{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_30718/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_30718","id":"gutenberg_30718","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30718","summary":null,"tags":["Anthroposophy","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Occultism","Theosophy"],"text":"An Outline of Occult Science\n\n                                    By\n\n                          Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.\n\n              Authorized Translation from the Fourth Edition\n\n                             (Newly Revised)\n\n                           AnthropoSophic Press\n\n                                 New York\n\n                                   1922\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nPreface to the Fourth Edition.\nAuthor\u2019s Remarks To First Edition\nChapter I. The Character of Occult Science\nChapter II. The Nature of Man\nChapter III. Sleep and Death\nChapter IV. The Evolution of the World and Man\nChapter V. Knowledge of the Higher Worlds\nChapter VI. The Present and Future Evolution of the World and of Humanity\nChapter VII. Details from the Domain of Occult Science Man\u2019s Etheric Body\nFootnotes\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.\n\n\nOne who undertakes to represent certain results of scientific spiritual\nresearch of the kind recorded in this book, must above all things be\nprepared to find that this kind of investigation is at the present time\nalmost universally regarded as impossible. For things are related in the\nfollowing pages about which those who are today esteemed exact thinkers,\nassert that they will probably remain altogether indeterminable by human\nintelligence. One who knows and can respect the reasons which prompt many\na serious person to assert this impossibility, would fain make the attempt\nagain and again to show what misunderstandings are really at the bottom of\nthe belief that it is not given to human knowledge to penetrate into the\nsuperphysical worlds.\n\nFor two things present themselves for consideration. First, no human being\nwill, on deeper reflection, be able in the long run to shut his eyes to\nthe fact that his most important questions as to the meaning and\nsignificance of life must remain unanswered, if there be no access to\nhigher worlds. Theoretically we may delude ourselves concerning this fact\nand so get away from it; the depths of our soul-life, however, will not\ntolerate such self-delusion. The person who will not listen to what comes\nfrom these depths of the soul will naturally reject any account of\nsupersensible worlds. There are however people\u2014and their number is not\nsmall\u2014who find it impossible to remain deaf to the demands coming from the\ndepths of the soul. They must always be knocking at the gates which, in\nthe opinion of others, bar the way to what is \u201cincomprehensible.\u201d\n\nSecondly, the statements of \u201cexact thinkers\u201d are on no account to be\ndespised. Where they have to be taken seriously, one who occupies himself\nwith them will thoroughly feel and appreciate this seriousness. The writer\nof this book would not like to be taken for one who lightly disregards the\nenormous thought-labour which has been expended in determining the limits\nof the human intellect. This thought-labour cannot be put aside with a few\nphrases about \u201cacademic wisdom\u201d and the like. In many cases it has its\nsource in true striving after knowledge and in genuine discernment.\nIndeed, even more than this must be admitted; reasons have been brought\nforward to show that that knowledge which is to-day regarded as scientific\ncannot penetrate into supersensible worlds, and these reasons _are in a\ncertain sense irrefutable_.\n\nNow it may appear strange to many people that the writer of this book\nadmits this freely, and yet undertakes to make statements about\nsupersensible worlds. It seems indeed almost impossible that a person\nshould admit _in a certain sense_ the reasons why knowledge of\nsuperphysical worlds is unattainable, and should yet speak about those\nworlds.\n\nYet it is possible to take this attitude, and at the same time to\nunderstand that it impresses others as being inconsistent. It is not given\nto every one to enter into the experiences we pass through when we\napproach supersensible realms with the human intellect. Then it turns out\nthat intellectual proofs may certainly be irrefutable, and that\n_notwithstanding this_, they need not be decisive with regard to reality.\nInstead of all sorts of theoretical explanations, let us now try to make\nthis comprehensible by a comparison. That comparisons are not in\nthemselves proofs is readily admitted, but this does not prevent their\noften making intelligible what has to be expressed.\n\nHuman understanding, as it works in everyday life and in ordinary science,\nis actually so constituted that it cannot penetrate into superphysical\nworlds. This may be proven beyond the possibility of denial. But this\nproof can have no more value for a certain kind of soul-life than the\nproof one would use in showing that man\u2019s natural eye cannot, with its\nvisual faculty, penetrate to the smallest cells of a living being, or to\nthe constitution of far-off celestial bodies.\n\nJust as the assertion is true and demonstrable that the ordinary power of\nseeing does not penetrate as far as the cells, so also is the other\nassertion which maintains that ordinary knowledge cannot penetrate into\nsupersensible worlds. And yet the proof that the ordinary power of vision\nhas to stop short of the cells in no way excludes the investigation of\ncells. Why should the proof that the ordinary power of cognition has to\nstop short of supersensible worlds, decide anything against the\npossibility of investigating those worlds?\n\nOne can well sense the feeling which this comparison may evoke in many\npeople. One can even understand that he who doubts and holds the above\ncomparison against this labor of thought, does not even faintly sense the\nwhole seriousness of that mental effort. And yet the present writer is not\nonly fully convinced of that seriousness, but is of opinion that that work\nof thought may be numbered among the noblest achievements of humanity. To\nshow that the human power of vision cannot perceive the cellular structure\nwithout the help of instruments, would surely be a useless undertaking;\nbut in exact thinking, to become conscious of the nature of that thought\nis a necessary work of the mind. It is only natural that one who devotes\nhimself to such work, should not notice that reality may refute him. The\npreface to this book can be no place for entering into many \u201crefutations\u201d\nof former editions, put forth by those who are entirely devoid of\nappreciation of that for which it strives, or who direct their unfounded\nattacks against the personality of the author; but it must, none the less,\nbe emphasized that belittling of serious scientific thought in this book\ncan only be imputed to the author by one who wishes to shut himself off\nfrom the _spirit_ of what is expressed in it.\n\nMan\u2019s power of cognition may be augmented and made more powerful, just as\nthe eye\u2019s power of vision may be augmented. Only the means for\nstrengthening the capacity of cognition are entirely of a spiritual\nnature; they are inner processes, belonging purely to the soul. They\nconsist of what is described in this book as meditation and concentration\n(contemplation). Ordinary soul-life is bound up with the bodily\ninstrument; the strengthened soul-life liberates itself from it. There are\nschools of thought at the present time to which this assertion must appear\nquite senseless, to which it must seem based only upon self-delusion.\nThose who think in this way will find it easy, from their point of view,\nto prove that \u201call soul-life\u201d is bound up with the nervous system. One who\nholds the standpoint from which this book has been written, can thoroughly\nunderstand such proofs. He understands people who say that only\nsuperficiality can assert that there may be some kind of soul-life\nindependent of the body, and who are quite convinced that in such\nexperiences of the soul there exists a connection with the life of the\nnervous system, which the \u201cdilettantism of occult science\u201d merely fails to\ndetect.\n\nHere certain quite comprehensible habits of thought are in such sharp\ncontradiction to what has been described in this book, that there is as\nyet no prospect of coming to an understanding with many people. It is here\nthat we come to the point where the desire must arise that it should no\nlonger be a characteristic of our present day culture to at once decry as\nfanciful or visionary a method of research which differs from its own. But\non the other hand it is also a fact at the present time that a number of\npeople can appreciate the supersensible method of research, as it is\npresented in this book, people who understand that the meaning of life is\nnot revealed in general phrases about the soul, self, and so on, but can\nonly result from really entering into the facts of superphysical research.\n\nNot from lack of modesty, but with a sense of joyful satisfaction, does\nthe author of this book feel profoundly the necessity for this fourth\nedition after a comparatively short time. The author is not prompted to\nthis statement by lack of modesty, for he is entirely too conscious of how\nlittle even this new edition approaches that \u201coutline of a supersensuous\nworld concept\u201d which it is meant to be. The whole book has once more been\nrevised for the new edition, much supplementary matter has been inserted\nat important points, and elucidations have been attempted. But in numerous\npassages the author has realized how poor the means of presentation\naccessible to him prove to be in comparison with what superphysical\nresearch discovers. Thus it was scarcely possible to do more than point\nout the way in which to reach conceptions of the events described in this\nbook as the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions. An important aspect of this\nsubject has been briefly remodelled in this edition. But experiences in\nrelation to such things diverge so widely from all experiences in the\nrealm of the senses, that their presentation necessitates a continual\nstriving after expressions which may be, at least in some measure,\nadequate. One who is willing to enter into the attempted presentation\nwhich has here been made, will perhaps notice that in the case of many\nthings which cannot possibly be expressed by mere words, the endeavour has\nbeen made to convey them by the _manner_ of the description. This manner\nis, for instance, different in the account of the Saturn evolution from\nthat used for the Sun evolution, and so on.\n\nMuch complementary and additional matter has been inserted in this edition\nin the part dealing with \u201cPerception of the Higher Worlds.\u201d The endeavour\nhas been made to represent in a graphic way the kind of inner\nsoul-processes by which the power of cognition liberates itself from the\nlimits which confine it in the world of sense and thereby becomes\nqualified for experiencing the supersensible world. The attempt has been\nmade to show that these experiences, even though gained by entirely inner\nways and methods, still do not have a merely subjective significance for\nthe particular individual who gains them. The description attempts to show\nthat _within_ the soul stripped of its individuality and personal\npeculiarities, an experience takes place which _every_ human being may\nhave in the same way, if he will only work at his development from out his\nsubjective experiences. It is only when \u201cknowledge of supersensible\nworlds\u201d is thought of as bearing this character that it may be\ndifferentiated from old experiences of merely subjective mysticism. Of\nthis mysticism it may be said that it is after all more or less a\nsubjective concern of the mystic. The scientific spiritual training of the\nsoul, however, as it is described here, strives for objective experiences,\nthe truth of which, although recognized in an entirely inner way, may yet,\nfor that very reason, be found to be universally valid. This again is a\npoint on which it is very difficult to come to an understanding concerning\nmany of the habits of thought of our time.\n\nIn conclusion, the author would like to observe that it would be well if\neven the sympathetic reader of the book would take its statements exactly\nas they stand. At the present time there is a very prevalent tendency to\ngive this or that spiritual movement an historical name, and to many it is\nonly such a name that seems to make it valuable. But, it may be asked,\nwhat would the statements in this book gain by being designated\n\u201cRosicrucian,\u201d or anything else of the kind? What is of importance is that\nin this book a glimpse into supersensible worlds is attempted with the\nmeans which in our present period of evolution are possible and suitable\nfor the human soul; and that from this point of view the problems of human\ndestiny and human existence are considered beyond the limits of birth and\ndeath. It is not a question of an endeavor which shall bear this or that\nold name, but of a striving after truth.\n\nOn the other hand, expressions have also been used, with hostile\nintention, for the conception of the universe presented in this book.\nLeaving out of account that those which were intended to strike and\ndiscredit the author most heavily are absurd and objectively untrue, these\nexpressions are stamped as unworthy by the fact that they disparage a\nfully _independent_ search for truth; because the aggressors do not judge\nit on its own merits, but try to impose on others, as a judgment of these\ninvestigations, erroneous ideas about their dependence upon this or that\ntradition,\u2014ideas which they have invented, or adopted from others without\nreason. However necessary these words are in face of the many attacks on\nthe author, it is yet repugnant to him in this place to enter further into\nthe matter.\n\nRUDOLF STEINER\n_June, 1913._\n\n\n\n\n\nAUTHOR\u2019S REMARKS TO FIRST EDITION\n\n\nIn placing a book such as this in the hands of the public, the writer must\ncalmly anticipate every kind of criticism regarding his work which is\nlikely to arise in the present day. A reader, for instance, whose opinions\nare based upon the results of scientific research, after noting certain\nstatements made here touching these things, may pronounce the following\njudgment: \u201cIt is astounding that such statements should be possible in our\ntime. The most elementary conceptions of natural science are distorted in\nsuch a manner as to denote positively inconceivable ignorance of even the\nrudiments of science. The author uses such terms, for instance, as \u2018heat\u2019\nin a way that would lead one to infer that he had let the entire wave of\nmodern thought on the subject of physics sweep past him unperceived. Any\none familiar with the mere elements of this science would show him that\nnot even the merest dilettante could have made these statements, and they\ncan only be dismissed as the outcome of rank ignorance.\u201d\n\nThis and many a similar verdict might be pronounced, and we can picture\nour reader, after the perusal of a page or two, laying the book\naside,\u2014smiling or indignant, according to his temperament,\u2014and reflecting\non the singular growths which a perverse tendency of thought may put forth\nin our time. So thinking, he will lay this volume aside, with his\ncollection of similar freaks of the brain. What, however, would the author\nsay should such opinions come to his knowledge? Would he not, from his\npoint of view, also set the critic down as incapable of judgment or, at\nleast, as one who has not chosen to bring his good will to bear in forming\nan intelligent opinion? To this the answer is most emphatically\u2014No! In no\nsense whatever does the author feel this, for he can easily conceive of\nhis critic as being not only a highly intelligent man, but also a trained\nscientist, and one whose opinions are the result of conscientious thought.\nThe author of this book is able to enter into the feelings of such a\nperson and to understand the reasons which have led him to form these\nconclusions.\n\nNow, in order to comprehend what the author really means, it is necessary\nto do here what generally seems to him to be out of place, but for which\nthere is urgent cause in the case of this book, namely, to introduce\ncertain personal data. Of course, nothing will be said in this connection\nbut what bears upon the author\u2019s decision to write this book. What is said\nin it could not be justified if it bore merely a personal character. A\nbook of this kind is bound to proffer views to which any person may\nattain, and these views must be presented in such a way as to suggest no\nshade of the personal element, that is, as far as such a thing is\npossible.\n\nIt is therefore not in this sense that the personal note is sounded. It is\nonly intended to explain how it was possible for the author to understand\nthe above characterized opinions concerning his presentations, and yet was\nable to write this book.\n\nIt is true there is one method which would have made the introduction of\nthe personal element unnecessary\u2014this would have been to specify in detail\nall those particulars which would show that the statements here made are\nin agreement with the progress of modern science. This course would,\nhowever, have necessitated the writing of many volumes, and as such a task\nis at present out of the question, the writer feels it necessary to state\nthe personal reasons which he believes justify him in thinking such an\nagreement thoroughly possible and satisfactory. Were he not in a position\nto make the following explanations, he would most certainly never have\ngone so far as to publish such statements as those referring to heat\nprocesses.\n\nSome thirty years ago the author had the opportunity of studying physics\nin its various branches. At that time the central point of interest in the\nsphere of heat phenomena was the promulgation of the so-called \u201cMechanical\nTheory of Heat,\u201d and it happened that this theory so particularly\nengrossed his attention that the historical development of the various\ninterpretations associated with the names of Julius Robert Mayer,\nHelmholtz, Joule, Clausius, and others, formed the subject of his\ncontinuous study. During that period of concentrated work he laid those\nfoundations which have enabled him to follow all the actual advances since\nmade with regard to the theory of physical heat, without experiencing any\ndifficulty in penetrating into what science is achieving in this\ndepartment. Had he been obliged to confess himself unable to do this, the\nwriter would have had good reason for leaving unsaid and unwritten much\nthat has been brought forward in this book.\n\nHe has made it a matter of conscience, when writing or speaking on occult\nscience, to deal only with matters on which he could also report, in what\nseemed an adequate manner, the views held by modern science. With this,\nhowever, he does not wish in the least to give the impression that this is\nalways a necessary prerequisite. Any one may feel a call to communicate or\nto publish whatever his judgment, his sense of truth, and his feelings may\nprompt him to, even if he is ignorant of the attitude taken by\ncontemporary science in the matter. The writer wishes to indicate merely\nthat he holds to the pronouncements he has made. For instance, he would\nnever have written those few sentences on the human glandular system, nor\nthose regarding man\u2019s nervous system, contained in this volume, were he\nnot in a position to discuss both subjects in the terms used by the modern\nscientist, when speaking of the glandular and nervous systems from the\nstandpoint of science.\n\nIn spite of the fact that it may be said that he who speaks concerning\n\u201cheat,\u201d as is done here, knows nothing of the elements of modern physics,\nyet the author feels himself quite justified, because he believes that he\nknows present day research along those lines, and because if it were\nunknown to him, he would have left the subject alone. He knows that such\nutterances may be ascribed to lack of modesty, but it is necessary to\ndeclare his true motives, lest they should be confounded with others of a\nvery different nature, a result infinitely worse than a verdict of mere\nvanity.\n\nHe who reads this book as a philosopher, may well ask himself, \u201cHas this\nauthor been asleep to present day research in the field of the theory of\ncognition? Had he never heard of the existence of a man called Kant?\u201d this\nphilosopher might ask, \u201cand did he not know that according to this man it\nwas simply inadmissible, from a philosophic point of view, to put forward\nsuch statements?\u201d and so on, while in conclusion he might remark that\nstuff of so uncritical, childish, and unprofessional a nature should not\nbe tolerated among philosophers, and that any further investigation would\nbe waste of time. However, here again, for reasons already advanced and at\nthe risk of being again misinterpreted, the writer would fain introduce\ncertain personal experiences.\n\nHis studies of Kant date from his sixteenth year, and he really believes\nhe is now capable of criticizing quite objectively, from the Kantian point\nof view, everything that has been put forward in this book. On this\naccount, too, he might have left this book unwritten were he not fully\naware of what moves a philosopher to pass the verdict of \u201cchildishness\u201d\nwhenever the critical standard of the day is applied. Yet one may actually\nknow that in the Kantian sense the limits of possible knowledge are here\nexceeded: one may know in what way Herbart (who never arrived at an\n\u201carrangement of ideas\u201d) would discover his \u201cnaive realism.\u201d One may even\nknow the degree to which the modern pragmatism of James and Schiller and\nothers would find the bounds of \u201ctrue presentments\u201d transgressed\u2014those\npresentments which we are able to make our own, to vindicate, enforce, and\nto verify.\n\nWe may know all these things and yet, for this very reason, feel justified\nin holding the views here presented. The writer has dealt with the\ntendencies of philosophic thought in his works: \u201cThe Theory of Cognition\nof Goethe\u2019s World-Concept\u201d; \u201cTruth and Science\u201d; \u201cPhilosophy of Freedom\u201d;\n\u201cGoethe\u2019s World Concept\u201d and \u201cViews of the World and Life in the\nNineteenth Century.\u201d\n\nMany other criticisms might be suggested. Any one who had read some of the\nwriter\u2019s earlier works: \u201cViews of the World and Life in the Nineteenth\nCentury,\u201d for instance, or a smaller work on _Haeckel and his Opponents_,\nmight think it incredible that one and the same man could have written\nthose books as well as the present work and also his already published\n\u201cTheosophy.\u201d \u201cHow,\u201d he might ask, \u201ccan a man throw himself into the breach\nfor Haeckel, and then, turn around and discredit every sound theory\nconcerning monism that is the outcome of Haeckel\u2019s researches?\u201d He might\nunderstand the author of this book attacking Haeckel \u201cwith fire and\nsword\u201d; but it passes the limits of comprehension that, besides defending\nhim, he should actually have dedicated \u201cViews of the World and Life in the\nNineteenth Century\u201d to him. Haeckel, it might be thought, would have\nemphatically declined the dedication had he known that the author was\nshortly to produce such stuff as _An Outline of Occult Science_, with all\nits unwieldy dualism.\n\nThe writer of this book is of the opinion that one may very well\nunderstand Haeckel without being bound to consider everything else as\nnonsense which does not flow directly from Haeckel\u2019s own presentments and\npremises. The author is further of the opinion that Haeckel cannot be\nunderstood by attacking him with \u201cfire and sword,\u201d but by trying to grasp\nwhat he has done for science. Least of all does he hold those opponents of\nHaeckel to be in the right, against whom he has in his book, _Haeckel and\nhis Opponents_, sought to defend the great naturalist; for surely, the\nfact of his having gone beyond Haeckel\u2019s premises by placing the spiritual\nconception of the world side by side with the merely natural one conceived\nby Haeckel, need be no reason for assuming that he was of one mind with\nthe latter\u2019s opponents. Any one taking the trouble to look at the matter\nin the right light must see that the writer\u2019s recent books are in perfect\naccord with those of an earlier date.\n\nBut the author can also conceive of a critic who in general and offhand\nlooks upon the presentations of this book as the out-pourings of a fantasy\nrun wild or as dreamy thought-pictures. Yet all that can be said in this\nrespect is contained in the book itself, and it is explicitly shown that\nsane and earnest thought not only can but _must_ be the touch-stone of all\nthe facts presented. Only one who submits what is here advanced to logical\nand adequate examination, such as is applied to the facts of natural\nscience, will be in a position to decide for himself how much reason has\nto say in the matter.\n\nAfter saying this much about those who may at first be inclined to take\nexception to this work, we may perhaps be permitted to address a few words\nto those on whose sympathetic attention we can rely. These will find all\nbroad essentials contained in the first chapter, \u201cConcerning the Nature of\nOccult Science.\u201d A word, however, must here be added. Although this book\ndeals with investigations carried beyond the confines of intellect limited\nto the world of the senses, yet nothing has been asserted except what can\nbe grasped by any person possessed of unprejudiced reasoning powers backed\nby a healthy sense of truth, and who is at the same time willing to turn\nthese gifts to the best account; and the writer emphatically wishes it to\nbe understood that he hopes to appeal to readers who will not be content\nwith merely accepting on \u201cblind faith\u201d the matters presented, but who will\ntake the trouble to test them by the light of their own understanding and\nby the experiences of their own lives. Above all, he desires _cautious_\nreaders, who will allow themselves to be convinced only by what can be\nlogically justified. The writer is well aware that his work would be worth\nnothing were its value to rest on blind belief; it is valuable only in the\ndegree to which it can be justified by unbiased reason. It is an easy\nthing for \u201cblind faith\u201d to confound folly and superstition with truth, and\ndoubtless many, who have been content to accept the supersensible on mere\nfaith, will be inclined to think that this book makes too great demands\nupon their powers of thought. It is not a question of merely making\ncertain communications, but rather of presenting them in a manner\nconsistent with a conscientious view of the corresponding plane of life;\nfor this is the plane upon which the loftiest matters are often handled\nwith unscrupulous charlatanism, and where knowledge and superstition come\ninto such close contact as to be liable to be confused one with the other.\n\nAny one acquainted with supersensual research will, on reading this book,\nbe able to see that the author has sought to define the boundary line\nsharply between what can be communicated now from the sphere of\nsupersensible cognition, and that which will be given out, at a later\ntime, or at least, in a different form.\n\nRUDOLF STEINER\n_December, 1909._\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. THE CHARACTER OF OCCULT SCIENCE\n\n\nAt the present time the words \u201coccult science\u201d are apt to arouse the most\nvaried feelings. Upon some people they work like a magic charm, like the\nannouncement of something to which they feel attracted by the innermost\npowers of their soul; to others there is in the words something repellent,\ncalling forth contempt, derision, or a compassionate smile. By many,\noccult science is looked upon as a lofty goal of human effort, the crown\nof all other knowledge and cognition; others, who are devoting themselves\nwith the greatest earnestness and noble love of truth to that which\nappears to them true science, deem occult science mere idle dreaming and\nfantasy, in the same category with what is called superstition. To some,\noccult science is like a light without which life would be valueless; to\nothers, it represents a spiritual danger, calculated to lead astray\nimmature minds and weak souls, while between these two extremes is to be\nfound every possible intermediate shade of opinion.\n\nStrange feelings are awakened in one who has attained a certain\nimpartiality of judgment in regard to occult science, its adherents and\nits opponents, when one sees how people, undoubtedly possessed of a\ngenuine feeling for freedom in many matters, become intolerant when they\nmeet with this particular line of thought. And an unprejudiced observer\nwill scarcely fail in this case to admit that what attracts many adherents\nof occult science\u2014or occultism\u2014is nothing but the fatal craving for what\nis unknown and mysterious, or even vague. And he will also be ready to own\nthat there is much cogency in the reasons put forward against what is\nfantastic and visionary by serious opponents of the cause in question. In\nfact, one who studies occult science will do well not to lose sight of the\nfact that the impulse toward the mysterious leads many people on a vain\nchase after worthless and dangerous will-o\u2019-the-wisps.\n\nEven though the occult scientist keeps a watchful eye on all errors and\nvagaries on the part of adherents of his views, and on all justifiable\nantagonism, yet there are reasons which hold him back from the immediate\ndefence of his own efforts and aspirations. These reasons will become\napparent to any one entering more deeply into occult science. It would\ntherefore be superfluous to discuss them here. If they were cited before\nthe threshold of this science had been crossed, they would not suffice to\nconvince one who, held back by irresistible repugnance, refuses to cross\nthat threshold. But to one who effects an entry, the reasons will soon\nmanifest themselves, with unmistakable clearness from within.\n\nThis much, however, implies that the reasons in question point to a\ncertain attitude as the only right one for an occult scientist. He avoids,\nas much as he possibly can, any kind of outer defence or conflict, and\nlets the cause speak for itself. He simply puts forward occult science;\nand in what it has to say about various matters, he shows how his\nknowledge is related to other departments of life and science, what\nantagonism it may encounter, and in what way reality stands witness to the\ntruth of his cognitions. He knows that an attempted vindication would,\u2014not\nmerely on account of current defective thinking but by virtue of a certain\ninner necessity,\u2014lead into the domain of artful persuasion; and he desires\nnothing else than to let occult science work its own way quite\nindependently.\n\nThe first point in occult science is by no means the advancing of\nassertions or opinions which are to be proven, but the communication, in a\npurely narrative form, of experiences which are to be met with in a world\nother than the one that is to be seen with physical eyes and touched with\nphysical hands. And further, it is an important point that through this\nscience the methods are described by which man may verify for himself the\ntruth of such communications. For one who makes a serious study of genuine\noccult science will soon find that thereby much becomes changed in the\nconceptions and ideas which are formed\u2014and rightly formed\u2014in other spheres\nof life. A wholly new conception necessarily arises also about what has\nhitherto been called a \u201cproof.\u201d We come to see that in certain domains\nsuch a word loses its usual meaning, and that there are other grounds for\ninsight and understanding than \u201cproofs\u201d of this kind.\n\nAll occult science is born from two thoughts, which may take root in any\nhuman being. To the occult scientist these thoughts express facts which\nmay be experienced if the right methods for the purpose are used. But to\nmany people these same thoughts represent highly disputable assertions,\nwhich may arouse fierce contention, even if they are not regarded as\nsomething which may be \u201cproven\u201d impossible.\n\nThese two thoughts are, first, that behind the visible world there is\nanother, the world invisible, which is hidden from the senses and also\nfrom thought that is fettered by these senses; and secondly, that it is\npossible for man to penetrate into that unseen world by developing certain\nfaculties dormant within him.\n\nSome will say that there is no such hidden world. The world perceived by\nman through his senses is the only one. Its enigmas can be solved out of\nitself. Even if man is still very far from being able to answer all the\nquestions of existence, the time will certainly come when sense-experience\nand the science based upon it will be able to give the answers to all such\nquestions.\n\nOthers say that it cannot be asserted that there is no unseen world behind\nthe visible one, but that human powers of perception are not able to\npenetrate into that world. Those powers have bounds which they cannot\npass. Faith, with its urgent cravings, may take refuge in such a world;\nbut true science, based on ascertained facts, can have nothing to do with\nit.\n\nA third class looks upon it as a kind of presumption for man to attempt to\npenetrate, by his own efforts of cognition, into a domain with regard to\nwhich he should give up all claim to knowledge and be content with faith.\nThe adherents of this view feel it to be wrong for weak human beings to\nwish to force their way into a world which should belong to religious\nlife.\n\nIt is also alleged that a common knowledge of the facts of the sense-world\nis possible for mankind, but that in regard to supersensible things it can\nbe merely a question of the individual\u2019s personal opinion, and that in\nthese matters there can be no possibility of a certainty universally\nrecognized. And many other assertions are made on the subject.\n\nThe occult scientist has convinced himself that a consideration of the\nvisible world propounds enigmas to man which can never be solved out of\nthe facts of that world itself. Their solution in this way will never be\npossible, however far advanced a knowledge of those facts may be. For\nvisible facts plainly point, through their own inner nature, to the\nexistence of a hidden world. One who does not see this closes his eyes to\nthe problems which obviously spring up everywhere out of the facts of the\nsense-world. He refuses to recognize certain questions and problems, and\ntherefore thinks that all questions can be answered through facts within\nreach of sense perception. The questions which he is willing to ask are\nall capable of being answered by the facts which he is convinced will be\ndiscovered in the course of time. Every genuine occultist admits this. But\nwhy should one, when he asks no questions, expect answers on certain\nsubjects? The occult scientist says that to him such questioning is\nnatural, and must be regarded as a wholly justifiable expression of the\nhuman soul. Science is surely not to be confined within limits which\nprohibit impartial inquiry.\n\nThe opinion that there are bounds to human knowledge which it is\nimpossible to pass, compelling man to stop short of the invisible world,\nis thus met by the occult scientist: he says that there can exist no doubt\nconcerning the impossibility of penetrating into the unseen world by means\nof the kind of cognition here meant. One who considers it the only kind\ncan come to no other opinion than that man is not permitted to penetrate\ninto a possibly existing higher world. But the occult scientist goes on to\nsay that it is possible to develop a different sort of cognition, and that\nthis leads into the unseen world. If this kind of cognition is held to be\nimpossible, we arrive at a point of view from which any mention of an\ninvisible world appears as sheer nonsense. But to an unbiased judgment\nthere can be no basis for such an opinion as this, except that its\nadherent is a stranger to that other kind of cognition. But how can a\nperson form an opinion about a subject of which he declares himself\nignorant? Occult science must in this case maintain the principle that\npeople should speak only of what they know, and should not make assertions\nabout anything of which they are ignorant. It can only recognize every\nman\u2019s right to communicate his own experiences, not every man\u2019s right to\ndeclare the impossibility of what he does not, or will not, know. The\noccult scientist disputes no one\u2019s right to ignore the invisible world;\nbut there can be no real reason why a person should declare himself an\nauthority, not only on what he may know, but also on things considered\nunknowable.\n\nTo those who say that it is presumption to penetrate into unseen regions,\nthe occult scientist would merely point out that this _can_ be done, and\nthat it is sinning against the faculties with which man has been endowed\nif he allows them to waste instead of developing and using them.\n\nBut he who thinks that views about the unseen world are necessarily wholly\ndependent on personal opinion and feeling is denying the common essence of\nall human beings. Even though it is true that every one must find light on\nthese things within himself, it is also a fact that all those, who go far\nenough, arrive at the same, not at different conclusions regarding them.\nDifferences exist only as long as people will not approach the highest\ntruths by the well-tested path of occult science, but attempt ways of\ntheir own choosing. Genuine occult science will certainly fully admit that\nonly one who has followed, or at any rate has begun to follow the path of\noccult science, is in a position to recognize it as the right one. But all\nthose who follow that path will recognize its genuineness, and have always\ndone so.\n\nThe path to occult knowledge will be found, at the fitting moment, by\nevery human being who discerns in what is visible the presence of\nsomething invisible, or who even but dimly surmises or divines it, and\nwho, from his consciousness that powers of cognition are capable of\ndevelopment, is driven to the feeling that what is hidden may be unveiled\nto him. One who is drawn to occult science by such experiences of the soul\nwill find opening up before him, not only the prospect of finding the\nanswers to certain questions which press upon him, but the further\nprospect of overcoming everything which hampers and enfeebles his life.\nAnd in a certain higher sense it implies a weakening of life, in fact a\ndeath of the soul, when a person is compelled to turn away from, or to\ndeny, the unseen. Indeed, under certain circumstances despair is the\nresult of a man\u2019s losing all hope of having the invisible revealed to him.\nThis death and despair, in their manifold forms, are at the same time\ninner spiritual foes of occult science. They make their appearance when a\nperson\u2019s inner force is dwindling away. In that case, if he is to possess\nany vital force it must be supplied to him from without. He perceives the\nthings, beings, and events which approach his organs of sense, and\nanalyzes them with his intellect. They afford him pleasure and pain, and\nimpel him to the actions of which he is capable. For a while he may go on\nin this way: but at length he must reach a point at which he inwardly\ndies. For that which may thus be extracted for man from the outer world,\nbecomes exhausted. This is not a statement arising from the personal\nexperience of one individual, but something resulting from an impartial\nsurvey of the whole of human life. That which secures life from exhaustion\nlies in the unseen world, deep at the roots of things. If a person loses\nthe power of descending into those depths so that he cannot be perpetually\ndrawing fresh vitality from them, then in the end the outer world of\nthings also ceases to yield him anything of a vivifying nature.\n\nIt is by no means the case that only the individual and his personal weal\nand woe are concerned. Through occult science man gains the conviction\nthat from a higher standpoint the weal and woe of the individual are\nintimately bound up with the weal and woe of the whole world. This is a\nmeans by which man comes to see that he is inflicting an injury on the\nentire world and every being within it, if he does not develop his own\npowers in the right way. If a man makes his life desolate by losing touch\nwith the unseen, he not only destroys in his inner self something, the\ndecay of which may eventually drive him to despair, but through his\nweakness he constitutes a hindrance to the evolution of the whole world in\nwhich he lives.\n\nNow man may delude himself. He may yield to the belief that there is\nnothing invisible, and that that which is manifest to his senses and\nintellect contains everything which can possibly exist. But such an\nillusion is only possible on the surface of consciousness and not in its\ndepths. Feeling and desire do not yield to this delusive belief. They will\nbe perpetually craving, in one way or another, for that which is\ninvisible. And if this is withheld, they drive man to doubt, to\nuncertainty about life, or even to despair. Occult science, by making\nmanifest what is unseen, is calculated to overcome all hopelessness,\nuncertainty, and despair,\u2014everything, in short, which weakens life and\nmakes it unfit for its necessary service in the universe.\n\nThe beneficent effect of occult science is that it not only satisfies\nthirst for knowledge but gives strength and stability to life. The source\nwhence the occult scientist draws his power for work and his confidence in\nlife is inexhaustible. Any one who has once had recourse to that fount\nwill always, on revisiting it, go forth with renewed vigour.\n\nThere are people who will not hear anything about occult science, because\nthey think they discern something unhealthy in what has just been said.\nThese people are quite right as regards the surface and outer aspect of\nlife. They do not desire that to be stunted, which life, in its so-called\nreality, offers. They see weakness in man\u2019s turning away from reality and\nseeking his welfare in an unseen world which to them is synonymous with\nwhat is chimerical and visionary. If as occult scientists we do not desire\nto fall into morbid dreaming and weakness, we must admit that such\nobjections are partially justified. For they are founded upon sound\njudgment, which leads to a half truth instead of a whole truth merely\nbecause it does not penetrate to the roots of things, but remains on the\nsurface. If occult science were calculated to weaken life and estrange man\nfrom true reality, such objections would certainly be strong enough to cut\nthe ground from under the feet of those who follow this spiritual line of\nlife. But even in regard to such opinions as these, occult science would\nnot be taking the right course in defending itself in the ordinary sense\nof the word. Even in this case it can only speak by means of what it gives\nto those who really penetrate into its meaning, that is, by the real force\nand vitality which it bestows. It does not weaken life, but strengthens\nit, because it equips man not only with the forces of the manifest world\nbut with those of the invisible world of which the manifest is the effect.\nThus it does not imply an impoverishment, but an enrichment, of life. The\ntrue occult scientist does not stand aloof from the world, but is a lover\nof reality, because he does not desire to enjoy the unseen in a remote\ndream-world, but finds his happiness in bringing to the world ever fresh\nsupplies of force from the invisible sources from whence this very world\nis derived, and from which it must be continually fructified.\n\nSome people find many obstacles when they enter upon the path of occult\nscience. One of these is expressed in the fact, that a person, attempting\nto take the first steps, is sometimes discouraged because at the outset he\nis introduced to the details of the supersensible world, in order that he\nmay, with entire patience and devotion, become acquainted with them. A\nseries of communications is made to him concerning the invisible nature of\nman, about certain definite occurrences in the kingdom of which death\nopens the portals, and regarding the evolutions of man, the earth, and the\nentire solar system. What he expected was to enter the supersensible world\neasily, at a bound. Now he is heard to say: \u201cEverything which I am told to\nstudy is food for my mind, but leaves my soul cold. I am seeking the\ndeepening of my soul-life. I want to find myself within. I am seeking\nsomething that will lift my soul into the sphere of the divine, leading it\nto its true home; I do not want information about the human being and\nworld-processes.\u201d People who talk in this way have no idea that by such\nfeelings they are barring the door to what they are really seeking. For it\nis just when, and only when, with a free and open mind, in self-surrender\nand patience, they assimilate what they call \u201cmerely\u201d food for the\nintellect, that they will find that for which their souls are athirst.\nThat road leads the soul to union with the divine, which brings to the\nsoul knowledge of the works of the divine. The uplifting of the heart is\nthe result of learning to know about the creations of the spirit.\n\nOn this account occult science must begin by imparting the information\nwhich throws light on the realms of the spiritual world. So too, in this\nbook, we shall begin with what can be unveiled concerning unseen worlds\nthrough the methods of occult research. That which is mortal in man, and\nthat which is immortal, will be described in their connection with the\nworld, of which he is a member.\n\nThen will follow a description of the methods by which man is able to\ndevelop those powers of cognition latent within him, which will lead him\ninto that world. As much will be said about the methods as is at present\npossible in a work of this kind. It seems natural to think that these\nmethods should be dealt with first. For it seems as though the main point\nwould be to acquaint man with what may bring him, by means of his own\npowers, to the desired view of the higher world. Many may say, \u201cOf what\nuse is it for me that others tell me what they know about higher worlds? I\nwish to see them for myself.\u201d\n\nThe fact of the matter is that for really fruitful experience of the\nmysteries of the unseen world, previous knowledge of certain facts\nbelonging to that world is absolutely necessary. Why this is so, will be\nsufficiently brought out from what follows.\n\nIt is a mistake to think that the truths of occult science which are\nimparted by those qualified to communicate them, before mention is made of\nthe means of penetrating into the spiritual world itself, can be\nunderstood and grasped only by means of the higher vision which results\nfrom developing certain powers latent in man. This is not the case. For\ninvestigating and discovering the mysteries of a supersensible world, that\nhigher sight is essential. No one is able to discover the facts of the\nunseen world without the clairvoyance which is synonymous with that higher\nvision. When however, the facts have been discovered and imparted, every\none who applies to them the full range of his ordinary intellect and\nunprejudiced powers of judgment, will be able to understand them and to\nrise to a high degree of conviction concerning them. One who maintains\nthat the mysteries are incomprehensible to him, does not do so because he\nis not yet clairvoyant, but because he has not yet succeeded in bringing\ninto activity those powers of cognition which may be possessed by every\none, even without clairvoyance.\n\nA new method of putting forward these matters consists in so describing\nthem, after they have been clairvoyantly investigated, that they are quite\naccessible to the faculty of judgment. If only people do not shut\nthemselves off by prejudice, there is no obstacle to arriving at a\nconviction, even without higher vision. It is true that many will find\nthat the new method of presentment, as given in this book, is far from\ncorresponding to their customary ways of forming an opinion. But any\nobjection due to this will soon disappear if one takes the trouble to\nfollow out these customary methods to their final consequences.\n\nWhen, by an extended application of ordinary thought, a certain number of\nthe higher mysteries have been assimilated and found intelligible by any\none, then the right moment has come for the methods of occult research to\nbe applied to his individual personality:\u2014these will give him access to\nthe unseen world.\n\nNor will any genuine scientist be able to find contradiction, in spirit\nand in truth, between his science, which is built upon the facts of the\nsense-world, and the way in which occult science carries on its\nresearches. The scientist uses certain instruments and methods. He\nconstructs his instruments by working upon what \u201cnature\u201d gives him. Occult\nscience also uses an instrument, but in this case the instrument is man\nhimself. And that instrument too must first be prepared for that higher\nresearch. The faculties and powers given to man by nature at the outset\nwithout his co-operation, must be transformed into higher ones. In this\nway man is able to make himself into an instrument for the investigation\nof the unseen world.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II. THE NATURE OF MAN\n\n\nWith the consideration of man in the light of occult science, what this\nsignifies in general, immediately becomes evident. It rests upon the\nrecognition of something hidden behind that which is revealed to the outer\nsenses and to the intellect acquired through perception. These senses and\nthis intellect can apprehend only a part of all that which occult science\nunveils as the total human entity, and this part is the _physical body_.\nIn order to throw light upon its conception of this physical body, occult\nscience at first directs attention to a phenomenon which confronts all\nobservers of life like a great riddle,\u2014the phenomenon of death,\u2014and in\nconnection with it, points to so-called inanimate nature, the mineral\nkingdom. We are thus referred to facts, which it devolves on occult\nscience to explain, and to which an important part of this work must be\ndevoted. But to begin with, only a few points will be touched upon, by way\nof orientation.\n\nWithin manifested nature the physical body, according to occult science,\nis that part of man which is of the same nature as the mineral kingdom. On\nthe other hand, that which distinguishes man from minerals is considered\nas not being part of the physical body. From the occult point of view,\nwhat is of supreme importance is the fact that death separates the human\nbeing from that which, during life, is of like nature with the mineral\nworld. Occult science points to the dead body as that part of man which is\nto be found existing in the same way in the mineral kingdom. It lays\nstrong emphasis upon the fact that in this principle of the human being,\nwhich it looks upon as the physical body, and which death reduces to a\ncorpse, the same materials and forces are at work as in the mineral realm;\nbut no less emphasis is laid upon the fact that at death disintegration of\nthe physical body sets in. Occult science therefore says: \u201cIt is true that\nthe same materials and forces are at work in the physical body as in the\nmineral, but during life their activity is placed at the disposal of\nsomething higher. They are left to themselves only when death occurs. Then\nthey act, as they must in conformity with their own nature, as decomposers\nof the physical body.\u201d\n\nThus a sharp distinction must be drawn between the manifested and the\nhidden elements in man. For during life, that which is hidden from view\nhas to wage perpetual war on the materials and forces of the mineral\nworld. This indicates the point at which occult science steps in. It has\nto characterize that which wages the war alluded to, as a principle which\nis hidden from sense-observation. Clairvoyant sight alone can reveal its\nworkings. How man arrives at awareness of this hidden element, as plainly\nas his ordinary eyes see the phenomena of sense, will be described in a\nlater part of this book. Results of clairvoyant observation will be given\nnow for the reason already pointed out in the preceding pages, that is,\nthat communications about the way in which the higher sight is obtained\ncan only be of value to the student when he has first become acquainted,\nin the form of a narrative, with the results of clairvoyant research. For\nin this sphere it is quite possible to understand things which one is not\nyet able to observe. Indeed, the right path to higher vision starts with\nunderstanding.\n\nNow, although the hidden something which wages war on the disintegration\nof the physical body can be observed only by the higher sight, it is\nplainly visible in its effects to the human faculty of judgment which is\nlimited to the manifested world; and these effects are expressed in the\nform or shape in which mineral materials and forces are combined during\nlife. When death has intervened, the form disappears little by little, and\nthe physical body becomes part of the rest of the mineral world. But the\nclairvoyant is able to observe this hidden something as an independent\nmember of the human organism, which during life prevents the physical\nmaterials and forces from taking their natural course, which would lead to\nthe dissolution of the physical body. This independent principle is called\nthe etheric or vital body.\n\nIf misunderstandings are not to arise at the outset, two things must be\nborne in mind in connection with this account of a second principle of\nhuman nature. The word \u201cetheric\u201d is used here in a different sense from\nthat of modern physics, which designates as \u201cether\u201d the medium by which\nlight is transmitted. In occult science the use of the word is limited to\nthe sense given above. It denotes that which is accessible to higher\nsight, and can be known to physical observation only by its effects, that\nis, by its power of giving a definite form or shape to the mineral\nmaterials and forces present in the physical body. Again, the use of the\nword \u201cbody\u201d must not be misunderstood. It is necessary to use the words of\nevery day language in describing things on a higher plane of existence,\nand these terms, when applied to sense-observation, express only what is\nphysical. The etheric body has, of course, nothing of a bodily nature in\nthe physical sense, however ethereal we might imagine such a body to be.\nAs soon as the occultist mentions this etheric or vital body, he reaches\nthe point at which he is bound to encounter the opposition of many\ncontemporary opinions. The development of the human mind has been such\nthat the mention of such a principle of human nature is necessarily looked\nupon as unscientific. The materialistic way of thinking has arrived at the\nconclusion that there is nothing to be seen in a living body but a\ncombination of physical substances and forces such as are also found in\nthe so-called inanimate body of the mineral, the only difference being\nthat they are more complicated in the living than in the lifeless body.\nYet it is not very long since other views were held, even by official\nscience.\n\nIt is evident to any one who studies the works of many earnest men of\nscience, produced during the first half of the nineteenth century, that at\nthat time many a genuine investigator of nature was conscious of some\nfactor acting within the living body other than in the lifeless mineral.\nIt was termed \u201cvital force.\u201d It is true this vital force is not\nrepresented as being what has been above characterized as the vital body,\nbut underlying the conception was a dim idea of the existence of such a\nbody. Vital force was generally regarded as something which in a living\nbody was united with physical matter and forces in the same way that the\nforce of a magnet unites itself with iron. Then came the time when vital\nforce was banished from the domain of science. Mere physical and chemical\ncauses were accounted all sufficient.\n\nAt the present moment, however, there is a reaction in this respect in\nsome scientific quarters. It is sometimes conceded that the hypothesis of\nsomething of the nature of \u201cvital force\u201d is not pure nonsense. Yet even\nthe scientist who concedes this much is not willing to make common cause\nwith the occultist with regard to the vital body. As a rule, it serves no\nuseful purpose to enter upon a discussion of such views from the\nstandpoint of occult science. It should be much more the concern of the\noccultist to recognize that the materialistic way of thinking is a\nnecessary concomitant phenomenon of the great advance of natural science\nin our day. This advance is due to the vast improvements in the\ninstruments used in sense-observation. And it is in the very nature of man\nto bring some of his faculties to a certain degree of perfection at the\nexpense of others. Exact sense-observation, which has been evolved to such\nan important extent by natural science, was bound to leave in the\nbackground the cultivation of those human faculties which lead into the\nhidden worlds. But the time has come when this cultivation is once more\nnecessary; and recognition of the invisible will not be won by combating\nopinions which are the logical outcome of a denial of its existence, but\nrather by setting the invisible in the right light. Then it will be\nrecognized by those for whom the \u201ctime has come.\u201d\n\nIt was necessary to say this much, in order that it may not be imagined\nthat occult science is ignorant of the standpoint of natural science when\nmention is made of an \u201cetheric body,\u201d which, in many circles must\nnecessarily be considered as purely imaginary.\n\nThus the etheric body is the second principle of the human being. For the\nclairvoyant, it possesses a higher degree of reality than the physical\nbody. A description of how it is seen by the clairvoyant can be given only\nin later parts of this book, when the sense in which such descriptions are\nto be taken will become manifest. For the present it will be enough to say\nthat the etheric body penetrates the physical body in all its parts, and\nis to be regarded as a kind of architect of the latter. All the physical\norgans are maintained in their form and shape by the currents and\nmovements of the etheric body. The physical heart is based upon an etheric\nheart, the physical brain, upon an etheric brain, and the physical, with\nthis difference, that in the etheric body the parts flow into one another\nin active motion, whereas in the physical body they are separated from\neach other.\n\nMan has this etheric body in common with all plants, just as he has the\nphysical body in common with minerals. Everything living has its etheric\nbody.\n\nThe study of occult science proceeds upwards from the etheric body to\nanother principle of the human being. To aid in the formation of an idea\nof this principle, it draws attention to the phenomenon of sleep, just as\nin connection with the etheric body attention was drawn to death. All\nhuman work, so far as the manifested world is concerned, is dependent upon\nactivity during waking life. But that activity is possible only as long as\nman is able to recuperate his exhausted forces by sleep. Action and\nthought disappear, pain and pleasure fade away during sleep, and on\nre-awaking, man\u2019s conscious powers ascend from the unconsciousness of\nsleep as though from hidden mysterious sources of energy. It is the same\nconsciousness which sinks down into dim depths on falling asleep and\nascends from them again on re-awaking.\n\nThat which awakens life again out of this state of unconsciousness is,\naccording to occult science, the third principle of the human being. It is\ncalled the astral body. Just as the physical body cannot keep its form by\nmeans of the mineral substances and forces it contains, but must, in order\nto be kept together, be interpenetrated by the etheric body, so is it\nimpossible for the forces of the etheric body to illuminate themselves\nwith the light of consciousness. An etheric body left to its own resources\nwould be in a permanent state of sleep.(1) An etheric body awake, is\nilluminated by an astral body. This astral body seems to sense-observation\nto disappear when man falls asleep; to clairvoyant observation it is still\npresent, with the difference that it appears separated from or drawn out\nof the etheric body. Sense-observation has nothing to do with the astral\nbody itself, but only with its effects in the manifested world, and these\ncease during sleep. In the same sense in which man possesses his physical\nbody in common with plants, he resembles animals as regards his astral\nbody.\n\nPlants are in a permanent state of sleep. One who does not judge\naccurately in these matters may easily make the mistake of attributing to\nplants the same kind of consciousness as that of animals and human beings\nin the waking state; but this assumption can only be due to an inaccurate\nconception of consciousness. In that case it is said that, if an external\nstimulus is applied to a plant, it responds by certain movements, as would\nan animal. The _sensitiveness_ of some plants is spoken of,\u2014for example,\nof those which contract their leaves when certain external things act upon\nthem. But the characteristic mark of consciousness is not that a being\nreacts in a certain way to an impression, but that it experiences\nsomething in its inner nature which adds a new element to mere reaction.\nOtherwise we should be able to speak of the consciousness of a piece of\niron when it expands under the influence of heat. Consciousness is present\nonly when, through the effect of heat, the being feels pain or pleasure\ninwardly.\n\nThe fourth principle of being which occult science attributes to man is\none which he does not share in common with the rest of the manifested\nworld. It is that which differentiates him from his fellow creatures and\nmakes him the crown of creation. Occult science helps in forming a\nconception of this further principle of human nature by pointing out the\nexistence of an essential difference between the kinds of experience in\nwaking life. On the one hand, man is constantly subjected to experiences\nwhich must of necessity come and go; on the other, he has experiences with\nwhich this is not the case. This fact comes out with special force if\nhuman experiences are compared with those of animals. An animal\nexperiences the influences of the outer world with great regularity; under\nthe influence of heat and cold it becomes conscious of pain or pleasure,\nand during certain regularly recurring bodily processes it feels hunger\nand thirst. The sum total of man\u2019s life is not exhausted by such\nexperiences; he is able to develop desires and wishes which go beyond\nthese things. In the case of an animal it would always be possible, on\ngoing far enough into the matter, to ascertain the cause\u2014either within or\nwithout its body\u2014which impelled it to any given act or feeling. This is by\nno means the case with man. He may engender wishes and desires for which\nno adequate cause exists either inside or outside of his body. A\nparticular source must be found for everything in this domain; and\naccording to occult science this source is to be found in the human \u201cI\u201d or\n\u201cego.\u201d Therefore the ego will be spoken of as the fourth principle of the\nhuman being.\n\nWere the astral body left to its own resources, feelings of pleasure and\npain, and sensations of hunger and thirst, would take place within it, but\nthere would be lacking the consciousness of something lasting in all these\nfeelings. It is not the permanent as such, which is here designated the\n\u201cego,\u201d but rather that which experiences this permanent element. In this\ndomain, conceptions must be very exactly expressed if misunderstandings\nare not to arise. With the becoming aware of something permanent, lasting,\nwithin the changing inner experiences, begins the dawn of \u201cego\nconsciousness.\u201d\n\nThe sensation of hunger, for instance, cannot give a creature the feeling\nof having an ego. Hunger sets in when the recurring causes make themselves\nfelt in the being concerned, which then devours its food just because\nthese recurring conditions are present. For the ego-consciousness to\narise, there must not only be these recurring conditions, urging the being\nto take food, but there must have been pleasure derived from previous\nsatisfaction of hunger, and the consciousness of the pleasure must have\nremained, so that not only the present experience of hunger but the past\nexperience of pleasure urges the being to take nourishment.\n\nJust as the physical body falls into decay if the etheric body does not\nkeep it together, and as the etheric body sinks into unconsciousness if\nnot illuminated by the astral body, so the astral body would necessarily\nallow the past to be lost in oblivion unless the ego rescued the past by\ncarrying it over into the present. What death is to the physical body and\nsleep to the etheric, the power of forgetting is to the astral body. We\nmay put this in another way, and say that life is the special\ncharacteristic of the etheric body, consciousness that of the astral body,\nand memory that of the ego.\n\nIt is still easier to make the mistake of attributing memory(2) to an\nanimal than that of attributing consciousness to a plant. It is so natural\nto think of memory when a dog recognizes its master, whom perhaps it has\nnot seen for some time; yet in reality the recognition is not due to\nmemory at all, but to something quite different. The dog feels a certain\nattraction toward its master which proceeds from the personality of the\nlatter. This gives the dog a sense of pleasure whenever its master is\npresent, and every time this happens it is a cause of the repetition of\nthe pleasure. But memory only exists in a being when he not only feels his\npresent experiences, but retains those of the past. A person might admit\nthis, and yet fall into the error of thinking the dog has memory. For it\nmight be said that the dog pines when its master leaves it, and therefore\nit retains a remembrance of him. This too is an inaccurate opinion. Living\nwith its master has made his presence a condition of well-being to the\ndog, and it feels his absence much in the same way in which it feels\nhunger. One who does not make these distinctions will not arrive at a\nclear understanding of the true conditions of life.\n\nMemory and forgetfulness have for the ego much the same significance that\nwaking and sleeping have for the astral body. Just as sleep banishes into\nnothingness the cares and troubles of the day, so does forgetfulness draw\na veil over the sad experiences of life and efface part of the past. And\njust as sleep is necessary for the recuperation of the exhausted vital\nforces, so must a man blot out from his memory certain portions of his\npast life if he is to face his new experiences freely and without\nprejudice. It is out of this very forgetfulness that strength arises for\nthe perception of new facts. Let us take the case of learning to write.\nAll the details which a child has to go through in this process are\nforgotten. What remains is the ability to write. How would a person ever\nbe able to write if each time he took up his pen all his experiences in\nlearning to write rose up before his mind?\n\nNow there are many different degrees of memory. Its simplest form is\nmanifest when a person perceives an object and, after turning away from\nit, retains its image in his mind. He formed the image while looking at\nthe object, A process was then carried out between his astral body and his\nego. The astral body lifted into consciousness the outward impression of\nthe object, but knowledge of the object would last only as long as the\nthing itself was present, unless the ego absorbed the knowledge into\nitself and made it its own.\n\nIt is at this point that occult science draws the dividing line between\nwhat belongs to the body and what belongs to the soul. It speaks of the\nastral body as long as it is a question of the gaining of knowledge from\nan object which is present. But what gives knowledge duration is known as\nsoul. From this it can at once be seen how close is the connection in man\nbetween the astral body and that part of the soul which gives a lasting\nquality to knowledge. The two are, to a certain extent, united into one\nprinciple of human nature. Consequently, this unity is often denoted the\nastral body. When exact terms are desired, the astral body is called the\n_soul-body_, and the soul, in so far as it is united with the latter, is\ncalled the _sentient soul_.\n\nThe ego rises to a higher stage of its being when it centres its activity\non what it has gained for itself out of its knowledge of objective things.\nIt is by means of this activity that the ego detaches itself more and more\nfrom the objects of perception, in order to work within that which is its\nown possession. The part of the soul on which this work devolves is called\nthe rational- or intellectual-soul.(3) It is the peculiarity of the\nsentient and intellectual souls that they work with that which they\nreceive through sense-impressions of external objects of which they retain\nthe memory. The soul is then wholly surrendered to something which is\nreally outside it. Even what it has made its own through memory, it has\nactually received from without. But it is able to go beyond all this, and\noccult science can most easily give an idea of this by drawing attention\nto a simple fact, which, however, is of the greatest importance. It is,\nthat in the whole range of speech there is but one name which is\ndistinguished by its very nature from all other names. This is the name\n\u201cI.\u201d Every other name can be applied by any one to the thing or being to\nwhich it belongs. The word \u201cI,\u201d as the designation of a being, has a\nmeaning only when given to that being by himself. Never can any outside\nvoice call us by the name of \u201cI.\u201d We can apply it only to ourselves. I am\nonly an \u201cI\u201d to myself; to every one else I am a \u201cyou,\u201d and every one else\nis a \u201cyou\u201d to me. This fact is the outward expression of a deeply\nsignificant truth. The real essence of the ego is independent of\neverything outside of it, and it is on this account that its name cannot\nbe applied to it by any one else. This is the reason why those religions\nconfessions which have consciously maintained their connections with\noccult science, speak the word \u201cI\u201d as the \u201cunutterable name of God.\u201d For\nthe fact above mentioned is exactly what is referred to when this\nexpression is used. Nothing outward has access to that part of the human\nsoul of which we are now speaking. It is the \u201chidden sanctuary\u201d of the\nsoul. Only a being of like nature with the soul can win entrance there.\n\u201cThe divinity dwelling in man speaks when the soul recognizes itself as an\nego.\u201d Just as the sentient and intellectual souls live in the outer world,\nso a third soul-principle is immersed in the divine when the soul becomes\nconscious of its own nature.\n\nIn this connection a misunderstanding may easily arise; it may seem as\nthough occult science interpreted the ego to be one with God. But it by no\nmeans says that the ego is God, only that it is of the same nature and\nessence as God. Does any one declare the drop of water taken from the\nocean to be the ocean, when he asserts that the drop and the ocean are the\nsame in essence or substance? If a comparison is needed, we may say, \u201cThe\nego is related to God as the drop of water is to the ocean.\u201d Man is able\nto find a divine element within himself, because his original essence is\nderived directly from the Divine. Thus man, through the third principle of\nhis soul, attains an inner knowledge of himself, just as through his\nastral body he gains knowledge of the outer world. For this reason occult\nscience calls the third soul-principle _the consciousness-soul_, and it\nholds that the soul-part of man consists of three principles, the\n_sentient-_, _intellectual-_, and _consciousness-souls_, just as the\nbodily part has three principles, the _physical_, _etheric_, and _astral\nbodies_.\n\nThe real nature of the ego is first revealed in the consciousness-soul.\nThrough feeling and reason the soul loses itself in other things; but as\nthe consciousness-soul it lays hold of its own essence. Therefore this ego\ncan only be perceived through the consciousness-soul by a certain inner\nactivity. The images of external objects are formed as those objects come\nand go, and the images go on working in the intellect by virtue of their\nown force. But if the ego is to perceive itself, it cannot merely\n_surrender_ itself; it must first, by inner activity, draw up its own\nbeing out of its depths, in order to become conscious of it. A new\nactivity of the ego begins with this self cognition,\u2014with\nself-recollection. Owing to this activity, the perception of the ego in\nthe consciousness-soul possesses an entirely different meaning for man\nfrom that conveyed by the observation of all that reaches him through the\nthree bodily principles and the two other soul-principles. The power which\nreveals the ego in the consciousness-soul is in fact the same power which\nmanifests everywhere else in the world; only in the body and the lower\nsoul-principles it does not come forth directly, but is manifested little\nby little in its effects. The lowest manifestation is through the physical\nbody, thence a gradual ascent is made to that which fills the intellectual\nsoul. Indeed, we may say that with each ascending step one of the veils\nfalls away in which the hidden centre is wrapped. In that which fills the\nconsciousness-soul, this hidden centre emerges unveiled into the temple of\nthe soul. Yet it shows itself just here to be but a drop from the ocean of\nthe all-pervading Primordial Essence; and it is here that man first has to\ngrasp it,\u2014this Primordial Essence. He must recognize it in himself before\nhe is able to find it in its manifestations.\n\nThat which penetrates into the consciousness-soul like a drop from the\nocean is called by occult science _Spirit_. In this way is the\nconsciousness-soul united with the spirit, which is the hidden principle\nin all manifested things. If man wishes to lay hold of the spirit in all\nmanifestation, he must do it in the same way in which he lays hold of the\nego in the consciousness-soul. He must extend to the visible world the\nactivity which has led him to the perception of his ego. By this means he\nevolves to yet higher planes of his being. He adds something new to the\nprinciples of his body and soul. The first thing that happens is that he\nhimself conquers what lies hidden in his lower soul-principles, and this\nis effected through the work which the ego carries on within the soul. How\nman is engaged in this work becomes evident if we compare a high-minded\nidealist with a person who is still given up to low desires and so-called\nsensual pleasures. The latter becomes transmuted into the former if he\nwithdraws from certain lower tendencies and turns to higher ones. He thus\nworks through his ego upon his soul thereby ennobling and spiritualizing\nit. The ego has become the master of that man\u2019s soul-life. This may be\ncarried so far that no desire or wish can take root in the soul unless the\nego permits its entrance. In this way the whole soul becomes a\nmanifestation of the ego, which previously only the consciousness-soul had\nbeen. All civilized life and all spiritual effort really consist in the\none work, which has for its object to make the ego the master. Every one\nnow living is engaged in this work whether he wishes it or not, and\nwhether or not he is conscious of the fact.\n\nAgain, by this work human nature is drawn upward to higher stages of\nbeing. Man develops new principles of his being. These lie hidden from him\nbehind what is manifest. If man is able by working upon his soul, to make\nhis ego master of it, so that the latter brings into manifestation what is\nhidden, the work may extend yet farther and include the astral body. In\nthat case the ego takes possession of the astral body by uniting itself\nwith the hidden wisdom of this astral principle. In occult science the\nastral body which is thus conquered and transformed by the ego is called\nthe _Spirit-Self_. (This is the same as what is known as \u201c_Manas_\u201d in\ntheosophical literature, a term borrowed from the wisdom of the East.) In\nthe Spirit-Self a higher principle is added to human nature, one which is\npresent as though in the germ, and which in the course of the work of the\nhuman being on itself comes forth more and more.\n\nMan conquers his astral body by pushing through to the hidden forces lying\nbehind it; a similar thing happens, at a later stage of development, to\nthe etheric body: but the work on the latter is more arduous, for what is\nhidden in the etheric body is enveloped in two veils, but what is hidden\nin the astral body in only one.(4) Occult science gives an idea of the\ndifference in the work on the two bodies by pointing out certain changes\nwhich may take place in man in the course of his development. Let us at\nfirst think of the way in which certain soul-qualities of man develop when\nthe ego works upon the soul; how pleasures and desires, joys and sorrows,\nmay change. We have only to look back to our childhood. What gave us\npleasure then, what caused us pain? What have we learned in addition to\nwhat we knew as children? All this is but an expression of the way in\nwhich the ego has gained the mastery over the astral body, for it is this\nprinciple which is the vehicle of pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow.\nCompared with these things, how little in the course of time do certain\nother human qualities change, for example, the temperament, the deeper\npeculiarities of the character, and like qualities. A passionate child\nwill often retain certain tendencies to sudden anger during its\ndevelopment in later life.\n\nThis is such a striking fact that there are thinkers who entirely deny the\npossibility of changing the fundamental character. They assume that it is\nsomething permanent throughout life, and that it is merely a question of\nits being manifested in one way or another. But such an opinion is due to\ndefective observation. To one who is capable of seeing such things, it is\nevident that even the character and temperament of a person may be\ntransformed under the influence of his ego. It is true that this change is\nslow in comparison with the change in the qualities before mentioned. We\nmay compare the relation to each other of the rates of change in the two\nbodies to the movements of the hour-hand and minute-hand of a clock. Now\nthe forces which bring about a change of character or temperament belong\nto the hidden forces of the etheric body. They are of the same nature as\nthe forces which govern the kingdom of life,\u2014the same, therefore, as the\nforces of growth, nutrition, and generation. Further explanations in this\nwork will throw the right light on these things.\n\nThus it is not when man simply gives himself up to pleasure and pain, joy\nand sorrow, that the ego is working on the astral body, but when the\npeculiarities of these qualities of the soul are changed; and the work is\nextended in the same way to the etheric body, when the ego applies its\nenergies to changing the character or temperament. This change, too, is\none in which every person living is engaged, whether consciously or not.\nThe most powerful incitement to this kind of change in ordinary life is\nthat given by religion. If the ego allows the impulses which flow from\nreligion to work upon it again and again, they become a power within it\nwhich extends to the etheric body and changes it as lesser impulses in\nlife effect the transformation of the astral body. These lesser impulses,\nwhich come to man through study, reflection, the ennobling of feeling, and\nso on, are subject to the manifold changes of existence; but religious\nfeelings impress a certain stamp of uniformity upon all thinking, feeling,\nand willing. They diffuse an equal and single light over the whole life of\nthe soul.\n\nMan thinks and feels one thing to-day, another to-morrow, the causes of\nwhich are of many different kinds; but one who, consistently holding to\nhis religious convictions, has a glimpse of something which persists\nthrough all changes, will relate his thoughts and feelings of to-day, as\nwell as his experiences of to-morrow, to that fundamental feeling he\npossesses. Thus religious belief has the power of permeating the whole of\nthe soul-life. Its influences increase in strength as time goes on because\nthey are constantly repeated. Hence they acquire the power of working upon\nthe etheric body.\n\nIn a similar way the influences of true art work upon man. If,\u2014going\nbeyond the outer form, colour and tone of a work of art,\u2014he penetrates to\nits spiritual foundations with his imagination and feeling, then the\nimpulses thus received by the ego actually reach the etheric body. When\nthis thought is followed out to its logical conclusion, the immense\nsignificance of art in all human evolution may be estimated. Only a few\ninstances are pointed out here of what induces the ego to work upon the\netheric body. There are many similar influences in human life which are\nnot so apparent at the first glance. But these instances are enough to\nshow that there is yet another principle of man\u2019s nature hidden within\nhim, which the ego is making more and more manifest. Occult science\ndenotes this second principle of the spirit the _Life-Spirit_. (It is the\nsame which in current theosophical literature is called Budhi, a term\nborrowed from Eastern wisdom.) The expression \u201cLife-Spirit\u201d is\nappropriate, because the same forces are at work within it as are active\nin the vital body, with the difference that when they are manifesting in\nthe latter the ego is not active. When, however, these powers express\nthemselves as the Life-Spirit, they are interpenetrated by the ego.\n\nMan\u2019s intellectual development, the purification and ennobling of his\nfeelings and of the manifestations of his will, are the measure of the\ndegree in which he has transformed the astral body into the Spirit-Self.