense:system! on the other hand! he di+es down with

conscious inner e@perience/ The sense:system is a part of the outer worldB but into this

outer world man penetrates with his own being of soul:and:spirit! which he brings with

him as he descends from the Spirit:world and enters 'arth:e@istence/

'@cept for this fact that he fills it with his own being of soul:and:spirit! man,s sense:

system is of the outer world! Fust as is the plant -ingdom that is spread around him/ Theeye in the last resort belongs to the world and not to man! Fust as the rose which man

percei+es belongs not to him! but to the world/

133





In the age of cosmic e+olution that man has Fust passed through! thin-ers arose who

declared that colour! sound! warmth:impressions and the li-e were not really in the world!

but in the human being/ The >red colour!? they say! is not anything at all out there in the

world:en+ironment of manB it is but the effect of an un-nown reality upon him/ 1ut the

+ery opposite of this conception is the truth/ It is not the colour which! with the eye! belongs to manB it is the eye that with the colour belongs to the world/ 6uring his life on

'arth man does not let the 'arth:en+ironment pour in upon himself! but grows outward E

from birth to death E into this outer world/

It is significant that at the end of the Age of 6ar-ness! when men stared out into the

world without e+en dimly e@periencing the light of the Spirit! the true idea of man,s

relationship to his en+ironment was replaced by its +ery opposite/

#hen! in Imaginati+e $ognition! man has eliminated that en+ironment in which heli+es by means of his sense:system! there enters into the sphere of conscious e@perience

another system E namely! that which is the bearer of his Thought! e+en as the sense:

system is the bearer of his picture:world of sense:perception/

And now man -nows himself to be connected through his thin-ing system with the

cosmic en+ironment of the stars! e+en as he pre+iously -new himself to be connected

through his sense:system with the 'arth:en+ironment/ e now recognises himself as a

cosmic being/ is thoughts are no longer phantom:shadow pictures/ They are saturated

with reality! as sense:pictures are in the act of sense:perception/ And if at this stage the

-nower passes on to Inspiration! he becomes aware that he can cast aside this world of

which the thin-ing system is the bearer! Fust as he can cast aside the earthly/ e sees that

with his thin-ing system! too! he belongs! not to his own being! but to the world/ e

realises how the world thoughts hold sway in him by means of his own thin-ing system/

ere again he becomes aware that he thin-s! not by recei+ing images of the world into

himself! but by growing outward with his own thin-ing <rganisation into the Thin-ing of

the world/

1oth with respect to his sense:system and his thin-ing system! man is world/ The world

builds itself into him/ In sense:perception and in thought! he is not he himself! but part ofthe contents of the world/

2ow into his thin-ing system man penetrates with his own being of soul:and:spirit!

which belongs neither to the earthly world nor to the world of stars! but is of a wholly

spiritual nature and thri+es in man from life to life on 'arth/ This being of soul:and:spirit

is accessible only to Inspiration/

Thus man steps out of the earthly and cosmic systems of his nature! to stand before

himself as a being of pure soul:and:spirit through conscious Inspiration/

And in this being of pure soul:and:spirit he meets the life and law of his own destiny/

134





#ith the sense:system man li+es in his physical body! with the thin-ing system in his

etheric body/ 1oth systems ha+ing been cast aside in li+ing acti+ity of -nowledge! he finds

himself in his astral body/

'+ery time man casts aside a portion of the nature which he has assumed! the contentof his soul is indeed impo+erished on the one handB and yet on the other hand it is

enriched/ The physical body being eliminated! the beauty of the plant world as the senses

see it is before him no longer! sa+e in a far paler formB but on the other hand the whole

world of elemental beings dwelling in the plant:-ingdom rises up before his soul/

1ecause this is so! the man of true spiritual -nowledge has no ascetic attitude to what

the senses can percei+e/ In the +ery spiritual e@perience! there remains ali+e in him the

inner need to percei+e once more through the senses what he now e@periences in the

