The Sun Archive
A Resource for Spiritual Discovery & Inquiry
Ghosts I Have Seen
Foundation in Light of Anthroposophy
Note: This section is from the book. Facts and summaries can also be found throughout the website and may be redundant.
The pursuit of truths behind human activity, the world, and the cosmos has been the goal of all philosophers and seekers since the beginning of time. It is a lifelong study and practicum of training for the serious-minded student. It is not a dogmatic study that refrains from expanding outside of the box. A true spiritual study seeks to unveil the facts of the world that are clothed in a language that does not easily reveal the deeper meaning behind it. The seeker keeps themselves anchored in sound moral principles thus avoiding the pitfalls and traps of faulty thinking that await the one who pursues the deeper riddles of existence. This noble pursuit seeks to build a conscious and valid bridge to the spiritual worlds and accumulate genuine knowledge.
The greatest minds of humanity have continually sought the sacred knowledge of schools and facilities, in the ancient world, as referred to by Dr. Steiner as The Mysteries. The term applies to facilities, or academies, where formal structured training was undertaken by masters or hierophants. They are referred to as masters and initiates. The “Holy Mysteries” have always produced the greatest minds, and souls, in the world. The Mystery Centers of old produced the great Greek thinkers and sages such as Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras. The East and the West contained Mystery Centers clothed in a cultural context. In the ancient world, these people were a part of a task to bring the otherwise hidden knowledge of the universe to humanity. For the candidate of initiation, or “chela”, this is an ongoing and applied effort for a broader purpose that extends far beyond the accumulation of knowledge for the mere sake of knowledge. In esoteric studies, the term “Old Methods of Initiation” or “Old Mysteries”, which are no longer valid, generally applies to the period before Christ who is, in fact, the culmination and transformation of all of the Mysteries from every corner of the world. In spiritual science, since the time of Christ, they are now referred to as the “New Methods of Initiation” or the “New Mysteries” that are appropriate for the modern age.
Genuine knowledge is achieved by those who are objective and structured. Regardless of the discipline in which the focus is applied, it is scientific. Knowledge is taken a step further when one seeks to build and maintain a mature bridge to the spiritual worlds objectively. Casual and immature activity in this field is dangerous and often leads to false observations and attitudes that must later be corrected. Anthroposophy can lead one to a path that solves many of the risks, and issues, that arise from a casual path of spiritual study. In modern times, our knowledge of the spiritual worlds is founded and expanded upon by the testimony of those who have traveled beyond the barrier, or veil, that separates this world from the next.
Some achieve a breakthrough by way of an inherited faculty that varies greatly from one person to the next. In the modern world, the path of hypnosis has gained momentum and provided results for those seeking a path to uncover their past lives. Others have achieved insights by way of life-changing events such as near-death experiences and even lighting strikes when supersensible faculties are enlivened within them having passed temporarily into the spiritual worlds.[1] In the latter, the testimony provided is typically empirical, assuming that one’s memory is clear, in the sense that those who have crossed the bridge and returned to tell their story regarding their journey. These accounts, when genuine, are recounted faithfully and people are utterly transformed because of their experiences Thus, knowledge comes from a variety of sources and a seeker should always keep an open mind. Grasping basic spiritual facts and principles, however, is critical to progressing down the path in a clear, informed, and genuine way. Developing sound thought habits, willpower, and controlling one’s feelings and ideas that arise from the mystery of the soul is vital to this path; thus, it takes time. We must also remember that we are bringing our baggage with us, as it were, from prior lifetimes which must be addressed in terms of karma.
The goal of any genuine seeker is initiation. Initiates are mature and highly developed individuals who pursue missions and tasks in the world connected to the transformation of humanity. They are a part of a collegium, or brotherhood, of leading personalities who guide humanity forward in hidden ways through the oversight, and direction, of the divine higher beings who direct human evolution. Christ is the highest, and leading, divine being who directs the mission of the initiates. He worked through the body of the highest of initiates in human history, the soul that incarnated in the man known today as Jesus. The Archangel Michael, as revealed by Dr. Steiner, acts as a guardian over those who undertake the path of the Mysteries. Thus, a seeker eventually becomes a probationary candidate for initiation when the time is right. He or she then needs a genuine teacher who is willing to take the student, and the task, in accordance with the principles and laws of the collegium of the initiates. They oversee them on the long and difficult path of change. This is an ancient construct and one which I believe still holds true today. All people, however, now have direct access to the teacher of teachers; Christ-Jesus who oversees all of human evolution.
The ancient Egyptians, for example, who passed through the Mysteries had two teachers; a master in the physical world and a guardian in the spiritual world. They were in contact with both in a conscious way. All of us, including the author, can provide insights on our experiences and observations, but only a true initiate, through the Christ as a teacher, can lead one to the threshold of initiation where Christ-Jesus awaits the seeker. Thus, we turn to the insights gathered by one who attained a higher stage of consciousness through a mature path as a genuine spiritual initiate and teacher. For the sake of this study, that is Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) who founded the Anthroposophical Society which is headquartered in Dornach, Switzerland.
I have organized this chapter into sections with a high-level summary covering various topics thoroughly explained by Dr. Steiner through Anthroposophy. Some of Dr. Steiner’s observations, as actual experiences, have been validated by my own personal experiences. Dr. Steiner’s supersensible vision and consciousness were so vast that most human beings simply cannot grasp, or perceive, the realities and facts that he consciously observed through his mind’s eye. Thus, we follow his observations with faith recognizing one who has passed through the advanced stages of spiritual initiation in the modern world and who provided his observations in the spirit of benevolent transparency as a scientist and teacher. This chapter is not comprehensive and, as always, one should consult the sources of statements provided herein for veracity and further research.[2]
According to Wikipedia, the standard edition of Dr. Steiner's Collected Works constitutes about 422 volumes. This includes 44 volumes of his writings (books, essays, plays, and correspondence), over 6,000 lectures, and some 80 volumes documenting his artistic work (architecture, drawings, paintings, graphic design, furniture design, choreography, etc.). His architectural work which reaches its apex in the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland has also been documented extensively outside of the Collected Works. Thus, he left behind a massive body of knowledge for the aspiring student.
The original words of Dr. Steiner, as provided through lectures and books, were recorded in German and translated into other languages. Not all of his works have been translated into English. I quote from English translations in this work and did not attempt a first-hand translation of my own. For those who are well-versed in valid esoteric and spiritual principles, such as Anthroposophy, this overview will be redundant but for those to whom these principles have not been renewed in their consciousness, or it is the first time they have considered them in a spiritual-historical study, it is a decent if imperfect foundation upon which the context of this work can be better understood and utilized for further study and research.[3]
Key aspects of spiritual studies, much of which have been suppressed by church dogma and secular materialism in recent decades, include foundational elements such as reincarnation and karma, humanity’s transformation journey over time, the Spiritual Hierarchies, the Representative and Redeemer of Humanity as a Cosmic Being who oversees human evolution in Christ-Jesus, the Archangel Michael s the governing “regent” of our current world age, the Akashic Records, and the nature and reality of the spiritual struggle against the opposing powers which manifests itself in the physical world. The aspects outlined here are not comprehensive nor should they take precedence over any of Dr. Steiner’s works. Any disparities are the sole responsibility of the author and are not intentional. Oftentimes there are volumes of facts, relationships, and details behind the aspects of these basic foundational elements that require time, commitment, and study to approach and understand.
Footnotes:
[1] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s lecture The Principle of Spiritual Economy, GA 109, Lecture V. Results of Spiritual Scientific Investigations of the Evolution of Humanity. In this lecture Dr. Steiner pointed out that St. Thomas Aquinas achieved a transformation for spiritual perception when his sibling was killed by a lightning strike that triggered a change in his spiritual physiognomy and enabled a degree of clairvoyance. This has occurred in other human beings as well who find they have capabilities, and abilities, that they lacked before being struck by lightning.
[2] The lectures and books quoted by Dr. Steiner are available for free on www.rsarchive.com and other websites. References and inks are available on the author’s website www.judsonarchive.com.
[3] Refer to Rudolf Steiner’s Occult Science, An Outline, How to Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation, Knowledge of The Higher Worlds and Its Attainment: On Consciousness, Dream Life and Initiation, and his body of knowledge.
Aspect 1: Divine Guides and the Guardians of Humanity[1]
“…certain events in the more ancient history of mankind can be rightly understood only when we not merely observe the forces and faculties of the personalities themselves, but when we realize at the outset that through the personalities in question, as through instruments, Beings are working who allow their deeds to stream down from higher worlds into our world. We must realize that these Beings cannot take direct hold of the physical facts of our existence because, on account of the present stage of their development, they cannot incarnate in a physical body which draws its constituents from the physical world.
If, therefore, they desire to work within our physical world, they must make use of the physical human being — of his deeds, but also of his intellect, his powers of understanding. We find the influence and penetration of such Beings of the higher world the more clearly in evidence the farther back we go in the ages of the evolution of humanity. But it must not be imagined that this downpouring of forces and activities from the higher worlds into the physical world through human beings has ever ceased; it continues even into our own time.”[2]
Within the ongoing struggle of humanity’s transformation, and as each individual strives in our daily lives from birth through maturity and to death, regardless of one’s awareness thereabouts, each one of us is guided by higher beings who stand above physical existence and do not incarnate in the physical world. The divine spiritual beings oversee the world and humanity over long cycles of time. They influence and oversee the varied aspects of human activity including form, consciousness, destiny, cultures, and nations. Humanity was born, progresses, and changes over time. The relationships and roles of higher beings are vast and dynamic. According to Dr. Steiner, each group of divine beings brings a unique influence to the world based on their mission, conditions, and needs of the world and humanity at any given moment in time. Most of the higher divine beings do not incarnate in physical form; thus, they work through human beings in a variety of hidden ways. The Christ is one exception.
Rudolf Steiner observed that the spiritual hierarchy is a structure consisting of nine grades of divine beings.[3] Over the entire breadth of history, cycles of continuing changes are brought to humanity deliberately out of the spiritual worlds per the will and plan of divine beings. The modern secular views of evolution and nature as isolated forces that seem to work on their own are meaningless without considering the activities of the principalities, and groups, of higher beings who work out of the spiritual worlds. The human being and the physical world are a reflection and manifestation of the spiritual worlds. Humanity is a “microcosm” that was born out of the spiritual worlds, and the will of higher beings, that reflects the construct of the cosmos or “macrocosm”.
Serving the divine higher beings are many messengers, workers, and representatives. They come in many forms and work through all of the cultures across the world. In relation to the whole, this is a much smaller group of people that consists of mature and highly developed human beings who incarnate in the physical world and bring spiritual impulses through tasks and missions per the will and directive of higher beings. These messengers and individuals are the bridges between the divine and the physical world and embark on specific missions over the course of time.
The one exception of a higher being who incarnated in the physical world, having never done so before, is the Sun God, the Christ, who incarnated in the body of Jesus in 30AD and walked the earth for three years with the task of redeeming humanity and leading us to freedom through transformation. His entry into the physical world is the central aspect, and turning point, of human evolution. The Christ walked the earth and performed His mission on behalf of humanity precisely at the midpoint of human history. His divine impulse continues to unfold in the world and humanity and shall do so until the end of time. As His forces continue to permeate the world over time, human beings transform as they allow His influences to work within them and thus be constructively transformed. Some great leaders, such as Christian Rosenkreutz and Joan of Arc, have carried out genuine divine missions and affected significant changes in the world.[4]
The nine grades of higher beings work through seven spiritual spheres of activity, each of which is associated with a physical planetary body in our solar system. There are, in fact, seven spiritual spheres, cities, or planes that correlate to the planets in our solar system and not nine as modern astronomers have agreed upon in modern times. The planetary embodiments, however, are not physical in the sense that they are confined to Mars, Jupiter, etc. Rather, these are correlations that refer to stages of human evolution that also correlate to the planets of the solar system. Thus, there is a variance between how the physical sciences in the modern world standardize things and the actual spiritual fact behind it. The exalted higher beings of the Spiritual Hierarchies work in alignment with their spheres and planes of activity and interpolate one another, and their respective influences, in various ways.[5]
The divine beings that are closest to humanity and act as Guardians from one lifetime to the next are referred to as Angels, or Angeloi, by Rudolf Steiner.[6] Our guardian Angels, who exist one stage above humanity, act as guides and messengers who carry out the will of the Archangels who, in turn, exist one stage above the Angels. Dr. Steiner observed, and confirmed, that the Angels oversee each individual’s transformation from one life to the next in alignment with specific rules of engagement and a plan of growth and development. Below is a diagram created by the author that exemplifies Rudolf Steiner’s descriptions of the spiritual hierarchy.
*Not shown in the above diagram are the nine lower, or subsensible, spheres that exist within the earth as described by Dr. Steiner.
Each plane, or grade, of activity in the hierarchy, is intimately linked to the one below and above it. Based on Steiner’s descriptions, the hierarchy of celestial divine beings exist within three larger groups of activity.[7] The Archangels, or Folk Spirits, are two stages above humanity where, as one of their primary tasks, they guide the evolution of human beings through the development and transformation of nations and cultures. Both Angels and Archangels were at a human stage much earlier in human evolution and therefore have advanced far ahead of humanity.
“In order that, distributed amongst the various peoples of the Earth, the progressive development of successive epochs may be realized, in order that the widely differing ethnic types may be molded by a particular geographical area or community of language, in order that a particular form — language, architecture, art or science may flourish and their various metamorphoses receive all that the Spirit of the Age can pour into mankind — for this we need the Folk Spirits, who, in the hierarchy of higher Beings, belong to the Archangels.”[8]
The leading Archangels cycle through cadences and are referred to as regents, or leaders, in Anthroposophy who govern in cycles of 300-400 years. During these cycles, each Archangel brings a certain influence to humanity. Thus, they possess a quality of acting as regents who bring their impulses to humanity through successive increments of time, which is a characteristic of the Archai, who exist one stage higher above the Archangels. The Archangel Michael, as the leading member of the seven Archangels, has his seat in the Sun Sphere. It is the highest of the seven planetary spiritual spheres of activity and, like all of the Archangels and higher beings of a divine nature, works in alignment with the revelation of the Christ impulse and the light that He brings to humanity and the world. The current regency cycle began in 1879 and is under the leadership of the Archangel Michael.[9]
“…the spirits we count to the hierarchy of the Archangels rule only for three to four centuries. They alternate in such a way that about six or seven come one after the other, while a spirit of the ages is ruling. So that we have that Archangel we call Oriphiel in the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. Then Anael, Zachariel, Raphael, Samael, Gabriel rule successively; and now since 1879 we have the government of that Archangel we call Michael. So, we have, if we look at the spiritual worlds, the higher government of the spirits of the ages and subordinate to them, the successive governments of Archangels.”[10]
When taken together, these seven cycles of the Archangels equate to 2,160 years.[11] 2,160 years is the amount of time that the earth requires to finish one “house” of the zodiac. There are 12 “houses” of the zodiac that are required to complete one full rotation as the earth rotates against the fixed stars. Therefore, to pass through 12 houses of the zodiac, 25,920 years (12 x 2,160) is required. The number 25,920 is a physical rhythm but it is also a sacred, or esoteric, number tied to a cadence in the macrocosm which affects human evolution. Dr. Steiner revealed that 25,920 also ties to the average number of breaths that an individual takes in a full day (25.920/24 hours/60 minutes = 18 breaths per minute on average). Dr. Steiner also observed that the average number of years that a human being lives is 72 years (25,920 Days / 365 Days per year = 72 Years).
Steiner observed that there are seven “cultural” periods of 300-400 years, or ages, within our current moment in time which is referred to in Anthroposophy as the “5th Post Atlantean Epoch”. This epoch began with the final eclipse of Atlantis which occurred at about 9500BC (the new epoch began in about 7200BC as revealed by Steiner) and shall continue for approximately 15,000 years ending around the year 7900AD. This period of time represents seven cycles of the Archangels (354 years x 7 = 2,160 x 7 = 15,120 years).[12] The below table was created by the author portraying the cycles, and epochs, of human evolution from the perspective of the spiritual hierarchies. For further insights on the reasons for the vernacular used, refer to the expanded works of Dr. Steiner including the Cosmic Memory lecture series.