\nHis religious experiences, as well as many others, are stamped upon the\netheric body, making it into the Life-Spirit. In the ordinary course of\nlife this happens more or less unconsciously; so-called initiation, on the\ncontrary, consists in man\u2019s being directed by occult science to the means\nthrough which he may quite consciously take in hand this work on the\nSpirit-Self and Life-Spirit. These means will be dealt with in later parts\nof this book. In the meantime it is important to show that, besides the\nsoul and the body, the spirit also is working within man. It will be seen\nlater how this spirit belongs to the eternal part of man, as contrasted\nwith the perishable body.\n\nBut the work of the ego on the astral and etheric bodies does not exhaust\nits activity, which is also extended to the physical body. A slight effect\nof the influence of the ego on the physical body may be seen when certain\nexperiences cause a person to blush or turn pale. In this case the ego is\nactually the occasion of a process in the physical body. Now if through\nthe activity of the ego in man, changes occur influencing the physical\nbody, the ego is really united with the hidden forces of the physical\nbody, that is, with the same forces which bring about its physical\nprocesses. Occult science says that during such activity the ego is\nworking on the physical body. This expression must not be misunderstood.\nIt must on no account be supposed that this work is of a grossly material\nnature. What appears as gross material in the physical body is merely the\nmanifested part of it; behind this are the hidden forces of its being,\nwhich are of a spiritual nature. When the ego puts forth its energies in\nthe manner described, it unites itself, not with the outer material\nmanifestation of the physical body, but with the invisible forces which\nbring that body into being and afterwards cause it to decay. This work of\nthe ego on the physical body can only very partially become clear to man\u2019s\nconsciousness in ordinary life. It can become fully clear only when, under\nthe influence of occult science, man consciously takes the work into his\nown hands. Then he becomes aware that there is a third spiritual principle\nwithin him. It is that which occult science calls the _Spirit-Man_, as\ncontrasted with physical man. (In theosophical literature this\n\u201cSpirit-Man\u201d is known as Atma.)\n\nAgain, with regard to the Spirit-Man, it is easy to make a mistake. In the\nphysical body we see man\u2019s lowest principle, and on this account find it\nhard to realize that the work on that body should be accomplished by the\nhighest principle of the human entity. But just because the spirit active\nwithin the physical body is hidden under three veils, the highest kind of\nhuman effort is needed in order to make the ego one with that which is the\nhidden spiritual energy of the body.\n\nOccult science, therefore, represents man as a being composed of many\nprinciples. Those of a bodily nature are:\n\n      the physical body,\n      the etheric or vital body,\n      the astral body.\n\nThe soul-principles are:\n\n      the sentient-soul,\n      the intellectual- or rational-soul,\n      the consciousness-soul.\n\nIt is in the soul that the ego diffuses its light. Of a spiritual nature\nare:\n\n      the Spirit-Self,\n      the Life-Spirit,\n      the Spirit-Man.\n\nIt follows from what was said above that the sentient-soul and the astral\nbody are closely united and in a certain sense are one. Similarly, the\nconsciousness-soul and the Spirit-Self form a whole, for in the\nconsciousness-soul the spirit shines forth, and thence irradiates with its\nlight the other principles of the human being. Hence occult science also\nspeaks of man\u2019s organization as follows. The intellectual-soul is simply\ncalled the ego, because it partakes of the nature of the ego, and in a\ncertain sense is the ego, not yet conscious of its spiritual nature. We\nthus have seven divisions of man:\n\n      (1) physical body;\n      (2) etheric or vital body;\n      (3) astral body;\n      (4) Ego;\n      (5) Spirit-Self;\n      (6) Life-Spirit;\n      (7) Spirit-Man.\n\nEven one accustomed to materialistic habits of thought would not find in\nthis sevenfold organization of man the \u201cfanciful magic\u201d often attributed\nto the number seven, if one would only keep strictly to the meaning of the\nabove explanations without himself injecting arbitrarily the idea of\nsomething magical into the matter. Occult science speaks of these seven\nprinciples of man in exactly the same way, only from the standpoint of a\nhigher form of observation of the world, as allusion is commonly made to\nthe seven colours that make up white light, or to the seven notes of the\nscale (the octave being regarded as a repetition of the keynote). As light\nappears in seven colours, and sound in seven tones, so is the unity of\nman\u2019s nature manifested in the seven principles described. No more\nsuperstition attaches to the number seven in the case of occult science\nthan when associated with the spectrum or with the scale.\n\nOn one occasion when these facts were put forward verbally, the objection\nwas made that the statement about the number seven does not apply to\ncolours, since there are others beyond the red and violet rays, invisible\nto the eye. But even in this respect the comparison with colours holds\ngood, for, in fact, the human being expands beyond the physical body on\nthe one side, and beyond the Spirit-Man on the other; only to the methods\nof spiritual observation of which occult science here speaks, are these\nextensions of the human being \u201cspiritually invisible,\u201d just as the colours\nbeyond red and violet are physically invisible. This explanation becomes\nnecessary, because the opinion so easily arises that occult science does\nnot seriously apply itself to scientific thinking, but treats such matters\nunscientifically. However, one who carefully considers the meaning of the\nstatements made by occult science will find that in reality it is never at\nvariance with genuine science; neither when it brings forward the facts of\nnatural science as illustrations, nor when its statements are directly\nconnected with natural research.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III. SLEEP AND DEATH\n\n\nThe nature of waking consciousness cannot be fathomed without observing\nthat condition which man experiences during sleep, and the problem of life\ncannot be approached without studying death. Any one failing to perceive\nthe importance of occult science may distrust the manner in which it\nstudies sleep and death. Occult science is, however, capable of\nappreciating the motives from which such distrust arises. For there is\nnothing incomprehensible in the assertion that man exists for an active,\npurposeful life, that his acts depend on his devotion thereto, and that\nabsorption in such conditions as sleep and death can result only from a\ntaste for idle dreaming, and can lead to nothing else than vain\nimaginings.\n\nThe refusal to accept anything of so fantastic a nature may readily be\nregarded as the expression of a sound mind, while indulgence in such \u201cidle\ndreaming\u201d is accounted morbid, and a pursuit fit only for people in whom\nthe joy and ardour of life are lacking, and who are incapable of \u201creal\nwork.\u201d It would be wrong to set this assertion aside at once as an\ninjustice, for it contains a certain grain of truth. It is one quarter\ntruth, and must be completed by the remaining three quarters belonging to\nit. Now if we dispute the one quarter which is right, with one who\nrecognizes that one quarter quite distinctly but who does not dream of the\nother three quarters, we only rouse his suspicions. For it must be indeed\ngranted absolutely that the study of that which lies hidden in sleep and\ndeath is morbid if it leads to weakness or to estrangement from real life.\nNo less must we admit that much of that which has always called itself\noccult science in the world, and which is even now practised under that\nname, bears the impression of what is unhealthy and hostile to life; but\nthis certainly does not spring from _genuine occult science_.\n\nThe real fact of the matter is this, that just as a man cannot always be\nawake, so neither is he sufficiently equipped for the actual conditions of\nlife, in its entire range, without that which occult science has to offer\nhim. Life continues during sleep, and the forces which work and labour\nduring the waking state draw their strength and refreshment from that\nwhich sleep gives them. It is thus with the things under our observation\nin the manifested world. The boundaries of the world are wider than the\nfield of this observation; and what man recognizes in the visible must be\nsupplemented and fertilized by what he is able to know of the invisible\nworld. A man who did not continually renew his exhausted forces by sleep,\nwould bring his life to destruction; and in the same way a view of the\nworld which is not fertilized by a knowledge of the unseen, must lead to a\nfeeling of desolation.\n\nIt is similarly so with regard to death. Living creatures fall a prey to\ndeath in order that new life may arise. It is occult science which throws\nlight on Goethe\u2019s beautiful phrase: \u201cNature invented Death in order to\nhave much Life.\u201d Just as in the ordinary sense there could be no life\nwithout death, so can there be no real knowledge of the visible world\nwithout insight into the invisible. All discernment of the visible must\nplunge again and again into the invisible in order to develop. Thus it is\nevident that occult science alone makes the life of revealed knowledge\npossible. When it emerges in its true form it never enfeebles life, but\nstrengthens it and ever renews its freshness and health, when, left to its\nown resources, it has become weak and diseased.\n\nWhen a man sinks into sleep the connection between his principles changes,\nas described earlier in this work. The part of the sleeping man which lies\nupon his couch comprises the physical and etheric bodies, but not the\nastral body and not the ego. It is because the etheric body remains bound\nto the physical body in sleep that the life-activities continue. For the\nmoment the physical body is left to itself, it must of necessity fall into\ndecay. The things that are extinguished in sleep are ideas, pain,\npleasure, joy, grief, the ability to express conscious will, and similar\nfacts of existence. But the astral body is the vehicle of all these\nthings. That the astral body, with all its joy and sorrow, its realm of\nthought and will, is annihilated in sleep is an opinion that cannot be\nentertained by an unbiased judgment; it exists still, but in another\ncondition. In order that the human ego and the astral body may not only be\nendowed with pleasure and pain and all the other things we have named, but\nalso have a conscious perception of them, it is necessary that the astral\nbody should be united with the physical and etheric bodies. This is the\ncase during waking life, but not in sleep. The astral body has withdrawn\nitself from the other bodies. It has adopted another kind of existence\nthan that which it possesses while united with the physical and etheric\nbodies. Now it is the task of occult science to study this other kind of\nexistence in the astral body. During sleep, the astral body withdraws from\nthe possibility of external observation and occult science must trace it\nin its hidden life, until it again takes possession of its physical and\netheric bodies on waking.\n\nAs in all cases when knowledge of the hidden things and events of life\nhave to be dealt with, clairvoyant observation is necessary for the\ndiscovery of the real facts of the sleep state in its true nature, but if\nthat which may be discovered by this means has once been made clear, it is\ncomprehensible to really unprejudiced thought without further\ndemonstration. For events in the unseen world show themselves by their\neffects in the manifested world. If what is revealed by clairvoyant vision\nis an explanation of visible events, such a confirmation by life itself is\nthe proof which may rightly be demanded. Even one who will not use the\nmeans to be given later for the attainment of clairvoyant vision, may have\nthe following experience: he may, in the first place, take the statements\nof the clairvoyant for granted, and then apply them to the material events\nwithin his experience. He will then find that life thereby becomes clear\nand comprehensible; and the more exact and minute his observations of\nordinary life, the more readily will he come to this conclusion.\n\nEven though the astral body during sleep passes through no experiences,\nthough it is not conscious of pleasure, pain, and the like, it does not\nremain inactive. On the contrary, it is a fact that active work is its\nfunction in the sleep state. For it is the astral body which strengthens\nand recuperates man\u2019s forces, exhausted during waking life. As long as the\nastral body is united with the physical and etheric bodies it is related\nto the outer world through these two bodies. They convey to it perceptions\nand representations. Through the impressions which they receive from their\nsurroundings, it experiences pleasure and pain. Now the physical body can\nbe preserved in the form and shape suitable to the individual only by\nmeans of the human etheric body. But this human form can be preserved only\nby an etheric body which on its part receives corresponding forces from\nthe astral body. The etheric body is the builder, the architect, of the\nphysical body. It can, however, construct in the true sense only when it\nreceives from the astral body the impulse as to the manner in which it\nmust build. In this latter are contained the models, according to which\nthe etheric body gives the physical body its form. During our waking hours\nthese models for the physical body are not present in the astral body, or,\nat least, only to a certain extent. For in waking life the soul replaces\nthese models with its own images. When a person directs his senses upon\nhis environment he thus creates in his ideas pictures which are copies of\nthe world around him. In fact these copies at first disturb the prototypes\nwhich give the etheric body the impulse to preserve the physical body.\nSuch disturbance could not be present if a man, by virtue of his own\nactivity, could convey to his astral body those pictures which would give\nthe right impulse to the etheric body. Yet this very disturbance plays an\nimportant part in human life, and is able to express itself because the\nmodels for the etheric body do not come into full play in the waking life.\nThis fact is revealed by \u201cfatigue.\u201d Now, during sleep, no external\nimpressions disturb the force of the astral body. Therefore in this\ncondition it can expel fatigue. The work of the astral body during sleep\nconsists in removing fatigue, and it can accomplish this only by leaving\nthe physical and etheric bodies. During waking life the astral body does\nits work within the physical body; during sleep it works on the latter\nfrom without.\n\nFor instance, just as the physical body has need of the outer world, which\nis of like substance with itself, for its supply of food, something of the\nsame kind takes place in the case of the astral body. Let us imagine a\nphysical human body removed from the surrounding world: it would die. That\nshows that physical life is an impossibility without the entire physical\nenvironment. In fact, the whole earth must be just as it is if physical\nhuman bodies are to exist upon it. For, in reality, the whole human body\nis only a part of the earth,\u2014indeed, in a wider sense, part of the whole\nphysical universe. In this respect it is related in the same sense as, for\nexample, the finger of a hand to the entire human body. Separate the\nfinger from the hand and it cannot remain a finger: it withers away. Such\nwould also be the fate of the human body were it removed from that body of\nwhich it is a member,\u2014from the conditions of life with which the earth\nprovides it. Let it be raised above the surface of the earth but a\nsufficient number of miles and it will perish as the finger perishes when\ncut off from the hand. If this fact is less apparent in the case of a\nman\u2019s physical organism than in that of his finger and his body, it is\nmerely because the finger cannot walk about on the body as man is able to\ndo on the earth, and because on that account the dependence of the former\nis more obvious.\n\nIn the same way that the physical body is embedded in the physical world\nto which it belongs, so does the astral body form a part of its own world,\nonly it is torn out of it in waking life. We can form a clear idea of what\nhappens by having recourse to an analogy. Imagine a vessel filled with\nwater. No one drop is a separate thing in itself within that entire mass\nof water. But let us take a little sponge and with it suck up a single\ndrop from the whole mass of water. Something of this kind happens to the\nhuman astral body on awaking. During sleep it is in a world resembling its\nown nature. In a certain sense it forms part of it. On awaking, the\nphysical and etheric bodies suck it up: they absorb it; they contain the\norgans through which it perceives the outer world. In order to achieve\nthis perception it has to leave its own world, for it is in that world\nalone that it can receive the models which it needs for the etheric body.\n\nJust as food is supplied to the physical body from its surroundings, so\nare the pictures of the world surrounding the astral body presented to it\nduring the state of sleep. There, indeed, it lives in the universe, beyond\nthe physical and etheric bodies: in that same universe out of which the\nwhole man is born. The source of the images by means of which man receives\nhis form is in this universe. He is linked in harmony with it; and when he\nawakens he rises above the surface of this all-pervading harmony to attain\nexternal perception. In sleep his astral body returns to the universal\nharmony. He brings so much strength from it to his bodies on awaking that\nhe can once more dispense for a time with sojourning in the realm of\nharmony. The astral body returns during sleep to its home, and, on\nawaking, brings back into life freshly invigorated forces. That which the\nastral body thus gains, and brings with it on waking, finds its outer\nexpression in the refreshment afforded by sound sleep.\n\nFurther exposition of occult science will show that this home of the\nastral body is more extensive than that which belongs to the physical body\nin the narrower sense of the physical environment. Thus, while man as a\nphysical being is a member of this earth, his astral body belongs to\nworlds in which other heavenly bodies besides our earth are included.\nDuring sleep, therefore,\u2014(this can be made clear, as we have said, only by\nfurther explanations)\u2014it enters a world to which other stars than the\nearth belong. In recognition of the fact that man lives during sleep in a\nworld of stars, that is, in an astral world, occult science calls that\nprinciple of man which has its real home in that \u201castral\u201d world and which,\nevery time it returns to the sleep state, draws renewed force from that\nworld, the _astral body_.\n\nIt should be superfluous to point out that a misunderstanding might easily\narise with regard to these facts; in our time, however, when certain\nmaterialistic modes of representation exist, it becomes quite necessary to\ndraw attention to them. In quarters where such representation prevails it\nmay, of course, be said that such a thing as fatigue can be scientifically\ninvestigated only in accordance with physical conditions. Even if the\nlearned are not yet unanimous with regard to the physical cause of\nfatigue, one thing is quite firmly established; we must accept certain\nphysical processes which lie at the root of this phenomenon. It would be\nwell, however, if it were recognized that occult science does not in any\nway oppose this assertion. It admits everything that is said in this\nconnection, just as it is admitted that for the physical erection of a\nhouse one brick must be laid upon another, and that when the house is\nfinished its form and construction can be explained by purely mechanical\nlaws. But the thought of the architect is necessary for the building of\nthe house. This cannot be discovered merely by examination of physical\nlaws.\n\nJust as the thought of the creator of a house stands behind the physical\nlaws which make it explicable, so too, behind what is affirmed, with\nperfect accuracy by physical science, stands that of which occult science\ntreats. This comparison is of course often put forward when the\njustification for a spiritual background to the world is in question; and\nit may be considered a trivial one. But what is important in such matters\nis not familiarity with certain conceptions, but that the proper weight\nshould be given them in establishing a fact. One may be prevented from\ndoing this simply because contrary ideas have so much power over the\njudgment that this weight is not felt.\n\nDreaming is an intermediate state between sleeping and waking. What dream\nexperiences offer to thoughtful observation is the many-coloured\ninterweaving of a picture-world, which nevertheless conceals within itself\nsome sort of law and order. At first this world seems to have an ebb and\nflow, often in confused succession. Man in his dream-life is set free from\nthe laws of waking consciousness which bind him to sense-perception and\nthe laws of reason. And yet dreams have some sort of mysterious law,\nattractive and fascinating to human speculation, and this is the deeper\nreason why the beautiful play of imagination lying at the root of artistic\nfeeling is always apt to be compared to dreaming. We need only recall a\nfew characteristic dreams to find this corroborated. A man dreams, for\nexample, that he is driving off a dog that is attacking him. He wakes, and\nfinds himself in the act of unconsciously pushing off part of the\nbedclothes which had been lying on an unaccustomed part of his body and\nwhich had therefore become oppressive. What is it that dream-life makes,\nin this instance, out of an incident perceptible to the senses? In the\nfirst place, it leaves in complete unconsciousness what the senses would\nperceive in the waking state. But it holds fast to something\nessential\u2014namely, the fact that the man wishes to repel something; and\nround about this it weaves a metaphorical occurrence.\n\nThe pictures, as such, are echoes of waking life. There is something\narbitrary in the way in which they are drawn from it. Every one feels that\nthe same external cause may conjure up various dream-pictures. But they\ngive symbolic expression to the feeling that one has something to ward\noff. The dream creates symbols; it is a symbolist. Inner experiences can\nalso be transformed into such dream-symbols. A man dreams that a fire is\ncrackling beside him; he sees flames in his dream. He wakes up feeling\nthat he is too heavily covered and has become too warm. The feeling of too\ngreat warmth expresses itself symbolically in the picture. Quite dramatic\nexperiences may be enacted in a dream. For example, some one dreams that\nhe is standing on the edge of a precipice. He sees a child running toward\nit. The dream makes him experience all the tortures of the thought\u2014if only\nthe child will not be heedless and fall over into the abyss! He sees it\nfall, and hears the dull thud of the body below. He awakes, and perceives\nthat an object which had been hanging on the wall of the room has become\nunfastened, and made a dull sound by its fall. This simple event is\nexpressed in dream-life by one which unravels itself in exciting pictures.\nFor the present it is not at all necessary to engage in reflection as to\nthe reason why, in the last example, the moment of the falling of a heavy\nobject expresses itself in a series of events which seem to spread\nthemselves over a certain length of time; it is only necessary to keep in\nview that the dream transforms into a picture that which would present\nitself to the waking sense-perception.\n\nWe see that the moment the senses cease their activity, creative power\nasserts itself in man. It is the same creative power which is present in\nabsolutely dreamless sleep, and at that time recuperates man\u2019s exhausted\nforces. For this dreamless sleep to take place, the astral body must be\nwithdrawn from the etheric and physical bodies. During the dream-state it\nis so far separated from the physical body as to have no further\nconnection with the organs of sense; but it still maintains a certain\nconnection with the etheric body. The capacity for perceiving the\nexperiences of the astral body by means of pictures is due to this\nconnection which it maintains with the etheric body. The moment this\nconnection also ceases, the pictures sink into the obscurity of\nunconsciousness and dreamless sleep has set in.\n\nThe arbitrary and often nonsensical element in dream-pictures arises from\nthe fact that the astral body cannot, on account of its separation from\nthe sense-organs of the physical body, relate its pictures to the correct\nobjects and events of the outer environment. It is especially\nilluminating, in this matter, to examine a dream in which the ego is, as\nit were, split up; as, for example in the case of a person who dreams that\nhe is a schoolboy and cannot answer the propounded question, while\nimmediately afterward as the teacher, he himself answers it. The dreamer,\nbeing unable to make use of his physical organs of perception, is not able\nto connect both occurrences with himself, as the same individual.\nTherefore, in order to recognize himself also as a permanent ego, man must\nfirst be equipped with outer organs of perception. Only when he has\nacquired the faculty of self-consciousness without the aid of such organs\nwill the permanent ego also become perceptible to him outside his physical\nbody. Clairvoyant consciousness has to acquire this faculty, and the\nmethod of doing so will be treated in detail later in this work.\n\nEven death takes place for no other cause than a change in the connection\nof the principles of man\u2019s being. And what is visible to clairvoyant\nobservation with regard to death may also be seen in its effects in the\nmanifested world; in this case also, an unbiased judgment will find the\nteachings of occult science confirmed by observing external life. The\nexpression of the invisible in the visible is, however, less evident with\nregard to these facts, and there is greater difficulty in feeling the full\nimportance of that which in the events of outer life endorses the\nstatements of occult science in this domain. These statements may be\nsupposed to be mere pictures of fancy, even more readily than many other\nthings that have been dealt with in this work, if we shut ourselves off\nfrom the knowledge that everywhere in the visible is contained an\nunmistakable foreshadowing of the invisible.\n\nOn the approach of sleep, only the astral body is released from its\nconnection with the etheric and physical bodies, which still remain\nunited, whereas at death the separation of the physical from the etheric\nbody takes place. The physical body is abandoned to its own forces, and\nmust therefore disintegrate as a corpse. At death the etheric body finds\nitself in a condition in which it has never been before during the time\nbetween birth and death,\u2014with the exception of certain abnormal conditions\nto be dealt with later. That is to say, it is now united with the astral\nbody in the absence of the physical body; for the etheric and astral\nbodies do not separate immediately after death: they are held together for\na time by the agency of a force the presence of which can be easily\nunderstood; for were this force not present the etheric body could not\ndetach itself from the physical body. It would remain bound to the latter,\nas is shown in the case of sleep, when the astral body is not able to rend\nasunder these two principles of man\u2019s being. This force comes into action\nat death. It releases the etheric from the physical body, so that the\nformer remains united to the astral body. Clairvoyant observation shows\nthat this connection varies with different people after death. The time of\nits duration is measured by days. For the present, this period of time is\nmentioned only for the sake of information.\n\nSubsequently, the astral body is also released from the etheric body and\ngoes on its way alone. During the union of the two bodies, the individual\nis in a state which enables him to be aware of the experiences of his\nastral body. As long as the physical body is there, the work of\nreinforcing the wasted organs has to be begun from without, as soon as the\nastral body is liberated from it. When once the physical body is\nseparated, this work ceases. Nevertheless, the force which was expended in\nthis way while the man was asleep, continues after death and can now be\napplied to some other end. It is now used for making the astral body\u2019s own\nexperiences perceptible. During his connection with his physical body the\nouter world enters man\u2019s consciousness in images; after the body has been\nlaid aside, that which is experienced by the astral body, when it is no\nlonger connected with sense organs, with this outer physical world,\nbecomes perceptible. At first it has no new experiences. Its connection\nwith the etheric body prevents it from experiencing anything new.\n\nWhat, however, it does possess, is _memory_ of its past life. The etheric\nbody still being present causes that past life to appear as a vivid and\ncomprehensive panorama. That is man\u2019s first experience after death. He\nsees his life from birth to death spread out before him in a series of\npictures. Memory is only present in the waking state, when during life man\nis united with his physical body, and it is present only to the extent\nallowed by that body. Nothing is lost to the soul that has made an\nimpression on it during life. Were the physical body a perfect instrument\nfor the purpose, it would be possible, at any moment during life, to\nconjure up the whole of the past before the eyes of the soul. At death\nthere is no longer any obstacle to this. As long as the etheric body\nremains, there exists a certain degree of perfection of memory. But this\ndisappears according to the degree in which the etheric body loses the\nform which it possessed while united with the physical body, and which\nresembles that body. This is the very reason why the astral body\nseparates, after a time, from the etheric body. It can remain united with\nthe latter only so long as the form of the etheric body corresponds with\nthat of the physical body.\n\nDuring the period of life between birth and death, separation of the\netheric body occurs only in exceptional cases, and for no longer than a\nbrief space of time. If, for example, a man exposes one of his limbs to\npressure, part of his etheric body may become separated from the physical\none. We say on such occasion that the limb has \u201cgone to sleep,\u201d and the\npeculiar sensation we feel results from the separation of the etheric\nbody. (Of course a materialistic manner of explanation may here again deny\nthe invisible behind the visible and say: all this arises merely from the\nphysical disturbance caused by the pressure.) Clairvoyant vision can see\nin such a case, how the corresponding part of the etheric body extends\nbeyond the physical limb. Now if a man experiences an unusual shock, or\nsomething similar, such a separation of the etheric body from a large part\nof the physical body may result, for a short time. That is the case when a\nman, for some reason or other, is suddenly brought face to face with\ndeath,\u2014for example when drowning, or threatened by a fatal accident when\nmountaineering. What is related by people who have had such experiences\ncomes, in fact, very near the truth, and can be ratified by clairvoyant\nobservation. They declare that in such moments their whole lives pass\nbefore their minds as though in a huge memory-picture.\n\nOut of the many examples which might here be adduced, allusion will be\nmade to one only, because it originates from a man whose mode of thought\nwould make everything said here about such things seem pure fancy.(5)\nMoriz Benedict, the distinguished criminal anthropologist and eminent\ninvestigator in many other realms of natural science, relates in his\n_Reminiscences_ an experience of his own,\u2014to the effect that once, when on\nthe point of drowning in a bath he had seen his whole life pass before his\nmemory as though in a single picture. If other people describe differently\nthe pictures seen by them under similar circumstances, and even in such a\nway that they seem to have little to do with the events of their past\nlife, that does not contradict what has been said; for the pictures which\narise in the quiet abnormal condition during the separation from the\nphysical body are sometimes at first sight, unintelligible in their\nrelation to life. Correct observation, however, would always recognize\nthis relationship.\n\nNeither is it an objection if, for example, some one who was once on the\npoint of drowning did not experience what has been described; for it must\nbe borne in mind that this can happen only when the etheric body is really\nseparated from the physical body,\u2014when, moreover, the former is still\nunited with the astral body. If, through the fright, a loosening of the\netheric and astral bodies also takes place, the experience is not\nforthcoming, because then complete unconsciousness ensues, as in dreamless\nsleep.\n\nImmediately after death the events of the past appear as though compressed\nby the memory into a picture. After its separation from the etheric body,\nthe astral body pursues its further wanderings alone. It is not difficult\nto realize that everything continues to exist which, by means of its\nactivity, the astral body has made its own during its sojourn in the\nphysical body. The ego has to a certain extent elaborated the Spirit-Self,\nthe Life-Spirit, and the Spirit-Man. As far as these are developed, they\ndo not owe their existence to the organs present in the different bodies,\nbut to the ego; and it is precisely this ego which needs no outer organs\nfor perception; nor does it require any such organs in order to retain\npossession of what it has made one with itself. It might be objected: \u201cWhy\nthen is there no perception during sleep of the developed Spirit-Self,\nLife-Spirit, and Spirit-Man?\u201d For this reason that the ego is chained to\nthe physical body between birth and death. Even though, during sleep, it\nis out of the physical body with the astral body it nevertheless remains\nclosely connected with the physical body; for the activity of the astral\nbody is directed toward the physical body. On this account the ego is\nrelegated to the outer world of sense for its observations, and cannot\nreceive spiritual revelations in their direct form. Not until death do\nthese revelations come within reach of the ego, because by means of death\nthe ego is freed from its connection with the physical and etheric bodies.\nAnother world may flash upon the consciousness the moment it is withdrawn\nfrom the physical world which during life monopolizes its activity.\n\nNow there are reasons why even at this juncture all connection with the\nouter physical world of sense does not cease for man. That is to say,\ncertain desires remain which sustain the connection. There are desires\nwhich man creates just because he is conscious of his ego as the fourth\nprinciple of his being. These desires and wishes, springing from the\nexistence of his three lower bodies, can operate only in the external\nworld, and cease to operate when these bodies are cast aside. Hunger is\ncaused by the external body; as soon as that external body is no longer\nconnected with the ego, hunger ceases. Now, had the ego no further desires\nthan those springing from its own spiritual nature, it might at death draw\nfull satisfaction from the spiritual world into which it is transplanted.\nBut life has given it other desires as well. It has kindled in it a\nlonging for pleasures only to be enjoyed by means of physical organs,\nalthough these pleasures themselves do not originate in the nature of\nthose organs. It is not only the three bodies which demand gratification\nfrom the physical world, but the ego itself finds pleasures in that world,\nfor the enjoyment of which there exist no means whatever, in the spiritual\nworld.\n\nDuring life the ego has two kinds of desires: those that spring from the\nbodies and must therefore be gratified within the bodies, but which must\nalso come to an end with their disintegration; and those that arise from\nthe spiritual nature of the ego. As long as the ego lives in the bodies,\nthose cravings are satisfied by means of the bodily organs. For in the\nmanifestations of the bodily organs the hidden spiritual element is at\nwork, and the senses receive something spiritual as well, in everything of\nwhich they are cognizant. That spiritual element is also present after\ndeath, although in a different form. Everything spiritual that the ego\nlongs for while in the world of sense, it still possesses when the senses\nare no longer there.\n\nNow if a third kind of wish were not added to these two, death would mean\nonly a transition from desires which may be satisfied through the senses\nto such as are fulfilled by the revelation of the spiritual world. The\nthird kind of desire is that which is created by the ego during life in\nthe sense-world, because it finds pleasure in that world, even when no\nspiritual element is revealed in it. The humblest pleasures may be\nmanifestations of the spirit. The satisfaction afforded a starving\ncreature by taking food is a manifestation of the spirit, for by taking\nfood something is thereupon brought about without which, in a certain\nsense, the spiritual nature could not develop. But the ego can go beyond\nthe pleasure, which in this case is the outcome of necessity. It may even\nlong for the delicious food quite apart from the service rendered to the\nspirit by taking nourishment.\n\nIt is the same with other things in the sense-world. Desires are created\nin this way which would never have appeared in the sense-world if the\nhuman ego had not been incorporated in it. Neither do such desires arise\nfrom the spiritual nature of the ego. The ego must have pleasures of the\nsenses as long as it lives in the body, even though it be for the very\nreason that its own nature is spiritual. For the spirit manifests in\nmaterial things, and the ego is enjoying nothing less than spirit when it\nsurrenders itself to that element in the sense-world which is irradiated\nby the light of the spirit. Moreover, it will continue to enjoy this light\neven when the senses are no longer the medium through which the spiritual\nrays pass. But there is no fulfillment possible in the spiritual world for\ndesires in which the spirit is not living even in the world of the senses.\n\nWhen death takes place, the possibility of gratifying desires of this\ndescription is cut off. Pleasure in good things to eat can be induced only\nby the presence of the physical organs required for their consumption,\u2014the\npalate, tongue, and so forth; but when man has laid aside his physical\nbody he no longer possesses these organs. If, however, the ego still\ncraves that kind of pleasure the craving must remain unsatisfied. As long\nas this pleasure corresponds to the spiritual need, it is caused only by\nthe presence of the physical organs; but should it happen that the ego has\ncreated the desire without serving the spirit in so doing, it retains it\nafter death in the form of a craving which thirsts in vain for\ngratification. We can form an idea of what man then experiences only by\nimagining some one suffering from burning thirst in a region where, far\nand wide, there is no water to be found. This is the predicament of the\nego after death, as long as it retains ungratified desires for the\npleasures of the outer world, and has no organs by means of which to\nsatisfy them. Of course the burning thirst, serving as a comparison for\nthe condition of the ego after death, must be thought of as enormously\nincreased, and it must be imagined as extending to all desires still\nexisting, for which all possibility of gratification is lacking.\n\nThe next condition of the ego consists in freeing itself from this bond of\nattraction to the outer world. With regard to this world, it has to attain\npurification and liberation. It must be cleansed of all wishes which it\nhas created while in the body, and which have no native rights in the\nspiritual world. As an object is caught and burned up by fire, so is the\nworld of desire, described above, broken up and destroyed after death. A\nvista is then opened into that world which occult science calls the\n\u201cconsuming fire\u201d of the spirit. This fire seizes upon desires of a sensual\nnature which however are not rooted in the spirit. Revelations of this\nkind which occult science is bound to make with regard to such events may\nappear hopeless and terrible. It may seem a fearful thing that a hope for\nthe realization of which sense-organs are required, should after death be\ntransformed into despair, and that a wish that can be fulfilled only by\nthe physical world should be changed into torturing deprivation. Yet we\ncan hold such an opinion only as long as we fail to realize that the\nwishes and desires seized by the \u201cconsuming fire\u201d after death do not, in a\nhigher sense, represent forces beneficial to life but destructive to it.\n\nBy means of these forces the ego binds itself to the sense-world more\nclosely than is necessary, in order to draw from it all the experience it\nrequires. For the sense-world is a manifestation of the hidden and\nspiritual world which lies behind it; and the ego could never attain\nspiritual happiness through the bodily senses, which are the only form in\nwhich the spiritual can be manifested, unless it utilized the senses to\nseek the spiritual element in sense-experience. Nevertheless, the ego\nloses sight of the true spiritual reality in the physical world to such an\nextent that it experiences sensual desires irrespective of the needs of\nthe spirit. If sense pleasure, as the expression of the spirit, serves to\nraise and develop the ego, any pleasure which is not an expression of the\nspirit warps and impoverishes it. Even though such a desire finds the\nmeans of its gratification in the sense-world, still its destructive\neffect upon the ego is thereby in no way diminished; but it is not until\nafter death that its disastrous effects become apparent.\n\nFor this reason a man may, by gratifying such desires, create, during his\nlife, new and similar desires, wholly unaware that he is enveloping\nhimself in a \u201cconsuming fire.\u201d What becomes visible to him after death is\nonly what already surrounded him during his life, and by thus becoming\nvisible it at once appears in its salutary and beneficent effect. A human\nbeing who loves another is certainly not attracted merely by that part of\nhim which is perceptible to the physical senses\u2014the only part which is cut\noff from observation after death\u2014but after death, just that part of the\ndear one then becomes visible for the perception of which the physical\norgans were only the means. The one thing, in fact, which would prevent a\nman from beholding his friend clearly is the presence of desires which can\nbe satisfied only by means of physical organs. Unless these desires are\nextinguished, he can have no conscious perception of his friend after\ndeath. When looked at in this light, the terrible and hopeless character\nwhich after-death experiences might assume for man, according to the\ndescriptions given by occult science, becomes changed into one which is\nthoroughly satisfying and consoling.\n\nNow the first after-death experiences differ entirely in yet another\nrespect from those during life. During the time of purification man lives,\nas it were, backwards. He lives over again the whole span of his life\nsince birth; beginning with the events immediately preceding his death,\nand reversing the order of his experiences, he goes through them again\nuntil he reaches back to childhood. In this process he sees with\nspiritually enlightened eyes all those things which were not inspired by\nthe spiritual nature of the ego, with the difference that he now\nexperiences these things in reverse order.\n\nFor instance, a man who died in his sixtieth year, and who at the age of\nforty had, in an outburst of anger, caused some one either physical or\nmental pain, will go through this experience again when, on the return\njourney of existence after death, he reaches that point in his fortieth\nyear; but now he does not experience the satisfaction which his attack had\nafforded him during life; instead, he experiences the pain which he\ninflicted upon the other man. It may at once be seen, however, that\nwhatever pain he feels in the after-death experience is caused by a desire\nof the ego arising only from the outer physical world; in reality the ego\ndoes not only injure another by the indulgence of such a desire, but it\nalso injures itself; although the injury to itself is not apparent during\nlife.\n\nAfter death, however, the whole of the harmful world of desires becomes\nvisible to the ego, which then feels attracted toward every being or\nobject which had kindled the desire, in order that this may be destroyed\nin the \u201cconsuming fire\u201d by the same means that created it. When man, on\nhis return journey, reaches the moment of his birth, then only have all\nsuch desires been purged in the purifying flames, and henceforth nothing\nremains to hinder him from devoting himself entirely to the spiritual\nworld. He enters upon a new phase of existence. In the same way that he\nlaid aside his physical body at death and, soon afterward, his etheric\nbody, so does that part of his astral body dissolve which can only live in\nthe consciousness of the outer physical world.\n\nOccult science, therefore, recognizes three corpses,\u2014the physical,\netheric, and astral. The period at which the last is cast off by man is\nmarked by the time of purification, which amounts to about one third of\nthe time elapsed between birth and death. The reason why this is so can\nonly be explained later, when the course of human life is examined from\nthe standpoint of occult science. To clairvoyant observation, astral\ncorpses, which have been cast off by human beings passing from the state\nof purification into a higher existence, are constantly visible in the\nworld surrounding man, in exactly the same way that physical corpses, in\nplaces inhabited by men, are apparent to physical observation.(6)\n\nAfter purification an entirely new state of consciousness begins for the\nego. Whereas before death the outer perceptions must flow to the ego, in\norder that upon these perceptions the light of consciousness might be able\nto fall, so now in like manner from within, streams a world which attains\nconsciousness. The ego is living in this world also between birth and\ndeath; only then this world is clothed in the manifestations of the\nsenses. It is only when the ego, freed from all the ties of sense, turns\ninward to behold its own \u201choly of holies,\u201d that its true innermost nature,\nwhich had hitherto been obscured by the senses, is revealed to it. In the\nsame way that the ego is recognized inwardly before death, so, after death\nand purification, is the spiritual life inwardly revealed to it in all its\nfulness. This revelation really takes place immediately after the etheric\nbody is laid aside; but it is obscured by the dark cloud of desires turned\ntoward the outer world. It is as though a world of spiritual bliss were\ninvaded by black demoniacal phantoms, caused by those desires which are\nbeing destroyed by the \u201cconsuming fire.\u201d Indeed, these desires are not\nmere phantoms, but real entities, which become apparent immediately after\nthe ego is deprived of physical organs, and is thus able to discern those\nthings which are of a spiritual nature. These entities have the appearance\nof distorted caricatures of the objects with which the individual had\nformerly become acquainted through his senses.\n\nClairvoyant observation shows that this place of purging fire is peopled\nby beings whose appearance may well seem horrifying and painful to\nspiritual vision, whose pleasure seems to consist in destruction, and\nwhose passions impel them to evil-doing of such a description that the\nevil of the physical world seems insignificant in comparison. Whatever\ndesires of the kind described above are brought into that world by man,\nare looked upon by these beings as food, by means of which their powers\nare continually strengthened and invigorated.\n\nThe picture thus sketched of a world imperceptible to the senses may seem\nless incredible if we look with an unprejudiced eye on part of the animal\nworld. What is a fierce, devouring wolf, from a spiritual point of view?\nWhat does it reveal to us through that which our senses perceive? Nothing\nelse than a soul that lives in desires, and acts by desire. The external\nform of the wolf may be called an embodiment of those desires; and if man\nhad no organs with which to perceive that form, if its desires appeared\ninvisibly in their effects,\u2014if, therefore, a force invisible to the eye\nwere prowling about, and might be the cause of all that happened through\nthe visible wolf,\u2014he would still be forced to recognize the existence of a\ncreature corresponding to it. Now the beings of the region of purifying\nfire are not visible to the physical eye, but to clairvoyant sight only;\nbut their effects are clearly apparent. They bring about the destruction\nof the ego when it gives them nourishment. These effects are clearly\nvisible if what began as a pleasure leads to excess and debauchery.\n\nFor even what is perceptible to the senses would attract the ego only in\nso far as the pleasure had its root in the ego\u2019s own nature. The animal is\nprompted by desire for that in the outer world which its three bodies\ncrave. Man has higher enjoyments, because to the three principles of his\nbodily nature is added the fourth, the ego. But if the ego seeks a\ngratification which does not tend toward the maintenance and development\nof its nature but to its destruction, then such a craving can be neither\nthe effect of its three bodies, nor that of its own nature, but can only\nbe caused by beings, concealed from the senses in their true form, but\nable furtively to approach that higher nature of the ego, and excite in it\ndesires which, though it is cut off from the senses, can still be\nsatisfied only by means of sense-organs.\n\nFor there are beings which feed on passions and desires of a worse kind\nthan those of an animal nature, because they do not expend themselves on\nobjects of the senses but seize upon the spiritual element and drag it\ndown to a sensual level. Therefore the forms of such beings are more\nhideous, more horrible, to spiritual sight than are the forms of the\nfiercest animals, in which after all only passions rooted in the senses\nare incarnated. And the destructive forces of these beings immeasurably\nsurpass any destructive rage existing in the animal world as perceived by\nthe senses. Occult science must in this way enlarge man\u2019s view so as to\ninclude a world of beings standing, in a certain respect, lower than the\nvisibly destructive animal world.\n\nWhen man has passed through the world of purification after death, he\nfinds himself in a world the contents of which are spiritual, and which\nalso creates in him longings which can be satisfied only by spiritual\nthings. But even now man distinguishes between that which properly belongs\nto his ego and what forms the environment of that ego\u2014one might say, its\nspiritual outer world. Only that, of which he becomes sensible in this\nenvironment, pours in upon him in the same way that the perception of his\nown ego poured in upon him during his sojourn in the body. Whereas man\u2019s\nenvironment in the life between birth and death speaks to him through his\nbodily organs, after death when all the bodies are laid aside the language\nof his new environment penetrates directly into the innermost sanctuary of\nthe ego. Man\u2019s whole environment is now filled with beings of a like\nnature with his ego, for only an ego has access to an ego. Just as\nminerals, plants, and animals surround man in the sense-world, and compose\nit, so, after death, is he surrounded by a world composed of beings of a\nspiritual nature.\n\nYet he takes something with him into this world which is not part of his\nenvironment there; it is what the ego has experienced in the world of the\nsenses. First of all, the sum of these experiences appeared, as a\ncomprehensive memory-picture, immediately after death, while the etheric\nbody was still united to the ego. The etheric body itself is then, indeed,\nlaid aside, but something of the memory-picture remains with the ego as an\neverlasting possession. Just as though an extract or essence were made out\nof all the events and experiences which a man encounters between birth and\ndeath, so might we describe that which is left behind. It is the spiritual\nproduct of life, its fruit. This product is of a spiritual nature. It\ncontains everything spiritual which is revealed through the senses, yet\nthis spiritual treasure could not have been gathered save by life in the\nsense-world.\n\nThis spiritual fruit of the sense-world becomes after death the ego\u2019s own\ninner world. With it the ego enters a world, which consists of beings who\nreveal themselves in the same and only manner in which man in his\ninnermost depths, can become conscious of his own ego. As a plant seed,\nwhich is the essence of the whole plant, grows only when buried in another\nworld, the earth, so now that which the ego brings from the sense-world\ngradually unfolds itself as a seed under the influence of the spiritual\nenvironment in which it has been planted. Occult science can, of course,\nonly portray in pictures what happens in this \u201cspirit-world;\u201d still those\npictures present themselves as absolute reality to the clairvoyant\u2019s\nsight, when he investigates invisible happenings, corresponding to those\nwhich are visible to the physical eye. Whatever of that world can be\ndescribed, may be visualized by comparison with the world of the senses\nfor although it is of a purely spiritual nature, it nevertheless resembles\nthe physical world in certain respects. Just as, for instance, in the\nphysical world, a color appears when some object impresses the eye, so in\nthe spirit-world a color appears to the ego when a being acts upon it. But\nthis latter phenomenon is perceived in the same manner as the ego can be\nperceived inwardly between birth and death. It is not as though the light\noutside fell within upon the man, but as though another being directly\naffected the ego, causing the latter to picture this influence in a\ncolour-form.\n\nThus do all things in the spiritual environment of the ego find expression\nin a world of coloured rays. As their origin is of a different kind, it\ngoes without saying that these colours of the spiritual world are also of\na somewhat different character from physical colours. A similar thing is\ntrue of other impressions received by man in the world of sense. But it is\nthe sounds of the spiritual world that most nearly resemble the\nimpressions of the sense-world; and the more at home a man becomes in the\nspiritual world, the more he realizes it as a life of self-determined\nmotion, which may be compared with the sounds, and the harmony of sounds,\nof the physical world. Only he does not feel the tones as something\napproaching an organ from outside, but as a force streaming forth into the\nouter world through his ego. He feels the sound just as in the sense-world\nhe feels his own speech or song, only he knows that in the spiritual world\nthese sounds, streaming out from him, are at the same time the\nmanifestations of other beings, who are pouring themselves into the world\nthrough him.\n\nA still higher manifestation takes place in the spirit-land when the sound\nbecomes the \u201cspiritual word.\u201d Then there streams through the ego not only\nthe pulsing life of another spiritual being, but such a being itself\ncommunicates its own inner nature to the ego; and then, when the spiritual\nword streams through the ego, two beings live in one another, without that\nseparating element which every companionship in the sense-world must carry\nwith it. And this is really the nature of the communion of the ego with\nother spiritual beings after death.\n\nThere are three regions in the spiritual world, which may be compared to\nthe three divisions of the physical sense-world. The first region is in a\ncertain respect the \u201csolid land\u201d of the spiritual world, the second the\n\u201csphere of ocean and river,\u201d and the third the \u201catmospheric region.\u201d That\nwhich assumes physical form on earth, so that it can be perceived by\nphysical organs, in accordance with its spiritual nature, is to be seen in\nthe first region of the spirit-world. There, for instance, may be seen the\nforce that fashions the form of a crystal. Only what is there revealed is\nthe opposite of that which appears in the sense-world. In that world the\nspace which is filled by a mass of rock appears to spiritual sight as a\nkind of hollow space; but round about this hollow is seen the force which\nfashions the form of the rock. The colour of the rock in the sense-world\nappears in the spiritual world as its complementary colour; thus a red\nstone is green when seen from the spirit-world, a green stone is red, and\nso on. Other qualities also appear in their opposites. Just as stone,\nmasses of earth, and like materials make up the solid land\u2014the continental\nregion of the world of sense\u2014so do the structures described above compose\nthe solid land of the spiritual world.\n\nAll that is life in the sense-world belongs to the ocean-region of the\nspiritual world. To the physical eye, life appears in its effects in\nplants, animals, and men. To spiritual vision, life is a flowing\nsubstance, like oceans and rivers, diffused through the spirit-world. A\nstill better comparison is that of the circulation of the blood in the\nbody; for whereas seas and rivers are seen to be irregularly distributed\nin the physical world, a certain regularity in distribution of the flowing\nlife reigns in the spirit-world, as in the circulation of the blood. This\n\u201cflowing life\u201d is simultaneously heard as spiritual sound.\n\nThe third region of the spirit-world is its \u201catmosphere.\u201d What is known in\nthe physical world as \u201cfeeling\u201d is also present there, permeating\neverything like the air on the earth. We must imagine a rushing sea of\nfeeling. Pain and sorrow, joy and rapture, flow through this region, like\nwind and storms in the atmosphere of the physical world. Imagine a battle\nfought on earth. There confront one another not merely human forms, as\nseen by the physical eye, but feelings opposed to feelings, passions to\npassions; pain fills the battlefield just as much as do the forms of men.\nAll that is seething there of passion, pain, and the joy of victory is not\nonly perceptible in its effects as revealed to the physical senses; it may\nbe seen with the spiritual senses as an atmospheric process in the\nspirit-world. Such an event in the spiritual world is like a thunderstorm\nin the physical, and the perception of these events may be compared to the\nhearing of words in the physical world. For this reason it is said that as\nthe air envelops and permeates earthly things, so do \u201cinterweaving\nspiritual words\u201d pervade the beings and events of the spirit-world.\n\nAnd still further observations are possible in this spirit-world. What may\nbe compared to light and heat in the physical world is there too. That\nwhich permeates everything in the spirit-world, as earthly things and\nbeings are permeated by heat, is the world of thought itself. There,\nhowever, thoughts must be regarded as living and independent beings. What\nis understood by man in the manifested world as thought is but a shadow of\nwhat lives as a thought-being in the spirit-world. Imagine thought, as it\nnow exists in man, raised out of him and as an active, energetic being,\nendowed with an inner life of its own, and you have a feeble illustration\nof that which fills the fourth region of the spirit-world. In the physical\nworld between birth and death what man understands as thought is but the\nmanifestation of the thought-world as it is able to mould itself by means\nof the instruments afforded by the bodies. All such thoughts cherished by\nman, that carry with them an enrichment of the physical world have their\norigin in this region. By such thoughts are meant not only the ideas of\ngreat inventors and men of genius; but those ideas found in every\nindividual which he does not owe solely to the external world, but through\nwhich he, so to speak, transforms that world.\n\nIn so far as feelings and passions are concerned, the cause of which lies\nin the outer world, these feelings are perceptible in the third region of\nthe spirit-world; but everything which so lives in a man\u2019s soul as to make\nhim a creator,\u2014influencing, transforming and fertilizing his\nenvironment,\u2014is manifest in its original and intrinsic form in the fourth\ndivision of the spirit-world.\n\nThat which exists in the fifth region may be compared to physical light.\nIn its archetypal form it is wisdom in manifestation. Beings who diffuse\nwisdom throughout their surroundings, as the sun pours light on physical\nbeings, belong to this realm. Whatever is illuminated by their wisdom\nstands forth in its true meaning and significance for the spiritual world,\njust as the colour of a physical object is seen when the light falls upon\nit. There are still higher regions of the spirit-world, which will be\ndescribed later in this work.\n\nInto this world the ego is plunged after death, together with the results\nit carries with it out of physical life. And these results are still\nunited with that part of the astral body which is not cast off at the end\nof the time of purification. In fact, only that part falls away which, in\nits desires and wishes, turned, after death, toward physical life. The\nplunging of the ego into the spiritual world, with what it has acquired in\nthe physical world, may be compared to the planting of a grain of seed in\nthe soil in which it can mature. As the grain of seed draws substances and\nforces from its surroundings in order that it may develop into a new\nplant, so the condition of the ego, when implanted in the spiritual world,\nis one of development and growth.\n\nHidden within that which is perceived by an organ, there lies the force\nwhereby that same organ was formed. The eye perceives light; but without\nlight there would be no eye. Creatures spending their lives in darkness do\nnot develop organs of sight. Thus the whole of man\u2019s physical body is\ncreated out of the hidden forces of that of which he becomes conscious\nthrough his bodily organs. The physical body is built up by the forces of\nthe physical world, the etheric body by those of the life-world, and the\nastral body is formed out of the astral world. Now when the ego is\ntransferred to the spirit-world it is met by just those forces which\nremain hidden to physical perception.\n\nWhat appear to man\u2019s view in the first region of the spirit-world are the\nspiritual beings that are always surrounding him, and that have built up\nhis physical body. Thus in the physical world man perceives nothing but\nthe manifestations of those spiritual forces which have formed his own\nphysical body. After death he is in the very midst of these moulding\nforces, which, previously hidden, now appear to him in their true forms.\nIn the same way, in the second region, he is in the midst of the forces by\nwhich his etheric body was organized, and in the third region there pour\nin upon him the potencies out of which his astral body was formed. The\nhigher regions of the spirit-world also direct toward him those forces\nfrom which he was built in the life between birth and death.\n\nThese denizens of the spiritual world are at present working in\nco-operation with that which man has brought with him as the product of\nhis last life, which now becomes a germ; and through this co-operation man\nis, first of all, built up anew as a spiritual being. The physical and\netheric bodies are still joined in sleep; the astral body and the ego are,\nit is true, outside them, but still connected with them. Whatever\ninfluences the astral body and the ego receive, in such a state, from the\nspiritual world, can serve only to recuperate the forces exhausted during\nthe waking state.\n\nBut when the physical and etheric bodies have been laid aside, and, after\nthe time of purification, also those parts of the astral body still bound\nby their desires to the physical world, then everything pouring in upon\nthe ego from the spiritual world is not only a reforming but a\nreorganizing force. After a certain period, to be dealt with in later\nchapters, the ego again gathers round it an astral body which will be able\nto live in such an etheric and physical body as man possesses between\nbirth and death. A man can once more pass through birth and renew his\nearthly existence, in which, however, will be incorporated the results of\nhis former life. Until the rebuilding of his astral body, man is a witness\nof his reconstruction. As the powers of the spirit-world are not\nmanifested to him through external organs, but from within outward, like\nhis own ego in self-consciousness, he is able to observe that\nmanifestation as long as his attention is not turned to an outer world of\nperception. But from the moment that the astral body is reconstituted, his\nattention is turned outward; the astral body once more craves an outer\netheric and physical body. It is thus turned away from the inner\nrevelations. For this reason there is now an intermediate state, during\nwhich man is immersed in unconsciousness. Consciousness can emerge again\nin the physical world only when the necessary organs for physical\nperception are formed.\n\nDuring this period, in which consciousness illuminated by inner perception\nceases, the new etheric body begins to link itself to the astral and man\ncan once again enter a physical body. In the linking together of these two\nbodies only such an ego could consciously take part as had of itself\ncreated the Life-Spirit and Spirit-Man out of the creative forces, hidden\nin the etheric and physical bodies. Until the individual has evolved as\nfar as this, beings further advanced than himself in evolution must guide\nthis linking together. The astral body is guided, by such beings as these,\nto parents through whom it may be endowed with the appropriate etheric and\nphysical bodies. Before the attachment of the etheric body takes place,\nsomething of very great importance happens to the man who is about to\nre-enter physical existence.\n\nIn his former life he created disturbing forces, which were revealed to\nhim on the journey retraced after death. Let us again take an example. He\ncaused some pain in an outburst of anger in the fortieth year of his\nformer life. After death, the other\u2019s pain came before him as a force\nwhich had interfered with the evolution of his ego. It is likewise with\nall such events of his former life. On his re-entrance into physical life\nthese hindrances to his evolution confront the ego anew. As, on the\nthreshold of death, a sort of memory-picture arose before the human ego,\nso there now arises a vision of the life approaching. Again he sees a\npicture, this time showing all the obstacles which he has to clear away,\nif he is to advance in evolution. And what he thus sees becomes the\nstarting-point for forces which he must bring with him into his new life.\nThe picture of the pain he has caused the other man becomes a force which\nimpels the ego, on entering life again, to make amends for this pain. Thus\nthe previous life has a determining effect on the new one. The deeds of\nthe new life are in a certain way caused by those of the former life. This\nconnection, following the law, between an earlier and later existence is\nto be looked upon as the \u201cLaw of Destiny\u201d; it has become usual to\ndesignate it \u201cKarma,\u201d a term borrowed from oriental wisdom.\n\nThe building up of a new set of bodies, however, is not the only task\nincumbent upon man between death and a new birth. While this building up\nis taking place, man lives outside the physical world. That world,\nhowever, continues to evolve during this time. The surface of the earth\nchanges in comparatively short periods of time. What aspect did those\nregions which are now occupied by Germany bear a few thousand years ago?\nWhen man appears on earth in a new existence, the earth rarely looks the\nsame as it did at the time of his last incarnation. During his absence\nfrom the earth all sorts of changes have occurred. Now hidden forces are\nalso at work in this alteration of the face of the earth, proceeding from\nthat very world in which man finds himself after death; and he himself\nmust co-operate with these forces in the transformation of the earth. He\ncan do so only under the direction of Higher Beings until, by the creation\nof his Life-Spirit and Spirit-Man, he has acquired a clear perception of\nthe connection between the spiritual and its expression in the physical.\nBut he takes part in the transformation of earthly conditions. It may be\nsaid that during the period between death and a new birth, man so\ntransforms the earth that its conditions are in keeping with what he has\nevolved in himself. If we look at a given place on the earth at a definite\nmoment, and see it again after a long lapse of time, under entirely\nchanged conditions, the forces which have wrought the change have\nproceeded from those who are now dead. And it is this kind of connection\nwhich exists between them and the earth until the time of rebirth.\n\nClairvoyant observation sees in all physical existence the manifestation\nof a hidden spiritual element. To physical observation it is the light of\nthe sun, climatic changes, and so on, that effect the transformation of\nthe earth, but to clairvoyance it is the force of the dead that acts in\nthe rays of light which fall on the plant from the sun. The clairvoyant\nsees how human souls hover about plants, how they change the surface of\nthe earth. Not alone upon himself nor upon the preparations for his own\nnew earthly existence, is man\u2019s attention bestowed after death.\u2014No, he is\ncalled upon then to work upon the outer world, just as he is in life\nbetween the time of his birth and death.\n\nNot only does the life of man affect the conditions of the physical world\nfrom the spirit-land; but vice versa, activity during physical existence\nhas its effects in the spiritual world. An example may explain what\nhappens in this respect. A bond of love exists between mother and child.\nThis love arises from a mutual attraction caused by the forces of the\nsense-world. But in the course of time it changes. A spiritual tie\ngradually grows out of the sense-bond, and this spiritual tie is not\ncreated for the physical world only but for the spirit-world as well. The\nsame applies to other ties. Whatever is created in the physical world by\nspiritual entities continues to exist in the spiritual world. Friends who\nwere closely united in life belong to each other in spirit-land also, and\nwhen their bodies are laid aside they are in much more intimate communion\nthan during physical life. For as spirits they exist for each other in the\nsame way as, in the above description, spiritual beings reveal themselves\nto others by inner manifestation; and a tie created between two persons\nbrings them together again in a new life. Thus in the truest sense of the\nword we may speak of finding one another again after death.\n\nWhat has once happened to a man between birth and death and from then till\na new birth, repeats itself. Man returns to earth again and again when the\nfruit he has earned in a physical life has ripened in the spirit-world. It\nis not, however, a case of repetition without beginning or end; but man\nhas emerged out of other forms of existence and passed into those which\nrun their course in the manner just described, and he will again in the\nfuture pass into other forms. A viewpoint of these transition stages will\nbe gained when the evolution of the universe in connection with man is\nsubsequently considered from the standpoint of occult science.\n\nThe occurrences between death and a new birth are of course still more\nconcealed from outer sense-observation than is the spiritual foundation\nunderlying manifested life between birth and death. This sense-observation\ncan see only the effects of that portion of the hidden world where they\nimpinge upon physical existence. With regard to this the question must\narise whether man, on entering this life at birth, brings with him any\nresults from the events described by occult science as having taken place\nbetween his last death and re-birth. If one finds the shell of a snail in\nwhich there is no trace of the animal he will, in spite of that, recognize\nthat this snailshell was formed by the activity of an animal, and he\ncannot believe that the shell constructed a form for itself, by means of\nmere physical forces.\n\nIn the same way one who studies a man during life, and finds something in\nhim which cannot be due to _this_ life, might reasonably admit that it\narises from what occult science describes, if by doing so an explanatory\nlight is thrown on what is otherwise inexplicable.\n\nHere, too, the unseen causes might appear intelligible to rational\nsense-observation from their visible effects, and whoever observes life\nwith absolute impartiality will find that, with every fresh observation,\nthis appears to be more and more true. The important question, however, is\nhow to find the right point of view from which to observe their effects in\nlife. Where, for example, are the effects of that to be found which occult\nscience describes as incidents of the time of purification? How are the\neffects of the experience which, according to occult investigations, man\nundergoes in purely spiritual regions, manifested after this time of\npurification?\n\nProblems enough press upon every serious and profound student of life in\nthis domain. We see one man born in want and misery, endowed only with\ninferior abilities, so that on account of these facts, which are incident\nto his birth, he appears predestined to a miserable existence. Another,\nfrom the first moment of his life, is tended and cherished by loving hands\nand hearts; brilliant talents are unfolded in him; his gifts point to a\nsuccessful and satisfactory career. Two opposite views may be taken when\nmet by such questions as these. The one will adhere to what the senses\nperceive and what the understanding, relying on these senses, is able to\ncomprehend. This view will admit no problem in the fact that one man is\nborn fortunate and the other unfortunate. Even if the word \u201cchance\u201d is not\nused, there will be no question of thinking that such things are brought\nabout through any law of cause and effect. And with regard to talents and\nabilities, such a view will consider them as \u201cinherited\u201d from parents,\ngrandparents, and other ancestors. It refuses to seek the causes in\nspiritual events which the man himself met with before birth\u2014regardless of\nheredity\u2014and by means of which he shaped his talents and abilities.\n\nAnother view would find no satisfaction in such an interpretation. It\nwould assert that even in the manifested world nothing happens in definite\nplaces or surroundings without our having to presuppose causes for the\nevent in question. Even though in many cases such causes have not yet been\ninvestigated, they are there. An Alpine flower does not grow in the\nlowlands. Its nature has something which associates it with Alpine\nregions. Just so must there be something in a man which determines his\nbirth in a certain environment. Causes belonging to the physical world\nalone are not sufficient to account for this. To a more profound thinker\nsuch an explanation appears in somewhat the same light as when one has\ndealt another a blow, the motive for which is not attributed to the\nfeelings of the one but is to be explained by the physical mechanism of\nthe hand.\n\nAny explanation of abilities and talents solely by \u201cheredity\u201d is to such a\nviewpoint equally unsatisfactory. It is true one may say: \u201cSee how certain\ntalents are inherited in families.\u201d During two and a half centuries\nmusical talents were inherited by members of the Bach family. Eight\nmathematicians sprang from the Bernoulli family, to some of whom quite\ndifferent occupations were assigned in their childhood; but the inherited\ntalents always drove them to the family vocation. It may be further\npointed out how, by an exact investigation of the line of ancestry of a\nperson in one way or another the gifts of this person have shown\nthemselves in the forefathers, and only represent the sum of inherited\ntalents. Whoever holds the latter of the two views above indicated will be\nsure not to let such facts pass unnoticed, but to _him_ they cannot mean\nthe same as they do to one who relies for his interpretation on the events\nof the world of sense alone. The former will point out that inherited\ntalents can no more of themselves, combine into a complete personality\nthan can the metal parts of a watch fit themselves together. And if\nobjection is made that the co-operation of the parents may possibly\nproduce the combination of talents,\u2014that this as it were, takes the place\nof the watchmaker,\u2014he will reply: \u201cLook impartially at what is new in\nevery child-personality, at that which is absolutely new; that cannot come\nfrom the parents, for the simple reason that it does not exist in them.\u201d\n\nInaccurate thinking may create much confusion in this domain. It is still\nworse when those who hold the second view are set down by the supporters\nof the first as opponents of what is, after all, borne out by \u201cascertained\nfacts.\u201d But it may well be that the latter have not the slightest\nintention of denying the truth or value of those facts. For instance, they\nsee that a definite mental aptitude or predisposition is \u201cinherited\u201d in a\nfamily, and that certain gifts accumulated and combined in one descendant\nresult in a remarkable personality. They are perfectly willing to\nacquiesce when it is said that the most celebrated name seldom stands at\nthe beginning but at the end of a line of descent. But it should not be\ntaken amiss if they are compelled to form very different opinions on the\nsubject from those of people who are determined to accept nothing but\nmaterial evidence. To the latter it may be said that it is true a man\nshows the characteristics of his ancestors, because the \u201cspirit-soul\u201d,\nwhich enters upon physical existence at birth, draws its bodily substance\nfrom that which heredity bestows on it. But this says nothing more than\nthat a being shows the peculiarities of the body into which it has\ndescended.\n\nIt is no doubt a singular\u2014a trivial\u2014comparison, but the unprejudiced\nperson will not deny its justification, when one says that a human being,\nwho shows the qualities of his forefathers, proves the origin of the\npersonal qualities of that human being as little as the fact that man is\nwet because he has fallen into the water, proves something regarding his\ninner nature. And it may further be said that if the most celebrated name\nstands at the end of a line of family descent, it shows that the bearer of\nthat name needed that particular ancestry to build the body necessary for\nthe expression of his whole personality. But it is no proof that his\nactual personal qualities were transmitted to him: such a statement is, on\nthe contrary, opposed to sound logic. If personal gifts were inherited,\nthey would be found at the beginning of a line of descent,(7) and starting\nfrom that point be transmitted to the descendants. As, however, they stand\nat the end, it is evident that they are _not_ transmitted.\n\nNow it is not to be denied that those who speak of a spiritual causality\nin life have contributed no less to bringing about confusion of thought.\nFar too much generalizing and vague discussion comes from this quarter. To\nsay that a man\u2019s personality is a combination of inherited characteristics\nmay certainly be compared with the assertion that the metal parts of a\nwatch have fitted themselves together. It must also be admitted that, with\nregard to many assertions about a spiritual world, it is as though some\none said that the metal parts of a watch cannot put themselves together in\nsuch a way as to enable the hands to move forward; some intelligence must\ntherefore be present to effect this forward movement. In face of such an\nassertion, _he_ certainly builds on a far better foundation who says: \u201cOh!\nI care nothing for your \u2018mystical\u2019 beings who move the hands forward. What\nI want to know is the mechanical construction by means of which the\nforward movement of the hands is achieved.\u201d It is by no means a question\nof merely knowing that behind a mechanism, a watch for instance, there is\nan intelligence (the watchmaker); it can only be of importance to know the\nideas in the watchmaker\u2019s mind which preceded the construction of the\nwatch. These thoughts may be rediscovered in the mechanism.\n\nMere dreaming and imagining about the supersensual only result in\nconfusion, for they are not calculated to satisfy opponents. The latter\nare right in saying that such general allusions to super-physical beings\nare not at all conducive to an understanding of facts. Of course, such\nopponents might also say the same of the _exact_ statements of occult\nscience. But, in that case, it may be pointed out that the effects of\nhidden spiritual causes are seen in manifested life. Let us assume for the\nmoment that what occult science asserts, proven by observation, is\ncorrect:\u2014that a man has gone through a time of purification after death,\nand that during this period he has experienced in his soul how a certain\ndeed, performed by him in a former life, was a hindrance to his\nprogressive evolution. While he was undergoing this experience, the\nimpulse arose in him to make amends for that deed. He brings this impulse\nwith him into a new life and its presence produces a tendency in his\nnature which draws him into conditions rendering the amendment\npossible.\u2014Taking into consideration a number of such impulses, we have the\ncause for a man\u2019s being born into an environment corresponding to his\ndestiny.