better than Sci-Fi

Adrian Salamandre

To live into the pictures that can arise in our souls from the causal stages of our cosmic & earthly evolution – to experience inwardly what the choirs of the great hierarchies give forth of themselves thru their interaction as they went thru their human stage & beyond, opens us to the root of our soul life.

It’s better than Sci-Fi folks, you can’t make these things up, & it explains so much…

We can contemplate that thru the resignation made by the Cherubim during the Sun-evolution, eternity was gained. So when we look into our own soul, we can find the call to exhibit these qualities of renunciation which brings us into the eternal now. We can imagine how eternity & immortality were acquired, but only thru the renouncing of the sacrifice – the letting go of the gifts from the virtue of bestowal.

This reminds me of the vow that Maria makes in the Mystery Dramas to renounce all personal gain so that her achievements, instead of giving her individual power, can foster the spiritual development of others – especially those connected with her in a karmic knot, specifically Johannes.

In this artistic representation by Steiner we see an example of the significance of the renunciation made by the gods during ancient Sun.

From Lecture 3 of ‘Inner Realities of Evolution’ Steiner continues the picture: “From Occult Science we know that the evolution of ancient Moon followed that of ancient Sun, that at the close of the Sun-age all the existing conditions were immersed in a kind of twilight, in a sort of cosmic chaos, & then emerged again as “Moon.”

And we see the sacrifice reissuing in the form of heat. All that remained as heat on ancient Sun reappears as heat on ancient Moon; we see the virtue of bestowal reappearing as gas, or air. And the resignation of the sacrifice also continues…It is actually the case, that what we can ourselves experience as resignation we must think of in everything on ancient Moon, carried over from ancient Sun…

That which had been sacrifice reappears in Maya as Heat; and that which has the virtue of bestowing appears in Maya as gas or air. Resignation as it has now become appears in external Maya as Fluidity, as “Water.”

“Water” is Maya and would not be in the world at all were it not that its spiritual foundation is renunciation, or resignation. Wherever water is to be found in the world there is divine-renunciation.

Just as heat is an illusion behind which is sacrifice, and gas or air an illusion behind which is the virtue of bestowal, so is water as a substance, as an external reality, nothing but an illusion of the senses, a reflection; the only reality existing in it, is resignation…It might be said, water could only flow in the world because resignation underlies it.

WOW…This insight is really changing how I interact with these earthly elements. Even though it’s still hard for me to see them as maya…

Ok so, we have been picturing how since some of the Cherubim refrained from the sacrifice, they passed from mortality to immortality – from a transitory state into a State of Duration. In this we see the 1st polarity.

What does this engender? And what becomes of the substance of the sacrifice not received?

The consequence of the polarity created by the renunciation of the Cherubim made the presence of what we call Luciferic beings who we can say “remained behind” possible. These beings take possession of the sacrifice to use for their own separate desires, outside of progressive evolution.

But it’s Important to note that if those Cherubim had accepted the proffered sacrifice, the Luciferic beings could not have remained behind; they would have had no opportunity of becoming independent & embodying themselves in that substance.

So friends, as Steiner reveals we can see that in cosmic evolution the gods themselves called their ‘opponents’ into being. If the gods had not renounced the sacrifice, these beings would not have been able to oppose them.

We may picture the gods forseeing this. Steiner translates for us what they may have said: “If we purely go on creating as we have done from Saturn to Sun there would never be any free beings, capable of acting from their own initiative. In order that beings of this nature might come into existence, the possibility must be given for opponents to arise against us in the Universe, so that we should meet with resistance in that which is subject to time. If we ourselves ordain everything we shall meet with no such resistance. We could make everything very easy for ourselves by accepting the sacrifice offered to us; then would the whole of evolution be subject unto us. But this will not do, we want beings able to become strong through resistance. We will therefore not accept the sacrifice; so that through our resignation, and because they accept the sacrifice, they become our opponents!”

This explains how in the example I shared of Maria’s sacrifice in the Mystery Dramas, that her renunciation gives rise to Luciferic tendencies in Johannes! And turns the love she gives to her foster child into indifference. Up until now I had never understood why that had to happen.

And so dear striving humans, we have begun to try to understand the origins of what becomes a “Sacred Wound” in our soul life – which we will continue to unfold as we go deeper into the ancient moon stage of evolution in the next installments…

Standing in wonder & awe with you

~hag

15 November 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: With moonrise coming late conditions are perfect for observing Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) shortly after sunset. The comet is making a slow curve through Serpens Caput this month, just south of Corona Borealis. Tonight, ZTF is just due south of Coronae Borealis in the Northern Crown. The comet is essentially at the turning point in its curve and will now start moving slowly north and slightly east as November continues.

Sunrise: 6:45 A.M.
Sunset: 4:43 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:45 P.M.
Moonset: 12:53 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (58%)

 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1280 – Death & Feast Day of Albertus Magnus, a German Catholic Dominican friar & bishop, theologian, & philosopher, one of the founders of Scholasticism. Canonized as a saint, one of the 36 Doctors of the Catholic Church. He was known during his lifetime as Doctor Universalis & Doctor Expertus.

Albertus was the first to comment on virtually all of the writings of Aristotle, making them accessible to wider academic debate. The study of Aristotle brought him to take an interest in the teachings of Muslim academics, notably Avicenna & Averroes.

Albertus took part in the General Chapter of the Dominicans at Valenciennes together with Thomas Aquinas establishing a program for the Dominicans that featured the study of philosophy. This innovation initiated the tradition of Dominican scholastic philosophy put into practice, for example at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the “Angelicum

Albert’s writings went to 38 volumes, displaying his prolific habits & encyclopedic knowledge of topics such as logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, alchemy, zoology, physiology, phrenology, justice, law, friendship, & love. He digested, interpreted, & systematized the whole of Aristotle’s works, gleaned from the Latin translations & notes of the Arabian commentators. Most modern knowledge of Aristotle was preserved and presented by Albertus.

According to legend, Albertus is said to have discovered the philosopher’s stone & passed it on to his pupil Thomas Aquinas, shortly before his death.

Among the last of his labors was the defense of the orthodoxy of his former pupil, Thomas Aquinas, whose death grieved him deeply.