Spirit/ In the full human being! see-ing as he does to e@perience the whole reality! senseperception awa-ens the longing for its counterpart E the world of elemental beings/

"i-ewise the +ision of the elemental beings -indles the longing for the content of sense:

perception once again/

Thus in the fullness of the life of man! Spirit longs for sense and sense for Spirit/ There

would be emptiness in spiritual e@istence! if the e@periences of the conscious life in the

senses were not there as a memory/ There would be dar-ness in the life of sense:

e@perience! if it were not for the acti+e force of the Spirit which lights into it! albeit

subconsciously at first/

ence! when man will ha+e made himself ripe to e@perience the acti+ity of Michael! it

will not mean that souls become impo+erished in their e@perience of 2ature/ <n the

contrary! they will be enriched in this respect/ And in the life of feeling! too! man will not

tend to withdraw from sense e@perience! but will be glad and eager to recei+e the wonders

of this world of the senses more fully yet into his soul/

0March! %(*5

>urther Leading 'houghtsG issued from the $oetheanum with regard to the foregoing study? 'heSense3 and 'hought3Systems of ManG in relation to the #orldB

%)%/ The <rganisation of the human senses belongs not to man,s own nature! but is built

into it by the outer world during his earthly life/ Spatially though it is in man! in its real

essence the percei+ing eye is in the #orld/ Man with his soul and spirit reaches out into

that which the #orld is e@periencing in him through his senses/ e does not recei+e the

physical en+ironment into himself during his life on 'arth! but grows out into it with his

own soul and spirit/

%)/ "i-ewise his thin-ing <rganisation. through this he grows out into the e@istence of

the stars/ e -nows himself as a world of starsB he li+es and mo+es in the $osmic

135





Thoughts! when in the li+ing e@perience of Knowledge he has put away the <rganisation

of the senses/

%)3/ #hen both are put away:the earthly world and the world of the stars as well:man

stands before himself as a 1eing of soul! and spirit/ ere at length he is no longer of the#orldB here he is truly man/ To become aware of what he e@periences here! is Self3

knowledgeB e+en as it is #orld3knowledge to become aware in the <rganisation of the senses

and of thought/

136





$osmos/ e is not only outside the physical but outside the world of stars/ 1ut he is within

the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings in whom his own e@istence has its origin/

In the present moment of cosmic e+olution these 6i+ine Spiritual 1eings wor- in such

a way as to impress the moral content of the Dni+erse into the astral body and 'go of manduring sleep/ All the #orld:processes in sleeping man are really moral processes! and

cannot be spo-en of as e+en remotely li-e the acti+ities of 2ature/

In their after:effects! man carries these processes o+er from sleeping into wa-ing/ 1ut

the after:effects remain asleep/ &or man is awa-e in that part of his life only which inclines

to the sphere of Thought/ #hat actually ta-es place in his sphere of #ill is wrapped in

dar-ness e+en in the wa-ing state! as the whole life of the soul is wrapped in dar-ness

during sleep/ 1ut in this sleeping life of the #ill! the 6i+ine:Spiritual wor-s on in the

wa-ing life of man/ Morally! man is as good or as bad as he can be according to thenearness with which he approaches the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings when asleep/ And he

comes nearer to them! or remains farther away from them! according to the moral Cuality

of his former li+es on 'arth/

&rom the depths of the wa-ing being of the soul,s e@istence! that which was able to

implant itself in the soul,s e@istence! in community with the 6i+ine:Spiritual world during

sleep! sounds forth/ 'his is the %oice of conscience/

#e see how the +ery things which a materialistic +iew of the world is most inclined to

e@plain merely from the natural side! are found to lie on the moral side of things when

seen by spiritual -nowledge/

In Memory the 6i+ine:Spiritual being wor-s directly within the wa-ing man/ In

8onscience the same 6i+ine:Spiritual being wor-s in the wa-ing man indirectly E as an