The actual number of higher beings in the universe is impossible to know. Dr. Steiner referred to 7 Archangels, thus if more exist in lesser roles, such as Folk-Souls, then those names have not been located by the author. Religious and theological treatises over the centuries compiled in the work A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels records hundreds, if not thousands, of names of Angelic and higher beings. My research suggests that each human being has an individual guardian Angel who occupies the Angelic sphere. Dr. Steiner referred to the Angels as the great primeval teachers of humanity. Angels are also sometimes referred to as spiritual "princes" who are one stage above humanity and no longer incarnate in human form. The actual number of higher beings is far greater than the number of human souls alive in the physical world today. Based on the assumption that each human soul has one guardian Angel, and that there are some 7 billion human souls alive in the world today, with some number of souls passing through the process of death and rebirth, we can reasonably hypothesize that the number of higher beings in the universe is far, far greater than the number of human souls.
Michael, as the leader of the Archangels, brings a unique impulse. He is connected to the Sun Sphere while the other six Archangels are associated with one of the other six planes. Gabriel, for example, is connected to the Moon and thus brings a unique influence to humanity. Michael works within certain cultures and nations with greater intensity as required for a given age as heralds, as it were, and bearers of Christ's task at a given moment in time. In other words, Michael engages with humanity in anticipation of a future fulfillment as required outside of his designated cycle. Thus, cultural impulses that are brought to humanity are embedded within a framework, or family, of nations. As a cultural impulse is introduced and reaches its apex, the world moves forward thus leaving countries and nations in place which, in turn, fall into a state of decline as they took their place amongst the world of nations. For example, the Greek culture bought forth a certain quality for humanity that, once imbued, diluted itself and gradually permeated other cultures including the Roman culture that carried it forward in a transformed way and thus it spread a unique influence into humanity.
Michael’s task in the current age is to bring humanity to a state of balance between the opposing forces, or powers, who steer humanity away from the Christ mission at this moment in history. One aspect is to prevent the complete hardening of the human being who is in danger of becoming entangled in matter through purely intellectual thinking devoid of spiritual ideas. Dr. Steiner observed that Michael’s mission is to bring “cosmic thinking” to humanity and referred to the leading Archangel in one lecture as the “Fiery Thought-King of the Universe.”[13] Thus, Michael is a bearer of light and knowledge of the spiritual worlds to humanity and, as a supporter of the Christ mission, imbues us with the courage to overcome our lower natures and pursue a higher path of cosmic thinking. The image of St. Michael vanquishing the dragon reveals this task which is the overcoming of the lower aspects of the human being, such as egotism, the unbridled passions, and vices, that are exacerbated by the conditions of the world and were carried forward within us from prior lifetimes having yet to be purged from the human soul. Buddha, and Indian philosophy, referred to these aspects, or untransformed imprints, of the human soul as “Samskara.”
“…This hardening process which is to be observed in the course of evolution, and from which Michael seeks to guard humanity, is due to the fact that the world to which man belongs is less and less permeated with the forces of the Gods. They, the divine-spiritual Beings, have now withdrawn from the visible world of sense. For this reason, the world has come to be described as it is by modern physics… Michael is the Being who will not forsake man and leave him to go his way in this hardened, materialized world.
Whereas the other divine Powers withdrew from man, Michael has followed him as a faithful companion, regarding it as his task to free man from the entanglement of matter, and to guide his capacity for knowledge in such a way that it becomes once more a knowledge of the Spirit. Just as Christ, the sublime Sun-Being, united Himself with the earth at the moment of the Mystery of Golgotha in order that He might give to the earth the possibility of a future, spiritualized existence, so it is the mission of Michael to illumine the forces of knowledge in man. Michael brings to human knowledge that illumination which makes it possible truly to understand the deed of Christ, and the Guardian of the Mystery Schools throughout the ages.”[14]
Thus, in addition to other aspects, one of Michael’s missions is to be the Guardian of the mystery schools, or centers of spiritual initiation, throughout world history. Activity and change never cease, thus the character and nature of the Mystery Centers have evolved as the needs of humanity as evolved. Steiner described complex relationships of the higher beings who work within their planes and, in turn, influence and interact with those divine beings who support them to accomplish certain tasks. A quality or aspect, as an impulse, for humanity flows down through the hierarchy during certain points of our evolution. Each Spirit of the Age, whom Steiner describes as exalted beings and inspirers, govern in successive time periods and imbue a certain impulse upon humanity, which is also connected to our physical constitution, over epochs of time. [15]
“These Spirits of Personality, these inspirers of the Spirit of the Age, are of a higher order than the Folk Spirits. In every epoch one of these Spirits of Personality is predominant and sets his seal upon the whole epoch, assigns to the Folk Spirits their specific tasks, so that the whole spirit of the epoch is determined by the special or individual characteristics of the Folk Spirit. Then, in the following epoch, another Spirit of Personality, another of the Archai, takes over.”[16]
Michael’s battle with the opposing powers continues throughout world history as rhythmical events that occur in regular intervals. According to Dr. Steiner, a victory was achieved led by Michael over a group of demonic beings that began in 1840 and concluded in 1879. It was this spiritual battle that led directly to the First World War (1914-1918).[17] These opposing beings had, in fact, up to that point been working in alignment with the spirit of the age and their proper task. When that task expired and evolved, these beings refused to evolve too and thus were cast out of the spiritual worlds into the spiritual-earthbound plane where they walk amongst humanity today in a coordinated, meddlesome, and more direct way. These opposing beings chose to continue their task after their apportioned time had come to an end.
“The activity in the evolution of the World and Mankind which comes about through the forces of Michael, repeats itself rhythmically, though in ever-changing and progressing forms, before the Mystery of Golgotha and after.
The Mystery of Golgotha is the greatest event, occurring once and for all in the evolution of mankind. Here there can be no question of a rhythmic repetition. For while the evolution of mankind also stands within a mighty cosmic rhythm, still it is one — one vast member in a cosmic rhythm. Before it became this One, mankind was something altogether different from mankind; afterwards it will again be altogether different. Thus, there are many Michael events in the evolution of mankind, but there is only one event of Golgotha.”[18]
Dr. Steiner revealed that this event in 1879 correlated with the end of a necessary spiritual dark age that is referred to in spiritual science as “Kali Yuga” which began in about 3000BC and ended in 1899AD. After that year, a new task, and mission, for humanity was delivered out of the spiritual worlds. I believe that this spiritual impulse is a key reason why various spiritual movements emerged in the late 19th and 20th centuries in the West, such as Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Edgar Cayce, and the Theosophists who came forward in a public way. Michael is a cosmopolitan being. The notions of race, gender, nationality, or group-based aspects that divide human beings and pit them against one another are at odds with Michael’s, and therefore Christ’s, mission for humanity.
“It is only by degrees that the impulse of Michael can make its way into what is, to a great extent, a legacy from the past reign of Gabriel. But always when an age of Michael dawns, a longing begins to arise in mankind to overcome racial distinctions and to spread through all the peoples living on the Earth the highest and most spiritual form of culture produced by that particular age. Michael's rulership is always characterized by the growth of cosmopolitanism, by the spread of a spiritual impulse among peoples who are ready to receive it, no matter what language they speak.”[19]
While the divine beings of the spiritual hierarchies work collaboratively and in alignment with the will of Christ, some beings stand in opposition. Christ, the spiritual hierarchies, and the divine messengers who work through human beings and the leaders of humanity do battle with the influences of these beings. Their influences expand, or contract, at different points of history as they exercise their will upon humanity. The opposing beings stand in opposition to the Christ and seek to enslave humanity to suit their own ends in opposition to the divine plan for humanity. In today’s world, which relies so heavily on only that which can be proven outwardly, these beings have been able to continue their missions anonymously.
Thus, we must seek to know and understand their influences so that we can take only those constructive aspects, if any, that they bring to humanity. In other words, they serve a role in the evolution of humanity and bring both appropriate, and corruptive, influences to humanity based on the moment in history. Higher beings, both opposing and divine, influence us through impulses, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and the application of human will. Steiner provided many insightful details regarding the nature and influences of the opposing powers who seek to pull humanity into one of two opposing polarities both of which are out of alignment with the will of the Christ, the balance of the human being, and the right path of human transformation.
In conclusion, the relationships and roles of the higher beings who oversee humanity’s transformation are complex, varied, and evolving. They are eternal and each grade or plane of the spiritual hierarchy engages in a dynamic and evolving way. Thus, as one looks back into history or any historical study, one should consider the influences of higher beings who were at work during a certain age and the goals that were being accomplished for humanity at a given point in time. In terms of consciousness, humanity was quite different in the distant past and it will be quite different in the distant future…
Footnotes
[1] Rudolf Steiner provides many insights regarding the spiritual hierarchies and the relationships of the divine higher beings to each other and humanity. Refer to Steiner’s Occult Science - An Outline (Book), The Mission of Individual Folk Souls (Lecture), Cosmic Memory (Lecture), and The Mission of Folk-Souls (Lecture) for further research.
[2] Steiner, Rudolf. Occult History Lecture 2, Stuttgart, 28th December 1910.
[3] Refer to Rudolf Steiner’s lecture series The Spiritual Hierarchies, GA110.
[4] Refer to the author’s work Joan of Arc in Light of Anthroposophy and Spiritual Science for a detailed study on Joan of Arc as a Knight of the Holy Grail.
[5] Key cadences, for example, can be seen in the numbers 7 and 12.
[6] For example, refer to On the Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite who lived in the 5th century AD.
[7] Refer to Steiner, Rudolf. The Spiritual Hierarchies, Their Reflection in the Physical World. April, 1909. GA110 for more information.
[8] Steiner, Rudolf. The Mission of the Individual Folk-Souls, Lecture 1, “Angels, Folk Spirits, Time Spirits: their part in the Evolution of Mankind.”
[9] “El” in Hebrew means of “of God”. In esoteric science, it also means “the goal” or the “the way”. Refer to Steiner, Rudolf, The Gospel of John, Third Lecture, March 5, 1906.
[10] Steiner, Rudolf. The Mystery of Death. Lecture. Prague, 13th May 1915
[11] Some sources refer to cycles of 354 ½ years; Steiner refers sometimes to 300-400 years as the average duration between regencies is not always precise as the goals of a particular regency defines the moment of transition. The average period of a regency is viewed by spiritual researchers as 354 ½ years.
[12] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s lecture series Cosmic Memory, GA11, for more information.
[13] Steiner, Rudolf. The Michael Mystery, GA26, The Age of Michael, Letter 1.
[14] Wegman, Ita. On the work of the Archangel Michael originally published as Aus Michaels Wirken in German. This is an abridged quote.
[15] There is clearly a divine Mystery with regards to how spiritual impulses flow into the human being that can only be observed by one who has a highly developed form of supersensible perception.
[16] Steiner, Rudolf. The Mission of the Individual Folk-Souls, Lecture 1. Angels, Folk Spirits, Time Spirits: their part in the Evolution of Mankind.
[17] Steiner, Rudolf. The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness, Lecture 9, The Battle between Michael and The Dragon, October 14, 1917, Dornach.
[18] Steiner, Rudolf. Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, GA 26, No. 14. A Christmas Study: The Mystery of the Logos.
[19] Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships VI, GA 240, Lecture VIII, 19 July 1924, Arnhem.
Aspect 2: Initiates, Mystery Centers, and Spiritual Initiation
"From ancient, holy sacrificial sites
The healing art once flowed
Into the works of humankind.
Remember your revelation:
Say it at the new healing site.
And if human souls
Carried by the spirit
Hear your call to the Mysteries
They characterized shall work
To bring forth healing
In the weaving of human life.
I will seek the power of spirit-ears
In a loving heart
To hear the call."[1]
“The initiated clairvoyant is not an unbalanced visionary; he possesses, in advance, the consciousness which will be possessed by all men in future ages; he has his feet on solid ground just as firmly as the most matter-of-fact human being; his reason is just as clear and certain but he sees in two worlds.”[2]
Spiritual leaders incarnate in the physical world who are highly developed and exist, in soul terms, far ahead of their peers. They have progressed far beyond the rest of humanity as they have deliberately and consistently pursued the proper path of spiritual transformation, or initiation, over time as a structured process overseen, and administered, by divine higher beings who do not incarnate in the physical world. At the top of this exalted group, who are dedicated to humanity until the end of time, is the Christ who incarnated in the greatest of initiates and world leaders; Jesus of Nazareth.
For three years, Christ worked through the physical body of Jesus which was purified, and transformed, to the highest degree possible for any human being in the world through many sacrifices and committed effort over vast periods of time. From that moment on Rudolf Steiner referred to the Representative of Humanity as “Christ-Jesus”. Working on behalf of the Christ in the physical world, and the spiritual hierarchies is a group of leaders who form a collegium. They act as a bridge between the divine and the physical world for humanity. They are known as initiates, masters, and divine messengers.
“…we want to see clearly that there are differences among the beings who occupy leading positions in the human evolution of the earth. We have to distinguish such leading individualities in the course of human evolution who, as it were, developed from the beginning with humanity on this earth as it exists, but with the important distinction that they progressed more rapidly. We might put it this way: If we go back in time…we find the most varied stages of development among the human beings then incarnated. All the souls incarnated at that time have been repeatedly reincarnated… The speed with which these souls developed varied.
Some souls are alive that developed relatively slowly as they went through various incarnations; they still have long distances to traverse in the future. But then there are also those souls who have developed rapidly and who, one might say, have utilized their incarnations in a more productive way. They are now on a high plane of soul-spiritual development, one that will be reached by normal human beings only in the far-distant future. But as we dwell on this sphere of soul life, we can nevertheless say this: No matter how advanced these individual souls may be, however far they may tower above normal human beings, yet within our earthly evolution they have made a journey similar to the rest of humanity, except that they have advanced more rapidly.”[3]
Humanity is led by a spiritual council of 12 leaders, or “Bodhisattvas”, who work together as a unified leadership team. At the center of the activities is the Christ, or “13th Disciple”, who oversees and inspires and guides their efforts. These individuals form the central bridge between higher beings who do not incarnate in the physical world and humanity from one century to the next based on the needs of humanity at any given moment. Their task revolves around the revelation of the Christ Impulse and the ongoing plan for the transformation of humanity.[4] These mighty leaders often pass the world anonymously or otherwise average human beings. Sometimes these leaders are described as “Bodhisattvas”. These leaders are supported by messengers, delegates, teachers, and workers who engage in tasks on their behalf, either knowingly or unknowingly, either large or small, to accomplish divine missions for humanity at specific moments of history. [5]
-“The primary field of activity of the Bodhisattva is to engage as a bridge between the spiritual worlds and the physical world as great teachers who bring transformative impulses to humanity. Each of the 12 leaders necessarily incarnate periodically for a specific purpose. At a certain point, however, the Bodhisattva transcends to “Buddhahood” and influences humanity from the spiritual worlds only and ceases to incarnate in the physical world. As long as a Bodhisattva holds this office he devotes himself first and foremost to the task of teaching; for, as we have heard, when he attains the rank of Buddhahood he does not again descend to incarnation in a physical body. A Bodhisattva is a teacher until he becomes Buddha; from then onwards he is a power, an organizing, life-bestowing power.”[6]
-“A survey of the whole of Earth evolution would reveal that there are twelve such Bodhisattvas. They belong to that great community of Spirits which from time to time sends one of the Bodhisattvas to the Earth as a special emissary, as one of the great Teachers. A Lodge of twelve Bodhisattvas is to be regarded as the Lodge directing all Earth evolution. The concept of ‘Teacher’ familiar to us at lower stages of existence can be applied, in essentials, to these twelve Bodhisattvas. They are Teachers, the great Inspirers of one portion or another of what mankind has to acquire.”[7]
-“The Bodhisattvas succeed one another in the evolution of humanity as great Teachers and must not be confused with the One who is the very source of their teachings, from whom they receive what it is their mission to impart to the several epochs. We must picture a 'college' of Bodhisattvas and at its center the living source of the teachings. This living source is none other than He whom we are accustomed to call ‘Christ’. It is from Christ that all the Bodhisattvas receive what they have to impart to men in the course of the ages.” [8]
-“It is therefore quite correct to speak of the twelve Bodhisattvas in the great Spirit-Lodge grouped around One who is their Centre (The Christ); they are wrapped in contemplation of the sublime Being from whom there streams what they have then to inculcate into Earth evolution in fulfillment of their missions…”[9]
Supporting the great mission of the spiritual hierarchies are teams of people who work together, as guided by higher beings and masters, to achieve a common purpose separated by various geographies and cultures. In the ancient world, individuals who were determined to be sufficiently prepared and ready for initiation were trained in Mystery Centers. These Mystery Centers have been under the guidance, and leadership, of the Archangel Michael since they began. Examples of Mystery Centers include Ephesus and Eleusis which were active during the Greek period. Each region of the world contained Mystery Centers that trained initiates who arose out of a unique geographic and cultural character.