\n\nWe may deal in the same way with another assumption. Let us again accept\nas correct the assertion of occult science that the fruits of a past life\nare incorporated in man\u2019s spiritual germ, and that the spirit-land in\nwhich man finds himself, between death and a new life, is the region in\nwhich these fruits ripen, and are transformed into talents and\ncapabilities which will appear in a new life and will form the personality\nso that it appears as the effect of what was gained in a former life. It\nwill become evident to any one who accepts these hypotheses and, bearing\nthem in mind, surveys life impartially, that while, by their means, all\nmaterial facts may be appreciated in their full truth and significance, at\nthe same time everything becomes intelligible which, if only material\nfacts were relied upon, must forever remain incomprehensible to one whose\nattention is turned toward the spiritual world. And more important still,\nthat illogical reasoning of the kind indicated above will disappear,\nnamely,\u2014that because the most distinguished name in a line of descent\nstands at the end of it, its bearer must have inherited his gifts. Life\nbecomes logically comprehensible through the supersensual facts\nascertained by occult science.\n\nYet another weighty objection may be raised by the conscientious seeker\nafter truth who desires to find his way to facts and has no experience of\nhis own in the supersensual world. It may be urged that it is inadmissible\nto accept the existence of facts, of any kind, simply because by means of\nthem something may be explained which is otherwise unintelligible. Such an\nobjection is meaningless to one who knows the corresponding facts from\nsupersensual experience, and in later chapters of this book the path will\nbe indicated that may be followed in order to gain knowledge not only of\nthe spiritual facts herein described, but also of the law of spiritual\ncausation as a personal experience. Any one, however, who is not willing\nto enter upon this path may find the above objection important; and what\ncan be said against it is also of value to one who is resolved to follow\nthe path indicated. For if it is received in the right spirit, it is the\nvery best preliminary step that can be taken on this path. It is perfectly\ntrue that one ought not to accept a statement about which one is otherwise\nignorant merely because, by means of it, something otherwise inexplicable\ncan be explained, but in the case of alleged spiritual facts the matter is\ndifferent. If such statements are accepted, the intellectual consequence\nis not only that, by their means, life becomes intelligible, but that\nthrough admitting these hypotheses into the thought-world, experiences of\nquite a new kind are induced.\n\nTake the following case. Something befalls a man which causes him\nextremely painful sensations. He may meet the situation in one of two\nways. He may submit to the occurrence as something affecting him\npainfully, and abandon himself to the painful sensation, even becoming\nabsorbed in his grief; or he may meet it in another way. He may say: \u201cIt\nis really I myself who in a former life set the force in motion which has\nbrought me into contact with this thing. I have really brought it on\nmyself.\u201d He may then awaken in himself all the feelings which such a\nthought brings in its train. It goes without saying that the thought must\nbe entertained with perfect seriousness, and with the utmost possible\nforce, if it is to have such consequences in the life of sensation and\nfeeling. One who succeeds in this will meet with an experience which may\nbe best illustrated by a comparison. Let us suppose that two men have each\na stick of sealing wax in his hand. One begins reflecting upon its inner\nnature. These reflections may perhaps be very wise, but if the \u201cinner\nnature\u201d did not show itself in any way, some one might easily retort:\n\u201cThat is all imagination.\u201d The other, however, rubs the sealing wax with a\nwoolen rag, and then shows that it attracts small particles. There is an\nimportant difference between the thoughts which have passed through the\nfirst man\u2019s head and his reflections, and those of the second. The\nthoughts of the first man had no actual result; those of the second have\ncalled out a hidden force, consequently something real.\n\nThe same thing happens with regard to the thoughts of a man in whose mind\nthe idea arises that in a former life he has set going within himself the\nforce which causes him to experience a certain event. The mere conception\nof this stirs up strength within him which enables him to face the event\nin quite a different manner from that in which he would have met it\nwithout entertaining such an idea. It dawns upon him that an event which\nhe would otherwise have looked upon as an accident was really a necessity\nand he will immediately see that he had the right thought, because this\nthought had the power to reveal the facts to him. If such inner processes\nare repeated they will grow into a source of inner power and thus prove\ntheir truth by their fruitfulness; and little by little, this truth is\nfound to be powerfully effective. Such processes have a salutary effect on\nbody, soul, and spirit,\u2014nay, they help life forward in every way. Man\nbecomes aware that in this manner he takes the right position with regard\nto life\u2019s continuity; whereas, by taking into consideration only the one\nlife between birth and death, he is the victim of a delusion.\n\nSuch an entirely inner proof of spiritual causation can of course be\nacquired only by each one for himself, in his own inner life. But it is in\nevery one\u2019s power to have it. Those who have not acquired it certainly\ncannot judge of its convincing force; but those who have acquired it can\nscarcely entertain any further doubt in the matter. And there is no reason\nfor surprise that this should be so. It is only natural that what is so\nwholly bound up with the constitution of man\u2019s inmost being and\npersonality can be adequately proven only by inner experience. On the\nother hand, it cannot be alleged that because such a matter corresponds to\ninner experience it must therefore be settled by every one for himself,\nand that it is no subject for occult science. It is certain that every one\nmust undergo the experience for himself, just as each must see for himself\nthe proof of a mathematical problem. But the path by which such an\nexperience may be gained is open to all, just as the method of proving a\nmathematical problem is available to every one.\n\nIt ought not to be denied\u2014apart from clairvoyant observation of\ncourse\u2014that by means of the force producing power of the corresponding\nthoughts, the just cited proof is the only one which stands firm before\nall unprejudiced logic. All other considerations are no doubt very\nimportant, but in all of them there will be something on which an opponent\nmight seize as a point of attack. Surely one who has acquired a fairly\nimpartial way of looking at things will find something in the possibility\nand actual fact of man\u2019s education, which has the power of logical proof\nthat a spiritual being is struggling for existence within the sheath of\nthe body. He will compare animals with man and say to himself that at the\nbirth of the former there appears certain definite qualities and\ncapacities as something, decisive in itself, which plainly shows how it\nhas been designed by heredity and how it will unfold itself in the outer\nworld. We see how a young chicken carries out life\u2019s functions in the\nappointed way from its birth; but by means of education something comes\ninto touch with man\u2019s inner life which is independent of any connection\nwith his heredity, and he may be in a position to assimilate the effects\nof such external influences. The educator knows that such influences are\nmet by forces coming from man\u2019s inner nature. If this is not the case, all\ninstruction and training are meaningless. The unprejudiced educator finds\nthe boundary line between inherited talents and those inner forces of the\nman himself which shine through them and originate in former lives, to be\nvery sharply marked. It is true, we cannot bring forward such weighty\nproofs for things of this kind as we can for certain physical facts, by\nmeans of scales; but then these are just the intimate things of life, and\none who has the power to appreciate such impalpable proofs will find them\nconvincing\u2014even more convincing than palpable reality.\n\nThat animals may be trained, and thus, to a certain extent, acquire\nqualities and capacities by education, is no objection to one who is able\nto see reality, for apart from the fact that transitional stages are met\nwith all over the world, the results of training an animal by no means\nfade away with its individual existence, as is the case with a man. What\nis more, the fact has been emphasized that faculties acquired by domestic\nanimals through intercourse with man are transmitted, that is to say,\ncontinue in the species, not in the individual. Darwin describes how dogs\nfetch and carry without having been taught to do so, or without having\nseen it done. Who would make such an assertion with regard to human\neducation?\n\nNow there are thinkers whose observations have led them beyond the opinion\nthat a man is built by purely inherited forces from without. They rise to\nthe thought that a spiritual being, an individuality, exists before life\nin the body, and fashions it; but many of them find it impossible to\nconceive that there are repeated earthly lives, and that the fruits of\nformer lives are moulding forces during the intermediate state between two\nlives. Let us take one instance from among the ranks of these thinkers.\nImmanuel Hermann Fichte, son of the great Fichte, in his _Anthropology_\n(p. 528) gives the observations which led him to the following conclusion:\n\n\u201cParents are _not_ generators in the full sense of the word. They supply\norganic substance, and not alone this, but also that intermediate element\nof mental and sense nature which appears in temperament, colouring of\ncharacter, definite tendencies, and so on, the common source of which\nproves to be \u2018imagination\u2019 in the wider sense indicated by us. In all\nthese elements of personality, the mingling and particular combination of\nthe souls of the parents is unmistakable; it is therefore a perfectly\nwell-grounded assertion that this combination is simply the result of\nprocreation, even if we regard procreation, as we must do, as really a\nsoul-process. But the real ultimate centre of the personality is just what\nis lacking here; for a deeper and more searching observation reveals the\nfact that even those peculiarities of disposition are but a covering and\nan instrument for the containing of the individual\u2019s really spiritual and\nideal capabilities, and are qualified to aid these in their development or\nto hinder them, but in no wise able to originate them.\u201d It is further\nstated in the same work (p. 532): \u201cEvery individual pre-exists as regards\nthe fundamental form of his spirit, for no individual, from a spiritual\npoint of view, resembles another, just as no species of animal resembles\nanother species.\u201d\n\nThese thoughts reach only far enough to allow a spiritual being to come\ninto the human body; but as the forces shaping such a being are not\nderived from causes existing in former lives, it would be necessary that,\neach time a fresh personality appears, a spiritual being should come forth\nfrom a Divine First Cause. With this hypothesis there would be no\npossibility of explaining the relationship which certainly exists between\nthe potentialities struggling out of man\u2019s innermost being, and that which\nis forcing its way thither from his external earthly environment during\nlife. Man\u2019s innermost being, issuing in the case of each single person\nfrom a Divine First Cause, would find what confronts him in earthly life\nquite strange and foreign. Only then would this not be the case\u2014as, in\nfact, it is not\u2014if there had already been a connection between the inner\nman and the outer world, and if the inner man were not living in it for\nthe first time.\n\nThe unprejudiced educator may undoubtedly observe clearly that he\nimpresses the consciousness of his pupil with something taken from life\u2019s\nexperiences which in itself is foreign to his merely inherited qualities,\nbut which, however, appears to him as if the work out of which these\nexperiences arise, had been done by him in the past. Only repeated lives\non earth, in conjunction with the facts set forth by occult science as\ntaking place in spiritual regions between two earthly lives,\u2014only this\nview can afford a satisfactory explanation of present human life looked at\nfrom every side. I say expressly \u201cpresent\u201d human life, for occult\ninvestigation shows that the cycle of earthly life certainly had a\nbeginning, and at that time man\u2019s spiritual being, which later entered a\nbodily frame, existed under different conditions. In the following chapter\nwe shall go back to this primeval condition of human existence. When it\nhas been shown, from the reports of occult science how human beings\nreceived their present form in connection with the evolution of the earth,\nit will also be possible to indicate more precisely how the spiritual germ\nof man\u2019s being descends from superphysical worlds into a bodily form, and\nhow the spiritual law of causation, or \u201chuman destiny,\u201d is developed.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. THE EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD AND MAN\n\n\nFrom the foregoing observations it will be seen that man\u2019s being is built\nup of four principles: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral\nbody, and the vehicle of the ego. The ego works within the three other\nprinciples, and transforms them. By means of this transformation, are\nformed on a lower level, the sentient-soul, the rational- or\nintellectual-soul, and the consciousness-soul: on a higher level of human\nexistence, are formed the Spirit-Self, the Life-Spirit, and Spirit-Man.\nThe relations existing between these human principles and the whole\nuniverse are of a most varied character and their evolution is related to\nthat of the universe. By studying this evolution an insight is obtained\ninto the deeper mysteries of man\u2019s being.\n\nIt is clear that human life is related in the most varied ways to the\nenvironment or dwelling place in which it evolves. Physical science,\nthrough the facts presented to it, has already been driven to the opinion\nthat the earth itself, man\u2019s dwelling place in the broadest sense of the\nword, has undergone evolution. Science points to former conditions of the\nearth when man, in his present form, did not yet exist on our planet and\nit shows how man has slowly and gradually evolved to his present condition\nfrom primitive states of civilization. Physical science, therefore, comes\nalso to the conclusion that there is a connection between man\u2019s evolution\nand that of the heavenly body on which he lives\u2014the earth.\n\nOccult science traces this connection by means of a knowledge which\nobtains its data from observation quickened by spiritual organs of\nperception. It traces man backwards in his course of development, and the\nfact becomes evident to occult science that the real inner spiritual being\nof man has progressed through a series of lives on this earth. Occult\nresearch arrives in this way at an epoch far back in the remote past, when\nfor the first time that inner being of man made its entry into \u201cexternal\nlife\u201d as we understand it. It was in this first earthly incarnation that\nthe ego began to function in the three bodies\u2014the astral body, the etheric\nor vital body, and the physical body; and it then carried over the results\nof that activity into its next life.\n\nIf in our investigation we proceed backwards, in the manner indicated, as\nfar as that epoch, we discover that the ego finds an earth condition in\nwhich the three bodies, physical, etheric, and astral, are already\ndeveloped and in which they bear a certain relation to each other. The ego\nis, for the first time, united with the being composed of these three\nbodies; and henceforth takes part in the further evolution of the three\nbodies. Hitherto, up to the stage at which that ego came in touch with\nthem, they had evolved without a human ego.\n\nOccult science must now go back still farther in its researches if it is\nto answer the questions, \u201cHow did the three bodies reach that stage of\nevolution at which they were able to receive an ego within them?\u201d and \u201cHow\ndid that ego itself come into being and acquire the capacity for working\nwithin these bodies?\u201d\n\nIt is possible to answer these questions only when the gradual development\nof the earth-planet itself is studied from the occult point of view. By\nsuch investigation we arrive at a beginning of the earth-planet. That\nmethod of examination which is based only on the facts of the physical\nsenses cannot arrive at conclusions concerning the beginning of the earth.\nA certain point of view which avails itself of such conclusions arrives at\nthe result that everything material on the earth was formed out of a\nprimeval essence, or vapour. It is not the purpose of this work to enter\nmore fully into such conceptions of our planet\u2019s origin; for in occult\nscience the important matter is not merely to inquire into the material\nprocesses of the earth\u2019s evolution, but first and foremost to discover the\nspiritual causes lying behind what is material.\n\nIf we see before us a man raising his hand, we may consider his action in\ntwo different ways: we may examine the mechanism of the arm and the rest\nof the organism, in order to describe the process as it takes place from\nthe purely physical standpoint, or we may direct the spiritual vision to\nwhat takes place in the man\u2019s soul and there discover what constitutes the\ninner motive for raising the hand. In this way an investigator, trained in\noccult research, sees spiritual processes behind all the events of the\nphysical sense-world. In his eyes all transformations of the material part\nof the earth-planet are manifestations of spiritual forces lying behind\nwhat is material.\n\nBut if occult observation of this kind goes farther and farther back in\nthe life of the earth it comes to that point in evolution at which\nmaterial things first came into being. The material element is evolved out\nof the spiritual. Up to this point the spiritual element was the only one\nexisting. By occult investigation the spiritual element is perceived, and\nthe observer can see how it becomes partly condensed, as it were, into\nmatter. We have before us a process which is taking place\u2014on a higher\nlevel\u2014much as though we were observing a lump of ice being formed by\nartificial means in a vessel of water. Just as we see the ice being\ncondensed out of what was previously only water, so may we, by means of\noccult observation, watch the condensation of what was previously entirely\nspiritual, so to speak, into material things, processes, and beings. In\nthis way the physical earth-planet was evolved out of a cosmic spiritual\nessence; and everything that is combined materially with the earth-planet\nhas been condensed out of what was previously united with it spiritually.\nWe must not, however, think that _everything_ spiritual was at any one\ntime changed into material form; but, in the latter we have before us\nmerely the transformed portions of what was originally spiritual. Thus,\neven during the period of material evolution, it is always Spirit that is\nreally the guiding and ruling principle.\n\nIt is obvious that the mode of thought which restricts itself to the\nprocesses of physical sense\u2014and to what reason is able to infer from\nthem\u2014is incapable of expressing an opinion about the spiritual element of\nwhich we are speaking. Let us assume that a being might exist to whose\nsenses ice would be perceptible, but not the finer condition of water,\nfrom which ice is detached by refrigeration. For such a being, water would\nbe non-existent, and could become visible only when parts of it had been\ntransformed into ice. In the same way, the spiritual element behind\nearthly processes remains hidden from one who only admits the existence of\nwhat is perceptible to his physical senses. And if, from the physical\nfacts which he now perceives, he draws correct conclusions about earlier\nconditions of the earth-planet, he can penetrate only as far as that point\nin evolution at which the previous spiritual element was partially\ncondensed into material substance. Such a method of observation no more\ndiscovers the spirit previously existing, than it perceives the spirit\nwhich even now rules unseen behind the world of matter.\n\nNot until we come to the last chapters of this work can we deal with those\nmethods by which man acquires the faculty of looking back, by means of\noccult perception, upon those earlier conditions of the earth which are\nnow under discussion. For the present we shall merely intimate that the\nfacts concerning the primeval past have not passed beyond the reach of\noccult research. If a being comes into corporeal existence his material\npart perishes after physical death. But the spiritual forces, which from\nout their own depth gave existence to the body, do not \u201cdisappear in this\nway.\u201d They leave their traces, their exact images behind them impressed\nupon the spiritual ground-work of the world. Any one who is able to raise\nhis perceptive faculty through the visible to the invisible world, attains\nat length a level on which he may see before him what may be compared to a\nvast spiritual panorama, in which are recorded all the past events of the\nworld\u2019s history. These imperishable traces of everything immaterial are\ncalled in occult science the \u201cAkashic Records.\u201d\n\nHere it must once more be repeated that investigations of the\nsupersensible realms of existence can be carried on only with the aid of\nspiritual perception, and consequently can be instituted in the sphere now\nunder consideration, only by reading the Akashic Records above-mentioned.\nNevertheless, what was said earlier in this book in a similar instance\nholds good here. Supersensible facts are only to be investigated by\nsupersensible perceptions; but once investigated and communicated by\noccult science, they may be grasped by the ordinary powers of thought, if\nthese are honestly exercised without bias. In the following pages the\nvarious conditions of the earth\u2019s evolution, as given by occult science,\nwill be detailed. The transformation of our planet will be traced down to\nthe conditions of life in which we now find it. Any one who surveys what\ncomes before him at the present time merely through the evidence of his\nsenses, and then lends an ear to what occult science has to say on the\nsubject, namely:\u2014how that which now lies before him has been evolved from\na far distant past,\u2014will be able, if his thought is genuinely unbiased, to\nsay to himself: \u201cIn the first place, what occult science reports is quite\nlogical; in the second place, I can, if I assume the reports of occult\ninvestigation to be correct, understand how things have become as they now\nappear.\u201d By \u201clogical\u201d is not meant, in this connection, of course, that\nerrors might not be made from a logical standpoint in some description\ngiven by occult research. We are here speaking of \u201clogic\u201d as it is\nunderstood in the ordinary life of the physical world. Just as a logical\ndemonstration is accepted there as it is in physical research, even though\na single investigator, in a certain domain of facts, may make illogical\nstatements, so is it also with regard to occult science. It may even\nhappen that an investigator who possesses the power of vision in\nsupersensible spheres may make mistakes in a logical presentment of them,\nand may be corrected by another who has no supersensible perception, but\nhas, none the less, a capacity for sound thinking. In reality, nothing of\nany weight can be said against the logical deductions of occult science.\nAnd it ought to be unnecessary to insist that nothing can be adduced, on\npurely logical grounds, against the facts themselves. In the domain of the\nphysical world it can never be proved by logic, but only by ocular\ndemonstration, whether or no there is such an animal as a whale;\nsimilarly, supersensible facts can be known only through occult\nperception.\n\nBut it cannot be sufficiently emphasized that an obligation is laid upon\nthe explorer of supersensible regions, before he determines to approach\nthe invisible worlds with his own power of perception, to acquire first of\nall the aforementioned logical faculty, and this is none the less\nessential if he recognizes that the world, manifest to his senses, will\nbecome comprehensible if he accepts the communications of occult science\nas correct. All experiences in the supersensible world are nothing but an\nuncertain\u2014nay, a dangerous\u2014groping in the dark if we despise the method of\npreparation which has been described. Therefore in this book the facts\nconcerning the supersensible processes of the earth\u2019s evolution will first\nbe given, before the path leading to the attainment of supersensible\nknowledge is dealt with.\n\nWe have also, it is true, to take into account that the man who, by sheer\nthinking, comes to accept what supersensible research has to impart, is by\nno means in the same position as one who listens to the account of a\nphysical occurrence which he is unable to see. For thinking is in itself a\nsupersensible activity. Materialistic thinking cannot of itself lead to\nsupersensible phenomena. But if thought is directed to supersensible\nmatters through the accounts given of them by occult science, it grows by\nits own activity into the supersensible world. What is more, one of the\nvery best ways of acquiring supersensible perception is to grow into the\nhigher worlds by meditation upon what has been communicated by occult\nscience. For such a mode of entry insures great clearness of perception.\nFor this reason such thinking is regarded by a certain school of occult\ninvestigation as a most valuable first step to take in occult training.\n\nIt will be readily understood that it is impossible to mention in this\nbook all the details of the earth\u2019s evolution, as it has been spiritually\nperceived by occultists, in order to illustrate the way in which the\nsupersensible world is reflected in the manifested. Nor was this what was\nintended when it was said that the unseen may everywhere be demonstrated\nby its manifest effects. It was meant rather that everything that man\nencounters may, step by step, become clear and comprehensible if he brings\nmanifested events under the illumination of occult science. Only in a few\ncharacteristic instances will reference be made in the following pages to\nconfirmations of the invisible by the manifest, in order to show how this\nmay be done everywhere in the course of practical life, if desired.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nPursuing the evolution of the earth backward according to the above method\nof scientific spiritual investigations we arrive at a spiritual condition\nof our planet. But if we go farther back along this path of research we\nfind that everything spiritual had previously passed through a kind of\nphysical incarnation. Thus we come upon a bygone physical planetary\ncondition, which was afterwards spiritualized, and subsequently\ntransformed into our earth by repeated materialization. Our earth is\ntherefore presented to us as the reincarnation of a very ancient planet.\nBut occult science can go back still farther; and it then finds the whole\nprocess twice repeated. Thus, our earth has passed through three previous\nplanetary conditions separated by intermediate spiritual conditions of\nrest. The physical substance, however, proves to be finer and finer the\nfarther back we follow the incarnations.\n\nNow man, in the form in which he is at present evolving, makes his first\nappearance upon the fourth of the planetary incarnations which have been\ndescribed, the Earth proper. And the essential characteristic of his form\nis that it is composed of four principles, the physical, etheric, and\nastral bodies and the ego. But that form could not have appeared if it had\nnot been prepared by the preceding events of evolution. The method of\npreparation was that, in the earlier planetary incarnation, beings were\nevolved who already had three of the present four principles of man: the\nphysical, etheric, and astral bodies. These beings who, in a certain\nsense, may be called man\u2019s ancestors, had as yet no ego, but they\ndeveloped the three other principles and their mutual relationship to such\na point that they became sufficiently mature to receive an ego. Thus man\u2019s\nancestor attained to a certain degree of maturity of his three principles\nduring the earlier planetary incarnation. This condition became\nspiritualized; and out of it a new planetary condition was formed in which\nman\u2019s matured ancestors were contained, as it were, in embryo. Because the\nwhole planet had passed through a process of spiritualization and had\nappeared in a new form, it offered those embryos, with their physical,\netheric, and astral bodies, which were contained therein, not only the\nopportunity of again evolving up to the level on which they had previously\nstood, but the further possibility, after having arrived at that level, of\nreaching out beyond themselves through receiving the ego.\n\nThe evolution of the Earth divides itself, therefore, into two parts.\nDuring the first period the Earth itself appears as a reincarnation of the\nprevious planetary state. But that recurring state is a higher one than\nthat of the previous incarnation, in consequence of the intervening period\nof spiritualization. And the Earth contains within itself the germs of\nman\u2019s ancestors belonging to the earlier planet. These were first\ndeveloped up to the level they had previously reached. The attainment of\nthis level marks the end of the first period. But now, owing to its own\nhigher stage of evolution, the Earth is able to carry the germs still\nhigher, that is, to qualify them for receiving the ego. The second period\nof the Earth\u2019s evolution is that of the development of the ego in the\nphysical, etheric, and astral bodies.\n\nIn the same way that man had been thus carried a stage farther by the\nevolution of the Earth, so also had this been the case during the earlier\nplanetary incarnations. For man had in some measure existed as early as\nthe first of these. Light is therefore thrown on the present constitution\nof man if his evolution is followed back to the far-remote past of the\nfirst of the planetary incarnations mentioned above.\n\nIn occult science the first of these is called _Saturn_; the second is\ntermed _Sun_; the third, _Moon_; and the fourth is the _Earth_. It must be\ndistinctly understood that these occult terms are not to be in any way\nassociated with the names used to designate the members of the present\nsolar system.(8) In occult science Saturn, Sun, and Moon are merely names\nfor bygone forms of evolution through which the Earth has passed. In the\ncourse of the following account it will be shown what relation these\nworlds of remote antiquity bear to the celestial bodies composing the\npresent solar system.\n\nThe relationship of the four planetary incarnations previously mentioned,\ncan here be only briefly sketched; for the events, the beings and their\ndestiny on Saturn, Sun and Moon were in truth, just as varied as they are\non the Earth itself. Therefore only a few characteristics of these\nconditions can be chosen to illustrate just how these earth conditions\nhave evolved out of earlier ones. In this connection, one should bear in\nmind that the further back we go the more dissimilar to the present ones\ndo these conditions become. And yet they can only be described by making\nuse of ideas borrowed from existing conditions of the earth. If, for\ninstance, light, heat, etc., are mentioned in connection with these\nearlier conditions, it must not be overlooked that they are not exactly\nthe same as that which we now term light and heat. And yet such\nterminology is accurate, for the clairvoyant observer of earlier stages of\nevolution perceives something that has developed into the light and heat\nof the present time. And one who follows the descriptions thus given by\noccult science will, from the inner relation of these things, easily be\nable to form such perceptions as correspond to those events which have\ntaken place in a primeval past.\n\nOf course there will be considerable difficulty in treating of those\nplanetary conditions which preceded the Moon incarnation. For during the\nlatter, conditions prevailed which bore, at least to a degree, some\nresemblance still to earthly conditions. When one attempts to describe\nthese conditions one finds that such resemblances to the present time form\na certain basis on which may be expressed in clear concepts the\nobservations made through clairvoyance. It is quite different when the\nSaturn and Sun evolutions are to be described. In that case, what lies\nbefore clairvoyant observation is utterly different from the objects and\nbeings now belonging to the sphere of human life. And this difference\nmakes it exceedingly difficult to bring the corresponding facts of\nprimeval times within the scope of clairvoyant consciousness at all.\n\nSince however the present constitution of man cannot be understood without\ngoing back to the Saturn state, the description therefore must be given.\nAnd surely no one will misunderstand such a description who keeps in view\nthe existence of the difficulty, and the fact that owing to it much that\nis said must be in the nature of a suggestion or hint of the facts in\nquestion, rather than an exact description of them.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe physical body is the oldest of the present four principles of man\u2019s\nbeing. It is also the one, which, in its way, has attained the greatest\nperfection. Occult research shows that this part of man already existed\nduring the Saturn evolution. It will be shown in the following account\nthat the form taken by the physical body on Saturn was, of course,\nsomething quite different from the present physical body of man. The\nearthly physical human body, from its nature, can only exist by being in\nconnection with the etheric and astral bodies and the ego, in the manner\ndescribed earlier in this book. Such a condition did not as yet exist on\nSaturn. The physical body was then passing through the first stage of its\nevolution, without having a human etheric body, an astral body, or an ego\nincorporated in it.\n\nDuring the Saturn evolution it was growing ripe for the reception of an\netheric body. For that purpose Saturn had eventually to pass into a\nspiritual condition, and then to be reincarnated as the Sun. During the\nSun incarnation the physical body developed again to the stage it had\nreached on Saturn as from a germ brought over and only then could it be\ninter-penetrated by an etheric body. By means of this incorporation of an\netheric body, a change took place in the nature of the physical body; it\nwas raised to a second stage of perfection. A similar thing took place\nduring the Moon evolution. Man\u2019s ancestor, as he had developed himself\nwhen passing from the Sun to the Moon, incorporated in himself the astral\nbody. As a result, the physical body was changed for the second time, and\nthus raised to its third stage of perfection; at the same time the etheric\nbody was likewise changed, and passed to its second stage of perfection.\nOn the earth the ego was incorporated in man\u2019s ancestor, now composed of\nthe physical, etheric, and astral bodies. Thereby the physical body\nreached its fourth stage of perfection, the etheric body its third, and\nthe astral body its second stage; the ego is only now at the first stage\nof its existence.\n\nIf we give ourselves up to an unprejudiced examination of man\u2019s nature,\nthere will be no difficulty in acquiring a correct idea of these different\nstages of perfection of his separate principles. For this purpose we have\nmerely to compare the physical with the astral body. It is true, the\nastral body, as a psychic principle, stands on a higher level of evolution\nthan the physical body. And in future ages, when the former has been\nperfected, it will be of very much more consequence to man\u2019s complete\nbeing than the present physical body. Yet, in its own way, the latter has\nreached a certain high degree of perfection. Consider the marvelous wisdom\nwith which the structure of the heart is planned, the amazing structure of\nthe brain\u2014nay, even of part of a single bone, such as the upper end of the\nthigh bone. In the end of this bone we find a net-work or scaffolding,\nwonderfully constructed and composed of delicate spicules and lamell\u00e6. The\nwhole is so arranged that with the least expenditure of material the most\neffective action on the joint-surfaces is obtained\u2014hence the most\nefficient distribution of friction and a proper freedom of movement. Thus\nwise arrangements are found in the parts of the physical body. And if we\ngo on to observe the harmonious co-operation of the part with the whole,\nwe shall find that it is certainly true that this principle of man\u2019s being\nis perfect and it does not affect the question that in certain parts\nsomething apparently useless appears, or that disturbances of structure or\nfunctions may take place. It will even be found that such disturbances are\nin a way only the necessary shadows of the wisdom-filled light which is\npoured out over the whole physical organism.\n\nNow compare with this the astral body as the medium or vehicle of pleasure\nand pain, desires and passions. What uncertainty rules in it with regard\nto pleasure and pain; how the desires and passions, of which it is the\nscene, run counter to the higher goal of man; how senseless they often\nare. The astral body is only now on its way to attain the harmony and\ninner poise already possessed by the physical body. Similarly it might be\nshown that the etheric body is certainly more perfect in its own way than\nthe astral but less perfect than the physical body. And it will equally\nresult from a corresponding study of the ego that this, the real kernel of\nman\u2019s being, is now only at the beginning of its evolution. For how much\nhas already been accomplished of its mission, that of transforming the\nother principles of man\u2019s being in order that they may become a revelation\nof the ego\u2019s own nature?\n\nThe result of an outer examination of this kind is intensified for the\noccult student by something else. It might be pointed out that the\nphysical body is attacked by diseases. Now occult science is in a position\nto show that a large proportion of all diseases owe their origin to the\nfact that the perverse actions and mistakes of the astral body are\ntransmitted to the etheric body, and indirectly through the etheric,\ndestroy the perfect harmony of the physical body. The deeper connection,\nwhich can here be only hinted at, and the true cause of many of the\nconditions of disease, elude that kind of scientific observation which\nconfines itself solely to the facts obtained by means of the physical\nsenses. The connection in most cases comes about in such a way that an\ninjury to the astral body does not cause manifestations of disease in the\nphysical body in the same incarnation in which the injury takes place, but\nin a later one. Hence the laws now under consideration have a meaning only\nfor one who is able to admit that human earth-life is repeated again and\nagain. But even if deeper knowledge of this kind is rejected, ordinary\nobservation of life makes it plain that human beings indulge in far too\nmany pleasures and desires which undermine the harmony of the physical\nbody. And the seat of pleasure, desire, passion, is not in the physical\nbut in the astral body. The latter is still so imperfect, in many\nrespects, that it is able to destroy the harmony of the physical body.\n\nIt should also be mentioned here that such explanations as these are by no\nmeans intended as proofs of the assertions of occult science about the\nevolution of the four principles of man\u2019s being. The proofs are drawn from\nspiritual research, which shows that the physical body has behind it a\ntransformation, enacted four times, into higher degrees of perfection, and\nthat man\u2019s other principles have been perfected to a lesser degree, as has\nbeen described. It is desired merely to indicate here that these\ncommunications made by spiritual research relate to facts which are\nvisible in their effects even to ordinary observation, in the degrees of\nperfection reached by the physical body, etheric body, and so forth.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nIf we wish to draw an approximately true picture of the conditions\nprevailing during the Saturn evolution, we must take into account the fact\nthat while it lasted, there were virtually, as yet, none of the things and\ncreatures existing which now belong to the earth and are included in the\nmineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. The beings of these three\nkingdoms were formed during later periods of evolution. Of all the earthly\nbeings physically perceptible today, man alone existed at that time and of\nhim only the physical body existed as described. But there are at present\nbelonging to the earth not only the denizens of the mineral, vegetable,\nanimal and human kingdoms, but other beings as well, not manifesting in a\nphysical embodiment. Such entities were also present during the Saturn\nevolution, and their activity on the Saturn scene of action brought about\nthe subsequent evolution of man.\n\nIf the organs of spiritual perception are directed, not to the beginning\nand end, but to the middle period of evolution of this Saturn incarnation,\nwe find there a condition which consists principally of heat. Nothing is\nto be found composed of gaseous, fluid, or even solid constituents. All\nthese states appear only in later incarnations. Let us assume that a human\nbeing, with the present organs of sense, were to approach the Saturn\ncondition as a spectator. None of the sense-impressions possible to him\nwould confront him there except the feeling of warmth, or heat. Suppose\nsuch a being approached this Saturn; he would only sense, upon entering\nthe space occupied by it, that it was in a different degree of heat from\nthe rest of surrounding space. But he would not find that portion of space\nby any means equally warm throughout, for warmer and colder parts would\nalternate in the most complicated manner. Radiating heat would be felt\nalong certain lines. And not only straight lines, but regular figures\nwould be formed by the variation in heat. Something like a cosmic being,\norganically constructed in itself would be discerned, appearing in\nchanging conditions, and consisting only of heat.\n\nIt is difficult for a man of the present day to form an idea of anything\nconsisting only of heat, for he is not accustomed to think of heat as\nsomething self-existent, but as a perceptible quality of warm or cold\ngaseous, liquid, or solid bodies. To one who has adopted the physical\nconceptions of our time it will seem particularly absurd to speak of heat\nin the foregoing manner. He will, perhaps, say: \u201cThere are solid, liquid,\nand gaseous bodies; but heat only denotes a condition assumed by one of\nthese three bodily forms. If the smallest particles of gas are in motion,\nthe movement will be felt by heat. Where there is no gas, there can be no\nmovement, consequently no heat.\u201d\n\nTo an occult investigator the fact appears differently. To him heat is\nsomething of which he speaks in the same sense as he speaks of gases, of\nliquids, or of solid bodies. To him it is simply a still finer substance\nthan gas. And gas to him is nothing but condensed heat, in the same sense\nthat liquid is condensed vapour, or a solid body condensed liquid. Thus\nthe occultist speaks of heat bodies just as he does of bodies formed of\ngas and vapour.\n\nIf we are to follow the spiritual investigator into this region, it is\nhowever necessary to admit that there is such a thing as psychic\nperception. In the world, as it presents itself to the physical senses,\nheat appears entirely as a condition of solid, liquid, or gaseous bodies;\nbut that condition is merely the outward appearance of heat, or the effect\nof it. Physicists speak only of this effect of heat, not of its inner\nnature. Just let us try then to leave entirely out of consideration any\neffect of heat received through external bodies, and to realize merely the\ninner experience which comes from saying the words: \u201cI feel warm,\u201d \u201cI feel\ncold.\u201d That inner experience is the only thing capable of giving an idea\nof what Saturn was during its period of evolution described above. It\nwould have been possible to pass right through the portion of space it\noccupied; no gas would have been there to exercise pressure, no solid or\nliquid body from which light-impressions could have come; but at every\npoint of space occupied, one would have felt inwardly, without any\nexternal impression: \u201cHere there is such and such a degree of heat.\u201d\n\nIn a cosmic body of this character there are no conditions for the animal,\nvegetable, and mineral organisms of to-day.(9) The beings whose sphere of\naction was this Saturn, were at quite a different stage of evolution from\nthat of the present inhabitants of the earth who are perceptible to the\nsenses. In the first place there were beings there who had no physical\nbody like that of contemporary man. We must also guard against thinking of\nman\u2019s present physical embodiment, when mention is made of a \u201cphysical\nbody\u201d in this connection. We should instead carefully distinguish between\nthe physical and the mineral body. A physical body is one governed by the\nphysical laws which are now observable in the mineral kingdom. Now man\u2019s\npresent physical body is not only ruled by those physical laws, but is\nalso permeated with mineral matter. There can be no question as yet on\nSaturn of a physical-mineral body of this kind. There is only a physical\nbodily form, governed by physical laws; but these laws are manifested only\nthrough the agency of heat.\n\nTherefore the physical body is a fine, subtle, ethereal heat body; and the\nwhole of Saturn consists of such heat bodies. They are the beginnings of\nthe present physical-mineral human body. The latter has been formed out of\nthe former, because there have become incorporated with the original body\nthe more recently formed gaseous, liquid, and solid substances.\n\nAmong the beings of which we are now speaking, who, besides man, were\ninhabitants of Saturn, there were, for instance, some which did not need a\nphysical body at all. The lowest principle of their nature was an etheric\nor vital body. On the other hand, they had one principle higher than the\nhuman principles. Man\u2019s highest principle is the Spirit-Man (Atma); these\nbeings have one still higher. And between the etheric body and the\nSpirit-Man they have all the principles described in this treatise which\nare also found in man: the astral body, ego, Spirit-Self, and Life-Spirit.\nJust as our earth is surrounded by an atmosphere, so too was Saturn; only\nin this case the \u201catmosphere\u201d was of a spiritual nature. It really\nconsisted of the beings just named and some others. Now there was constant\nreciprocal action between the heat bodies of Saturn and the beings we have\ndescribed. The latter projected the principles of their being down into\nthe physical heat bodies of Saturn. And while there was no life in those\nheat bodies themselves, the life of their neighbours was expressed in\nthem. They might be compared to mirrors; only there were reflected in\nthem, not the images of the living beings mentioned above, but their\nconditions of life. Therefore, although nothing living could have been\ndiscovered in Saturn itself, yet it had a vivifying effect on its\nenvironment in celestial space, because it reflected back into space, like\nan echo, the life which had been sent down into it. The whole of Saturn\nappeared as a mirror of celestial life. The very high beings, whose life\nwas reflected by Saturn, are called in occult science \u201cLords of\nWisdom.\u201d(10) Their activity on Saturn was not just beginning in the middle\nperiod of that evolution, which has been described; in a certain way it\nhad even then already ceased. Before they could be in a position to\nrejoice in the reflection of their own life from Saturn\u2019s heat bodies they\nhad to make those bodies capable of producing such a reflection. Therefore\ntheir activity began soon after the beginning of the Saturn evolution.\nWhen this happened, the body of Saturn was still chaotic material, which\ncould not have reflected anything.\n\nAnd in contemplating this chaotic matter, one has transferred himself, by\nspiritual observation, to the beginning of the Saturn evolution. What is\nto be observed there does not as yet bear anything of the later character\nof heat. If we wish to describe it, we can only speak of a quality which\nmay be compared with the human will. From first to last it is nothing but\n\u201cWill.\u201d Therefore it is an entirely spiritual condition that meets us\nhere. If we ask whence came this \u201cWill,\u201d we see it proceeding from the\neffluence of exalted beings, who brought their evolution, by steps only to\nbe dimly conceived, up to such a height that when the Saturn evolution\nbegan they were able to pour forth \u201cWill\u201d from their own being. When this\neffluence had lasted a certain time, the activity of the Lords of Wisdom\ndescribed above was combined with this Will. Through this means the will,\nwhich had hitherto had no attributes, gradually received the quality of\nreflecting life back into celestial space. In occult science the beings\nwho found their happiness in pouring forth will, at the beginning of the\nSaturn evolution are called the \u201cLords of Will.\u201d(11)\n\nAfter a certain stage of the Saturn evolution had been reached, through\nthe co-operation of will and life, begins the influence of other beings,\nwho are also within Saturn\u2019s environment. These are the \u201cLords of\nMotion.\u201d(12) They have no physical or etheric body. Their lowest principle\nis the astral body. When the Saturn bodies have acquired the capacity for\nreflecting life, the qualities which have their seat in the astral bodies\nof the Lords of Motion interpenetrate that reflected life. In consequence\nof this, it appears as though expressions of feelings, emotions, and\nsimilar psychic forces had been cast out of Saturn into celestial space.\nThe whole of Saturn appears like one animated being, manifesting\nsympathies and antipathies. These psychic manifestations, however, are by\nno means its own, but merely the activity of the Lords of Motion reflected\nback.\n\nThis also having lasted for a certain period, there begins the activity of\nyet other beings, that is, of the \u201cLords of Form.\u201d(13) Their lowest\nprinciple, too, is an astral body; but that body is at a different stage\nof evolution from that of the Lords of Motion; whereas the latter\ncommunicate only general manifestations of feeling to the reflected life,\nthe astral body of the Lords of Form operates in such a way that the\nmanifestations of feeling are flung out into cosmic space as if they came\nfrom individual beings. It might be said that the Lords of Motion make the\nwhole of Saturn appear as an animated being. The Lords of Form separate\nthat life into individual living beings, so that Saturn now appears as a\nconglomerate of such psychic beings.\n\nLet us imagine, for the sake of illustration, a mulberry or blackberry,\nmade up, as it is, of small individual berries. In a similar manner, to\nclairvoyant vision, Saturn, during the period of evolution now being\ndescribed, is made up of individual Saturn beings, which of course have\nneither life nor soul of their own, but reflect the life and soul of its\ndenizens. Into this condition of Saturn now come beings whose astral body\nis also their lowest principle, but who have brought it to such a high\nstage of development that it operates in the same way as the present human\nego. Through these beings, the ego in the environment of Saturn looks down\non that planet, and imparts its nature to Saturn\u2019s individual living\nbeings. Thus something is sent out from Saturn into cosmic space, which\nhas an effect similar to that of human personality in the present\nconditions of life. The beings causing that effect are designated \u201cSons of\nPersonality.\u201d(14) They confer on the Saturn bodies the appearance of\npersonality. Personality itself, however, is not present on Saturn, but\nonly, as it were, its reflected image, the shell or husk of personality.\nThe real personality of these spirits is in the environment of Saturn. As\na result of these Sons of Personality letting their essence stream back\nfrom the Saturn bodies in the manner described, that fine substance is\nbestowed on those bodies which has previously been described as heat. In\nthe whole of Saturn there is no subjectivity; but the Sons of Personality\nrecognize the image of their own subjectivity, when it streams out to them\nfrom Saturn as heat.\n\nWhen all this is taking place, the Sons of Personality are on the same\nlevel on which man now stands. They are then passing through their \u201chuman\u201d\nperiod. In order to look at this fact with an unprejudiced eye, we must\nimagine it possible for a being to be human without being in the exact\nform in which man now exists. The Sons of Personality are \u201chuman beings\u201d\non Saturn. They have as their lowest principle not the physical body, but\nthe astral body with the ego. Hence they cannot express the experiences of\ntheir astral body in such physical and etheric bodies as those of\ncontemporary man; they not only _have_ an ego, however, but _are aware_ of\nthe fact, because the heat of Saturn brings that ego streaming back into\ntheir consciousness. In fact, they are human beings under different\ncircumstances from those of earth.\n\nAs the Saturn evolution progressed, facts follow of a different kind from\nthose already related. Whereas everything hitherto was a reflection of\nouter life and feeling, there now begins a kind of inner life. In the\nSaturn world a life of light begins flickering here and there, and growing\ndim again. A quivering glimmer is seen in some places, something like\nflashes of lightning in others. The Saturn heat bodies begin to glimmer,\nto sparkle, and even to emit rays. This stage of evolution having been\nreached, there again arises the possibility for certain beings to develop\ntheir activity. They are those known to occult science as \u201cSons of\nFire.\u201d(15) Although these beings have an astral body, they are unable at\nhis particular stage of their existence to stir their own astral bodies;\nthey would not be capable of any feeling or emotion unless they could act\nupon the Saturn heat bodies which have attained the stage of evolution\ndescribed. That action affords them the possibility of recognizing their\nown existence from the effect which they produce. They cannot say to\nthemselves, \u201cI am here\u201d; but rather, \u201cMy environment causes me to be\nhere.\u201d They have perceptions, and what they perceive is the light-effects\nin Saturn which have been described. These are, in a certain manner, their\nego. This gives them a peculiar kind of consciousness. It is designated\n\u201cpicture-consciousness.\u201d It may be represented as having the nature of\nhuman dream-consciousness, except that the degree of activity it enjoys\nmust be imagined as being very much greater than it is in human dreams,\nand also that it is not a question of shadowy dream-pictures floating\nhither and thither, but of pictures that have a real connection with the\nplay of light on Saturn.\n\nDuring this reciprocal action between the Sons of Fire and the Saturn heat\nbodies, the germs of the human sense organs begin their evolution. The\norgans, by means of which contemporary man becomes cognizant of the\nphysical world, begin to shine in their first delicate ethereal outlines.\nHuman phantoms, displaying as yet nothing but the primeval light pictures\nof the sense-organs, become discernible within Saturn to the clairvoyant\nfaculty of perception. Thus these sense-organs are the result of the\nactivity of the Sons of Fire; but they are not the only spirits who shared\nin their creation. Other beings come upon the scene of Saturn at the same\ntime as these Sons of Fire,\u2014beings so far advanced in their evolution that\nthey are able to make use of the germs of the human sense-organs for\nbeholding the cosmic events taking place in the Saturn life. They are the\n\u201cLords of Love.\u201d(16) If they were not there, the Sons of Fire could not\nhave the consciousness described above. They behold the events on Saturn\nwith a consciousness which makes it possible for them to convey these\nevents as pictures to the Sons of Fire. They themselves forego all the\nadvantages which might accrue to them from contemplating events on Saturn;\nthey renounce all joys and pleasures; they give up all these in order that\nthe Sons of Fire may come into possession of them.\n\nA new period of Saturn\u2019s existence succeeds these occurrences. Something\nelse is added to the play of light. If what here presents itself to\nclairvoyant perception be reported, it may seem an absurdity to many.\nWithin Saturn, intermingled sensations of taste seem to be surging. Sweet,\nbitter, sour, etc., are perceived throughout the interior of Saturn; while\nwithout, in cosmic space, all this expresses itself as tone, as a kind of\nmusic.\n\nIn the course of these processes there are again certain beings who find\nit possible to develop activity on Saturn. These are the \u201cSons of\nTwilight, or Life.\u201d(17) They enter into reciprocal action with the forces\nof taste surging up and down within Saturn. By this means their etheric or\nvital body attains a state of such activity that it may be called a kind\nof metabolism. They bring life into the interior of Saturn. Hence\nprocesses of nutrition and excretion take place. This inner life makes it\npossible for yet other beings to come into the planet, the \u201cLords of\nHarmony.\u201d(18) They bestow a dim kind of consciousness on the Sons of Life,\nwhich is even more vague and dim than the dream-consciousness of\ncontemporary man. It is of the kind that now comes to man in dreamless\nsleep, and is, indeed, of such a low order that it does not, so to speak,\n\u201center into his consciousness.\u201d Yet it is there. It differs from waking\nconsciousness in degree and also in its nature. Plants, too, have this\ndreamless-sleep consciousness at the present time. Even though it does not\nbring about any perceptions of an external world, in the human sense of\nthe word, yet it regulates the life processes and brings them into harmony\nwith the processes of the outer world.\n\nThis adjustment cannot be perceived by the Sons of Life at the stage of\nSaturn\u2019s evolution now being described; but the Lords of Harmony perceive\nit, and therefore it is they who really do the adjusting. All this life is\nenacted within the human phantoms already described. To clairvoyant vision\nthey consequently appear animated; yet their life is only a semblance of\nlife. It is the life of the \u201cSons of Life,\u201d who, so to speak, make use of\nthe human phantoms in order to manifest themselves.\n\nLet us now turn our attention to the human phantoms with their semblance\nof life. During the Saturn period described, their form is constantly\nchanging. Sometimes they bear one aspect, sometimes another. In the\nfurther course of evolution, their forms become more definite, and\noccasionally permanent. This is due to their becoming interpenetrated by\nthe action of the Spirits described at the beginning of the Saturn\nevolution,\u2014the Lords of Will (the Thrones). The consequence is that the\nhuman phantom itself is endowed with the simplest, dullest form of\nconsciousness. This must be thought of as still duller than the\nconsciousness of dreamless sleep. Under present conditions, minerals have\nthat consciousness. It brings the inner being into harmony with the outer\nphysical world. On Saturn it is the Lords of Will who regulate that\nharmony. And thus man appears as a copy of the Saturn life itself. That\nlife which is on a large scale on Saturn, is at this stage on a small\nscale in man. Thus the first germ is prepared for that which is still only\na germ in contemporary man the \u201cSpirit-Man\u201d (Atma). This dull human will\n(within Saturn) is manifested to clairvoyant faculty by effects which may\nbe compared with odours. Outside in celestial space, there is a\nmanifestation like that of a personality, which however is not directed by\nan inner ego but is regulated from without, like a machine. Those who\nregulate it are the Lords of Will.\n\nIt will become evident, from a survey of the foregoing, that starting from\nthe previously described middle period of the Saturn evolution, the\nfollowing steps of that evolution can be characterized by comparing their\neffects with the sense-perceptions of the present time. It might be said\nthat the Saturn evolution manifests as heat; then a play of light is\nadded; then an appearance of taste and sound; finally something emerges\nwhich manifests within the interior of Saturn as sensations of smell, and\nwithout, as a human ego acting mechanically.\n\nWhat have the Saturn revelations to say about what preceded the heat\ncondition? Now this is something that cannot be compared with anything\naccessible to outer sense-perception. A state of things precedes the heat\ncondition, which contemporary man experiences only in his inner being.\nWhen he gives himself up to ideas which he forms in his own soul, without\nhaving any inducement brought to bear on him by an external impression,\nthen he has something within himself which cannot be perceived by any\nphysical sense, but is only accessible to the perception of the higher\nclairvoyant vision. Manifestations precede the heat condition of Saturn,\nwhich can only be perceived by a clairvoyant. Three such conditions may be\nmentioned: pure psychic warmth, not outwardly perceptible; pure spiritual\nlight, which is outward darkness; and lastly, something of a spiritual\nessence which is complete in itself, and needs no outer being in order to\nbecome self-conscious. Pure, inner heat accompanies the appearance of the\nLords of Motion; pure, spiritual light, that of the Lords of Wisdom; pure\ninner being is linked with the first emanation of the Lords of Will.\n\nThus, with the appearance of heat on Saturn, our evolution comes forth out\nof the inner life of pure spirituality into outwardly manifested\nexistence. It will be particularly difficult for present-day consciousness\nto accept this, if it must be said in addition that at the same time, with\nthe advent of the Saturn heat condition, what we call \u201cTime\u201d also makes\nits first appearance. That is to say, the previous conditions have nothing\nto do with time. They belong to that sphere which may be called, in occult\nscience, \u201cduration.\u201d Consequently, everything that is said in this book\nabout the conditions existing in the \u201cSphere of Duration\u201d must be\nunderstood in such a way that when expressions referring to time\nconditions are used, they are only to be accepted for the sake of\ncomparison and explanation. That which, in a certain sense, precedes\n\u201ctime,\u201d can be expressed in human language only by terms which imply the\nidea of time. Even if we are aware that the first, second, and third\nSaturn conditions were not enacted \u201cone after the other,\u201d in the present\nsense of the word, yet we cannot do otherwise than describe them one after\nthe other. Indeed, in spite of their duration or coexistence in time, they\nare so dependent on one another that this very dependence may be compared\nwith sequence, in time.\n\nThis indication of the first conditions of evolution on Saturn also throws\nlight on any further questions that may be asked as to the origin of those\nconditions. From the purely intellectual point of view, it is, of course,\nquite possible, when dealing with the source of anything, to inquire after\n\u201cthe source of the source.\u201d But in the face of facts, this is not\npossible. A comparison, however, will help us to realize this. If we find\nruts on a road we may ask, \u201cTo what are they due?\u201d And the reply may be,\n\u201cTo a carriage.\u201d It may further be asked: \u201cWhence did the carriage come?\nWhither is it going?\u201d An answer founded on fact is again possible. We may\nthen proceed to ask, \u201cWho occupied the carriage? What purpose had the\nperson in using it? What was he, or she, doing?\u201d At last, however, we\nshall reach a point at which inquiry by means of facts finds its natural\nlimit; and on inquiring further we get away from the original questions.\nWe only continue the inquiry mechanically, as it were.\n\nIn such matters as the one brought forward as a comparison, it is easy to\nsee where facts demand the end of the inquiry. It is not so evident when\nwe are face to face with great cosmic questions. But as the result of\nreally exact observation, it will nevertheless be seen that all inquiry as\nto origins must come to an end at the Saturn condition portrayed above.\nFor we have reached a region in which beings and events are no longer\njustified by that from which they proceed, but by themselves.\n\nAs a result of the Saturn evolution it appears that the human germ\ndeveloped up to a certain point. It attained the low, dim state of\nconsciousness described above. We must not imagine that its evolution does\nnot begin until the last of the Saturn stages. The Lords of Will carry on\ntheir work through all conditions. Only the result is most striking to\nclairvoyant perception in the last period. There is nothing like a fixed\nboundary between the activities of the several groups of beings. If it is\nsaid that the Lords of Will work first, then the Lords of Wisdom, and so\non, it is not meant that they are working only at that time. They are\nworking all through the Saturn evolution; only their activity can best be\nobserved during the periods specified. The several groups have, as it\nwere, the leadership at those times.\n\nThus the whole Saturn evolution appears as a working out of what streamed\nforth from the Lords of Will through the Lords of Wisdom, Motion, Form,\nand the rest. Through this process those spiritual beings themselves\nexperience evolution. For instance, after they have received their life\nreflected back from Saturn, the Lords of Wisdom stand on a different level\nthan before. The result of that activity exalts the faculties of their own\nbeing. The consequence is that, on the completion of such activity,\nsomething similar to human sleep comes upon them. To their periods of\nactivity in connection with Saturn succeed other periods, during which\nthey live, as it were, in other worlds. At these times their activity is\nwithdrawn from Saturn. On this account clairvoyant perception sees an\nascent and a descent in the Saturn evolution that has been described. The\nascent lasts until the formation of the heat condition. Then, with the\nplay of light, the ebb-tide sets in. When the human phantoms have assumed\nform through the Lords of Will, the spiritual beings have also gradually\nwithdrawn themselves. The Saturn evolution dies away; as a phase of\nevolution, it disappears. A kind of resting pause occurs.\n\nThe human germ at the same time enters upon a state of dissolution; not,\nhowever, a state in which it passes away, but one like that of a plant\nseed, resting in the earth in order that it may ripen into a new plant.\nThus the human germ reposes, until a new awakening, in the depth of the\ncosmos. And by the time the moment of awakening has arrived, the spiritual\nbeings described above have acquired, under other conditions, the\nfaculties by means of which they can further advance the human germ. The\nLords of Wisdom have, in their etheric body, gained the faculty not only\nof enjoying the reflection of life as they did on Saturn, but of pouring\nlife forth from themselves, and endowing other beings with it. The Lords\nof Motion are now as far advanced as were the Lords of Wisdom on Saturn.\nThen the lowest principle of their being was the astral body; they now\npossess an etheric, or vital body; and in a corresponding degree the other\nspiritual beings have reached a further stage of evolution. All these\nspiritual beings are therefore able to work at the further evolution of\nthe human germ in a different way than on Saturn.\n\nBut the human germ was dissolved at the end of the Saturn evolution. In\norder that the more highly evolved spirit-beings might resume their work\nwhere they had left it off, the human germ must once more briefly\nrecapitulate the stages through which it had passed on Saturn. This, in\nfact, is what appears to clairvoyant faculties of perception. The human\ngerm comes forth out of its retirement and begins to develop by its own\nability, by means of the forces which had been implanted within it on\nSaturn. It comes forth out of the darkness as a \u201cbeing of Will,\u201d and\nassumes the appearance of life, of soul qualities, etc., up to that\nmechanical manifestation of personality which it possessed at the end of\nthe Saturn evolution.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe second of the great periods of evolution that have been mentioned, the\n\u201cSun period,\u201d effects the raising of man\u2019s being to a higher stage of\nconsciousness than that which it had attained on Saturn. Compared with\nman\u2019s present state of consciousness, the Sun condition might certainly be\ntermed \u201cunconsciousness.\u201d For it is approximately that condition which\ncontemporary man experiences during absolutely dreamless sleep. Or it\nmight be compared to the low degree of consciousness in which our\nvegetable world now slumbers. For occult science there is no such thing as\nunconsciousness, but only different degrees of consciousness. Everything\nin the world is conscious.\n\nIn the course of the Sun evolution, the human being attains a higher\ndegree of consciousness through the incorporation within it of the\netheric, or vital body. Before this can take place the Saturn conditions\nmust be recapitulated in the manner described above. This recapitulation\nhas quite a definite meaning. That is to say, when the period of rest\nwhich was spoken of in the foregoing statement has come to an end, that\nwhich was formerly Saturn issues forth, out of \u201ccosmic sleep,\u201d as a new\ncelestial body, the Sun. But the conditions of evolution have meanwhile\nchanged. The spiritual beings, whose activity on behalf of Saturn we have\nportrayed, have progressed onward into different conditions. Yet at first\nthe human germ appears on the newly formed Sun in the form it possessed on\nSaturn. It has first of all so to transform the various stages of\nevolution through which it has passed on Saturn that they may suit the new\nconditions on the Sun. Consequently, the sun epoch begins with a\nrecapitulation of the occurrences on Saturn, adjusted to the changed\nconditions of Sun life. Now when the human being has advanced so far that\nthe stage of evolution it reached on Saturn has been adapted to the Sun\nconditions, the Lords of Wisdom already mentioned, begin to let the\netheric, or vital body, pour into the physical body. The higher stage\nwhich man reaches on the Sun may therefore be characterized in this way:\nthe physical body, already formed in the germ-state on Saturn, is raised\nto a second stage of perfection by becoming the vehicle of an etheric or\nvital body. This last-named etheric body attains its first degree of\nperfection on its own account during the Sun evolution. In order, however,\nthat the second degree of perfection for the physical and the first for\nthe etheric body may be reached, the intervention of still other\nspirit-beings is necessary during the further course of the Sun life, in a\nsimilar manner to that which has been described as taking place during the\nSaturn stage.\n\nWhen the Lords of Wisdom begin to stream forth their etheric body, the\nSun, previously dark, begins to shine. At the same time the first\nappearances of inner activity are seen in the human germ; life has begun.\nWhat had to be described as a semblance of life on Saturn now becomes\nactual life. The influx lasts for a certain time, at the end of which an\nimportant change for the human germ sets in\u2014that is to say, it organizes\nitself into two parts. Whereas up to this point the physical and etheric\nbodies formed an intimately connected whole, the physical body now begins\nto detach itself as a separate part. Yet even that separated physical body\nis still pervaded by the etheric body. Therefore we have now to do with a\nhuman being composed of two principles. One portion is a physical body\npermeated by an etheric body; the other is an etheric body and nothing\nelse. This separation comes to pass, however, during a period of rest in\nthe Sun life. During this pause the shining, which had begun to appear,\ndies away. The separation takes place during a \u201ccosmic night,\u201d as it were.\nYet this interval of rest is much shorter than the one between the Saturn\nand Sun evolutions mentioned above. At the expiration of the rest period\nthe Lords of Wisdom work for a while on the two-fold being of man, just as\nthey had previously done on the undivided being. Then the Lords of Motion\nbegin their activity. They cause their own astral body to stream through\nthe human etheric body. By this means man acquires the capacity for\nexecuting certain inner movements in the physical body. These movements\nmay be compared with those of sap in a plant of our own time.\n\nThe Saturn body consisted exclusively of heat substance. During the Sun\nevolution that heat substance is condensed into a state which may be\ncompared with that of our present-day gas or steam. In occult science\n\u201cair\u201d is the name ordinarily used for this condition. The first beginnings\nof such a state are seen after the Lords of Motion have begun their\nactivity. The following spectacle is presented to clairvoyant\nconsciousness. Within the heat substance there appears something like\ndelicate formations which are set in rythmic motion by the forces of the\netheric body. These formations represent the human physical body at the\nstage of evolution now attained by it. They are permeated through and\nthrough with heat, and are also wrapped, as it were, in a heat envelope.\nFrom a physical point of view, man\u2019s nature may now be said to be composed\nof heat structures with air forms embedded in them\u2014the latter in regular\nmotion. Hence, if we wish to retain the foregoing comparison with a plant\nof the present day, we must remember that it is not a solid plant organism\nwhich we have to consider, but an air or gas form,(19) the movements of\nwhich may be compared with the circulation of the sap in plants of to-day.\n\nThe evolution thus indicated continues. After a certain time another\ninterval of rest sets in; after this the Lords of Motion go on working\nuntil their activity is supplemented by that of the Lords of Form. The\neffect of the latter is that the gas structures, which before were\nconstantly changing, now assume lasting form. This, too, happens because\nthe Lords of Form cause their forces to flow in and out of the human\netheric body. When the Lords of Motion alone were acting on the gaseous\norganisms, these were in perpetual motion, not keeping their form for an\ninstant. Now, however, they temporarily assume distinguishable shapes.\nAgain, after a certain period, there occurs a time of rest; and then once\nmore the Lords of Form continue their activity. But the conditions within\nthe Sun evolution are now entirely changed. For the point has been reached\nwhen the Sun evolution has attained its zenith. This is the time at which\nthe Lords of Personality, who attained their human stage on Saturn, ascend\nto a higher degree of perfection. They advance beyond the human stage;\nthey attain a form of consciousness which contemporary man does not yet\npossess in his normal course of development on the earth. He will acquire\nit when the earth\u2014the fourth of the planetary stages of evolution\u2014has\nreached its goal and has entered upon the next planetary period. Then man\nwill not only perceive around him what his present physical senses enable\nhim to apprehend, but he will be able to see in images the inner psychic\nconditions of the beings surrounding him. He will have a (clairvoyant)\npicture-consciousness, although retaining complete self-consciousness.\nThere will be nothing dream-like or vague in his clairvoyance, but he will\nperceive what is psychic, in pictures certainly, but in such a way that\nthese images will be the expression of realities, as physical colours and\nsounds are now. Man, at present, can attain to this degree of clairvoyance\nonly through occult training, which will be treated later in this book.\n\nNow this clairvoyance is attained by the Sons of Personality, as a gift of\ntheir normal evolution, midway in the Sun period; and it is just on this\naccount that they become capable of acting on the newly formed etheric\nbody of man during the Sun evolution, in a way similar to that in which\nthey acted on the physical body on Saturn. Just as there the heat\nreflected their own personality back to them, so do the gaseous organisms\nnow reflect back to them, in gleams of light, the images of their\nclairvoyant consciousness. They clairvoyantly behold what is taking place\non the Sun. And this vision is by no means mere observation; it is as\nthough something of the force which mortals call love made itself felt in\nthe images which stream forth from the Sun. If a clairvoyant looks more\nclosely, he will find the cause of this phenomenon. Exalted beings have\nblended their activity with the light that is being radiated from the Sun.\nThey are the Lords of Love (the Christian Seraphim) already mentioned.\nHenceforth they act, together with the Sons of Personality, on the human\netheric, or vital body. By means of that activity the etheric body\nadvances a step farther along its path of evolution. It acquires the\ncapacity not only of transforming the gaseous forms within it, but of so\nelaborating them that the first indications of a propagation of living\nhuman beings appear. Emanations, so to speak, are driven out (as though\nexuded) from the gaseous organisms that take on shapes resembling their\nmother-forms.\n\nIn order to describe the further course of the Sun evolution, reference\nmust be made to a fact in the formation of worlds which is of the greatest\npossible significance. It is this,\u2014that by no means every being attains\nthe goal of its evolution in the course of one epoch; there are some that\nfall short of that goal. Thus, during the Saturn evolution, not all of the\nSons of Personality actually reached the human stage for which, as\ndescribed above, they were destined; and just as little did all the\nphysical human bodies, developed on Saturn, attain the degree of maturity\nwhich qualifies them to become vehicles of an independent etheric body on\nthe Sun. The consequence is that beings and organisms are present on the\nSun which are not in harmony with their environment. These must now make\nup, during the Sun evolution, for what they failed to attain on Saturn.\nThe following may, therefore, be clairvoyantly observed during the Sun\nperiod. When the Lords of Wisdom begin their pouring in of the etheric\nbody, the Sun body is to some extent darkened. Structures are mingled with\nit which, properly speaking, belong to Saturn. They are heat organisms\nwhich are not able to condense themselves into air in the proper manner.\nThese are the human beings left behind in the Saturn stage. They are not\nable to become vehicles of a normally developed etheric body.\n\nNow the heat substance of Saturn, which has thus been left behind, splits\ninto two parts on the Sun. One part is absorbed, as it were, by human\nbodies, and henceforward forms a kind of lower nature within man\u2019s being.\nThus something, which really corresponds to the Saturn stage, is\nincorporated in the bodily part of man on the Sun. Now just as the Saturn\nbody of man made it possible for the Sons of Personality to raise\nthemselves to the human stage, the Saturn part of man performs the same\noffice on the Sun for the Sons of Fire. They raise themselves to the human\nstage by letting their forces flow in and out of the Saturn part of man,\nas did the Sons of Personality on Saturn.\n\nThis also happens during the middle period of the Sun evolution. The\nSaturn part of the human being is then so far matured that with its help\nthe Sons of Fire (Archangeloi) are able to pass through their human stage.\nAnother part of the Saturnian heat substance becomes detached and attains\nan independent existence alongside of and among the human beings on the\nSun. This forms a second kingdom by the side of the human kingdom, a\nkingdom which develops on the Sun only a perfectly independent physical\nbody, like a heat body. In consequence of this, the fully evolved Sons of\nPersonality are not able to direct their activity toward any independent\netheric body in the manner before described. But there were also certain\nSons of Personality left behind at the Saturn stage who fell short of the\nhuman stage. A bond of attraction exists between them and the second Sun\nkingdom which has become independent. They must now act toward the\nbackward kingdom on the Sun as their advanced brethren did on Saturn in\nregard to human beings. The latter had only their physical body perfected\nhere. But there is no possibility on the Sun for such a work on the part\nof the backward Sons of Personality. They therefore separate themselves\nfrom the Sun body, and form an independent celestial body outside it. This\nbody, accordingly, withdraws from the Sun, and from it the backward Sons\nof Personality act on the beings of the second Sun kingdom which have been\ndescribed. In this way two world-organisms have been formed out of the one\nwhich was previously Saturn. The Sun has now in its environment a second\ncelestial body, one which exhibits a kind of re-birth of Saturn, a new\nSaturn. From this Saturn the character of personality is conferred on the\nsecond Sun kingdom. Therefore within this kingdom we have to do with\nbeings which have no personality on the Sun itself. Yet they reflect back\nto the Sons of Personality on the new Saturn the special personality of\nthose spirits. Clairvoyant consciousness is able to observe among the\nhuman beings on the Sun, heat forces which act upon the regular course of\nSun evolution, and in which the sway of the spirits described as belonging\nto the new Saturn is to be seen.