after:effect/

The forming of memory ta-es place in the <rganisation of ner+es and senses/ The

forming of conscience ta-es place E albeit as a pure process of soul and spirit E in the

metabolic and limbs:system/

1etween the two there lies the rhythmic <rganisation! whose acti+ity is polarised in

two directions/ In the breathing rhythm it is in intimate relation to sense:perception and to

thought/ In the breathing of the lung the process is at its coarsest/ Thence it grows finer

and finer! till! as a highly refined breathing process! it becomes sense:perception and

thought/

Sense:perception is still +ery near to breathingB it is only a breathing through the sense:

organs! not through the lungs/ Thought! ideation! is farther remo+ed from the lung:

breathing! and is upheld by the Thin-ing system of man/ And that which re+eals itself in

the play of fancy is already +ery close to the rhythm of blood:circulation/ It is a +ery

13!





inward breathing! that comes into connection with the system of metabolism and the

limbs/ Psychologically! too! the acti+ity of fancy reaches down into the sphere of #ill! Fust

as the circulatory system reaches down into the system of metabolism and the limbs/

In the acti+ity of fancy! the thin-ing system comes close up to the system of the #ill/The human being di+es down into that sphere of his wa-ing life which is asleep E the

sphere of #ill/ ence! in human beings who are especially de+eloped in this direction! the

contents of the soul appear li-e dreams in the wa-ing state/ Such a human <rganisation

was present in Goethe/ Goethe once said that Schiller must interpret to him his own poetic

dreams/

In Schiller himself! a different human system was at wor-/ e li+ed on the strength of

what he brought with him from former li+es on 'arth/ e had a strong life of the #ill! and

had to see- acti+ely for the corresponding wealth of fancy/

The Ahrimanic Power! in its world:intentions! counts upon those human beings who

are especially de+eloped in the sphere of fancy E whose perception of sense:reality Cuite

naturally transforms into the pictures of fancy/ #ith the help of such human beings! the

Ahrimanic Power hopes to be able to cut off the e+olution of man-ind from the past! and

carry it on in the direction of its own! Ahrimanic intentions/

The "uciferic Power rec-ons on those human beings who! while naturally more

de+eloped in the sphere of #ill! are inspired by an inner lo+e for the ideal world:

conception to transform their +ision of sense:reality acti+ely into pictures of creati+e fancy/

Through such human beings the "uciferic Power would li-e to -eep human e+olution

entirely within the impulses of the past/ It would thus be able to preser+e man-ind from

di+ing down into the sphere where the Ahrimanic Power must be o+ercome/

In this our earthly e@istence! we stand between two opposite poles/ Abo+e us spread

the stars/ &rom thence there radiate the forces which are connected with all things

calculable and regular in 'arth:e@istence/ The regular alternation of day and night! the

seasons! the longer cosmic periods! are the earthly reflection of the real process in the stars/

The other pole radiates out from the interior of the 'arth/ Irregular acti+ities are at

wor- in it/ #ind and weather! thunder and lightning! earthCua-es and +olcanic eruptions!

are a reflection of this process of the inner 'arth/

Man himself is an image of this e@istence of the Stars and 'arth/ In his Thin-ing system

li+es the order of the StarsB in the #illing system of his limbs the chaos of the 'arth/ In the

Rhythmic system he e@periences in consciousness his own earthly being! in free balance

and interplay between the two/

0March! %(*5

13"






regard to the foregoing study on Memory and 8onscienceB

%);/ Man is organised in spirit and in body from two different sides/ &irst! from the

physical:etheric $osmos/ #hate+er radiates from the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing into thisorganisation in man,s nature! li+es in it as the force of sense:perception! of the faculty of

memory and of the play of fancy/

%)*/ Secondly! man is organised out of his own past li+es on 'arth/ This <rganisation is

purely of the soul and spirit! and li+es in him through the astral body and the 'go/