The initiates were called by many names including masters, high priests, magicians, teachers, hierophants, etc. The time of the initiates in the ancient world, and those who have achieved initiation throughout history, are not to be confused with pretenders or mediums who utilize an inherited psychic ability that has devolved into the use of superstitious terms and even empty mystical experiences. Some people in the world, for example, may be born with an inherited form of clairvoyance that was the result of the structured process of initiation. They can be viewed as “uninitiated clairvoyants.” Groups of people carried forward aspects that arose from genuine Mystery Centers in their teachings, such as the Cathars and Albigensians, and were ruthlessly persecuted. In the 20th century, a modern Mystery Center emerged through the teachings, and life efforts, of a genuine teacher and initiate; Dr. Rudolf Steiner. The Goetheanum, in Dornach, Switzerland, can be viewed as a modern-day Mystery Center and the only one of its kind that arose out of a unique stream of activity connected to the Holy Grail.
This area of study is filled with superstitions regarding the existence of the initiates, operative spiritual processes and principles, and the true nature of the higher beings who oversee humanity. In the ancient Mystery Centers connected to a genuine path of spiritual development, the initiates and those training to be initiates were men and women carefully selected and trained over long periods of time. These academies, or facilities, were not open to the public but generally speaking anyone was allowed to apply for entrance pending a thorough examination.[10] Most were not admitted.
“If we were to speak of the nature of the Mysteries and their Initiates in the language of current thought, we should say that the Mysteries are schools for the training of those faculties which enable the soul of man to have actual vision of the spiritual worlds. They are schools, where in a methodical and systematic way, man's soul is so guided and trained that he can finally perceive the higher worlds with spiritual eyes and ears. Although modern scholarship knows little of the Mysteries, they are nevertheless still in existence today and are the means whereby man can be led consciously to the spiritual worlds. And the whole content of Spiritual Science, everything that is communicated in Spiritual Science, is, in its essence, Mystery-wisdom.”[11]
Throughout history, the hidden aspects of life, humanity, and our relationship to the spiritual worlds were taught only by those who could form and maintain a genuine bridge to the spiritual worlds and thus perceive and communicate facts and truths perceived properly. In times past, the hidden aspects of human existence were revealed only to those candidates for spiritual initiation who went through long, arduous, planned, and challenging cycles of discipline, training, and preparation at special training facilities and temples that were designed specifically for the purpose of expedited spiritual education and transformation. This long and exhaustive transformative process, which followed strict rules and took place in a concentrated form in an isolated and protected facility, was personally observed and facilitated by genuine spiritual masters, or master-initiates, who could appropriately and responsibly oversee the testing and transformation of each individual.
This intimate relationship was predicated upon knowing, in detail, the inner being of each person and advising upon an individual’s unique attributes, soul history, and personal strengths and weaknesses. Only a master teacher, and initiate, could undertake such a task. It is, perhaps, the most personal of relationships and is based on perfect trust and guidance. In the ancient Mystery Centers, the final test for the candidate for initiation occurred over a 3 ½ day “temple sleep” period where the individual entered the spiritual worlds, guided by the hierophant, leaving their physical body and passing through the planes of the higher worlds. If the candidate failed the tests or was unprepared, the outcome could be an utter diminution and contraction of consciousness which could lead to depression or insanity. Sometimes, it led to suicide or death.
If the candidate returned successfully to his or her body after 3 ½ days (the candidate slept in a sleep-like condition in a tomb that imitated the death experience that each person passes through at the end of our lives), he or she awakened as a transformed individual with greatly expanded faculties, insights, and capabilities that far exceeded those who trod the casual path of evolution in the outer world with its pitfalls, traps, and snares.[12] He or she communicated what they had seen during the journey in the spiritual worlds. The “Mysteries” have always been a mystery, as it were, to the outer world. Now, through Rudolf Steiner and others that have come forth in the modern era, details regarding the ancient, and modern, structured path of initiation are available to the public.
“It is not easy for our present consciousness to form a true conception of these ancient Mysteries and their Initiates, for the nature of our education and the knowledge resulting therefrom does not conduce to an understanding of the nature of Initiation — far from it! If we were to speak of the nature of the Mysteries and their Initiates in the language of current thought, we should say that the Mysteries are schools for the training of those faculties which enable the soul of man to have actual vision of the spiritual worlds. They are schools, where in a methodical and systematic way, man's soul is so guided and trained that he can finally perceive the higher worlds with spiritual eyes and ears. Although modern scholarship knows little of the Mysteries, they are nevertheless still in existence today and are the means whereby man can be led consciously to the spiritual worlds. — And the whole content of Spiritual Science, everything that is communicated in Spiritual Science, is, in its essence, Mystery-wisdom. Through all the ages there have been centers for developing the faculty of fully conscious clairvoyance and the aim of the present lecture is to give a cursory survey of the European Mysteries. The man who so trains his soul that he can perceive in higher worlds, is an Initiate.”[13]
As Dr. Steiner revealed, the formal academies and Mystery Centers of old have transformed in the modern world. The old centers of mystery wisdom are now extinct but the Mysteries continue in a new form. They are available now to each individual who seeks them out. In the distant past, the Mysteries were taught in secluded facilities created and sustained by those who trained genuine spiritual initiates. In ancient Greece, the Mystery Centers, and what they taught, were protected by law and punishable by death up to a certain point in history. Like genuine monks, the residents lived together in a cloistered and structured environment of prayer, meditation, study and education, and physical training such as Yoga and exercise.
Not all Mystery Centers were the same and each possessed a unique cultural character based on geography, environment, and the moment of time in which they existed. Mystery Centers were founded during the Atlantean period by the highest of spiritual initiates who, just like today, served a role as bridges between human beings and the spiritual worlds. These ancient Atlantean Mystery Centers, which are not to be confused with the post-Atlantean Mystery Centers (post-8000BC), are referred to in Dr. Steiner’s works as Oracles. Later, the unique nature of cultures that arose in the post-Atlantean world led to the creation of the Western European, Chaldean, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures. Mystery Centers arose in Ireland, and throughout Europe. Those trained in the region of Ireland, for example, followed a unique process for initiation that Dr. Steiner referred to as the “Hibernian Mysteries”. The Egyptians followed a unique path housed in various temples throughout the region and thus were referred to as the “Egyptian Mysteries”. The Greeks established Mystery Centers known as the Orphic, Ephesian, Eleusinian, and Samothracian Mysteries.
During Atlantis, the Oracles were separated into seven distinct aspects associated with planetary influences that aligned with the diversity of human being’s dispositions including the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. The Sun Oracle united, and permeated all of them and was the leading influence. The Sun Oracle unites, and permeated, each of the Mystery Centers in Atlantis. The Atlantean period ended in or around 9500BC. Only the Sun Mysteries were carried forward out of Atlantis.[14] As Dr. Steiner observed, and was common knowledge to the initiates who worked out of these Mystery Centers in the Atlantean and ancient world, the being who is the leader of the Sun Mysteries is the Christ who was gradually approaching “The Turning Point in Time” which was destined to occur, at that time, in the far distant future. His mission was to bring the Sun Impulse into the physical world through Jesus, the great initiate, in 30AD. This plan was worked out far, far in advance, and required eons of time to achieve.
It was only through the Mystery Centers and the activities of the high spiritual initiates trained those who were destined to lead the first seeds of human civilization, and carry it forward, were seeded. It is because of the brotherhood of the initiates, who go by many names in the outer world and work mostly in an anonymous way and work in alignment with the task of Christ-Jesus and the Archangel Michael in the modern era, that such great efforts were made in the 20th century to bring forth knowledge of the spiritual worlds to humanity that in prior times was kept intentionally secret.
“All that we throw out of ourselves into the astral world at one time will reappear in times to come, on the physical plane. What we sow in the astral world we reap on Earth in future times. We are reaping today the fruits of the narrow, materialistic thoughts strewn by our ancestors in the astral world. This will make us realize how essential it is to nourish ourselves with occult truths. If science would accept the truths of occultism — merely as hypotheses to begin with — the very world would change. Materialism has cast man into such depths that a mighty concentration of forces is necessary to raise him again. He is subject to illnesses of the nervous system which are veritable epidemics of the life of the soul.
“What on the Earth we call feeling comes back again to Earth in the form of actuality, event, fact. The nerve-storms that exhaust man have their origin in the astral world. It is for this reason that the Occult Brotherhoods decided to demonstrate and reveal the hidden truths. For humanity is passing through a crisis and must be helped to regain health and equilibrium. Only by virtue of spirituality can this health and equilibrium be restored.”[15]
Dr. Steiner’s task was, and is, in proper alignment with the mission and needs of the current age. The pursuit of transformation is an individual choice for each human being. This quest is overseen by the guiding spiritual leaders of humanity who work through the Christ. Unlike the Mystery Centers of the ancient world before the intervention of the Christ, the path to mystery-wisdom is now open to all who seek it. But it is a task of love and altruism; not one of egotism. Being drawn to mystery wisdom, as Dr. Steiner revealed, revolves around one’s karma and decision to do so.
Footnotes:
[1] Steiner, Rudolf. Mantric Sayings & Meditations 1903-1925), P 298.
[2] Steiner, Rudolf. An Esoteric Cosmology. Lecture IV. Involution and Evolution. Paris. May 28, 1906.
[3] Steiner, Rudolf. The Principle of Spiritual Economy, Lecture 2, Christianity in Human Evolution: Leading Individualities and Avatar Beings, Berlin, February 15, 1909.
[4] This applied and valid description and principle is used by Steiner to describe the 9 levels of higher beings, or Angels in theological terms, in the universe as they relate to humanity. These 9 degrees, or grades, of beings were initially documented by the Christian scholar Pseudo-Dionysus the Aeropagite in the 5th-6th centuries AD. The hierarchy consists of Angels, Archangels, Archai, Exusiai, Dynamis, Kyriotetes, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim.
[5] I recommend The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz by Rudolf Steiner, Rudolf Steiner and the Masters of Esoteric Christianity by Sergei O. Prokofieff, Esoteric Development, The Great Initiates, Chapter VII by Rudolf Steiner, and The Great Initiates by Édouard Schuré for further research. Rudolf Steiner’s body of knowledge contains multiple lectures and references to the task of the Great Initiates and how that task has evolved over time. Edgar Cayce also provided some insights on the Masters.
[6] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of Matthew, Berne, September 5, 1910.
[7] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of Luke, Lecture 7.
[8] Steiner, Rudolf, The Gospel of St. Matthew, Lecture Five
[9] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of Luke, Lecture 7. This applies to the genuine esoteric team of spiritual initiates who are known as Rosicrucians, not the groups who travel by name only and do not teach, or genuinely and comprehensively understand, the true inner workings, activities, and principles of this group of initiates, who followed the spiritual leadership of Christian Rosenkreutz, whose identities have remained concealed or anonymous.
[10] Someone who has been newly accepted to the Mystery schools, prior to embarking on advanced training, was known as a “chela”, “acolyte”, or “neophyte”. Enrollment was restricted only to those who could demonstrate a certain prerequisite that was contingent upon karmic requirements that could be reviewed and validated by the hierophant through the Akashic Records.
[11] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s lecture The European Mysteries and their Initiates, GA57, May 6, 1909. Berlin. From: ANTHROPOSOPHY: A Quarterly Review — Michaelmas 1929 No. 3 Vol. 4.
[12] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s Occult Science, an Outline. and Dr. Ita Wegman’s The Mysteries. The book Initiation by Elizabeth Haich provides a description of a spiritual initiation experience during a distant ancient period in Egypt where she was guided through the process of spiritual initiation where she discusses the tests, challenges, and prerequisites of that experience which led to a downfall, and recovery, over many lifetimes thus revealing the serious dangers of initiation.
[13] Steiner, Rudolf. The European Mysteries and their Initiates, GA57, May 6 ,1909. Berlin.
[14] Refer to the lecture series The Principle of Spiritual Economy by Rudolf Steiner, GA109 for a nice overview of these topics. There are many lectures that cover elements of this topic in Dr. Steiner’s works.
[15] Steiner, Rudolf. An Esoteric Cosmology, The Astral World, Lecture 9.
Aspect 3: Christ-Jesus
Dr. Steiner provided deep insights on Christ-Jesus and the mystery of Golgotha that occurred in the year 30AD. It is not the intention of this work to provide a comprehensive study of Christ-Jesus because it is simply not feasible for the author. The event on Golgotha, and the mystery of the Christ whom Steiner refers to as “Christ-Jesus” after the resurrection, is the central defining evolutionary impulse for humanity. The Christ’s universal importance, role, and ongoing influences that He brings to the world and the human being are beyond the reckoning of any intellectual analysis. Therefore, I shall attempt only to provide a summary overview for further research of the deep mystery of the Christ being who incarnated in the man Jesus at the precise midpoint of human evolution.
Christ-Jesus represents the balance between the two polarities of Ahriman and Lucifer, who are the opposing powers, and shows humanity the right path. He is the good shepherd, defender of the human being, and the permanent and designated life guide for each human being on the planet. The Christ is a higher divine being, the Sun God and God of Light, who entered into the physical body of Jesus during the baptism on the river Jordan in 30AD and brought to humanity a new impulse of transformation with His martyrdom on the Cross. The Christ perpetually brings His influences into the world to properly transform humanity and guide our progress appropriately. The Christ, as the Light of the World, came to humanity from the Sun-Sphere, which is the highest spiritual plane in the cosmos. Thus, He is a bringer of light in all of its forms including love, knowledge, freedom, awareness, balance, and life.
This lofty divine being known as the Christ, or the Sun God, revealed Himself in different forms to the leaders of humanity before His incarnation in the body of Jesus including Zarathustra.[1] The Christ entered into the highest of spiritual initiates Jesus in 30AD at the Baptism on the River Jordan and carried out a global and universal mission on behalf of humanity. It was the first and only time that an exalted higher spiritual being took on human form. The Christ, who later imparted something of His eternal being on the man Jesus who, after the event, became Christ-Jesus in anthroposophical ligature, is the redeemer of humanity who oversees our ongoing transformation from the spiritual worlds. Dr. Steiner referred to Christ-Jesus as “the Lord of Karma”[2] and the “Representative of Humanity”.[3]
Before Golgotha, the Christ spirit slowly approached humanity through the greatest of initiates over long eons of time in anticipation of His mission from out of the spiritual Sun Sphere and worked directly through heralds including the Archangel Michael. Both Michael, and the Angelic being who became Christ-Jesus before Golgotha in the far-distant ancient world, were connected to the forces of the Sun or light. According to Dr. Steiner, Apollo was perceived by the Greeks as an Angelic being permeated by the Christ before he became Jesus.
“Apollo has to do with the sun. Apollo is the Angelic Being of whom we have spoken; he was a reflection, projected into the Greek mind, of the Angelic Being who had in fact worked at the end of the Atlantean time and who had been permeated by the Christ.”[4]
In ancient Persia, Michael was referred to as “Marduk”.[5] During the Persian Cultural-Spiritual Epoch (in Anthroposophical terms), the Christ worked through the great teacher and master initiate Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, who founded the Zoroastrian religion.