\n\nWe notice the following facts about man\u2019s being during the middle period\nof the Sun evolution. It is divided into a physical body and an etheric\nbody. Within these the activity of the advanced Sons of Personality plays,\nconjointly with that of the Lords of Love. Now part of the backward Saturn\nnature is mingled with the physical body. In this plays the activity of\nthe Sons of Fire. We now see in everything which the Sons of Fire effect\non the backward Saturn nature, the forerunners of the present human\nsense-organs. It has been shown how these Sons of Fire were already at\nwork on the elaboration of the sense-germs in the heat substance on\nSaturn. The first outline of the present human glands is to be recognized\nin what is accomplished by the Sons of Personality conjointly with the\nLords of Love (Seraphim).\n\nBut the above described is not the whole of the activity of the Sons of\nPersonality dwelling on the new Saturn. They not only extend their\nactivity to the second Sun kingdom mentioned above, but they also\nestablish a kind of connection between that kingdom and the human senses.\nThe heat substances of this kingdom flow in and out of the germs of the\nhuman sense-organs. By this means the human being on the Sun acquires a\nkind of perception of the lower kingdom situated outside him. That\nperception is naturally a dim one, closely corresponding to the dull\nSaturn-consciousness previously described. And it consists essentially of\nvaried heat effects.\n\nEverything here described as taking place in the middle of the Sun\nevolution continues for a certain definite period. Then a time of rest\nagain occurs. After that, things continue for a while in the same manner\nup to a certain point of evolution, at which the human etheric body is so\nfar matured that a united action of the Sons of Life (Angeloi) and the\nLords of Harmony (Cherubim) can set in. To clairvoyant consciousness,\ncertain manifestations now appear within man\u2019s being, which may be\ncompared with perceptions of taste, and which are made known externally as\nsounds. A similar thing has already been stated about the Saturn\nevolution. But here on the Sun the processes relating to human beings are\nmore from within and are full of more independent life.\n\nThe Sons of Life thereby acquire that dim picture-consciousness which the\nSons of Fire had already attained on Saturn. In this the Lords of Harmony\nare their helpers. They really behold clairvoyantly what is now being\nenacted within the Sun evolution; only they give up all the results of\nthat contemplation, and the enjoyment of those revelations of Wisdom that\narise from it, and allow them to stream, like splendid visions of\nenchantment, into the dream-like consciousness of the Sons of Life. The\nlatter again work these pictures of their visions into the etheric body of\nman, so that it attains higher and higher stages of development.\n\nAgain an interval of rest ensues, again everything is awakened from\n\u201ccosmic sleep\u201d; and after further lapse of time the human being is\nsufficiently advanced to use its own forces. These forces are the same\nthat were poured forth into man\u2019s being by the \u201cThrones\u201d during the latter\npart of the Saturn period. This human being now evolves an inner life,\nwhich, in its manifestation to clairvoyant consciousness, may be compared\nwith an inner perception of smell. But outside, in the direction of\ncelestial space, man\u2019s being is manifested as a personality, though not\none directed by an inner ego. It appears more like a plant with the\ncharacter of a personality. It has been stated that at the end of the\nSaturn evolution personality is manifested somewhat machine like. And just\nas then, the first germ was developed of that which still remains a germ\nin contemporary man,\u2014the Spirit-Man (Atma),\u2014so at this point there is\nformed a similar first germ of the Life-Spirit (Budhi).\n\nWhen all this has continued for some time, an interval of rest again\noccurs. Following this, as in previous instances, the activity of the\nhuman being is resumed for a while. Then conditions commence, which mark a\nnew intervention of the Lords of Wisdom. By its means human nature becomes\ncapable of feeling the first traces of sympathy and antipathy for its\nenvironment. In all this there is still no real sensation but only a\npremonition of sensation. For the inner life-activity, which might be\ncharacterized in its manifestation as perception of smell, is revealed\nexternally as a kind of primitive language. If the human being is inwardly\nconscious of a useful smell\u2014or taste, or glitter,\u2014it is manifested\noutwardly by a sound; and the same thing happens, in a corresponding way,\nwith an inwardly uncongenial perception. Through all the events described,\nthe real meaning of the Sun evolution for the human being is indicated.\nThe human being has reached a higher stage of consciousness than that of\nthe Saturn period. It is the consciousness of sleep.\n\nAfter a time, the point of evolution is also reached at which the higher\nbeings connected with the Sun stage must pass into other spheres in order\nto work out that with which they have endowed themselves by their work on\nthe human being. A long period of rest sets in, one similar to that\nbetween the Saturn and Sun evolutions. Everything that has been perfected\non the Sun passes into a condition which may be compared with that of a\nplant when its powers of growth are resting in the seed. But just as those\npowers of growth appear again in a new plant, so does everything that was\nliving on the Sun come forth again, after the period of rest, from the\ncosmic depths, to begin a new planetary existence.\n\nThe meaning of such a term of rest, or \u201ccosmic sleep,\u201d will readily be\nunderstood if we will only direct our spiritual vision to one of the\norders of beings already mentioned, for instance, to the Lords of Wisdom.\nThey were not far enough evolved on Saturn to be able to ray forth an\netheric body from themselves. They were only prepared for this after they\nhad gone through their experiences on Saturn. During the rest (Pralaya)\nthey transform into actual capacity what has been previously only prepared\nwithin them. Thus on the Sun they are evolved far enough to pour forth\nlife from themselves, and to endow the human being with an etheric body of\nits own.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nAfter the interval of rest, that which had previously been the Sun comes\nforth again out of the \u201ccosmic sleep.\u201d That is, it again becomes\nperceptible to the clairvoyant faculties which had been able to observe it\nbefore, but had lost sight of it during the resting period. There are now\ntwo points to be observed with regard to the newly appearing planetary\norganism, which may, in occult science, be denoted the \u201cMoon\u201d (and this\nmust not be confused with that portion of it which is now the earth\u2019s\nmoon). In the first place, that which had detached itself during the Sun\nperiod as a \u201cnew Saturn\u201d is once more within the new planetary body. This\nSaturn has therefore been again united with the Sun during the term of\nrest. Everything which was in the original Saturn reappears at first as\none world-organism. Secondly, the human etheric bodies which had been\nformed on the Sun have been absorbed, during the resting period, by that\nwhich constitutes the spiritual sheath of the planet. At this point of\ntime, therefore, they do not make their appearance united with the\ncorresponding physical human bodies, but these latter at first appear\nseparately. They contain everything which had been gained for them on\nSaturn and the Sun, but they are without the etheric, or vital body.\nIndeed, they cannot incorporate that etheric body within themselves\nimmediately, for it has also been passing, during the period of rest,\nthrough an evolution with which they are not yet harmonized.\n\nWhat occurs at the beginning of the Moon evolution, in order to bring\nabout this adjustment, is, first of all, another recapitulation of the\nSaturnian events. The physical part of man passes once more through the\nstages of the Saturn evolution, but under greatly altered circumstances.\nOn Saturn there were only the forces of a heat body at work within him;\nnow there are also those of the gas body that has been elaborated. These\nlatter forces do not, however, appear quite at the beginning of the Moon\nevolution. Then everything appears as though man\u2019s being were composed\nonly of heat substance, and as though the gas forces were lying dormant\nwithin that substance. Then comes a time when the first indications of\nthese forces make their appearance; and lastly, in the latest period of\nthe Saturn recapitulation, man\u2019s being has the same appearance as during\nthe animated period of his Sun existence. Yet, all life still proves to be\nbut a semblance of life.\n\nNext occurs a period of rest similar to the short periods of rest of the\nSun evolution. Then the pouring in of the etheric body, for which the\nphysical body has now become ripe, begins anew. As in the case of the\nrecapitulation of Saturn, this influx takes place in three distinct\nperiods. During the second of these, man\u2019s being is so far adjusted to the\nnew Moon conditions that the Lords of Motion are able to bring into play\nthe faculty they have acquired. This faculty consists in pouring the\nastral body out of their own being into man\u2019s being. They prepared\nthemselves for this work during the Sun evolution, and during the time of\nrest between the Sun and Moon they transformed what had been prepared into\nthe faculty alluded to. This influx lasts for a while, then one of the\nshorter intervals of rest sets in. After that the influx continues until\nthe Lords of Form begin their activity. In consequence of this pouring of\nthe astral body into the human being by the Lords of Motion, man acquires\nhis first psychic qualities. He begins to develop sensations in connection\nwith the processes which take place within, through the possession of an\netheric body, and which during the Sun evolution were still of a\nplant-like nature; these processes now give him sensations of pleasure and\ndispleasure. But it is nothing more than a constant inner ebb and flow of\nsuch pleasure and displeasure, until the Lords of Form intervene. Then\nthese changing feelings are so transformed that there appear in man\u2019s\nbeing what may be regarded as the first signs of wish or desire. The human\nbeing strives after a repetition of what has once caused pleasure, and\ntries to avoid what has been felt as antipathetic. However, since the\nLords of Form do not give up their own nature to the human being, but\nmerely let their forces stream in and out, desire is wanting in depth of\nfeeling and independence. It is directed by the Lords of Form, and has an\ninstinctive character.\n\nThe human physical body on Saturn was a heat body; on the Sun a\ncondensation into the gaseous state, or into \u201cair,\u201d has taken place. Now,\nas during the Moon evolution, the astral element is rayed into the\nphysical part, which at a definite moment attains a further degree of\ncondensation and arrives at a state which may be compared with that of a\nliquid substance of today. In accordance with the usage of occult science\nthis state may be called \u201cwater.\u201d By water, is not meant only the water we\nnow have, but this term applies to every liquid form in existence. The\nphysical human body now gradually assumes a form composed of three kinds\nof material structures. The densest is a \u201cwater body\u201d; through this flow\nair currents; and all of this again is permeated by manifestations of\nwarmth.\n\nNow all the organisms do not attain full, adequate maturity during the Sun\nstage. Therefore there are organisms to be found on the Moon which are\nonly at the Saturn stage, and others which have only reached the Sun\nstage. In this way two other kingdoms arise by the side of the normally\nevolved human kingdom. One consists of beings which have stopped short at\nthe Saturn stage, and therefore have only a physical body, which even on\nthe Moon is not yet able to become the vehicle of an independent etheric\nbody. This is the lowest of the Moon kingdoms. A second consists of beings\nwhich have been left behind at the Sun stage, and which therefore do not\nmature sufficiently on the Moon to take on an independent astral body.\nThese form a kingdom between the one just mentioned and the regularly\ndeveloped human kingdom.\n\nBut there is still something else taking place: The substances containing\nonly heat forces and those containing only air forces, permeate these\nhuman beings. Thus it happens that the latter have within them on the Moon\nboth a Saturnian and a solar nature. In this way a kind of cleavage has\ntaken place in human nature; and by means of this cleavage, something very\nmomentous is called forth within the Moon evolution after the activity of\nthe Lords of Form has begun. The first evidences of a cleavage in the\ncosmic body of the Moon becomes then apparent. One part of its substances\nand beings separates from the other; two heavenly bodies are formed out of\none. One of these becomes the abode of certain higher beings who were\npreviously more closely connected with the undivided celestial body; while\nthe other is occupied by human beings, the two lower kingdoms described\nabove, and certain higher beings who did not pass over to the first\ncelestial body.\n\nThe first heavenly body, with the higher beings, appears like a reborn but\nrefined Sun; the other is really the new formation, the \u201cold Moon.\u201d The\nregenerated Sun, on going out, takes with it only \u201cheat\u201d and \u201cair\u201d from\nthe substances which have been formed on the Moon; on what is left as the\nMoon there is the liquid condition as well as the other two substances. As\na result of this separation the beings which have withdrawn with the\nnewborn Sun are not, in the first place, hampered in their further\nevolution by the denser Moon beings. Thus they are able to continue their\nown progress without hindrance. But thus they attain just that much more\npower to act now upon the Moon beings from their Sun. And they in turn\nalso acquire thereby new possibilities of evolution. Most important of\nall, the Lords of Form are still in union with them. These accentuate the\npassions and the desire-nature, and this expresses itself gradually also\nin a further condensation of the physical human body. What was previously\nnothing but liquid in that body assumes a densely viscous form; and the\nair-like and heat-like formations are correspondingly condensed. Similar\nprocesses take place in the two lower kingdoms.\n\nThe result of the separation of the Moon-body from the Sun-body is that\nthe former bears the same relation to the latter as the Saturn-body once\ndid to the whole cosmic evolution surrounding it. The Saturn-sphere was\nformed out of the body of the \u201cLords of Will\u201d (the Thrones). From out its\nsubstance emanated back into cosmic space everything which the\nabove-mentioned spiritual beings in the environment of Saturn experienced.\nAnd this radiation by degrees awakened independent life, by means of the\nsubsequent processes. All evolution is due to the fact that independent\nbeings differentiate themselves from their environment, then this\nenvironment like a reflection stamps itself upon those differentiated\nbeings who then evolve further independently. The Moon-body, having\nlikewise separated from the Sun-body, reflects at first the life of the\nlatter. If nothing further had then happened, the following cosmic process\nwould have taken place: There would have been a Sun-body in which\nspiritual beings adapted to that body would have lived through their\nexperiences in the elements of heat and air.\n\nSet over against this Sun-body would have been a Moon-body, in which other\nbeings of like nature with the Sun-beings would have undergone their\nexperiences in the conditions of heat, air, and water. The progress from\nthe Sun-incarnation to that of the Moon would have consisted in the\nSun-beings seeing their own life, as in a reflection of the events on the\nMoon. They would have thus been able to enjoy it, something which they\nwere still incapable of doing during the Sun incarnation. But evolution\ndid not remain at this stage. Something occurred which was of the deepest\nsignificance for all future evolution. Certain beings adapted to the\nMoon-body, take possession of the element of will (the heritage of the\nThrones) which was at their disposal, and by its means develop a life of\ntheir own, which takes shape independently of the Sun-life. Alongside of\nthose Moon experiences which are entirely under the influence of the Sun,\nthere arise independent Moon experiences, and, at the same time, states of\nrebellion or mutiny against the Sun-beings. And the various kingdoms which\nhad arisen on the Sun and Moon, first and foremost of which was the\nkingdom of man\u2019s ancestors, are drawn into these conditions. In this way\nthe Moon-body contains within it, spiritually and materially, two kinds of\nlife: one that is in inner union with the Sun-life, and another which has\n\u201cfallen away\u201d from it and goes its own way independently. This division\ninto a twofold life appears in all subsequent events of the Moon\nincarnation.\n\nWhat presents itself to clairvoyant consciousness in this period of\nevolution may be realized from the following pictures. The whole basic\nmass of the Moon is formed of a semi-animated substance which at one time\nmoves sluggishly, at another quickly. This is not yet a mineral mass like\nthe rocks and constituents of the earth upon which present day humanity\nwalks. We might call it a kingdom of plant-minerals, only we have to\nimagine that the main body of the Moon consists wholly of this\nplant-mineral substance, as the earth today consists of rock, soil and\nother substances. Just as now we have towering masses of rock, so there\nwere then harder portions embedded in the Moon\u2019s bulk; these may be\ncompared with hard wooden structures or formations of horn; and as plants\nnow arise out of mineral soil, so the surface of the Moon was covered and\npenetrated by the second kingdom, consisting of a kind of plant-animal.\nTheir substance was softer than the general mass of the Moon, and more\nmobile. This kingdom extended over the other, like a viscous sea.\n\nMan himself at that time may be called animal-man. He had in his nature\nthe component parts of the other two kingdoms; but his being was\nthoroughly interpenetrated by an etheric and an astral body, upon which\nthe forces of higher beings worked, issuing from the severed Sun. His form\nwas thus brought to greater perfection. While the Lords of Form were\ngiving him a form which adapted him to Moon life, the Sun-Spirits were\ngiving him a nature which lifted him beyond that life. He had the power of\nennobling his own nature with the faculties given him by these Spirits,\u2014in\nfact, of raising what was akin to the lower kingdoms to a higher level.\n\nSeen spiritually, the events now under consideration may be described in\nthe following way. Man\u2019s ancestor had been brought to greater perfection\nby beings who had fallen away from the Sun kingdom. This improvement\nextended especially to everything that could be experienced in the element\nof water. Over that element the Sun-beings, who were rulers in the\nelements of heat and air, had less influence. The consequence of this was\nthat in the organism of man\u2019s ancestor two kinds of beings manifested\nthemselves. One part of the organism was wholly interpenetrated by the\ninfluences of the Sun-beings. In the other part, the rebellious\nMoon-beings were operative. Owing to this, the latter part was more\nindependent than the former. In the former there could only arise states\nof consciousness in which the Sun-beings lived; in the latter there lived\na kind of cosmic consciousness, such as was typical on Saturn, only now\nupon a higher level.\n\nMan\u2019s ancestor consequently felt himself to be an \u201cimage of the universe,\u201d\nwhereas his \u201cSun-part\u201d felt itself to be only an \u201cimage of the Sun.\u201d The\ntwo beings now came to a kind of conflict in man\u2019s nature. A settlement of\nthis conflict was brought about by the influence of the Sun-beings,\nthrough which the material organism which made the independent universal\nconsciousness possible, was rendered frail and perishable. From time to\ntime this part of the organism had to be thrown off. During and also some\ntime after the separation, man\u2019s ancestor was a being wholly dependent on\nthe Sun influence. His consciousness became less independent; he lived\nwithin it, entirely surrendered to Sun-life. Then the independent portion\nof the Moon was once more renewed. After some time this process was\nrepeated. Thus man\u2019s ancestor lived on the Moon in alternating conditions\nof clearer and duller consciousness; and the alternation was accompanied\nby a change of his being in a material respect. From time to time he laid\naside his Moon-body and resumed it later. Seen physically, great variety\nappears in the kingdoms of the Moon above mentioned. The mineral-plants,\nplant-animals and animal-men are differentiated into groups. This will be\nunderstood when it is borne in mind that as a result of certain organisms\nhaving been left behind at each of the earlier stages of evolution, forms\npossessing most varied qualities took physical shape. There are formations\nstill retaining the qualities of the early Saturn period, others showing\nthose of the middle period and again others of the closing period of\nSaturn. A similar statement is true of all the stages of the Sun\nevolution.\n\nAs organisms belonging to the evolving planet are left behind, so is it\nalso with certain beings connected with that evolution. Through the\nprogress of evolution up to the Moon period, different grades of such\nbeings have already arisen. There are the Sons of Personality who not even\non the Sun have attained their human stage; but there are also others who\nthen caught up with evolving humanity. A number of the Sons of Fire, who\nshould have attained humanity on the Sun, fell behind. Now, just as during\nthe Sun evolution certain of the Sons of Personality withdrew from the Sun\nand caused the reappearance of Saturn as a separate body, so it also\nhappens that in the course of the Moon evolution the beings described\nabove separate and form individual celestial bodies. So far we have\nmentioned only the separation into Sun and Moon; but for the reasons\nalready given, other world-organisms detached themselves from the\nMoon-body, which made its appearance after the great interval between the\nSun and Moon.\n\nAfter a certain time we have a system of cosmic bodies the most advanced\nof which, as can easily be seen, must be called the New Sun. And just such\na bond of attraction as was described above for the evolution as existing\nbetween the backward Saturn kingdom and the Sons of Personality on the new\nSaturn, is formed between each of these bodies and the corresponding\nMoon-beings. It would take us much too far to follow up in detail all the\ncelestial bodies that come into existence. It must suffice to have pointed\nout the reason why a succession of them arises by degrees from the\nundivided world-organism which appears as Saturn at the beginning of human\nevolution.\n\nAfter the intervention of the Lords of Form, on the Moon, evolution\nproceeds for a while in the manner described. At the end of this time\nthere is again a pause. While it lasts, the coarser portions of the three\nMoon kingdoms are in a sort of resting state, but the finer parts, in\nparticular the human astral body, extricate themselves from those coarser\norganisms. They reach a condition in which the higher forces of exalted\nSun-beings are able to act upon them very powerfully. After the interval\nof rest they again interpenetrate those parts of man\u2019s being which are\ncomposed of the coarser substances. Because they received such powerful\nforces during the pause\u2014in a free state\u2014they are able to make those\ncoarser substances ripe for the influence, after a certain time, of the\nSons of Personality and the Sons of Fire, who have progressed normally.\n\nIn the meantime these Sons of Personality have raised themselves to a\nlevel upon which they possess the \u201cconsciousness of inspiration.\u201d Here\nthey are not only able\u2014as was the case with clairvoyant\npicture-consciousness\u2014to observe the inner state of other beings in\nimages, but to apprehend the inner nature itself of those beings, as\nthough in a spiritual tone-language. But the Sons of Fire have risen to\nthat height of consciousness possessed on the Sun by the Sons of\nPersonality. Thus both kinds of spirits are able to influence the now more\ndeveloped life of the human being. The Sons of Personality act on the\nastral body, the Sons of Fire on the etheric body of this human being. The\nastral body thereby acquires the character of personality. It now not only\nexperiences pleasure and pain, but relates them to itself. It has not\narrived at a complete ego-consciousness, that says to itself, \u201cI am here\u201d;\nbut it feels itself upheld and protected by other beings in its\nenvironment. When looking, as it were, up to these, it is able to say,\n\u201cThis, my environment, keeps me alive.\u201d\n\nThe Sons of Fire now work upon the etheric body. Under their influence the\nmovement of forces in that body becomes more and more an inner function of\nlife. What then results finds physical expression in a circulation of\nfluids and in phenomena of growth. The gaseous substances have become\ncondensed into liquid substances; we may speak of a kind of nutritive\nprocess, in the sense that what is received from without becomes\ntransformed and elaborated within. Perhaps if we think of something\nintermediate between nutrition and respiration in the present meaning of\nthe terms, we may get an idea of what then happened in this respect. The\nnutritive matter was drawn from the animal-plant kingdom by the human\nbeing. We must think of those animal-plants as floating or swimming\u2014or\neven lightly attached in an element surrounding them, as the lower animals\nof the present time live in water, or land animals in air. Yet the element\nis neither water nor air in the present sense, but something midway\nbetween the two, a kind of thick vapour in which most heterogeneous\nsubstances move hither and thither, as though dissolved in currents\nflowing in all directions.\n\nThe animal-plants appear only as condensed regular forms of this element,\noften differing little physically from their environment. The process of\nrespiration exists alongside of the process of nutrition. It is not as it\nis upon the earth, but like a drawing in and a streaming out of heat. To\nclairvoyant observation it is as though during those processes, organs\nopened and closed, through which a warming current passed in and out, and\nthrough which airy and watery substances were also carried in and out. And\nsince man\u2019s nature at this stage of evolution already possesses an astral\nbody, respiration and nutrition are accompanied by feelings, so that a\nsort of pleasure ensues when materials which promote the upbuilding of\nman\u2019s nature are taken in from without. Aversion is caused if injurious\nsubstances flow in, or even if they merely approach.\n\nJust as during the Moon evolution the respiratory and the nutritive\nprocesses were closely connected, as has been described, so was the\nprocess of perception in close connection with reproduction. No immediate\neffect was produced on any of the senses by the things and beings in the\nenvironment of Moon humanity. Perception was, on the contrary, of such a\nnature that the presence of things and beings called up pictures in the\ndull, dreamy consciousness. These pictures were much more closely\nconnected with the real nature of the environment than the present\nsense-perceptions, which record in colour, sounds, smell etc., so to\nspeak, only the outside of things and beings.\n\nIn order to get a clearer idea of the human consciousness on the Moon, let\nus imagine human beings immersed in the vaporous environment described\nabove. Most varied processes take place in this vapour-element. Materials\nunite, substances break asunder one from the other; some parts become\ncondensed, others rarified. All this happens in such a way that human\nbeings do not see or hear anything of it directly, but it calls up\npictures in their consciousness. These may be compared with the images of\nour present dream-consciousness, as for instance when an object falls to\nthe ground, and a sleeping man does not discern what has really happened\nbut perceives it in the form of a picture; let us say he thinks that a\nshot has been fired. However, the pictures in the Moon-consciousness are\nnot arbitrary, as is the case with such dream-pictures; although they are\nsymbols, not representations, yet they correspond with outer events. A\ndefinite outer event can call up only one definite picture. The Moon-being\nis therefore in a position to regulate his conduct by means of these\npictures, as present-day man does by means of his perceptions. We must\nnevertheless be careful to notice that conduct, regulated by perception,\nis governed by choice whereas action, under the influence of the pictures\nwe have described, takes place as if prompted by some dim instinct.\n\nIt is by no means as though only outer physical processes become\nperceptible through this picture-consciousness, but it is through the\npictures that the spiritual beings, who rule behind the physical facts\ntogether with their activities, become likewise perceptible. Thus the\nLords of Personality become visible, so to speak, in the phenomena of the\nanimal-plant kingdom; the Sons of Fire appear behind and in the\nmineral-plant beings; and the Sons of Life appear as beings whom man is\nable to imagine unconnected with anything physical,\u2014whom he sees, as it\nwere, as etheric-psychic organisms.\n\nThough these pictures of the Moon-consciousness were not representations,\nonly symbols of outer things, they nevertheless had a much more important\neffect on the inner nature of man than the images now caused by\nperception. They were able to set the whole inner being into motion and\nactivity. The inner processes were moulded in conformity with them. They\nwere genuine formative forces. Man\u2019s being became what those formative\nforces made it; it became, to a certain extent, a representation of the\nevents of its consciousness.\n\nThe further evolution progresses in this manner, the more it results in a\ndeeply incisive change in man\u2019s being. The power issuing from the pictures\nin the consciousness gradually becomes unable to extend over the whole\nhuman bodily frame, which divides into two parts, or two natures. Members\nare formed subject to the shaping influence of the picture-consciousness,\nand they become to a great extent a copy of that life of imagination in\nthe way just described. Other organs escape such an influence. They are,\nas it were, too dense, too much determined by other laws, to conform\nthemselves to the picture-consciousness. These organs withdraw from the\nhuman influence; but they come under another, that of the exalted\nSun-beings themselves. A period of rest, however, is first seen to precede\nthis stage of evolution. During this pause, the Sun-Spirits are gathering\nforce to influence the Moon-beings under quite new circumstances.\n\nAfter this term of rest, man\u2019s being is distinctly divided into two\nnatures. One of these is withdrawn from the independent action of the\npicture-consciousness; it assumes a more definite form, and comes under\nthe influence of forces which, though issuing from the Moon body, are only\ncalled forth there through the influence of the Sun-beings. This part of\nthe human being shares more and more in the life which is stimulated by\nthe Sun: the other part rises, like a kind of head, out of the first one.\nIt is flexible, can move itself, and takes shape in conformity with the\nlife of dull human consciousness. Yet the two parts are closely connected\nwith each other; they send one another their vital fluids, and members\nextend from one into the other.\n\nAn important harmony is now attained by the working out, during the time\nin which all this happened, of such a relation between the Sun and Moon as\nis in keeping with the aim of this evolution. It has already been\nintimated in a former passage how the advancing beings throughout their\nstages of evolution, shape their celestial bodies from out the general\ncosmic mass. They emanate, as it were, the forces which govern the\naggregation of the substances. The Sun and Moon have thus separated from\neach other, as was necessary for the preparation of the right abodes for\ntheir respective beings. But this regulation of material and its forces by\nthe spirit is carried very much farther. The beings themselves condition\nas well, certain movements of the heavenly bodies, and the definite\nrevolutions of them around each other. In consequence, those bodies occupy\nchanging positions with regard to each other. And if the position or\nsituation of one body relative to another is altered, the effects of their\nrespective inhabitants upon each other also change. So it is with the Sun\nand Moon. Through the movement of the Moon around the Sun, which by this\ntime had come about, the human beings come alternately at one time more\ninto the sphere of the Sun\u2019s influence, at another they are turned away\nfrom it and are then thrown back more on their own resources. The movement\nis a consequence of the \u201cfall\u201d of certain Moon-beings, as already\ndescribed, and of the settlement of the conflict which was thereby brought\nabout. It is the physical expression of the new relation of spiritual\nforces created by this falling away. As a consequence of the rotation of\nthe one sphere round the other the beings inhabiting these heavenly bodies\nexperience the alternating conditions of consciousness above described. We\nmay put it thus, that the Moon alternately turns its life toward the Sun\nand away from it. There is a Sun time and a planetary time and during this\nlatter, the Moon-beings develop on the side of the Moon which is turned\naway from the Sun.\n\nIt is true however, that so far as the Moon is concerned, in addition to\nthe movement of the celestial bodies, still something else must be\nconsidered. That is to say, clairvoyant consciousness, on looking back,\ncan plainly see the Moon-beings wandering around their own planet, at\nquite regular periods of time. Thus at certain times they seek localities\nwhere they can give themselves up to the Sun influence; at other periods\nthey wander to places where they are not subject to that influence, and\nwhere they can, as it were, reflect upon their own being.\n\nIn order to complete the picture of these events, we must further notice\nthat the Sons of Life attain their human stage during this period. Man\u2019s\nsenses, the beginnings of which already existed on Saturn, cannot even\nyet, on the Moon, be used for his own perception of external objects. But\nat the Moon stage those senses become the instruments of the Sons of Life,\nwho make use of them in order to perceive through them. These senses,\nbelonging to the physical human body, enter thereby into reciprocal\nrelations with the Sons of Life, by whom they are not only used but\nimproved.\n\nThrough the changing relations of the Sun, there appears now in the human\nbeing himself, as has been already indicated, a change in the conditions\nof life. Things so shape themselves that when the human being is dominated\nby the Sun influence, he devotes himself more to the Sun life and its\nphenomena than to himself. At such times he feels the greatness and glory\nof the universe; he, so to speak, absorbs them. Those very exalted beings\nwho dwell on the Sun then influence the Moon, which again influences human\nbeings. This influence, however, does not extend to the whole of man, but\nchiefly to those parts which have thrown off the influence of their own\npicture-consciousness. It is then that especially the physical and the\netheric bodies attain a definite size and form. On the other hand, the\nphenomena of consciousness retire into the background. But when the human\nbeing is turned away from the Sun, it is occupied with its own nature; an\ninner activity begins, especially in the astral body while the outer form,\non the contrary, becomes more insignificant, and less perfect in form.\n\nThus during the Moon evolution there are two states of consciousness to be\nclearly distinguished, alternating with each other; duller during the Sun\nperiod and clearer during the time when life is left more to its own\nresources. The first state though duller, is on the other hand more\nunselfish; man then lives a life more devoted to the outer world, to the\nuniverse. It is an alternation of states of consciousness, which on one\nhand may be compared with the alternation of sleeping and waking in\npresent day humanity, as well as with his life between birth and death, on\nthe other hand with the more spiritual existence between death and a new\nbirth. The awakening on the Moon, when the Sun period gradually ceases,\nmight be described as something intermediate between the awakening of\ncontemporary man each morning, and his being born. And in the same way the\ngradual dulling of consciousness at the approach of the Sun period\nresembles a condition midway between falling asleep and dying. For on the\nold Moon there was not yet such a consciousness of birth and death as man\nnow possesses. Man gave himself up to the enjoyment of the universe in a\nkind of Sun life. During this period he was carried beyond his own life;\nhe lived more spiritually. We can only attempt an approximate description,\nby way of comparison, of what man experienced during such times. He felt\nas though the forces of the universe were streaming into him, pulsing\nthrough him. He felt as though intoxicated with the harmonies of the\nuniverse which he thus experienced.\n\nAs such times his astral body was as though set free from the physical\nbody; also part of the etheric body went with it out of the physical body.\nThis organism, consisting of the astral and etheric bodies, was like a\ndelicate, wonderful musical instrument, from the strings of which the\nmysteries of the universe reverberated. And the members of that part of\nthe human being on which consciousness had but slight influence were\nshaped in accordance with the harmonies of the universe. For the\nSun-beings worked in those harmonies. Thus this part of man was given its\nform by the spiritual sounds of the universe; and at the same time the\nalternation between the clearer state of consciousness during the Sun\nperiod, and the duller one, was not so abrupt as was that between the\nwaking state and that of absolutely dreamless sleep in contemporary man.\nThe picture-consciousness was not so clear as the present waking\nconsciousness; but on the other hand, the other consciousness was not so\ndull as the dreamless sleep of the present day.\n\nThus the human being had a conception, even though dim, of the play of the\ncosmic harmonies in his physical body and in that part of his etheric body\nwhich had remained united with the physical body. During the time when, so\nto speak, the Sun did not shine on humanity, the picture-concepts replaced\nthese harmonies in man\u2019s consciousness. There was then a revival\nparticularly of those parts of the physical and etheric bodies which were\nunder the immediate power of consciousness. On the other hand, other parts\nof the human being, now not exposed to the formative forces streaming from\nthe Sun, underwent a kind of hardening and drying up process. When the Sun\nperiod again drew near, the old bodies decayed; they fell away from the\nhuman being, and as though from the grave of his old bodily form, the\nrejuvenated human being appeared, who even in this new form, was still\nuncomely.\n\nA renewal of the life-process had taken place. By the operation of the\nSun-beings and their harmonies, the new-born body shaped itself again in\nits perfection, and the process described above was repeated. Man felt\nthat renewal as if it were the putting on of new garments. The kernel of\nhis being had not passed through an actual birth or death; it had only\npassed from a spiritual tone-consciousness, in which it was given over to\nthe outer world, to one of a more inner nature. It had sloughed off its\nskin. The old body had become useless; it was thrown off and renewed. This\nthen more clearly describes what has been characterized above as a kind of\nreproduction, and which as has been said, is closely connected with\nperception. Man\u2019s being has brought forth his likeness with respect to\ncertain parts of the physical and etheric bodies. However a being totally\ndifferent from the parent being does not come into existence, but the\nkernel of the parent-being passes over into the offspring. No new being\narises, but the same one in a new form.\n\nThus the Moon human being experiences a change of consciousness. When the\nSun period draws near, his pictured images become dimmer and dimmer, and\nblissful devotion takes possession of him; the harmonies of the universe\nresound in his peaceful inner being. Toward the end of this time the\nimages of the astral body begin to be animated; he begins to be more\nconscious of himself and able to experience sensation. Man experiences\nsomething like an awakening from the bliss and tranquility in which he was\nwrapped during the sun period.\n\nAt the same time another important experience begins. With this new\nclearing up of the picture-consciousness the human being sees himself as\nthough enveloped in a cloud, which has descended upon him like a being\nfrom the cosmos.\n\nAnd he feels that being as something belonging to him, as a completion of\nhis own nature; he feels it as that which gives him existence, as his\n\u201cego.\u201d That being is one of the Sons of Life. Man feels toward him\nsomewhat like this: \u201cI have lived in this being, even when I was given up\nto the glory of the universe in the Sun period,\u2014only then he was not\nvisible to me; now he is.\u201d And it is also this Son of Life from whom\nproceeds the force which, during the Sunless period, acts upon the body of\nman. Then when the Sun period again approaches, man feels as though he\nhimself became one with the Son of Life. Even if man does not see him, he\nnevertheless feels closely united with him.\n\nNow the connection with the Sons of Life was such that not every\nindividual human being had a Son of Life to himself, but an entire group\nof people felt such a being belonging to them. Thus people on the Moon\nlived segregated into groups, and each group felt in one of the Sons of\nLife its common \u201cgroup-ego.\u201d The etheric body of each particular group had\na specific form, in this way these groups differed from each other. But as\nthe physical bodies shaped themselves in conformity with the etheric\nbodies, the differences of the latter were also stamped upon the former;\nand the individual groups of human beings appeared as so many species of\npeople. As the Sons of Life looked down on the human groups belonging to\nthem, they saw themselves to a certain extent reproduced in manifold\nindividual human beings. And therein they felt their own egohood. They, so\nto speak, mirrored themselves in man. This was indeed the mission of the\nhuman senses at that time. It has already been shown that the senses did\nnot as yet transmit objective perceptions. But they reflected the nature\nof the Sons of Life. What those Sons of Life perceived through reflection,\ngave them their \u201cego-consciousness.\u201d What was aroused in the human astral\nbody by this reflection was the dull dim pictures of the\nMoon-consciousness. By thus acting conjointly and reciprocally with the\nSons of Life, the human beings laid the foundations of the nervous system\nwithin their physical bodies. The nerves appear, one might say, as\ncontinuations of the senses, directed inwardly into the human body.\n\nIt is evident, from this description, in what manner the three kinds of\nSpirits, those of Personality, of Fire, and of Life, act upon\nMoon-humanity. If we look back upon the most important, namely the middle\nperiod of the Moon evolution, we may say that the Sons of Personality are\nat that time implanting in the human astral body independence and the\ncharacter of personality. It is owing to this fact that man can turn his\nattention inwards and work upon himself during those times when the Sun is\nnot shining upon him.\n\nThe Sons of Fire act upon the etheric body in so far as the independent\nformation of the human being becomes imprinted upon it. Through their\nmeans it comes to pass that human beings are again conscious of\nthemselves, as such, every time the body is renewed. Thus a kind of memory\nis bestowed on the etheric body through the Sons of Fire.\n\nThe Sons of Life act on the physical body in such a way that it is able to\nbecome the expression of the astral body which has now become independent.\nThey thus make it possible for the physical body to become a physiognomic\ncopy of its astral body. On the other hand, higher spiritual beings, in\nparticular the Lords of Form and of Motion, reach down into the physical\nand etheric bodies, as far as these are developing during the Sun periods,\nregardless of the independent astral body. Their intervention comes from\nthe Sun, in the manner described above.\n\nUnder the influence of such facts, the human being gradually matures to a\npoint where it can develop within itself the germ of the Spirit-Self just\nas during the second half of the Saturn evolution it developed the germ of\nthe Spirit-Man and on the Sun that of the Life-Spirit. Thereby all the\nMoon conditions are changed. Human beings have not only become more noble\nand refined through successive transformations and renewals, but they have\nalso gained in power. For this reason the picture-consciousness was more\nand more maintained during the Sun periods. It also gained influence in\nthe formation of the physical and etheric bodies, which hitherto had been\nformed entirely by the action of the Sun-beings.\n\nWhat took place on the Moon through human beings and the Spirits connected\nwith them became more and more like that which had formerly been effected\nby the Sun with its higher beings. The consequence was that those\nSun-beings were able more and more to concentrate their forces on their\nown evolution. By this means the Moon became, after a time, mature enough\nto be again re-united with the Sun. To spiritual vision, these occurrences\ntake place as follows: The \u201crebellious Moon-beings\u201d had been gradually\novercome by the Sun-beings and compelled to submit to them in such a\nmanner, that their activities became a part of and subordinate to the\nactivities of the Sun-beings. It is true that this happened only after the\nlapse of long ages during which the Moon periods had become shorter and\nshorter, and the Sun periods longer and longer. Now there again comes an\nevolution during which the Sun and Moon form one world-organism. By this\ntime the physical human body has become quite etheric.\n\nWhen it is said that the physical body has become etheric, it must not be\nimagined that under such circumstances there is no existing physical body.\nWhat was formed as a physical body during the Saturn, Sun, and Moon\nperiods, still exists. It is important to recognize the physical element\neven where it is not externally and physically manifested. It may also be\npresent in such a way that it shows outwardly an etheric or even an astral\nform. We must distinguish between the outward appearance and the inner\nlaw. What is physical may become etheric and astral, at the same time\nretain in itself the physical law. That is the case when the physical body\nof man has attained a certain degree of perfection on the Moon. It becomes\netheric in form.\n\nBut when clairvoyant observation, which can perceive such things, is\ndirected toward an etheric body of this kind, that body is seen to be\nruled by physical, not etheric, laws. The physical element has in this\ncase been taken into the etheric world, there to rest and to be nurtured\nas though in a mother\u2019s tender care. Later it again emerges in a physical\nform, but at a higher stage. If Moon-humanity had kept its physical body\nin its coarse physical form, the Moon would never have been able to unite\nitself with the Sun. By accepting the etheric form, the physical body\nbecomes more closely related to the etheric body, and by this means can\nagain be more closely interpenetrated with those parts of the etheric and\nastral bodies which had been forced to withdraw from it during the Sun\nperiods of the Moon evolution. Man, who appeared as a being with a\ntwo-fold nature during the separation of Sun and Moon, again becomes an\nundivided being. The physical becomes more psychic. Therefore the psychic\nalso becomes more closely connected with the physical.\n\nNow the Sun-Spirits, into whose immediate sphere this undivided human\nbeing has entered, are able to act upon it in quite a different manner\nfrom their previous influence from without on the Moon. Man is now in a\nmore psycho-spiritual environment. Owing to this, the Lords of Wisdom are\nable to effect something momentous. They imbue and inspire him with\nwisdom. He thereby becomes in a certain sense an independent soul. And to\nthe influence of these beings is added that of the Lords of Motion. They\nact principally on the astral body, so that under their influence it\nproduces psychic activity, and an etheric body filled with wisdom. The\nlatter is the foundation of that which has been described above as the\nrational or intellectual soul in contemporary man, whereas the astral\nbody, inspired by the Lords of Motion, is the germ of the sentient soul.\nAnd because all this is effected in man\u2019s being in his progressed\ncondition of independence, these germs of the rational and sentient soul\nappear as the expression of the Spirit-Self. In this connection the\nmistake must not be made of thinking that at this period of evolution the\nSpirit-Self was something separate from the intellectual and sentient\nsouls. The latter are only the expression of the Spirit-Self, which\nsignifies their higher unity and harmony.\n\nIt is especially significant that the Lords of Wisdom intervene at this\nperiod in the manner described. For they do this not only with regard to\nhumanity but also for the benefit of the other kingdoms which have been\nelaborated on the Moon. Upon the reunion of Sun and Moon these lower\nkingdoms are drawn into the Sun sphere. Everything in them which was\nphysical becomes etheric. There are, therefore, minela-plants and\nplant-animals now in the Sun, just as there is humanity there. But those\nother creatures are still endowed with their own laws of being. They\ntherefore feel like strangers in their environment. They came upon the\nscene with a nature but little in harmony with their surroundings. But as\nthey have become etheric, the activity of the Lords of Wisdom may also\nextend to them. Everything which has come from the Moon into the Sun now\nbecomes pervaded with the forces of the Lords of Wisdom. Hence what is\ndeveloped out of the Sun-Moon organism during this period of evolution may\nbe called in occult science the \u201cCosmos of Wisdom.\u201d\n\nWhen, therefore, after an interval of rest, our Earth system appears as\nthe successor of this Cosmos of Wisdom, all the beings newly emerging on\nthe earth, developing out of their Moon-germs, prove to be filled with\nwisdom. And this is the reason why earthly man when contemplating the\nthings around him, is able to discover the wisdom concealed in their inner\nnature. The wisdom in each leaf of a plant, in every bone in animal and\nman, in the marvelous structure of the brain and heart, fills us with\nadmiration. If man requires wisdom to understand things, and therefore\ngathers wisdom from them, this shows that there is wisdom in the things\nthemselves. For however much man might have striven to understand things\nby means of wise perceptions, he could not draw wisdom from them unless it\nhad first been put into them. He who tries by means of wisdom to\nunderstand things, assuming at the same time that wisdom had not first\nbeen concealed within them, may just as reasonably believe that he can\nempty water out of a glass into which it has not first been poured. As\nwill be shown later in this book, the Earth is the \u201cold Moon\u201d risen again.\nAnd it appears as an organism full of wisdom, because it was permeated by\nthe Lords of Wisdom and their forces during the epoch that has been\ndescribed.\n\nIt will easily be understood that this description of the Moon condition\ncould take account only of certain temporary forms of evolution. It was\nnecessary to pause at certain things in the progress of events, and single\nthem out for delineation. It is true that this kind of description gives\nonly isolated pictures, and it may be deplored for this reason, that in\nthe foregoing account the evolutionary scheme was not brought down to a\nsystem of precise and definite concepts. But in the face of such an\nobjection it may be well to point out that the description was\nintentionally given in less clearly defined outlines. For it is not of so\nmuch consequence here to give speculative ideas and to construct theories\nas to represent what really passes before the spiritual eyes of\nclairvoyant consciousness, when looking back upon these events. With\nregard to the Moon evolution this cannot be done in such sharp and\ndefinite outlines as are characteristic of earthly perceptions. In the\nMoon period we are mainly concerned with variable, changing impressions,\nwith shifting, moving pictures and their transitory stages. We have,\nmoreover, to bear in mind that we are contemplating an evolution\ncontinuing through long, long periods of time, and that out of all that\npresents itself, it is possible to seize upon only momentary pictures and\nfix them for delineation.\n\nThe Moon period actually reached its highest point at the time when the\nastral body, implanted in man, had brought him so far along the\nevolutionary path that his physical body afforded the Sons of Life the\npossibility of attaining their human stage. Man had then attained all that\nthis epoch could give him for himself, for his inner nature on the upward\npath. The following, or second half of the Moon evolution may therefore be\ntermed the \u201cebb-tide,\u201d or wane. But even during this ebb-tide one sees a\nmost important thing taking place with regard to man\u2019s environment, and\neven with regard to himself. It is now that wisdom is implanted in the\nSun-Moon body. It has been shown that during the ebb-tide the germs of the\nintellectual and sentient souls are implanted. But the development of\nthese, as well as of the consciousness-soul and with it the birth of the\n\u201cEgo\u201d\u2014the free self consciousness\u2014does not ensue until the Earth period.\n\nAt the Moon stage the intellectual- and sentient-souls have as yet no\nappearance of being used by human beings as a means of expression; they\nappear rather as instruments of those Sons of Life who belong to humanity.\nWere we to describe the feeling of the human dweller on the Moon in this\nrespect, we should have to say that he experiences the following: \u201cThe Son\nof Life lives in and through me; he surveys through me the environment of\nthe Moon; in me he reflects upon the things and beings of that\nenvironment.\u201d The Moon human being feels himself overshadowed by the Son\nof Life, and looks upon himself as the instrument of that higher being.\nDuring the time of the separation of Sun and Moon he felt a greater\nmeasure of independence when the Sun was turned away from him; but at the\nsame time he also felt as though the ego belonging to him, which had\ndisappeared from the picture-consciousness during the Sun period, now\nbecame visible. It was, for Moon-humanity, what may be described as a\nchange in the states of consciousness, so that the Moon-being had this\nfeeling: \u201cIn the Sun period my ego wafts me away into higher regions, into\nthe presence of exalted beings, and when the Sun disappears it descends\nwith me into lower worlds.\u201d\n\nThe actual Moon evolution was preceded by a preparatory stage. In a\ncertain way the Saturn and Sun evolutions were recapitulated. Now, after\nthe reunion of Sun and Moon, during what we have termed the ebb-tide, two\nepochs may be distinguished one from the other. In the course of these,\neven physical condensation occurs to a certain degree. Therefore\npsycho-spiritual conditions of the Sun-Moon organism alternate with others\nof a more physical nature. In such physical epochs human beings and those\nof the lower kingdoms appear as though they were preparing, in stiff not\nyet self-reliant forms, the type of what they were to become in a more\nindependent manner during the Earth period. We may therefore speak of two\npreparatory epochs in the Moon evolution, and of two others during the\nebb-tide. In occult science such epochs may be termed cycles.(20) In that\nperiod which follows the two preparatory epochs, and precedes those of the\nebb-tide\u2014that is to say, during the time of the separation of the\nMoon\u2014three epochs can again be distinguished. The middle period is the\ntime when the Sons of Life reached the human level. It is preceded by a\nperiod in which all conditions lead up to that crowning event; and it is\nfollowed by one which may be called a time of adaptation and of perfecting\nthe new creations.\n\nIn this way the middle period of the Moon evolution is again divided into\nthree epochs, which, with the two preparatory periods and the two during\nthe ebb-tide make up seven Moon cycles, or rounds. It may therefore be\nsaid that the whole Moon evolution passes through seven cycles, or rounds.\nBetween them are intervals of rest, which have been mentioned repeatedly\nin the above description. Yet we can approach a true concept of these\nfacts only if we do not think of the changes between the periods of\nactivity and those of rest, as sudden ones. For instance, the Sun-beings\nlittle by little withdraw their activity from the Moon. A time begins for\nthem which, viewed from without, appears to be their resting period,\nwhereas in reality an intense, independent activity still continues on the\nMoon itself. Thus the active period of one kind of being repeatedly\nextends into the resting time of another. If we take account of such\nthings we may speak of a rhythmic ascent and descent of forces in cycles.\nIndeed, similar divisions are to be recognized even within the seven Moon\ncycles mentioned. We may then call the whole Moon evolution one great\ncycle, and the seven divisions, or rounds, within it, \u201csmall\u201d cycles; and\nagain, the separate parts of these, \u201csmaller\u201d cycles. This systematic\narrangement into seven times seven divisions is also noticeable in the Sun\nevolution and can be indicated during the Saturn period. Yet we must bear\nin mind that the boundaries between the divisions are somewhat obliterated\neven in the Sun, and still more so in Saturn. These boundaries become more\nand more defined the nearer evolution advances to the Earth period.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nAt the close of the Moon evolution, which has been sketched in the\nforegoing pages, all the beings and forces connected with it enter upon a\nmore spiritual form of existence. This is on quite a different plane from\nthat of the Moon period, and also from that of the Earth evolution which\nfollows. A being possessed of faculties so highly developed as to enable\nhim to perceive all the details of the Moon and Earth evolutions need not\nnecessarily be able to see what happens during the interval between the\ntwo periods. For one possessing such vision, beings and forces would, at\nthe end of the Moon period, disappear, as it were, into nothingness; and\nafter an interval they would issue forth again from the dusky twilight of\nthe cosmic depths. Only a being endowed with considerably higher faculties\nwould be capable of following up the spiritual events which take place\nduring this interval.\n\nWhen this interval is over, the beings who took part in the evolutionary\nprocesses on Saturn, Sun, and Moon reappear endowed with new faculties.\nBeings of a higher order than man have, by their former achievements, won\nthe power of bringing man\u2019s evolution forward to a point at which he would\nbe able to unfold in himself, during the Earth period, a form of\nconsciousness which stands a step higher than the picture-consciousness he\nhad possessed during the Moon period. But man must first be prepared to\nreceive this gift.\n\nDuring the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions, he incorporated within his\nbeing the physical, etheric, and astral bodies. But those bodies were only\nendowed with such faculties and powers as enabled them to have a\npicture-consciousness; the organs and forms by means of which they could\nattain to a cognizance of a world of outer sense-objects, such as is\nrequisite for the Earth stage, were still wanting. Just as the new plant\nunfolds only what is concealed in the seed originating from the old plant,\nso do the three principles of man\u2019s nature appear, at the beginning of the\nnew stage of evolution, with such forms and organs as will enable them to\ndevelop only a picture-consciousness. It is necessary first to prepare\nthem for the unfolding of a higher state of consciousness.\n\nThis takes place in three preliminary stages. During the first, the\nphysical body is raised to a level at which it becomes able to undergo the\nnecessary remodeling which is to serve as a basis for consciousness of\nouter objects. This is one of the preliminary stages of the actual earth\nevolution, and may be called a recapitulation of the Saturn period on a\nhigher level. For during this period, as during the Saturn period, higher\nbeings are working only on the physical body. When the latter has\nprogressed far enough in its evolution, all beings must first again pass\ninto a higher form of existence before the etheric body can also progress.\nThe physical body must, as it were, be recast, in order to be able, in its\nremodeled state, to receive the more highly constituted etheric body.\nAfter this interval devoted to a higher form of existence, a kind of\nrecapitulation of the Sun evolution on a higher level, occurs for the\npurpose of shaping the etheric body. And after another interval, a similar\nthing occurs for the astral body, by means of a recapitulation of the Moon\nevolution.\n\nLet us now turn our attention to the evolutionary processes taking place\nafter the close of the third recapitulation described. All beings and\nforces have passed again into a state of spiritualization. During that\nstate they ascended into higher worlds. The lowest of the worlds, in which\nsomething of them is still to be perceived during this spiritualizing\nepoch, are the same in which contemporary man sojourns between death and a\nnew birth. These are the regions of the spirit-world. Thence the beings\nand forces gradually descend again into lower worlds. Before the physical\nEarth evolution begins they have so far descended that their lowest\nmanifestations are to be seen in the astral or psychic world.\n\nEverything human existing at that period is still in its astral form. In\norder to understand this condition of humanity, attention should be paid\nespecially to the fact that though man has within him the physical,\netheric and astral bodies, yet the physical and etheric bodies are not\npresent in their own forms but in astral form. It is not physical form\nthat makes the physical body physical, but the fact that it embodies\nphysical laws, although possessing an astral form. It is a being in a\npsychic form with a physical law of existence. The etheric body is in a\nsimilar position.\n\nTo spiritual vision the Earth at this stage of evolution appears at first\nas a heavenly body all soul and spirit, in which, therefore, even physical\nand life forces appear in a psychic form. In this world-organism\neverything which will subsequently be moulded into the creatures of the\nphysical earth is contained in a germinal state. The globe is luminous;\nbut its light is not yet such as could be seen by physical eyes, supposing\neven that they had then existed. The globe shines only in psychic light to\nthe opened vision of the seer.\n\nA process now takes place on this globe which may be designated\n\u201ccondensation.\u201d The result of this is that after a time a fiery form\nappears in the midst of the psychic globe; this condition was similar to\nthat of Saturn in its densest state. This fiery form is interpenetrated by\nthe action of the various beings who are taking part in the evolution. The\nreciprocal action which is to be observed between those beings and the\nplanetary body is like a rising out of and a diving into the earth\u2019s fiery\nglobe. Hence the earth\u2019s globe is by no means a homogeneous substance, but\nhas somewhat the character of an ensouled and spiritualized organism. The\nbeings destined to become human on the earth in man\u2019s present form are as\nyet in a condition which renders them the least capable of sharing in the\nactivity of plunging into the fiery globe. They remain almost entirely in\nthe uncondensed environment. They are still living in the bosom of the\nhigher spiritual beings. At this stage they come in contact with the fiery\nearth at only one point of their psychic form, and this causes one part of\ntheir astral form to be densified by the heat. Thus earth-life is\nenkindled in them. They therefore still belong to psycho-spiritual worlds\nwith regard to the greater part of their nature, but by coming in contact\nwith the earth\u2019s fire, vital heat plays around them.\n\nIf we wish to draw a material, yet supersensible, picture of these human\nbeings in the very beginning of the earth\u2019s evolution, we must imagine a\npsychic ovoid, or egg, contained within the circumference of the earth,\nand enclosed on its lower surface, as an acorn is by its cup. The\nsubstance of the cup, however, consists solely of heat or fire. The\nprocess of being enveloped by heat not only causes the kindling of life in\nthe human being, but a change appears simultaneously in the astral body.\nIn this body becomes incorporated the first germ of what afterwards\nbecomes the sentient-soul. We may therefore say that man at this stage of\nhis existence consists of the sentient-soul, the astral body, the etheric\nbody, and the physical body, which latter is formed out of fire. Those\nspiritual beings who participate in human existence surge through the\nastral body. Man feels himself bound to the earth body by the\nsentient-soul. He has therefore at this time a preponderating\npicture-consciousness, in which are manifested those spiritual beings in\nwhose bosom he reposes; and the feeling of his own body seems to be merely\na point within that consciousness. He looks down, so to speak, from the\nspiritual world upon earthly possession, which he feels belongs to him.\n\nFurther and further the condensation of the earth now proceeds and at the\nsame time the differentiation of the various parts of man, as has been\ndescribed, becomes more and more defined. From a definite point of\nevolution onward, the earth is so far condensed that only part of it is\nfiery; another part has assumed a substantial shape, which may be termed\n\u201cgas\u201d or \u201cair.\u201d A change also takes place now in man. He is not only\nbrought into contact with the heat of the earth, but the air substance is\nincorporated in his fire-body. And as heat kindled life in him, the air\nplaying around him creates an effect within him which may be called\n(spiritual) sound. His etheric body begins to resound. Simultaneously, a\npart of the astral body becomes separated from the remainder; this part is\nthe germ of the intellectual-soul which appears later.\n\nIn order to bring before our eyes what takes place in the human soul at\nthis time, we must notice that the beings superior to man are surging\nthrough the airy-fiery body of the earth. In the fire-earth it is at first\nthe Sons of Personality who are of importance to man, and when man is\nstirred into life by the heat of the earth his sentient soul says to\nitself, \u201cThese are the Sons of Personality.\u201d In the same way the beings\ncalled \u201cArchangels\u201d earlier in this book (in accordance with Christian\nesotericism) appear in the air-sphere. It is their influences which man\nfeels within him as sound, when the air plays around him. And the\nintellectual-soul then says to itself, \u201cThese are the Archangels.\u201d Thus\nwhat man at this stage perceives, through his connection with the earth,\nis not as yet a collection of physical objects, but he lives in sensations\nof heat which rise up to him, and in sounds; in those heat currents and\nsound waves, however, he feels the Sons of Personality and the Archangels.\nIt is true that he cannot perceive those beings directly, only, as it\nwere, through a veil of heat and sound. While these perceptions are\npenetrating from the earth into his soul, there continue to ascend and\ndescend within it the images of those higher beings in whose tender care\nhe feels himself to be.\n\nNow evolution takes a further step, which is once more expressed in\ncondensation. Watery substance is incorporated into the Earth-body, so\nthat now the latter consists of three parts,\u2014igneous, aeriform, and\naqueous. Before this happens, something of great importance takes place.\nAn independent celestial body is split off from the fiery-aeriform earth;\nthis new body becomes in its later development our present sun.(21)\nPreviously, earth and sun had formed one body. After the sun had been\nsplit off, the earth still has at first everything within it which is in\nand on the present moon. The separation of the sun takes place because\nhigher beings could no longer carry on their own evolution as well as\ntheir task on Earth within this atmosphere, now densified to the\nconsistency of water. They separate from the general mass of the Earth the\nonly substances useful to them, and fare forth to make a new abode for\nthemselves in the sun. They now influence the earth from the sun, from\noutside. Man, however, needs for his further evolution an environment in\nwhich matter becomes still more condensed.\n\nWith the incorporation of watery substance in the earth-body a change also\ntakes place in man. Henceforth not only does fire stream into him and air\nplay around him, but watery substance is incorporated into his physical\nbody. At the same time his etheric part changes: that is, it is now\nperceived by man as a fine light-body. Previous to this, man had felt\ncurrents of heat rising up to him from the earth: he had felt air\nsurrounding him through tones; now, the watery element also penetrates his\nfire-air body, and he sees its ebb and flow as the alternate flaring up\nand dimming of light. But a change has also taken place in his soul. To\nthe germs of the sentient and intellectual souls is added that of the\nconsciousness-soul. The \u201cAngels\u201d work in the element of water; they are\nalso the real producers of light. It was as though they appeared to man in\nlight.\n\nThe higher beings who were previously in the Earth-planet itself, now\ninfluence it from the sun. On this account all effects produced on the\nearth are changed. The human being chained to earth would no longer be\nable to feel the influence of the sun-beings within him, if his soul were\nunceasingly turned toward the earth, from which his physical body is\ntaken. A change now appears in the conditions of human consciousness. At\ncertain times the sun-beings wrest the soul of man from his physical body,\nso that man is now alternately purely psychic, in the bosom of the\nsun-beings, and, when united with the body, in a condition in which he\nreceives earth influences. When in the physical body, heat currents stream\nup to him; a sea of air is sounding round him and water pours into and out\nof him. When man is out of his body the images of the higher beings in\nwhose care he is, float through his soul.\n\nThe earth passes through two periods at this stage of its evolution.\nDuring one of these it allows its substances to circulate around the human\nsouls and clothe them with bodies; during the other, the souls have\nwithdrawn from it, and only the bodies are left and the human beings are\nin a condition of sleep. It is speaking quite in conformity with facts to\nsay that in those times of a remote past the earth passed through a day\nand a night time. (Expressed in terms of physical space this means that\nthrough the reciprocal action of the sun-beings and the earth-beings, the\nearth is brought into a movement in relation with the sun; thus there is\nbrought about the alternation of day and night periods described above.\nThe day period is when the surface of the earth, on which man is evolving,\nis turned toward the sun; the night period, the time when man leads a\npurely psychic existence, is when the earth\u2019s surface is turned away from\nthe sun. Now it must not, of course, be imagined that in that far-off time\nthe earth\u2019s motion around the sun was like its present motion. The\nconditions were still utterly different. But even at this early point it\nis helpful to realize that the motions of the celestial bodies are a\nconsequence of the mutual relations of the spiritual beings inhabiting\nthem. Spiritual-psychic causes produce in the celestial bodies positions\nand motions which permit the manifestation of spiritual conditions on the\nphysical plane.)\n\nIf our gaze were turned upon the earth during its night period, its body\nwould appear like a corpse. For it consists to a great extent of the\ndecaying bodies of those human beings whose souls are in another state of\nexistence. The organized watery and aeriform structures of which human\nbodies were formed become disintegrated, and dissolve into the rest of the\nearth\u2019s substance. Only that part of man\u2019s body which was formed from the\nvery beginning of the earth evolution by the co-operation of fire and the\nhuman soul, and which subsequently became denser and denser, continues to\nexist as an insignificant looking embryo. Now when the day period begins,\nthe earth once more participates directly in the sun influence, and human\nsouls press forward into the sphere of physical life. They come in contact\nwith the embryos, and cause them to spring up and assume an external form,\nwhich appears like an image of man\u2019s psychic being. Something like a\ndelicate fertilization then takes place between the human soul and the\nbodily embryo.\n\nThe souls thus embodied now begin once more to attract the aeriform and\nwatery substances and incorporate them in their own bodies. Air is\nexpelled and absorbed by the organized body,\u2014the first beginning of that\nwhich later appears as the respiratory process. Water too is absorbed and\nexpelled; the nutritive process in its original form has begun. But these\nprocesses are not yet perceived as external ones. A kind of external\nperception takes place in the soul only by means of the already\ncharacterized kind of fertilization. Here the soul vaguely feels its\nawakening to physical existence when it comes in contact with the embryo\nwhich is held toward it from the earth. It then feels something which may\nbe put into words thus: \u201cThis is my form.\u201d And such a feeling, which might\neven be called a dawning consciousness of self, abides within the soul\nthrough this union with the physical body. But the soul still feels the\nprocess of absorbing air in an absolutely psycho-spiritual way, as an\nimage, which appears in the form of tone-pictures surging up and down;\nthese give form to the embryo which is being incorporated within them. The\nsoul everywhere feels itself in the midst of sound waves, and that it is\nfashioning the body in accordance with those tone forces. Thus are human\nforms developed at that stage of evolution. They cannot be observed in any\nexternal world by our present consciousness. They evolve like vegetable or\nflower forms of fine substance, therefore appear like flowers waving in\nthe wind.\n\nDuring his Earth period, man experiences the blissful feeling of being\nfashioned into such forms. The absorption of the watery parts is felt in\nthe soul as an accession of force, or inner strength. From without it\nappears as growth of the physical human structure. As the direct influence\nof the sun decreases, the human soul also loses the power of controlling\nthese processes. By degrees they are cast aside. Only those parts are left\nwhich allow the embryo, above described, to mature. But man leaves his\nbody, and returns to the spiritual form of existence. (As not all parts of\nthe earth\u2019s body are employed in building up human bodies, we must not\nimagine that during the earth\u2019s night period, it is composed exclusively\nof disintegrating corpses and embryos waiting to be awakened. All these\nare imbedded in other structures, which are formed out of the earth\u2019s\nsubstances. The status of those structures will be explained later.)\n\nNow, however, the process of condensing the earth\u2019s substance continues.\nTo the watery element is added the solid or \u201cearthly\u201d substance (\u201cearthly\u201d\nin the sense of occult science). And when this happens man also, during\nhis earth period, begins to incorporate the earthly element in his body.\nAs soon as this incorporation begins, the forces which the soul brings\nwith it out of the disembodied state, no longer have the same power as\nbefore. Previously, the soul had fashioned its body out of the igneous,\naeriform, and watery elements, in accordance with the tones which\nresounded and the light-pictures which played around it. The soul cannot\ndo this with regard to the solidified form. Other forces now interpose to\nshape it. What is left behind of man, when the soul withdraws from the\nbody, is not only an embryo to be fanned into life by the returning soul,\nbut a structure containing in itself reanimating power. The soul, at its\ndeparture, not only leaves its image behind on earth but sends down some\nof its animating power into that image.\n\nNow on its reappearance on earth the soul alone no longer suffices to\nawaken the image to life; reanimation must take place in the image itself.\nThe spiritual beings influencing the earth from the sun now uphold the\nreanimating force that is in the human body, even though man himself is\nnot upon the earth. Thus, during its incarnation, the soul is not only\nsensible of the sounds and light-pictures floating around, in which it\nfeels the beings next above it, but, through receiving the earthly\nelement, it comes under the influence of those still higher beings who\nhave taken up their abode on the sun. Previously, man felt that he\nbelonged to the psycho-spiritual beings with whom he was united when free\nfrom the body. His ego was still within them. Now that ego confronts him\nduring physical incarnation, quite as much as everything else which is\naround him during that period. Independent images of the psycho-spiritual\nbeing of man were henceforth on the earth. These structures, in comparison\nwith the present human body, were of a finer material. For the earthly\npart mixed with them only in its finest state, much in the same way as\nwhen man of the present day absorbs the finely distributed substances of\nan object through his organ of smell. Human bodies were like shadows. But\nas they were distributed over the whole earth they came under earth\ninfluences, which varied in their nature on different parts of the earth\u2019s\nsurface. Whereas formerly bodily images corresponded to the human soul\nanimating them, and on that account were essentially alike over the whole\nearth, differences now appeared between human forms. In this manner the\nway was prepared for what appeared later as differences of race.\n\nWhen the human body became independent, the previous close union of the\nearth-man with the psycho-spiritual world was to a certain extent\ndissolved. Henceforth, when the soul left the body, the latter, in a way,\ncontinued to live. If evolution had gone on advancing in this manner, the\nearth would have hardened under the influence of its solid elements. To\nthe eyes of the seer who looks back on those conditions, human bodies,\nwhen abandoned by their souls, appear to become more and more solidified.\nAnd after a time the human souls returning to earth would have found no\navailable material with which to combine. All the substances available for\nman would have been used up in filling the earth with the hardened,\nwood-like remains of incarnations.\n\nThen an event took place which gave a new turn to the whole evolution.\nEverything in the solid earthly substance which could contribute to\npermanent induration was eliminated. At this point our present moon left\nthe earth. And what had previously directly conduced to a moulding of\npermanent forms, now operated from the moon indirectly and in a diminished\ndegree. The higher beings, on whom that moulding of forms depended, had\nresolved to exercise their influences upon their earth no longer from its\ninterior, but from without. By this means there was brought about in the\nbodily structure of man a difference which must be called the beginning of\nthe separation into a male and a female sex.\n\nThe finely constituted human forms which formerly inhabited the earth, had\nproduced through cooperation of the two forces within themselves, that of\nthe embryo and that of the animating force, the new human form, their\ndescendant. These descendants are now transformed. In one group the\nanimating power of the psycho-spiritual element was paramount; in another\nthe animating germinal force. This was caused by the weakening of the\npower of the solid element in consequence of the moon\u2019s leaving the earth.\nThe reciprocal action of these two forces now became more delicate than it\nhad been before\u2014when it occurred within one single body, consequently the\ndescendant also became more delicate and fine. He entered the earth in a\ndelicate condition, and only gradually incorporated more solid parts\nwithin him. In this way the possibility of union with the body was once\nmore given to the human soul returning to earth. It no longer animated the\nbody from without, because that animation took place on the earth itself;\nbut it became united with the body, and enabled it to grow. Of course a\ncertain limit was set to that growth. Through the separation of the moon,\nthe human body had for a time become supple; but the more it continued to\ngrow on the earth, the more the solidifying forces got the upper hand. At\nlength the share borne by the soul in the organization of the body grew\nless and less, and the body disintegrated when the soul ascended to\npsycho-spiritual modes of existence. One can trace how the forces\ngradually acquired by man during the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions take\npart more and more in the progress of man during the described formative\nperiods of the earth. The first part to be kindled by the earth\u2019s fire is\nthe astral body, still containing within it the etheric and physical\nbodies in a state of solution. Then the astral body is organized into a\nmore subtle astral part, the sentient soul, and into a grosser etheric\npart, which henceforth is in contact with the earth-element; when this\noccurs, the etheric or vital body, already fore-shadowed, makes its\nappearance. And while the intellectual and consciousness-souls are being\nevolved in the astral man, there are incorporated into the etheric body\nthose coarser parts which are susceptible to sound and light.