#hate+er enters of the life of 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eings into this human nature:its influence

lights up in a man as the +oice of conscience and all that is a-in to this/

%)4/ In his rhythmic <rganisation man has the constant union of the 6i+ine:Spiritualimpulses from the two sides/ In life and e@perience of rhythm the force of memory is

carried into the #illing life! and the might of conscience into the life in Ideas/

14#





T' APPAR'2T 'TI2$TI<2 <&

SPIRIT:K2<#"'6G' I2 M<6'R2 TIM'S

To gain a true appreciation of Anthroposophy in relation to the de+elopment of the

Spiritual Soul! we must turn our ga7e again and again to the particular mental condition of

ci+ilised man-ind which began with the blossoming forth of the 2atural Sciences and

reached its clima@ in the nineteenth century/

<ne should place the character of this age +i+idly before the soul,s eye! comparing it

with that of preceding ages/ In all ages of the conscious e+olution of man-ind! Knowledge

was regarded as that which brings man to the world of Spirit/ To Knowledge! man

ascribed whate+er relationship to Spirit he possessed/ Art and Religion were none other

than the li+ing life of Knowledge/

All this became different when the age of the Spiritual Soul began to dawn/ #ith a +ery

great part of the life of the human soul! Knowledge now concerned itself no more/

enceforth! it sought to in+estigate that relation to e@istence which man unfolds when he

directs his senses and his intellectual Fudgement to the world of >2ature/? It no longer

wanted to concern itself with that which man unfolds as a relation to the world of Spirit!

when he uses E not his outer senses E but his inner power of perception/

Thus there arose the necessity to connect the spiritual life of man! not with any li+ing

present Knowledge! but with Knowledge gained in the past E with Tradition/

The life of the human soul was rent in twain/ <n the one hand there stood before man

the new science of 2ature! stri+ing e+er onward and unfolding in the li+ing present/ <n

the other side there was the e@perience of a relation to the spiritual world! for which the

corresponding Knowledge had arisen in the ages past/ All understanding of how the

Knowledge! corresponding to this side of human e@perience! had been gained in ages past!

was gradually lost/ Men possessed the Tradition! but they had lost the way by which the

truths of Tradition had been -nown E disco+ered/ All they could do now was to !elie%e in

the Tradition/

A man who had consciously reflected on the spiritual situation! say about the middle of

the nineteenth century! would ha+e been bound to admit. man-ind has come to a point

where it no longer feels itself capable of e+ol+ing any Knowledge! beyond that science

which does not concern itself with the Spirit/ #hate+er can be -nown about the Spirit! a

humanity of earlier ages was able to in+estigate and disco+er! but the human soul has lost

the faculty for such disco+ery/

1ut men did not place before themsel+es the full bearing of what was ta-ing place/They were content to say. Knowledge simply does not reach out into the spiritual world/

The spiritual world can only be an obFect of &aith/

141





To gain some light upon these facts of modern history! let us loo- bac- into the time

when the old Grecian wisdom had to retreat before the power of Rome! when Rome had

accepted $hristianity/ #hen the last Gree- Schools of the Philosophers were closed by the

Roman 'mperor! the last custodians of the ancient Knowledge too departed from the

regions in which 'uropean spiritual life was henceforth to e+ol+e/ They found a ha+en inthe Academy of Gondishapur in Asia! to which they now became attached/ This was one

of the centres of learning in the 'ast where through the deeds of Ale@ander the tradition of

the ancient Knowledge had been preser+ed/

The ancient Knowledge was li+ing on there in the form which Aristotle had been able

to gi+e to it/ 1ut in the Academy of Gondishapur it was also ta-en hold of by that <riental

spiritual stream which we may describe as Arabism/ Arabism in one aspect of its nature! is

a premature unfolding of the Spiritual Soul/ Through the soul:life wor-ing prematurely in

the direction of the Spiritual Soul! the possibility was gi+en in Arabism for a spiritual wa+eto go forth! e@tending o+er Africa to southern and western 'urope! and filling certain of

the men of 'urope with an intellectualism that should not properly ha+e come until a later

stage/ In the se+enth and eighth centuries! southern and western 'urope recei+ed spiritual

impulses which ought to ha+e come only in the age of the Spiritual Soul/

This spiritual wa+e was able to awa-en the intellectual life in man! but not the deeper

founts of e@perience whereby the soul penetrates into the world of Spirit/

And now! when in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries man e@ercised his faculty of