“…we have to do not with a man but with a superhuman Being who (if we may speak in this way) lived in the spiritual world and as it were heard the distress of the human sense system crying out to the spiritual world for help, and in response to this cry made himself fitted to be permeated by the Christ.”[6]
Historians suggest that Zarathustra lived during the 6th or 7th centuries BC. Dr. Steiner stated that the great sun-initiate lived thousands of years earlier. All of his disciples were referred to as “Zarathustra” which was the tradition of the teacher to student in Persia.[7] He was the forerunner and prior incarnation of the man who later incarnated as Jesus who prepared the physical body for the Christ who incarnated in human form in 30AD.
The “I”, or ego, of Jesus entered the spiritual worlds at the moment of the Baptism on the River Jordan. The Christ, in turn, entered and lived within the physical body of Jesus for three years. The two higher beings, however, remained connected, and as Dr. Steiner observed that Jesus stepped aside, in spiritual terms, so that the Christ could occupy his physical form and shared in every experience of the Christ while he walked the earth. The Christ, who incarnated in the world for the first time at that moment, incurred no karma and He is the only higher spiritual being to have fulfilled such a task in the world.
Dr. Steiner revealed that since the Event on Golgotha that manifold changes occurred and have continued to take place across the world and humanity. For example, Dr. Steiner observed that the earth’s aura now resonates with the Christ’s forces and has been forever changed. There is a golden etheric light shaped as a 5-pointed star that, when viewed clairvoyantly, resonates above Jerusalem.[8] Christ approaches humanity only gradually over time at a macrocosmic level yet He works within each human being at the core of our soul and is approachable to all. Dr. Steiner reviled that the last great stride toward humanity by the Christ occurred in 1933 (8 years after his death in 1925) when Christ entered the Etheric World.[9]
Human beings approach spiritual maturity only gradually. Christ-Jesus is central to this task. Each of us is gradually approaching Him as the Guardian of the Threshold[10] based on our choices, dispositions, karma, and destiny. Dr. Steiner revealed many facts regarding the diverse and universal nature of Christ’s influences upon humanity which require a deeper study. For example, Dr. Steiner revealed that when the Christ died in 33AD, the Earth was essentially revivified to ensure that the earth, and humanity, approached its transformation properly. Christ-Jesus is supported by a vast array of higher and exalted spiritual beings, supported by the collegium of initiates who incarnate in the world periodically and engage in the world as a bridge between the spiritual worlds and the physical world. They are further supported by coworkers of all stages of attainment who serve His mission.[11]
Quotes
1. “Let us follow the sequence of images! Jesus dies on the cross. Darkness suddenly covers the earth. Jesus' body is laid in the tomb. An earthquake opens the earth's crust and Jesus' body is received by the earth. The crevice caused by the quake closes. The stone is thrown aside. These are all factual events; I can do naught else but describe them as such. May those who wish to approach these things from a natural scientific viewpoint judge as they wish and use every possible argument against them. What clairvoyant observation sees is as I have described it.”[12]
2. “In reality that death, preceded by infinite suffering, was the birth of what entered his soul like a ray. With the death of Jesus something entered the earth which had previously existed only externally: all-encompassing cosmic love. That's easy to say abstractly. But one must penetrate the Peter-soul for a moment to imagine how it felt: In the instant that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross at Golgotha, something had been born to the earth which previously only existed in the cosmos. The death of Jesus of Nazareth was the birth of cosmic love within the earth's sphere.”[13]
3. “We know that as far as concerns Earth-development on the physical plane Christ was incarnated for three years in the body of Jesus of Nazareth. We know that that incarnation took place once for all, that there had been no previous incarnation, and that there will be no other like it. What the Christ did by dwelling for three years in a human body was necessary for human beings on the Earth, it was necessary for men as earthly beings of sense to have the Christ also among them once as an earthly being of sense. But in His essential nature the Christ is not restricted to His life for three years in the sheaths of Jesus of Nazareth; He is also the leader of all the Beings of the higher hierarchies. He is an all-embracing, cosmic, universal Being.”[14]
4. “From the universal rule that the real, guiding individualities do not incarnate during Earth evolution in human bodies, the Christ in a certain respect forms an exception, since He was incarnated for three years in a human body. What is the reason for this? It is because the Christ Being in all His forces, in all His impulses, is an essentially higher Being than any of the individualities of the hierarchies we have described — an Individuality even higher than the Archangels and the Archai, a Being of whose full greatness we can only be dimly aware. These stronger forces and impulses enabled this Individuality to fulfill a purpose that we shall come to understand more closely; they enabled Him to assume a human fleshly sheath as a sacrifice for three years.”[15]
5. “What then is the consequence of the event which culminated on the physical plane in the Mystery of Golgotha? The consequence was that now the etheric and astral spheres of the Earth became substantially permeated by the Christ Being. Whereas previously the Being whom we know as Christ was not there, now the etheric and astral spheres have become permeated through and through by Him.”[16]
6. “Thus, through the Christ-Impulse the consciousness came to man that in his ego he had something of Divine substance and of Divine nature. The thought that man can take in the Divine in his Ego-being and that this Divine part can be active therein and distinguish between good and evil, underlies all the deeper sayings of the New Testament. We may therefore say that with the reception into the inner nature of man of the Christ-Impulse, it was made possible for man to say: ‘I must be my own guide for the knowledge of my existence and the distinction between good and evil.’”[17]
7. “The more individualized a man becomes the more he can become a bearer of Love. Where the blood links men together they love because they are led to what they should love. When man is granted individuality, when he tends and nurtures the divine spark within him then the impulses of love, the waves of love, pass from man to man out of the free heart. And thus, with this new impulse man has enriched the old bond of love that is bound to the blood-tie. Love passes over gradually into spiritual love which flows from soul to soul and which will ultimately encompass all humanity in a common bond of brother-love. But Christ-Jesus is the Force, the living Force, once historically and externally present, through whom for the first time mankind has been brought to the bond of brother-love. Men will learn to understand this bond of brother-love as the perfected spiritualized Christianity.”[18]
8. “The souls that imbue themselves with the Christ-Force know that love can forge indestructible spiritual bonds beyond all material hindrances. And there is nothing in life between birth and death and between death and rebirth to which we cannot spiritually find the way through the Christ-Impulse. If we imbue ourselves with the Christ-Impulse, it is unthinkable that we could possibly be separated from what we love in the long run. The Christ brings us together with what we love.”[19]
9. “A strong heavenly force had to radiate into physical matter and sacrifice itself into this matter. What was required was more than just a God wearing the mask of human appearance; what was needed was a true human being with human powers who was carrying the God within himself. The Event of Golgotha had to happen so that the matter into which the human being was placed could be readied, cleansed, and ennobled. When components of matter are cleansed and sanctified, this will make the comprehension of primordial wisdom possible again in future incarnations. Mankind must be led to a true understanding of how the Event of Golgotha has really worked in this sense.”[20]
10. “Karma is the law of cause and effect in the spiritual world; it represents the spiral process of evolution. The Christ Impulse intervenes in this karmic process and becomes its central pivot. Since He came to Earth the Christ has lived in the depths of every human soul.
When karma is conceived as a necessity imposed on man in order that his wrong doings may be redressed and his errors redeemed by an implacable justice working over from one incarnation to another, the objection is sometimes raised that karma must do away with the role of Christ as the Redeemer. In reality, karma is a redemption of man by himself, by dint of his own efforts as he gradually ascends to freedom through the series of incarnations. It is through karma that man is able to draw near to Christ.
The Christ-Impulse transforms implacable Law into Freedom, and the source of this Impulse is the person and example of Christ Jesus. Karma is not to be conceived as fatalism but as an instrument essential to the attainment of that supreme freedom which is life in Christ — a freedom attained not by defying the world-order but by fulfilling it.”[21]
Footnotes:
[1] Steiner, Rudolf. GA123. The Gospel of Matthew, Lecture 4. September 4, 1910. Bern. Also refer to Occult Science, Chapter 4, The Evolution of the Cosmos and Man.
[2] From Jesus to Christ, GA 131, Lecture III, October 7, 1911, Karlsruhe.
[3] Refer to the Statue called “The Representative of Humanity” by Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Edith Maryon housed at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.
[4] Steiner, Rudolf. Christ and the Spiritual World - The Search for the Holy Grail, GA 149, Lecture III, 30 December 1913, Leipzig.
[5] Refer Dr. Ita Wegman. On the Work of the Archangel Michael originally published as Aus Michaels Wirken in German.
[6] Steiner, Rudolf. Christ and the Spiritual World - The Search for the Holy Grail, GA 149, Lecture III, 30 December 1913, Leipzig.
[7] Steiner, Rudolf. GA123. The Gospel of Matthew, Lecture 4. September 4, 1910. Bern.
[8] Steiner, Rudolf. The Earth as Seen by the Dead, The Golden Blade, Berlin, 1st April 1918. “…in the soul of one who has died contemplates certain points in our present age, then he perceives at the place that is designated here as Palestine, as Jerusalem, out of the bluish-violet something of a golden form, a golden crystal form, which comes to life. That is Jerusalem, seen from the spirit!... Spiritually, observed from the cosmos, the event of Golgotha was the appearance of a golden star in the blue earth-aura of the eastern half of the earth.” This is an abridged quote.
[9] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s lecture series The Event of the Appearance of Christ in the Etheric World which is a series of lectures delivered in 1910.
[10] Refer to Steiner, Rudolf. GA10. Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment. The Guardian of the Threshold, Lecture 9.
[11] Refer to the works of Rudolf Steiner, including the lecture From Christ to Jesus, Carlsruhe, October 4, 1911, Christianity as a Historical Fact, The Gospel of John, The Gospel of Mark, The Gospel of Matthew, The Fifth Gospel and others for an expanded study of the Christ and how His influences are brought to humanity over time. Steiner referred to the Christ as the God of the Sun (and bringer of Light) who came into the physical world in 30AD at the Baptism on the River Jordan. After Golgotha, Dr. Steiner referred to Him as “Christ-Jesus” who, having shed his blood for the world, merged with it for all time. Dr. Steiner provided deep insights into how this occurred and the spiritual facts of the event.
[12] Steiner, Rudolf. The Fifth Gospel, Lecture II, 2 October 1913, Oslo.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Steiner, Rudolf, Wonders of the World, Ordeals of the Soul, Revelations of the Spirit. GA 129. Lecture 4. Dionysos as the representative of the ego-forces. The entry of the Christ Impulse into human evolution and the activity of the planetary gods. August 21, 1911, Munich.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Steiner, Rudolf. The Christ Impulse and the Development of the Ego-Consciousness, GA 116 Lecture III. The Entrance of the Christ-Being into the Evolution of Humanity.
[18] Steiner, Rudolf. The Apocalypse of St. John, GA 104, Introductory Lecture, June 17, 1908, Nuremberg.
[19] Steiner, Rudolf. The Principle of Spiritual Economy. GA 109, Lecture VIII. The Event of Golgotha. The Brotherhood of the Holy Grail. The Spiritualized Fire.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Steiner, Rudolf. An Esoteric Cosmology, GA 94 Lecture XVII. Redemption and Liberation, 13 June 1906, Paris.
Aspect 4: The Opposing Powers of Ahriman and Lucifer
The mighty divine beings who oversee humanity are engaged in a battle with opposing powers who, while they bring a necessary and vital aspect to human evolution, seek to corrupt us away from balance and the proper path for development. The battlefield where the divine beings combat evil influences is the world, the human being, and the cosmos. Divine beings fight for freedom. The opposing powers seek to deny us that goal and subject us to their will. This battle began eons ago during the formation of humanity and is described in symbolic form in the Christian bible. Because of the conditions of the modern age, most of us are necessarily hindered by a necessary form of blindness and amnesia, which acts as a veil over our spiritual perception, which has blocked the ability to perceive the true facts of how these beings influence the world. There is a divine purpose in this necessary transformational shift which over time will enable us to obtain individual human freedom.
While this transition through amnesia, in historical terms, is a path that humanity is required to pass through, it is nonetheless the result of the activities and influences of the opposing powers who work within the planned course of evolution for the human being. Humanity is just now emerging out of a necessary spiritual dark age, or “Kali Yuga”, that began in 3000BC and ended in 1899 that was essential for humanity’s development. Today, as Dr. Steiner revealed, it is necessary to transform the human being in a new way connected to the development of the “I” or “ego”. As a result of the work of the beings who are now viewed as opposing powers, but were previously working in alignment with the proper path of transformation, the vast majority of us have lost any direct knowledge of the spiritual hierarchies and thus, the powers who oppose them have become lost to our direct perception.
Therefore, it is critical to understand, at least at a high level, who these beings are and how they relate to humanity. Dr. Steiner, as a genuine spiritual initiate, brought direct and genuine insights regarding the nature, history, and dispositions of these beings to the public. As Steiner revealed, the battle between the opposing influences and the Divine is not dualistic as is traditionally represented in religion and theology. This is presented through religious dogma as a dualistic conflict between Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer, and God, the Creator, and/or Christ.
This battle is sometimes presented in materialistic and illusory terms as God vanquishing the Devil and thus evil is destroyed. In reality, there are two principal and opposing beings and influences at work from the spiritual worlds; not just one. These polarized beings exist as two opposing extremes pushing and pulling the human being out of balance. Balance is only achieved by identifying, managing, and properly transforming the influences of the opposing powers by the following the redemptive path, the middle way, and balance through Christ.
The opposing beings, who are supported by a hierarchy of supporting beings loyal to their cause in a caste, seek to corrupt and polarize the human being into a state of permanent imbalance. They wish to distort the human being into a caricature, as it were, of what we should be per the will of Christ, and the divine plan of human evolution, which is brought to humanity by the divine beings who bring His will, and Word, into the world. If the opposing beings have their way, we will become slaves and servants of their missions and not reach our proper end state when the physical world transforms into a new phase of existence in the far distant future.
The Christ seeks freedom for humanity and each human being is a part of a global community; thus, every human being is a brother to one another in the eyes of Christ and the spiritual hierarchies. The opposing beings seek to accomplish their ends in an evolving, cooperative, and dynamic way over long periods of time. The path and nature of their attacks changes as the conditions of humanity change. Thus, acquiring genuine knowledge of the spheres of their activity is critical to overcoming and managing their influences which cannot be destroyed in materialistic terms; only identified, managed, and transformed. They are eternal and spiritual beings beyond the reach of mortal man who serve a divine purpose.
The leaders of the opposing powers are known as “Ahriman” and “Lucifer” in Anthroposophy.[1] These two higher beings and their coworkers exist within, and work out of, the spiritual worlds. They are not physical beings although brotherhoods exist in the physical world who are loyal to their cause. These two leaders, and their vast network of subordinates, influence individuals and groups of people in the physical world through our souls and consciousness regardless of if we are aware of it or not. With effort and training, we can learn to utilize what they bring to humanity for constructive purposes and manage their corruptive aspects.
In fact, the opposing beings prefer to project their influences upon humanity anonymously thus making their efforts all the more effective. However, this will change. Eventually, they will seek to announce themselves as the new Gods of humanity. As was Steiner’s task, and is the quest for genuine spiritual knowledge, by revealing the activities of these opposing beings one can then effectively identify and manage their influences. In historical terms, one can then properly review history and the past in terms of how the spiritual hierarchies and the opposing influences worked through human beings at any given moment, thus influencing the course of human destiny.[2]
On one polarity exists a group of subsensible beings known as “Ahriman” that are the spirits of false pride and materialism. They are referred to by Dr. Steiner as the “Spirit of Darkness” who “through imperfection and evil, brings shadows into the light.”[3] This group seeks to pull humanity towards the earth into all things solid, physical, and three-dimensional. Ahriman’s influences seek to corrupt the human being into a one-sided dependency on the intellect and the outer world. Thus, these beings steer one towards materialism and a perception that is devoid of valid spiritual ideas. If spiritual ideas manifest, Ahriman will seek to corrupt the environment by inspiring illusions or pitting one perspective against the other.