\n\nAt the time when the etheric body still further densifies and changes from\na light-body into a fire or heat-body, the stage of evolution has been\nreached at which, as described above, parts of the solid earth-element are\nincorporated into man. Because the etheric body has condensed to the\nconsistency of fire, it is now able, by means of the forces of the\nphysical body previously implanted in it, to combine with those substances\nof the physical earth attenuated as far as the fire-state. But by itself\nit would no longer be able to introduce air substances into the body which\nhas meanwhile become more solidified. Then, as indicated above, the higher\nbeings dwelling on the sun interpose, breathing air into the body. While\nman, by virtue of his past, is able of himself to become permeated with\nearthly fire, higher beings direct the breath of air into his body.\nHeretofore the etheric body of man, as a receiver of sound, had been the\ndirector of the air current. It permeated man\u2019s physical body with life.\nNow the physical body gets life from without. The result is that this life\nbecomes independent of the soul part of man. On departing from the earth,\nthe soul leaves behind not only the seed of its form, but also a living\nimage of itself. The Lords of Form now remain united with that image, and\nthe life they have bestowed, they transfer to man\u2019s descendants, when his\nsoul has left the body. Thus comes about what may be called heredity, and\nwhen the human soul once more appears on earth it feels that it is in a\nbody animated by the life of its ancestors. It feels itself especially\nattracted to just that kind of a body. In this way something like a\n_memory_ is formed of the ancestor with whom the soul feels itself to be\nat one. This memory passes through the line of descendants in the form of\na consciousness possessed in common. The ego thus flows down through the\ngenerations.\n\nAt this stage of evolution man, during his life on earth, was conscious of\nhimself as an independent being. He felt the inner fire of his etheric\nbody to be combined with the external fire of the earth. He could feel the\nheat that was streaming through him as his own ego. In those heat\ncurrents, interwoven with life, are to be found the first beginnings of\nthe circulation of the blood. But in what flowed into him as air, he did\nnot exactly feel as his own being. Indeed, it was the forces of the higher\nbeings we have described that were working in that air. But still there\nwas left to him, within the air that flowed through him, that part of the\nactive forces which belonged to him by virtue of his previously formed\netheric powers. He was master in one part of those air currents. And to\nthat extent, it was not only the higher beings who were shaping him, but\nhe himself. He formed the air parts of his being in accordance with the\nimages of his astral body. While air was thus flowing into his body from\nwithout, a process which became the basis of respiration, part of the air\nwas formed within him into an organism which became fixed and was the\nbasis of the subsequent nervous system. Thus man at this period was\nconnected with the external earth by heat and air.\n\nOn the other hand, he was not conscious of the introduction within himself\nof the solid element of the earth. Although it contributed to his own\nembodiment, he could not perceive directly what was being supplied but\ncould only do so through a dim consciousness in the image of the higher\nbeings who were active in the process. In the same kind of picture-form,\nas an expression of the beings above him, man had previously perceived the\nintroduction of the fluid element into the earth. Through the\ndensification of his earthly form the pictures have now undergone a change\nin his consciousness. The solid element has been mixed with the fluid.\nThis incoming of the solid element must also be seen to be the work of\nhigher beings operated from without. It is no longer possible for the\nhuman soul to have the power of directing the supply for that supply has\nnow to serve his body, which is being built up from without. He would\nspoil its form if he were to direct the influx himself.\n\nWhat, therefore, reaches him from without appears to him to be directed by\nauthoritative orders issuing from the higher beings who are at work on the\nshaping of his body. Man feels himself to be an ego; he has within him, as\npart of his astral body, his intellectual-soul, through which he inwardly\nperceives, in the form of pictures, what is happening externally, and by\nmeans of which he permeates his delicate nervous system. He feels himself\nto be descended from ancestors, by virtue of the life flowing down through\nthe generations. He breathes, and feels it to be the effect of the higher\nbeings who have been described as the Lords of Form. He is likewise\nsubject to their impulses in all that which comes to him from the outside\n(as his food). What he finds most obscure is his origin as an individual.\nAs to that, he only knows that he has been under the influence of the\nLords of Form expressing themselves in earth-forces. In his relations with\nthe outer world, man was guided and ruled. This finds expression through\nthe fact that man has a consciousness of the psycho-spiritual activities\noperating behind his physical environment. It is true that he does not see\nthe spiritual beings in their own form, but he is conscious in his soul of\nsounds and colors. He knows, however, that it is the actions of spiritual\nbeings that are realized through that world of images. What those beings\ncommunicate to him, reaches him as sound; their manifestations appear to\nhim in light-pictures.\n\nThe innermost concepts, of which earthly man becomes conscious, are those\nconveyed to him by the element of fire or warmth. He can already\ndistinguish between his own inner heat and the heat currents of the\nearth\u2019s periphery. In these latter are manifested the Sons of Personality.\nBut man has only a dim consciousness of what is behind the currents of\nexternal heat. It is in those very currents that he feels the influence of\nthe Lords of Form. When powerful effects of heat are produced in man\u2019s\nenvironment, the soul feels that spiritual beings are now heating the\nearth\u2019s circumference\u2014beings, from whom a spark has been detached, which\nwarms his inner being.\n\nIn the effect of light, however, man does not yet distinguish in quite the\nsame manner between the outer and the inner. When light-pictures appear\naround him, they do not always produce the same feeling in the soul of the\nearth-man. There were times when he felt them as external images. This was\nduring the period when he had just descended from the disembodied state\ninto incarnation. It was the period of his growth on earth. As the time\napproached for the embryo to be developed those images faded, and man only\nretained something like inner memory-pictures of them. The actions of the\nSons of Fire (Archangels) were contained in those light-pictures, which\nappeared to man to be the servitors of the Fire-spirits who sent down a\nspark into his own inner being. When their outer manifestations died away,\nman felt them inwardly in the form of images (memories). He felt himself\nunited with their forces. And so indeed he was. For by means of what he\nhad received from them, he was able to work upon his surrounding\natmosphere. This, under his influence, began to emit light.\n\nAt that time nature forces and human forces were not as yet separated from\neach other as they subsequently became. What happened on earth still\nemanated to a great extent from human forces. Viewing nature processes on\nthe earth from the outside, one would then have seen in them not only\nsomething independent of man, but also the effect of human activity within\nthose processes. Sound-perceptions assumed a still more different form to\nthe earth-man. From the beginning of earth-life they had been perceived as\nouter tones. Whereas the external air pictures were perceived up to the\nmiddle of earth existence, the external tones could be heard even after\nthat middle period. And only toward the end of his life did the earth-man\nbecome insensible to them. But the memory-pictures of those sounds\nremained. In them were contained the manifestations of the Sons of Life\n(Angels). When, toward the end of his life, man felt himself inwardly\nunited with those forces, he was able, by imitating them, to produce\nmighty effects in the earth\u2019s watery element. The waters surged in and\nabove the earth under his influence. Man had perceptions of taste only\nduring the first quarter of his earth-life, and even then they seemed to\nthe soul like a memory of the experience of his disembodied state. As long\nas they lasted, his body continued to grow more and more solid by\nassimilating external substances. In the second quarter of earth life\ngrowth still continued, but the form was already fully developed. At this\ntime man could perceive other living beings near him only through their\nheat, light, and sound effects; for he was not as yet capable of imagining\nthe solid element. During the first quarter of his life he received the\ntaste-impressions described, only through the watery element.\n\nMan\u2019s external bodily form was an image of this inner psychic condition.\nThose parts were most fully developed which contained the first\nfore-shadowing of the later form of the head. The other organs appeared\nonly as appendages. These were shadowy and indistinct. Yet earth-beings\nvaried with regard to form. There were some in whom the appendages were\nmore or less developed, according to the earth-conditions under which they\nlived. This varied with people\u2019s different dwelling places on the earth.\nWhere they were more involved in the things of earth, the appendages\nbecame more prominent. Those human beings who at the beginning of physical\ndevelopment on earth were the ripest, owing to their previous evolution,\nhaving come in contact with the fire-element at the very beginning before\nthe earth had been condensed into air, were those now able to develop the\nfirst beginnings of the head most completely. They were those persons\npossessing most inner harmony.\n\nOthers were ready for contact with the fire-element only when the earth\nhad already evolved air within it. They were more dependent upon outer\nconditions than the first mentioned, who distinctly felt the Lords of Form\nthrough heat, and during their earth-life felt as though they retained a\nmemory of having belonged to those spirits and of having been connected\nwith them in the disembodied state. The second species of human beings\nonly had the memory of the disembodied state to a more limited degree;\nthey were conscious of their fellowship with the spiritual world chiefly\nthrough the light-influences of the Sons of Fire (Archangels). A third\ntype of human beings was still more entangled in earthly existence. It was\nthey who were unable to come in contact with the fire-element until the\nearth was separated from the sun and had absorbed the watery element\nwithin itself. Their feeling of fellowship with the spiritual world was\nespecially slight at the beginning of earth-life. Only when the activities\nof the Archangels, and more especially of the Angels, influenced the inner\nimaginative life, did they feel this connection to any degree. On the\nother hand, at the beginning of the earth-period they were full of active\nimpulses for performing deeds which can be accomplished under earthly\nconditions only. In them the extremities were particularly strongly\ndeveloped.\n\nWhen the Moon-forces, before the separation of the moon from the earth,\ntended more and more to harden the latter, it happened that among the\ndescendants of the embryos left behind upon the earth by man, there were\nsome in whom human souls returning from the disembodied state could no\nlonger incarnate in consequence of the Moon-forces. The form of these\ndescendants was too much solidified and through the Moon-forces, had\nbecome too unlike the human form to be able to reassume it. Consequently\ncertain human souls no longer found it possible, under these\ncircumstances, to return to earth. Only the ripest and strongest of these\nsouls felt competent to transform the earth-body during its growth, so\nthat it could blossom into a human form. Only a portion of the bodily\ndescendants of man became the vehicles of earthly human beings. Another\npart, because of its solidified form, was able to receive only souls on a\nlower level than those of men. But there was one group of human souls,\nhowever, which was prevented from participating in the earth-evolution of\nthat time. In this way they were driven to embark on another course.\n\nThere were souls who, as far back as the separation of the sun from the\nearth, found no place on the latter. For their further evolution they were\nremoved to a planet which, under the guidance of cosmic beings, was\ndetached from the universal world-substance,\u2014that substance of which the\nearth formed a part at the beginning of its physical evolution, and from\nwhich the sun had separated. This planet, in its physical expression, is\nthe one known to outer science as \u201cJupiter.\u201d (Here we are speaking of\ncelestial bodies, planets, and their names exactly in the sense of a more\nancient science, and as is in harmony with occult science. Just as the\nphysical earth is only the physical expression of a great psycho-spiritual\norganism, so is every other celestial body. And as the seer does not\ndenote only the physical planet by the word \u201cearth,\u201d nor only the physical\nfixed star by \u201csun,\u201d so when speaking of \u201cJupiter,\u201d \u201cMars,\u201d and the other\nplanets, he signifies far-reaching spiritual relationships. The form and\nmission of the heavenly bodies have, in the nature of things, been\nessentially changed since the times of which we are here speaking,\u2014in a\ncertain respect even their position in celestial space has been changed.\nIt is possible only for one who follows with the seer\u2019s vision the\nevolution of those celestial bodies back to remote ages of the past, to\napprehend the connection of contemporary planets with their predecessors.)\nOn Jupiter the souls that have been described continued their evolution.\n\nAnd later, when the earth was tending more and more toward solidification,\nstill another abode had to be prepared for souls who even though they were\nable to occupy the solidified bodies for a time, could no longer do so\nwhen this solidification had progressed too far. An appropriate place for\ntheir further evolution was prepared on \u201cMars.\u201d Even as far back as the\ntime when the soul was still united with the sun, and was incorporating\nthe sun\u2019s air elements within itself, certain souls were proving unfit to\nparticipate in the earth\u2019s evolution. They were too powerfully affected by\nthe earthly bodily form. Accordingly, even at that time, they had to be\nwithdrawn from the direct influence of the Sun-forces. These had to\ninfluence them from without. The planet Saturn became the scene of their\nfurther evolution.\n\nThus, in the course of the earth\u2019s evolution, the number of human forms\ndecreased, and forms appeared which had not embodied human souls. These\nwere able to receive only astral bodies as the human physical and etheric\nbodies on the old Moon had done. While the earth was becoming depopulated\nas far as human beings were concerned, these other beings were colonizing\nit. Eventually all human souls would have been compelled to leave the\nearth if, by detaching the Moon from it, a way had not been provided to\npreserve those human bodies which at that time could still harbor human\nsouls. It was made possible for these, during their earth life, to\nwithdraw the human ego from the effects of the Moon-forces coming directly\nfrom the earth, thus allowing it to mature sufficiently within themselves\nuntil it could be exposed directly to those forces. As long as the embryo\nwas developing within man, it was under the influence of those beings who,\nunder the leadership of the mightiest of their number, had detached the\nmoon from the earth in order to conduct the evolution of the latter over a\ncritical point.\n\nWhen the earth had developed the air element within it, astral beings were\npresent as described above, who had belonged to the old Moon and who had\nbeen left behind. They had fallen short even of the lowest human souls in\ntheir evolution. They became the souls of those forms which already before\nthe separation of the Sun had to be abandoned by man. These beings are the\nancestors of the animal kingdom. As time went on, they developed\nespecially those organs which in man thus far only existed as appendages.\nTheir astral body had to work on the physical and etheric bodies in the\nsame way as did the human astral body during the old Moon-period. Now the\nanimals which had thus come into existence had souls which could not dwell\nin the individual animals. The soul extended its being also to the\ndescendant. Virtually, animals descended from one form have a soul in\ncommon. Only when the descendant diverges from the ancestral type through\nspecial influences, does a new animal soul become incarnated. In this\nsense, in accordance with occult science, we can speak of a species or\ngroup-soul, in animals.\n\nSomething of a similar nature took place at the time of the separation of\nsun and earth. There came forth from the watery element, forms no further\nevolved than man was before the old Moon-evolution. They could only\nreceive an impression from anything of an astral nature when the latter\ninfluenced them from without. This could not happen until after the\ndeparture of the sun from the earth. Whenever the sun-period of the earth\nset in, the astral element in the sun stimulated these forms in such a way\nthat they formed their vital body out of the etheric part of the earth.\nWhen the sun turned away from the earth, that etheric body was again\ndissolved into the common earth-life. And as a result of the co-operation\nof the astral part of the sun with the etheric part of the earth, there\nemerged from the watery element those physical forms which became the\nancestors of the present vegetable kingdom.\n\nMan became an individualized soul-being on earth. His astral body, which\nhad been poured into him on the Moon through the Lords of Motion, now\nbecame organized on earth into the sentient-intellectual-and\nconsciousness-souls. And when the consciousness-soul had progressed so far\nthat it was able to form for itself during earth-life, a body adapted to\nthat life, the Lords of Form endowed that body with a spark from their\nfire. The \u201cego\u201d was enkindled within it. Every time man left the physical\nbody he was in the spiritual world, in which he met the beings who, during\nthe Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions, had given him his physical, etheric,\nand astral bodies, and who had developed them as far as the earth-stage.\nSince the spark of ego had been enkindled during earth-life, there had\nalso come about a change in the disembodied life. Up to this point of\nevolution, man had had no independence in the spiritual world. Within that\nworld he did not feel himself a separate being, but as though he were a\nmember of the exalted organism which was composed of the beings superior\nto him. The \u201cego experience\u201d on earth now takes effect also in the\nspiritual world. Henceforth man feels himself to be, to a certain degree,\na unit in that world. But he feels also that he is unceasingly linked with\nit. In the disembodied state he again finds the Lords of Form, in a higher\naspect, and this aspect he had perceived in their manifestation on earth\nby means of the spark of his ego.\n\nAt the separation of the moon from the earth, the disembodied soul began\nto have experiences in the spiritual world which were connected with that\nseparation. To develop such human forms upon earth which could receive\nsoul individuality, only became possible through the fact that a part of\nthe shaping forces passed over from the Earth to the Moon. Thus human\nindividuality came within the sphere of the Moon-beings. And in the\ndisembodied state the reminiscence of earthly individuality could only\noperate because, even in that state, the soul remained within the sphere\nof those mighty spirits who had brought about the separation of the moon.\nThe process worked in such a manner that immediately after leaving the\nearth-body the soul could only see the exalted Sun-beings as though in a\nlustre reflected from the Moon-beings. And it was only when sufficiently\nprepared by gazing at that reflected splendor, that the soul attained to\nthe vision of the exalted Sun-beings themselves.\n\nThe mineral kingdom of the earth also arose out of what was ejected from\nhuman evolution in general. Its structures are what remained solidified\nafter the moon was detached from the earth. The only soul-element which\nfelt attracted to those structures was that which had been left behind at\nthe Saturn stage, and was therefore only adapted for developing physical\nforms. All the occurrences treated of here and in what follows were\nenacted in the course of exceedingly long periods. But the question of\nchronology cannot be entered into here.\n\nThe events described, present the evolution of the earth from without.\nSeen spiritually from within, the facts present themselves as follows: The\nspiritual beings who drew the moon out of the earth and incorporated their\nown existence with the moon,\u2014thus becoming earth-moon beings,\u2014brought\nabout a certain formation of the human organism by means of the forces\nwhich they sent to the earth from the moon. Their influence affected the\n\u201cego\u201d which man had acquired, and made itself felt in the interplay of\nthat \u201cego\u201d with the astral, etheric, and physical bodies. They made it\npossible for man to reflect within himself consciously and to reproduce\nwithin his cognition, the wisdom revealed in the cosmos. It will be\nremembered that during the old Moon-period man, owing to the separation\nfrom the sun at the time, acquired a certain independence in his organism,\na more unfettered stage of consciousness than that which he had been able\nto derive directly from the Sun-spirits. This free, independent\nconsciousness\u2014a heritage from the old Moon-evolution\u2014appeared again during\nthe earth-period in question. But it was just this consciousness which,\nthrough the influence of the described earth-moon beings, could again be\nbrought into union and harmony with the universe and be made a reflection\nof it. This would have happened if no other influence had asserted itself.\nWithout that influence, man would have become a being whose consciousness\nwould not have reflected the world in pictures of cognition, through his\nown free volition, but through natural necessity. But things did not\nhappen in this way. At the time when the moon split off, certain spiritual\nbeings interposed in human evolution who had retained so much of their\nMoon nature that they could not take part in the exodus of the sun from\nthe earth, and were shut out from the influence of the spirits who from\nthe earth-moon had exerted their activity upon the earth. These spirits\nwith the old Moon nature were, so to say, banished to the earth, but with\nan irregular development. In their Moon-nature was that which had rebelled\nagainst the Sun-spirits during the old Moon-evolution, and which had so\nfar been a blessing to man that it had led him to a free, independent\nstate of consciousness. The consequences of the peculiar development of\nthese spirits during the earth-period entailed their becoming adversaries\nof the spirits who, acting from the moon, desired to make human\nconsciousness an automatic reflector of the universe. What had helped man\nto a higher state of development of the old Moon, proved to be in\nopposition to the possibilities which had arisen through the evolution of\nthe earth. The opposing forces had brought with them from their Moon\nnature the power of working upon the human astral body, namely,\u2014as above\nindicated,\u2014the power of making it independent. They exercised that power\nby giving the astral body a certain degree of independence\u2014even throughout\nthe earth-period\u2014compared with the automatic (involuntary) state of\nconsciousness which had been brought about by the spirits of the\nearth-moon.\n\nIt is difficult to express in the language of to-day the effects on man,\nin that far-off time of the spiritual beings referred to. They must not be\nthought of as analogous to natural influences of the present time, nor yet\nas similar to the influence of one human being on another, when the first\nawakens in the second inner powers of consciousness by words which help\nthe second person to understand something, or which stimulate him to\nvirtue or vice. The effect referred to as operative in that primeval age\nwas not a force of nature but a spiritual influence, conveyed in a\nspiritual way, which descended upon man as a spiritual influx from higher\nspirits, conformable with man\u2019s state of consciousness at that time. If we\nthink of this influence as a force of nature we altogether miss its\nessential reality. If we say that the spirits with the old Moon nature\ntempted man in order to lead him astray for their own ends, we are using a\nsymbolical expression, which is good as long as we remember that it is but\na symbol and are at the same time clear in our minds that a spiritual fact\nunderlies the symbol.\n\nThe influence brought to bear on man by the spirits who had remained\nbehind during the Moon-evolution had a two-fold result. Man\u2019s\nconsciousness was divested of the character of being merely a mirror of\nthe universe, because the possibility was aroused in the human astral body\nof regulating and controlling, by means of this astral body, the images in\nthe consciousness. Man became the ruler of his own knowledge. But on the\nother hand it was the astral body that was the starting point of that\nrulership, and consequently the ego set over the astral body came to be\ncontinually dependent upon it. Hence man was from this time forth exposed\nto the lasting influences of a lower element in his nature. It was\npossible for him in his life to sink below the height on which he had been\nplaced by the spirits of the earth-moon in the course of the world\u2019s\nprogress. And subsequently he was open to the lasting influence on his\nnature of the irregularly evolved Moon-spirits. We may call these\nMoon-spirits Luciferian, to distinguish them from the other spirits who,\nfrom the earth-moon, made consciousness into a mirror of the universe,\nwithout bestowing free will. The Luciferian spirits endowed man with the\npossibility of developing free activity in his consciousness, and at the\nsame time created the possibility of error and evil.\n\nAs a result of these events man was brought into a different connection\nwith the Sun-spirits from that which had been destined for him by the\nspirits of the earth-moon. These wished to develop the reflecting human\nconsciousness in such a manner that within the whole life of the human\nsoul, the influence of the Sun-spirits would have become dominant. These\npurposes were thwarted, and an opposition was thus created in human nature\nbetween the influence of the Sun-Spirits and that of the spirits who were\nirregularly developed on the old Moon. Owing to this opposition, the\ninability to recognize the physical Sun-influences as such also arose in\nman; they were hidden by the earthly impressions of the outer world.\nFilled with these impressions, the astral part of man was drawn into the\nsphere of the ego. This ego,\u2014which otherwise would have felt only the\nspark of fire bestowed on it by the Lords of Form, and which would have\nsubmitted to the bidding of those spirits in everything that had to do\nwith external fire,\u2014henceforth worked upon external heat phenomena through\nthe element with which it had itself been inoculated. A bond of attraction\nwas thereby established between the ego and the earth-fire.\n\nIn this way man became more involved in earthly materiality than had been\nordained for him, which was effected through the earth-moon spirits in\nman\u2019s body. The real individual ego was thereby set free from the mere\nearth-ego so that although man during earth-life only partially felt\nhimself to be an ego, he at the same time felt his earth-ego to be a\ncontinuation of that of his ancestors through the generations. The soul\nwas conscious of a kind of \u201cgroup-ego\u201d in earth-life, dating back to\nremote ancestors; man felt himself to be a member of this group. Only in\nthe disembodied state could the individual ego be conscious of itself as a\nseparate being. But this state of isolation was impaired because the ego\nwas still burdened with a memory of the earth-consciousness (earth-ego.)\nThis memory clouded its vision of the spiritual world, which began to be\ncovered as with a veil between death and birth just as it is hidden from\nphysical vision upon earth.\n\nThe many changes which took place in the spiritual world while human\nevolution was passing through the conditions just described, found\nphysical expression in the gradual adjustment of the mutual relations\nexisting between the sun, moon, and earth (and, moreover, between other\ncelestial bodies).\n\nThe alternation of day and night stands out as one result of those\nrelations. (The motions of celestial bodies are regulated by the beings\nwho inhabit them. The earth\u2019s motion, of which day and night are the\nresult, was induced by the mutual relations of various spirits superior to\nman. The moon\u2019s motion had been brought about in the same way, in order\nthat after the separation of the moon from the earth, the Lords of Form\nmight, by means of the revolution of the former around the latter, work\nupon the human physical body in the right way, and with the right rhythm.)\nThe ego and astral body of man now worked within the physical and etheric\nbodies by day; at night that activity ceased: for the ego and the astral\nbody then left the physical and etheric bodies and came wholly within the\nsphere of the Sons of Life or Angels, the Sons of Fire or Archangels, the\nSons of Personality, and the Lords of Form. Besides the Lords of Form, the\nLords of Motion, of Wisdom and the Thrones also included the physical and\netheric bodies in their sphere of influence at this time. The injurious\neffects produced on man by the errors of his astral body during the day,\ncould thus be counter-balanced.\n\nAs people upon Earth now again multiplied there was no reason why human\nsouls should not incarnate in their descendants. The earth moon-forces now\nacted in such a way that under their influence the human bodies became\nentirely capable of incarnating human souls. The souls who had previously\nremoved to Mars, Jupiter and the other planets were now guided to earth,\nand there was thus a soul ready for each human being born in the physical\nline of descent. This went on through long periods so that the immigration\nof souls to earth corresponded to the increase of human beings. Souls now\nleaving their bodies at physical death retained the echo of their earthly\nindividuality as a memory in the disembodied state. This memory acted in\nsuch a way that whenever a body was born on earth suitable for them, they\nagain incarnated it. Consequently there were among the human descendants\nsome whose souls came from without and who appeared on earth for the first\ntime since its very earliest periods, and there were others whose souls\nhad continually incarnated on the earth. In subsequent periods of earthly\nevolution the number of young souls appearing for the first time grows\never smaller and smaller, and the reincarnated souls become more and more\nnumerous; yet for long ages the human race was composed of the two types\nof beings conditioned by these facts.\n\nHenceforth man on earth felt himself united with his forefathers through\nthe group-ego which he had in common with them. On the other hand, the\nexperience of the individual ego was all the stronger in the disembodied\nstate between death and a new birth. The souls which entered human bodies\nfrom celestial space were in a different position from those which had one\nor more earthly lives behind them. The former, as souls entering upon the\nphysical earth-life, brought with them only the conditions to which the\nhigher spiritual world and their experiences outside the sphere of earth\nhad subjected them. The others had, by their actions in former lives,\nadded conditions of their own. The fate of the first was determined only\nby facts lying outside of the new earth-conditions; that of the\nreincarnate souls is also determined by what they themselves have done in\nformer lives under earthly conditions. Individual human Karma makes its\nfirst appearance simultaneously with reincarnation.\n\nBecause the human etheric body was withdrawn from the influence of the\nastral body in the manner above indicated, the generative faculty was not\nincluded in the sphere of human consciousness, but was under the sway of\nthe spiritual world. When the time had come for a soul to descend to\nearth, procreative impulses arose in the human being. The entire process,\nto a certain degree was veiled in mysterious obscurity as far as earthly\nconsciousness was concerned. The consequences of this partial separation\nof the etheric from the physical body were felt during earthly life also.\nThe qualities of the etheric body were capable of being especially\nheightened by spiritual influence. In the life of the soul this expressed\nitself through a special perfection of memory. Independent logical thought\nwas at this period only in its most rudimentary stage in man; on the other\nhand, the faculty of memory was almost unlimited. Externally it appeared\nas though man had direct knowledge of the working forces of every living\nbeing. He had at his disposal the vital and generative forces of the\nanimal and, more especially, of the vegetable kingdom. He was able, for\ninstance, to draw out of a plant the force which impels it to grow, and to\nuse that force, just as we now use the forces of inanimate nature; for\nexample, the power dormant in coal which is extricated and used for\npropelling engines.(22)\n\nThe inner soul life of man was also transformed in many different ways by\nthe Lucifer influence. Many kinds of feelings and emotions due to it might\nbe instanced. Of these only one can be mentioned. Previous to this\ninfluence, the human soul acted, in that which it had to shape and to do,\naccording to the purposes of higher spiritual beings. The plan of\neverything that was to be carried out was determined from the beginning.\nAnd in proportion to the degree to which human consciousness was evolved,\nit was able to foresee how things must develop in the future in accordance\nwith that preconceived plan. That consciousness of the future was lost\nwhen the veil of earthly perceptions was woven across the manifestations\nof higher spiritual beings and in these the real forces of the Sun-spirits\nwere hidden. Henceforth the future became uncertain, and in consequence of\nthis the possibility of fear was implanted in the soul. Fear is a direct\nresult of error.\n\nIt is however evident that through the Luciferian influence, man became\nindependent of certain definite forces to which he had previously\nsubmitted without the exercise of his will. Henceforth he was able to form\nresolutions of his own. Freedom is the result of the Luciferian influence,\nand fear and similar feelings are only the phenomena attendant on the\nevolution of human freedom.\n\nSpiritually seen, fear makes its appearance in this way. Within the\nearth-forces, under whose influence man had come by means of the\nLuciferian powers, other beings were operating, which had developed\nirregularly much earlier in the course of evolution than the Luciferian\npowers. With the earth-forces man admitted into his nature the influence\nof these other beings. They gave the quality of fear to feelings, which\nwithout them would have operated quite differently. They may be called\nAhrimanic beings. They are the same that Goethe calls Mephistophelian.\n\nAlthough the Luciferian influence manifested itself at first only in the\nmost advanced individuals, it soon spread to others. The descendants of\nthe advanced individuals intermingled with the less progressive described\nabove, and in this way the Luciferian force was conveyed to the latter.\nBut the etheric body of these souls returning from the different planets\ncould not be protected to the same extent as that of the descendants of\nthose who remained on earth. The protection of the etheric body of these\ndescendants emanated from an exalted Being in Whom was vested the\nleadership of the cosmic when the separation of the sun from the earth\ntook place. That Being is the Ruler of the Kingdom of the Sun. With him\nthose lofty spirits, whose cosmic development was sufficiently matured,\ndeparted for their dwelling-place in the Sun. But there were other beings\nwho had not reached such a height at the separation of the sun; these were\nobliged to seek other spheres. It was through their instrumentality that\nJupiter and other planets became detached from that general cosmic\nsubstance of which, at the outset, the earthly physical organism\nconsisted. Jupiter now became the abode of those beings who were not\nhighly enough developed to live on the sun, and the most advanced of these\nbecame the leader. As the Leader of the Sun evolution became the \u201chigher\nego\u201d which worked in the etheric body of the descendants of those who had\nremained on earth, so the Jupiter leader became that \u201chigher ego\u201d which\nmanifested as a common consciousness in certain other human beings. Those\nwere the human beings descending from the intermixing of those who had\nonly appeared on earth at the time of the air-element and had gone over to\nJupiter. These human beings may be called, in conformity with occult\nscience, \u201cJupiter-humanity.\u201d They were scions of the human race which had\nadopted human souls far back in that ancient time; but who, at the\nbeginning of earthly evolution, were not yet mature enough to take part in\nthe first contact with fire. They were souls midway between the human and\nanimal soul-kingdoms.\n\nNow there were other beings who, under the leadership of the greatest one\namong them had detached Mars from the general cosmic substance, to make it\ntheir dwelling place. Under their influence there arose a third kind of\nhumanity, formed by interbreeding,\u2014the \u201cMars-humanity.\u201d (This knowledge\nthrows light upon the origin of the formation of the planets of our solar\nsystem; for all the members of that system originated through the various\nstages of maturity reached by the beings inhabiting them. But of course it\nis not possible to enter into all the details of cosmic differentiation\nhere.) Those people who felt in their etheric body the influence of the\nexalted Sun-being Himself may be called \u201cSun-humanity.\u201d The Being Who\nlived in them as the Higher Ego\u2014of course only in the race, not in the\nindividual,\u2014is the same to Whom various names were given in later times,\nwhen man had gained conscious knowledge of Him. It is he Who appears to\nthe human race today as the Christ.\n\n\u201cSaturn-humanity\u201d is also to be distinguished at that time. The \u201chigher\nego\u201d of this race appeared as a being who, with his associates, had been\nforced to leave the general cosmic substance before the separation of the\nSun. In these individuals not only the etheric body but also the physical\nbody was partly exempt from the Luciferian influence. But the etheric body\nwas nevertheless not well enough protected in the less developed races of\nmankind to be able to sufficiently resist the influences of the Luciferian\nbeings. These individuals could arbitrarily use the spark of the ego\nwithin them to such a degree that they were able to call forth mighty and\ndestructive effects of fire around them. The result was a mighty\nterrestrial catastrophe. A large part of the inhabited earth was wrecked\nby fiery storms, and with it the human beings that had fallen into sin.\nOnly a very small part of those who had remained untouched by sin, were\nable to take refuge in a region which had so far been shielded from the\nfatal human influence.\n\nThe country occupying that part of the earth now covered by the Atlantic\nOcean proved to be peculiarly well fitted for the abode of the new human\nrace. Thither that part of humanity repaired which had preserved purity.\nOnly stray groups of humanity inhabited other regions. Occult science\ngives the name of \u201cAtlantis\u201d to that part of the earth which once existed\nbetween the present continents of Europe, Africa, and America. (This\nparticular stage of human evolution has its special nomenclature in\ntheosophical literature. The period preceding the Atlantean is called the\nLemurian age, whereas that during which the Moon-forces had not yet fully\ndeveloped is called the Hyperborean age. This is preceded by yet another,\nwhich coincides with the earliest period of the evolution of the physical\nearth. Biblical tradition describes the period before the influence of the\nLucifer-beings came into play as the Paradise time, and the descent to\nearth, or entanglement of humanity in the sense-world, as the expulsion\nfrom Paradise.)\n\nThe Atlantean period of evolution was the real time of separation into the\nSaturn, Sun, Jupiter, and Mars humanities. Up to that time only\npredispositions for this separation had been developed. The division\nbetween the state of waking and sleeping had special consequences, which\nappeared particularly in the Atlantean race. During the night the human\nastral body and ego were in the sphere of the beings superior to man, as\nfar up as the Sons of Personality. Man could perceive the Sons of Life\n(the Angels) and the Sons of Fire (the Archangels) through that part of\nhis etheric body which was not united with the physical body. For he was\nable to remain united, during sleep, with that part of his etheric body\nwhich was not interpenetrated by the physical body. It is true, his\nperception of the Sons of Personality was vague, owing to the Luciferian\ninfluence; but not only the Angels and Archangels became visible to man in\nthis condition but also those beings who were not able to enter upon\nearthly existence because they had lagged behind on the Sun or Moon, and\nwere therefore obliged to remain in the psycho-spiritual world. But man,\nby means of the Luciferian influence, drew them into his soul which was\nseparated from his physical body during sleep. Thus he came in contact\nwith beings whose influence was highly corrupting. They increased in his\nsoul the propensity for error; especially the tendency to misuse the\npowers of growth and reproduction, which since the separation of the\nphysical and etheric bodies were now under his control.\n\nCertain human beings of the Atlantean period however became entangled in\nthe sense world only to a very limited degree. Through them, the\nLuciferian influence became, instead of a hindrance to human evolution, a\nmeans of further progress. It enabled them to develop knowledge of earthly\nmatters sooner than would otherwise have been possible. They sought to\nexpel error from their imaginative life and to interpret, by means of\ncosmic phenomena, the original purposes of spiritual beings. They kept\nthemselves free from those impulses and desires of the astral body which\nwere directed merely toward the sense-world. Hence they became more and\nmore free from the errors of the astral body. This resulted in a condition\nthrough which they were able to confine their perceptions to that part of\nthe etheric body which was separated from the physical body in the manner\ndescribed above. Under these conditions the capacity of the physical body\nfor perception was practically extinguished and the physical body itself\nwas as though dead. For through the etheric body, these individuals were\nwholly united with the kingdom of the Lords of Form, and were able to\nlearn from them how they were being guided and directed by that exalted\nBeing the \u201cChrist,\u201d who was the Leader at the time of the separation of\nsun and earth. These people were Initiates. But since human individuality\nhad been brought into the sphere of the Moon-beings, as described above,\nthese Initiates could not as a rule come into direct contact with the\nChrist-Being, they could only see it as a reflection, shown them by the\nMoon-beings. Thus they did not see the Christ-Being directly, but only the\nreflection of its glory.\n\nThey became leaders of the rest of humanity, to whom they were able to\nimpart the mysteries they had seen. They attracted disciples, to whom they\ncommunicated the methods for attaining the condition which leads to\nInitiation. Only those could attain knowledge of the Christ who belonged\nto the Sun-humanity mentioned above. They cultivated their mystic\nlearning, and the occupations which promoted it, at a particular spot\nwhich, in occult science terminology may be called the Christ oracle, or\nSun oracle, the term \u201coracle\u201d being used to denote a place where the\npurposes of spiritual beings are unveiled.\n\nOther oracles were called into being by the members of the Saturn, Mars,\nand Jupiter humanities. The intuitive vision of their Initiates was\nconfined to seeing those beings who were revealed to them in their etheric\nbodies as their respective \u201chigher egos.\u201d Thus adherents of the Saturn,\nJupiter, and Mars wisdom arose. Besides these methods of Initiation, there\nwere others for those who had assimilated too much of the Luciferian\nspirit to allow as large a part of the etheric body to be separated from\nthe physical body as was the case with the Sun humanity. Nor could they be\nbrought to the revelation of the Christ through these conditions. Because\ntheir astral body was more influenced by the Lucifer principle, they were\nobliged to undergo a more difficult preparation, and then, in a less\ndisembodied state than the others, they were able to receive the\nrevelation, not indeed of the Christ Himself, but of other exalted beings.\n\nThere were beings who, although they had left the earth at the separation\nof the sun, did not stand on such a high level that they were able to\ncontinue taking part in the Sun evolution. They formed an abode for\nthemselves away from the sun, after its separation from the earth: this\nwas Venus. Their leader was the being who now became a \u201chigher ego\u201d to\nthese Initiates and their adherents. A similar thing happened with the\nleading spirit of Mercury for another group of people. In this way the\nVenus and Mercury oracles arose. One kind of human beings, who had most\ncompletely absorbed the Luciferian influence, could reach only one of the\nhigher beings who, with his associates, had been the first to be expelled\nfrom the Sun evolution. This being has no particular planet in cosmic\nspace, but still lives within the periphery of the earth, with which he\nwas once more united after the return from the sun. The group of people,\nto whom this being was revealed as its \u201chigher ego\u201d may be called the\nfollowers of the Vulcan oracle. Their attention was more directed to\nearthly phenomena than that of the other Initiates. They laid the first\nfoundations of what afterwards became the human arts and sciences. On the\nother hand, the Mercury Initiates established the study of the more\nsuper-sensible things; and the Venus Initiates did this to a still greater\nextent.\n\nThe Vulcan, Mercury, and Venus Initiates differed from those of Saturn,\nJupiter, and Mars in the manner of receiving their Mysteries; the latter\nreceived them more as a revelation from above, and in a more finished\nstate; whereas the former gained their knowledge more in the form of their\nown thoughts\u2014in the form of ideas. The Christ Initiates occupied a middle\nposition. While having a direct revelation, they acquired the capacity for\nclothing their Mysteries in a human form of conception. The Saturn,\nJupiter, and Mars Initiates were obliged to express themselves more in\nsymbols; the Christ, Venus, Mercury, and Vulcan Initiates were able to\nimpart their knowledge more through ideas or concepts.\n\nWhatever knowledge of this kind reached Atlantean humanity came indirectly\nthrough the Initiates. But the rest of mankind also received special\nfaculties through the Lucifer principle; for, through the intervention of\nlofty cosmic beings, what otherwise might have wrought ruin was\ntransformed into good. One of these faculties was that of speech. This was\nbrought about by the condensation of man\u2019s physical body and by the\nseparation of part of his etheric from his physical body. For some time\nafter the separations of the moon, man felt himself connected with his\nphysical ancestors through the group-ego. But this common consciousness,\nlinking posterity with its ancestors, was gradually lost in the course of\ngenerations. Later descendants had an inner memory of only their more\nrecent ancestors, no longer of their earlier forefathers. It was only in\nconditions akin to sleep, during which mankind came in contact with the\nspiritual world, that the remembrance of one ancestor or another again\nemerged. Then people thought of themselves as one with that ancestor whom\nthey believed to be reappearing in them. This was an erroneous idea of\nreincarnation, which arose especially in the later Atlantean period. The\ntrue doctrine of reincarnation could be learned only in the schools of the\nInitiates. They could see how the human soul passes through the\ndisembodied state on its way from one incarnation to another, and they\nalone were able to impart the real truth of the matter to their disciples.\n\nIn the remote past which is now under consideration, man\u2019s physical form\nwas very different from his present form. It was still, to a great extent,\nthe expression of the qualities of his soul. Man was composed of a softer\nand more delicate substance than that which he has since acquired. That\nwhich is now solidified in the limbs was then soft, flexible, and plastic.\nThe bodily structure of the more psychic and spiritual human beings was\ndelicate, supple, and expressive. These less evolved spiritually possessed\ncoarser, heavier, less mobile bodily structures. A high degree of psychic\nmaturity contracted the extremities, and the Stature remained small;\nbackwardness of the soul and entanglement in sensuality were outwardly\nexpressed by gigantic size. While man was growing to maturity his body was\nbeing formed in accordance with what was developing in his soul, in a way\nwhich would appear incredible and fabulous to contemporary ideas. Depraved\npassions, impulses, and instincts brought in their train a colossal\nincrease of matter. Man\u2019s present physical form has come about through a\ncontraction, thickening, and consolidation of the Atlantean human form.\nAnd whereas man, before the Atlantean period, had been an exact image of\nhis soul-nature the events of the Atlantean evolution bore within them the\ncauses which lead to the formation of post-Atlantean man, whose physical\nform is solid and comparatively independent of the qualities of the soul.\n(The forms of the animal kingdom had solidified during far more remote\nEarth periods than those of man.) The laws now governing the shaping of\nforms in the kingdom of nature certainly did not prevail in the remote\npast.\n\nToward the middle of the Atlantean evolution a calamity gradually befell\nhumanity. The Mysteries of the Initiates had to be carefully kept secret\nfrom those who had not purified their astral bodies from sin. Had they\ngained insight into that hidden knowledge, into the laws by means of which\nhigher beings directed the forces of nature, they would have employed\nthose forces thus placed at their disposal for their own perverted needs\nand passions. The danger was all the greater because mankind was coming,\nas has been described, into the sphere of lower spiritual beings, who\ncould not take part in the regular evolution of the earth and were\ntherefore working against it. These persistently influenced humanity in\nsuch a way as to instil into it interests which were actually directed\nagainst human welfare. But mankind still had the power to employ the\nforces of growth and reproduction belonging to animal and human nature in\ntheir own service.\n\nNot only humanity in general, but even some of the Initiates yielded to\ntemptation from low spiritual beings. They were induced to employ the\nsupersensible forces mentioned above for a purpose which ran counter to\nhuman evolution. And for this purpose they sought out associates who were\nnot initiated, and who made use of the secrets of the supersensible forces\nof nature for low ends. The result was a great corruption of human nature.\nThe evil spread further and further; and since the forces of growth and\ngeneration, if torn from their original sphere and used independently,\nhave a mysterious connection with certain forces working in air and water,\nthere were thus unchained, through human action, mighty, destructive\nnatural forces which led to the gradual ruin of the Atlantean territory by\nthe agency of air and water catastrophes. Atlantean humanity was obliged\nto migrate\u2014i. e., that portion of it which did not perish in the storms.\n\nIn consequence of these storms the surface of the earth was altered. On\none side, Europe, Asia, and Africa gradually assumed their present shape;\non the other, America appeared. Great migrations took place to these\ncountries. Those migrations which were directed eastward from Atlantis are\nespecially important for us of today. Europe, Asia, and Africa were\ngradually colonized by the descendants of the Atlanteans. Various peoples\nfixed their abode in these continents. They were at different stages of\ndevelopment, and also at different levels of corruption. And with them\ncame the Initiates, guardians of the oracle-Mysteries. They established\nsanctuaries in various parts, in which the cults of Jupiter, Venus, etc.,\nwere cultivated sometimes in a good, sometimes in an evil manner. The\nbetrayal of the Vulcan Mysteries exercised an especially unfavourable\ninfluence, for the attention of their adherents was mostly centered on\nearthly matters. By this betrayal, mankind was made dependent on spiritual\nbeings who, as a result of their past evolution, rejected everything\nemanating from the spiritual world which had been evolved through the\nseparation of the earth from the sun. In accordance with the tendency they\nhad thus developed, they worked upon just that element in man which was\nformed through his having perceptions of the sense-world, behind which the\nspiritual world lies hidden. Henceforth beings acquired great influence\nover many of the human inhabitants of the earth, and indeed their\ninfluence asserted itself more and more by depriving mankind of the\nfeeling for spiritual things.\n\nSince the size, form, and flexibility of the physical human body were\nstill largely affected by the qualities of the soul, the consequence of\nthe betrayal of the Mysteries also appeared in changes of the human race\nin these respects. Wherever the corruption of humanity manifested itself\nespecially in the abuse of supersensible powers for the satisfaction of\nlower inclinations, desires and passions, unsightly human shapes,\ngrotesque in form and size were the result. These were not able to survive\nthe Atlantean period, and became extinct. Post-Atlantean humanity was\nformed physically from those Atlantean ancestors in whom such a\nsolidification of the bodily form had taken place that it no longer\nyielded to those powers of the soul which had now become perverted.\n\nThere was a certain period in the Atlantean evolution during which, by\nmeans of the law ruling in and around the earth, just those conditions\nprevailed which tended to solidify man\u2019s bodily form. Those human racial\ntypes which had been solidified before this period could, it is true,\nreproduce themselves for a long time, yet the souls incarnating in them\ngradually became so cramped that they had to die out. It is true that some\nof these race-types survived into the post-Atlantean times; those which\nhad remained sufficiently agile lasted even for a very long time in\nmodified form. Human forms which had remained flexible, after the period\njust described, became bodies for such souls as had, in a large measure,\nundergone the pernicious influence of the betrayal described above. These\nforms were destined to speedy extinction.\n\nIn consequence of what had thus happened, beings had brought their\ninfluence to bear upon human evolution, since the middle of the Atlantean\nperiod, beings whose influence tended to make mankind live in the physical\nsense world in an unspiritual manner. This went so far that, instead of\nman\u2019s seeing the real form of that world, phantoms, hallucinations, and\nillusions of every kind appeared to him. Mankind was exposed not merely to\nthe Luciferian influence but to that of those other beings mentioned\nabove, whose leader may be called Ahriman, according to the appellation\ngiven him later in the Persian civilization. (He is the same as\nMephistopheles.) Through this influence man was subject, after death, to\npowers which made him appear even then as a being adhering only to\nmaterial earthly conditions. He lost more and more the unobstructed vision\nof the events of the spiritual world. He was forced to feel himself in\nAhriman\u2019s power, and to a certain extent shut out from intercourse with\nthe spiritual world.\n\nThere was one oracle-sanctuary of special importance, which in the\nuniversal decline had preserved the ancient cult in its purest form. It\nwas one of the Christ oracles, and on that account it was able to preserve\nnot only the Christ Mystery itself but those of the other oracles as well.\nFor in the manifestation of the loftiest of the Sun-spirits, were also\nrevealed the regents of Saturn, Jupiter, and the other planets. In the Sun\noracle the secret of producing in some particular human being, such human\netheric bodies as had been possessed by the best of the Jupiter, Mercury,\nand other Initiates was known. By means of the methods used for this\npurpose, which cannot be further dealt with here, impressions of the best\netheric bodies of the ancient Initiates were preserved, in order that they\nmight subsequently be stamped upon suitable individuals. The same process\ncould be employed with the astral bodies of the Venus, Mercury, and Vulcan\nInitiates.\n\nAt a certain time the Leader of the Christ Initiates found Himself\nisolated with a few associates, to whom He was able to impart, to a very\nlimited extent only, the mysteries of the cosmos. For those associates\nwere individuals who were endowed with the natural ability to permit the\nleast possible degree of separation between the physical and etheric\nbodies. They were altogether, at that time, the best possible individuals\nfor promoting the further progress of humanity. Their experiences in the\nrealm of sleep had become rarer and rarer. The spiritual world was more\nand more closed to them. Therefore they were also lacking in the\ncomprehension of all that had been revealed to man in ancient times when\nhe was not in his physical, but only in his etheric body. Those\nimmediately surrounding the leader of the Christ oracle were the farthest\nadvanced with regard to the union of the physical body with that part of\nthe etheric body which had previously been separated from it. This union\ncame about in the human being little by little, as a result of the\ntransformation which had taken place in the Atlantean continent and the\nearth in general.\n\nThe physical and etheric bodies of man fitted more and more into each\nother. Hence the memory lost its former unlimited capacity, and the human\nlife of thought began. That part of the etheric which was united with the\nphysical body transformed the physical brain into an actual instrument of\nthought, and man from this time, first really felt his \u201cego\u201d within his\nphysical body. Self-consciousness awoke. This was at first the case with\nonly a limited number of the human race, pre-eminently with the associates\nof the leader of the Christ oracle. The bulk of humanity, scattered over\nEurope, Asia, and Africa, retained in varying degrees the remnant of the\nold conditions of consciousness. Hence they had direct experience of the\nsupersensible world.\n\nThe associates of the Christ Initiate were people of highly developed\nintelligence but of less experience in supersensible spheres than any of\ntheir contemporaries. The Initiate journeyed with them to a country in\ncentral Asia. He wished them to be guarded as much as possible from\ncontact with those of less developed consciousness. He instructed his\nfollowers along the lines of the mysteries which had been revealed to him\nand especially did he do this with their descendants. Thus he gathered\nround him a people who had received into their hearts the impulses\ncorresponding to the Mysteries of the Christ Initiation. Out of this\ncompany he chose the seven best, that they might be endowed with the\netheric and astral bodies which bore the impress of the etheric bodies of\nthe seven best Atlantean Initiates. Thus he educated a successor to each\nof the Christ, Saturn, Jupiter, etc., Initiates. These seven Initiates\nbecame the teachers and leaders of the people who, in the post-Atlantean\nperiod, had colonized the south of Asia, especially ancient India. Since\nthese great teachers were endowed with the etheric bodies of their\nspiritual ancestors, the contents of their astral body, that is, the\nscience and knowledge they themselves had worked out, was far below what\nwas revealed to them through their etheric body. Therefore if these\nrevelations were to speak within them, they were obliged to impose silence\non their own science and knowledge. Then the exalted beings who had also\nspoken to their spiritual ancestors spoke out of and through them. Except\nduring the times when these beings were speaking through them, they were\nsimple people, endowed with the measure of intelligence and feeling which\nthey had cultivated and worked out for themselves.\n\nThere lived at this time in India a race of people who had retained a\nparticularly vivid remembrance of the ancient soul-condition of the\nAtlanteans, which permitted experiences in the spiritual world. Moreover,\nthe heart and soul of a great number of these people were powerfully\nattracted by such experiences. By a wise decree of fate, the majority of\nthe race had come to southern Asia from among the best portions of the\nAtlantean population. Besides this majority, other Atlanteans had migrated\nthither at different times. The Christ Initiate, referred to above,\nappointed his seven great disciples to be the teachers of this association\nof people, to whom they imparted their wisdom and precepts. Many of these\nancient Indians needed but little preparation for reviving within them the\nscarcely extinct faculties leading to observation of the supersensible\nworld. For longing after that world was really a fundamental quality of\nthe Indian soul. It was felt that man\u2019s original home was in that world.\nHe is transplanted out of it into this one, which offers only outer\nsense-observation and the intelligence connected with it.\n\nThe supersensible world was felt to be the _real_ world, and the\nsense-world to be a deception of the human power of observation, an\nillusion (Maya). By every possible means these people strove to open up a\nview of the real world. They could take no interest in the illusory\nsense-world, or at any rate only so far as it proved to be a veil for the\nsupersensible. The power going out from the Seven Great Teachers to such\npeople as these, was a mighty one. What they were able to reveal entered\ndeeply into the Indian soul; and since the possession of the transmitted\netheric and astral bodies invested the teachers with lofty powers, they\nwere also able to work magically on their disciples. They did not really\nteach; they worked as though by magic power from one personality to\nanother. Thus there arose a civilization completely saturated with\nsupersensible wisdom. The contents of the books of wisdom of the Hindus,\nthe Vedas, do not give the original form of the lofty wisdom imparted by\nthe great teachers of most ancient times, only a feeble echo of it. Only\nthe seer\u2019s eye, looking backward is able to find unwritten primeval wisdom\nbehind the written words.\n\nA particularly prominent feature of this ancient wisdom is the harmonious\naccord of the various wisdom oracles of the Atlantean time. For each of\nthe Great Teachers was able to unveil the wisdom of one of these oracles,\nand these different aspects were in complete harmony, because behind them\nall was the fundamental wisdom of the Christ Initiation. It is true the\nteacher who was the successor of the Christ Initiate did not impart to his\ndisciples what the Christ Initiate himself was able to reveal. The latter\nhad remained in the background during this period of evolution. At first\nhe was unable to entrust his high office to any post-Atlantean. The\ndifference between him and the Christ Initiate of the Seven Great Indian\nTeachers was that the former was able to work his vision of the Christ\nMystery completely into the form of human ideas, whereas the Indian Christ\nInitiate could only offer a reflection of the Mystery in signs and\nsymbols; for his humanly cultivated power of conception did not suffice\nfor such a Mystery. However, from the union of the Seven Teachers there\nresulted a knowledge of the supersensible world, presented in one great\nwisdom-panorama, of which only separate portions could be imparted in the\nancient Atlantean oracles. The great Regents of the cosmos were revealed,\nand the One great Sun-spirit, the Hidden One, ruling over those who were\nmanifested through the seven teachers, was delicately indicated.\n\nWhat is here meant by \u201cancient Indians\u201d is not the same as what is usually\nunderstood by that term. No outer documents exist of the period in\nquestion. The people usually known as \u201cIndians\u201d belong to a stage of\nhistorical evolution which was developed long after the time spoken of\nhere. We have to distinguish a first post-Atlantean period of the earth,\nin which the Indian civilization now described was the predominant one;\nthen came a second post-Atlantean period in which the prevailing\ncivilization was that which later in this work is called the \u201cancient\nPersian,\u201d and still later was developed the Egypto-Chaldean civilization,\nalso to be described. During the evolution of these second and third\npost-Atlantean epochs, \u201cancient\u201d India also went through a second and\nthird epoch, and to this third epoch belongs what is usually related of\nancient India. What is described here must therefore not be applied to the\n\u201cancient India\u201d mentioned elsewhere.\n\nAnother feature of this ancient Indian civilization is that which\nafterward led to the division of the race into castes. The inhabitants of\nIndia were descendants of Atlanteans who belonged to the various types of\nSaturn and Jupiter humanities, etc. By means of supersensible teachings it\nwas seen that it is not by chance that a soul is incarnated in a\nparticular caste, but that the soul itself has determined its lot. Such an\nunderstanding of supersensible teachings was made much easier, because it\nwas possible to revive in many people the inner remembrance of their\nancestors which has been described above; this, of course, might also\neasily lead to an erroneous idea of reincarnation. Just as, in the\nAtlantean age, it was only through the Initiates that the true idea of\nreincarnation could be realized, so in India, in most ancient times, it\nwas possible only through direct contact with the great teachers. It is\ntrue that the erroneous idea of reincarnation mentioned above found the\nwidest acceptance imaginable among the bands of people who were dispersed\nover Europe, Asia and Africa in consequence of the Atlantean catastrophe.\nAnd because the Initiates who had gone astray during the Atlantean\nevolution had imparted the mystery of reincarnation to immature souls,\nmankind began to confuse more and more the true with the false ideas. Many\nof these people indeed retained a kind of dim clairvoyance, as a heritage\nfrom the Atlantean period. Just as the Atlanteans had entered the\nspiritual world during sleep, their descendants had experience of it in\nabnormal states, intermediate between sleeping and waking. Then there\narose in these people the images of the ancient times of their\nforefathers. They believed themselves to be reincarnations of people who\nhad lived in those times. Teachings about reincarnation, which were at\nvariance with the true ideas of the Initiates, were widely spread over the\nearth.\n\nAs a result of the long-continued migrations which had taken place from\nwest to east since the beginning of the Atlantean catastrophe, a group of\npeople settled in western Asia whose posterity is known to history as the\nPersian race and the tribes related thereto. Here we look back to a much\nearlier period than the historical times of these peoples. Next after the\nIndian period, we have first to do with the very early ancestors of the\nlater Persians, among whom arose the second great civilization of\npost-Atlantean evolution. The peoples of this second era had a different\nmission from that of the Indians. Their longings and inclinations were not\nfixed on the supersensible world alone; they were also directed toward the\nphysical sense-world, and the earth became dear to them. They valued what\nman is able to acquire on it, and what he is able to win by means of its\nforces. Their achievements as a warlike people, and the methods which they\ndiscovered of acquiring the earth\u2019s treasures, are connected with this\npeculiarity of their nature. There was no danger of their turning their\nbacks upon the \u201cillusion\u201d of the physical senses in their yearning after\nthe supersensible, but rather of their entirely severing the connection of\ntheir souls with the supersensible world, through their appreciation for\nthe physical world.\n\nThe oracle-sanctuaries, which had been transferred hither from the ancient\nAtlantean territory, also reflected, in their own way, the general\ncharacter of the people. In them forces were present which it had formerly\nbeen possible to acquire through experiences in the supersensible world,\nand which could still be controlled in certain lower forms; these forces\nwere used in the sanctuaries to direct the phenomena of nature in such a\nway as to make them subservient to man\u2019s personal interests. This ancient\npeople still had a great mastery over those forces of nature which\nsubsequently withdrew from the influence of the human will. The guardians\nof the oracles mastered certain inner forces connected with fire and other\nelements. They can be called magicians. What supersensible knowledge and\nforce they had retained as a heritage from ancient times was certainly\nslight in comparison with man\u2019s powers in the remote past. But it\nnevertheless took all kinds of forms, from the noble arts, the only object\nof which was the welfare of humanity,\u2014down to the most reprehensible\ntransactions.\n\nThe Luciferian influence held sway over these people in a peculiar manner.\nIt had brought them into connection with everything which diverts mankind\nfrom the purposes of those exalted beings who alone would have guided\nhuman evolution, had not the Luciferian influence interposed. Even those\nmembers of this race who were still gifted with some remnant of the old\nclairvoyant condition, described above as a state intermediate between\nsleeping and waking, felt themselves powerfully attracted by the lower\nbeings of the spiritual world. In order to counteract these characteristic\nqualities it was necessary that a spiritual impulse should be given to\nthis people. A leadership was established among them by the guardian of\nthe Mysteries of the Sun oracle, from the same source from which the\nspiritual life of ancient India proceeded.\n\nThe leader of ancient Persian civilization, who was sent by the guardian\nof the Sun oracle to the people now under consideration, may be designated\nby the same name as the historical Zarathustra, or Zoroaster. Only the\nfact must be emphasized that the personality indicated belongs to a much\nearlier period than the historical possessor of the name. In this\nconnection it is not a question of outer historical research, but of\nspiritual knowledge. And any one who instinctively thinks of a later time\nin connection with the bearer of the name Zarathustra may reconcile this\nidea with occult science on learning that the historical character\nrepresents himself as a successor of the first great Zarathustra, whose\nname he took, and in the spirit of whose teaching he worked.\n\nThe impulse which Zarathustra had to give to his people was to show them\nthat the physical world of sense is not merely the lifeless material,\ndevoid of spirit, which it appears to a man who gives himself up\nexclusively to the influence of the Luciferian being. To this being man\nowes his personal independence and sense of freedom; but it should work\nwithin him in harmony with the opposite spiritual being. With the\npre-historic Persians it was a question of keeping alive the sense of this\nlast-named spiritual-being. Through their inclination toward the physical\nsense world they ran the risk of complete amalgamation with the Luciferian\nbeings. Now Zarathustra, through the guardian of the Sun oracle, had\nreceived an Initiation that enabled him to receive the revelations of the\ngreat Sun-spirits. In particular states of consciousness, brought about by\nhis training, he was able to see the Regent of the Sun-spirits, who, as\ndescribed above, had taken under His protection the human etheric body.\n\nZarathustra knew that This Spirit directs the course of human evolution,\nbut that He must first, at a certain time, descend to earth out of cosmic\nspace. For this purpose it was necessary that He should be able to live in\na human astral body, just as in man. He had worked in the etheric body\nsince the entrance of the Luciferic nature. It was therefore necessary\nthat a man should appear who had retransformed the astral body to the same\nlevel that it would have reached in the middle of the Atlantean evolution,\nhad there been no Luciferian influence. Had Lucifer not appeared, mankind\nwould certainly have attained this level before, but without personal\nindependence or the possibility of freedom. Now, however, in spite of\nthose qualities he should again arise to this height. Zarathustra, endowed\nwith prophetic vision, could see that in the future it would be possible,\nwithin human evolution for a personality to exist, who would have a\nsuitable astral body for that purpose. But he also knew that the great\nSun-spirit could not appear on earth before that time, though He could be\nperceived by a seer in the spiritual part of the Sun. When as a seer he\nturned his attention to the Sun, Zarathustra was able to see This Spirit,\nwhom he proclaimed to his people. He announced that the Sun-spirit was at\nfirst to be found only in the spiritual world, but that later He would\ndescend to earth. This was the great Sun-spirit, or Spirit of Light (the\nAura of the Sun, Ahura-mazdao, or Ormuzd). He was revealed to Zarathustra\nand his followers as the Spirit who, for the time being, was turning the\nlight of His countenance on man from the spiritual world, and that it was\nHe Who might be expected to appear in a human body amongst men in the\nfuture. It was the Christ, before his appearance on earth, whom\nZarathustra proclaimed as the Spirit of Light. On the other hand he\nrepresented Ahriman (Angra mainju) as a power working injuriously on the\nlife of the human soul, when it engrosses that soul completely. This power\nis none other than the one previously described, which had acquired\nspecial dominion over the earth since the betrayal of the Vulcan\nMysteries. Together with the message concerning the Light God, Zarathustra\nproclaimed teachings about those spiritual beings who were revealed to the\nseer\u2019s purified perception as associates of the Spirit of Light. These\nwere in strong contrast to the tempters who appeared to that unpurified\nclairvoyance which was left over from the Atlantean period. It had to be\nmade clear to the ancient Persians that in man\u2019s soul, so far as it is\nengaged in work and endeavor in the physical sense world, a conflict is\ngoing on between the power of the Light God and his adversary. It had also\nto be shown them how man must act so as not to be engulfed by Ahriman, and\nhow to turn his influence to good through the power of the Light God.\n\nThe third era of post-Atlantean civilization began among the peoples who\nfinally gathered together in western Asia and northern Africa after the\nmigrations. This civilization was developed among the Chaldeans,\nBabylonians, and Assyrians on the one hand, and among the Egyptians on the\nother. In these peoples the taste for the physical world of sense\ndeveloped in a different form from that which it had taken among the\nPersians. The former had acquired the quality of mind lying at the root of\nthe faculty of thought which has arisen since Atlantean times, that is,\nthe gift of reason. Indeed, it was the mission of post-Atlantean humanity\nto develop within itself those faculties of the soul which it was possible\nto acquire through the newly awakened powers of thought and feeling. These\npowers cannot be directly stimulated from the spiritual world, but result\nfrom man\u2019s observing the sense-world, becoming familiar with it, and\nworking upon it. The conquest of the physical world of sense by these\nhuman faculties must be regarded as the mission of post-Atlantean\nhumanity. Step by step that conquest proceeded. It is true that even in\nancient India, man, through the condition of his soul, was already turned\ntoward that world; but he still looked upon it as illusion, and his spirit\nturned to the supersensible world. In the Persian race, on the contrary,\nthere sprang up the endeavour to conquer the physical world of sense, but\nthe attempt was still largely made with those powers of the soul which had\nbeen left over as an inheritance from the time when man could still reach\nthe spiritual world directly. Among the peoples of the third epoch of\ncivilization, the soul had for the most part lost the supersensible\nfaculties. It was obliged to seek manifestations of the spiritual in the\nsurrounding world of sense, and to continue its development by discovering\nthe means of civilization existing in that world. Men sought to\ninvestigate, through the physical world, the spiritual laws underlying it,\nand in this way human sciences arose. Human technical skill, artistic\nwork, and their tools and means came about through the recognition and use\nof the forces of the physical world. To a man of the Chaldaic-Babylonian\nrace the sense-world was no longer an illusion but a manifestation, in its\ndifferent kingdoms, in mountains and seas, in air and water, of the\nspiritual activity of powers existing behind it, whose laws man was\nstriving to learn.\n\nTo the Egyptian, the earth was a field of work, given to him in a\ncondition which he must, by his own powers of intelligence, so transform\nthat it should bear the impress of human power. From Atlantis,\noracle-sanctuaries, originating chiefly from the Mercury oracle, had been\ntransplanted to Egypt. Yet there were others as well,\u2014for example, Venus\noracles.\n\nIn that which was fostered, in their oracle-sanctuaries, among the\nEgyptian peoples, the germ of a new culture was planted. This germ\nproceeded from a great leader who had received his training in the Persian\nZarathustra Mysteries, who was the reincarnated individuality of a\ndisciple of the great Zarathustra himself. Let us call him \u201cHermes.\u201d\nThrough acceptance of the Zarathustra Mysteries he was able to find the\nright way to guide the Egyptian people. This people had so turned its\nattention to the physical sense-world, during earthly life between birth\nand death that it was able only to a limited extent to directly behold the\nspiritual world behind the physical phenomena, although it recognized the\nspiritual laws of the world. Thus it could not think of the spiritual\nworld as the one in which it could live while on earth, but on the other\nhand, it could be shown how man will live, in the disembodied state after\ndeath in the world of those spirits who, during earthly life, appear\nthrough their impressions upon the sense-world.\n\nHermes taught that man qualifies himself for union with spiritual forces\nafter death, in proportion as he uses his powers on earth for furthering\nthe purposes of those spiritual forces. Those especially, who had worked\nmost zealously in this way between birth and death would be united with\nthe lofty Sun-God Osiris. On the Chaldaic-Babylonian side of this stream\nof civilization the direction of the human mind toward the physical\nsense-world was more conspicuous than on the Egyptian side. The laws of\nthat world were being investigated and from its reflection in the\nsense-world these people looked up to the corresponding spiritual\nprototypes. Yet in many respects the nation remained wedded to physical\nthings. Instead of the star-spirit, the star was put first, and instead of\nother spiritual beings their earthly counterparts were made prominent.\nOnly the leaders attained to really deep knowledge concerning the laws of\nthe supersensible world and its connection with the physical. The contrast\nbetween the knowledge of the Initiates and the perverted beliefs of the\npeople became more apparent in these nations than anywhere else.\n\nVery different conditions existed in those parts of Southern Europe and\nwestern Asia where the fourth epoch of post-Atlantean civilization was\nunfolded. In occult science, it is called the Greco-Roman period.\nDescendants of peoples inhabiting widely distant parts of the older world\nhad met together in these countries. Here were oracle-sanctuaries which\nconformed to the various Atlantean oracles; here were people with the\nheritage of ancient clairvoyance as a natural gift, and others who were\nable to acquire it, with comparative ease, by training. The traditions of\nthe ancient Initiates were not only preserved in special places, but\nworthy successors to them arose, who attracted disciples capable of rising\nto lofty levels of spiritual vision. Moreover, these races had within them\nthe impulse to create a domain within the sense-world which expresses the\nspiritual in perfect form through the physical.