Knowledge! he could but reach down to those le+els of the soul where he did not yet

impinge upon the spiritual world/

Arabism! entering into the spiritual life of 'urope! held bac- the souls of men! in

Knowledge! from the Spirit:world/ Prematurely it brought that intellect into acti+ity which

was only able to apprehend the outer world of 2ature/

This Arabism pro+ed +ery powerful indeed/ #hosoe+er was ta-en hold of by it! was

sei7ed by an inward E though for the most part Cuite unconscious E pride/ e felt the

power of intellectualism! but not the impotence of intellect by itself to penetrate intoReality/ Thus he ga+e himself up to the e@ternally gi+en Reality of the senses! which places

itself before the human being of its own accord/ And it did not e+en occur to him to

approach the spiritual Reality/

The spiritual life of the Middle Ages found itself face to face with this position/ It

possessed the sublime Traditions about the spiritual world/ 1ut the soul:life was

intellectually so impregnated by the hidden influence of Arabism! that medie+al

Knowledge found no access to the sources from which the contents of the great Tradition

had after all proceeded/

142





Thus from the early Middle Ages onwards! that which men felt instincti+ely within

them as a connection with the Spirit! was battling with Thought in the form that this had

assumed under Arabism/

Man felt the world of Ideas within himB he e@perienced it as something real/ 1ut hecould not find the power in his soul to e@perience! in the Ideas! the Spirit/ Thus arose

Realism ! feeling the reality in the Ideas and yet unable to disco+er it/ In the world of the

Ideas! Realism heard the spea-ing of the $osmic #ord! but it could not understand the

speech/ And 4ominalism in opposition to it! seeing that the speech could not be

understood! denied that there was any speech at all/ &or 2ominalism! the world of Ideas

was but a multitude of formulae within the human soul:rooted in no Reality of Spirit/

#hat li+ed and surged in these two currents! wor-ed on into the nineteenth century/

4ominalism became the mode of thought of 2atural Science! which built up an imposingconceptual system of the outer world of sense! but destroyed the last relics of insight into

the nature of the world of Ideas/ Realism li+ed a dead e@istence/ It -new still of the reality

of the world of Ideas! but had no li+ing Knowledge with which to reach it/

1ut man will reach it when Anthroposophy finds the way from the Ideas to the li%ing

e9perience of Spirit in the <deas/ In Realism truly carried forward! there will arise E side by

side with the 2ominalism of 2atural Science E a path of Knowledge which will pro+e

that the science of the Spiritual! far from being! e@tinguished in man-ind! can enter into

human e+olution once again! springing forth from newly:opened sources in the soul of

man/

0March! %(*5


regard to the foregoing study? 'he apparent E9tinction of Spirit3:nowledge in Modern 'imeB

%))/ "oo-ing with the eye of the soul upon the e+olution of man-ind in the Age of Science!

a sorrowful perspecti+e opens up before us to begin with/ Splendid grew the -nowledge

of man-ind with respect to all that constitutes the outer world/ <n the other hand therearose a feeling as though a -nowledge of the spiritual world were no longer possible at all/

%)/ It seems as though such -nowledge had only been possessed by men of ancient times!

and man must now rest content E in all that concerns the spiritual world E simply to

recei+e the old traditions! ma-ing these an obFect of &aith/

%)(/ &rom the resulting uncertainty! arising in the Middle Ages as to man,s relation to the

spiritual world! 4ominalism and Realism proceeded/ 2ominalism is unbelief in the real

Spirit:content of man,s IdeasB we ha+e its continuation in the modern scientific +iew of