Ahriman grabs hold of the power of the intellect through rigid and materialistic thinking. This does not mean that thought, or thinking, is improper. The power of thinking, through the human “I”, is the means by which we are led to true spiritual freedom. It is a key aspect of humanity that was brought to us by the Archangel Michael through the Christ and the Spiritual Hierarchies. Right thinking, as a Christ and Michael impulse, is based on cosmic thinking, love, a true perception of the spirit, the soul, freedom, life, brotherhood, and the formation of a genuine bridge to the spiritual worlds. Yet, it also enables freedom and critical independent thinking. Christ is the enabler of individual freedom. Ahriman seeks to rob humanity of spiritual perception through purely rigid and intellectual concepts and thus the presence of spiritual truths, principles, and the higher beings that created and sustain the physical world. Ahriman wants to bond human beings to the earth in a physical way and deprive us of our connection to the spiritual worlds. Ahriman wants us to believe that the physical world, and the physical human being, is the only reality. He advocates a world consisting only of physical substance of size, number, and weight.
Ahrimanic beings are confined to the subsensible realms of the earth and live directly amongst humanity in the spiritual-earthbound plane where they seek to influence and enslave an unsuspecting humanity to their will. Ahriman’s goal is a world devoid of culture, art, spiritual ideas, and spiritual insights. War, crude and lower instincts, division, conflict, and situations where people are opposed to one another based on lower impulses, race, nationality, religion, culture, gender, or any group-based quality that sets one against another are, at least in part, influenced by the activities of Ahrimanic beings. So, while Ahrimanic beings heavily influence a materialistic disposition that is devoid of spirit, they also influence the human being’s crude and instinctual impulses through the metabolism.
“They (Ahrimanic beings) influence instincts, desires, and passions. They live directly upon the earth, yet in a way that is invisible to people. They possess only a body that lives in the essence of earth and water.”[5]
At the present moment, Ahriman seeks to project the illusion into humanity that a materialistic observation is, in fact, the only reality and that there is no inner spiritual meaning behind a physical object. Observing a planet, for example, and suggesting that it rotates around the Sun over a certain period of time and at a certain rate due to purely gravitational, physical, or mathematical reasons with no inner reason or purpose that is connected to the spiritual hierarchies, is an Ahrimanic observation. Ahriman projects cold and stilling influences through the intellect but he is also attached to the subsensible planes of the inner earth thus he also invigorates the lower instincts. One of Ahriman’s goals is a complete hardening of the human being devoid of any spiritual activity. In Ahriman, lies the “origin of the aberrations of thought.”[6]
It provides no comfort, whatsoever, to contemplate the spiritual fact that an actual incarnation of Ahriman is destined to occur sometime in the near future. A prior incarnation of Lucifer occurred sometime in the 3rd millennium BC in China. The precise date is not known, but Ahriman’s arrival will be marked by serious global changes. Across the world, even today there is a drowsy sort of materialistic diminution of consciousness affecting human beings that is influencing our ability, and desire, to develop spiritual awareness. This reliance on conveniences and materialism results in a kind of spiritual drowsiness where human beings refuse to think consciously, but rather rely purely on materialistic notions devoid of spiritual awareness or a striving to perceive spiritual truths.
“A Being like Ahriman, who will incarnate in the West in time to come, prepares for this incarnation in advance. With a view to his incarnation on the earth, Ahriman guides certain forces in evolution in such a way that they may be of the greatest possible advantage to him. And evil would result were men to live on in a state of drowsy unawareness, unable to recognize certain phenomena in life as preparations for Ahriman's incarnation in the flesh.
The right stand can be taken only by recognizing in one or another series of events the preparation that is being made by Ahriman for his earthly existence. And the time has now come for individual men to know which tendencies and events around them are machinations of Ahriman, helping him to prepare for his approaching incarnation.”
…in the greedy desire of the Ahrimanic powers, cold hatred against all that unfolds in freedom. Ahriman's efforts are directed towards making a cosmic machine out of that which he allows to stream forth from the Earth into universal space. His ideal is ‘measure, number and weight’ and nothing else than these. He was called into the Cosmos that serves the evolution of humanity, because ‘measure, number and weight,’ which is his sphere, had to be unfolded.”[7]
Ahriman brings a kind of thinking that is cold and intellectual devoid of the warmth of cosmic impulses and thoughts. Clever, mechanical, automatic, hardened, cold, rigid, philistine, instinctual, drowsy, and prosaic; these terms were used by Steiner used to describe the activities, influence, and nature of Ahrimanic beings. Another perspective of Ahriman’s relationship to humanity reveals that:
“…what is the aim of these other beings, who build their strongholds immediately below the surface of the Earth, and whose activities rise up into man’s metabolism, — for the phenomena we observe in the tides and less frequently in volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are always present also in the ebb and flow in man's metabolism. Whilst the Luciferic spirits build, as we said, their strongholds in the air, in order to fight for the moral — as against the earthly — element in man, the Ahrimanic beings struggle to harden man; they want to make him like themselves.”[8]
The Archangel Michael, in the modern age, wishes to bring Christ’s mission to humanity through “Cosmic Thinking” and awareness of the spiritual worlds. He is the counter-force to Ahriman and supports the Christ’s mission. The Christ, and those who serve him, compel a seeking soul to identify and manage the two polarities and achieve balance and, therefore, achieve proper transformation. We can each learn to identify, manage, and slay one’s inner dragons that we, over time, have given birth to inside our souls by falling under the influence of the opposing forces. A seeker, therefore, needs to understand the difference between cosmic thinking, permeated by the spirit of Christ and brought to us by Michael, and cold, lifeless materialistic thinking.
“Now Ahriman appropriated Intellectuality to himself in an age when he could not make it an inner reality within him. It has remained in his being as a force, utterly detached from anything of heart or soul. Intellectuality pours forth from Ahriman as a cold and freezing, soulless cosmic impulse. Those human beings who are taken hold of by this impulse bring forth that logic which seems to speak for itself alone, void of compassion and of love, which bears no evidence of a right, heartfelt, inner relationship of soul between the human being and what he thinks and speaks and does. In real truth it is Ahriman who speaks in this kind of logic.
But (the Archangel) Michael has never appropriated Intellectuality to himself. He rules it as a Divine-Spiritual force while feeling himself united with the Divine-Spiritual Powers. And when he pervades the intellect it becomes manifest that the intellect can equally well be an expression of the heart and soul as an expression of the head and mind. For Michael has within him all the original forces of his Gods as well as those of man. Consequently, he does not convey to the intellect anything that is soulless, cold, frosty, but he stands by it in a manner that is full of soul and inwardly warm.
When man seeks freedom without inclining towards egoism — when freedom becomes for him pure love for the action which is to be performed — then it is possible for him to approach Michael. But if he desires to act freely and at the same time develops egoism — if freedom becomes for him the proud feeling of manifesting himself in the action — then he is in danger of falling into Ahriman's sphere.
The Imaginations we have just described shine forth from a man's pure love for the action (Michael), or from his own self-love in acting (Ahriman).”[9]
Dr. Steiner revealed that, conversely, there exists a group of beings who collectively unite under a single leader known as “Lucifer”. Steiner stated in his lectures that Ahriman, and not Lucifer, is closer to the contemporary perception of “Satan” and the “Devil”. Ahriman is the equivalent of Goethe’s Mephistopheles. The traditional theological conceptions of Lucifer as a being who lives beneath the earth as a mighty red devil with hooves, horns, a pitchfork, and a tail are illusory. He is, in fact, a being of light. While Ahriman drags humanity down towards the earth, Lucifer in opposition seeks to pull humanity away from the earth to another planet, as it were, that is not humanity’s true home. On the extreme, Lucifer’s influences can lead to fantasies, dreams, unrestrained passions, and illusions that can lead to illness and death.[10] False pride, narcissism, self-indulgence, and self-importance are the result of Luciferic influences. Like Ahriman, Luciferic beings seek to enslave humanity based on a kind of liberation from the Christ influence and the wise guidance of the divine beings of the spiritual hierarchies. Lucifer’s goal is to disrupt that alignment and bring humanity exclusively under his domain.
Through Lucifer, the powers of egotism, passions, vanity, self-importance, and independence are amplified. To say that Lucifer makes exclusive use of the passions, however, is not correct. It appears from Steiner’s extensive lectures on the subject state that both Ahrimanic and Luciferic beings make use of the passions, or lower instinctual impulses, to suit their own ends depending on the conditions and needs of the moment. Perhaps one could say that instinctual impulses arise from the earth, through self-preservation and the base needs of purely physical reproduction, while the passions, through egotism, influence one into a state of perversion, narcissism, and decadence. People are flung from one polarity to the other as these two beings work in collaboration with one another as it suits their goals at any given moment in time.
“Luciferic spirits are also present today and these prefer to attack man from within. They want to generate all kinds of passions, but not the error of the intellect, the error of common reason that we have to struggle with in our present age.”[13] “…for all that is imparted in the way of spiritual-scientific concepts refers to the higher worlds, not to the world in which Lucifer aims to stimulate man's interest, not to the sense world alone.”[14]
Either group can stir up, exacerbate, and excite the passions, desires, and emotions that have their root in the astral, or feeling, body of the human being in an effort to overheat the blood and generate imbalance.[15] Dr. Steiner further revealed that these two influences are not inherently detrimental and that they also bring constructive aspects to human evolution. For example, Lucifer brings a conception of the arts and the impulse of individual freedom which, if corrupted, can lead one away from balance and the Christ.
The relationship between these opposing beings and influences is, perhaps, difficult to comprehend in totality as they relate to each other, and the world, in a variety of ways based on the conditions of the age in which we live through spiritual pathways within the human being. In turn, these influences directly affect the individual human being. In centuries past, as Steiner revealed, either Luciferic or Ahrimanic influences were dominant. For example, during the 15th century during the time of Joan of Arc, Dr. Steiner informed us that Luciferic forces were more dominant than Ahrimanic forces. In the modern age, Ahrimanic forces are more prevalent. During the Greek period, Luciferic influences were more prevalent.
The higher beings of the spiritual hierarchies work upon each human being during our sleep and waking state in hidden ways. However, the opposing forces do as well. Thus, it is critical that one learn about the influences of the opposing powers so that one can manage and control them effectively. One must take heed of one’s thoughts and activities during the day and how the activities and thoughts of a human being follow at night and recur in the morning. Dr. Steiner provided a path for attaining a higher degree of consciousness, and thus awareness, of what a person encounters during their sleep states and can avoid pitfalls and patterns of self-destructive behavior.
“A bad man ... whose moral sensibility is very little developed, will carry with him into sleep no pangs of conscience. He will have, spiritually speaking, an open ear for the whisperings of [the demon] Ahriman who makes evil appear good. Hence the quiet and contented sleep of the criminal! The enticement to evil to which man is exposed during sleep is, in truth, exceedingly great, and it can easily happen that in the morning he brings over with him from sleep terrible demonic forces of temptation.
There is thus abundant possibility for man to fall a victim to Ahriman during the time of sleep. It has gradually come about that men are so gravely exposed during sleep to the seductions of demonic powers, which make evil appear good. The fact is, we are living today in a time that is bringing us to a certain crisis in evolution. It behooves men to arm themselves against the powers of evil that approach them when they fall asleep.”[16]
So, Ahrimanic and Luciferic beings are viewed properly as spiritual beings that, when identified and managed properly, bring forth certain constructive forces which, on the extreme, can lead to destructive impulses. For example, explosions of passion and temperament are connected either to Luciferic or Ahrimanic impulses and give rise to physical disorders and illnesses which will follow into subsequent incarnations. While Ahriman would prefer that humanity remain permanently bound to the physical earth, Lucifer would prefer that souls do not incarnate into the physical plane, which is the dominion of Ahriman. So, while in Ahriman lies the error of thought, in Lucifer lies the “erring of the will.”[17] Lucifer can incite the emotions, feelings, and the blood to be inflamed that can inspire bursts of egotism and the fiery passions. The quest for egotism and power, for example, in whatever field of activity it finds expression, is a result of Luciferic influences. Therefore,
-“…we have thus around us in our earthly environment two hosts of beings; one in the air, that wants to make man moral but to lift him away from the Earth, and then we have also, immediately below the surface of the Earth, the Ahrimanic beings who want to draw man down and fasten him permanently to the Earth…”[18]
-“Lucifer is the power that stirs up in man all fanatical, all falsely historical forces, all that physiologically tends to bring the blood into disorder and so lift man above and outside himself. Ahriman is the power that makes man dry, prosaic, philistine — that ossifies him and brings him to the superstition of materialism. And the true nature and being of man is essentially the effort to hold the balance between the powers of Lucifer and Ahriman; the Christ Impulse helps present humanity to establish this equilibrium.”[19]
-“This Luciferic tendency is in keeping with the cosmic order in the realms in which there should be happenings that are free. And Lucifer is there the competent spiritual helper of the unfolding of humanity. Without his assistance freedom could not enter into the human life of spirit and soul which is built on the foundation of the calculable bodily nature. But Lucifer would like to extend this tendency to the whole Cosmos. And in this, his activity becomes a conflict against the Divine-Spiritual order to which man originally belongs.”[20]
So, through Dr. Steiner, we gain profound insights into the true nature of the spiritual worlds in the modern age and one can form a balanced and informed perspective of the opposing forces. These forces cannot be destroyed but only identified, managed, and regulated in our daily lives. Once managed, these polarized forces can be overcome and utilized in a human being’s experience constructively. If the influences of these beings grab hold of us in flashes of unawareness as exacerbated by the conditions upon which one is born into the world, we can become servants of their self-interest and fall into error thus facilitating illness, death, and redemptive karma. Only through education and knowledge of these beings can one begin to manage their influences and thus achieve healthy transformation and balance.
While both groups provide necessary and constructive influences to humanity, they exist in the field of polarities and thus attempt to steer humanity into behaviors and activities that ultimately serve their own aims to the extreme. They do not exist or work in a balanced way nor do they seek to promote balance for humanity. They, rather, seek to enslave humanity. Attempts to attribute the manifestations of evil expressions, such as Nazism, to purely psychological foundations is an Ahrimanic deception. The Christ, as the redeemer of humanity, provides a path for this balance and an awareness of the proper constitution of the human being given the various influences that bombard us from one moment to the next, one experience to the next, and one life to the next.
The battle for the human being's soul is disregarded at our peril. Ignoring the existence and influences of these beings inevitably compels one to fall into traps, mistakes, and snares. While the divine higher beings who oversee humanity continually intercede on our behalf, it is up to each human being to motivate ourselves, take the initiative, and learn about the influences of the opposing forces to manage, control, and channel one’s activities, thoughts, and deeds properly.
“…a fearful war is waged all the time between the air-fire beings (Lucifer) and the earth-water beings (Ahriman); they fight to get possession of man. And it is important that man should be aware of this war that is perpetually being waged for him; he must not be blind to it.”[21]
Yet, these opposing powers sometimes work collaboratively to achieve a certain aim. While one wants to possess the ego of the human being, and carry it away to another home, as it were, the other wants to take possession of whatever remains.
“If Rome had developed in such a way that a great all-embracing mechanized empire had arisen, it would only have been habitable for egoless human beings… Lucifer wants to take men's souls away and found a planet with them of his own. Ahriman has to help him. While Lucifer sucks the juice out of the lemon, as it were, Ahriman presses it out, thereby hardening what remains. This is what he tried to do to the civilization of Rome. Here we have an important cosmic process going on — all due to the intention and resolve of Luciferic and Ahrimanic powers. As I have said, they were disappointed. They have continued their efforts, however, and our fifth post-Atlantean age has yet to learn how strong these attacks are.”[22]
The results of the influences of the opposing powers do not end in the physical world. In an astounding observation, based on an expanded form of supersensible perception that only a genuine spiritual initiate has attained, Steiner revealed that the Ahrimanic powers seek to create a subrace of slave beings who are attached to the physical world by manipulating human beings during life into severe habitual lowly behaviors. One of their goals is to bind humanity to a supersensible existence connected solely to the physical earth where human beings would be permanently chained and thus not able to achieve proper and divine transformation at the end of the earth’s lifecycle. Dr. Steiner revealed that when Ahrimanic beings successfully influence human beings into a dissolute life governed by the passions and crude instincts, then they make use of the spiritual outcomes of that activity in a disturbing and tangible way.