\n\nGreek art is, among other things, a result of this impulse. It is only\nnecessary to gaze with the eye of the spirit upon a Greek temple, in order\nto see that in this marvel of art, material substance is so worked upon by\nman that it appears in every detail as the expression of spirit. The Greek\ntemple is the \u201cHouse of the Spirit.\u201d One sees in its form what otherwise\nonly The Spiritual eye of the seer perceives. The temple of Zeus-(or\nJupiter) is so constructed as to present to the physical eye a fitting\nshrine for what the guardian of the Zeus-(or Jupiter) Initiation saw with\nspiritual vision. And it is the same with all Greek art. The wisdom of the\nInitiates flowed in mysterious ways into poets, artists, and thinkers. The\nMysteries of the Initiates are found again, in the form of conceptions and\nideas, in the systems of thought by which ancient Greek philosophers\ninterpreted the universe. The influences of the spiritual life, the\nMysteries of the Asiatic and African sanctuaries of Initiation, flowed\ninto these nations and to their leaders. The great Indian teachers, the\nassociates of Zarathustra, and the followers of Hermes had attracted\ndisciples. These, or their successors, thereupon founded sanctuaries for\nInitiation, in which the ancient wisdom was revived in a new form. These\nwere the Mysteries of antiquity. Here disciples were prepared to be\nbrought into the condition of consciousness through which they might\nattain vision of the spiritual world.(23) From these sanctuaries of\nInitiation the Mysteries flowed forth to those who cultivated Spiritual\nMysteries in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. (Important centres of\nInitiation were formed in the Greek world in the Orphic and Eleusinian\nMysteries. In the Pythagorean School of wisdom, lingered the effects of\nthe great wisdom-teachings and methods of past ages. On his distant\ntravels, Pythagoras had been initiated into the secrets of the most varied\nkinds of Mysteries.)\n\nBut human life between birth and death in the post-Atlantean period had\nalso an influence on the disembodied state after death. The more man\u2019s\ninterests were fixed on the physical sense-world, the greater was the\npossibility of Ahriman gaining a hold upon the soul during earthly life\nand retaining his power of it after death. This danger was least among the\npeoples of ancient India, for during earthly life they had felt the\nphysical sense-world to be an illusion, and thus had eluded the power of\nAhriman after death. The danger for the primitive Persian peoples, who\nbetween birth and death had fixed their attention, with great interest,\nupon the physical sense-world was much greater. They would have largely\nfallen a prey to Ahriman\u2019s wiles had not Zarathustra pointed out,\nemphatically through his teaching concerning the Light of God, that behind\nthe physical sense-world there exists the world of the Spirits of Light.\nIn proportion to the ability of the people of this civilization to receive\nsomething into their souls out of the world of thought thus created, were\nthey able to escape Ahriman\u2019s clutches during earthly life, and thereby\nelude him in the life after death, during which they were to be prepared\nfor a new earth-life. The power of Ahriman in earthly life tends to make\nthe physical sense-existence appear to be the only one, and thus to bar\nthe way to any vista of a spiritual world. His power in the spiritual\nworld leads man to complete isolation, and to the concentration of all his\ninterest upon himself. Those who, at the time of death, are in Ahriman\u2019s\npower, are born again as egoists.\n\nIt is now possible for occult science to describe life between death and a\nnew birth as it is, provided the Ahrimanic influence has, to a certain\ndegree, been overcome. It is in this sense that it has been described by\nthe author in the first chapter of this book as well as in other writings.\nAnd it must be described in this way if that which can be experienced by\nman during this form of existence is to be visualized and if he has\nattained to purely spiritual perception for that which really exists. The\ndegree to which the individual experiences this, depends upon the extent\nto which he has overcome the Ahrimanic influence.\n\nMan is approaching nearer and nearer to what it is possible for him to\nbecome in the spiritual world. How this progress is thwarted by other\ninfluences must however be clearly brought out in our consideration of the\ncourse of human evolution.\n\nDuring the Egyptian period Hermes taught the people to prepare themselves\nduring earth-life, for communion with the Spirit of Light. But because at\nthat time human interests, between birth and death, were already so\nconstituted that it was only possible to a slight degree to see through\nthe veil of the physical sense-world, therefore the spiritual vision of\nthe soul after death was also clouded and the perception of the world of\nlight remained dim.\n\nThe obscuration of the spiritual world after death reached a climax in the\nsouls who passed into the disembodied state out of a body belonging to the\nGreco-Roman civilization. During their earthly life they had brought to\nperfection the cultivation of physical sense-existence, and had thus\ncondemned themselves to a shadowy existence after death. Hence the Greek\nfelt life after death to be a shadowy existence, and it is not mere\nrhetoric but the realization of truth when the hero of that time, who is\ngiven up to the life of the senses, says, \u201cBetter a beggar on earth than a\nking in the realm of shades.\u201d All this was still more marked in those\nAsiatic peoples who had fixed their attention with veneration and worship\non material images instead of on their spiritual archetypes. A large\nproportion of mankind was in this condition at the time of the Greco-Roman\nera of civilization. It can be seen how man\u2019s mission in post-Atlantean\ntimes, which consisted in the conquest of the physical sense-world, must\nnecessarily lead to estrangement from the spiritual world. Thus greatness\nin one respect necessarily involves deterioration in another.\n\nMan\u2019s connection with the spiritual world was kept alive in the Mysteries.\nThrough these the Initiates, in special states of the soul, were able to\nreceive revelations from that world. They were more or less the successors\nof the guardians of the Atlantean oracles. To them was revealed what had\nbeen hidden through the influence of Lucifer and Ahriman. Lucifer\nconcealed from man what had flowed from the spiritual world into the human\nastral body, without his co-operation, up to the middle of the Atlantean\nperiod. Had the etheric body not been partially separated from the\nphysical body, man would have been able to experience within himself this\npart of the spiritual world as an inner revelation to his soul. As a\nresult of Lucifer\u2019s encroachment, this could be done only in special\nstates of the soul. At those times a spiritual world appeared to man in\nthe guise of the astral. The corresponding spiritual beings manifested\nthemselves in forms which embodied only the higher principles of the human\nbeing, and in those principles the symbols of their particular spiritual\nforces were astrally visible. Superhuman forms were manifested in this\nway.\n\nAfter the encroachment of Ahriman, still another kind of Initiation was\nadded to this one. Ahriman concealed from man everything out of the\nspiritual world which would have appeared behind physical\nsense-perception, had he not interfered in human affairs from the middle\nof the Atlantean period onward. The Initiates of the Mysteries owed the\nrevelation of what he had thus kept hidden, to the fact that they had\ndeveloped within their souls all those faculties which man had attained\nsince that time, beyond the degree necessary for physical\nsense-impressions. Thus there were revealed to them the spiritual powers\nlying behind the forces of nature. They could speak of the spiritual\nbeings behind nature. The creative might of those forces acting in nature\nbelow man, was revealed to them. That which had been active since Saturn,\nSun and the old Moon and had shaped man\u2019s physical, etheric and astral\nbody as well as the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, formed the\ncontents of a certain kind of mystery-secrets,\u2014namely those over which\nAhriman held his hand. That which had formed the sentient-, rational-and\nconsciousness-souls and which had been concealed from man by Lucifer, was\nrevealed in a second kind of Mystery-secrets.\n\nBut what the Mysteries could only prophesy was, that in time a man would\nappear possessing an astral body which, despite Lucifer, could become\nconscious of the light-world of the Sun-spirit through the etheric body,\napart from any special condition of the soul. And the physical body of\nthat human being must be of such a nature, that everything in the\nspiritual world would be revealed to him, which Ahriman is able to conceal\nfrom man up to the time of physical death. Physical death could bring no\nchange into the life of such a being, that is to say, could have no power\nover it. The \u201cEgo\u201d so manifests in such a human being that the entire\nspiritual life is at the same time contained in his physical life. Such a\nbeing is the vehicle of the Spirit of Light, to whom the Initiate ascends\nfrom two directions, being led, under special conditions of the soul,\neither to the Superhuman Spirit or to the Being of the forces of nature.\nWhen the Initiates of the Mysteries foretold the appearance in the course\nof time, of such a human being, they were prophets of the Christ.\n\nA personality arose, as the special prophet of this coming manifestation,\nwithin a nation which possessed through natural inheritance the qualities\nof the peoples of western Asia, and through education the learning of the\nEgyptians\u2014the Hebrew nation. This prophet was Moses. The influences of\nInitiation had entered so deeply into his soul that in certain states of\nconsciousness the being who had undertaken in the regular course of the\nearth evolution to shape human consciousness from the Moon, was revealed\nto him. In thunder and lightning Moses realized not merely physical\nphenomena, but manifestations of this Spirit. At the same time the other\nkind of Mysteries had influenced his soul, so that he was able to\ndistinguish, in astral vision, how the superhuman becomes human by means\nof the ego. Thus, from two directions, He Who was to come, was revealed to\nMoses as the highest form of the Ego.\n\nAnd in Christ the lofty Sun-spirit appeared in human form as the great\nideal for human life on earth. At His coming, all mystery-wisdom had in\nsome respects to take a new form. Up to that time this wisdom had existed\nexclusively for the purpose of enabling man to put himself into such a\ncondition of soul in which he would be able to view the kingdom of the\nSun-spirit as something _outside_ of earthly evolution. Henceforth it was\nthe mission of Mystery-wisdom to make man capable of recognizing in the\nincarnated Christ the Primordial Being. From this Primordial Being man was\nenabled to understand the natural and spiritual worlds.(24)\n\nAt the point in His life at which the astral body of Christ Jesus\ncontained everything which it is possible for the Luciferian influence to\nconceal, He came forward as the Teacher of humanity. From that moment, the\nfaculty was implanted in human earthly evolution for assimilating that\nwisdom whereby the physical goal of the earth may gradually be reached. At\nthe moment when the Event of Golgotha was accomplished, human nature was\nendowed with another faculty, that by which Ahriman\u2019s influence may be\nturned into good. Henceforth man was able to take with him through the\ngate of death that which saves him from isolation in the spiritual world.\nWhat happened in Palestine was the central point, not only of human\nphysical evolution but also of the other worlds to which man belongs; and\nwhen the \u201cMystery of Golgotha\u201d had been accomplished, when the \u201cdeath on\nthe cross\u201d had been suffered, Christ appeared in that world where souls\nsojourn after death, and set limits to the power of Ahriman. From that\nmoment the region which the Greeks had called the \u201crealm of shades\u201d was\nilluminated by that flash of the Spirit indicating to its dwellers that\nlight was to return. What had been gained for the physical world by the\n\u201cMystery of Golgotha\u201d cast light also into the spiritual world.\n\nUp to this event post-Atlantean human evolution had been a time of ascent\nin the physical sense-world, but of descent as far as the spiritual world\nwas concerned. Everything which flowed into the sense-world proceeded from\nwhat had been in the spiritual world from remote ages. Since the coming of\nChrist, those who attain to the Mystery of Christ are able to take with\nthem into the spiritual world what they have won in the physical. And from\nthe spiritual world it then flows back again into the earthly sense-world,\nsince reincarnated souls, on re-entering earth-life, bring with them what\nthe Christ-impulse between death and a new birth, has bestowed.\n\nWhat flowed into human evolution with the appearance of the Christ, acted\nin it like a seed. Only slowly can this seed mature. Only the smallest\npart of these profound new wisdom teachings, up to the present time, has\nreached down into physical existence. Christian evolution has just barely\nbegun. During the successive periods of time following the appearance of\nthe Christ, this Christian Evolution was able to reveal only so much of\nits inner essential nature as the humanity, the peoples of that time, were\ncapable of receiving; only as much as they could grasp with their\nfaculties of comprehension. The first form into which this essence of\nChristianity could be poured may be described as a comprehensive ideal of\nlife. As such it was opposed to those forms of life which had been\ndeveloped in post-Atlantean humanity. The conditions operating in human\nevolution since the repopulation of the earth in the Lemurian period have\nbeen described above. Accordingly, humanity can be traced back to\ndifferent beings who, coming from other worlds, incarnated in the bodily\ndescendants of the ancient Lemurians. The various races of man are a\nconsequence of this, and the most diverse vital interests appeared in\nthese reincarnated souls, as a result of their Karma. As long as all this\nwas being worked out, there could be no ideal of \u201cuniversal humanity.\u201d\nHuman nature originated in unity, but earthly evolution up to the present\ntime has led to division. In the figure of the Christ, we see an ideal\nwhich opposes all division, for in the man who bears the name of Christ\nthere lives the lofty Sun-being from Whom every human ego is descended.\nThe Hebrew nation still felt itself to be a nation, and each individual a\nmember of that nation. When once the idea was grasped that in Christ-Jesus\nthere lives the ideal Man who stands above all that tends to divide\nhumanity, Christianity became the Ideal of an all-Embracing brotherhood.\nAbove all individual interests and relations, the feeling arose in some\nthat the innermost ego of all human beings is of the same origin. (In\naddition to all the earthly forefathers, the great common Father of all\nhumanity appears. \u201cI and the Father are one.\u201d)\n\nIn the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries after Christ, the era in which\nwe are still living was being prepared in Europe. It was gradually to\nreplace the fourth, or Greco-Roman civilization. It is the fifth\npost-Atlantean period. The races which, after many wanderings and varied\nfortunes, became the vehicles of this new civilization were descendants of\nthose Atlanteans who had remained less affected than others by what had\nbeen going on meanwhile during the four preceding periods of civilization.\nThey had not penetrated into the countries in which those respective\ncivilizations took root. On the contrary, they had, in their way, handed\non Atlantean forms of civilization. There were many among them who had\nretained in a high degree the inheritance of the ancient dim clairvoyance,\nthe state described above as intermediate between sleeping and waking.\nSuch people knew the spiritual world from their own experience, and could\nreveal to their fellow-men what takes place there. Thus there sprang up a\ngreat number of narratives of spiritual beings and events, and the\nnational treasures of legends and sagas had their origin in spiritual\nexperiences of this kind. For the dim clairvoyance lasted on, in many\npeople, into times not far removed from the present. There were other\npeople who, although they had lost clairvoyance, nevertheless developed\nthe faculties they acquired for use in the physical sense-world in\naccordance with feelings and emotions which corresponded to clairvoyant\nexperiences. And even the Atlantean oracles had their successors in the\nnew civilization.\n\nThere were everywhere Mysteries, but in them that Mystery of Initiation\nwas most cultivated, which leads to the unveiling of that part of the\nspirit-world which Ahriman keeps hidden. The spiritual powers existing\nbehind the forces of nature were here revealed. In the mythologies of\nEuropean nations are contained the remnants of what the Initiates of these\nMysteries were able to disclose to men. It is true that these mythologies\nalso contain the other kind of mystery, although in a more imperfect form\nthan that possessed by the Southern and Eastern Mysteries. Superhuman\nbeings were also known in Europe, but they were seen to be in perpetual\nconflict with the associates of Lucifer. And the Light-God too was\nproclaimed, but in such a form that it was doubtful whether he would\novercome Lucifer. On the other hand, these Mysteries were illuminated by\nthe figure of the coming Christ. It was announced of Him that His kingdom\nwould replace that of the other Light-God.(25)\n\nFrom such influences as these, there came about a cleavage in the soul of\nthe people of the fifth epoch of civilization which still continues, and\nis manifest in most diverse phenomena. The soul had not retained, from\nancient times a sufficiently strong attraction for spiritual things to\nenable it to hold fast the connection between the worlds of spirit and\nsense. The attraction existed only as a training of feeling and emotion,\nnot as direct vision of the spiritual world. On the other hand, man\u2019s\nattention was more and more directed toward the world of the senses and\nits conquest; and the intellectual powers which had been awakened in the\nlatter part of the Atlantean period, all those human powers of which the\nphysical brain is the instrument, were concentrated upon the sense-world,\nand upon gaining knowledge of and mastery over it. Two worlds, so to\nspeak, were developed within man: the one directed toward the life of\nphysical sense; the other susceptible to the revelation of the spirit in\nsuch a way as to permeate with feeling and emotion even though lacking\nclairvoyant vision. The tendency to this cleavage of soul already existed\nwhen the teaching concerning the Christ was introduced into Europe.\n\nThis message from the spiritual world was received into men\u2019s hearts, and\npermeated feeling and emotion; but it was not possible to bridge the gulf\nbetween this state of devotion and what human intelligence, concentrated\non the sense-world, was learning in the sphere of physical existence. What\nis now known as the contradiction between external science and spiritual\nknowledge is simply a consequence of this fact. The Christian mysticism\n(of Eckhart, Tauler and others) is the result of Christianity becoming\npermeated with feeling and emotion. Science, occupied as it is exclusively\nwith the world of sense and its results in life, is the consequence of the\nother tendency of the soul, and all achievements in the sphere of outer\nmaterial civilization are entirely due to this divergence of tendencies.\nSince those human faculties, of which the brain is the instrument, were\nconcentrated exclusively on physical life, they were able to reach that\npitch of perfection which makes contemporary science, technical skill, and\nother forms of mental activity possible. Such a material civilization\ncould originate only among the nations of Europe, for they are those\ndescendants of Atlantean ancestors who converted their natural inclination\ntoward the physical sense-world into faculties only when it had reached a\ncertain degree of maturity. Previously they had allowed it to lie dormant,\nand had lived on what remained in them of the Atlantean clairvoyance and\non the communications of their Initiates. While mental culture was\noutwardly almost entirely given up to these influences, in them ripened\nslowly the desire for the material conquest of the world.\n\nNow, however, the dawn of the sixth post-Atlantean era of civilization is\nalready at hand. What is to arise at a certain time in human evolution has\nripened slowly in the preceding age. The first beginnings of that which\ncan even now be developed, is to be discovered in the thread which binds\ntogether the two tendencies of the human breast, material civilization and\nlife in the spiritual world. To this end it is necessary, on the one hand,\nthat the results of spiritual vision should be understood; and on the\nother, that in the observations and experiences of of the sense-world the\nrevelations of the Spirit be recognized. The sixth civilization-epoch will\nbring to full development the harmony between the two.\n\nHerewith the studies in this book have reached a point where we may turn\nfrom the perspectives of the past to those of the future. But it will be\nbetter to precede the latter by a study of the Knowledge of Higher Worlds\nand of Initiation. Then, after this study and in connection with it, we\nshall be able to indicate in brief the outlook for the future, in so far\nas that can be done within the framework of this book.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS\n\n\nAt the present stage of evolution there are three possible conditions of\nsoul in which man ordinarily lives his life between birth and death:\nwaking, sleeping and, between the two, dreaming. The last-mentioned will\nbe briefly dealt with in a later part of this book; for the moment we\nshall consider life simply as it alternates between its two main\nconditions\u2014waking and sleeping. Before he can \u201cknow\u201d for himself in higher\nworlds, man has to add to these two a third condition of soul.\n\nDuring waking life the soul is given up to the impressions of the senses,\nand to the thoughts and pictures that these evoke in it. During sleep the\nsenses cease to make any impression, and the soul loses consciousness. The\nwhole of the day\u2019s experience sinks down into the sea of unconsciousness.\nLet us now consider how it would be if man were able to become conscious\nduring sleep, notwithstanding that all impressions of the senses were\ncompletely obliterated, as they are in deep sleep. Now would any memory\nremain to him of what had happened while he was awake. Would his soul find\nitself in a state of vacuity? Would it be incapable of having any\nexperiences? This is a question that can only be answered if conditions\nlike or similar to those under discussion can actually be brought about.\nIf the soul is capable of experiencing anything, even when\nsense-activities and recollection of such activities are lacking, then\nthat soul would, so far as the external world is concerned, be \u201casleep\u201d;\nand yet the soul would not be sleeping but awake to a world of reality.\n\nNow such a condition of consciousness can be attained if man makes these\npsychic experiences possible toward which occult science guides him. And\neverything that occult science tells us about those worlds beyond the\nsensible, has been found through such a condition of consciousness.\n\nIn the foregoing parts of this book certain communications have been made\nconcerning the higher worlds; and in the following pages, as far as is\npossible in a book of this kind, methods will be discussed whereby the\nstate of consciousness requisite for such investigations may be acquired.\nThis state of consciousness resembles that of sleep, in only one respect,\nnamely: that through it, all outward sense activity ceases, and also all\nthoughts that might be aroused by the action of the senses, are\nobliterated. But although the soul has no power to experience anything\nconsciously in sleep, yet it receives this power through this very state\nof consciousness. And through it a capacity for experiencing is awakened\nin the soul which in every day life can be awakened only through sense\nimpressions. The awakening of the soul to this higher state of\nconsciousness is called _Initiation_.\n\nThe methods of initiation lead man away from the state of ordinary\nday-consciousness into such a soul activity as enables him to use his\nspiritual organs of perception. Like germs these organs lie dormant in the\nsoul and must be developed. Now it may be that a person, at some\nparticular moment of his earthly life, makes the discovery that these\nhigher organs have developed within his soul without previous preparation.\nIt is a kind of involuntary self-awakening. Such a person will become\nconscious of a change affecting his entire being; his soul\u2019s experiences\nwill have been enriched beyond measure and he will find that no\nexperiences of the sense-world can bring him such spiritual happiness,\nsuch soul satisfaction and inner warmth as that which now opens up to him,\nwhich no physical eye can see and no hand can touch. From the spiritual\nworld strength and a sense of security in all situations in life, will\nflow into his will. There are instances of such self-initiation; but they\nshould not give rise to the idea that the only right course is to wait for\nthe coming of such self-initiation, and to do nothing toward bringing\nabout initiation through regular training. We need not here give further\nspace to the subject of self-initiation, since it may take place without\nregard to rules of any kind whatsoever.\n\nWhat we have to consider is how by training, one may develop those organs\nof perception, lying dormant in the Soul. Those who do not feel themselves\nespecially impelled toward doing something for their own development may\neasily say that man stands under the guidance of spiritual powers, that\nsuch guidance should therefore not be interfered with, and that the\nmoment, deemed by those powers to be the right one for revealing another\nworld to the soul, should be awaited in patience. Indeed, persons who are\nof this opinion are inclined to consider it a kind of presumption, or\nunjustifiable desire for any one to interfere with the wisdom of such\nspiritual guidance.\n\nThose who think in this way will only change their opinion if some other\nmode of presenting the case makes a sufficiently strong impression upon\nthem. If they were to say to themselves, \u201cThis wise guidance has endowed\nme with certain faculties, and it has done so, not that I should let them\nlie idle, but rather that I should use them. Indeed, the very wisdom of\nsuch guidance lies in the fact of its having placed in me the rudiments of\nthose organs necessary for a higher state of consciousness. I can,\ntherefore, rightly comprehend this guidance only when I regard it as my\nduty to do everything in my power that may serve to bring such rudimentary\ngrowths to their proper development.\u201d Should such thoughts make a\nsufficiently strong impression on the mind, scruples against training for\nthe attainment of higher consciousness will disappear.\n\nThere is, it is true, another scruple which may arise in the mind with\nregard to such schooling. A person may say to himself: \u201cThis development\nof the inner faculties of the soul means an invasion of man\u2019s most hidden\nsanctuary. It involves a certain change of the entire human being: the\nmethod for such a change cannot be worked out by any ordinary procedure of\nthought, for the manner in which the higher worlds are attained can be\nknown only to those to whom the path has become visible by reason of\nexperience. If, therefore, I turn to such an one, I am allowing him to\nexercise his influence over the innermost sanctuary of my soul.\u201d Any one\ngiven to this attitude of mind will hardly find it reassuring if the\nmethods for bringing about a higher state of consciousness are imparted to\nhim in book form. For it is not a question of receiving communications\neither verbally or from some person who, having the knowledge, has set the\nsame down in a book to which we have access. Now there are people\npossessing knowledge of the rules for developing the spiritual organs of\nperception who are of the opinion that these rules ought not to be\nentrusted to a book. These people, for the most part, consider the\ncommunication of certain truths relating to the spiritual world as\nforbidden. But this view must be characterized as in a certain sense out\nof date in view of the present stage of human evolution. It is true that\nthe communication of the rules referred to can be made only up to a\ncertain point. Yet what is imparted leads so far that one who applies it\nto his soul-life makes such progress in knowledge that he is able to go on\nby himself. This way then leads onward in a manner of which a true idea\ncan be gained only through what has been previously experienced. From all\nthese facts, scruples may arise concerning the path of spiritual\nknowledge.\n\nThese scruples however disappear when one clearly understands the\nessential nature of that course of development which is adapted to our\nage. Of this latter method of developing we shall speak here and other\nmethods will be only briefly referred to.\n\nThe method of training to be here discussed furnishes to him who has the\nwill for a higher development, the means for accomplishing the\ntransformation of his soul. Any questionable encroachment on the\npersonality of the student would only then be possible, should the teacher\nproceed to carry out the change by methods of which the pupil was not\nconscious. But no true teacher of occult science in our day would make use\nof any such method, by which indeed, the pupil would be reduced to a blind\ntool. The teacher gives his pupil instructions as to the rules of conduct\nhe is to pursue, and the pupil carries them out. At the same time, should\nthe case seem to demand it, the teacher does not withhold the reasons\njustifying these rules of conduct.\n\nThe acceptance of the rules, and their application by a person seeking\nspiritual development, need not be a matter of blind belief. Such a belief\nought to be quite out of the question in this sphere. One who studies the\nnature of the human soul as far as it can be followed by ordinary\nself-observation, without occult training may, after accepting the rules\nrecommended for spiritual training, ask himself, \u201cHow do these rules act\nupon the life of the soul?\u201d This question may be satisfactorily answered\nprevious to any schooling by an unbiased use of common sense. Before these\nrules are adopted, true conceptions may be gained as to the way in which\nthey operate. The effect can be _experienced_ only during training, but\neven then the experience will always be accompanied by an understanding of\nthe experience, if each step that is to be taken is tested by sound\njudgment. And in this age any true spiritual science will only suggest\nsuch rules for training as can be vindicated by sound judgment. For him\nwho is willing to simply trust himself to such schooling and does not\npermit prejudice to drive him into _blind_ faith, all scruples will vanish\nand objections against a regular training for higher states of\nconsciousness will no longer disturb him.\n\nEven such people as may have arrived at a state of inward maturity,\u2014which\nsooner or later would lead to the self-awakening of these spiritual organs\nof perception\u2014even for these, training is by no means superfluous. On the\ncontrary it is especially adapted to them. For there are but few cases in\nwhich personal initiation does not have to travel along tortuous and\ndevious ways, and training spares them the traversing of such by-paths,\nleading them forward in a straight line. In cases where such\nself-initiation comes to a soul, the reason is that the required degree of\nripeness had already been attained in the course of previous incarnations.\n\nIt may easily happen that such a soul possesses a certain dim intuition of\nits ripeness, and by reason of this very feeling may assume an attitude of\ndisinclination toward training. A feeling of this kind may produce a\ncertain degree of pride, which refuses to place confidence in a teacher.\nNow it can happen that a certain degree of soul development may remain\nhidden up to a certain age and only then reveal itself. But such schooling\nmay be just the very means needed to call it forth. Should the person hold\naloof from such training, it may happen that the power will remain dormant\nduring that particular Life, and will only reappear in a later\nincarnation.\n\nThe rising to a supersensible state of consciousness can only proceed from\nordinary waking day-consciousness. It is in this consciousness that the\nsoul lives prior to its ascent, and schooling will furnish the means to\nlead it out of this consciousness. The first steps which the schooling\nhere under consideration prescribes, are such as can still be\ncharacterized as actions of the ordinary day-consciousness. It is just\nthose quiet acts of the soul which are the most effective steps. This\nrequires that the soul should give itself up to definite perceptions and\nthese perceptions are such as are able by their very nature to exercise an\nawakening influence upon certain hidden faculties of the inner nature of\nman.\n\nThey thereby differ from those perceptions of waking day-life, whose\npurpose is to portray external objects. The more faithfully they present\nthese things, the truer they are. It is, indeed, in accordance with their\nnature that they should be true in this sense, but this is not the mission\nof those perceptions which the soul is to consider, when in pursuit of\nspiritual training; and they are therefore so formed as not to present\nanything external, having rather within themselves the power to act upon\nthe soul. The best percepts for the purpose are the emblematic or symbolic\nones. Yet other percepts may be used. For it does not depend at all on\nwhat the percepts contain, but solely on the fact that the soul puts forth\nall its powers in order not to have anything in the consciousness except\nthe one percept in question. Whereas, in ordinary life, its forces are\ndivided among many things and perceptions change rapidly, the important\npoint in spiritual training is the concentration of the whole inner life\nupon one single perception. And this perception must be voluntarily\nbrought to the centre of one\u2019s consciousness. Symbolic perceptions are\nbetter than those which reflect outer objects or events, because the\nlatter are related to the outer world, and the soul has to depend less on\nitself than in the case of symbolic perceptions, formed by its own inner\nenergy. The chief object at which to aim is the _intensity_ of the force\nto be exercised by the soul. It is not what is before the soul that is\nessential, but the greatness of the effort and the length of time spent\nconcentrating upon one perception. Strength ascends from unknown depths of\nthe soul, from which it is drawn up by concentration on one perception.\nOccult science contains many such perceptions, all of which have been\nproven to possess the power alluded to above.\n\nOne gains a comprehension of this immersion or sinking down into a percept\nby calling the Memory-Concept before the soul. Say, for instance, that we\nallow the eye to rest on a tree, and then turn away from the object so\nthat it is no longer presented to our sight; we shall, nevertheless, be\nable to retain the image of the tree in the soul. Now this image or\nperception of the tree which we have when it is no longer in sight, is a\nrecollection of the tree. Then assume that this recollection is retained\nin the soul, and the soul reposes, as it were, in this recollection,\ntaking care to exclude all other perceptions from the memory. The soul\nthen dwells in that memory-concept of the tree, and we then have to do\nwith the immersion of the soul into a concept. Yet this concept is the\nimage of an actual thing perceived through the senses. If however, of our\nown free will, we take such images into our consciousness, gradually the\neffect desired will be attained.\n\nOne example of meditation based upon a symbolical concept will now be\nplaced before the reader. Such a concept must first be built up in the\nsoul, and this may be done in the following manner. Let us think of a\nplant, calling to mind how it is rooted in the ground, the way in which\nleaf after leaf shoots forth, until finally the blossom unfolds. And then\nlet us imagine a human being placed beside this plant, and let us call up\nin our soul the thought that he has qualities and characteristics which,\nwhen compared with those of the plant, will be found to be more perfect.\nWe dwell on the fact that this being is able to move here and there,\naccording to his will and his desires, while the plant remains stationary,\nrooted in the soil.\n\nBut now let us also consider: Yes, man is certainly more perfect than the\nplant; but on the other hand, I find in him qualities which I cannot\nperceive in the plant and through the lack of which, the plant appears\nmore perfect than man in certain respects. Man is filled with passions and\ndesires and these govern his conduct. With him we can speak of sin\ncommitted by reason of his impulses and passions, whereas in the plant, we\nsee that it follows the pure laws of growth from leaf to leaf, and that\nthe blossom without passion opens to the chaste rays of the Sun. So we can\nsee that man possesses a certain perfection beyond the plant, but that on\nthe other hand he has paid for this perfection by admitting into his being\ninclinations, desires and passions in addition to the pure forces of the\nplant. And then we call to mind the green sap flowing through the plant,\nand think of it as the expression of the pure and passionless laws of\ngrowth. And then again, we call to mind the red blood as it courses\nthrough the veins of man, and we recognize in it an expression of man\u2019s\ninstincts, his passions and desires. Let a vivid picture of all this arise\nin our souls. We then think of man\u2019s faculties of development; how he can\npurify and cleanse his inclinations and passions through his higher soul\nfaculties. We think how through this process something that is low is\ndestroyed in these inclinations and passions which thereby are born upon a\nhigher plane. Then we may be able to think of the blood as the expression\nof these purified and cleansed inclinations and passions.\n\nNow we gaze in spirit on the rose and say to ourselves: \u201cIn the red sap of\nthe rose is the erstwhile green sap of the plant\u2014now changed to\ncrimson\u2014and the red rose follows the same pure, passionless laws of growth\nas does the green leaf.\u201d Thus the red of the rose may offer us a symbol of\na kind of blood which is the expression of cleansed impulses and passions,\npurged of all lower elements, and resembling in their purity the forces\nworking in the red rose. Let us now try not only to assimilate such\nthoughts within our reason, but also let them come to life within our\nfeelings. We can experience a blissful sensation when contemplating the\npurity and passionless nature of the growing plant. We can awaken the\nfeeling within us how certain higher perfections must be paid for through\nthe acquisition of passions and desires. This, then, can change the\nblissful sensation previously experienced into a serious mood: and then\nonly can it stir within us the feeling of liberating happiness, if we\nabandon ourselves to the thought of the red blood that can become the\ncarrier of inner pure experiences, like the red sap of the rose. The\nimportant point is that we should not look coldly and without feeling upon\nthese thoughts which serve to build up such a symbolical concept. After\ndwelling for a time upon the above mentioned thoughts and feelings, let us\ntry to transmute them into the following symbolical concept. Let us\nimagine a black cross. Let this be the symbol for the destroyed lower\nelement of our desires and passions and there where the beams of the cross\nintersect, let us imagine seven red radiating roses arranged in a circle.\nLet these roses be the symbol for a blood that is the expression of\ncleansed and purified passions and desires.(26)\n\nNow we must call up this symbolical concept before our soul just as has\nbeen described in the case of a memory-concept. Such a concept has an\nawakening power if one abandons oneself to it in inner meditation. One\nmust try during this meditation to exclude all other concepts. Only the\ndescribed symbol must float before the soul as vividly as possible.\n\nIt is not without significance that this symbol has been introduced, not\nmerely as an awakening percept, but because it has been constructed out of\ncertain perceptions concerning plants and man. For the effect of such a\nsymbol depends upon the fact of its being put together in this definite\nmanner, before employing it as an instrument for meditation. Should it be\ncalled up without a previous process of construction such as has here been\ndelineated, the picture must remain cold and will be far less effective\nthan if it had by previous preparation gathered force with which to give\nwarmth to the soul. During meditation, however, one should not call up in\nthe soul all the preparatory thoughts, but merely allow the life-like\nimage to float before one\u2019s mind and at the same time permit those\nfeelings which are the result of these preparatory thoughts to vibrate\nwith it. Thus the symbol becomes a sign, co-existent with the inner\nexperience. And it is the dwelling of the soul in this experience that is\nthe active principle. The longer one can do this, without admitting\ndisturbing impressions, the more effective will be the whole process.\n\nIt is well, however, in addition to the time used in meditation itself, to\nrepeat the building up of the image through the feelings, as described\nabove, so that the corresponding sensation may not pale.\n\nThe greater the patience brought to bear in performing these acts of\nrepetition, the more effective becomes this image for the soul.(27)\n\nSuch a symbol as has just been described represents no external object or\nbeing evolved by nature, but for this very reason it possesses an\nawakening power for certain inner faculties. It is true, someone may raise\nthe objection: certainly the \u201cwhole\u201d as a symbol, does not exist in\nnature; yet all its details are borrowed from nature, the black color, the\nroses, etc. It can all be observed through the senses. He who is troubled\nby such objections, ought to consider that it is not the images of these\nsense perceptions that awaken the higher faculties of the soul, but that\nthis result is produced purely by the manner in which these details are\ncombined. And this combination does not then picture something that exists\nin the sense-world.\n\nA symbol was chosen as an example to show the process of effective\nmeditation of the soul. Many symbols of this kind are used in occult\ntraining and are built up according to varying methods. Certain sentences,\nformul\u00e6, and single words can also be given as subjects for meditations,\nand in every case the means used will have the same object, namely: to\ndetach the soul from sense-impressions and to stimulate it to an activity\nin which the impressions of the physical senses play no longer any part\nand in which the unfoldment of inner latent soul capacities becomes the\nessential.\n\nThere are, however, also meditations based exclusively upon feelings,\nsensations, etc., and these are especially effectual. Let us, for\ninstance, take the feeling of joy. In the normal course of life the soul\nexperiences pleasure when there exists an outer stimulus to pleasure. If a\nhealthily constituted soul perceives some act performed by a person,\nindicative of the doer\u2019s goodness of heart, then the soul will assuredly\nfeel pleasure and joy at such an act. But the soul is able to reflect upon\nsuch an act, and can say to itself that an act done from sheer kindness of\nheart is one in which the doer is following the interests of his\nfellow-creatures rather than his own, and such an act may be called\nethically good. But the soul can lift itself above the perception of any\nparticular case in the outer world which has given it joy or pleasure, and\ninstead may arrive at a general concept of kindness. It can for instance,\nthink of kindness coming into existence through one soul making the\ninterests of others his own. And the soul can then experience joy over the\nethical idea of kindness. Therefore, the joy is then not over this or that\nevent of the sense-world, but it is the joy over the idea as such. If the\nstudent now tries for some time to let this joy come to life within his\nsoul, then this is a meditation on a feeling, on a sensation. It is then\nnot the idea which is the active principle in the awakening of the inner\nsoul faculties, but the sustained dwelling upon that feeling within the\nsoul which has not been caused by merely a single external impression.\n\nOccult science being in a position to penetrate far deeper into the being\nof things than can be done by ordinary perception, the teacher will be\nable to indicate to the pupil feelings and sentiments which are still more\npowerful as awakening agents for the unfolding of the soul\u2019s faculties\nwhen used as subjects of meditation. Yet, necessary as this will be for\nthe higher degrees of training, it should be remembered that energetic\nmeditating upon subjects, such as kindness of heart may carry the student\nvery far on his way.\n\nSince the natures of human beings differ, special methods of training are\neffective for particular individuals. As to the duration of time to be\ndevoted to meditation, we may remind the student that the greater the\nlength of time during which he can meditate uninterruptedly, the stronger\nwill be the effect. But every excess in these matters should be avoided.\nThere is, however, a certain inner discretion, resulting from these\nexercises themselves which teaches the pupil to keep within due bounds in\nthis regard. Those who pursue their studies in occult science under the\npersonal guidance of a teacher will receive from him precise instruction\nand advice in these particulars. Nevertheless, it must be emphatically\nunderstood that only experienced occultists are in a position to impart\nsuch advice.\n\nSuch exercises in meditation will generally require practice for some time\nbefore the student can become aware of any result. What is essential to\noccult science is patience and perseverance. He who is unable to awaken\nthese two qualities within himself and who cannot continually practice his\nexercises in quietude, so that patience and perseverance are always the\npredominant note in his soul-life, cannot attain very great progress. From\nwhat has been said above, the reader will have gathered that meditation is\na means of acquiring knowledge of the higher worlds, but he will also see\nthat not just any percept whatsoever, taken at random, is productive of\nthis result, but only those of the kind before-mentioned.\n\nThe path here indicated leads in the first place to what is called\nimaginative knowledge, and this is the first step toward the higher\nknowledge. Knowledge, dependent upon sense-perceptions and upon the\nworking up of such perceptions by reason, which is sense-bound, is, to use\nthe occult term, known as \u201cobjective cognition.\u201d Beyond this are higher\ndegrees of knowledge, the imaginative stage being, as we have said, the\nfirst. Now the term \u201cimaginative\u201d can cause confusion in the minds of\nsome, to whom \u201cimagination\u201d stands only for \u201cimaginings\u201d\u2014that is concepts\nthat lack reality. In occult science, however, \u201cimaginative\u201d cognition\nmust be understood to be that kind of cognition which results from a\nsupersensible state of consciousness of the soul. The things perceived in\nthis state of consciousness are spiritual facts, and spiritual beings, to\nwhich the senses have no access, and\u2014since this condition of the soul is\ncaused by meditating upon symbols, or \u201cimaginations\u201d\u2014the sphere to which\nthis condition of higher consciousness belongs may be termed the\nimaginative world, and the knowledge relating to it, imaginative\nknowledge. \u201cImaginative\u201d stands, therefore, in this sense, for that which\nis \u201cactual\u201d in a higher sense than are the facts and beings of physical\nsense-perception.\n\nA very natural objection to the use of the symbolic pictures here\ncharacterized is that they arise from a dreamy thinking and an arbitrary\nimagination, and might therefore have doubtful consequences. But any such\ndoubts are unjustified in regard to the symbols given by true occult\nschools. For these symbols are chosen in such a way that they can be\nlooked at quite apart from their connection with outer sense reality, and\ntheir value is to be found exclusively in the power with which they work\nupon the soul when it turns its attention wholly away from the outer\nworld, when it suppresses all sense-impressions and shuts out every\nthought to which it might be stimulated from without. The process of\nmeditations is best demonstrated by comparison with sleep. In one respect\nit is like the state of sleep; in another, the exact opposite of it. It is\na sleep which when compared to the day-consciousness, represents a higher\nstate of being. The point is that by concentration on the given conception\nor image, the soul is obliged to call up much stronger forces out of its\nown depths than it uses in ordinary life or knowledge. Its inner activity\nis thereby enhanced. It becomes detached from the body, as it does in\nsleep; but instead of passing, as in the latter case, into\nunconsciousness, it experiences a world it did not know before. Although\nas regards detachment from the body this condition may be compared with\nsleep, yet it is such that, compared with ordinary waking consciousness,\nit may be characterized as a more intense waking state. By this means the\nsoul learns to know itself in its true, inner, independent being. But in\nordinary life, owing to the weaker development of its forces, it is only\nwith the help of the body that the soul arrives at self-consciousness.\nTherefore it does not experience itself but merely sees itself in that\nimage which\u2014like a kind of reflection\u2014is traced, by the physical body (or,\nproperly speaking, by its processes).\n\nThese symbols built up in the manner above described are not as yet\nrelated to anything real in the spiritual world, but they serve to detach\nthe human soul from sense-observations and from that instrument, the\nbrain, to which the reason is at first fettered. This detachment is not\neffected until man is able to feel: \u201cI am now perceiving something by\nmeans of powers for which neither my senses nor my brain serve as the\ninstruments\u201d; and the first thing man thus experiences is a liberation\nfrom the organs of sense. He is then able to say to himself: \u201cMy\nconsciousness does not vanish when I cease to take cognizance of\nsense-perceptions and ordinary reasoned thought; I can lift myself out of\nthose conditions and then feel myself as a being alongside of that which I\nwas before\u201d\u2014and this is the first purely spiritual experience; the\nperception of a psycho-spiritual Ego-being. This has arisen as a new self\nout of that self which is linked to the physical senses and physical\nreason only.\n\nHad this detachment from the world of the senses and from the reason been\neffected without meditation, the person would have lapsed into the\nnothingness of the unconscious state. This psycho-spiritual being was our\npossession prior to meditation also, but it then lacked the organs for\nperception of the spirit-world; and it might, indeed, have been compared\nto the physical body without the eye to see\u2014the ear to hear. The strength\nthus employed in meditation has, in fact, been the creative means by which\nthese psycho-spiritual organs have been formed out of a previously\nunorganized psycho-spiritual being. But this which man thus creates for\nhimself is also the first thing to be perceived by him. The first\nexperience is therefore in a certain sense, a kind of \u201cself-perception.\u201d\nIt belongs to the nature of spiritual training that the soul, through the\nself training which it gives itself at this point of its development,\nbecomes fully conscious that the first thing it perceives in the world of\nimaginative forms, which appear as a result of the exercises described, is\nitself. It is true that these images make their appearance as a new world,\nbut the soul must recognize that they are, however, at first nothing but\nthe reflection of its own being, which has been strengthened by exercises.\nAnd it must not only recognize this by correct reasoning, but must have\narrived at such a cultivation of the will that it is able at any time to\nput away and obliterate the images from the consciousness.\n\nThe soul must be able to act with complete independence within these\nimages. This is part of true spiritual training at this stage. If it could\nnot do this, it would be in the same position, in the sphere of spiritual\nexperiences, as a soul in the physical world which, on looking at an\nobject, has its attention so arrested by it that it cannot look away. An\nexception to this possibility of obliteration is formed by a group of\ninner imaginative experiences which should _not_ be extinguished at this\nstage of spiritual training. They correspond to the inmost kernel of the\nsoul\u2019s being, and the occult student recognizes in those images that which\nforms the very essence of his being which passes through the various\nrepeated earth lives. At this point the knowledge of repeated earth lives\nbecomes an actual experience. In relation to everything else the\nbefore-mentioned independence of experience must prevail. And only after\nacquiring the faculty of obliterating experiences, is the spiritual outer\nworld really approached. What is obliterated returns in another form, and\nis experienced as a spiritual outer reality. One feels that out of\nsomething indefinite one grows psychically into something definite. From\nthis self-perception, one must then proceed to the observation of a\npsycho-spiritual outer world. This comes to pass when we can order our\ninner experience after the manner to be indicated in the following pages.\n\nAt first, the soul of the occult student is feeble in all that appertains\nto a perception of the psycho-spiritual world; and he will therefore need\nall the inner energy he can summon in order, while meditating, to hold\nfirm the symbols or other concepts which he has built up from the impulses\nof the sense-world. Should he, however, desire to attain to an actual\nobservation of the higher world, he will not alone have to maintain his\nhold on these, he must also, after having done this, be able to remain in\na condition in which not only no influences of the outer sense-world can\naffect the soul, but in which also the images above characterized shall\nhave been effaced from his consciousness. Only now can that which has been\npreviously formed by means of meditation enter the plane of his\nconsciousness. The important point is that there should be at this stage\nsufficient soul force to spiritually perceive that which has thus been\nformed through meditation, so that it may not elude the observer\u2019s\nattention, as is always the case if this inner energy is still\ninsufficiently developed.\n\nThat which is here evolved as a psycho-spiritual organism and which should\nbe comprehended through self-perception, is delicate and subtle. The\ndisturbing influences of the outer sense-world, however one may try to\nexclude them, are nevertheless great. It is not merely a question of those\ndisturbances to which we are able to pay heed, but far more of those which\nin ordinary life are ever eluding our notice. But it is just through the\nvery nature of man that a transitory condition in this respect becomes\npossible. What the soul, in its waking state, was powerless to effect,\nowing to the disturbances of the physical world, it is capable of\nachieving during sleep. One who gives himself up to serious meditation\nwill, with the proper attention, become aware of a certain change in his\nsleep. He will feel that while sleeping, he is yet not quite asleep, but\nthat his soul has times when, although asleep, still it is, in a certain\nway, active. During these conditions, nature wards off the influences of\nthe outer world which the waking soul is not yet able to keep away of its\nown strength. When, however, the meditation exercises have taken effect,\nthe soul, during sleep, detaches itself from unconsciousness, and becomes\naware of the psycho-spiritual world. This can happen in two ways: the\nperson may, while asleep, become aware that is is in another world, or he\nmay, after awakening, remember that he has been in another world. But the\nformer of these two feelings requires the greater degree of inner energy,\nfor which reason the second is the more common among beginners in occult\ntraining. But it may gradually come to pass that the student will become\naware of having been during the entire time of sleep in this other world,\nonly emerging therefrom when he awakes. And his memory of beings and facts\nconnected with this other world will become ever more and more distinct,\nthus showing that in one form or another he has now entered upon what one\nmay call continuity of consciousness. (The continuation of consciousness\nduring sleep.)\n\nStill, for this to be so, it is not necessary that man\u2019s consciousness\nshould _always_ continue during sleep. Much will already have been\nattained in the matter of the continuity of consciousness should the\nperson, whose sleep is in general like that of the ordinary individual,\nhave certain periods during his sleeping hours when he is aware of being\nin the psycho-spiritual world; or if, on awakening, he is able to remember\nsuch a condition of consciousness. It should, however, be borne in mind\nthat what is here described is to be understood only as a transition\nstate. It is well to pass through this state as a part of training; yet it\nshould not be imagined that any conclusive views concerning the\npsycho-spiritual world may be gained from this transition state, for in\nthis condition the soul is uncertain, and unable as yet to rely upon its\nown perceptions. But through such experiences the soul gathers ever more\nstrength enabling it also during waking hours to ward off the disturbing\ninfluences of the physical outer and inner world and thus to attain\npsycho-spiritual observation. Then impressions through the senses no\nlonger reach the soul; brain-fettered reason is silent and even the image\nof the meditation, through which one has only prepared oneself for\nspiritual vision, has been dropped from consciousness. Whatever is given\nout through occult science in this or that form should never originate in\nany psycho-spiritual observation other than that which is made with fully\nwaking consciousness. The first experience is one in which the student can\nsay to himself: Even should I now disregard everything that can come to me\nthrough impressions from the outer physical world, still I look upon my\ninner being not as upon one in which all activity has ceased, but I look\nupon a being which is self-conscious in a world of which I know nothing as\nlong as I permit myself to be governed only by the impressions of ordinary\nreason and of the senses. The soul at this moment has the sensation that,\nin the manner described above, it has given birth to a new being as its\nown essential soul-kernel. And the being possesses totally different\nqualities from those which were previously present in the soul.\n\nThe second experience of the soul is one in which man has his former\nbeing, like a second independent one, alongside of himself. That which had\nup to this time been imprisoned, evolves now into something we are able to\nconfront; we feel, in fact, at certain times outside of what we have been\naccustomed to regard as our own being, as our own ego. It is as though one\nnow lived in two egos,\u2014one, which we have hitherto known; the other, a\nnewly born being, superior to the first,\u2014and we become aware that the\nformer ego acquires a certain independence in its relationship to the\nsecond, just as the physical body has a certain measure of freedom in its\nrelation to that first ego.\n\nThis is an event of great importance, for through it man comes to know\nwhat it means to live in that world which he has been endeavoring to reach\nby means of training. It is this second, this new-born, ego which can be\nled to cognizance of the spiritual world, and in it can be developed that\nwhich has as much significance for the spiritual world as our sense organs\nhave for the physical world of the senses. Should this development have\nattained to the requisite degree, the student will not only be aware of\nhimself as a new-born ego, but he will recognize the spiritual facts and\nentities around him, just as he perceives the physical world through the\naction of his physical senses; and this is a third important experience.\n\nTo meet properly this stage of spiritual training one must take into\naccount that with the strengthening of the forces of the soul a degree of\nself-love and egoism appears with such intensity as is quite unknown in\nthe ordinary life of the soul. It would be a mistake for anyone to think\nthat it is only a case of ordinary self-love at this point. Self-love\nbecomes so strong at this stage of development that it acquires the\nstrength of a nature-force within the soul, and a vigorous training of the\nwill is necessary in order to conquer this powerful egoism. This training\nof the will must go hand in hand with the rest of the spiritual training.\nA strong inclination exists to feel absolutely happy in a world which we\nhave gradually created for ourselves. And we must be able to obliterate,\nin the manner above described, that to which we have previously devoted\nourselves with all our powers. We must efface _ourselves_ in the\nimaginative world we have reached. But this effacement is opposed by the\nstrongest impulses of egoism.\n\nThe idea might easily arise that the exercises in spiritual training are\nsomething merely external which have no connection with the moral\ndevelopment of the soul. In this connection it must be said that the moral\nforce necessary for the conquest of egoism, as described, cannot be gained\nunless the moral condition of the soul is brought to a corresponding\nstage. Progress in spiritual training is unthinkable unless moral progress\ntakes place at the same time. The conquest of egoism is impossible without\nmoral force. All talk of spiritual training not being at the same time\nmoral training is certainly contrary to fact.\n\nOnly he who passes through such an experience might advance the following\nobjections: how can one be sure to be dealing with actualities, and not\nwith mere fancies, visions or hallucinations, when he thinks he is having\nspiritual perceptions? Now the matter lies thus: every person, who has\nbeen systematically trained and who has arrived at the stage already\ncharacterized, will be in a position to note the difference between his\nown percept and a spiritual reality, just as well as a man endowed with\nsound sense knows the difference between the percept of a bar of hot iron\nand the actual presence of such a bar that he touches with his hand. The\ndifference is determined by experience and by nothing else; and in the\nspiritual world, too, life is the touchstone. Just as we know that in the\nworld of the senses an imagined bar of iron, however hot, will burn no\none\u2019s fingers, so does the trained occultist know whether he is passing\nthrough a spiritual experience merely in his imagination or whether his\nawakened spiritual organs of perceptions are impressed by actual facts or\nbeings. The precautions to be taken during schooling, in order that the\nstudent may not fall a victim to such delusions will be dealt with in the\nfollowing pages.\n\nIt is of the greatest importance that the student should have attained to\na certain very definite condition of the soul when the consciousness of\nthe new-born ego commences. For through his ego, man is the ruler of his\nsensations, feelings, and conceptions, his impulses, desires, and\npassions. Observations and percepts cannot be left in the soul to follow\ntheir own devices; they must be regulated according to the laws of\nthought. And it is the ego, as it were, that controls these thought-laws,\nand by means of them brings order into the life of perception and thought.\n\nIt is similar with regard to desires and passions, inclinations and\nimpulses. The fundamental ethical laws become the guides of these forces\nof the soul, and by reason of the moral judgment, the ego becomes the\nsoul\u2019s guide within this domain. Now if a person detaches a higher ego\nfrom his ordinary ego, the latter becomes to a certain extent independent.\nThat much life-power is now taken away from it as is needed for the use of\nthat higher ego. But let us consider the case of a person who has not, as\nyet, developed certain ability and firmness in exercising the laws of\nthought and in the power of judgment, but who nevertheless desires to\nbring about the birth of his higher ego. He will be able to leave to his\nordinary ego only as much thought capacity as he has previously developed.\nIf the amount of well-ordered thinking is insufficient, then the ordinary\nego which has now become independent, will certainly fall victim to\nconfused, disordered, fantastic thoughts and judgment, and moreover, since\nin such a case the new-born ego must inevitably be weak also, the\ndisordered lower ego will gain the upper hand, and the person will lose\nhis ability for balanced judgment. Had he developed sufficient capability\nand firmness in logical thinking, he might have calmly left his ordinary\nego to go its own way.\n\nIn the ethical sphere it is precisely the same. Should a person not have\nattained firmness in the matter of his moral judgment, should he not have\nbecome sufficiently master over his inclinations, impulses, and passions,\nhe will then render his ordinary ego independent while in a condition in\nwhich it will be overwhelmed by all these soul forces. It may then happen\nthat the person will become worse through the birth of his higher ego than\nhe was before. Had he waited to bring about this birth until he had\nsufficiently developed his ordinary self, attaining firmness in the matter\nof ethical judgment, stability of character, and depth of conscience, he\nwould then have been in a position to have all these virtues left within\nthat first ego when the birth of the second came about. Neglecting to do\nso, however, lays him open to the danger of losing his moral balance,\nwhich under the right course of training cannot happen.\n\nTwo things must here be borne in mind. First, that the facts above related\nshould be taken as seriously as possible; secondly, that, on the other\nhand, they should in no way deter one from entering upon such training.\n\nAnyone who has the firm intention of doing all in his power that may give\nconfidence to the first ego in the execution of what it has to fulfil,\nneed never be dismayed when the second ego becomes detached as the result\nof such spiritual training. Yet he must remember that the power of\nself-delusion in man is very great with regard to the belief that he has\nnow reached the stage of \u201cripeness\u201d for any special thing.\n\nDuring the spiritual training here described the student develops his\nthought-life to such an extent that he is not exposed to dangers which are\noften thought to be connected with training. This cultivation of thought\nbrings about all the inner experiences that are necessary, but causes them\nto be so enacted that the soul lives through them without any injurious\nshocks. Without an adequate development of thought, these experiences may\nproduce a feeling of great uncertainty in the soul. The method here\nemphasized calls forth experiences in such a way that they may produce all\ntheir effect and yet not cause serious shocks. By developing the life of\nthought the student becomes more of a _spectator_ of the experiences of\nhis inner life, whereas without such thought-development he is in the very\nmidst of the experience and is shaken by all the shocks incidental to it.\n\nSystematic training points out certain qualities which the student must\nacquire by means of exercises, in order to find the way to the higher\nworlds and especial stress is laid on the following,\u2014control of the soul\nover its thoughts, its will, and its feelings. The manner in which this\ncontrol is acquired through exercise has a dual aim. On the one hand, the\nsoul by this practice acquires a firmness, reliance, and balance, which\nwill not forsake it even after the birth of the second ego; and on the\nother hand, this latter ego is provided with strength and inner fortitude\nfor its journey.\n\nWhat is required is that man\u2019s thinking power shall in all domains conform\nto facts. In the physical world of the senses, life is the great teacher\nof the human ego with regard to reality. Were the soul to allow its\nthoughts to roam aimlessly hither and thither, it would soon be corrected\nby life, unless it were willing to enter into combat with it; the soul\nmust conform its thoughts to the facts of life. Now, when man leads his\nthoughts away from the world of the physical senses, he misses the\ncorrective influence of this latter. If his thought is not able to be its\nown mentor, it will be as unsteady as a will-o\u2019-the-wisp. Consequently,\nthe student\u2019s thought must be exercised in such a way that its course and\nobject are self-determined. Inner firmness and a capacity to concentrate\nstrictly on one object: this is what such thinking must of itself\nengender. And for this reason the thought exercises should not be\nconcerned with complicated objects or those foreign to life, but should,\non the contrary, deal with those that are simple and familiar. Any one who\nsucceeds in fixing his mind, over a period of several months and for a\nspace of at least five minutes a day, on such ordinary objects as a pin or\na lead pencil, excluding for the time being all other thoughts not\nconcerned with the object under contemplation, will have accomplished much\nin the right direction. (A new article may be chosen each day, or the same\none adhered to for the space of several days.)\n\nEven those who feel themselves to be \u201cthinkers\u201d need not despise this\nmethod of preparing themselves for occult training, because by fixing the\nattention for a time upon a really familiar object one may be sure that he\nwill be thinking in accordance with facts, and one who asks himself the\nquestions: \u201cWhat are the constituent parts of a pencil?\u201d \u201cHow are these\nmaterials prepared?\u201d \u201cHow are they afterwards put together?\u201d \u201cWhen were\npencils invented, etc.?\u201d will surely be adapting his perceptions to\nrealities more than he who meditates on the descent of man, or asks\nhimself what life is.\n\nSimple thought exercises prepare us better for an adequate concept of the\nworld in its Saturn, Sun, and Moon stages of development than those based\non learned and complicated ideas. For the important thing is not at all\njust to think, but to think in conformity with facts by means of an inner\nforce. Once one has been trained to accuracy by means of an obvious,\nphysical sense process, the desire to think in conformity with facts will\nhave become habitual, even if thought does not feel itself under the\ncontrol of the physical sense-world and its laws; we then lose the\ntendency to let our thoughts drift about aimlessly.\n\nAnd as in the world of thought, so in the realm of the will, the soul must\nbecome the ruler. In the physical sense-world it is life that rules. It\nurges upon man this or that as a necessity, and the will feels itself\nconstrained to satisfy these same wants. In following higher training, man\nmust accustom himself to obey his own commands strictly, and those who\nacquire this habit will feel less and less inclined to desire what is of\nno moment. All that is unsatisfying and unstable in the life of the will\ncomes from the desire for things of the possession of which we have formed\nno distinct concept. Discontent such as this may, when the higher ego is\ndesirous of emerging from the soul, throw that person\u2019s whole inner life\ninto disorder; and it is a good exercise to give oneself for the space of\nseveral months some command to be carried out at a specified time of day:\n\u201cTo-day, at this or that particular hour, you will do this or that thing.\u201d\nThus we gradually become able to command the time at which a thing is to\nbe done and the manner in which it is to be performed, so as to admit of\nits being accomplished with utmost exactitude. Thus we lift ourselves\nabove the bad habit of saying, \u201cI should like this,\u201d and \u201cI want the\nother,\u201d while exercising no thought of the possibility of its\naccomplishment.\n\nIn the second part of _Faust_, Goethe puts the following words into the\nmouth of a seeress: \u201cHim I love who craves the impossible,\u201d and Goethe\nhimself, in his \u201cProse Proverbs,\u201d says: \u201cTo live in the idea means\ntreating the impossible as though \u2019t were possible.\u201d\n\nSuch sentiments must not be put forward as objections against what has\nhere been stated, for the demands made by Goethe and his seeress (Manto)\ncan be fulfilled only by those who have first educated themselves through\ndesire for that which is possible, and have in so doing, arrived at being\nable, by means of their strong \u201cwill,\u201d to treat the \u201cimpossible\u201d in such a\nmanner that through their willing it becomes transformed into the\npossible.\n\nA certain equanimity should pervade the soul of the occult student\nconcerning the world of feeling. And to attain this result, it is\nnecessary that the soul should have mastery over the expressions of joy\nand sorrow, pleasure and pain. But it is just concerning the acquisition\nof this faculty that some prejudice might arise: one might be afraid of\nbecoming dull and indifferent if he does not \u201crejoice with them that do\nrejoice, and weep with them that weep.\u201d Yet this is not what is meant.\nWhat is pleasurable _should_ rejoice the soul, and sorrow _should_ give it\npain, but what the soul is to learn to achieve is control over the\nexpression of joy and sorrow. If that is his aim, the student will become\naware that, far from becoming \u201cdull and unsympathetic,\u201d he will be growing\nall the more receptive to the joy and sorrow around him. But it is true\nthat the student will here find that he needs to watch himself carefully\nfor a considerable time to be able to acquire the faculty indicated. He\nmust be careful to see that he partakes of pain and pleasure to the full,\nyet without so giving himself up to either that he gives involuntary\nexpression to it. It is not justified sorrow that should be suppressed,\nbut the involuntary weeping; not the revulsion against a mean act, but the\nblind raging in anger; not the precaution against danger, but the\nsenseless \u201cbeing afraid,\u201d etc.\n\nIt is only by means of such exercises that the occult student can gain the\ninner calmness of soul necessary in order that, at the birth of the higher\nego, the soul may not find itself as a kind of double, leading a second\nand unhealthy life alongside of the higher self. It is especially in these\nmatters that we should not yield to self-deception. Some people may be of\nthe opinion that they already possess in everyday life a certain degree of\nequanimity, and that they therefore stand in no need of such exercises;\nyet it is especially those who doubly need them. For it is quite possible\nto remain equable when surveying the things of this life, and then when\nascending into the higher world to show evidences of a want of equanimity\nall the greater because it had only been held in check. For it should be\nemphatically understood that in the matter of occult training it is not so\nmuch a question of what we may already seem to possess, but of carefully\nand regularly practicing what we need. Contradictory as this phrase may\nappear, it is nevertheless true that though life may have trained us to\nthis or to that, the qualities to serve us in occult training are those\nthat we have acquired for ourselves. Should life have rendered us\nexcitable, we must train ourselves to conquering this trait; yet if life\nhas engendered in us equanimity, we should so rouse ourselves by our own\nefforts that the soul may be capable of responding to the impressions it\nreceives. The man who cannot laugh at anything, has just as little control\nover his laughter as one who is perpetually giving way to uncontrolled\nlaughter.\n\nThought and feeling may be cultivated by yet another means, namely, by the\nacquirement of the characteristic known as positiveness. There is a\nbeautiful legend in which it is related of Christ Jesus, that He, with\nothers, passed the dead body of a dog. The others turned aside from the\nhideous sight, but Christ Jesus spoke admiringly of the creature\u2019s\nbeautiful teeth. One can, through practice, attain to the condition of\nmind in regard to the world, which is indicated in this legend. Error,\nvice, and ugliness should not deter the soul from seeing truth, goodness,\nand beauty, wherever they are to be found. Nor is this positiveness to be\nmistaken for want of judgment, or for deliberately closing the eyes to\nwhat is bad, false, and inferior. He who can admire the beautiful teeth of\na decaying animal can also see that decaying corpse\u2014yet the corpse does\nnot hinder his observing the beauty of the teeth. Thus, though what is bad\ncannot be deemed good, nor error acclaimed as truth, we can yet train\nourselves so that what is bad need not prevent us from recognizing what is\ngood, nor need errors render us insensible to that which is true.\n\nThought, combined with will, attains to a certain maturity if we strive\nnever to allow what we have already experienced or learned to rob us of\nour unbiased receptiveness for new experiences. Such a thought as: \u201cI have\nnever heard that before; I don\u2019t believe it!\u201d should lose all significance\nwhere the occult student is concerned; indeed, he should endeavour, for a\nfixed period of time, to allow every thing and every creature to convey\nsomething new to his mind. Every breath of air, every leaf on the tree,\nthe prattling of a child,\u2014each and all will teach him something, provided\nhe be willing to bring a different point of view to bear upon it from the\none he has hitherto held.\n\nIt may, of course, be possible to go too far in this particular, and we\nmust not at any time lose sight of the experiences we have previously had.\nIndeed, what we experience in the present should be judged in accordance\nwith the sum of our past experiences. These must be laid on one side of\nthe scale, while on the other the occult student should place an\ninclination for ever gathering new knowledge. Above all, a belief in the\npossibility that new experiences may contradict the old.\n\nThus we have enumerated those five qualities of the soul which the occult\nstudent in regular training, should acquire; control of the trend of his\nthoughts; control of the impulses of his will; equanimity in sorrow and\njoy; positiveness in his judgment of the world; and impartiality in his\nview of life. After giving consecutive periods of time to the acquiring of\nthese qualities through continued practice, the student must go still\nfurther, and bring all these qualities into a harmonious whole within the\nsoul, to achieve which, he will have to practice the exercises in twos and\ntwos together, or three and one, simultaneously, so as to bring about the\nharmony desired.\n\nThe exercises indicated above are thus given out by occult teaching\nbecause if faithfully carried out, they not only produce in the occult\nstudent what we have called above direct results, but they lead indirectly\nto much else that is needed on the path to the higher worlds. He who\npractices these exercises sufficiently will, while doing so, become aware\nof many a lack and many a failing in his own soul-life, and he will at the\nsame time find in them the very means necessary to give strength and\nsecurity to the intellect, to the emotional tendencies and to the\ncharacter as well. He will assuredly need many additional exercises,\naccording to his capacities, temperament, and character; these, however,\nwill present themselves if the above be frequently carried out. Indeed,\none will notice that the already indicated exercises, indirectly,\ngradually yield that which at first does not seem to be in them. A person\nendowed with but little self-confidence, for instance, finds in the course\nof time, that by persistent practice the needed confidence in himself has\ncome about. And it is the same with many other soul qualities.(28)\n\nIt is a matter of significance that the occult student is capable of\nraising these capabilities to ever higher degrees; and he must succeed in\nso controlling his thoughts and feelings that the soul will have power to\nmaintain complete inner quietude for certain periods of time\u2014periods\nduring which he can keep out of his mind and heart all those things that\nin any way concern the outer everyday life, its joys and sorrows, its\npleasures and cares, even its tasks and demands. At such a time nothing\nshould be allowed entrance into the soul except what the soul itself\nadmits. An abjection may easily be made to this. One might imagine that\nalienation must result if the student withdraws in heart and spirit from\nlife and its duties for a certain part of the day. Yet in reality, this is\nby no means the case. For those who, in the above manner, give themselves\nup to periods of inner quietude and peace will find that out of these\nthere grows such a fund of energy for fulfilling the outer duties of life\nthat they are not only not less efficiently performed, but assuredly more\nso.\n\nIt is of great benefit at such times to detach oneself entirely from\nthoughts of personal affairs, and to be able to raise oneself to that\nwhich affects not oneself alone, but all mankind. If he is then able to\nfill his soul with messages from a higher spiritual world, and if they\nhave the power of enthralling his soul to as intense a degree as any\npersonal concern or care, then indeed will his soul have gathered fruit of\nespecial value.