2ature/ Realism is well aware of the reality of the Ideas! yet it can only find its fulfilment

in Anthroposophy/

143





IST<RI$ $ATA$"SMS AT T' 6A#2 <& T'

SPIRITDA" S<D"

The decline and fall of the Roman 'mpire and the appearance on the scene of peoples

from the 'ast E the great migrations E are a phenomenon of history to which the

attention of true research must again and again be turned/ &or the present day still

contains many an after:effect of these catastrophic happenings/

A true understanding of these e+ents is impossible to merely e@oteric history/ &or we

must loo- into the souls of the human beings who too- part in these migrations and

witnessed the downfall of the Roman 'mpire/

Ancient Greece and Rome flourished in the epoch of human e+olution when theIntellectual or Mind:Soul was unfolding/ Indeed the Gree-s and Romans were most

essentially the bearers of this unfolding process/ 1ut in the Gree- and Roman peoples the

e+ol+ing of this stage of the soul did not contain the seed from out of which the Spiritual

Soul could truly ha+e de+eloped/ All the contents of soul and spirit! latent in the

Intellectual or Mind:Soul! blossomed forth lu@uriantly in the life of ancient Greece and

Rome/ 1ut Greece and Rome were unable! out of their own inherent powers! to pass on to

the new stage of the Spiritual Soul/

The stage of the Spiritual Soul did! of course! appear none the less/ 1ut the Spiritual

Soul was as something implanted from without into the character of the Gree- or Roman

E something that did really not proceed out of the personality/

The connection with and se+erance from the 6i+ine Spiritual 1eings! of which we ha+e

said so much in these studies! ta-es place with +arying intensity in the course of

succeeding ages/ In olden times! it was a power entering into human e+olution with the

impulse of a mighty li+ing process/ In the Gree- and Roman e@perience of the first

$hristian centuries it was a feebler power:but it still e@isted/ #hile he was unfolding the

fullness of the Intellectual or Mind Soul within him! the Gree- or Roman felt E

unconsciously! but with no less deep a meaning for his soul E a loosening or se+erancefrom the 6i+ine:Spiritual nature and a growing independence of the human/ 1ut this

ceased in the first $hristian centuries/ The early dawn of the Spiritual Soul was felt as a

renewed union! a closer connection with the 6i+ine:Spiritual/ Men e+ol+ed bac- again!

from a greater to a lesser degree of independence of soul/ 2or could they recei+e the

$hristian content into the human Spiritual Soul! for they were unable to recei+e the

Spiritual Soul itself into their human being/

Thus they came to regard the $hristian content as some thin- gi+en to them from

outside E from the spiritual outer world E not as something with which they could become united through their own faculties of Knowledge/

144





1lunt indeed became the powers of Knowledge for spiritual things E most of all in the

eighteenth century/

The thin-ers of humanity now lost the spiritual content from their Ideas/ In the

Idealism of the first half of the nineteenth century! the Spirit:empty Ideas themsel+es arerepresented as the creati+e substance of the world/ Thus &ichte! Schelling! egel/ <r again!

they point to a Supersensible which +anishes into thin air because it is bereft of Spirit/

Thus Spencer! Nohn Stuart Mill! and others/ The Ideas are dead when they no longer see-

the li+ing Spirit/

There is no escaping the fact! lost was the sense of spiritual +ision for the things of the

Spirit/ A >continuation? of the old life of spiritual Knowledge is impossible/ #ith the

Spiritual Soul unfolding within him! man,s faculties of soul must stri+e onward to reach

their new union with the Spirit:world! a union elementary! immediate and li+ing/Anthroposophy would fain be such a stri+ing/