Albertus is known for his commentary on the musical practice of his times. Most of his written musical observations are found in his commentary on Aristotle’s Poetics

“Essentially speaking, the task of the time which lies between the fourth and the fifteenth century was, therefore, the development of a technique of thinking. This thinking activity has now adopted a definite attitude in regard to man’s cognitive faculty towards the contents of the world. We may say: Spirits such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas have set forth the position of man’s thinking activity towards the contents of the world in a manner which was, at that time, quite incontestable.

How do their descriptions appear to us?

Thinkers such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas had dogmatically preserved truths which originated from old traditions, but their meaning could no longer be grasped. To begin with, these truths had to be protected as contents of a supernatural revelation, which at that time was more or less equivalent to a super-sensible revelation. The Church preserved these revelations through its authority and teachings, and people thought that the dogmas of the Church contained the revelations connected with the super-sensible worlds. They were to accept what was offered in these dogmas, they were to accept it as a revelation which could not be touched by human reason, that is to say, by the human intellect. The Dual Form of Cognition During the Middle Ages and the Development of Knowledge in Modern Times” ~ Lecture By Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, August 5, 1921, GA 206

1630 – Deathday of Johannes Kepler, German astronomer & mathematician

“Johannes Kepler was as much a natural scientist of an earlier time as of a later one. He drew his thoughts from external observation, but in his inner experience he had an absolute feeling that spiritual Beings are there when man is receiving his thoughts from Nature. Kepler felt himself to be partly an Initiate, and for him it was a matter of course that he experienced his abstract building up of the universe artistically”. ~Rudolf Steiner, The Younger generation

“It cannot be denied that such spirits formerly imparted their oracular sayings to men through idols and oak-trees, out of groves and grottoes, through animals and so on; and sooth-saying from the flight of birds was not merely an art of deceiving the weak. Those spirits were active in guiding the birds through the air, and by this means, with God’s permission, much was intimated to men in former times. Even today we hear stories of fateful birds, such as owls, vultures, eagles, ravens, but the more such stories are despised, the rarer they become. For these spirits cannot bear being despised, as according to the law of God and Christian teaching, they certainly deserve to be: they prefer to fly away and keep silent. From the beginning the lying Tempter was allowed to speak through animals: he spoke to Eve through the serpent and thus he led the human race astray. That was always the way of these spirits from then onwards: whenever they could speak to men through the bodies and movements of animals, through voices or portents, they misused this power, appropriating for themselves the reverence due to God and misleading unhappy men. And now, although Christ came to destroy the work of the Devil, and imposed silence on these spirits, and although they lost their temple-statues, their groves and their caves and the earth they had so long possessed, yet they are always here still in the empty air, and with God’s permission they utter their scattered cries. Often they are God’s scourges; often he allows certain things to be announced through them to men.”

The author of these words gives a gentle indication of how the spiritual revelations come to be permeated by Christ, for he writes in a frame of mind that can truly be called Christ-filled. In 1607 he spoke thus of the changes that had come about in the spiritual world. Who is this man? Is he someone who has no right to speak, someone we can leave unheard? No, for without him we should have no modern Astronomy or Physics: he is Johannes Kepler. And one would like to advise those who call themselves materialists or monists and look to Kepler as their idol — one would like to advise them to consider carefully, just for once, this passage in Kepler’s writings. The greatest astronomical laws, the three Kepler laws, which dominate present-day Astronomy, are his. Yet you have heard how he speaks of the new influence which gradually enters into Earth evolution with the fifth post-Atlantean epoch. We must all again get accustomed by degrees — having thoroughly absorbed the new influence — to recognise something of the spiritual activities connected with the stars. ~Rudolf Steiner, Christ and the Spiritual World: The Search for the Holy Grail

On February 4, 1600, Kepler met Tycho Brahe, he stayed as a guest in his observatory, analyzing some of Tycho’s observations of Mars; Tycho guarded his data closely, but was impressed by Kepler’s theoretical ideas & soon allowed him more access. Through most of 1601, he was supported directly by Tycho, who assigned him to analyzing planetary observations . Tycho secured him a commission as a collaborator on the new project he had proposed to the emperor. Two days after Tycho’s unexpected death on October 24, 1601, Kepler was appointed his successor as imperial mathematician with the responsibility to complete his unfinished work. The next 11 years as imperial mathematician would be the most productive of his life.

Kepler slowly continued analyzing Tycho’s Mars observations—now available to him in their entirety—& began the slow process of tabulating the Rudolphine Table.

In October 1604, a bright new evening star appeared, but Kepler did not believe the rumors until he saw it himself. Kepler began systematically observing the nova. Astrologically, the end of 1603 marked the beginning of a fiery trigon, the start of the about 800-year cycle of great conjunctions; astrologers associated the two previous such periods with the rise of Charlemagne (c. 800 years earlier) & the birth of Christ (c. 1600 years earlier), & so expected events of great portent, especially regarding the emperor. It was in this context, as the imperial mathematician & astrologer to the emperor, that Kepler described the new star two years later in his De Stella Nova. The birth of a new star implied the variability of the heavens. In an appendix, Kepler also discussed the recent chronology work of the Polish historian Laurentius Suslyga; he calculated that, if Suslyga was correct that accepted timelines were four years behind, then the Star of Bethlehem—analogous to the present new star—would have coincided with the first great conjunction of the earlier 800-year cycle

In 1611, the growing political-religious tension in Prague came to a head. Emperor Rudolph—whose health was failing—was forced to abdicate as King of Bohemia by his brother Matthias. However, it was clear that Kepler’s future prospects in the court of Matthias were dim.

In 1615, Kepler’s mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft.

Kepler’s laws of planetary motion were not immediately accepted. Several major figures such as Galileo and René Descartes completely ignored Kepler’s Astronomia nova. Epitome of Copernican Astronomy was read by astronomers throughout Europe, & following Kepler’s death it was the main vehicle for spreading Kepler’s ideas. In the period 1630 – 1650, this book was the most widely used astronomy textbook, winning many converts to ellipse-based astronomy. This culminated in Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica (1687), in which Newton derived Kepler’s laws of planetary motion from a force-based theory of universal gravitation.

Kepler’s self-authored poetic epitaph: “I measured the skies, now the shadows I measure – Skybound was the mind, earthbound the body rests

1670 – Deathday of John Amos Comenius, Czech bishop, philosopher, & educator.