\n\nThose who thus exert themselves to regulate their soul-life will arrive at\nthe possibility of a degree of self-observation that will permit them to\nreview their personal affairs with the same tranquillity as those of\nothers. Seeing one\u2019s own experiences and one\u2019s own joys and sorrows in the\nlight in which those of another appear, is a good preparation for occult\ntraining. We bring this exercise gradually to the necessary stage, if,\nafter the day\u2019s work is over, we allow the pictures of the day\u2019s\noccurrences to pass before the mind\u2019s eye. We would then see ourselves\nwithin our own experiences as in a picture; in other words, we would look\nat ourselves in our daily life, as an outside observer.\n\nA certain practice in self-observation having been gained by concentrating\nthe attention upon short divisions of the day\u2019s experience, the student\nwill become more and more expert in this kind of retrospect, continued\npractice enabling him to review the events of the whole day completely and\nquickly. It will become ever more and more the ideal of the occult student\nto assume such an attitude with regard to the events of life which\nconfront him that he will be able to await their approach with absolute\ncalm and inner confidence, no longer judging them by the state of his own\nsoul but according to their own inner meaning and inner worth. And it is\nby looking to this ideal that he will create a condition of soul that will\nenable him to meditate profoundly, as described above, upon symbolical and\nother thoughts and feelings.\n\nThe conditions here described must be fulfilled, because supersensible\nexperience is built upon the foundation on which the student stands in his\nordinary soul-life, before he enters the supersensible world. In a\ntwo-fold way, all supersensible experience is dependent upon the soul\u2019s\npoint of departure before entering that world. One who is not intent, from\nthe outset, on making sound powers of judgment the foundation of his\nspiritual training will develop supersensible capacities which perceive\nthe spiritual world inaccurately and incorrectly. To a certain extent his\nspiritual organs of perception will develop in the wrong way. And just as\na man with a defective or diseased eye cannot see correctly in the\nsense-world, so it is not possible to have true perceptions with spiritual\norgans which are not built upon the foundation of sound powers of\njudgment. One who starts from an immoral state of soul rises into the\nspiritual worlds with his spiritual vision stupified and clouded. In\nregard to supersensible worlds he is like a person in the sense-world who\nmakes observations in a state of lethargy. The latter, however, will not\nbe able to make any statements of consequence, whereas the spiritual\nobserver, even in his stupefaction, is more awake than a person in the\nordinary state of consciousness, and the results of his observations will\ntherefore be erroneous in regard to the spiritual world.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe highest possibilities of imaginative cognition can be realized by\nsupporting the aforesaid meditations by that which one might call\n\u201csense-free\u201d thinking. Now when we formulate an idea based upon\nobservations made in the physical sense-world, our thought is not free\nfrom sense-impressions. Yet it is not as though man could formulate only\nsuch ideas: human thought need not become void and meaningless simply\nbecause it is not filled with observations derived through the channels of\nthe senses. The most direct and the safest way for the occult student to\nacquire this \u201csense-free\u201d thinking, is to make the facts of the higher\nworlds presented by occult science, the subject of his thoughts. These\nfacts cannot be observed by means of the physical senses; nevertheless,\nthe student will find that he will be able to grasp them\u2014if only he has\nenough patience and perseverance. No one can explore higher worlds, or\nmake his own observations therein, without having been trained. But it is\nquite possible without training to understand everything which\ninvestigators communicate about those regions. Should anyone ask, \u201cHow can\nI accept on trust what the occultist tells me, being myself as yet unable\nto see it?\u201d\u2014such an objection would be groundless, for it is perfectly\npossible to arrive through mere reflective thinking at the sure conviction\nthat the matters thus communicated are true.\n\nIf a man is unable, through reflecting, to arrive at such a conviction,\nthe reason is not that he cannot possibly \u201cbelieve\u201d something he cannot\nsee, but simply because he has not as yet applied his powers of reflective\nthinking in a sufficiently unbiased, comprehensive and profound manner.\n\nIn order to be clear on this point, it must be borne in mind that human\nthought, if it arouses itself to energetic activity, can understand more\nthan it usually imagines possible. For in thought there is an inner\nessence which is in connection with the supersensible world. The soul is\nnot usually conscious of this connection, because it is wont to train its\nfaculty of thought only through the world of sense. On this account it\nthinks incomprehensible what is imparted to it from the supersensible\nworld. What is thus communicated is, however, not only intelligible to\nthought which has been spiritually trained, but to any thinking which is\nfully conscious of its power and is willing to make use of it.\n\nBy the persevering assimilation of what occult teachers are able to impart\nto us we habituate ourselves to a line of thought that is not derived from\nsense-observation, and we learn to recognize how, within the soul, one\nthought is allied to another, and how one thought calls forth another,\neven when the connection of ideas is not occasioned by any power of\nsense-observation. The essential point is that by this method we become\naware of the fact that the world of thought possesses an inner life, and\nthat while we are engaged in thought we are, indeed, in the realm of a\nsupersensible living power. Thus we may say to ourselves: \u201cThere is\nsomething within me that develops an organism of thought; nevertheless, I\nam one with this something.\u201d And thus in yielding to this sense-free\nthinking, we experience something like a being, which flows into our inner\nlife, just as the qualities of the things of the senses flow into us\nthrough our physical organs when used for sense-observation.\n\n\u201cOut there in space,\u201d says the observer of the sense-world, \u201cis a rose: it\nis not unfamiliar to me, for both scent and colour proclaim its presence.\u201d\nAnd in like manner, when sense-free thought is working within us, we need\nonly be sufficiently unbiased in order to be able to say: \u201cSomething real\nproclaims its presence to me, linking thought to thought and constituting\na thought-organism\u201d\u2014only there is a difference to be noted between the\ncommunication coming to the observer from the outer world of the senses,\nand that which actually reaches the sense-free thinker. The former feels\nthat he is standing without\u2014in front of the rose\u2014whereas he who has given\nhimself up to thinking which is untrammelled by the senses will feel\n_within himself_ whatever thus proclaims its presence to him; he will feel\nhimself one with it.\n\nThose who, more or less, unconsciously consider as beings only that which\nthey can perceive as external objects, will, it is true, be unable to\nentertain the feeling that whatever has the nature of a being, can also\nmanifest itself within man by his becoming one with it. In order to judge\ncorrectly one must be able to have the following inner experiences: one\nmust learn to distinguish between the thought combinations created through\none\u2019s own volition, and those experienced without any voluntary exercise\nof the will. In the latter case, we may then say: I remain quite still\nwithin myself; I produce no trains of thought; I yield to that which\n\u201cthinks within me.\u201d Then we are fully justified in saying: Within me a\nbeing is acting, just as we are justified in saying that the rose acts\nupon us when we see a certain red, when we perceive a certain odor.\n\nNor is there any contradiction in having derived the contents of our ideas\nfrom communications made by the occult seer. The ideas are, it is true\nalready there when we devote ourselves to them; yet they cannot be\n\u201cthought\u201d, without in each case being created anew within the soul. The\nimportant point is that the occult teacher seeks to awaken in his hearers\nand readers the kind of thoughts which they must first call forth from\nwithin themselves, whereas he who describes some physical object indicates\nsomething that the listener or reader may observe within the sense-world.\n\n(The path which leads to sense-free thinking by means of the\ncommunications made by occult science is thoroughly safe. But there is\nalso another method even safer and above all things more exact, yet for\nthis very reason more difficult for the majority. This method is set forth\nin my two books, \u201c_Goethe\u2019s Conception of the World_\u201d and \u201c_The __\nPhilosophy of Spiritual Activity_.\u201d These writings set forth what human\nthought can achieve for itself, if the thinking is not under the influence\nof the physical sense impressions but relies merely upon itself. Then pure\nthinking works within man like a living being. At the same time nothing in\nthe above-mentioned writings is derived from communications due to occult\nscience itself, and yet it is shown that pure, self-reliant thinking can\nobtain information about the world, life and man.\n\nThese writings therefore occupy a very important intermediate position\nbetween the actual cognition of the sense-world and that of the spiritual\nworld. They present that which thinking can gain when it raises itself\nabove sense-observation and yet does not enter into occult research.\nAnyone who allows these books to work upon his whole soul, already stands\nwithin the spiritual world, but it appears to him as a world of thought.\nThose who are in a position to allow this intermediate condition to act\nupon them, will be following a safe and sane path and can thus win for\nthemselves a feeling concerning the higher worlds, which will for all\nfuture time ensure for them most abundant results.)\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe object of meditating upon the above described symbolical concepts and\nfeelings is, strictly speaking, the development of the higher organs of\ncognition within man\u2019s astral body. They are in the first place created\nfrom the substance of the astral body. These new organs of observation\nestablish a connection with a new world wherein man learns to know himself\nas a new ego.\n\nThese new organs of perception are first of all to be distinguished from\nthose of the physical sense-world by being _active_ organs. Whereas the\neye and ear are passive, allowing light and sound to work upon them, it\nmay be said of these perceptive organs of the soul and spirit that, while\nfunctioning they are in a perpetual state of activity, and that they seize\nhold of their objects and facts, as it were, in full consciousness. This\ngives rise to the feeling that psycho-spiritual cognition is a union\nwith,\u2014a \u201cdwelling within,\u201d\u2014the corresponding facts.\n\nThese separately evolving psycho-spiritual organs may be compared to\n\u201clotus flowers\u201d corresponding to the appearance which they present to the\nclairvoyant consciousness, as they are formed from the substance of the\nastral body.(29)\n\nVery definite kinds of meditation act upon the astral body in such manner\nthat certain psycho-spiritual organs, the so-called \u201clotus flowers,\u201d are\ndeveloped. Any proper meditation undertaken with the view of attaining to\nimaginative cognition has its effect upon one or another of these\norgans.(30)\n\nA regular course of training arranges and orders the separate exercises to\nbe practised by the occult student, so that these organs may either\nsimultaneously or consecutively attain their suitable development, and on\nthis process the student will have to bring much patience and perseverance\nto bear. Those, indeed, who are possessed of no more than the average\namount of patience with which man, under ordinary conditions of life is\nendowed, will not reach very far. For it takes a long\u2014often a very long\ntime indeed\u2014before these organs have reached a point at which the occult\nstudent is able to use them for observing things in the higher worlds. At\nthis point comes what is known as \u201cillumination,\u201d in contradistinction to\nthe \u201cpreparation,\u201d or \u201cpurification,\u201d which consists in the practices\nundertaken for the formation of these organs. (The term \u201cpurification\u201d is\nused because in order to reach certain phases of inner life, the pupil\ncleanses himself through the corresponding exercises, of that which\nbelongs to the world of sense observation.)\n\nIt is, however, quite possible that before actual illumination, the\nstudent may get repeated \u201cflashes of light\u201d from a higher world. These he\nshould receive gratefully. Even these can make him a witness of the\nspiritual realms. Yet he must not falter should this never be vouchsafed\nhim during his entire period of preparation, and should its consequent\nduration seem all too long to him. Indeed, those who yield to impatience\n\u201cbecause they can as yet see nothing,\u201d have not yet acquired the right\nattitude toward the higher worlds. Those alone will be in a position to\ngrasp this who can view the exercises they undertake as an object in\nthemselves. For this practice is in truth a working on something\npsycho-spiritual, namely, on their own astral body; even though they do\nnot \u201csee,\u201d they can \u201cfeel\u201d that they are working on the psycho-spiritual\nplane. Only when we have a preconceived idea of what we \u201cwish to see,\u201d are\nwe unable to experience this feeling. In that case we may consider as\nnothing what is, in reality, of immeasurable importance. But one should\nobserve minutely everything which one experiences while\npracticing,\u2014experiences which are so fundamentally different from those of\nthe sense-world. We shall then become aware that we cannot work upon our\nastral body as though it were some indifferent substance; but that in it\nthere lives a totally different world of which the life of our senses does\nnot inform us.\n\nHigher entities act upon the astral body in the same way in which the\nworld of the physical senses acts upon the physical body, and we \u201ccome\nupon\u201d that higher life in our own astral body, provided only we do not\nshut ourselves out from it. If we are perpetually saying: \u201cI am aware of\nnothing,\u201d then it is generally the case that we imagined that these\nexperiences should appear thus and so; and because we do not see what we\nimagined we should see, we say, \u201cI can see nothing.\u201d\n\nHowever, he who is able to acquire the right attitude of mind with regard\nto his practice during training, will find more and more that he has\nsomething which he loves for its own sake and which, as an immeasurably\nimportant vital function, he can no longer do without. He will then know\nthat through these very practices he is standing in the psycho-spiritual\nworld and will await with patience and resignation what may further\ntranspire. This attitude of mind of the student may best be expressed in\nsuch words as these: \u201cI _will_ do all the exercises which have been\nassigned to me; for I know that in the fullness of time as much will come\nto me as I should receive; I do not ask for it impatiently, but I prepare\nmyself to receive it.\u201d On the other hand one should not raise the\nobjection: The occult student, then, is expected perhaps for a long time\nto feel around in the dark, because he cannot know that he is on the right\npath with his exercises, before he obtains results. It is not true,\nhowever, that he must wait until the results prove to him the correctness\nof the exercises. If the attitude of the student is right, then the\nsatisfaction which he experiences in the practice of these exercises, in\nitself carries the conviction that he is doing the right thing, and he\ndoes not need to wait for results to prove it. The correct practice of\nexercises in occult training brings with it a satisfaction that is not\nmerely satisfaction, but conviction\u2014the conviction that I am doing\nsomething which shows me that it is leading me forward in the right\ndirection. Every occult student may have this conviction at any moment if\nhe pays careful attention to his experiences. Should he not exercise such\nattention, he will simply pass by these experiences just as a wayfarer in\nprofound thought does not notice the trees alongside of the road, though\nhe would surely see them if he would but direct his attention to them.\n\nIt is by no means desirable that results, other than those which are\nalways due to such practice, should in any way be hastened. For such\nresults might easily be only an infinitesimal part of what should really\ntake place. Indeed, in the matter of occult development, partial results\nare, more often than not, the cause of considerable delay in complete\ndevelopment. Contact with such forms of spiritual life corresponding to\npartial development, tends to dull the perceptive faculties to the\ninfluences of those powers which would lead on to higher stages of\ndevelopment; while the benefit derived from such a \u201cglimpse\u201d of the\nspiritual world, is after all only a seeming one, because this glimpse\ncannot divulge the truth, but only deceptive illusions.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe psycho-spiritual organs, the \u201clotus flowers,\u201d shape themselves in such\na manner that to clairvoyant consciousness they appear in the vicinity of\nparticular physical organs of the body of the person undergoing training.\nFrom among these psycho-spiritual organs the following should be\nenumerated: that which is to be perceived between the eye-brows is the\nso-called two-petalled lotus flower; that in the region of the larynx is\nthe sixteen-petalled lotus; in the region of the heart is to be found the\ntwelve-petalled lotus flower and the fourth is near the navel. Others\nappear in close conjunction with other parts of the physical body.(31)\n\nThe lotus flowers are formed in the astral body, and by the time one or\nthe other has developed, we become conscious of them. We then feel that we\ncan make use of them, and that by doing so we really enter a higher world.\nThe impressions received of that world still resemble in many respects\nthose of the physical senses; and one with imaginative cognition will be\nable to designate the new higher world as impressions of heat or cold,\nperceptions of sound or words, effects of light or color\u2014because it is in\nthis way that he perceives them. He is, however, conscious of the fact\nthat these perceptions express something different in the imaginative\nworld from what they do in the actual sense-world; and he recognizes that\nbehind them lie causes which are not physical, but psycho-spiritual ones.\n\nShould he receive an impression of heat he will not, for instance,\nattribute this to a piece of hot iron, but will regard it as the emanation\nof some soul-process, which he has hitherto experienced only with his\nsoul\u2019s inner life. He knows that behind imaginative experiences exist\npsycho-spiritual things and processes just as behind physical perceptions\nwe have physical entities and material facts.\n\nAnd yet this similarity, apparent between the world of imagination and the\nphysical world, is modified by one important difference. There is\nsomething present in the physical world which, when met in the imaginative\nworld, bears quite another appearance. In the former we are aware of a\nperpetual ebb and flow, an alternation between birth and death. But in the\nimaginative world there appears, in place of this phenomenon, a continual\nmetamorphosis of the one into the other. In the physical world we see, for\ninstance, how a plant fades away, but in the imaginative world there\nemerges, in proportion as the plant fades, another form, not physically\ndiscernible, into which the withering plant is gradually transformed. When\nonce the plant has faded away completely, this form will have become fully\ndeveloped in its place. Birth and death are conceptions which lose their\nvalue in the imaginative world, making way for a comprehension of the\ntransmutation of the one into the other.\n\nThis being the case, those truths concerning which we have already made\ncertain communications in an earlier chapter of this book (see Chapter II,\n\u201cThe Nature of Man\u201d) become accessible to the imaginative perception.\nPhysical sense-perception is able to perceive only what takes place in the\nphysical body, processes which are enacted within the \u201cdomain of birth and\ndeath.\u201d The other principles of man\u2019s being, namely, the etheric or vital\nbody, the sentient body, and the ego, are subject to the law of\ntransmutation, and the perception of them is unlocked by imaginative\ncognition. Any one who has advanced this far will observe that that which\nlives on under other conditions of being after death, detaches itself from\nthe physical body.\n\nBut development does not come to a standstill within the imaginative\nworld. Anyone who would like to remain stationary in it, would, it is\ntrue, be able to note the entities in process of transmutation, but he\nwould be unable to interpret the meaning of these processes of change. He\nwould not be in a position to find his way about in this newly attained\nworld. For the imaginative world is a realm of unrest\u2014there is naught in\nit but movement and change; nowhere are there stationary points. Such\npoints of rest are reached only by the person who, having transcended the\nstage of imaginative knowledge, has attained to that grade of development\nknown to occult science as \u201cunderstanding through inspiration.\u201d\n\nIt is not necessary for one seeking knowledge of the supersensible world\nto develop his capacities so that the imaginative cognition should have\nbeen acquired in full measure, before moving on to the stage of\n\u201cinspiration.\u201d His exercises may, indeed, be so regulated that two\nprocesses may go on simultaneously, one leading to imagination and the\nother to inspiration. The student will then in due time enter a higher\nworld, in which he not only perceives, but where he can also find his way\nabout, as it were, and which he becomes able to interpret. Progress, as a\nrule, consists in the occult student perceiving some apparitions of the\nimaginative world and becoming conscious, after a while, that he is\nbeginning to get his bearings.\n\nYet the world of inspiration is something quite new compared with the\npurely imaginative realm. By means of the latter we learn to know the\ntransformation of one process into another; while through the former we\ncome to recognize the inner qualities of ever changing beings. Imagination\nshows us the soul-expression of such beings; through inspiration we\npenetrate into their spiritual core. Above all, we become aware of a\nmultiplicity of spiritual beings and of their relation to one another. In\nthe physical sense-world we have also, of course, to do with a\nmultiplicity of different beings, yet in the world of inspiration this\nmultiplicity is of a different character. In that world each being\nsustains quite definite relations to all the other beings, not, however,\nas in the physical world through outer influence upon them, but through\ntheir essential inner nature.\n\nWhen we become aware of a being in the world of inspiration, no external\nimpression made upon another is apparent, such as might be compared with\nthe influence of one physical being upon another; a relation nevertheless\nexists which is purely the result of the inner constitution of the two\nbeings. This relationship may be compared with that in which the separate\nsounds or letters of a word stand to one another in the physical world. If\nwe take the word \u201cman,\u201d the impression made is due to a consonance of the\nletters, m-a-n. There is no impact nor other outer influence passing from\nthe \u201cm\u201d to the \u201ca,\u201d but both letters sound together within \u201ca whole,\u201d\nowing to their very nature. This is why observations made in the world of\ninspirations can only be compared to reading and the observer sees the\nbeings of this world like written characters which he must learn and whose\ninner relations must reveal themselves to him like a supersensible\nwriting. Therefore occult science can call cognition through inspiration,\nfiguratively, the \u201creading of the secret script.\u201d How one may read by this\n\u201csecret script\u201d and how one can communicate what has thus been read will\nnow be made clear by reference to previous chapters in this book. Man\u2019s\nbeing was first described as composed of different principles. It was then\nfurther shown how the cosmos in which man is developing, passes through\nvarious conditions; those of Saturn, Sun, Moon, and Earth. The perception\nby means of which we are able on the one hand to discern the principles of\nthe human being, and, on the other, the successive states of the Earth and\nits previous transformations, is revealed to the imaginative cognition.\nBut it is now further necessary that the relations existing between the\nSaturn state and man\u2019s physical body; between the Sun state and the\netheric body, etc., be understood. It must be shown that even during the\nSaturn state the germ of man\u2019s physical body came into existence, and that\nit has then further developed to its present form during the Sun, Moon,\nand Earth periods.\n\nIt had to be shown for example, what changes took place in the human being\nowing to the separation of the sun from the earth, and also that something\nsimilar again took place in connection with the moon. We had, moreover, to\nmake plain what contributed to the bringing about of such changes in\nmankind as those which took place in the Atlantean era, how they were\nmanifested in the successive Indian, ancient Persian, Egyptian, and other\nperiods. The description of this sequence of events is not the result of\nimaginative perception, but of inspirational cognition derived from the\nreading of the secret script. For such reading, the imaginative\nperceptions are like letters, or sounds, although such reading is not\nalone necessary for interpretations like the above. It would be impossible\nto comprehend the whole life-process of man by means of imaginative\ncognition alone. One might possibly be in a position to note how, in the\nprocess of dying, the psycho-spiritual principles detach themselves from\nwhat remains in the physical world, but it would be impossible to\nunderstand the connection between what happens to man after death and the\npreceding and following stages, were we unable to find our way through the\nfacts obtained by imaginative cognition. Without inspirational knowledge\nthe entire imaginative world would remain mere writing, at which we gaze\nbut which we are unable to read.\n\nAs the student proceeds from imagination to inspiration he will soon see\nhow wrong it would be to neglect this understanding of the facts of the\nuniverse and limit himself only to those facts which, so to speak, touch\nhis close personal interests. Indeed, those who are not initiated into\nthese matters may be inclined to say: \u201cThe only thing that seems of any\nimportance to me is that I should ascertain the fate of the human soul\nafter death. If anyone can give me information upon that subject, it will\nsuffice; but of what use is it for occult science to present to me such\nremote subjects as the Saturn and Sun states, or the separation of the\nmoon and the sun, etc.?\u201d\n\nThose, however, who have been properly instructed in these things will\nrecognize that a true understanding of what they desire to learn could not\nbe obtained without knowledge of these matters, which appear so\nunnecessary to them. A delineation of man\u2019s states after death would\nremain utterly incomprehensible and valueless to one who is unable to\nconnect it with ideas derived from those very far-off events. Even the\nmost elementary observations of a clairvoyant necessitate his acquaintance\nwith such things.\n\nWhen, for example, a plant passes from the blossom to a state of fruition,\nthe clairvoyant observes a change in the astral being, which, while the\nplant is in blossom, has covered and surrounded the blossoming plant from\nabove like a cloud. Had fructification not taken place, this astral being\nwould have been changed into quite a different form from the one it now\nassumes in consequence of this fertilization. Now we understand the entire\nprocess thus clairvoyantly observed, if we have learned to comprehend our\nown nature through a knowledge of that great cosmic process, in which the\nearth and all its inhabitants were involved at the time of the separation\nfrom the sun. Before fertilization, the plant is in the same condition as\nwas the whole earth before the sun separated from it. After the\nfertilization of the blossom, however, the condition of the plant is that\nof the earth after the separation of the Sun had taken place, while the\nmoon-forces were still active in it.\n\nThose who have thoroughly assimilated the idea to be gained by a\ncomprehension of this separation of the sun, will now be able to interpret\ncorrectly the significance of the process of plant fertilization, when it\nis said that \u201cthe plant previous to fructification is in a \u2018sun state,\u2019\nand afterward in the \u2018moon state.\u2019 \u201d Indeed, it may be said of even the\nsmallest occurrence in the world that it can be fully understood only when\nthe reflection of great cosmic events is recognized in it. Otherwise its\ninner nature remains just as unintelligible as Raphael\u2019s Sistine Madonna\nwould be for one who could see only a small blue speck, while the rest of\nit remained covered.\n\nEverything that happens to man is a reflection of all those great cosmic\nevents that have to do with his existence. Those who wish to understand\nthe observations made by clairvoyant consciousness of the phenomena taking\nplace between birth and death, and again between death and a new birth,\nwill be able to do so if they first acquire the faculty of interpreting\nimaginative observations by means of conceptions gained by reflecting upon\ngreat cosmic events. These contemplations, indeed, furnish the key to a\ncomprehension of human life. Therefore the study of Saturn, Sun, and Moon\nare, from the standpoint of occult science, at the same time a study of\nman.\n\nThrough inspiration one arrives at a knowledge of the relationships\nbetween the beings of the higher world, and a further stage of cognition\nmakes it then possible to recognize the inner essential nature of these\nbeings themselves. This stage of cognition is known to occult science as\nthat of intuitive cognition.(32)\n\nCognition of a sense-being implies standing outside of it, and judging it\naccording to outer impressions. Intuitive cognition of a spiritual being\nimplies being at one with it; uniting oneself with the inner nature of\nthat being. Step by step, the occult student ascends toward such\ncognition. Imagination leads him no longer to consider phenomena as the\nexternal qualities of beings, but to recognize them as psycho-spiritual\nemanations; inspiration leads him further into the inner nature of these\nbeings. Here we can again illustrate by means of the foregoing chapters\nwhat is the meaning of intuition. In those earlier chapters it has not\nonly been stated how the progress of the Saturn, Sun and Moon evolutions\nproceeded; but also that beings took part, in widely different ways, in\nthat progress, and mention was made of the Thrones or Spirits of Will, the\nSpirits of Wisdom, the Spirits of Motion, and so on. In connection with\nthe earth\u2019s development, reference was made to the Luciferian spirits and\nspirits of Ahriman. The structure of the world was traced back to those\nbeings who took part in it. All knowledge pertaining to these beings is\nderived from intuitive cognition, which is also necessary, if we wish to\nunderstand man\u2019s life.\n\nThat which is released from the human physical body at death passes on\nthrough various states in the future. The more immediate conditions after\ndeath might, to some extent, be described by referring to imaginative\ncognition, but that which takes place when man has proceeded farther into\nthat time lying between death and a new birth would be entirely\nincomprehensible to the imagination, did not inspiration come to its aid.\nFor inspiration alone can disclose what can be revealed about man\u2019s life\nafter its purification in the \u201cland of spirits.\u201d We come to a point where\ninspiration is no longer adequate\u2014where it reaches the limit of its\npossibilities. For there is a period in human development, between death\nand a new birth, in which the human being is accessible only to intuition.\n\nYet this part of the human being is _always_ within man, and if we wish to\nunderstand it in its true inner nature we must also seek it, between birth\nand death, by means of intuition. Anyone attempting to fathom man by means\nof imagination and inspiration alone would miss the very innermost being,\nthat which continues from incarnation to incarnation. It is therefore by\nintuitive cognition alone that adequate research concerning reincarnation\nand Karma becomes possible, and all genuine knowledge of these processes\nis derived from research undertaken by means of intuition. If a man wishes\nto know his own inner self, he can only do so by intuition; by its aid he\nbecomes aware of what it is that moves onward within him from incarnation\nto incarnation; and should it fall to anyone\u2019s lot to know something about\nhis earlier incarnations, this can only take place through intuitive\ncognition.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nCognition through inspiration and intuition is attainable only by means of\npsycho-spiritual exercises, and they resemble those meditations practiced\nfor the attainment of imagination which have already been described.\nWhile, however, in exercises for the development of the imagination, a\nconnection is set up with impressions belonging to the world of the\nphysical senses, such connections gradually cease in the case of exercises\nfor inspiration. In order to understand more clearly what must be done,\nlet us recall once more the symbol of the \u201crosy cross.\u201d When we meditate\non this we have before us a picture, of which the component parts have\nbeen taken from the world of the senses: there is the black colour of the\ncross, the roses, etc., and yet the combination of those various parts\ninto the \u201crosy cross\u201d is not derived from the world of the senses. If the\nstudent now endeavours to banish from his consciousness both the black\ncross and the red roses, as pictures of sense-realities, only retaining in\nhis soul that spiritual activity which has been used in putting these\nparts together, he will then have a means for a meditation that will\ngradually lead him on to inspiration. He should put the question to\nhimself somewhat in the following manner: \u201cWhat have I done inwardly to\nconstruct that symbol from cross and rose? What I did (an act of my own\nsoul), I will retain within my hold; but the picture itself I will allow\nto fade away out of my consciousness. I shall then be able to feel within\nme all that my soul did in order to produce the picture, though I no\nlonger recall the picture itself. I will now live wholly within my own\nactivity that created the picture. I will not meditate upon a picture, but\nupon the powers of my own soul which are capable of creating pictures.\u201d\n\nSuch meditations must now be practised with various other symbols. This\nleads then to cognition through inspiration. Here is another example, that\nof meditating upon the growth and subsequent withering of a plant. Let the\npicture of a slowly growing plant arise in the soul, as it sprouts from\nthe seed, unfolds leaf after leaf, then blossoms and fruits; then again as\nit begins to wither on to its complete dissolution. By the help of\nmeditations on such a symbol as this, the student gradually attains a\nfeeling concerning growth and decay of which the plant is but a symbol. If\nthe exercises be persevered in continuously, the image of the\ntransformation which underlies physical growth and decay can be evolved\nfrom this feeling.\n\nBut if one wishes to attain the corresponding stage of inspiration, this\nexercise must be practised quite differently. Here one\u2019s own activity of\nsoul must be called to mind,\u2014that which had obtained the conception of\ngrowth and decay from the image of the plant. The plant must now be\nallowed to vanish altogether from the consciousness, and the attention be\nconcentrated entirely upon the student\u2019s own inner activity. It is only\nsuch exercises as these that help us to rise to inspiration. At first the\noccult student will find it difficult to fully grasp how to set about such\nan exercise. This is because man is used to permitting his inner life to\nbe governed by outward impressions, and thus falls immediately into\nuncertainty and wavering when now he must unfold in addition a soul life\nwhich has freed itself from all connections with outward impressions.\n\nHere the student must clearly understand that he should only undertake\nthese exercises if along with them he cultivates everything that may lead\nto firmness and stability in his judgment, emotional life, and character;\nthese precautions are even more necessary than when seeking to acquire the\nfaculty of imagination. Should he take these precautions, he will be\ndoubly successful, for, in the first place, he will not risk losing the\nbalance of his personality through the exercises; and secondly, he will\nacquire the capacity of being really able to carry out what is demanded in\nthese exercises. They will be deemed difficult only as long as one has not\nyet attained a particular attitude of soul, and certain feelings and\nsentiments. He who patiently and perseveringly cultivates within his soul\nsuch qualities as are favourable to the growth of supersensible cognition,\nwill not be long in acquiring both the understanding and the faculty for\nthese practices.\n\nAny one who can acquire the habit of frequently entering into the quiet of\nhis own soul, and who, instead of brooding over himself, transforms and\norders those experiences he has had in life, will gain much. For he will\nperceive that his thoughts and feelings become richer, if through memory\nhe establishes a relationship between the different experiences of life.\nHe will become aware that he gains stores of new knowledge not only\nthrough new impressions and new experiences, but also by letting the old\nones be active within him.\n\nHe who allows his experiences and his opinions free play, keeping himself\nwith his sympathies and antipathies, personal interests and feelings\nentirely in the background, will prepare an especially fertile soil for\nsupersensible cognition. He will in very truth be developing what may be\ncalled a rich inner life. But what is of primary importance is the balance\nand equilibrium of the qualities of the soul. People are very apt to\nbecome one-sided when indulging in certain activities of the soul. Thus,\nwhen a person has come to know the advantages of contemplation, and of\ndwelling upon pictures derived from his own thought-world, he is apt to\ndevelop a tendency to withdraw himself from the impressions of the outer\nworld. Yet such a step only leads to parching and withering the inner\nlife; and he will go farthest who manages to retain an unchecked\nreceptivity for all impressions of the outer world, while possessing the\npower to withdraw within his own inner self. It is by no means necessary\nto think only of the so-called important events of life: every one, in\nevery sphere of life, be his four walls ever so humble, will be possessed\nof experience enough, provided only his mind is truly receptive.\nExperiences need not be sought\u2014they abound on every hand.\n\nOf particular importance is the way in which experience may be utilized by\nthe human soul. For instance, one may make the discovery that someone whom\nhe or another greatly reveres, has some quality that must be regarded as a\nflaw in his character. An experience of this kind may lead the person to\nwhom it comes to thoughts which will tend toward one of two different\ndirections. He may simply feel that he can never again regard the person\nin question with the same degree of veneration; or on the other hand, he\nmay say to himself: \u201cHow has it been possible for this revered person to\nbe burdened with such a failing? How can I present the matter to my mind\nso as to see in this failing not merely a fault, but something that is the\noutcome of his life, possibly even caused by his noble qualities?\u201d Whoever\ncan place the question thus before his own mind may, perhaps, arrive at\nthe conclusion that his veneration for his friend need not suffer the\nleast diminution, in spite of the failing that has come to light.\n\nExperiences of this nature will, each time they are met with, add\nsomething to our understanding of life. Yet it would certainly be a bad\nthing for one to allow himself to be tempted through this generous view of\nlife, to excuse everything in those whom he happens to like, or to drop\ninto the habit of ignoring every blamable action, in order thereby to seek\nsome benefit to his own inner development. Blaming or excusing the\nmistakes of others merely as a result of an inner impulse, does not\nfurther our development. This can only happen if our action is governed by\nthe particular case itself, regardless of what we may thereby gain or\nlose. It is absolutely true that we cannot learn by condemning a fault,\nbut only by understanding it; but, at the same time, if, owing to\nunderstanding it, we exclude all disapproval of it, we likewise would not\nprogress very far.\n\nHere, again, the important thing is to avoid one-sidedness, either in one\ndirection or the other, and to establish harmony and balance of all\nqualities in the soul; and this is especially to be kept in mind in regard\nto one quality which is pre-eminently important to man\u2019s development: the\nfeeling of devotion. Those who can cultivate this feeling, or on whom\nnature herself has bestowed so inestimable a gift, have a good foundation\nfor the powers of supersensible cognition. Those who in childhood and\nyouth have been able to look up to certain persons with feelings of\ndevoted admiration, beholding in them some high ideal, will already\npossess in the depths of their souls the soil in which supersensible\ncognition may flourish abundantly. And those who, possessed of the maturer\njudgment of later life, can direct their gaze upon the starry heavens and\nsurrender themselves unreservedly to admiration of the revelations of the\nHigher Powers, are in a like manner ripening their senses for the\nacquisition of knowledge with regard to the supersensible worlds. So is it\nalso with those who can admire the powers ruling over human life itself.\nIt is by no means of small importance for a fully matured man to be able\nto feel veneration to the highest degree for other people whose worth he\nsenses or recognizes. For it is only where veneration such as this is\npresent that a vista of the higher worlds can be revealed. Those who\npossess no sense of reverence will never go very far in their attainment\nof cognition; for from those who decline to appreciate anything in this\nworld, the essence of all things will assuredly be withheld.\n\nNevertheless, any one who permits his feelings of reverence and devotion\nto kill his healthy self-consciousness and self-confidence, is guilty of\nsinning against the laws of balance and equilibrium. The occult student\nmust work constantly in order to mature his own nature; then indeed he may\nwell have confidence in his own personality, and believe that its powers\nare increasing more and more. Any one arriving at the right feeling in\nthis respect will say to himself: \u201cThere are within me hidden powers, and\nI am able to call them forth from within. If, therefore, I see something\nwhich fills me with reverence because it is above me, I need no longer\nmerely venerate it, but I may confidently assume that, if I develop all\nthat is in me, I may raise myself to the level of the object of my\nveneration.\u201d\n\nThe more capable a man is of fixing his attention upon these events of\nlife with which he is not directly familiar, the greater will be the\npossibility of providing himself with a foundation for development in\nhigher worlds. The following example will make this evident. Let us assume\nthat some one is placed in a position in which it rests with him either to\ndo, or leave undone, a certain thing. His judgment bids him \u201cDo this,\u201d\nwhile at the same time there may be a certain indefinite something in his\nfeelings which deters him from the deed. It may so happen that the person\nin question will pay no heed to this inexplicable something, carrying out\nthe action in accordance with his judgment. But it may also be that the\nperson so placed will yield to this inner impulse and not perform the act.\nNow, pursuing the matter further, he may find that mischief would have\nresulted from his following the dictates of his reason, and that a\nblessing awaited him through the omission of the act. An experience of\nthis nature may lead a man\u2019s thoughts into quite a definite channel, and\nthen he will put the matter to himself in this way: \u201cThere is something\nwithin me that is a surer guide than that measure of judgment of which I\nam at present possessed: I must therefore retain an open mind toward this\ninner something, to the height of which my own capacity for judgment has\nnot yet attained.\u201d\n\nThe soul derives much benefit when it directs its attention to occurrences\nin life such as these, for they demonstrate that man\u2019s healthy\npremonitions bear something in them which is of greater moment than he,\nwith his present degree of judgment, is able to perceive. Attention in\nthis direction has the effect of enlarging the life of the soul. Yet here\nagain certain peculiarities may arise which are of themselves dangerous.\nOne who accustoms himself to a perpetual disregarding of his judgment,\nowing to this or that \u201cpremonition,\u201d would easily become a shuttle-cock\ntossed at the mercy of every kind of undefined impulse; indeed, it is not\na far cry from such habitual indecision to a state of absolute\nsuperstition.\n\nEvery superstition is disastrous to the student of occult science. The\npossibility of gaining admission, by legitimate means, to the realms of\nthe spiritual life must depend upon a careful exclusion of all\nsuperstition, phantasy, and dreaming. One who is pleased at having had a\ncertain experience which cannot be grasped by human reason will not\napproach the spiritual world in the right manner. No partiality for the\n\u201cinexplicable\u201d will ever make one qualified for discipleship of the\nSpirit. Indeed the pupil should utterly discard the notion that a true\nmystic is one who is always ready to surmise the presence of what cannot\nbe explained or explored. The right way is to be prepared to recognize on\nall hands hidden forces and hidden beings, yet at the same time to assume\nthat what is \u201cunexplored\u201d today will be able to be explored when the\nrequisite ability has been developed.\n\nThere is a certain mood of soul which it is important for the pupil to\nmaintain at every stage of his development. He should not let his urge for\nhigher knowledge lead him to keep on aiming to get answers to particular\nquestions. Rather should he continually be asking: How am I to develop the\nneeded faculties within myself? For when by dint of patient inner work\nsome faculty develops in him, he will receive the answer to some of his\nquestions. Genuine pupils of the Spirit will always take pains to\ncultivate this attitude of soul. They will thereby be encouraged to work\nupon themselves, that they may become ever more and more mature in spirit,\nand they will abjure the desire to extort answers to particular questions.\nThey will _wait_ until such time as the answers come.\n\nHere again, however, there is the possibility of a one-sidedness, which\nmay prevent the pupil from going forward in the way he should. For at some\nmoment he may quite rightly feel that _according to the measure of his\npowers_ he can answer for himself even questions of the highest order.\nThus at every turn moderation and balance play an essential part in the\nlife of the soul.\n\nMany more qualities of soul could be cited that may with advantage be\nfostered and developed, if the pupil is seriously wanting to work through\na training for Inspiration; and in connection with every one of them we\nshould find that emphasis is laid on the supreme importance of moderation\nand balance. These attributes of soul help the pupil to understand the\nexercises that are given for the attainment of Inspiration, and also make\nhim capable of carrying them out.\n\nThe exercises for Intuition demand from the pupil that he let disappear\nfrom consciousness not only the pictures to which he gave himself up in\ncontemplation in order to arrive at Imaginative cognition, but also that\nmeditating upon his own activity of soul, which he practiced for the\nattainment of Inspiration. This means that he is now to have in his soul\nliterally nothing of what he has experienced hitherto, whether outwardly\nor inwardly. If, after discarding all outward and inward experience,\nnothing whatever is left in his consciousness _that is to say, if\nconsciousness simply slips away from him and he sinks into\nunconsciousness_ then that will tell him that he is not yet ripe to\nundertake the exercises for Intuition and must continue working with those\nfor Imagination and Inspiration. A time will come however when an effect\nwill linger in the consciousness which can just as well be made the object\nof meditation, as were before those outer and inner impressions. This\nsomething is, however, of a very special nature, and in comparison with\nall previous experiences, it is something absolutely new. When it occurs,\nwe recognize it as something we have never known before. It is a\nperception, just as an actual sound is a perception, that strikes upon the\near; yet it can enter the consciousness only through intuition, just as\nthe sound can only enter the consciousness by way of the ear. Thus with\nintuition, the last remnants of the physical and sentient are stripped\nfrom man\u2019s impressions, while the spiritual world begins to expand before\nthe understanding in a form that has nothing in common with the\ncharacteristics of the world of the physical senses.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nImaginative cognition is attained by developing the lotus flowers within\nthe astral body. Through those exercises undertaken for the attainment of\ninspiration and intuition, particular movements, formations and currents\nwhich were previously absent, now appear in the human etheric or vital\nbody. These are the very organs which enable man to \u201cread the secret\nscript,\u201d and bring that which lies beyond it within his reach. For to the\nclairvoyant, the changes which occur in the etheric body of a person\nattaining to inspiration and intuition appear in the following manner.\nNear the physical heart a new center is forming in the etheric body, which\ndevelops into an etheric organ. From this organ, movements and currents\nflow toward different parts of the human body, in the most varied manner.\nThe most important of these currents approach the lotus flowers, pass\nthrough them and their separate petals, and thence direct their course\noutward, pouring themselves into outer space in the form of rays. The more\ndeveloped a person is, the greater will be the circumference around him in\nwhich these rays become discernible. This centre near the heart is not,\nhowever, formed at the very beginning, under correct training. It is first\nprepared. A temporary center is first formed in the head: this then moves\ndown to the region of the larynx and is finally transferred into the\nregion of the heart. Under an irregular course of development it would be\npossible for the organ in question to develop near the heart at the\noutset. In that case the student, instead of arriving in due course at\nadequate, tranquil clairvoyance by regular means, would run the risk of\nturning into a visionary and dreamer.\n\nSubsequent development enables the occult student to render these currents\nand organized parts of this etheric body independent of his physical body\nand to use them independently. The lotus flowers then serve him as\ninstruments by which to move his etheric body. Yet, before this can take\nplace, certain currents and radiations must come into action around his\nentire etheric body, surrounding this, as it were, with a fine network,\nthus encasing it as though it were a separate entity. When this has taken\nplace, the movements and currents of the etheric body can without\nhindrance touch the outer psycho-spiritual world and unite with it so that\nouter psycho-spiritual occurrences and inner ones (those within the human\netheric body) blend into one another. When this comes to pass, the moment\nhas arrived when man can consciously experience the world of inspiration.\nThis cognition takes place in a manner different from cognition of the\nphysical sense-world. In this latter, we become aware of the world by\nmeans of our senses and form our ideas and concepts from these\nperceptions. But in the case of cognition through inspiration, this is not\nso.\n\nWhat is thus perceived is instantaneous; there is no thinking after the\nperception has taken place. That which in the case of physical\nsense-cognition is only afterward gained through the concept, is, in the\ncase of inspiration, simultaneous with the perception. One would therefore\nbecome merged with the surrounding psycho-spiritual world, and be unable\nto differentiate oneself from it had not the fine network above alluded to\nbeen previously formed in the etheric body.\n\nWhen exercises for intuition are practiced, they not only affect the\netheric body but extend their influence to the supersensible forces of the\nphysical body. But it must not, of course, be imagined that effects are\nbrought about in the physical body which are discernible to ordinary\nsense-observation, for these effects the clairvoyant alone is able to\njudge, and they have nothing to do with external powers of perception.\nThey come as the result of a ripened consciousness, when this latter is\nable to have intuitional experiences, even though it has divested itself\nof all previous inner and outer experiences. The experiences of intuition\nare, however, subtle, delicate and intimate, in comparison with which the\nphysical body, at its present stage of development, is coarse. For this\nreason, it offers a positive hindrance to the success of any exercises for\nattaining intuition. Nevertheless, should these be pursued with energy and\nperseverance, and with the requisite inner calm, they will ultimately\novercome those powerful hindrances of the physical body. The occult\nstudent will become aware of this when he notices how, by degrees,\nparticular actions of his physical body which hitherto had taken place\nwithout his own volition, now come under his control. He will also become\naware that for a brief time he will feel the need, for instance, of so\nregulating his breathing (or some similar act) as to bring it into a kind\nof harmonious accord with whatever is being enacted within his soul, be it\nexercises or other forms of inner concentration.\n\nThe ideal development would be that no exercises should be done by means\nof the physical body but that everything which has to take place within it\nshould result only as a consequence of exercises for intuition. As,\nhowever, the physical body offers such powerful impediments, the training\nmay permit of some alleviations. These consist in exercises which affect\nthe physical body; yet everything in this domain that has not been\ndirectly imparted by the teacher, or those having knowledge and experience\nof these things, is fraught with danger. Such exercises, for instance,\ninclude a certain regulated process of breathing to be carried out for a\nvery short space of time. These regulations of the breathing correspond in\nquite a definite way to particular laws of the psycho-spiritual world.\nBreathing is a physical process, and when this act is so carried out as to\nbe the expression of a psycho-spiritual law, physical existence receives\nthe direct stamp, as it were, of spirituality, and the physical matter is\ntransformed.\n\nFor this reason occult science is able to call the change due to such\ndirect spiritual influence, a transmutation of the physical body, and this\nprocess represents what is called \u201cworking with the philosopher\u2019s stone\u201d\nby him who has a knowledge of these matters. He who knows these things,\nfrees himself indeed from those concepts which have been limited by\nsuperstition, humbug and charlatanry. The significance of the phenomena\ndoes not become less to him who knows, just because, as a spiritual\ninvestigator, all superstition is foreign to him. When he has acquired a\nconcept of a significant fact, he may be allowed to call it by its\n_correct name_ although that name has been fixed upon it as a result of\nmisunderstanding, error and nonsense.\n\nEvery true intuition is in fact a \u201cworking with the philosopher\u2019s stone,\u201d\nbecause each genuine intuition calls directly upon those powers which act\nfrom out the supersensible world, into the world of the senses.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nAs the occult student climbs the path leading to cognition of the higher\nworlds, he becomes aware at a particular point that the cohesion of the\npowers of his own personality is assuming a different form from that which\nit possesses in the world of the physical senses. In the latter the ego\nbrings about a uniform co-operation of the powers of the soul\u2014primarily of\nthought, feeling and will. These three soul powers are actually, under\nnormal conditions of human life, in perpetual relation one with another.\nFor instance, we see a particular object in the external world, and it is\npleasing or is displeasing to the soul; that is to say, the perception of\nthe thing will be followed by a sense of either pleasure or displeasure.\nPossibly we may desire the object, or may have the impulse to alter it in\nsome way or other; that is to say, desire and will associate themselves\nwith perception and feeling. Now this association is due to the fact that\nthe ego co-ordinates presentment (thinking), feeling, and willing, and in\nthis way introduces order among the forces of the personality. This\nhealthy arrangement would be interrupted should the ego prove itself\npowerless in this respect: if, for instance, the will went a different way\nfrom the feeling or thinking. No man would be in a healthy condition of\nmind who, while thinking this or that to be right, nevertheless wished to\ndo something which he did not consider right.\n\nThe same would hold good if a person desired, not the thing that pleased\nhim, but that which displeased him. Now the person progressing toward\nhigher cognition becomes aware that feeling, thinking, and willing do\nactually assume a certain independence; that, for example, a particular\nthought no longer urges him, as though of itself, to a certain condition\nof feeling and willing. The matter resolves itself thus: We may comprehend\nsomething correctly by means of thinking, but in order to arrive at a\nfeeling or impulse of the will on the subject, we need a further\nindependent impetus, coming from within ourselves. Thinking, feeling and\nwilling no longer remain three forces, radiating from the ego as their\ncommon centre, but become, as it were, independent entities, just as\nthough they were three separate personalities. For this reason, therefore,\na person\u2019s own ego must be strengthened, for not only must it introduce\norder among three powers, but the leadership and guidance of three\nentities have devolved upon it.\n\nAnd this is what is known to occult science as the cleavage of the\npersonality. Here is once more clearly revealed how important it is to add\nto the exercises for higher training others for giving fixity and firmness\nto the judgment, and to the life of feeling and will. For if certainty and\nfirmness are not brought into the higher world, it will at once be seen\nhow weak the ego proves to be, and how it can be no fitting ruler over the\npowers of thought, feeling and will. In the presence of this weakness, the\nsoul would be dragged by three different personalities in as many\ndirections, and its inner individual separateness would cease. But should\nthe development of the occult student proceed on the right lines, this\nmultiplication of himself, so to speak, will prove to be a real step\nforward, and he will nevertheless continue, as a new ego, to be the strong\nruler over the independent entities which now make up his soul.\n\nIn the subsequent course of development this division or cleavage is\ncarried further; thought, now functioning independently, arouses the\nactivities of a fourth distinct psycho-spiritual being; one that may be\ndescribed as a direct influx into the individual, of currents which bear a\nresemblance to thoughts. The entire world then appears as\nthought-structure, confronting man just like the plant and animal worlds\nin the realm of the physical senses. In the same manner feeling and will,\nwhich have become independent, stimulate two other powers within the soul\nto work in it as separate entities. And yet a seventh power and entity\nmust be added, which resembles the ego itself. Thus man, on reaching a\nparticular stage of development, finds himself to be composed of seven\nentities, all of which he has to guide and control.\n\nThe whole of this experience becomes associated with a further one. Before\nentering the supersensible world, thinking, feeling, and willing were\nknown to man merely as inner soul-experiences. But as soon as he enters\nthe supersensible world he becomes aware of things which do not express\nphysical sense realities, but psycho-spiritual realities. Behind the\ncharacteristics of the new world of which he has become aware, he now\nperceives spiritual beings. These now present themselves to him as an\nexternal world, just as stones, plants and animals in the physical sense\nworld, have impressed his senses. Now the occult student is able to\nobserve an important difference between the spiritual world unfolding\nitself before him and the world he has hitherto been accustomed to\nrecognize by means of his physical senses. A plant of the sense-world\nremains what it is, whatever man\u2019s soul may think or feel about it. This\nis not the case, however, with the images of the psycho-spiritual world,\nfor these change according to man\u2019s own thoughts and feelings. Man stamps\nupon them an impression which is the result of his own being.\n\nLet us imagine a particular picture presenting itself to man in the\nimaginative world. As long as he maintains indifference toward it, it will\ncontinue to show a particular form. As soon, however, as he is moved by\nfeelings of like or dislike with regard to it, its form will change.\nPictures, therefore, at first present not only something independent and\nexternal to man, but they reflect also what man himself is. These pictures\nare permeated through and through with man\u2019s own being. This falls like a\nveil over the other beings. In this case man, even if confronted by a real\nbeing, does not see this, but sees what he himself has created. Thus he\nmay have something true before him, and yet see what is false. Indeed,\nthis is not only the case in respect to what man has observed concerning\nhis own being, but everything that is in him impresses itself upon the\nspiritual world.\n\nIf, for example, a person has secret inclinations, which owing to\neducation and character are precluded from revealing themselves in life,\nthose inclinations will, nevertheless, take effect in the psycho-spiritual\nworld, which is thus colored in a peculiar way, due to that person\u2019s\nbeing, quite irrespective of how much he may or may not know of his own\nbeing. And in order to be able to advance beyond this stage of\ndevelopment, it becomes necessary that man should learn to distinguish\nbetween himself and the spiritual world around him. It is necessary that\nhe should learn to eliminate all the effects produced by his own nature\nupon the surrounding psycho-spiritual world. This can be done only by\nacquiring a knowledge of what we ourselves take with us into this new\nworld. It is therefore primarily a question of self-knowledge, in order\nthat we may become able to perceive clearly the surrounding\npsycho-spiritual world. It is true that certain facts of human development\nentail such self-knowledge as must naturally be acquired when one enters\nhigher worlds. In the ordinary world of the physical senses man develops\nhis ego, his self-consciousness, and this ego then acts as a point of\nattraction for all that appertains to man. All personal propensities,\nsympathies, antipathies, passions, opinions, etc., possessed by a person,\ngroup themselves, as it were, around this ego, and it is this ego likewise\nto which human Karma is attached. Were we able to see this ego unveiled,\nit would also be possible to see just what blows of fate it must yet\nendure in this and future incarnations, as a result of its life in\nprevious incarnations and the qualities acquired. Encumbered as it is with\nall this, the ego must be the first picture that presents itself to the\nhuman soul, when ascending into the psycho-spiritual world. This double of\nthe human being, in accordance with a law of the spiritual world, is bound\nto be his first impression in that world. It is easy to explain this\nfundamental law to ourselves, if we consider the following. In the life of\nthe physical senses man is cognizant of himself only so far as he is\ninwardly conscious of himself in his thinking, feeling, and willing. This\ncognition is an inner one; it does not present itself to him externally,\nas do stones, plants and animals; but even through inner experiences, man\nlearns to know himself only partially, for he has within him something\nthat prevents deep self-knowledge, namely, the impulse to immediately\ntransform this quality, when through self-cognition he is forced to admit\nits presence and concerning which he is unwilling to deceive himself.\n\nIf he did not yield to this impulse, but simply turned his attention away\nfrom himself\u2014remaining as he is\u2014he would naturally deprive himself of even\nthe possibility of knowing himself in regard to that particular matter.\nYet should he \u201cexplore\u201d himself, facing his characteristics without\nself-deception, he would either be able to improve them, or in his present\ncondition of life he would be unable to do so. In the latter case a\nfeeling would steal over his soul which we must designate a feeling of\nshame. Indeed, this is the way in which man\u2019s sound nature acts; it\nexperiences through self-knowledge various feelings of shame. Even in\nordinary life this feeling has a certain definite effect. A healthy-minded\nperson will take care that that which fills him with this feeling does not\nexpress itself outwardly or manifest itself in deeds. Thus the sense of\nshame is a force urging man to conceal something within himself, not\nallowing it to be outwardly apparent.\n\nIf we consider this well, we shall find it possible to understand why\noccult science should ascribe more far-reaching effects to another inner\nexperience of the soul, very closely allied to this feeling of shame.\nOccult science finds that within the hidden depths of the soul a kind of\nsecret feeling of shame exists, of which man in his life of the physical\nsenses is unaware. Yet this secret feeling acts much in the same way as\nthe conscious feeling of shame of ordinary life to which we have alluded;\nit prevents man\u2019s inmost being from confronting him in a recognizable\nimage, or double. Were this feeling not present, man would see himself as\nhe is in very truth; not only would he experience his thoughts, ideas,\nfeelings and decisions inwardly, but he would perceive these as he now\nperceives stones, animals and plants.\n\nThis feeling, therefore, is that which veils man from himself, and at the\nsame time hides from him the entire spiritual world. For owing to this\nveiling of man\u2019s inner self, he becomes unable to perceive those things by\nmeans of which he is to develop organs for penetrating into the\npsycho-spiritual world; he becomes unable to so transform his own being as\nto render it capable of obtaining spiritual organs of perception.\n\nIf man aims however to form these organs of perception through correct\ntraining, that which he himself really is appears before him as the first\nimpression. He perceives his double. This self-recognition is inseparable\nfrom perception of the rest of the psycho-spiritual world. In the everyday\nlife of the physical world the feeling of shame here described acts in\nsuch a manner as to be perpetually closing the door which leads into the\npsycho-spiritual world. If man would take but a single step in order to\npenetrate into that world, this instantly appearing but unconscious\nfeeling of shame, conceals that portion of the psycho-spiritual world\nwhich would reveal itself. The exercises here described do, however,\nunlock this world: and it so happens that the above-mentioned hidden\nfeeling acts as a great benefactor to man, for all that we may have\ngained, apart from occult training, in the matter of judgment, feeling and\ncharacter, is insufficient to support us when confronted by our own being\nin its true form; its apparition would rob us of all feeling of selfhood,\nself-reliance and self-consciousness. And that this may not happen,\nprovision must be made for cultivating sound judgment, good feeling and\ncharacter, along with the exercises given for the attainment of higher\nknowledge.\n\nA correct method of tuition teaches the student as much of occult science\nas will, in combination with the many means provided for self-knowledge\nand self-observation, enable him to meet his double with assured strength.\nIt will then appear to the student that he sees, in another form, a\npicture of the imaginative world with which he has already become\nacquainted in the physical world. Anyone who has first learned in the\nphysical world, by means of his understanding, to apprehend rightly the\nlaw of Karma, is not likely to be greatly frightened when he sees his fate\ntraced upon the image of his double. Anyone who, by means of his own\npowers of judgment, has made himself acquainted with the evolution of the\nuniverse, and the development of the human race, and who is aware that at\na particular epoch of this development the powers of Lucifer penetrated\ninto the human soul, will have little difficulty in enduring the sight of\nthe image of his own individuality when he knows that it includes those\nLuciferian powers and all their accumulated effects.\n\nThis will suffice to show how necessary it is that no one should demand\nadmission into the spiritual world before having learned to understand\ncertain truths concerning it; learning them by means of his own judgment,\nas developed in this world of the physical senses. All that has been said\nin this book previous to the chapter concerning \u201cPerception of the higher\nworlds,\u201d should have been assimilated by the student in the course of his\nregular development, by means of his ordinary judgment, before he has any\ndesire to seek entrance himself into the supersensible worlds.\n\nWhere the training has been such as to pay little heed to firmness and\nsurety of judgment, and to the life of feeling and character, it may\nhappen that the student will approach the higher world before being\npossessed of the necessary inner capacities. The meeting with his double\nwould in this case overwhelm him. But what might also happen is that the\nperson introduced into the supersensible world then would be totally\nunable to recognize this world in its true form, for it would be\nimpossible for him to differentiate between what he sees in the things,\nand what they really are. For this distinction becomes possible only when\na person himself has beheld the image of his own being and becomes able to\nseparate from his surroundings everything which proceeds from his inner\nbeing.\n\nIn respect to life in the world of physical sense, man\u2019s double becomes at\nonce visible through the already mentioned feeling of shame when man nears\nthe psycho-spiritual world, and in so doing, it also conceals the whole of\nthat world. The double stands before the entrance as a \u201cguardian,\u201d denying\nadmission to all who are as yet unfit, and it is therefore designated in\noccult science as the \u201cguardian of the threshold of the psycho-spiritual\nworld.\u201d However, we may call it the \u201clesser guardian,\u201d for there is\nanother, of whom we shall speak later.\n\nAnd besides this meeting with his double on entering the supersensible\nworld as here described, man encounters the Guardian of the Threshold when\nhe passes the portals of physical death, and it gradually reveals itself\nduring that psycho-spiritual development which takes place between death\nand a new birth. However, the encounter can in no wise crush us, for we\nthen know of other worlds of which we are ignorant during the life between\nbirth and death. A person entering the psycho-spiritual world without\nhaving encountered the Guardian of the Threshold would be liable to fall a\nprey to one delusion after another. For he would never be able to\ndistinguish between that which he himself brings into that world and what\nreally belongs to it. But correct training should lead the student into\nthe domain of truth, not of error, and with such training the meeting\nmust, at one time or another, inevitably take place, for it is the one\nindispensable precaution against the possibilities of deception and\nphantasm in the observation of supersensible worlds. It is one of the most\nindispensable precautions to be taken by every occult student, to work\ncarefully upon himself in order not to become a visionary, subject to\nevery possible deception and self-deception, suggestion and\nauto-suggestion. Wherever correct occult training is followed, the causes\nof such deceptions are destroyed at their source. It would of course be\nimpossible to speak here exhaustively of the many details to be included\nin such precautions, and we can only indicate in general the underlying\nprinciples. The illusions to be taken into account arise from two sources.\nIn part they proceed from the fact that our own soul-being colors reality.\nIn the ordinary life of the physical sense-world, the danger arising from\nthis source of deception is comparatively small, because here the outer\nworld always obtrudes itself upon the observer in its own sharp outline,\nno matter how much the observer is inclined to color it according to his\nwishes and interests. As soon, however, as we enter the imaginative world,\nthe images are changed by such wishes and interests, and we then have\nactually before us that which we ourselves have formed or, at any rate,\nhelped to form. Now, since through this meeting with the Guardian of the\nThreshold the occult student becomes aware of everything within him, of\nthat which he can take with him into the psycho-spiritual world, this\nsource of delusion is removed, and the preparation which the occult\nstudent undergoes prior to his entering that world is in itself calculated\nto accustom him to exclude himself\u2014even in matters appertaining to the\nphysical world\u2014when making his observations, thus allowing things and\noccurrences to speak for themselves. Any one who has sufficiently\npracticed these preparatory exercises may await this meeting with the\nGuardian of the Threshold in all tranquillity; by this meeting he will be\ndefinitely tested whether he is now really capable of putting aside his\nown being even when confronting the psycho-spiritual world.\n\nIn addition to this there is another source of delusion. This becomes\napparent when we place the wrong interpretation upon an impression we\nreceive. We may illustrate it by means of a very simple example taken from\nthe world of the physical senses. It is the delusion we may encounter when\nsitting in a railway carriage; we _think_ the trees are moving in the\nreverse direction to the train, whereas in fact we ourselves are moving\nwith the train. Although there are many cases in which such illusions\noccurring in the physical world are more difficult to correct than the\nsimple one we have mentioned, yet it is easy to see that, even within that\nworld, means may be found for getting rid of those delusions if a person\nof sound judgment brings everything to bear upon the matter which may help\nto clear it up.\n\nBut as soon as we penetrate into the psycho-spiritual world such\nelucidations become less easy. In the world of sense, facts are not\naltered by human delusions about them; it is therefore possible to correct\na delusion by unprejudiced observation of facts. But in the supersensible\nworld this is not immediately possible. If we desire to study a\nsupersensible occurrence and approach it with the wrong judgment, we then\ncarry that wrong judgment over into the thing itself, and it becomes so\ninterwoven with the thing, that the two cannot be easily distinguished.\nThe error then is not in the person and the correct fact external to him,\nbut the error will have become a component part of the external fact. It\ncannot therefore be cleared up simply by unprejudiced observation of the\nfact. This is enough to indicate an extremely fertile source of illusion\nand deception for one who would venture to approach the supersensible\nworld without adequate preparation.\n\nAs the occult student has now acquired the faculty to exclude those\nillusions originating from the coloring of the supersensible\nworld-phenomena with his own being, so must he now acquire the faculty of\nmaking ineffective the second source of illusions mentioned above.\n\nOnly after the meeting with his double, can he eliminate what comes from\nhimself and thus he will be able to remove the second source of delusion\nwhen he has acquired the faculty for judging by the very nature of a fact\nseen in the supersensible world, whether it is a reality or an illusion.\nNow if the illusions were of precisely the same appearance as the\nrealities, differentiation would be impossible. But this is not the case.\nIllusions of the supersensible world have in themselves qualities which\ndistinguish them definitely from the realities, and the important thing is\nfor the occult student to know by what qualities he may be able to\nrecognize those realities.\n\nNothing seems more natural than that those ignorant of occult training\nshould say: \u201cHow, then, is it at all possible to guard against delusions,\nsince their sources are so numerous?\u201d And further: \u201cCan an occult student\never be safe from the possibility that all his so-called higher\nexperiences may not turn out to be based on mere deception and\nself-deception (suggestion and auto-suggestion)?\u201d Any one advancing these\nobjections ignores the fact that all true occult training proceeds in such\na manner as to remove those sources of delusion. In the first place, the\noccult student during his preparation, will have become possessed of\nenough knowledge about all that which may lead to delusion and\nself-delusion, that he will be in a position to protect himself against\nthem. He has, in this respect, an opportunity, like that of no other human\nbeing, to render himself sober and capable of sound judgment for the\njourney of life. Everything he learns teaches him not to rely upon vague\npresentiments and premonitions. Training makes him as cautious as\npossible, and, in addition to this, all true training leads in the first\nplace to concepts of the great cosmic events, to matters, therefore, which\nnecessitate the exertion of the judgment, a process by which this faculty\nis at the same time rendered keener and more refined. But those who\ndecline to occupy themselves with these remote subjects, and prefer\nkeeping the revelations nearer at hand, might miss the strengthening of\nthat sound power of judgment which gives certainty in distinguishing\nbetween illusion and reality. Yet even this is not the most important\nthing, but the exercises themselves, carried out through a systematic\ncourse of occult training. These must be so arranged that the\nconsciousness of the student is enabled during meditation to scan minutely\nall that passes within his soul. In order to bring about imagination, the\nfirst thing to be done is to form a symbol. In this there are still\nelements taken from external observation; it is not only man who\nparticipates in their content, he himself does not produce them. Therefore\nhe may deceive himself concerning them and assign their origin to wrong\nsources. But when the occult student proceeds to the exercises for\ninspiration, he drops this content from his consciousness and immerses\nhimself only in the soul-activity which formed the symbol. Even here error\nis still possible: education and study etc., have induced a particular\nkind of soul-activity in man. He is unable to know everything about the\norigin of this activity. Now, however, the occult student removes this,\nhis own soul-activity, from his consciousness; if then something remains,\nnothing adheres to it that cannot easily be reviewed; nothing can intrude\nitself in respect to its entire content that cannot easily be judged.\n\nIn his intuition, therefore, the occult student possesses something which\nshows him the pure, clear reality of the psycho-spiritual world. And if he\napplies this recognized test to all that meets his observation in the\nrealm of psycho-spiritual realities, he will be well able to distinguish\nappearance from reality. He may also feel sure that the application of\nthis law provides just as effectually against delusions in the spiritual\nworld as does the knowledge in the physical world that an _imaginary_\npiece of red-hot iron cannot burn him.\n\nIt is obvious that this test applies only to our own experiences in the\nsupersensible world, and not to communications made to us which we have to\napprehend by means of our physical understanding and our healthy sense of\ntruth. The occult student should exert himself to draw a distinct line of\ndemarcation between the knowledge he acquires by the one means, and by the\nother. He should be ready on one the hand to accept communications made to\nhim regarding the higher worlds, and should seek to understand them by\nusing his powers of judgment. When, however, he is confronted by an\n\u201cexperience,\u201d which he may so name because it is due to personal\nobservation, he will first carefully test the same to ascertain whether it\npossesses exactly those characteristics which he has learned to recognize\nby means of infallible intuition.