In the spiritual life of this age! it is Fust the leading personalities who to begin with do

not -now what Anthroposophy intends/ #ide circles of people who follow in their wa-e

are thereby -ept away from Anthroposophy/ The leading people of today li+e in a soul:

content which in the course of time has grown altogether unaccustomed to use the

spiritual forces/ &or them! it is as though one would call upon a man ha+ing an organ

paralysed! to use it/ Paralysed were the higher faculties of Knowledge from the si@teenth

into the latter half of the nineteenth century/ And man-ind remained utterly unconscious

of the factB indeed! the one:sided application of Knowledge:powers directed to the outer

world of sense was regarded as a sign of special progress/

0March! %(*5


reference to the foregoing study? ;istoric 8ataclysms at the Dawn of the Spiritual SoulB

%9/ The Gree-s and Romans were the peoples predestined by their +ery nature for the

unfolding of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/ They de+eloped this stage of the soul toperfection/ 1ut they did not bear within them the seeds of a direct! unbro-en progress to

the Spiritual Soul/ Their soul:life went under in the Intellectual or Mind:Soul/

%%/ In the time from the origin of $hristianity until the age of the unfolding of the

Spiritual Soul! a world of the Spirit was holding sway which did not unite with the forces

of the human soul/ The latter contri+ed to >e@plain? the world of the Spirit! but they could

not e@perience it in li+ing consciousness/

%/ The peoples ad+ancing from the 2orth:'ast in the great migrations! encroaching on

the Roman 'mpire! too- hold of the Intellectual or Mind:Soul more in the inner life of

feeling/ Meanwhile! imbedded in this element of feeling! the Spiritual Soul was e+ol+ing

146





within their souls/ The inner life of these peoples was waiting for the present time! when

the re:union of the soul with the world of the Spirit is fully possible once more/

14





&R<M 2ATDR' T< SD1:2ATDR'

The Age of Philosophy is often said to ha+e been superseded! about the middle of the

nineteenth century! by the rising Age of 4atural Science/ And it is said that the Age of2atural Science still continues in our day! although many people are at pains to emphasise

at the same time that we ha+e found our way once more to certain philosophic tendencies/

All this is true of the paths of -nowledge which the modern age has ta-en! but not of

its paths of life/ #ith his conceptions and ideas! man still li+es in 2ature! e+en if he carries

the mechanical habit of thought into his 2ature:theories/ 1ut with his life of #ill he li+es

in the mechanical processes of technical science and industry to so far:reaching an e@tent!

that it has long imbued this Age of Science with an entirely new Cuality/

To understand human life we must consider it to begin with from two distinct aspects/

&rom his former li+es on 'arth! man brings with him the faculty to concei+e the $osmic E

the $osmic that wor-s inward from the 'arth,s encircling spheres! and that which wor-s

within the 'arth domain itself/ Through his senses he percei+es the $osmic that is at wor-

upon the 'arthB through his thin-ing <rganisation he concei+es and thin-s the $osmic

influences that wor- downward to the 'arth from the encircling spheres/

Thus man li+es! through his physical body in Perception! through his etheric body in

Thought/

That which ta-es place in his astral body and his ego holds sway in the more hidden

regions of the soul/ It holds sway! for e@ample! in his destiny/ #e must! howe+er! loo- for

it! to begin with! not in the complicated relationships of destiny! but in the simple and

elementary processes of life/

Man connects himself with certain earthly forces! in that he gi+es his body its right

orientation within them/ e learns to stand and wal- uprightB he learns to place himself

with arms and hands into the eCuilibrium of earthly forces/

2ow these are not forces wor-ing inward from the $osmos/ They are forces of a purely

earthly nature/

In reality! nothing that man e@periences is an abstraction/ e only fails to percei+e

whence it is that an e@perience comes to himB and thus he turns ideas about realities into

abstractions/ e spea-s of the laws of mechanics/ e thin-s he has abstracted them from

the connections and relationships of 2ature/ 1ut this is not the case/ All that man

e@periences in his soul by way of purely mechanical laws! has been disco+ered inwardly

through his relationship of orientation to the earthly world 0in standing! wal-ing! etc/5/

14!