“Our task is to appeal to those forces which we have as a replacement for the ancient way of grasping the spiritual. There are two ways of doing this. One way is to continue to propagate tradition and many secret societies arose from being satisfied with the propagation of what the ancient said through tradition. However, there were people who attempted to reckon with the new soul forces which came in as replacements for it. They attempted to translate that which came in from the ancient way in the form of pictures, of direct perception into the form of intellectual power, this intellect which is bound to the physical body of our 5th post-Atlantean period. One of the people who tried to do this was Amos Comenius.

Very few people today know that Amos Comenius was the actual founder of the modern pedagogy and that he founded the primer in the 16th, 17th century…The whole way of writing children’s books rests upon Amos Comenius. He was connected with many secret brotherhoods all over Europe and he wanted to establish what he called his “Pan Sophia”. In the beginning of our period, in the 16th, 17th century, we have in Amos Comenius a human being who knew that now is the time for a sudden change, that one must transmute all the knowledge from earlier times into the form of external intellect. You do not simply continue it in the form of the ancient tradition. This tradition rests upon that which was the Temple architecture. Amos Comenius had as his task translating in his “Pan Sophia” everything which worked in the 5th post-Atlantean period and he says the following: “Why should the Temple of Pan Sophia be erected according to the ideas, directions and laws of the higher architect Himself? Because we have to follow the primal picture of the totality; measure, number, position and the goal of the paths according to the wisdom of God, Himself, when, indeed, He instructed Moses to erect the Tabernacle, then Solomon to erect the Temple and finally Ezekial to reestablish the Temple. The structure materials of Solomon’s Temple were very precious stones, metals, marble and sappy, good smelling trees like spruce and cedar.” And so we want to establish a school of wisdom, a universal wisdom, a “Pan Sophia” wisdom so that one can say that that which is in Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister, which was represented in the Wander Years, is a continuation of what Amos Comenius wanted.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Things in Past and Present in the Spirit of Man

1738 – Birthday of William Herschel, German-born British astronomer, the founder of sidereal astronomy for the systematic observation of the heavens. He discovered the planet Uranus, hypothesized that nebulae are composed of stars, & developed a theory of stellar evolution. He was knighted in 1816.

1741 – Birthday of Johann Kaspar Lavater, a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist & theologian. Goethe was a dear friend for many years, but later had a falling out with him, accusing Lavater of superstition & hypocrisy.

1887 – Birthday of Georgia O’Keeffe, American painter & educator

1893 – Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom (Spiritual Activity) 1st appears

Resurrection of the Temple (The first Goetheanum) by Rita de Cassia Perez, Adriana’s mother

The ‘Envy of the Gods’ – The ‘Envy of Human Beings’

Presented by Adriana Koulias*

A Winter Solstice offering preparing us for the Centennial commemoration of the burning of the first Goetheanum.

21 December 2022, at 5 pm PT, 6 pm MT, 7 pm CT, 8 pm ET

Here is a link to the World Clock for your time zone

Online & in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago

Dear Friends – This special presentation is supported by your generous donations. $10-$50 or pay what you will www.rschicago.org/donate (credit card or PayPal)

Please type ‘Adriana’ on the line of your payment that says: Purpose

For those attending in-person doors open at 5:30 pm for our Potluck meal. Please bring food & drink to share.

To register & receive the Zoom code Contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

 Work on building the First Goetheanum, which was designed and supervised by Rudolf Steiner, began after the laying of the double dodecahedron foundation stone on the 20th of September 1913. Construction proceeded for a decade under enormous difficulties in the political, economic and cultural realms, brought on by the advent of the First World War. After the war when the building was near completion, the First Goetheanum was destroyed by an arsonist on New Year’s Eve 1922/1923.

This NYE 2022-23 will be the 100th anniversary of this event and the world is again facing many difficulties, political, economic and social.  Adriana’s lecture will explore what Rudolf Steiner meant by the ‘Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human beings’ and how a consciousness of this during the coming 12 Holy Nights can provide the necessary strengthening for the coming twelve months.

During this presentation Adriana will speak about the three gifts given by Rudolf Steiner in 1913: The naming of Anthroposophy, The Fifth Gospel, and The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the First Goetheanum. She will explore with us how we can link our hearts to the old Goetheanum during the coming 12 Holy Nights to prepare ourselves for the coming 12 months in 2023, so we can work towards a Cosmic New Year.

In this way we will celebrate the Jubilee of the Christmas Conference and the resurrection of the living impulse of the First Goetheanum in the most auspicious way.

For Rudolf Steiner tells us: ‘My dear friends, may this link our hearts to the old Goetheanum which we had to consign to the elements. May it link our hearts also to the Spirit, to the Soul of this Goetheanum. With this vow before whatever is best within our being we want to live on not only into the new year. In strength of deed, bearing the spirit, leading the soul we want to live on into the new cosmic year.’ ~Rudolf Steiner, ‘The Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human Beings.’

Adriana Koulias was born in 1960 in Brazil. Adriana moved to Australia when she was 9 years old where she lives today. She has studied art, operatic singing and nursing.  She has been studying Anthroposophy (awareness of our humanity) as given by Rudolf Steiner for 33 years and has since 2002-3 integrated this knowledge into several novels and a number of books, international lectures and articles online and in magazines.

68 thoughts on “better than Sci-Fi

  1. I am truly blessed by this amazing dialogue and to have found it once again to deeply ponder! My heart is filled with gladness.

  2. I am just catching up on this thread, came back from a short vacation.

    From Esoteric Lessons I GA266:

    “Something quite similar to a birth took place on the astral plane in 1879. What had slowly ripened since the 14th century could now be carried into the world in a freer way, even though only for a few people. For Gabriel’s rule was followed by that of the archangel Michael. He’s the radiant sun that lets esoteric wisdom shine out into a small host of people. Materialism is included in the divine plan of creation and it has a purpose in the whole world. But the time has now come for the esoteric sun to shine brightly under Michael’s radiant direction. For materialism’s dark forces are increasing.

    Michael’s radiant rule will be followed by a dark, terrible age that starts about 2300. Together with Michael, a dark God has begun his rule — the God Mammon. For occultism Mammon isn’t just the God of money. He’s the leader of all base, black forces. And his hosts attack men’s bodies and souls to corrode and ruin them. There’s a lot of talk about bacterial today, and they influence a lot of things. In future they’ll increase in a terrifying way, and many human bodies will waste away from terrible diseases and plagues. The brand of sin will be stamped on men’s bodies for all to see. Another archangel — Oriphiel — will rule then. He must come to shake men up to their true vocation through terrible tortures. So that this can happen in the right way a small group of people must be prepared today to spread esoteric life in the black age 400–600 years from now.”