“Suppose a man has strong and rude instincts. These beings (Ahrimanic) will clutch at his instinctive nature and seize hold of it. The man then falls victim to the Ahrimanic powers. He is completely given up to his passions and leads a wild and dissolute life. When a man has in this way become a prey, during his earthly life, to the Ahrimanic powers, then these powers will be able to hold on to his instinctive nature and tear it out of him after death. There exists already on the Earth a whole population of beings who have arisen in this way. They are there, in the elements of earth and water, a sub-human race.”[23]
It is utterly terrifying for any human being with a moral conscience to consider that a person can leave behind living traces of one’s lower self, and past deeds, after death as a living being. To defeat these truly perverse activities, the higher beings who support the Christ, and the spiritual hierarchies, actively combat evil influences through love, light, and knowledge. It is achieved through the conscious path of self-purification at the soul level. With time, effort, and patience, one can strengthen the will and spiritual shield of our being to take only that which is useful and appropriate at any given moment. We can build resistance and utilize the influences of the opposing beings through the knowledge of the spiritual world brought to us by the Christ, Michael, and the great leaders of humanity so that we can become impervious and resilient to hostile forces and influences that seek to paralyze and destroy us.
“To this day there has been much talk about Christianity and the Christ impulse, but man has not yet gained a clear understanding of what the Christ impulse has brought into the world as the result of the Mystery of Golgotha. Certainly, it is generally admitted that there is a Lucifer or an Ahriman, but in so doing, it is made to appear that from these two one must flee, as if one wished to say, “I want nothing to do with Lucifer and Ahriman!” — In yesterday's public lecture, I described the way in which the divine-spiritual forces can be found. If these forces did not want to have anything to do with Lucifer and Ahriman, either, the world could not exist. One does not gain the proper relationship to Lucifer and Ahriman by saying, “Lucifer, I flee from you! Ahriman, I flee from you!” Rather, everything that man has to strive for as a result of the Christ impulse must be seen as similar to the equilibrious state of a pendulum.”[24]
Thus, the opposing forces are perpetually active and seek to create, foster, and find new and innovative ways to disrupt, corrupt, and steer humanity away from the Christ, Michael, and our appropriate transformative path. They inspire and utilize illusions that are fostered through the inner forces of thinking, feeling, and willing. Thus, from an inner perspective, eruptions of negative and lower emotions and impulses are quite real, yet the human being should never be compelled to act upon them. The influences of the opposing beings inspire and exacerbate the vices of the human being which are amplified by things such as substance abuse, intolerance, obesity, anger, rage, violence, alcohol, drug, and sex addiction. By seeking out genuine knowledge about the Christ, the spiritual hierarchies, and the opposing forces in a genuine and informed manner, we can thus be well-armed and achieve a balanced path.
Sometimes the opposing powers collaborate but more often than not they work at cross-purposes. Dr. Steiner revealed that the temptation of Christ, for example, was not undertaken by one being known as “Satan”, but rather by the two opposing beings.[25] Steiner revealed that Christ-Jesus was able to identify each of these beings according to their true natures and therefore address and combat them properly. It is important to consider that opposing beings are higher beings who live within the eternal. They do not expire as human beings do physically. They work through human beings in our consciousness and soul impulses. If a human being allows themselves to be polarized in her or her lifetime, then those influences will follow into the next and thus continue forward as a recurring aspect of one’s being in the next lifetime.
Thus, the opposing beings, or entities, stand against the Christ and the higher divine beings who work on humanity’s behalf. The opposing beings stand as veritable kings, and leaders, above hierarchies of lower beings who serve them diligently, loyally, and vehemently. The opposing beings are as ancient as the world and have mastered the art of illusion, deception, and the insidious paths upon which humanity can best be led astray, most of which we are not aware of or are taught to observe properly through traditional education.
As Steiner revealed several times in his lectures, the reaction or disposition to avoid discussing spiritual topics is often the influence of the interference and influence of Ahrimanic beings who wish to instill in humanity a resistance to spiritual experience, ideas, and discovery based on fear and anger. Ahrimanic influences compel one to mock the spiritual worlds. Dr. Steiner sometimes referred to these mischievous beings as “anti-Michaelic” spirits who try to influence us to remain silent, be fearful, or repel away from spiritual ideas, experiences, and relationships.
To understand the true nature of the Christ, Michael, and the guiding beings of humanity, who seek to pursue an informed path that leads to a productive transformational goal based on genuine knowledge; not hypothesis or theory. Dr. Steiner brought us a path, and knowledge, as a part of a mission of the Christ and Michael. Through that curriculum, as it were, we can pursue a deeper study and find a path to perception that guides us forward in an intelligent way.
I recommend reviewing the extensive books and lectures of Rudolf Steiner, Dr. Ita Wegman,[26] and the leading members of the early Anthroposophical Society who wrote insightful works on the task of the Christ and Michael in the modern age. The Archangel Michael, as the “Fiery Thought King of the Universe” brings a critical task for humanity at the current moment of history. He guides and watches over all seekers on the genuine spiritual path who seek initiation. And for all the evil that the opposing forces wreak upon humanity, these effects are continually transformed by the divine higher beings, as led by the Christ, for the betterment and transformation of humanity.
- “In the interworking between the earthly and spiritual worlds the destinies of men are continually being wrenched from the pinions of Lucifer and the claws of Ahriman, for verily the gods are good! The unrighteousness originating from the activities of Lucifer and Ahriman behind the scenes of existence is led by the good gods into the path of righteousness again and the karmic connection is finally lawful and good.
- “For on looking into the background we perceive the karma that is woven between one human soul and another during the life between death and rebirth; we perceive how human souls work together with the Beings of the higher Hierarchies. We see, too, the activities of the Luciferic and Ahrimanic powers. Within the living organism of gods behind the organism of the earth we perceive the justification for this intervention by the Luciferic and Ahrimanic powers; we realise that Lucifer and Ahriman play an essential part in the deeper, spiritual ordering of the world. But although this necessity becomes evident to us, we must nevertheless often stand aghast at the way in which Luciferic and Ahrimanic influences penetrate into the earthly world.”[27]
In conclusion, Ahrimanic and Luciferic influences over time have brought benefits to humanity but they primarily serve a role that opposes balance through the Christ, Michael, and the spiritual hierarchies and, as a result, have exercised a certain influence in varying ways, and intensities, upon humanity. These relationships change during the post-death experience, but while a person is incarnated in the physical world, the opposing forces act in a corruptive manner that must be managed and turned into good. Thus, as Dr. Steiner revealed, the opposing powers wish to thwart the progress of mankind by bringing things ahead too soon, delaying things, or throwing things off track.
Lucifer wishes to lead human beings away from Earth where he can be their new God and enslave them. Ahriman wishes to dominate whatever remains in the physical world of the earth and bind men to it forever. The Christ, through Christ-Jesus, the Archangel Michael, and those higher beings who serve Christ’s mission, show humanity the right path by leading us into balance, redemption, and proper transformation. They are forever correcting for the activities of the opposing powers while allowing the opposing powers to play a vital role in the divine plan of evolution but the human being must fight the battle with our inner dragons for ourselves.
Footnotes:
[1] As revealed by Rudolf Steiner. The name “Ahriman” is derived from Manichaeism and is predicated upon the working construct of the opposing forces of light and dark in the universe. It is carried forward by Steiner to describe a specific higher being and its influences.
[2] Dr. Steiner revealed that a physical incarnation of Lucifer occurred in 3000BC in China and a physical incarnation of Ahriman is coming in the near future for humanity but the date depends on how quickly Ahriman can influence and prepare humanity for his incarnation so that he can affect the most damage upon the world. Refer to The Incarnation of Ahriman: The Embodiment of Evil on Earth: Seven Lectures Given Between October and December 1919 by Rudolf Steiner.
[3] Steiner, Rudolf, Turning Points Spiritual History, Part he, Zarathustra, Six Lectures, January 1911 – January 1912.
[4] This image is a realistic portrait, and not a caricature, of Ahriman as revealed by the supersensible perception of Rudolf Steiner and confirmed by the author’s perception.
[5] Steiner, Rudolf, Spirit as Sculptor of the Human Organism, Sixteen Lectures Given in Stuttgart, Dornach, The Hague, London and Berlin in 1922, CW 218. The parenthesis are mine.
[6] Steiner, Rudolf, The Luciferic and Ahrimanic in Relation to Man, Article from the journal, Das Reich, Volume 3, Number 3.
[7] Steiner, Rudolf. Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, GA26, 15. Heavenly History - Mythological History - Earthly History. The Mystery of Golgotha.
[8] Steiner, Rudolf. The Planetary Spheres and Their Influence on Man’s Life on Earth and in Spiritual Worlds, Lecture 5, London, November 16, 1922.
[9] Steiner, Rudolf. Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, GA 26, 9. The World-Thoughts in the Working of Michael and in the Working of Ahriman. The parenthesis is the author’s.
[10] Steiner revealed that health problems, including breathing and digestive disorders, follow one who gives into the passions, as inspired by Lucifer, from one life to the next.
[11] Steiner, Rudolf, The Gospel of St. Matthew, Lecture III, November 23, 1909.
[12] Steiner, Rudolf, Spirit as Sculptor of the Human Organism, Sixteen Lectures Given in Stuttgart, Dornach, The Hague, London and Berlin in 1922, CW 218.
[13] Steiner, Rudolf. The Destinies of Individuals and Nations. Lecture 5, The Nature of the Christ Impulse and the Michaelic Sprit Serving It.
[14] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of St. John. Lecture VI. GA112.
[15] Refer to the lectures and writings of Rudolf Steiner regarding the sheaths, or layers, of the human being of which the astral body, or sheath, is the source of the feeling aspects, instinctual drives, and passions of the human being that must be purged, and transformed, by the aspirant on the path of the Holy Grail. Dr. Steiner revealed that the lower influences, which reside in the astral body, were instilled in human beings eons ago through the Luciferic powers.
[16] Steiner, Rudolf. Man's Life on Earth and in the Spiritual Worlds.
[17] Steiner, Rudolf. The Planetary Spheres and Their Influence on Man’s Life on Earth and in Spiritual Worlds, Lecture 5, London, November 16, 1922.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Steiner, Rudolf. The Ahrimanic Deception. Lecture, Zurich, October 27, 1919. By “Philistine”, Steiner may mean a person who wishes to remain static and not change or transform. It should be confused with a biblical term. In addition, it should be considered that not all Luciferic or Ahrimanic influences are inherently negative. These influences become negative only when they work against the appropriate transformative impulse for humanity at any given moment in time or a human being becomes exacerbated by them and falls out of balance.
[20] Steiner, Rudolf. Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, GA26, 15, Heavenly History - Mythological History - Earthly History. The Mystery of Golgotha.
[21] Ibid. This is an abridged quote. Parenthesis is the authors.
[22] Steiner, Rudolf. Inner Impulses of Evolution, The Mexican Mysteries, The Knights Templar. GA 171
Lecture 2. The Influence of Luciferic and Ahrimanic Beings on Historical Development. The clear Perception of the Sensory World and Free Imaginations as the Task of Our Time. Genghis Khan and the Discovery of America. September 17, 1916. Dornach. This is an abridged quote.
[23] Steiner, Rudolf. Planetary Spheres and Their Influence on Man’s Life on Earth and in the Spiritual Worlds. V. Luciferic and Ahrimanic Powers Wrestling for Man, November 16, 1922, London.
[24] Steiner, Rudolf. Christ in Relation to Lucifer and Ahriman. Linz, May 18, 1915. The comment “yesterday’s lecture” refers to Supersensible Perception and Its Strengthening Soul-force in Our Time of Destiny.
[25] Refer to The Fifth Gospel and Christ in Relation to Lucifer and Ahriman lecture series by Rudolf Steiner.
[26] Refer to Dr. Ita Wegman’s work. On the Work of the Archangel Michael originally published as Aus Michaels Wirken in German for a deeper study of Michael’s task. There are also a series of lectures concerning the Archangel Michael’s task and role in humanity delivered by Rudolf Steiner.
[27] Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships Volume II, Lecture XVI, May 30, 1924, Dornach. This is an abridged section and the two paragraphs quoted do not follow each other in the lecture.
An iterative model sculpture of “Ahriman” by Rudolf Steiner and Edith Maryon.[4]
“The Luciferic principle strives to make every human being independent, to endow the single individual with the greatest possible power.”[11] Yet, these beings also seek to rob humanity of our freedom as they “hate human freedom above all else and wish to have nothing to do with it.”[12]
Left: “Lucifer” from the sculpture “Representative of Humanity” by Rudolf Steiner and Edith Maryon.
Aspect 5: Reincarnation and Karma[1]
“The law of Karma does not throw light upon abstract riddles of the universe, but upon problems which we actually encounter in life at every step. Is it not a real life-riddle when we see that one human being is born in misery and poverty, apparently without any fault of his own, and that the finest gifts which lie concealed within him must atrophy owing to the social condition into which life has placed him? We must often ask ourselves in life: How can we explain the fact that an apparently innocent man is born in the midst of misery and pain, whereas another man is born without his merit in surfeit and wealth, surrounded at the cradle by those who tenderly love him? These are problems which modern superficiality alone can ignore.”[2]
The ongoing process of spiritual transformation for humanity, and the human being, is not a blind process of coincidence, chance, or “luck”. This necessary process is an ongoing process that is overseen by higher divine beings, including our guardian Angels, and it is interwoven with the forward momentum of time. The inner secrets of reincarnation, which is far more complex in human terms than people who have accepted its operative reality are aware of, is a transformative impulse that emanates out of the will and oversight of divine higher beings, led by Christ-Jesus, who oversees human development over time. One’s name and physical form are temporary but the soul, as our eternal self, continues.
Thus, we are destined to transition out of a physical body, yet the soul-spiritual mission continues through the process of birth, life, transformation, death, transformation, and rebirth.[3] Consciousness, the soul, and the human heart transform gradually. Life continues. All beings, whether they are incarnate or discarnate, exist in a state of growth, change, and movement. Love, design, and activity, through the revelation of the Christ, is the binding element that created, informs, sustains, and transforms human beings and the world.
“Reincarnation is by no means such a simple process in the evolution of humanity as a certain easy-going way of thinking likes to assume. It is, of course, a fact that man incarnates again and again, that the innermost core of his being appears over and over again in new incarnations; it is also true that there is a causal connection between earlier and later lives. Moreover, there is the law of karma which gives expression to this causal connection. But over and above all this there is something else which is essential for understanding the historical course of the evolution of mankind.
The course of human evolution would have been quite different if nothing except the causal connections between one incarnation and the next, or between the earlier and the later incarnations of the human being came into consideration. Other forces of great significance intervene perpetually in human life, in every incarnation, to a greater or lesser extent, and use the human being as an instrument. This applies particularly in the case of leading personalities in history. Hence it follows that purely individual karma is modified through the successive incarnations...”[4]
Thus, the spiritual transformation of the individual and the world occurs only over long periods of time by way of the working operative principle of reincarnation, karma, and repeated earth lives. This mysterious process leads to redemption, growth, and development but, as we all know and have experienced, each person is born with a form of amnesia having passed through a process of change that none, but the few, truly understand. The core premise and essence of this operative principle that binds one life to the next is karma. Karma is more than a simple process of “cause and effect” although that aspect is a foundational element of karmic relationships and circumstances.
The process of reincarnation is interwoven with an immutable moral aspect that binds people together based on divine spiritual laws and principles. Karmic fulfillments are based on the free will and choices of the individual who are aided and influenced by higher beings who work for or against our proper transformation. Understanding the laws of karma will inevitably lead a seeker to clues regarding one's karmic history and allow one to plan for the future. The study of karma and reincarnation is a critical aspect of the path of spiritual discovery of the laws of the universe that directly affect everything that we have become and shall be in the future.
“What is the connection between a preceding and a subsequent life? We should clearly bear in mind that everything which we experience as inner effects of external events — joy or pain over things which we encounter in life — that all this has an influence upon our future lives.”[5]
Each lifetime is connected by the strands, through deeds, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and dispositions, from former lifetimes that are influenced by the conditions of the environment in which we are born. The world changes from one century to the next and so does the character, and consciousness, of the individual human being. What was once possible of being, or becoming, say hundreds of years ago may not be possible today. In other words, a leader, poet, or literary master may not reincarnate as such in today’s world having pursued a new path in accordance with his, or her, task, mission, and destiny.