The Mechanical is thus characterised as that which is of a purely earthly nature/ &or the

laws and processes of 2ature as they hold sway in colour! sound! etc/! ha+e entered into

the earthly realm from the $osmos/ It is only within the earthly realm that they too

become imbued with the mechanical element! Fust as is the case with man himself! who

does not confront the mechanical in his conscious e@perience until he comes within theearthly realm/

1y far the greater part of that which wor-s in modern ci+ilisation through technical

Science and Industry E wherein the life of man is so intensely interwo+en E is not 4ature

at allG !ut Su!34ature/ It is a world which emancipates itself from 2ature:emancipates itself

in a downward direction/

"oo- how the <riental! when he stri+es towards the Spirit! see-s to get out of the

conditions of eCuilibrium whose origin is merely in the earthly realm/ e assumes anattitude of meditation which brings him again into the purely $osmic balance/ In this

attitude the 'arth no longer influences the inner orientation of his body/ 0I am not

recommending this for imitationB it is mentioned merely to ma-e our present subFect clear/

Anyone familiar with my writings will -now how different is the 'astern from the

#estern spiritual life in this direction/5

Man needed this relation to the purely earthly for the unfolding of his Spiritual Soul/

Thus in the most recent times there has arisen a strong tendency to realise in all things!

and e+en in the life of action! this element into which man must enter for his e+olution/

'ntering the purely earthly element! he stri-es upon the Ahrimanic realm/ #ith his own

being he must now acCuire a right relation to the Ahrimanic/

1ut in the age of Technical Science hitherto! the possibility of finding a true relationship

to the Ahrimanic ci+ilisation has escaped man/ e must find the strength! the inner force

of -nowledge! in order not to be o+ercome by Ahriman in this technical ci+ilisation/ e

must understand Sub:2ature for what it really is/ This he can only do if he rises! in

spiritual -nowledge! at least as far into e@tra:earthly Super:2ature as he has descended! in

technical Sciences! into Sub:2ature/ The age reCuires a -nowledge transcending 2ature!

because in its inner life it must come to grips with a life:content which has sun- far beneath 2ature E a life:content whose influence is perilous/ 2eedless to say! there can be

no Cuestion here of ad+ocating a return to earlier states of ci+ilisation/ The point is that

man shall find the way to bring the conditions of modern ci+ilisation into their true

relationship:to himself and to the $osmos/

There are +ery few as yet who e+en feel the greatness of the spiritual tas-s approaching

man in this direction/ 'lectricity! for instance! celebrated since its disco+ery as the +ery

soul of 2ature,s e@istence! must be recognised in its true character E in its peculiar power

of leading down from 2ature to Sub 2ature/ <nly man himself must beware lest he slidedownward with it/

14"





In the age when there was not yet a technical industry independent of true 2ature!

man found the Spirit within his +iew of 2ature/ 1ut the technical processes! emancipating

themsel+es from 2ature! caused him to stare more and more fi@edly at the mechanical:

material! which now became for him the really scientific realm/ In this mechanical:material

domain! all the 6i+ine:Spiritual 1eing connected with the origin of human e+olution! iscompletely absent/ The purely Ahrimanic dominates this sphere/

In the Science of the Spirit! we now create another sphere in which there is no

Ahrimanic element/ It is Fust by recei+ing in Knowledge this spirituality to which the

Ahrimanic powers ha+e no access! that man is strengthened to confront Ahriman within

the world/

0March! %(*5


reference to the foregoing study? >rom 4ature to Su!34atureB

%3/ In the age of 2atural Science! since about the middle of the nineteenth century! the

ci+ilised acti+ities of man-ind are gradually sliding downward! not only into the lowest

regions of 2ature! but e+en !eneath 4ature/ Technical Science and Industry become Sub:

2ature/

%;/ This ma-es it urgent for man to find in conscious e@perience a -nowledge of the

Spirit wherein he will rise as high abo+e 2ature as in his sub:natural technical acti+ities

2523017 eBook Antroposofia EnG Rudolf Steiner Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts

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