    This is a whopper here. What is indicated in other places, is that Gabriel who came before, was responsible for the development of the new ‘spiritual organ’ which we are supposed to be using right now. What I find peculiar here, is that Michael will always come before Oriphiel. The beauty we have of numbers, is that much can be extrapolated from them just by meditating on the value of them. This is one way we can use our new organ of thinking. Here is an example, if we look at the age of Michael, there was a Michael ‘age’ prior to Oriphiel who was ruling during the Mystery of Golgotha. Looking back at that time can give us an indication of what is to occur ‘or ought to occur’ now. Who was alive then? Pythagoras, Socrates, Sappho, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander, for example. Makes sense why there is so much talk about these characters. And if one would look even further back, one can deduce that the faculties that were used by these individuals during the Michael reign were due to the incubation of an ‘organ’ of perception during a Gabriel phase (Moon)… and perhaps this can be seen in a germinal phase with the Seven Sages of Greece – or maybe earlier than that.

    Numbers are just mind blowing. It is no wonder why so much is spoken of them in relation to the Apocalypse – i.e. to Reveal. Numbers are highly potent meditative aides and can aid in the faculty of our new ‘organ’ of thinking.

    5th Post-Atlantean Epoch, 5th Cultural Epoch, 7th Archangel Ruler-ship (Michael).

    Number 5: Samael. Demarcation of end of 5 is WOAAA, ie. Moral Conflict, energy ruled by Mars.

    7, demarcates end of cycle… which puts Michael rulership signifiying end of 5th cultural epoch. End of 5th epoch would also be a ‘preview’ of WOAAA, but not a complete ‘catastrophe’.

    1. Kyle – I have often pondered the fact that Oriphiel was the ruling Archangel during the time of Christ. It makes perfect sense when we think about all the HEALING THAT THE Christ was called to do especially of leprosy.

      And to think that in our next lives we will have to deal with that energy again makes me want to skip a cycle. But I know we are being prepared in this time now for what we will need to be, so I try to have faith that we will not be tested beyond our strength…

      1. Kyle wrote citing Steiner from GA 266:

        “Something quite similar to a birth took place on the astral plane in 1879. What had slowly ripened since the 14th century could now be carried into the world in a freer way, even though only for a few people. For Gabriel’s rule was followed by that of the archangel Michael.”

        It can be shown that it was in the 14th century that the second longer incarnation of Christian Rosenkreutz took place that lasted over a hundred years, c. 1378 – 1484. This is when the rehabilitated CRC formed the three Rosicrucian manifestos in their living and archetypal form as experiential substance. Michael would carry this forth in order to support the period in which CRC was not living on Earth, but working from the spiritual worlds in preparing the three manifestos to be written down by Johann Valentin Andreae in order to combat the Thirty Years War, which ran from 1618 to 1648. Alas, the promising initiate Andreae, who was just 17 years old in 1603 when the first manifesto was given him in oral form, i.e, “The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, anno 1459”, was the one chosen by CRC working from the spiritual worlds to convey what he himself had experienced in his earthly incarnation from the 14th century. Eventually, they were written down by 1617, but never used to combat the Thirty Years War as intended in order to bring a necessary Rosicrucian influence into the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants.

      2. What bothers me about 1879 as the advent of the Michael age is that by battling the group of Ahrimanic spirits in Heaven for 38 years between 1841 and 1879, and gaining the victory, Michael casts them down to Earth in order to inflict them on humanity. Why didn’t he simply eliminate them; liquidate them in order to prevent their further interference? We know that by sending down these so-called “Spirits of Darkness” to Earth, and within just 20 years of the end of the Kali Yuga in 1899, that the basis for all the damage and destructiveness seen in the 20th century was laid. Thus, for 143 years since 1879, this world has seen right up to now the effects of what seems to be the victory of these cast down Ahrimanic spirits over Michael, or at least, in spite of Michael. What is going on here? Does Michael even have a logical idea to what could be the “method to his (seeming) madness”?

        1. Michael cast them out of heaven to prevent their disharmony from affecting the rest of the good choirs of angels. Of course some were affected & were cast down as well.

          There is no such thing as liquidation dear Steve, everything can be transformed of course, but not turned into nothingness.

          These adversarial beings are not on earth, they have no physical bodies – they can only live in human beings – we are their hosts.
          The ‘reason’ for this is to give us the opportunity to redeem evil thru our free will working with Michael to tame them.

      3. Yes, I can imagine anyone would want to skip that cycle coming up, for justifiable reasons. What got me thinking, and what Steve is bringing up in regards to Michael, is the Arch-angelic Council which unseated Michael as the leading planetary influence. That is, Oriphiel led the other planets towards an entirely different direction than Michael and his crew. All this, effects our karma, as humanity. It is no wonder, then, when we come into other’s lives… they seem to be completely influenced by other planetary (or otherwise) influences. As in, people’s Angels do not seem to talk to each other like they used to.

        https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA237/English/RSP1977/19240808p01.html

        This could also imply that intended Archangelic Cycles can change over time, or change in the event of some earthly ordeal. Much has happened since Steiner passed, and some disastrous events could also have a change of plans in the Higher Hierarchies (I imagine), just as the 8th Ecumenical Council did in 869 AD.

        1. Thank you for sharing this important lecture from Karmic Relationships. I recommended it to the General Council of the ASA.

          It’s interesting to think as you say that shifts continue to occur in connection with ‘some earthly ordeal’. I often ponder that.

          I leave here some excerpts from the lecture you shared:

          ‘Intelligence’ means the mutual relationships of conduct among the higher Hierarchies. What they do, how they relate themselves to one another, what they are to one another, — this is the Cosmic Intelligence. And since as human beings we must first consider the kingdom that is nearest to us, concretely speaking the Cosmic Intelligence will be for us the sum-total of the Beings of the Hierarchy of Angeloi. If we are speaking concretely we cannot say ‘so much Intelligence,’ but rather ‘so many Angeloi.’ This is the reality.