The karma of the individual that has led to a certain constitution of soul is utterly unique from one person to the next. Human beings can live hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of lifetimes. To my knowledge, there is no limit as to the number of incarnations that a human being can live. There are missions to be considered, threads of relationships that dovetail over time, and the unique nature of the human soul. However, as Dr. Steiner revealed, the process of reincarnation will end at a far-distant point in human evolution.
For example, Buddha revealed that he lived some 555 or so lifetimes before becoming “Buddha” which is a high state of spiritual attainment. Steiner confirms that Buddha did not return to a physical body after his death and now works exclusively from the spiritual worlds and is a critical influencer in humanity’s transformation. The perception and understanding of one’s past lives are a key aspect of the genuine spiritual seeker’s path that unfolds gradually over time only with the help of the initiates, our guardian Angels, friends, and teachers who work through the Christ by way of the spiritual worlds.
Each prior lifetime is characterized by a similar physical experience as our current lifetimes although the specifics of the form, consciousness, conditions, and circumstances are unique and different and vary greatly the further that one goes back in time. The physical form changes, including race and gender, although Dr. Steiner revealed that similarities between one lifetime and the next can be seen in the brow, disposition, and the eyes. The physical form can change drastically but the character, inner disposition, and often the affectations of an individual typically manifest in a consistent manner.
“Between two successive incarnations of an individuality, there may be little outer resemblance; the significance lies in the inner nature and character. This is a difficult idea for our contemporaries to grasp…when such a lack of insight is in evidence, there will be little understanding of how outwardly different individuals can be in two successive lives on Earth, although the same fundamental impulse is at work in both.”[6]
.
Embedded in the continuity of prior lifetimes is a consistent theme that one is personally interwoven into the fabric of humanity, the world, and the cosmos by way of one’s thoughts, deeds, outcomes, and movements over time. One observes on this journey that an individual necessarily takes responsibility for one’s self and how the unique aspects and relationships of prior lifetimes have contributed to our current environment. Each of us must learn to confront and transform our unique lowly aspects that lead to redemptive karma including pride, vanity, egotism, dishonesty, holding grudges, vengeance, and other destructive habits. Through our redemptive karma, we are forced to confront, oftentimes through painful experiences, the outcomes of the past through events, other people, and ourselves.
Our thoughts, deeds, and attitudes are interwoven into our destiny and the cosmos. The experiences and effects of our prior lifetime are reflected back upon us after we pass through the gate of death during the in-between life period and then recur again in a subsequent lifetime. These nuances that occur through thought, deeds, and actions produce dispositions, illness, susceptibility to disease, one’s physical form, and the circumstances of our environment. Thus, Dr. Steiner revealed that each human being relives their karma incurred from the prior lifetime twice. This process is conducted with the assistance of higher beings in the spiritual worlds including one’s guardian Angel and the Christ.
Of all of the ideas, topics, and themes that I have encountered on reincarnation while attempting to unravel its Mysteries, I believe that the most important overarching element that binds, drives, and connects humanity is the spiritual quality of love and transformation. It is very clear to me, through the wisdom of hindsight, that the process of transformation is about the journey from birth to becoming, unfolding, and fulfillment. A significant transformation occurs between death and rebirth as the soul passes through purgatory or “kamaloca”, which according to Dr. Steiner lasts approximately 1/3 of the duration of a person’s life, and the expansion, and then contraction, of the human soul as it expands into the universe and returns for a new birth. The core premise is the quest and attainment of balance and proper transformation.[7]
But the process of transformation through repeated earth lives is not a blind process of rude awakenings and pure causality in a materialistic sense although simple rules do typically govern the process. For example, one who is intolerant of another race will be compelled to reincarnate in that race. One who persecuted a group of people will be compelled to reincarnate within that same group of people as someone who, in turn, finds him in a position of vulnerability and potentially persecution. An entire body of study has been dedicated to understanding the spiritual causes of physical illnesses which Dr. Steiner also provided penetrating insights on.
Within this process, however, is a stream of the development of consciousness which is acquired through experience. The movement of a soul is determined by its history and its decision to seek out a path that is in alignment with true spiritual ideas, principles, and values. Compassion and grace are infused in the karmic process. All beings, whether they are incarnate or discarnate, exist in a state of growth, change, and movement. The highest expression of love, however, in the best sense is the binding element that created, guides, and transforms human beings and the world.
These aspects of the human struggle are necessary opportunities, gifts, and the means of the maturation, and growth, of the human soul. The nature of karma, the influences that were brought about by higher beings and the opposing forces in a person’s life, and the mission that each soul volunteered to take on before being born, are essential truths of each person’s life. We can discern how every thought, deed, and feeling carries forward into future lifetimes as a disposition and circumstance which follows from past lives while living, in a healthy way, in our current environment. One of the goals of life is the attainment, and adoption, of higher spiritual principles in one’s life through deeds, thoughts, and words. We are driven by karma, yet each person is defined by decisions, necessity, and free will.[8]
“If we think of this Law of Karma in the right way, as the connection between cause and effect, applying it not only to physical life here on earth between birth and death, but also to the life in the spiritual world, we shall find that this very law of Karma becomes a torch which illuminates our own life. Insight into the law of Karma not only gives us a deep intellectual satisfaction, but it also profoundly satisfies our heart and soul and gives us the right understanding of our relationship to the world. More and more you will realize its deep significance and that only a true insight into this law of Karma enables you to mould your life harmoniously in regard to your environment.”[9]
With regards to gender, there is a karmic cadence for most people to incarnate as the opposite gender in a regular cycle based on the unique karmic history, and mission, of the individual. That rhythm is unique for each person; thus, one should be careful not to rush to assumptions because of the political environment in which we live in the 21st century. However, everyone’s path is unique and, in spiritual terms, we must learn to rise above ideas such as gender and race to a holistic spiritual view of humanity as a cohesive whole. We are human beings first, carrying the majesty of the human spirit within us, above all other things.
An egotist will become an even greater egotist. Someone who embraces constructive attitudes, and habits, will expand and grow in the next incarnation. Past-life studies conducted under hypnosis by a variety of researchers who have shared their findings publicly have revealed unique patterns of gender change over time but with no law, or formula, that has any meaning for predictability. Some have alternated between genders in a perfectly balanced way from one incarnation to the next while others have unique cadences.
While various psychologists and researchers have tried in vain, perhaps, to develop models for these studies there is no reliable consistent algorithm to be discerned. For these observations, we need the insights of a genuine initiate such as Dr. Steiner. This is because each human being follows an individualized path. Due to the unique requirements of each individual and the art of the human being which varies from one soul to the next as each experience builds upon the one before it, a forensic predictive model in the modern sense using intellectual, and even feeling-based ideas, will never produce meaningful insights.[10] Results must come from a mature form of clairvoyance and, if need be, confirmed through spiritual guides.
“Buddha was able to say: At birth, the human being brings with him, in his Linga Sharira, everything it contains from his former incarnations; it is inscribed there everything of which man, in the present epoch, knows nothing and over which spreads the darkness of ignorance, although it asserts itself as the ‘thirst for existence’, the ‘craving for life’. In what is called the ‘craving for life’, Buddha saw everything that comes from previous incarnations and drives man to long avidly for enjoyment in the world, so that he does not merely move through the world of colors, tones and other impressions, but yearns for this world. This force exists in man from previous incarnations. Buddha's pupils called it ‘Samskara’.
But man's endeavours should be directed, not towards retaining the habits, proceeding from Samskara but towards acquiring those that gradually become his own as the result of right views, right judgment, right speech, and so on. These are the right habits.
The Gospel of St. Luke contains Buddhism in a new form, as though springing from a fountain of youth; hence it expresses the religion of compassion and love in a form comprehensible to the simplest souls. We can read what the writer of the Gospel of St. Luke has woven into the text of his Gospel, but still more is contained in its depths. Only part of what appertains to the scene of Jesus in the temple could be described today and even greater depths of this mystery have still to be explained. Light will then be shed upon the earlier as well as upon the later years of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.”[11]
Thus, through deliberate conscious effort, and the informed path of an initiate, one can achieve proper transformation over time. The Buddha’s Eightfold Path, which was also taught by Dr. Steiner, enables one to walk an informed path leading to spiritual health throughout life. For people who have embraced a structured path, seekers tend to lead isolated lives. In the old manner of things, some were celibate or incarnate without a need, or desire, for intimate relationships. Thus, the matter of gender change for a particular soul becomes a point of necessity, and preference, based on karmic histories and soul dispositions. All of these aspects are managed, and designed, by the Guardians of karma who work within the spiritual hierarchies on behalf of each individual. For example, Dr. Steiner regards the higher beings who live within the Moon sphere, which he described as a fortress in a spiritual sense, are intimately connected to humanity’s karmic records.
-"…the Beings who were once the great primeval Teachers of humanity are connected with man's karma; it was they who brought the ancient wisdom to mankind. They did not live on the earth in physical bodies but in etheric bodies, and at a certain point of time they departed from the earth to establish their abode in the Moon; and there we encounter them during the first phase of our life between death and a new birth. These are the Beings who engrave a record of men's karma into the cosmic ether, in an unerring script of soul-and-spirit."[12]
-"What is behind the outer surface of the Moon, in the innermost sphere of the Moon, is significant above all in its spiritual aspect. The spiritual Beings peopling this innermost sphere of the Moon are Beings who shut themselves off in strict seclusion from the rest of the universe. They live in their Moon “fortress”.[13]
So, karma is recorded, people incarnate, and pass-through various membranes and portals of experience which lead to new forms and experiences. To avoid being cast adrift on the winds of time in an uninformed way, one must embrace an informed path of transformation that can follow, and enable, attributes and dispositions that will follow us from one lifetime to the next within the context of one’s individuality. This knowledge will enable sound decision-making. Following a genuine spiritual path of initiation, as described by Dr. Steiner, can lead one down the path of change in an expedited way.
Thus, each of us carries a soul-record, which is unique and is interwoven in our current and future incarnations. Our paths interweave with other individuals, different cultures, races, genders, and venues over time. In this structured spiritual tapestry of fulfillments and creation, which is a science and an art managed by the Christ, through Christ-Jesus, the divine beings of the spiritual hierarchies, and the collegium of the initiates, we continuously refine and mold ourselves as we undertake soul missions, tasks, and objectives. We lead many repeated earth lives.
Footnotes:
[1] Rudolf Steiner lectured extensively on the nuances and reality of reincarnation and karma revealing many of the hidden complexities at work in human activity. The concept is simple enough to understand, but the mystery of reincarnation is not a simple or mechanical process and thus requires a cautious and diligent study. Refer to Rudolf Steiner’s lecture series The Principle of Spiritual Economy and Karmic Relationships. Because the substance of this book deals extensively with karma and reincarnation, this section has been shortened.
[2] Steiner, Rudolf. Theosophy and Rosicrucianism, GA 100, Lecture VII, The Law of Karma. Kassel, June 22, 1907.
[3] “In the epoch of the Consciousness Soul (which began in 1413AD) we must develop a sense that the external events of history are subject to birth and death, and that, whatever we create, be it a child's toy or an empire, we create in the knowledge that it must one day perish. Failure to recognize the impermanence of things is irrational, just as it would be irrational to believe that one could bear a child which was entitled to live on earth forever.” Steiner, Rudolf. From Symptom to Reality, Lecture 4.
[4] Steiner, Rudolf. Occult History, Lecture 3, Stuttgart, December 29, 1910.
[5] Steiner, Rudolf. Theosophy and Rosicrucianism, GA 100, Lecture VII, The Law of Karma. Kassel, June 22, 1907.
[6] Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships, Volume VI, Lecture 5. Stuttgart. April 9, 1924.
[7] Here is a reference point for esoteric study: the image, or symbol, of the Raven as the symbol of the first stage of spiritual initiation in the Middle Ages. Seeing this image in one’s dreams, or spiritual experiences, may be a sign of spiritual growth and transformation. “The first stage is attained when a man's ordinary feeling and thinking is raised to a higher level, where knowledge of the Spirit is attained.” Steiner, Rudolf. The Festivals and Their Meaning – Christmas, Chapter 1. The Christmas Festival: A Token of the Victory of the Sun. Dec. 24, 1905.
[8] Countless works and studies exist that consider and contemplate reincarnation, especially as case studies conducted through first-hand experience and hypnotic regression, but very few provide the deeper spiritual facts and insights on the manifestations and true laws of karma beyond cause-and-effect relationships. Refer to Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s lecture series Karmic Relationships and Occult Science an Outline for further information.
[9] Steiner, Rudolf. Theosophy and Rosicrucianism, GA 100, Lecture VII, The Law of Karma. Kassel, June 22, 1907.
[10] One must be careful here and not rush to generalizations. Certain personalities in history who are perceived in modern times as being the epitome of the male archetype in an egotistical sense do, in fact, also incarnate as female.
[11] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of St. Luke, GA 114, Lecture Three, September 17, 1909, Basel. This is an abridged quote. Buddha, and Dr. Steiner, talked about Eightfold Path for healthy living and development.
[12] Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships Volume II, Lecture XVI.
[13] Ibid.
Aspect 6: The Akashic Records
Thus, the spiritual law that governs and threads birth, life, death, and rebirth together is karma and destiny. The entire soul-history of each individual is contained and preserved within a universal substance that is discerned only through spiritual perception. It is observed, and interwoven, in one’s experience as we pass from death to rebirth as we once again become a part of the universe and prepare for a future lifetime.
This spiritual "substance" is universal and surrounds and permeates all living things. In the spiritual worlds, there is a comprehensive spiritual library and great hall of history that contains the all-inclusive history of actions, thoughts, feelings, and deeds of every soul in the universe. It exists only as a construct in the spiritual worlds but it is perceivable by those who develop an ability to expand their consciousness in such a way to “read” from it. The true causes of one’s life, the world, and the cosmos can only truly be achieved through an expanded form of spiritual perception.
Our spiritual lineage is an ongoing book for each of us. It is the summation of one’s comprehensive soul-history that includes all of the cause-and-effect relationships that each of us has carried within our souls through each of our lifetimes. Each person has a “book” in the Great Hall of Records. By gaining access to the great hall of records, true spiritual insights and facts about human history, and the universe, can be attained. Dr. Rudolf Steiner is an example of someone who could consciously and accurately read the individual as well as the history of the world and the cosmos, through the universal substance.
Other seekers and teachers such as Edgar Cayce and Madame Blavatsky discovered paths to the records and published their findings thus revealing aspects of karma, humanity’s cosmic history, relationships, circumstances, illness, dispositions, and other nuances of karmic relationships. In the modern age, a path to the sacred knowledge contained therein has been made available, albeit in limited form, through hypnosis.
The terms “Hall of Records”, “Akashic Records”, “Cosmic Script”, the “Secret Doctrine”, and “Akasha-Essence” are synonymous terms that describe the same construct.[1] References to “books” and “records” can be found in several religious contexts. For example, the Christian Bible in various places speaks of the “Book of Life” where the records and deeds of the world and humanity are retained.
“And he saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”[2]
Contemporary historical studies are not capable of providing the truest insights into history which necessarily lack a spiritual framework. In historical terms, these exoteric studies provide some insights into historical events but are also frequently flawed. Dr. Steiner, and all initiates, revealed that the Akashic Records are the ultimate source of information regarding the history of the cosmos and humanity. The Akashic Records allow one to achieve an objective review of a historical event from all perspectives including karma, the inner states of people, the spiritual forces at work, and otherwise hidden dispositions of the human being and the world.