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe meeting with the Guardian of the Threshold being over, the occult\nstudent will have to face other new experiences, and the first thing that\nhe will become aware of is the inner connection which exists between this\nGuardian of the Threshold and that soul-power we have already\ncharacterized, when describing the cleavage of personality, as being the\nseventh power to resolve itself into an independent entity. This seventh\nentity is, indeed, in certain respects no other than the double, or\nGuardian of the Threshold itself, and it lays a particular task upon the\nstudent. Namely, that which he is in his lower self and which now appears\nto him in the image, he must guide and lead by means of the new-born\nhigher self. This will result in a sort of battle with this double, which\nwill continually strive for the upper hand. Now to establish the right\nrelationship to it, to allow it to do nothing except what takes place\nunder the influence of the new-born ego, this is what strengthens and\nfortifies man\u2019s forces.\n\nThis matter of self-cognition is, in certain respects, different in the\nhigher worlds from what it is in the physical sense-world. For whereas in\nthe latter, self-cognition is only an inner experience, the newly born\nself immediately presents itself as an outward psycho-spiritual\napparition. We see our new-born self before us like another being, yet we\ncannot perceive it in its entirety, for, whatever the stage to which we\nmay have climbed on our journey to the supersensible worlds, there will\nalways be still higher stages which will enable us to perceive more and\nmore of our \u201chigher self.\u201d It can therefore only partially reveal itself\nto the student at any particular stage. Having once caught a glimpse of\nthis higher self, man feels a tremendous temptation to look upon it in the\nsame manner in which he is accustomed to regard the things of the physical\nsense-world. And yet this temptation is salutary; it is indeed necessary,\nif man\u2019s development is to proceed in the right manner. The student must\nhere note what it is that appears as his double, as the Guardian of the\nThreshold, and place it by the side of the higher self, in order that he\nmay rightly observe the disparity between what he is and what he is to\nbecome. But while thus engaged in observation he will find that the\nGuardian of the Threshold will assume quite a different aspect, for it\nwill now reveal itself as a picture of all the _obstacles_ which oppose\nthe development of the higher ego, and he then becomes aware of what a\nload he drags about with him in his ordinary ego. And should the student\u2019s\npreparation not have rendered him strong enough to be able to say: \u201cI will\nnot remain at this point, but will persistently work my way upward toward\nthe higher ego,\u201d he will grow weak and will shrink back dismayed before\nthe labor that lies before him. He has plunged into the psycho-spiritual\nworld, but gives up working his way farther, and becomes a captive to that\nimage which, as Guardian of the Threshold, now confronts the soul. And the\nremarkable thing here is that the person so situated will have no feeling\nof being a captive. He will, on the contrary, think he is going through\nquite a different experience, for the image called forth by the Guardian\nof the Threshold may be such as to awaken in the soul of the observer the\nimpression that in the pictures which appear at this stage of development\nhe has before him the whole universe in its entirety\u2014the impression of\nhaving attained to the summit of all knowledge, and of there being,\ntherefore, nothing left to strive after. Therefore, instead of feeling\nhimself a captive, the student would believe himself rich beyond all\nmeasure, and in possession of all the secrets of the universe. Nor need\nthis experience fill one with surprise, though it be the reverse of the\nfacts, for we must remember that by the time these experiences are felt,\nwe are already standing within the psycho-spiritual world, and that the\nspecial peculiarity of this world is that it reverses events\u2014a fact which\nhas already been alluded to in our consideration of life after death.\n\nThe image seen by the occult student at this stage of development shows\nhim a different aspect from that in which the Guardian of the Threshold\nfirst revealed itself. In the double first mentioned, were to be seen all\nthose qualities which, as the result of the influence of Lucifer, are\npossessed by man\u2019s ordinary ego. But in the course of human development,\nanother power has, in consequence of Lucifer\u2019s influence, also been drawn\ninto the human soul; this is known as the force of Ahriman. It is this\nforce that, during his physical existence, prevents man from becoming\naware of those psycho-spiritual beings which lie behind the surface of the\nexternal world. All that man\u2019s soul has become under the influence of this\nforce, may be discerned in the image revealing itself during the\nexperience just described. Those who have been sufficiently prepared for\nthis experience will, when thus confronted, be able to assign to it its\ntrue meaning, and then another form will soon become visible\u2014one we may\ndescribe as the \u201cgreater Guardian of the Threshold.\u201d This one will tell\nthe student not to rest content with the stage to which he has attained,\nbut to work on energetically. It will call forth in him the consciousness\nthat the world he has conquered will only become a truth, and not an\nillusion, if the work thus begun be continued in a corresponding manner.\nThose, however, who have gone through incorrect occult training and would\napproach this meeting unprepared, would then experience something in their\nsouls when they come to the \u201cgreater Guardian of the Threshold,\u201d which can\nonly be described as a \u201cfeeling of inexpressible fright\u201d, of \u201cboundless\nfear.\u201d\n\nJust as the meeting with the \u201clesser Guardian\u201d gives the occult student\nthe opportunity of judging whether or not he is proof against delusions\nsuch as might arise through interweaving his own personality with the\nsupersensible world, so too must he be able to prove from the experiences\nwhich finally lead to the \u201cgreater Guardian,\u201d whether he is able to\nwithstand those illusions which are to be traced to the second source\nmentioned farther back in this chapter. Should he be proof against the\npowerful illusion by which the world of images to which he has attained,\nis falsely displayed to him as a rich possession, when actually he is only\na captive, then he is guarded also against the danger of mistaking\nappearance for reality during the further course of his development.\n\nTo a certain degree the Guardian of the Threshold will assume a different\nform in the case of each individual. The meeting with him corresponds\nexactly to the way in which the personal element in supersensible\nobservations is overcome, and therefore the possibility exists of entering\na realm of experience which is free from any tinge of personality and is\nopen to every human being.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nWhen the occult student has passed through the above experiences, he will\nbe capable of distinguishing in the psycho-spiritual world between what he\nhimself is and what is outside of him, and he will then recognize why an\nunderstanding of the cosmic occurrences narrated in this book, is\nnecessary to man\u2019s understanding of humanity itself and its life process.\nIn fact, we can understand the physical body only when we recognize the\nmanner in which it has been built up through the developments undergone in\nthe Saturn, Sun, Moon, and Earth periods, and we understand the etheric\nbody when we follow its evolution through the Sun, Moon, and Earth stages\nof evolution. We further comprehend what is bound up with our\nearth-development at present, if we can grasp how all things proceed by\nthe process of gradual evolution. Occult training places us in a position\nto recognize the connection between everything that is within man and the\ncorresponding facts and beings existing in the world external to him. For\nit is a fact that each principle of man stands in some connection with the\nrest of the world. The outlines of these subjects could only be briefly\nsketched in this book. It must however be borne in mind that the physical\nbody had, at the time of the Saturn development, for instance, no more\nthan its rudimentary beginnings. Its organs\u2014such as the heart, lungs, and\nbrain\u2014developed later during the Sun, Moon, and Earth periods, for which\nreason heart, lungs and brain are related to the evolutionary process of\nSun, Moon and Earth.\n\nIt is the same with the members of the etheric body, the sentient body,\nand the sentient soul. Man is the outcome of the entire world surrounding\nhim, and every part of his constitution corresponds to some event, to some\nbeing in the external world. At a certain stage of his development the\noccult student comes to a realization of this relation of his own being to\nthe great cosmos, and this stage of development may in the occult sense be\ntermed a becoming aware of the relationship of the little world, the\nmicrocosm\u2014that is, man himself\u2014to the great world, the macrocosm. And when\nthe occult student has struggled through to such cognition, he may then go\nthrough a new experience; he begins to feel himself united, as it were,\nwith the entire cosmic structure, although he remains fully conscious of\nhis own independence. This sensation is a merging into the whole world, a\nbecoming \u201cat one\u201d with it, yet _without_ losing one\u2019s own individual\nidentity. Occult science describes this stage as the \u201cbecoming one with\nthe macrocosm.\u201d It is important that this union should not be imagined as\none in which separate consciousness ceases and in which the human being\nflowers forth into the universe, for such a thought would only be the\nexpression of an opinion resulting from untutored reasoning.\n\nFollowing this stage of development something takes place that in occult\nscience is described as \u201cbeatitude.\u201d It is neither possible nor necessary\nthat this stage be more closely described, for no human words have the\npower to picture this experience and it may rightly be said that any\nconception of this state could be acquired only by means of such\nthought-power as would no longer be dependent upon the instrument of the\nhuman brain. The separate stages of higher knowledge, according to the\nmethods of initiation that have been here described, may be enumerated as\nfollows:\n\n1. The study of occult science, in the course of which we first of all\nmake use of the reasoning powers we have acquired in the world of the\nphysical senses.\n\n2. Attainment of imaginative cognition.\n\n3. Reading the secret script (which corresponds to inspiration).\n\n4. Working with the philosopher\u2019s stone (corresponding to intuition).\n\n5. Cognition of the relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm.\n\n6. Being one with the macrocosm.\n\n7. Beatitude.\n\nThese stages however need not necessarily be thought of as following one\nanother consecutively, for in the course of training, the occult student,\naccording to his individuality, may have attained a preceding stage only\nto a certain degree when he has already begun to practice exercises,\ncorresponding to the next higher stage. For instance, it may be that when\nhe has gained only a few reliable imaginative pictures, he will already be\ndoing exercises which lead him on to draw inspiration, intuition, or\ncognition of the relationship between microcosm and macrocosm into the\nsphere of his own experiences.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nWhen the occult student has experienced intuition he comes to know not\nonly the forms of the psycho-spiritual world, not only can he recognize\ntheir inter-relationship through the \u201csecret script,\u201d but he attains a\ncognition of these beings themselves through whose co-operation the world,\nto which he belongs, comes into being. Thus he learns to know himself in\nthe true form which he possesses as a spiritual being in the\npsycho-spiritual world. He has struggled through to the higher ego, and\nhas learned how he must continue the work in order that he may master his\ndouble, the Guardian of the Threshold. But he has also met the \u201cgreater\nguardian of the Threshold\u201d who stands before him perpetually urging him to\nfurther labors. It is this greater Guardian of the Threshold who now\nbecomes the ideal he must strive to resemble, and when the student has\nacquired this feeling he will have risen to that important stage of\ndevelopment in which he will be in a position to recognize who it is that\nis really standing before him as that \u201cgreater Guardian.\u201d For henceforth,\nin the student\u2019s consciousness, the Guardian is gradually transformed into\nthe figure of the Christ, whose Being and intervention in the evolution of\nthe earth have been dealt with in a foregoing chapter.\n\nThus the student, through his intuition, will have become initiated into\nthat sublime Mystery which is linked with the name of Christ. The Christ\nreveals himself to him as the \u201cGreat Ideal of humanity on earth.\u201d\n\nWhen in this manner through intuition, the Christ has been recognized in\nthe spiritual world, then we can also understand those events that took\nplace historically upon earth during the fourth post-Atlantean period (the\nGreco-Roman time), and how at that time the great Sun-Spirit, the\nChrist-Being, intervened in the world\u2019s development, and how He still\ncontinues to guide its evolution. These are matters the student will then\nknow by personal experience. Therefore it is through intuition that the\nmeaning and significance of the earth\u2019s evolution are disclosed to the\noccult student.\n\nThe path leading to cognition of the supersensible worlds as above\nindicated, is one which all men may travel, whatever their position under\nthe present conditions of life may be. And in speaking of such a path it\nmust be borne in mind that, while the goal of cognition and truth is the\nsame at all times of the earth\u2019s development, yet the starting-point for\nman has varied considerably at different periods. For instance, the man of\nthe present day who wishes to find his way into supersensible worlds,\ncannot start from the same point as the Egyptian candidate for initiation\nof old. This is why it is impossible for modern humanity to apply, without\nmodification, the exercises given to the candidate for initiation in\nancient Egypt. For since those times men\u2019s souls have passed through\ndifferent incarnations, and this passing onward from incarnation to\nincarnation is not without significance and importance. The capacities and\nqualities of souls change from one incarnation to another. Those who have\nstudied human history only superficially can note that since the twelfth\nand thirteenth centuries all life conditions have changed and that\nopinions, feelings and even human capabilities have become different from\nwhat they were before that time. The path here described for the\nacquirement of higher knowledge is one which is suitable for souls\nincarnating in the immediate present. It fixes the starting-point of\nspiritual development just where the man of the present day stands, in\nwhatever conditions of life he may be placed.\n\nFrom epoch to epoch, progressive evolution leads humanity, in respect to\nthe path of higher cognition, to ever changing modes, just as outer life\nlikewise changes its form. For at all times it is necessary that perfect\nharmony should reign between external life and initiation. It will be\npointed out in the next chapter of this book what changes initiation,\nwhich in the ancient mysteries lead into the higher worlds, must undergo,\nin order to become modern \u201cinitiation\u201d for the attainment of supersensible\ncognition in its present form.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. THE PRESENT AND FUTURE EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD AND OF HUMANITY\n\n\nIt is impossible to know anything in the occult sense of the present and\nfuture of human or planetary evolution without understanding that\nevolution in the past. For, that which presents itself to the occult\nstudent\u2019s observation when he watches the hidden events of the past,\ncontains at the same time everything that he can learn of the present and\nfuture. In this book we have spoken of the Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth\nevolutions. We cannot follow the evolution of the earth, as the occultist\nunderstands it, unless we observe the events of preceding evolutionary\nperiods. For what meets us today, within the bounds of our earthly globe,\ncomprises in a certain sense the facts of the evolution of the Moon, Sun\nand Saturn. The beings and things that took part in the evolution of the\nMoon have gone on developing, and all that now belongs to the earth, is\nthe outcome of that development.\n\nBut not all that has evolved from the Moon to the Earth is perceptible to\nphysical sense-consciousness. A part of what came over to us from the Moon\nevolution is revealed only at a certain stage of clairvoyant\nconsciousness, at which knowledge of supersensible worlds is reached. When\nthis knowledge is gained, the fact that our earthly planet is united to a\nsupersensible world is recognized. The latter includes that part of lunar\nexistence which is not sufficiently densified to be observed by the\nphysical senses. In the first place it does not include it as it was at\nthe time of the evolution of the original Moon. If this clairvoyant\nconsciousness occupies itself with the perception of these things, which\nit can have at present, this latter gradually separates into two images.\nOne presents the shape borne by the earth during the lunar evolution, the\nother shows itself in such a way, that we recognize as its content a form\nas yet in the germinal stage which will become a reality\u2014in the sense in\nwhich the earth is now a reality\u2014but only in the future.\n\nOn further observation it is seen that the results, in a certain sense, of\nthat which is taking place on the earth are continually streaming into\nthat future form, so that in it we have before us that which our earth\nwill ultimately become. The effects of earthly existence will unite with\nthe events in the world described, and out of this the new cosmos will\narise, into which the Earth will be transformed as the Moon was\ntransformed into the Earth. This future form is called in occult science\nthe Jupiter condition. The clairvoyant observer of this Jupiter state sees\nthe revelation of certain events which _must_ take place in the future.\nThe reason for this is that in the supersensible part of the Earth which\nhad its origin in the Moon, beings and things are present which will\nassume definite form when certain events have actually happened in the\nphysical world. Therefore there will be something in the Jupiter condition\nwhich was already predetermined by the Moon evolution and it will contain\nnew factors, which can come into the whole evolution only in consequence\nof terrestrial events. In this way clairvoyant consciousness is able to\nlearn something of what will happen during the Jupiter state.\n\nThe beings and facts observed in this field of consciousness have not the\nnature of sense-images; they do not even appear as fine air-structures\nfrom which effects might proceed which resemble sense-impressions. They\ngive purely spiritual impressions of sound, light and heat. These are\n_not_ expressed through any material embodiments. They can be apprehended\nonly by clairvoyant consciousness. One may say, however, that these beings\nwhich at present manifest on the psycho-spiritual plane, possess a \u201cbody.\u201d\nThis body, however, appears like a sum of _condensed memories_ which they\ncarry within their souls.\n\nOne can distinguish within their being what they are now experiencing and\nwhat they have experienced and now remember. This last is contained within\nthem like a bodily element. They are conscious of it in the same way that\nan earthly human being is conscious of his body.\n\nAt a stage of clairvoyant development higher than that just described as\nnecessary for a knowledge of the Moon and Jupiter, the student is able to\nperceive supersensible beings and things which are, in fact, the more\nhighly developed forms of those present during the Sun condition, but\nwhich have now reached stages of existence so lofty as to be quite\nimperceptible to a consciousness capable of observing the Moon forms only.\nDuring meditation the picture of this world also divides in two. The one\nleads to a knowledge of the Sun state of the past; the other represents a\nfuture form of the earth existence\u2014namely, that into which the earth will\nhave been transformed when the fruits of all that takes place on it and\nJupiter have merged into the forms of that future world. What can thus be\nobserved of this future world may be characterized in occult phraseology\nas the Venus condition.\n\nIn a similar manner, to a still more highly evolved clairvoyant\nconsciousness, a future state of evolution is revealed, which we may call\nthe Vulcan state. It stands in the same relationship to the Saturn state\nas the Venus condition does to that of the Sun, or the Jupiter state to\nthe evolution of the Moon. Therefore, when we contemplate the past,\npresent, and future of the earth\u2019s evolution, we may speak of the Saturn,\nSun, Moon, Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan evolutions.\n\nJust as these far-reaching conditions of the evolution of our earth lie\ndisclosed to clairvoyant vision, the same vision is also able to cover the\nnearer future. There is a picture of the future corresponding to every\npicture of the past. In speaking of such things, however, one fact must be\nemphasized which should be taken into strict account: that in order to\nrecognize facts of this kind, one must absolutely do away with the idea\nthat they can be fathomed through mere philosophical reflection. These\nthings cannot, and never should be investigated by that kind of thinking.\nAnyone would be labouring under a prodigious delusion who, after becoming\nacquainted with the teachings of occult science regarding the Moon state,\nthinks that he could discover the future conditions of Jupiter by\ncomparing those of the Moon and Earth. These conditions must be\ninvestigated only when the requisite clairvoyant consciousness has been\nattained; but once communicated to others after such investigation, they\ncan be understood without clairvoyant consciousness.\n\nNow the occultist finds himself in quite a different position, with regard\nto observations concerning the future, from that in which he stands with\nregard to those of the past. It is impossible at first for man to\ncontemplate future events as impartially as he does those of the past.\nFuture events excite human will and feeling; while the past affects us in\nquite a different way. He who observes life knows how true this is of\neveryday existence; but how enormously this truth is enhanced, and what an\nintimate bearing it has upon the hidden facts of life, can only be\nrealized by one who has some knowledge of the supersensible world. That is\nthe reason why those who know such things are very definitely limited as\nto what they are allowed to give out. Certain things bearing on the future\ncan, in fact, be imparted only to those who have themselves determined to\nfollow the path leading to the supersensible worlds. Such people by their\nmental attitude have acquired something which gives them the\ndisinterestedness necessary for the reception of these teachings. For this\nreason certain secret facts, even of the past and present, can be spoken\nof only to those who are prepared for them in this way. These are facts so\nclosely connected with future evolution, that their effect on the human\nsoul is similar to that produced by communications regarding the future\nitself.\n\nThis explains, also, why the information in this book concerning the\npresent and the future is given in the merest outline as compared with the\nmore detailed descriptions of the evolution of the world and of humanity\nin the past. What is said here is not intended to appeal to the love of\nsensation in the smallest degree; not even to awaken it. We shall only\nstate where the answer can be found to vital questions which naturally\npresent themselves to one who holds a certain definite attitude of mind.\n\nJust as the great cosmic evolution can be portrayed in the successive\nstates, from the Saturn to the Vulcan period, so also is this possible for\nshorter periods of time; for example, for those of the evolution of the\nearth. Since that mighty upheaval which terminated the ancient Atlantean\nlife, successive periods of human evolution have followed one another\nwhich have been called in this work the ancient Indian, the ancient\nPersian, the Egypto-Chaldean, and the Greco-Roman. The fifth period is\nthat in which humanity finds itself to-day,\u2014it is the present time. This\nperiod gradually took its rise in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteen\ncenturies A.D., after a period of preparation commencing in the fourth and\nfifth centuries. The Greco-Roman period preceding it began about the\neighth century B.C. When one-third of this period had elapsed, the\nChrist-event took place.\n\nDuring the transition from the Egypto-Chaldean to the Greco-Roman period,\nthe attitude of the human mind and, indeed, all human faculties, underwent\na change. In the first of these two periods what we now know as logical\nthinking, as a mere intellectual concept of the world, was still wanting.\nThe knowledge which a man now acquires through his intelligence, he then\ngained in a manner suited to that time,\u2014directly through an inner, in a\ncertain sense, clairvoyant cognition. He perceived the things around him,\nand while perceiving them there arose within his soul the percept, the\nimage that was needed. Whenever knowledge is gained in this way, not only\npictures of the physical sense-world come to light, but from the depths of\nconsciousness a certain knowledge of facts and beings arises which are not\nof the physical world. This was a remnant of the ancient dim clairvoyance,\nonce the common property of the whole of humanity.\n\nDuring the Greco-Roman period an ever-increasing number of individuals\nappeared without these capacities. Intelligent reflection concerning\nthings took their place. Mankind was more and more shut off from the\nimmediate perception of the psycho-spiritual world, and was more and more\nrestricted to forming a picture of it through intelligence and feeling.\nThis condition lasted more or less during the whole of the fourth division\nof the post-Atlantean period. Only those individuals who had preserved the\nold mental state as an inheritance could still become directly conscious\nof the spiritual world. But these were stragglers from an earlier time.\nTheir manner of gaining knowledge was no longer suitable for later\nconditions. For, as a consequence of the laws of evolution, old faculties\nof the soul lose something of their former significance when new faculties\nappear. Human life then adapts itself to these new faculties, and can no\nlonger use the old ones properly.\n\nThere were individuals, however, who began in full consciousness to add to\nthe powers of intelligence and feeling already gained, the development of\nother and higher powers, which made it possible for them once more to\npenetrate into the psycho-spiritual world. To this end they were obliged\nto set to work in a different way from that in which the pupils of the old\nInitiates had been trained. The latter had not been obliged to take into\naccount those faculties of the soul which were developed only in the\nfourth period. The method of occult training which has been described in\nthis work as that of the present age, began in its first rudiments in the\nfourth period. But it was then only in its beginning, it could not attain\nreal maturity until the fifth period (from the twelfth and thirteenth\ncenturies onward). Those who sought to rise into supersensible worlds in\nthis manner could learn something of the higher regions of existence\nthrough the exercise of their own imagination, inspiration, and intuition.\nThose who went no further than the development of the faculties of reason\nand feeling could learn only through tradition what had been known to\nancient clairvoyance. This was handed on, either by word of mouth or in\nwriting, from generation to generation.\n\nNeither could those born later know anything of the real nature of the\nChrist-event save by such traditions, if they did not rise to the level of\nthe supersensible worlds. Certainly there were such Initiates who still\npossessed the natural faculties of supersensible perception and yet who,\nthrough their development, had ascended into the higher worlds, in spite\nof their disregard of the new powers of intelligence and feeling. Through\nthem a transition was effected from the old method of Initiation to the\nnew. Such persons lived in later times as well. The essential\ncharacteristic of the fourth period is that, by the exclusion of the soul\nfrom direct communion with the psycho-spiritual world, the human faculties\nof intelligence and feeling were thereby strengthened and invigorated. The\nsouls whose powers of intelligence and feeling had at that time developed\nto a great extent as the result of former incarnations, carried over with\nthem the fruits of this development into their incarnations during the\nfifth period. As a compensation for this exclusion from the higher worlds,\nmighty traditions of Ancient Wisdom then existed, especially those of the\nChrist-event, which by the power of their content gave men confident\nknowledge of the higher worlds.\n\nBut there were still certain human beings existing who had evolved the\nhigher powers of cognition in addition to the faculties of reason and\nfeeling. It devolved upon them to learn the facts of the higher worlds,\nand especially of the Mystery of the Christ-event, by direct supersensible\nperception. From these individuals there always flowed into the souls of\nother men as much as was intelligible and good for them.\n\nThe first spreading of Christianity was to take place just at a time when\nthe capacities for supersensible cognition were undeveloped in a great\npart of humanity. And this is why tradition at that time possessed such\nmighty power. The strongest possible force was necessary to lead mankind\nto a faith in a supersensible world which they themselves could not\nperceive. How Christianity worked during that period has been shown in\nprevious pages. There were always those, however, who were able to rise\ninto higher worlds through imagination, inspiration, and intuition. These\nmen were the post-Christian successors of the old Initiates, the teachers\nand members of the Mysteries. Their task was to recognize again, through\ntheir own faculties, what man had been able to perceive through ancient\nclairvoyance, and through the methods of ascent into higher worlds taught\nin the old Initiations; and in addition to this, to acquire the knowledge\nof the real nature of the Christ-event.\n\nThus there arose, among these \u201cNew Initiates,\u201d a knowledge embracing\neverything contained in the old form of Initiation; but the central point\nof this teaching was the higher knowledge concerning the Mysteries of the\ncoming of the Christ. Such teaching could only filter through into the\ngeneral life of the world in scanty measure while the human souls of the\nfourth period were further developing the faculties of intellect and\nfeeling; therefore, while this lasted, the doctrine was in truth secret.\nThen began the dawn of the new period designated as the fifth. Its\nessential characteristic lay in the progress made in the evolution of the\nintellectual faculties, which were then developed to a very high degree,\nand will unfold still further in the future. This process has been slowly\ngoing on from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, becoming ever more\nrapid from the sixteenth century up to the present time.\n\nUnder these influences the evolution of the fifth period became an\never-increasing endeavour to foster the powers of intellect, while, on the\ncontrary, the knowledge by faith of former times, and traditional wisdom,\ngradually lost its hold over the human soul. On the other hand, however,\nfrom the twelfth and thirteenth centuries on, there developed that which\nmay be called an ever increasing flow of cognition born of modern\nclairvoyant consciousness. This \u201chidden knowledge\u201d flows even though at\nfirst quite imperceptibly, into the human concepts of that period. It is\nonly natural that even up to the present time the purely intellectual\nforces should have maintained an antagonistic attitude toward this\nknowledge. But that which must come to pass will do so in spite of all\ntemporary antagonism. That \u201chidden knowledge\u201d which is taking possession\nof humanity more and more may be called symbolically, the \u201cwisdom of the\nHoly Grail.\u201d\n\nFor he who learns to understand this symbol in its deeper meaning, as it\nis told in story and legend, will find that it symbolizes the nature of\nwhat has been called above, the knowledge of the new Initiation, with the\nChrist Mystery as its central point. Modern Initiates may therefore be\ncalled \u201cthe Initiates of the Grail.\u201d The preliminary stages of the path to\nthe supersensible worlds described in this book, leads to the \u201cWisdom of\nthe Grail.\u201d It is a peculiarity of this wisdom that its facts can be\ninvestigated only when the necessary means, as described in this book,\nhave been acquired. Once investigated, however, these facts can be\nunderstood by means of those very soul-forces which are the result of the\nevolution of the fifth period. Indeed, it will become more and more\nevident that to an ever increasing extent those forces find satisfaction\nthrough this knowledge. We are now living at a time in which this\nknowledge must be absorbed by human consciousness in general to a much\nfuller extent than was formerly the case. And it is from this point of\nview that the teachings contained in this Christ-event will grow ever more\npowerful in proportion as human evolution assimilates the Wisdom of the\nGrail. The inner side of the development of Christianity will more and\nmore keep pace with the exoteric side. That which may be learned through\nimagination, inspiration and intuition, concerning the higher worlds, in\nconnection with the Christ Mystery, will penetrate ever more and more\nhuman thinking, feeling, and willing. The \u201chidden wisdom of the Grail\u201d\nwill be revealed, and as an inner force will more and more permeate the\nmanifestations of human life.\n\nThrough the whole of the fifth period, knowledge concerning the\nsupersensible world will flow into human consciousness; and when the sixth\nperiod begins, humanity will be able to regain on a higher level that\nclairvoyance which it possessed at an earlier epoch in a dim and\nindistinct manner. Yet the new acquisition will take a form quite\ndifferent from the old. What the soul knew of higher worlds in ancient\ntimes, was not permeated by its own forces of intellect and feeling. Its\nknowledge was instinctive. In the future it will not only have instincts,\nbut it will _understand_ them, and feel them to be the essence of its own\nnature. When the soul learns a fact concerning some other being or thing,\nits intellect will find this fact verified through its own nature. Or when\nsome fact regarding an ethical law or human conduct presents itself, the\nsoul will say to itself: \u201cMy feeling is only justified when I carry out\nwhat is implied in this knowledge.\u201d Such a condition of soul will have to\nbe developed by a large part of humanity in the sixth period.\n\nIn a certain manner, that which human evolution accomplished during the\nthird period\u2014the Egypto-Chaldean\u2014is repeated in the fifth. At that time\nthe soul could still perceive certain facts of the supersensible worlds,\nbut this perception was disappearing. For the intellectual faculties were\nat that time beginning to develop and it was their mission to at first\nexclude man from the higher worlds. In the fifth period supersensible\nfacts which in the third period were perceived in hazy clairvoyance, are\nagain becoming manifest; but they are now interpenetrated by the\nintellectual and emotional life of the individual man. They are also\nimbued with what may be imparted to the soul by a knowledge of the Christ\nMystery; therefore they assume a form totally different from that which\nthey had previously.\n\nWhereas in ancient times impressions from the higher worlds were felt as\nforces acting from out a spiritual world to which man did not properly\nbelong, through development in later times these impressions are felt as\nthose of a world into which man is growing, of which he more and more\nforms a part. Let no one suppose that a repetition of the Egypto-Chaldean\ncivilization can take place in such a way that the soul would merely\nregain what then existed, and which has been handed on from that time. The\nChrist-impulse, rightly understood, impels the human soul which has\nexperienced it, to feel and conduct itself as a member of a spiritual\nworld, now recognizing it as a world to which it belongs, outside of which\nit previously existed.\n\nIn the same way that the third reappears in the fifth period, in order to\nbecome penetrated with those new qualities which the human soul gained\nduring the fourth, so similarly the second period will revive within the\nsixth and the first, the ancient Indian, during the seventh. All the\nmarvelous wisdom of ancient India which the great teachers of that day\nwere able to proclaim, will reappear in the seventh period, as living\ntruth in human souls.\n\nNow the changes in the earthly environment of man take place in a manner\nwhich bears a certain relationship to his own evolution. When the seventh\nperiod has run its course, the earth will experience an upheaval which may\nbe compared with the one which separated Atlantean from post-Atlantean\ntimes. And the transformed earth will again continue its evolution in\nseven divisions of time. The human souls which will then incarnate will\nexperience, on a more exalted level, the kinship with the higher worlds\nwhich was possessed by the Atlanteans at a lower stage. But only those\nindividuals will be able to cope with the new conditions of the earth who\nhave built into their souls the qualities made possible by the influences\nof the Greco-Roman age, and of the periods following it,\u2014the fifth, sixth,\nand seventh of the post-Atlantean evolution.\n\nThe inner nature of such souls will correspond to that which the earth has\nbecome by that time. All other souls must then remain behind, although up\nto that point they had been able to choose whether or not they would\ncreate for themselves the conditions necessary to advance with the others.\nThose souls alone will be ripe for the conditions arising after the next\ngreat catastrophe, who at the point of transition from the fifth to the\nsixth post-Atlantean period have attained the capacity for penetrating\nsupersensible cognition with the forces of intelligence and feeling. The\nfifth and sixth are in a way the decisive periods. Those souls which have\nattained the goal of the sixth period will continue to develop accordingly\nin the seventh; but the others will, under the altered conditions of their\nsurroundings, find but little opportunity to proceed with their neglected\ntask. Only in a distant future will conditions again appear which will\npermit of this being done.\n\nThus evolution proceeds from period to period. Clairvoyance observes not\nonly those changes in the future in which the earth alone takes part, but\nthose also which take place in conjunction with the heavenly bodies in its\nenvironment. A time will come in which the terrestrial and human evolution\nwill be advanced so far that those forces and beings which were compelled\nto detach themselves from the earth during the Lemurian period, so as to\nafford to earth-beings the possibility of further progress, will be able\nonce more to unite with the earth. Then the moon will again be united with\nthe earth. This will happen because a sufficiently large number of human\nsouls will then possess the inner powers which will enable them to render\nthe Moon forces fruitful for further development. And this will occur at a\ntime when, side by side with the high development of a certain number of\nhuman souls, another development, that of those who have chosen the path\nof evil, will parallel it. These straggler-souls will have accumulated in\ntheir Karma so much sin, ugliness and evil, that at first they will form a\nseparate community, a perverse and erring section of humanity, keenly\nopposing what we understand as \u201cgood.\u201d The \u201cgood\u201d humanity will acquire\nlittle by little the power of using the Moon forces, and will thereby so\ntransform the evil section as to enable it to keep pace with the advance\nof evolution as a separate earth kingdom. Through these labours of the\ngood part of humanity, the earth, then reunited with the moon, will be\nable, after a certain period of development, to again unite with the sun\nand also with the other planets.\n\nAfter an intermediate state, which will be a sojourn in a higher world,\nthe earth will be transformed into the Jupiter condition. That which we\nnow call the mineral kingdom will not exist on Jupiter; the forces of this\nmineral kingdom will be transformed into plant forces and the plant\nkingdom, which will have quite a new form compared with its present one,\nwill appear in the Jupiter state as the lowest of the kingdoms, while\nabove it, we find the animal kingdom, likewise transformed. Next comes a\nhuman kingdom\u2014the descendants of the evil earth humanity. And then will\nappear the descendants of the good earth humanity, as a human kingdom on a\nhigher level. A great part of the work of this last human kingdom consists\nin ennobling the souls which have sunk into the evil community, so that\nthey may still gain admittance into the true human kingdom.\n\nThe Venus condition will be of such a nature that the plant kingdom will\nhave disappeared also; the lowest kingdom will be the animal kingdom once\nmore transformed, and above that there will be three successive human\nkingdoms of different degrees of perfection. The earth will remain united\nwith the sun during the Venus period; while during that of Jupiter it will\nhave happened that, at a certain point, the sun separates from Jupiter,\nthe latter receiving its influence from outside. Then there is again a\nunion between the sun and Jupiter, the transformation gradually passing\ninto the Venus state. During that state another planet detaches itself\nfrom Venus, containing all kinds of beings which have opposed evolution,\nan \u201cirredeemable moon,\u201d as it were, following a path of evolution which is\nof a character impossible to describe, because it is too unlike anything\nwhich man can experience on earth. But evolved humanity will pass on in a\nfully spiritualized state of existence to the Vulcan evolution, a\ndescription of which lies beyond the scope of this work.\n\nWe see that from the fruits of the \u201cWisdom of the Grail\u201d springs the\nhighest ideal of human evolution conceivable for man: spiritualization\nattained by him through his own efforts. For in the end this\nspiritualization appears as a product of the harmony which he wrought out\nin the fifth and sixth periods of the present evolution, between the\nfaculties of reason and emotion which he had then attained and cognition\nof supersensible worlds. That which he thus achieves within his soul will\nfinally become in itself the outer world. The human spirit rises to the\nmighty impressions of its outer world and at first divines, later\nrecognizes spiritual beings behind these impressions; the human heart\nsenses the unspeakable exaltedness of the Spirit. Man can, however, also\nrecognize that his inner experiences of intellect, feeling and character\nare but the germs of a nascent spirit world.\n\nHe who thinks that human liberty is not compatible with a foreknowledge\nand predestination of future conditions, ought to consider that man\u2019s\nfreedom of action in the future depends just as little on the arrangement\nof predestined things as does his liberty of action with regard to\ninhabiting a house a year hence, on the plans for which he is now\nsettling. He will be as free as his innermost being will permit, within\nthe house he has built; and he will be as free on Jupiter and on Venus as\nhis inner life permits, even under the conditions which will arise there.\nFreedom will not depend on what has been predetermined by antecedent\nconditions, but on what the soul has made out of itself.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nIn the earth condition is contained that which has developed within the\npreceding Saturn, Sun and Moon states. Earth-man finds \u201cwisdom\u201d in the\nprocesses going on around him. This wisdom is there as the fruit of what\nhas happened in the past. The Earth is the descendant of the \u201cold Moon\u201d;\nand the latter developed with all that belonged to it, into the \u201cCosmos of\nWisdom.\u201d The Earth is now at the commencement of an evolution, which will\nintroduce a new force into this wisdom. It will cause man to feel himself\nan independent member of a spiritual world. This will come to pass because\nhis ego will have been formed within him during the Earth period by the\nLords of Form, as was his physical body on Saturn by the Lords of Will,\nhis vital body on the Sun by the Lords of Wisdom, and his astral body on\nthe Moon by the Lords of Motion.\n\nBy means of the co-operation of the Lords of Will, Wisdom and Motion, that\nwhich manifests as wisdom is brought forth. Through the labours of these\nthree classes of spirits, the beings and processes of earth can harmonize\nin wisdom with the other beings of their world. It is the Lords of Form\nwho bestowed on man his independent ego. In the future this ego will\nharmonize with the beings of Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and of Vulcan, by\nmeans of the force added to the existing wisdom during the Earth period.\nIt is the force of love. This force must begin to arise within\nearth-humanity and the Cosmos of Wisdom develop into a _Cosmos of Love_.\nEverything which the ego is able to unfold within itself must give birth\nto love. The all-embracing archetype of love is set forth in the\nrevelation of that lofty Sun-spirit indicated in the description of the\nChrist Mystery. Through Him the germ of love is planted in the innermost\ncore of the human being; and from this starting-point it must flow through\nthe whole of evolution. Just as the wisdom previously formed manifests in\nthe forces of the earthly sense-world, in the \u201celementary forces\u201d of\nto-day, so love itself will manifest in the future, in all phenomena, as\nthe new \u201celementary force.\u201d\n\nThe secret of all future development is a recognition that everything\nachieved by man from a right comprehension of evolution is a sowing of\nseed which must ripen into love. And the greater the amount of love-force,\nso much the greater will be the creative force available for the future.\nIn that which will grow from love, will lie the mighty forces leading to\nthat culminating point of spiritualization described above. The greater\nthe amount of spiritual knowledge that flows into human and terrestrial\nevolution, so much more living and fruitful seed will be stored up for the\nfuture. Spiritual knowledge is transmuted _through its own nature_ into\nlove. The whole process which has been described, beginning with the\nGreco-Roman period and extending throughout the present time, shows how\nthis transformation, for which the beginning has now been made for future\ntimes, is to take place and to what end. That which has been prepared as\nwisdom on Saturn, Sun and Moon, is active in the physical, etheric and\nastral bodies of man; it shows itself there as the \u201cWisdom of the World\u201d,\nbut within the \u201cego\u201d it becomes intensified. The wisdom of the outer world\nbecomes inner wisdom in man from the Earth period onward and when it is\nconcentrated in him, it becomes the germ of love. Wisdom is the necessary\npreliminary condition for love; love is the fruit of wisdom, reborn in the\nego.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII. DETAILS FROM THE DOMAIN OF OCCULT SCIENCE MAN\u2019S ETHERIC BODY\n\n\nWhen the higher principles of man are observed with clairvoyant vision,\nthe mode of perception is never precisely the same as that which comes\nfrom the outer senses. If we touch an object, and experience a sensation\nof warmth, we must distinguish between that which comes from the object,\nthat which, as it were, streams out from it, and our own psychic\nexperience. The inner psychic experience of perceiving warmth is something\ndistinct from the heat which streams from the object. Now let us imagine\nthis psychic experience quite by itself without the outer object. Let us\ncall up the experience of a sensation of heat in our soul, without the\npresence of any external physical object to cause it. If such a sensation\nsimply existed _without_ cause, it would be mere fancy. The student of\noccult science experiences such inner perceptions without any physical\ncause. But at a certain stage of development they present themselves in\nsuch a manner that he knows (it has been shown that by the very nature of\nthe experience he can know) that the inner perception is not fancy, but is\ncaused by a psycho-spiritual being belonging to a supersensible world,\njust as the ordinary sensation of heat, for example, is caused by an\nexternal physical-sense object.\n\nIt is the same with the perception of colour in the supersensible world.\nHere we must distinguish between the colour associated with the outer\nobject, and the inner colour-sensation in the soul. Let us call up the\nsoul\u2019s inner sensation when it perceives a _red_ object in the physical,\nouter world of the senses. Let us imagine that we retain a very vivid\nrecollection of the impression, but that we are looking away from the\nobject. Let us imagine what we still retain as a memory-picture of the\ncolour, to be an inner experience. We shall then distinguish between that\nwhich is an inner experience of the colour, and the external colour\nitself. These inner experiences differ entirely in their content from\nimpressions of the outer senses. They bear much more the impress of what\nis felt as joy and sorrow than that of normal physical sensation. Now let\nus imagine an inner experience of this kind arising in the soul, without\nany suggestion from an outer sense object. A clairvoyant may have an\nexperience of this kind, and may know too, in that case, that it is no\nfancy, but the expression of a psycho-spiritual being. Now if this\npsycho-spiritual being excites the same impression as does a red object of\nthe physical-sense world, then that being is red. There will, however,\nalways be the external impression first, and then the inner experience of\ncolour, in the case of the physical-sense object; in that of the genuine\nclairvoyance of a man of to-day, it _must_ be the contrary,\u2014first the\ninner experience, shadowy, like a mere recollection of colour, and then a\npicture, growing more and more vivid. The less heed we pay to this\nnecessary sequence of events the less we are able to distinguish between\nactual, spiritual perception and the delusions of fancy (illusion,\nhallucination, etc.).\n\nThe vividness of the picture in a psycho-spiritual perception of this\nkind, whether it remains quite shadowy, like a dim concept, or whether it\nimpresses us as intensively as an outer object, depends altogether upon\nthe clairvoyant\u2019s stage of development. Now, the general impression\nobtained by the clairvoyant of the etheric body, may be thus described.\nWhen the clairvoyant has strengthened his will power to such a degree\nthat, in spite of the fact that an individual stands before him in a\nphysical body, he can abstract his attention from what the physical eye\nsees,\u2014he is then able to see clairvoyantly into the space occupied by the\nman\u2019s physical body. Of course, a great increase of will power is\nnecessary, in order to withdraw the attention not only from something in\nthe mind, but from something standing before one, in such a way that the\nphysical impression is quite extinguished. But this increase of will is\npossible, and is brought about by exercises for the attainment of\nsupersensible cognition. The clairvoyant can then first have a general\nimpression of the etheric body. Within his soul there arises the same\ninner sensation which he has, let us say, at the sight of a peach blossom;\nthen this becomes vivid, so that he is able to say that the etheric body\nhas the colour of peach blossoms. He next perceives the separate organs\nand currents of the etheric body. A further description of the etheric\nbody may be given by relating the psychic experiences which correspond to\nsensations of heat or of sound-impressions, etc., for this etheric body is\nnot merely a colour phenomenon. The astral body and the other principles\nof the human being, may also be described in like manner. He who takes\nthis into consideration will understand just how descriptions should be\ntaken which are given by occult science.\n\nThe Astral World\n\nAs long as we observe the physical world only, the earth, as man\u2019s\ndwelling place, appears like a separate cosmic body. But when\nsupersensible cognition rises to higher spheres, this separation ceases.\nThus one can say that the imagination, when beholding the earth, at the\nsame time also perceives the Moon condition as it has developed up to the\npresent time.\n\nNow that world which is entered in this way is one to which not only the\nsupersensible part of the Earth belongs, but is one in which also other\ncosmic bodies are imbedded, which in a physical sense are entirely\nseparate from the earth. Therefore, the observer of supersensible worlds\nthus beholds not only the supersensible part of the earth, but also the\nsupersensible part of other cosmic beings. If one should be impelled to\nask why clairvoyants do not describe the appearance of Mars, etc., he\nshould bear in mind that it is primarily a question of observing\nsupersensible conditions of other planetary bodies, whereas the questioner\nis thinking of physical sense conditions. Therefore in this work it was\npossible to speak of certain relations of the earth\u2019s evolution to the\nsimultaneous evolution on Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, etc. Now when the human\nastral body has been drawn away by sleep, it belongs not only to the\nearth, but to worlds of which still other regions of the universe (stellar\nworlds) are a part. Indeed, these worlds extend their influence to man\u2019s\nastral body even when he is awake. For this reason the name \u201castral body\u201d\nappears to be justified.\n\nOf Man\u2019s Life After Death\n\nMention has been made, in the course of this book, of the time during\nwhich the astral body still remains joined to the etheric body of man\nafter death. During this time there exists a slowly paleing recollection\nof the whole earth life just ended. The duration of this time varies in\ndifferent individuals. It depends upon the strength with which the astral\nbody clings to the etheric body, on the power which the former has over\nthe latter. Supersensible cognition can gain an idea of this power by\nobserving a person who, judging from his degree of fatigue, must of\nnecessity fall asleep, but, by sheer inner force, keeps awake. It then\nappears that different people can keep awake for different lengths of time\nwithout being overpowered by sleep. The memory of the past life, in other\nwords the connection with the etheric body, lasts about as long after\ndeath as the length of time a man can keep awake when, in the most extreme\ncase, he is compelled to.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nWhen the etheric body is detached from the individual after death,\nsomething of it nevertheless remains for man\u2019s whole subsequent\ndevelopment; this may be described as an extract, or the essence of it.\nThis extract contains the result of the past life, and is the vehicle of\nall that which, during man\u2019s spiritual development between death and a new\nbirth, unfolds like a germ for the following life.\n\n                  \u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\u2010\n\nThe duration of time between death and a new birth is determined by the\nfact that the ego, as a rule, returns to the physical sense-world only\nwhen that world has been so transformed that the ego can experience\nsomething new. During its sojourn in spiritual regions, its dwelling place\non earth undergoes a change. But this change is connected with the great\nchanges in the universe, with changes in the constellation of the earth,\nsun and so forth. These are changes in which certain repetitions take\nplace, in connection with new conditions. They find an external expression\nin the fact, for example, that the point in the vault of heaven at which\nthe sun rises at the beginning of spring makes a complete circuit in the\ncourse of about twenty-six thousand years. Hence this vernal point, in the\ncourse of the period mentioned, moves from one region of the heavens to\nanother. In the course of the twelfth part of that time, that is to say,\nin about twenty-one hundred years, conditions on the earth have changed\nsufficiently for the human soul to experience something new upon it since\nits previous incarnation. However, since the experiences of an individual\nvary according to whether he is incarnated as a woman or as a man, there\nare, as a rule, two incarnations within the time stated, one as a man and\none as a woman. But these things are also dependent upon the nature of the\nforces which man carries with him from his earthly existence through\ndeath. Therefore all the statements given here are to be taken only in a\ngeneral sense, but can be subject to the greatest variations in special\ncases.\n\nThe Course Of Human Life\n\nMan\u2019s life, as it manifests itself in the sequence of events between birth\nand death, can be fully understood only by taking into account both the\nphysical body with its senses and the changes undergone by man\u2019s\nsupersensible principles. Occult science views those changes in the\nfollowing manner. Physical birth is seen to be the detachment of the human\nbeing from its maternal covering. Forces which before birth the embryo\nshared in common with its mother\u2019s body, are present independently in the\nchild after birth. But in later life supersensible events, similar to\nthose of the sense-world at physical birth, become perceptible to\nsupersensible observation. That is, the etheric body of the human being up\nto the change of teeth (the sixth or seventh year) is still enveloped in\nan etheric sheath. The etheric sheath falls away at that period, and then\nthe \u201cbirth\u201d of the etheric body occurs. But man is still surrounded by an\nastral sheath, which falls away between its twelfth and sixteenth year (at\nthe time of puberty). This is the \u201cbirth\u201d of the astral body; and at a\nstill later period the real ego is born.(33)\n\nNow after the birth of the ego, man lives in such a way that he adapts\nhimself to the conditions of the world and of life, and occupies himself\nwithin them, in accordance with the principles active through his ego,\u2014the\nsentient,- the intellectual- and the consciousness-soul. Then there comes\na time in which the etheric body retraces the process of its development\nfrom the seventh year onward, in reverse order. At first the astral body\nhas so developed itself that it unfolds that which was present within it\nat birth as a germ. After the birth of the ego, this astral body enriches\nitself by experiencing the outer world. Finally, at a definite time, it\nbegins to nourish itself spiritually by consuming its own etheric body; it\nactually lives upon the etheric body. The decay of the physical body in\nold age is a consequence of this.\n\nThe course of human life therefore falls into three divisions: a time of\nunfoldment for the physical and etheric bodies, then one in which the\nastral body and the ego develop, and lastly that in which the etheric and\nphysical bodies are changed back again. But the astral body plays a part\nin all the events that take place between birth and death. Since it is\nreally born in a spiritual sense only between the twelfth and sixteenth\nyears and must, during man\u2019s declining years, draw upon the forces of the\netheric and physical bodies, that which it is able to perform by its own\npowers will develop more slowly than if it were not within a physical and\nan etheric body. After death, when the physical and etheric bodies have\nfallen away, evolution, during the time of purification, proceeds in such\na manner that it occupies about one-third of the duration of life between\nbirth and death.\n\nThe Higher Regions Of The Spiritual World\n\nBy imagination, inspiration, and intuition, supersensible cognition\ngradually ascends into those regions of the spiritual world within which\nit can reach the beings who have to do with human and cosmic evolution.\nAnd thus it also becomes possible to trace human evolution between death\nand a new birth in such a way that it becomes comprehensible. Now there\nare still higher regions of existence, which can only be briefly indicated\nhere. When supersensible cognition has risen to intuition, it lives in a\nworld of spiritual beings. These too, are evolving. That which concerns\nhumanity of the present day extends upward, in a certain sense, as far as\nthe world of intuition. True, man receives impulses from yet higher worlds\nin the course of his evolution between death and re-birth. But he does not\nexperience these impulses directly; they are brought to him by beings\nbelonging to the spiritual world. And if these are considered, everything\nthat happens reveals itself to man. But the special conditions of these\nbeings, that which they themselves require in order to guide human\nevolution, can only be observed by means of a cognition that transcends\nintuition. We thus have a glimpse of worlds which we must so picture that\nwithin them the most highly spiritual features of the earth are there\namong the lowest. Logical decisions, for example, count among the highest\nthings within the earthly sphere; while the activities of the mineral\nkingdom are among the lowest. Now in those higher spheres, logical\ndecisions correspond to about what the mineral activities are on earth.\nAbove the domain of intuition, lies the region in which the cosmic plan is\nwoven out of spiritual causes.\n\nThe Principles Of Man\n\nWhen it is said that the ego works on the human principles, on the\nphysical, etheric, and astral bodies, and transforms them in reverse order\ninto Spirit-Self, Life-Spirit, and Spirit-Man, this statement relates to\nthe work of the ego on the human being by means of the highest faculties,\nthe development of which was begun only under earthly conditions. But this\ntransformation is preceded at a lower level by another change, giving rise\nto the sentient-, the intellectual- or rational-, and the\nconsciousness-soul. For while, in the course of human evolution, the\nsentient-soul is being formed, changes are taking place in the astral\nbody; the growth of the intellectual-soul expresses itself in\ntransformations in the etheric body; and that of the consciousness-soul in\nsimilar transformations in the physical body. Fuller information on this\nsubject has been given in this book in the accounts of the evolution of\nthe earth. Thus in a certain sense we may say that the sentient-soul\nitself is the result of a transformed astral body, the intellectual- or\nrational-soul of a transformed etheric body, and the consciousness-soul of\na transformed physical body. But we may also say that these three\ndivisions of the soul are parts of the astral body; for example, the\nconsciousness-soul is only possible because it is an astral entity\nexisting in a physical body suited to it. It lives an astral life within a\nphysical body fashioned to be its dwelling place.\n\nThe Dream State\n\nA description of the dream state has been given in another chapter of this\nbook. On the one hand it is to be regarded as a relic of the old\npicture-consciousness peculiar to man during the Moon evolution, and also\nduring a great part of the evolution of the Earth. Evolution goes forward\nin such a way that earlier conditions resolve themselves into later ones.\nAnd so, in the dream state, there now appears in man a relic of what was\nonce his normal condition. But at the same time this condition from\nanother aspect is different from the old picture-consciousness. For since\nits development, the ego also has taken part in those activities of the\nastral body which are carried on during sleep in the dream life. Thus\nthrough the presence of the ego there arises in dreams a transformed\npicture-consciousness. But since the ego does not consciously exercise its\nauthority over the astral body during dream life, nothing belonging to the\nsphere of that life can be regarded as being really able to lead to a\nknowledge of higher worlds in an occult sense. Something similar holds\ngood with regard to what is often called vision, premonition, or \u201csecond\nsight.\u201d These arise through silencing the ego and the consequent\nappearance of remnants of the old condition of consciousness. In spiritual\nscience these are of no value. What may be observed in them cannot in any\nreal sense be regarded as a result of it.\n\nThe Attainment Of Supersensible Knowledge\n\nThe path to the attainment of knowledge of the higher worlds, which has\nbeen more fully described in this book, may also be called the \u201cdirect\npath of knowledge.\u201d In addition to this path there is another, which we\nmay designate as the \u201cpath of feeling.\u201d It would be quite a mistake,\nhowever, to believe that the former had nothing to do with the development\nof feeling. On the contrary, it leads to the greatest possible deepening\nof the life of feeling. But the \u201cpath of feeling\u201d addresses itself\ndirectly and solely to the feelings, and seeks from this point to rise to\nknowledge. It rests on the fact that when the soul entirely surrenders\nitself to a feeling for a certain length of time, the latter is\ntransformed into knowledge, into imaginative perception. When, for\nexample, the soul is filled for weeks or months, or even longer, with the\nfeeling of humility, the content of the feeling becomes transformed into a\nperception. Now a path leading to supersensible regions may be found by\ndevoting oneself to such feelings one by one; but for the man of today,\nbound by the ordinary circumstances of life, this is not easily carried\nout. Solitude, retirement from the life of the present day, is almost\nindispensable. For the impressions of everyday life disturb the soul\nespecially at the beginning of development, through absorption in certain\nfeelings. On the other hand, the path of knowledge described in this book\ncan be pursued in every situation of present-day life.\n\nObservation Of Special Events And Beings In The Spiritual World\n\nThe question may be asked whether inner concentration and the other means\ndescribed for the attainment of supersensible cognition permit us to\nobserve only in a general way what happens between death and a new birth\nor other spiritual events; or whether they furnish the possibility of\nobserving quite definite events and beings, as, for example, any given\ndeceased person. To this we must answer that one who has acquired the\nability to see in the spiritual world by the methods explained, can also\nperceive particular events which occur there; he acquires the power of\nputting himself in communication with individuals living in the spiritual\nworld between death and a new birth. It must be observed, however, that in\nan occult sense this ought to take place only after the proper training\nrequired for supersensible cognition has been undergone. For not until\nthen is it possible to distinguish between illusion and reality, in regard\nto certain events and beings. A man who tries to observe particular cases\nwithout due instruction, may fall a victim to innumerable deceptions. The\ntraining which leads to the observation in higher worlds of what has been\ndescribed in this book, also leads to the ability to trace the post-mortem\nlife of any special individual, and no less does it lead to the\nobservation and comprehension of all psycho-spiritual beings who, from the\nhidden worlds, work upon the visible ones. Correct observation of\nindividual cases is only possible, however, on the basis of a knowledge of\nthe universal great facts of the spiritual world,\u2014facts regarding the\nworld and humanity which concern every human being. The desire for the one\nwithout the other, leads one into error.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n    1 We may also say, it could only live the life of a plant in the\n      physical body.\n\n    2 Explanations such as those given in this book regarding the faculty\n      of memory may very easily be misunderstood. For one who observes\n      external events only would not at first sight notice the difference\n      between what happens in the animal, or even in the plant, when\n      something appears in them resembling memory, and what is here\n      characterized as actual recollection in man. Of course, when an\n      animal has performed an action for a third or fourth time it may\n      perform it in such a way that the outer process gives the impression\n      that memory and the training associated with it are present. Nay, we\n      may even extend our conception of memory or of recollection as far\n      as some naturalists and their disciples, when they point out that\n      the chicken begins to pick up grain as soon as it comes out of the\n      shell; that it even knows the proper movements of head and body for\n      gaining its end. It could not have learned this in the eggshell;\n      hence it must have done so through the thousands and thousands of\n      creatures from which it is descended (so says Hering, for example).\n      We may call the phenomenon before us something resembling memory,\n      but we shall never arrive at a real comprehension of human nature if\n      we do not take into account that every distinctive element which\n      shows itself in the human being as an inner process, as an actual\n      perception of earlier experiences at a later date, is not merely the\n      working of earlier conditions in later ones. In this book it is this\n      perception of what is past that is called memory, not alone the\n      reappearance (even though transformed) of what once existed, in a\n      later form. Were we to use the word memory for the corresponding\n      processes in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, we should be\n      required to use a different word in speaking of man. In the\n      description given here the important thing is not the particular\n      word used, but rather that in attempting to understand human beings\n      this distinction should be recognized. Just as little do the\n      apparently very intelligent actions of animals have any relation to\n      what is _here_ called memory.\n\n    3 The term \u201cVerstandesseele\u201d is sometimes translated by \u201crational\n      soul.\u201d From a certain point of view one might prefer the term\n      \u201cintellectual soul,\u201d because it expresses better the activity of the\n      soul than does \u201crational soul.\u201d In the latter one thinks of the\n      knowledge about a perception; in intellectuality, one thinks of the\n      actual possibility of forming this knowledge through inward\n      activity. In German the expression \u201cemotional soul\u201d only coincides\n      as it should with the second member of the soul when the inward\n      activity is kept in view.\n\n    4 No hard and fast line can be drawn between the changes which are\n      accomplished in the astral body through the activity of the ego and\n      those taking place in the etheric body. The one merges into the\n      other. When a man learns something, and thereby gains a certain\n      capacity for judgment, a change takes place in his astral body; but\n      when this judgment changes his natural disposition, so that he\n      habituates himself to _feel_ differently, in consequence of his\n      learning, from what he did before, this means a change in his\n      etheric body. Everything that becomes so much a man\u2019s own that he\n      can always recall it, is based on the transformation of the etheric\n      body. That which little by little becomes an abiding possession of\n      the memory has its foundation in the transmission to the etheric\n      body of the work of the astral body.\n\n    5 As a matter of fact, it is always very profitable for any one who is\n      taking up the study of occult science to acquaint himself with the\n      statements of those who regard this science as merely fanciful. Such\n      statements cannot be so easily branded as due to partiality on the\n      part of the observer. Let occultists learn as much as possible from\n      those who regard their efforts as nonsense. They need not be\n      disturbed if in this respect their love is not reciprocated. Occult\n      observation assuredly does not require such things for the\n      verification of its results, nor are these allusions intended as\n      proofs but as illustrations.\n\n    6 In current theosophical literature, the condition of the ego from\n      death to the end of purification is called \u201cKamaloca.\u201d\n\n    7 The assertion that a man\u2019s personal talents, if governed purely by\n      the law of \u201cheredity,\u201d must show themselves at the beginning of a\n      line of descent, not at its end, might of course easily be\n      misunderstood. It might be said, indeed, that they could not show\n      themselves then, for they must first be developed. But this is no\n      objection; for if we wish to prove that something has been inherited\n      from an ancestor, we must show how that which was there formerly is\n      repeated in a descendant. Now if it were demonstrated that something\n      existed at the beginning of a genealogical line which reappeared in\n      its further course, we might speak of heredity. We cannot do so when\n      something appears at the end of it which was not there before. The\n      reversal of the above proposition is only to show that the belief in\n      heredity is impossible.\n\n    8 In different chapters of this book it has been shown how the world\n      of humanity, and man himself, pass, in their progressive evolution,\n      through conditions which have been named Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth,\n      Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan. The relationship has also been indicated\n      in which human evolution stands with regard to the celestial bodies\n      which exist besides the earth and which are called saturn, jupiter,\n      mars, and so on. These latter planets are also passing through their\n      evolution in the natural way. At the present period they have\n      reached such a stage that their physical portions are seen as those\n      bodies which physical astronomy calls saturn, jupiter, mars, and so\n      forth. Now when the saturn of the present day is observed by\n      occultism it is seen to be, in a certain sense, a reincarnation of\n      the old Saturn. It has come into existence because of the presence\n      of certain beings, who before the separation of the sun from the\n      earth were unable, like the others, to leave with the sun. The\n      reason of this was that they had gained so many qualities which are\n      suitable for a saturn existence, that their place could not be where\n      the qualities of the sun were specially unfolded. The present\n      jupiter, however, arose in consequence of the presence of beings\n      possessed of qualities which can only be matured on the future\n      jupiter of the whole evolution. A dwelling place appeared for them\n      on which they can already begin in anticipation of this later\n      evolution.\n\n      In the same way mars is a planetary body on which dwell beings whose\n      lunar evolution was such that further progress on the earth could\n      bring them nothing. Mars is a reincarnation of the old Moon at a\n      higher stage. The present mercury is the dwelling place of beings\n      who are beyond the evolution of the earth; but this is just because\n      they have developed certain qualities in a higher way than is\n      possible on the earth itself. The present venus is a prophetic\n      anticipation of the future Venus condition of a similar kind. It is\n      consequently justifiable to give to the conditions preceding and\n      following the Earth the names of their corresponding representatives\n      in the universe.\n\n    9 Therefore it is perhaps scarcely necessary to remark that what has\n      been described above could never actually happen. A contemporary\n      man, as he is, could not have approached ancient Saturn as a\n      spectator. The account was given merely for the sake of\n      illustration.\n\n   10 In Christian spiritual science they bear the name of \u201cKyriotetes,\u201d\n      that is, \u201cDominions.\u201d\n\n   11 In Christian esoteric science they are called \u201cThrones.\u201d\n\n   12 The Christian \u201cDynamis,\u201d or \u201cPowers.\u201d\n\n   13 The Christian \u201cExusiai,\u201d or \u201cAuthorities.\u201d\n\n   14 The Christian \u201cArchai,\u201d or \u201cPrincipalities.\u201d\n\n   15 The Christian \u201cArchangeloi,\u201d or \u201cArchangels.\u201d\n\n   16 The Christian \u201cSeraphim.\u201d\n\n   17 The Christian \u201cAngeloi,\u201d or \u201cAngels.\u201d\n\n   18 The Christian \u201cCherubim.\u201d\n\n   19 The gas appears to clairvoyant consciousness through the effect of\n      light which emanates from it. We might therefore speak also of light\n      forms, which are apparent to spiritual vision.\n\n   20 In current theosophical literature they are called \"rounds.\" Yet, if\n      we bear in mind the more graphic description already given, we shall\n      guard against a too schematic concept of such matters.\n\n   21 In the next few pages, Sun and Moon are printed with capital letters\n      when the _old_ evolutions are referred to, but are printed \u201csun\u201d and\n      \u201cmoon\u201d when the Earth period is indicated.\u2014_Translator_.\n\n   22 Further particulars on this subject will be found in my book,\n      _Atlantis and Lemuria_, which deals with man\u2019s ancestors.\n\n   23 More detailed information about these Mysteries of antiquity is to\n      be found in my book, \u201cChristianity as Mystical Fact.\u201d More\n      particulars will be given in the last chapter of the present work.\n\n   24 What is to be said further on this subject will be given in a later\n      chapter dealing with supersensible knowledge.\n\n   25 All sagas concerning the twilight of the gods, and similar\n      traditions, had their origin in this knowledge of the Mysteries in\n      Europe.\n\n   26 It is a matter of no moment whatever whether the above thoughts are\n      warranted or not by any of the views held by natural science. For\n      the object is to develop such thoughts about the plant and man as\n      may\u2014irrespective of all theories\u2014be gained by means of simple and\n      direct contemplation. Such thoughts are of importance side by side\n      with no less significant theoretical presentments of things in the\n      external world; and here the thoughts are not adduced in order to\n      prove a fact scientifically, but to construct a symbol that shall\n      prove effective, irrespective of whatever objections may be raised\n      by this or that person against its construction.\n\n   27 In my explanations of \u201cHow to attain Knowledge of the Higher\n      Worlds,\u201d translated under the title of _The Way of Initiation_ and\n      beginning at Chapter II, several other examples of methods of\n      meditation are given, and especially efficacious will be found one\n      which deals with the coming into being and fading away of a plant;\n      also another may be particularly recommended, based on the dormant\n      formative power dwelling in the seed of a plant, and others on the\n      form and structure of crystals, and other substances. But the\n      purpose in this book was only to show in one instance, the nature of\n      meditation.\n\n   28 Special exercises going into greater detail on this subject may be\n      found in my book entitled _The Way of Initiation_.\n\n   29 It must of course be clearly understood that such an appellation as\n      \u201clotus flower\u201d has no more bearing on the matter than has the\n      expression \u201cwing,\u201d if applied to the lobe of a lung.\n\n   30 In my books, entitled \u201c_The Way of Initiation_\u201d and \u201c_Initiation and\n      Its Results_,\u201d some of these methods of meditation and exercises for\n      acting upon these different organs are set forth.\n\n   31 The appellation \u201ctwo-petalled\u201d or \u201csixteen-petalled,\u201d and so on, is\n      used because the organs in question may be likened to flowers having\n      a corresponding number of petals.\n\n   32 Intuition is in everyday life a much-abused word, which is made to\n      stand for a vague and uncertain view of a matter; for some sort of\n      \u201cnotion,\u201d which, while it may possibly \u201chit\u201d the truth, can\n      nevertheless give no immediate proof of it. It is needless to say\n      that this kind of intuition is not meant here. Intuition, in this\n      case, stands for knowledge of the highest and most luminous\n      clearness, of the justification of which the possessor is, in the\n      fullest sense, conscious.\n\n   33 The suggestive points of view for the conduct of education resulting\n      from a knowledge of these supersensible facts are presented in my\n      little book, _The Education of Children from the Standpoint of\n      Spiritual Science_, in which will be found fuller details of what\n      can here only be hinted at.","title":"An Outline of Occult Science","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":112424}