          They make of our several earthly lives a connected chain, a totality of human life. Now a number of Angel Beings — Beings who have this task and who had been united formerly with the Michael kingdom — went out and left the kingdom of Michael. Such being the conduct of these Angel Beings, the destiny of human beings could not possibly remain untouched.

          if, so to speak, they leave the kingdom of the Sun and become no longer celestial Angels but terrestrial — what then must happen? Here we come upon a secret, permeating the whole evolution and history of Europe, hidden behind the external facts. Certain Angeloi remained in the kingdom of Michael…. But there were others who left it and identified themselves with that which was in essence earthly.
          Now you will say: How is it possible that it suddenly occurs to a number of Michael Angels to leave the kingdom of Michael? It does not occur to the others to leave. — This, my dear friends, I must admit, is one of the most difficult questions that can possibly be raised in connection with the modern evolution of mankind. It is a question such that as we enter into it all the inner forces of the human being are called into play. It is a question deeply and intimately connected with the whole life of man. For you see, at the foundation of it there lies a cosmic fact. You know, from lectures I have given here, that what is commonly referred to as a mere physical planet is in reality a gathering of Spiritual Beings. When we look up to a star, that which appears to us physically is but the external aspect. In reality we have to do with a gathering of Spiritual Beings. Now there is a certain contrast. Since the very beginning of earthly evolution, this contrast has existed. It is the contrast between the Intelligences of all the planets and the Intelligence of the Sun. There is indeed on the one hand the Sun Intelligence, while on the other there are the Intelligences of the several planets. And it was always so, that the Sun Intelligence stood paramountly under the dominion of Michael, while the other Planetary Intelligences were subject to the other Archangels. Thus we may say:
          SUN INTELLIGENCE. PLANETARY INTELLIGENCES.
          Sun … … MICHAEL
          Mercury … … RAPHAEL
          Venus … … ANAEL
          Mars … … SAMAEL
          Jupiter … … ZACHARIEL
          Moon … … GABRIEL
          Saturn … … ORIPHIEL
          Michael administers the whole Cosmic Intelligence, differentiated as it is into the Sun Intelligence and the Planetary Intelligences, Mercury, Venus, Mars, etc. The several Beings of the Hierarchy of Archangeloi partake in its administration. But over all of them together Michael holds sway ever and again.

          All human Intelligence comes from Michael in the Sun.

          But when these centuries approached — the 8th, the 9th, the 10th century A.D. — it happened that the Planetary Intelligences began to reckon with the fact that the earth had changed, and that the Sun too had changed.

          In very ancient times the Sun shone down as a uniform disc of light. There were no Sun-spots. Moreover, after some thousands of years the Sun will have very many more spots than it has today. The Sun is growing ever more spotted. This again is the outer manifestation of the fact that the Michael Power, the Cosmic Power of Intelligence is still decreasing. In the increase of the Sun-spots in the course of Cosmic Evolution is revealed the Sun’s decay; the Sun within the cosmos grows increasingly dim and old.

          And at the appearance of a sufficiently large number of Sun-spots, the other Planetary Intelligences recognised that they would now no longer be ruled by the Sun. They resolved no longer to allow the earth to be dependent on the Sun, but to make it dependent henceforth on the entire cosmos directly. This took place through the planetary Counsels of the Archangels. Notably under the leadership of Oriphiel, this emancipation of the Planetary Intelligences from the Sun-Intelligence took place. It was a complete separation of Cosmic Powers that had hitherto belonged together. The Sun-Intelligence of Michael and the Planetary Intelligences gradually came into cosmic opposition one with another.

          Thus the one host of Beings turned to the Earth-Intelligence and therewith at the same time to the Planetary Intelligence.

          The other host remained true to the sphere of Michael in order to carry into all the future what Michael administers as the Eternal. And this is the decisive question today. Now that all the power is among men, will Michael be able to carry into all the future that which is Eternal in his working, — now that that which appears in the physical Sun grows darker and vanishes slowly away?…
          Of two human souls karmically united with one another, the one Angel remained with Michael while the other went down to earth. What was bound to happen as a result? In the time between the founding of Christianity and the age of the Spiritual Soul, which is signalised above all by the 9th century and the year 869 A.D., the karma of human beings came into disorder. This is to pronounce one of the deepest and most important words that can possibly be uttered with regard to the modern history of mankind.

          Disorder came into the karma of present-day humanity. In the following lives on earth the experiences of men were no longer all of them rightly co-ordinated with their karma. This has brought into the history of recent times more and more social chaos, chaos of civilisation; and the disorder that has come into human karma can find no end. For a split has taken place in the Hierarchy of Angeloi belonging to Michael.

          Michael himself is bringing the power which is to bring order again into the karma of those who have gone with him. Thus we may say: What is it in the last resort that unites the Members of the Anthroposophical Society? It is that they are to bring order again into their karma. This unites them.

          And if any one of them notices in the course of his life that he is entering here or there into relationships that do not conform to his inmost impulse, — relationships, perhaps, diverging in one way or another from what we may call the true harmony in man as between good and evil, — if he has this on the one hand, while on the other hand he has constant impulse to press forward in the Anthroposophical life, — the fact is that such a man is striving back again to his real karma. He is striving once more to live and express the real karma. This is the cosmic ray that pours through the Anthroposophical Movement, clearly perceptible to him who knows. It is the restoration of the truth in karma…

          We must also realise the following: For the human beings who are connected with those Beings of the Hierarchy of Angeloi who remained in the kingdom of Michael, it is difficult to find the forms of Intelligence adequate to that which they are now to understand.

          This, my dear friends, shall now rest in your souls. You must say to yourselves: Those who out of these great decisions feel in themselves the impulse to come to the anthroposophical life today, will be called again at the end of the 20th century, when at the culminating point the greatest possible expansion of the Anthroposophical Movement will be attained.

          1. This is the deeply awesome consideration that you cite here from the last lecture of volume III of the KR. It is no wonder you reminded, or possibly even informed, the General Council of the ASA about it. To have Fallen Angeloi working in the world of human affairs when we expect them to be our Guardian Guides elicits unfathomable consequences. Steiner touched upon this in his lecture, “The Work of the Angels in the Astral Body”, some six years earlier, ref. GA 182, October 9, 1918. Therein, the consideration was the circumstance in which the Angel is compelled to bypass the astral body, and instead work their influence in the etheric body. This is extremely problematical, but it does exist and has to be addressed at some point. Steiner is giving it a more full expression in this 11th and final lecture on the split in the cosmic intelligence.