Understanding the true nature of historical events, and people, is a multi-dimensional experience. Pieces, however, are perceived by one on the path as spiritual perception becomes mature. It is something that is achieved beyond the confines of the intellect alone. Historical records at present do not provide us with any genuine higher knowledge and the vast majority are not observed by way of the Akashic Records. Therefore, as Steiner (and others) have revealed, a true historical study can only be done through the Akashic Records and must consider the true, if hidden, aspects that are not necessarily flowing through the mind of a contemporary historian in a conscious way. The pursuit of knowledge in the Akashic Records is the task of genuine spiritual-historical research and can only be pursued in the context of higher ideals.[3]
“So that, when our spiritual eyes are opened, we can follow the traces and find the spiritual counterpart of everything that has happened in the world. Nothing can happen in the world without leaving such traces. Let us suppose the spiritual investigator lets his gaze wander back to the days of Charlemagne, or to Roman times, or to ancient Greece. Everything that happened in those times is preserved in the trace left by its spiritual prototype, and can be observed in the spiritual world. This kind of vision is called ‘reading the Akashic Records. A living script of this kind does indeed exist and can be seen by the spiritual eye.
Thus, when the spiritual investigator described to you the events in Palestine or the observations of Zarathustra, his descriptions are not taken from the Bible or in the Gathas, but what he himself is able to read in the Akashic records. Then, having completed his occult investigation, he turns to the traditional documents — in the present case, to the Gospels — and investigates whether they confirm his results.
Thus, the standpoint of occult investigation, as regards traditional documents, is one of complete independence, for which reason such investigation is in every respect competent to judge these documents. But when we meet with the same facts in the traditional documents as we have been able to decipher in the Akashic records, this coincidence proves to us that these documents are true, furthermore that their author could also read in the Akashic records.”[4]
For the spiritual initiate and those who have access to the Akashic Records, an accurate and detailed history of what occurred at any given moment of time throughout human history is available, and thus knowable. When reviewing Dr. Steiner’s karmic relationships lectures, one should consider that he always spoke from a mature perspective bound by the code of a high initiate. In addition, he was obliged to bring into the three-dimensional world a comprehensive perspective of what he reviewed in the Akashic Records.
Thus, he often spoke of the conditions of the age, or historical time, in which certain people lived and historical events occurred. Some of us may have limited access to the Akashic Records through the subconscious and/or spiritual guides and friends who bring us information. Some people, without knowing it, access the records through dreams and psychic recall. Some hypnotic regression therapists have gained access to the Hall of Records but only through their patient’s spiritual guides who work on their behalf; albeit knowingly or unknowingly.
In other words, a hypnotic regression therapist working through someone’s past lives will not have unrestricted access to the information in the Akashic Records. It is a permission granted by the one who stands as a guardian over the individual in question. Edgar Cayce, for example, gained access to the Hall of Records, which is a sacred construct, by way of a form of self-hypnosis that was the outcome of karma from prior lifetimes when he achieved a high degree of spiritual initiation. However, each time he entered the Hall of Records, he had to obtain permission from a spiritual guardian who granted him access.
Even then, only certain details were made available and if someone infringed upon privacy, or the ethical boundary of the Akashic Records, the reading ended quickly with “we are through at present.” It is from this living and eternal Cosmic Script that Dr. Steiner, and the initiates, was able to provide details about people’s karmic histories as was appropriate for his task.[5] In other words, neither Dr. Steiner nor Cayce brought every nuance and personal aspect of a person’s history forward to the public. There are boundaries around what can, and cannot, be revealed. In the final analysis, from a personal perspective, we each need to find a path to discover our individual karma and worry less about someone else’s.
For the uninitiated or those who seek out the records with ulterior motives, the risk of exploitation is too great and thus access is restricted. As a result, the information contained in the Akashic Records are a guarded and sacred aspect of spiritual research. The “dead” do, in fact, have limited access to the Akashic Records but not in an unrestricted way. And when they do get access, it is monitored and controlled by one’s Guardian Angel as well as a Guardian of the Hall of Records. So, for those of you who dare to consider the notion of entering the Akashic Records to pry on other people’s private lives, they will meet with disappointment unless it serves a constructive spiritual purpose for the person in question and those whom that person is connected to.
Footnotes:
[1] Steiner, Rudolf, Occult Science - An Outline, Part 4, Man and the Evolution of the World.
[2] King James Version, Book of Revelation, 20:12.
[3] In other words, spiritual researchers who have access to the Akashic Records will review historical documents and verify if a fact was correct or not. Historical records never take precedence for a mature spiritual-historical researcher.
[4] Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of St. John in Relation to the Other Gospels, The Living Spiritual History, GA112, Lecture 2 June 25, 1909. Dr. Steiner here is referring to the Gospels as recorded in the modern bible, thus if one were conducting research on other historical events, one would look elsewhere for validation. In addition, Dr. Steiner here is not referring to the Persian prophet Zarathustra who lived in the 6-7h centuries BC, but rather to the founder of the Sun Initiates who lived in about 6500BC (per Plutarch’s hypothesis). Each disciple of the original Zarathustra carried the same name. Refer to Rudolf Steiner’s lecture series The Principle of Spiritual Economy, Lecture 1, The Principle of Spiritual Economy in Connection with Questions of Reincarnation: An Aspect of the Spiritual Guidance of Mankind, Heidelberg, January 21, 1909 and From Christ to Jesus, Carlsruhe, October 4, 1911.
[5] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s Karmic Relationships lecture cycles.
Aspect 7: The Construct of the Human Being
The human being is a spiritual and physical being. We possess both visible and invisible aspects that are revealed only when the veil has been pierced. It is not so simple, however, to view things in terms of religious dogma and understand the facts, and truth, of the human being and destiny. The physical body is complex enough, but beyond it are aspects that are observable only by way of supersensible observation. Dr. Steiner’s observations on these aspects are the basis of this summary, thus I shall not refer to his name in front of every sentence. All of the statements contained herein are faithful to quotes from his lectures, articles, and books. Any mistakes are the sole responsibility of the author.
When considering prior lifetimes and fulfillments which lead to aptitudes, attitudes, illness, and human form, it is critical to understand the four central aspects, “bodies”, or “sheaths”, of the human being according to Anthroposophical vernacular and how these aspects interpolate one another. The four fundamental bodies are the etheric, astral, physical, and ego-I. They are, in fact, separate aspects that comprise a whole. The etheric, astral, and physical bodies possess “organs” and circulatory systems that correspond to the physical organs of the human body. The ego works within all of these aspects purifying and transforming it based on the will, activity, and thoughts of the human being as we work our way through life. They follow us as new configurations, or intensifications, as it were, from one life to the next having been shaped and transformed by the thoughts, deeds, and activities of our former selves.
“The term “body” must not be confused with a bodily form perceptible to the physical senses. Used in the sense implied in this book the term “body” can also be applied to such forms as soul and spirit may assume.”[1]
Each of these aspects interpolates one another and uniquely reflects one’s degree of consciousness, and maturity, is at any given moment. Karma, dispositions, attitudes…all of these things are interwoven within these sheaths of the human being and expand, or contract, based on activity and life events. These sheaths are imbued, and reflect, the inner state of activity and the history of each human soul through the experiences, decisions, and deeds which have shaped us into what we are today. Typically, the human being transforms through the holistic experiences of life. However, things change in an expedited way when a conscious decision is made to follow a structured path of spiritual, or human, transformation.
When the path of conscious transformation is undertaken, these sheaths are shaped and transformed deliberately, with an informed body of knowledge, over the course of repeated lifetimes.[2] Correlations are found in the practice of Yoga that originated through the ancient Eastern traditions (Buddhism and India) where holistic healing practices that speak of energy centers, chakras, healing practices, etc. These systems are not all in agreement and the vernacular can shift from one source to the next. Understanding the aspects of the human being, as observed through initiation knowledge, is central to health, balance, and transformation.
“Think of the etheric body and the astral body together. The astral body, as you know, is the vehicle of all that lives in man as impulse, desire and passion, all that surges up and down in the soul as joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. The etheric body, on the contrary, is the vehicle that represents and bears within it the more lasting qualities of soul.”[3]
The advent of Christianity wrought a great change in the manner of Initiation. Initiation (or transformation of the human soul as a structured process) since the time of Christ-Jesus has not been the same as before His coming. We can only understand this by studying the nature of man and the seven fundamental principles of his being.
1. The physical body, visible to the natural eye and familiar to science. As a purely physical being, man corresponds to the mineral world; he is a combination of all the physical forces of the universe.
2. The etheric body. How does it become perceptible? This body somewhat resembles the physical body and yet it is different. It takes on the form of the physical body, extending slightly beyond it. The etheric body is more or less luminous and fluidic. Instead of organs there are currents of diverse colors, the heart being a veritable vortex of forces and streaming currents. The etheric body is the ‘etheric double’ of the material body. Man possesses it in common with the plants. It is not produced by the physical body as naturalists might be led to believe; on the contrary, the etheric body is the builder of every living organism. In the plant, as well as in man, it is the force of growth, rhythm and reproduction.
3. The astral body has neither the form of the etheric nor of the physical body. It is an ovoid and extends beyond the body like a cloud, an aura. The astral body can take on all the colors of the rainbow, according to the passion by which it is animated. Each passion has its astral color. Besides this, the astral body is, in a certain sense, the synthesis of the physical and etheric bodies, for the reason that the etheric body always has a contrary character to the sex of the physical body. The etheric body of a man is female; the etheric body of a woman is male. In both man and woman, the astral body is bisexual. In this sense, therefore, it is a synthesis of the two other bodies.
4. The self — Manas in Sanskrit, Joph in Hebrew — is the intelligent, rational soul. It is the indestructible individuality which can learn to build the other bodies — the ‘inexpressible,’ the human self and the divine self.”[4]
“The mineral kingdom is recognizable in the form of the human being at any given moment; the plant kingdom, as the etheric body, is the basis of his growth, his becoming; the animal kingdom, as the astral body, is the impulse for his unfolding of sensation and volition. The crowning of the conscious life of sensation and volition in the self-conscious spiritual life makes the connection of man with the spiritual world straightway apparent.”[5]
The decisions of the ego-I in each of us, and the resulting thoughts and deeds that occur in the physical world, are influenced by the astral body which, in turn, affects the etheric body which, in turn, affects the physical body. It is up to each person to allow the spiritual aspects of the higher self to permeate our being. This is a great challenge in life. The history of each individual is an integrated part of the soul and permeates the human being in a variety of ways. However, certain principles and rules apply to everyone.
The ego-I is interwoven within the etheric, astral bodies, and physical bodies and follows the evolution of the “I” from one lifetime to the next. It is through the ego-I that change is accomplished and transformation occurs. The ego-I, however, is also built up based on our environment which is influenced by karmic variables. The concept of deliberate effort is common sense in the sphere of exercise or body-building because the results are immediately visible, but the same principle also applies to the soul and inner faculties such as thinking, perception, and the control and transformation of one’s emotional impulses.
-“When the Initiate has purified his astral body of all animal passions, when it has become wholly luminous (the first phase of Initiation), he has arrived at the stage of catharsis. Only then can he work at his etheric body and by this means ‘affix his seal’ to the physical body. Of itself, the astral body has no direct influence upon the physical body. Its forces must pass by way of the etheric body. The task of the disciple, therefore, is concerned with the transformation of the astral and etheric bodies in order, finally, to acquire full and complete control of the physical body. This is how he becomes a master.” [6]
-“The higher stages of Initiation consist in controlling all the phenomena connected with the physical body, in mastering and controlling them at will. The Initiate possesses Atma to the extent to which he achieves this; he becomes a sage and has power over Nature.”[7]
-"Our path is defined by one’s karma and initiative. We constructively refine and mold our relationships through the informed path which approaches maturity in the high spirit of true brotherhood. As one expands and embraces genuine spiritual ideals and activities, and subsequently integrates them into one’s soul, upward and constructive transformation follows. The human being is not a physical being indefinitely; we are spiritual beings expressing the eternal self in physical form for a temporary period of time bearing the consequences, and transformations attained, in our prior lifetimes.
This expression continues in a transitional and developmental way over the course of many lifetimes until spiritual transformation has been achieved in alignment with the divine plan of each individual soul, the world, the universe, and the greater community of humanity. Steiner observed that there are three additional higher soul aspects, or soul-bodies, that are at varying stages of development both from a cosmic perspective and an individual perspective. These higher and purified aspects are referred to by Dr. Steiner as the “intellectual soul”, “consciousness soul”, and “sentient soul”. Each of the four foundational sheaths has been given over to humanity over the course of our evolution and quite gradually. The purified aspects are achieved by individual effort and repeated life experiences.
We know that we must think of the ego itself as inwardly organized. The ego works upon a kind of intermediate being. Therefore, between the astral body which man has inherited from the past and the Spirit Self or Manas which he will fashion out of the astral body in the distant future, there are the three preparatory members; the Sentient Soul, the lowest member in which the ego has already worked, the Intellectual or Mind Soul and the Spiritual or Consciousness-Soul. But very little of Spirit Self or Manas that we are in process of developing is present in man today, at most only the first indications.
On the other hand, man has laid the foundations of this future development by having learnt to control his three lower members to some extent. He learned to control the astral body by permeating it with his ego and forming the Sentient Soul within it. Just as the Sentient Soul stands in a certain relationship to the sentient body, so does the Intellectual Soul or Mind-Soul to the etheric body, so that the Intellectual or Mind-Soul is a feeble foreshadowing of what the Life Spirit or Buddhi will be — a feeble foreshadowing, it is true, but none the less a foreshadowing. And in the Spiritual Soul (or Consciousness-Soul) the ‘I’ has worked down into the physical body to a certain extent. Therefore, the Spiritual Soul is a feeble foreshadowing of what will one day be Spirit Man or Atma. Thus, apart from the limited transformation of his astral body which he has already achieved as a first step towards the development of Spirit Self or Manas, we recognize in man today four different members. We can distinguish:
the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, the ego that works within them, and further as a foreshadowing of the higher members:
-the Sentient Soul,
-the Intellectual or Mind-Soul,
-the Spiritual Soul or Consciousness-Soul.”[8]
Footnotes:
Thus, the human being is composed of seven aspects that are interwoven into a single continuity. Dr. Steiner observed that the etheric and physical body remains behind while we sleep while the astral and ego-I enter the spiritual worlds in such a way that is not observable to the average human being. The astral body, for example, is recharged at night by way of the powers and forces of the spiritual worlds that heal it from the prior day’s destructive forces which wear it down. In turn, the etheric and physical bodies are healed, and revivified, by way of forces streaming out of the universe, or spiritual worlds, through our dream life at night into the individual. These seven aspects are experienced as a single individuality during the day through thinking, willing, and feeling.[9]
The interplay of these sheaths, and how the “I” has been shaped by prior lifetimes, failures, and achievements are achieved only by slowly making one’s way into a review of one’s soul-history. The “I” is the pathway by which human spiritual freedom is achieved. At one point in the far-distant history of humanity, we did not have a true ego-I as we do today which has gradually grown in strength over time changing the nature of consciousness and how humanity perceives the world. This transition was captured in epic form in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey which are revealed in the tales of heroes, journeys, mythical monsters, and symbols that have little or no connection to historical reality or the outer world. Thus, these epic poems reveal the path of spiritual initiation and the transition from the old form of perception, through inherited faculties, to the new and have shaped the world into its current form and construct. This transition plays a vital role in this karmic tale and is discussed throughout the work.
[1] Steiner, Rudolf. Theosophy, GA 9, Chapter I: 4. Body, Soul and Spirit.
[2] Refer to Dr. Steiner’s foundational texts including Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment, Initiation and its Results, and The Way of Initiation.
[3] Steiner, Rudolf. The Lord’s Prayer. An Esoteric Study. Berlin, January 20, 1907. GA96.
[4] Steiner, Rudolf. An Esoteric Cosmology. Lecture IV. Involution and Evolution. May 29, 1906. Paris. The parenthesis are mine.
[5] Steiner, Rudolf. Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, GA 26, On the Picture Nature of Man, Supplementary to the last set of Leading Thoughts.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Thus, what one thinks or feels during the day comes to life outwardly during our dream state. Thus, dreams can be a confusing experience until one develops a vocabulary for symbolic versus lucid, or clairvoyant, dreaming as the human being is within the spheres of the spiritual worlds while one sleeps regardless of the maturity, and clarity, of one’s perception.