            As such, Michael is compelled to sacrifice a measure of his Being in order to separate off and send down the personal and individual intelligence to earthly humanity. Thus, out of the General Collective Consciousness of the Cosmic Intelligence, Michael responds to Oriphiel’s attempt to lead the Planetary Intelligences by bringing to humanity the means for achieving ego consciousness on an individual level. This is guaranteed by the split off, and that is why just 609 years into the 5th Cultural epoch, which began in 1413, when Joan of Arc was just one year old, we say “I Am” when we refer to our own Self. So, this is what Michael has done since 869 AD in order to counter and oppose this attempt of Oriphiel to take charge. It is Oriphiel’s opposition which compelled Michael to effectively accelerate the 4th Cultural epoch into the 5th by jettisoning the Oriphiel plan into oblivion.

            Michael did all this in 869 AD, and this is the real underlying basis of the Eighth Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, which knows much more than it lets on. Steiner referred to it as “the Catholic High Church Party” in his lectures on The Occult Movement in the Nineteen Century.
            As such, they oppose the Seven Sacred Spheres by knowing all about them, which is an Oriphiel maneuver.

            1. & yet what is explained in the lecture I quoted about the sunspots is important:

              “…at the appearance of a sufficiently large number of Sun-spots, the other Planetary Intelligences recognised that they would now no longer be ruled by the Sun. They resolved no longer to allow the earth to be dependent on the Sun, but to make it dependent henceforth on the entire cosmos directly. This took place through the planetary Counsels of the Archangels. Notably under the leadership of Oriphiel, this emancipation of the Planetary Intelligences from the Sun-Intelligence took place.”

              As Kyle was saying: Everything changes! & as the Book of Reveleation Tells us: The New Jerusalem does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

              1. Exactly. In truth, when Oriphiel saw the sunspots and took them to mean the diminishment of the Sun, and the weakening of the Michael authority, what did Michael do to prove that he could not be undermined? He had the brilliant idea to split off the Cosmic Intelligence for the benefit of the human race and bestow the personal and individual intelligence that assured that one day, and sooner than later, that we would attain the self referential and self sustaining Ego in the Consciousness Soul Age.

                At the Dawn of the Michael Age, written some nine days after this last lecture from the Karmic Relationships, volume III, explains it all in further clarification of the importance of the split. Steiner was in England then in August of 1924 for the last time.

                https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA026/English/RSP1973/GA026_c01.html

              2. It makes me think that perhaps it’s all part of the process of individuation. And that when we come back to the Sun with Michael we sign up for the possibility of a new eternity

              3. It is, indeed, a part of the process of individuation, which won’t be fully completed until we reach the stages of Spirit Self, Life Spirit, and Spirit Human. And, we know that this still has a long course of development to go. When Moses asked the burning bush who should he say sent him to free the Hebrews, the bush said: Ejeh asher Ejeh, or “I Am ^ I Am”. This is something we have already partially attained. We say “I Am” right now, and that is so important in proving that Christ really came, and continues to support the cause. That is why Michael has never left His side; or ours.

  3. Kyle wrote:

    “Not to get off on a tangent here, but the issue of ‘hinderance’ made me think of Mammon. Not necessarily overtly destructive like Sorat, but very much obstructive. So I wonder where Mammon plays a part in all this. For much of what causes issues, I feel, are hindrances that are very much built in our society. This can be seen at so many levels.”

    It can be shown that Mammon has a certain origin accounted for in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, which concerns two aspects of its nature and consequence. In the first part, The Unrighteous Steward, it is found out by his master, who is rich, that the steward has been stealing from him, and so the master has no choice but to fire the steward, who manages the money of the master.

    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+16&version=NASB1995

    Yet, what the steward does in order to avoid being cast out is to demand from the master’s debtors to pay a specific amount of what they owe; an amount that the master had never asked for before because he is rich in a benevolent kind of way and had never considered demanding repayment of the debts. When the master finds out that his steward has done this he considers it a very good idea, and that is how Mammon was formed at the time of Christ.

    The second part of chapter 16 is a semi-parable because the Rich Man is not named, but Lazarus is. This Rich Man is described as wearing purple robes, which is a sign and symbol of Mammon worship, and Lazarus is a poor man; so poor that he is reduced to eating crumbs from the table while dogs lick at his sores. What isn’t directly told, but needs to be intuited by way of inspiration and imagination, is that the Rich Man is the very same master who at one time forgave his debtors until the Unrighteous Steward came up with the clever idea to dun them, and create Mammon.

    What is told then is that the Rich Man dies and is buried, and Lazarus, the poor man also dies, and goes to Abraham’s bosom. So, what does this mean? Spiritual-scientific research reveals that the Unrighteous Steward is none other than Judas Iscariot, who having been dismissed from his former employment in the household of Pontius Pilate, finds his way to the master, who is Simon the Pharisee, the father of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Thus, Mammon in definite respects is owed to Judas Iscariot, who would one day hold the money box of the disciples as described in the Gospel of John, chapter 12. As indicated in this chapter, he pilfered from it all the time, and felt that the ointment that Mary used to anoint Christ could be better spent by selling it for 300 denari in order to give to the poor. Later, he would negotiate a deal with Caiaphas, the high priest, to betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver.

    Lazarus remained close to Abraham’s bosom and was never allowed to be raised in soul and spirit in order to aid the Rich Man, who had brothers that needed to be told about the limits of the Law of Moses.

    1. I can’t see your reasoning for naming Judas & Lazarus as you have.
      So I will just agree to disagree

      As we know there are many people in the bible who share the same name, this passage is a prime example. The poor man who died is not the same Lazarus as the one we know whom Christ raises from the dead. His story begins in Matthew 16-22, when he asks: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” He is told to keep the commandments. The man says he already does this. “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
      Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
      Then Christ Jesus gives the parable of the camel & the eye of the needle.
      The rich young man, goes away sad, but takes to heart what the Christ said, & soon gives his wealth away in order to support Christ & the disciples in their preaching & healing expeditions. His sisters are Martha & Mary Magdalena. Lazarus & Mary become Christ’s special acolytes.

      And as we know when Lazarus dies & is called forth from the tomb by Christ he earns the title John (having communed with John the Baptist who had been beheaded & who worked with him during the initiation of the 4 days in the tomb) to become the disciple whom Jesus loved…This story is told by John the beloved himself in his Gospel https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2011&version=NIV

      1. It is okay to disagree because it gives the chance to explain more. Lazarus is depicted as a poor man because he is “poor in spirit”. In other words, he is a spirit-seeker who suffers the grievances of a murderous, blasphemous, and adulterous age. In Matthew, chapter five, the nine Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount begins with:

        “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

        This characterizes Lazarus, who has also suffered the withdrawal of his etheric body over time, but as the Kassel course on the Gospel of John indicates, Christ has been overseeing this withdrawal as a kind of natural initiation leading to the placing of the sick Lazarus in a tomb in order to accommodate the withdrawal in the manner of the old-style initiations when the etheric body was drawn out for 3-1/2 days. But, as we know from the Gospel of John, chapter 11, Lazarus dies by the fourth day. Yet, Christ goes and raises Lazarus with the power of Fire and the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Luke, on the other hand, as indicated, says that Lazarus dies and goes to Abraham’s bosom, and there is to be no raising from the dead. Now, this doesn’t indicate that we are dealing with two separate individuals named Lazarus, but something else has occurred. In definite respects, it is related to what Luke 16 says just before describing the purple-robed Rich Man and the poor Lazarus. It is intended to be a very good reminder of something, but has to be deciphered as well:

        16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

        18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

        1. Yes dear Lazarus is a spirit seeker, but we don’t need to conflate these different teachings – Although it is interesting to see these various people with the same names as having a connection, as I liken the name John to be a title of initiation shared by those who have attained that degree. (sorry I can’t quote where Steiner says that)

          We know that, Mary was a common female name in Israel during the time of Christ. The New Testament mentions 6 different women with the name Mary. The Hebrew form of the name is Miriam (or Miryam), given to the sister of Moses.

          John the Baptist, John, father of Peter the Apostle, John the Evangelist, John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark…

          James the son of Zebedee (one of the twelve disciples, the brother of John), James the son of Alpheus (another of the twelve disciples, sometimes called “James the Less” outside of the Bible), James the half-brother of Jesus Christ (son of the Solomon Mary and her husband Joseph) also called “James the Just”, James the father of Judas (not Judas Iscariot)

          O yes, 7 Judas’: 1. Judas Maccabaeus. 2. Judas Iscariot. 3. Judas, brother of our Lord who wrote the Book of Jude. 4. Judas (Son or Brother) of James. 5. Judas Leader of a revolt against Rome. 6. Judas surnamed Barsabass, a leading member of the church. 7. Judas a man of Damascus with whom Paul lodged after his conversion.

          Even Christ’s given name, commonly Romanized as Yeshua, was quite common in first-century Galilee. (Jesus comes from the transliteration of Yeshua into Greek & then English.) The name also appears 30 times in the Old Testament in reference to four separate characters—including a descendent of Aaron who helped to distribute offerings of grain (2 Chronicles 31:15) & a man who accompanied former captives of Nebuchadnezzar back to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2).

          The long version of the name, Yehoshua, appears another few hundred times. Greeks did not use the sound sh, so the evangelists substituted an S sound. Then, to make it a masculine name, they added another S sound at the end. The earliest written version of the name Jesus is Romanized today as Iesous. (Thus the crucifix inscription INRI: “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,” or “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”)

        2. “The rich young man, goes away sad, but takes to heart what the Christ said, & soon gives his wealth away in order to support Christ & the disciples in their preaching & healing expeditions. ”

          Nowhere is it indicated in Matthew 19, Mark 10, or Luke 18, which describe this rich man who cannot give up his possessions, that he eventually does so and becomes a follower. Pulling a camel through a needle expresses the dismay of Christ. As well, and as we know, how could this rich man who cannot sacrifice his wealth be Lazarus when Lazarus is described as the writer of the Gospel of John? You see, Lazarus has to be there from the beginning, and this is shown here in John, chapter 1:

          Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

          35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

          The other disciple is never named, but the written account begins here of the Christ in a gospel that is linear and chronological over the course of three years until Lazarus is named at the beginning of chapter 11. Lazarus is a very unusual name to exist in Israel because it is of Greek etymology. Now, the Hebrew equivalent is Eleazar, which is common, but Lazarus is not. In fact, it is an initiate’s name owing to the one who stood behind Lazarus in the writing of the Gospel of John.

        3. “Yes dear Lazarus is a spirit seeker, but we don’t need to conflate these different teachings.”

          Why would these be different teachings just because the death of Lazarus is described in both Luke and John? As previously indicated, Lazarus is an initiate’s name. We know that Simon the Pharisee is the father of Mary,
          Martha, and the one indicated as Lazarus, but being Hebrew, the father would not have name him Lazarus. At best, he would have been named Eleazar, which is the Hebrew equivalent, but we don’t know this for sure. I am not disputing the raising of Lazarus to become the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, but there is a twofold reason for doing so. The first concerns the fact that Christ loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for their respective participation in an initiation. In fact, this was the seventh attesting miracle, which only the Gospel of John accounts for. As such, Lazarus is raised in his physical body after dying. This requires that Christ has the power to reanimate the skeleton, and we know that He has this power because He Himself had incarnated so deeply into the sheaths of Jesus of Nazareth at the Baptism that He grafted right into the skeleton of Jesus. That is why the Incarnation was more than an incorporation. They had, in effect, become One. The other reason that Lazarus became the Disciple Whom Jesus Was Loving, concerns the return to Earth of his beloved cousin, John the Baptist, and this is how Lazarus-John came to be known as John the Evangelist with the first event of Pentecost.

          Now, we see how John and Luke’s accounts could be different in order to account for what became of the *real* Lazarus. In truth, Lazarus dies as the forerunner through death before the Mystery of Golgotha; the human sacrifice before the death of Christ on the Cross. This was a necessary requirement and links nicely with John as the forerunner in life before the entry of Christ into Earth evolution.

          1. The reference to the poor man Lazarus in Luke shows a connection with the old dispensation which is represented by the bosom of Abraham.
            Lazarus John is the 1st Christian Initiate, the opposite of a human sacrifice –

            1. Rudolf Steiner would resolve all conflicts on the subject here in his final address on September 28, 1924:

              “When we look back into olden times, we see rise up before us within the traditions of Judaism the prophetic figure of Elijah. We know what significance the prophet Elijah had for the people of the Old Testament, and therewith for all mankind; we know how he set before them the goal and destiny of their existence. And we have shown how in the course of time the being who was present in Elijah appeared again at the very most important moment of human evolution, appeared again so that Christ Jesus Himself could give him the Initiation he was to receive for the evolution of mankind. For the being of Elijah appeared again in Lazarus-John — who are in truth one and the same figure, as you will have understood from my book “Christianity as Mystical Fact.”

              https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/InEJRN_index.html

              “One and the same figure” would more than imply that the Soul and Spirit of John the Baptist had returned to Earth. Having worked from the outside as the Elijah-John stream after the beheading of John, this stream supported the Christ in ways such as the feeding of the five thousand as the 4th attesting miracle in the Gospel of John, as well as being the Folk Soul of the Twelve in helping in the comprehension of the disciples who accompanied Christ. When Christ raised the body of Lazarus it was to transfer the Elijah-John stream back to Earth. Further proof can be shown in the true identity of the writer of the Apocalypse, who is the very same John who recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God at the Baptism.

              1. Here we are again nit-picking over this subject. Perhaps we are saying the same thing, but getting caught over the human expression of these great mysteries.

                We know that John the Baptist worked from the spiritual world after his beheading in many ways, becoming like the guardian spirit over the apostles. He was especially incorporated into Lazarus John after his initiation, & that thru the virgin Sophia & the spirit of JB, was able to become the writer of the Apocalypse. But that does not mean he was walking around on earth. The Elijah/John stream never left the earth but continues on in a new way.

              2. Hazel, I don’t consider it nit-picking, and we are definitely not saying the same thing, which would appear to indicate that maybe you are only glossing over what I have given careful consideration, which has years of close study and plenty of 10:10 applied.

                Part of that careful study includes keeping abreast of the prevailing anthroposophical dogma concerning the raising of Lazarus. As such, I know what Sergei Prokofieff has to say on it in chapter 6 of his magnum opus, “May Human Beings Hear It?” The entire chapter is available here, and maybe you have the printed book.

                https://www.google.com/books/edition/May_Human_Beings_Hear_It/7TJ888LyxacC?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

                The Anthroposophical Society as the Temple of the New Mysteries

                As well, in 2011, Ed Smith wrote the book, “The Temple Sleep of the Rich Young Ruler”, which speaks to your idea that the rich man eventually gives up his wealth and then is identified as being Lazarus. Yet, of course, the problem is that Lazarus has been writing the Gospel of John from the beginning, and so, how can a rich man come along in the midst of the ministry of Christ and be able to convert in order to author this gospel? I refer to the places where this rich man is described in similar detail: Matthew 19: 16-24; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25.

                https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Temple_Sleep_of_the_Rich_Young_Ruler/HLbAyKksTZYC?hl=en&gbpv=1

                How Lazarus Became the Evangelist John

                So, please consider this exercise as one of dialectics, which once was the focus of this now rather lost art and science, which was practiced in the Greek era of the Fourth Cultural epoch.

              3. I am also a spirit seeker & so I am trying to ponder all you bring with an open mind…
                Thank you for this exercise in Dialectics
                I am grateful
                Happy Thanksgiving

              4. In a private conversation on his deathbed, Rudolf Steiner informed his friend Count Polzer-Hoditz of three spiritual problems that would need to be resolved in the coming years: ‘Firstly, the question of the two Johns [John the Baptist and John the Evangelist]. Secondly: Who was Dmitri? Thirdly: Where did Caspar Hauser come from?’ Tackling these issues, said Steiner, would be of critical importance for humanity’s future. He added: ‘In all three problems it is important that one’s gaze is directed not towards death but towards birth. Where did they come from and with what tasks?’

              5. Steiner had indicated on his sickbed, c. March 5, 1925, that he had attempted to trace any past lives of Caspar Hauser and could find none going back to the Atlantean age. This comes from the essay, “On the Esoteric Significance of Kaspar Hauser”, by Terry Boardman, http://threeman.org/?p=86
                I did a study about five years ago, based on this information, and was able to determine that Caspar Hauser was an Angel who incarnated in human form in order to prepare in advance for the second enactment of the Mystery of Golgotha in the Etheric World. As such, his short life can be looked upon as a kind of interim incarnation of Christian Rosenkreutz because he lived just 21 years (1812-1833), which corresponds to the birth of CRC in the 13th century, and he was held in a kind of ‘occult imprisonment’ for 12 years, from age four to sixteen, and wherein it is told that he was well-taken care of as he crossed the spiritual frontier every day for his education. This is an allusion to the so-called “Collegium of Twelve”, who had nursed the fragile Christian Rosenkreutz back to health in the 13th century. Then, Caspar Hauser finds himself in Nuremberg in 1828, and for five years is mentored by Georg Friedrich Daumer. Then, he is mortally wounded and dies in 1833.

                Then, Caspar Hauser re-enters the spiritual world in order to prepare the sacrifice needed for the re-enactment of the Mystery of Golgotha on the Etheric plane, and wherein as the Angel proxy, he undergoes the long and grueling suffocation and loss of Consciousness demanded by this ordeal on the Cross. This proves that just as Lazarus was the forerunner through death before the Mystery of Golgotha at the time of Christ, another human life and death was needed in order to prepare the second event of Golgotha. Yet, the Angel who had been Caspar Hauser in a short earthly incarnation of just 21 years, survives and passes into the ranks of the Archangels.

                Within the ranks of the Archangels is now being prepared Michael’s replacement as Archangelic Regent of the Sun. Michael, having advanced from Archangel to Archai, and now the leading Time-Spirit of our age since 1879, has a successor, and this is the one who had this short one-time human incarnation as Caspar Hauser.

                Steiner alludes to all this in the two lectures, “Michael and the Mystery of Golgotha”, May 18/20, 1913, GA 152. These lectures are online at the RS Archive.

              6. To meet Steiner’s Question as to where Casper Hasuer came from, my intuition tells me there is a connection with the Nathan Soul, that pure part of humanity that did not pass thru the fall with Adam & Eve, but stayed in the Mother Lodge. The Nathan Soul is the Angel Being that the Christ worked thru for all the pre-earthly deeds of Christ & was of course the vessel for the 4th deed on Golgotha, so why wouldn’t the Nathan Soul also be involved with the 2nd crucifixion in the Etheric realm in the 19th Century?
                To pick up your thread, perhaps Casper Hauser was the incarnation of the Nathan Soul…?

              7. The Angel of the Buddha has graduated to the status of Archangel taking Michael’s place when he was promoted to Archai.
                Again to pick up your thread -The Angel of the Buddha worked with the Nathan Soul when he was incarnated as the Luke Jesus, so there is a connection.

              8. Steiner began to describe the more intimate details of the Nathan Jesus in 1913, and where he conveys here in the fifth lecture of the Cologne course, “The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Saint Paul”, that Jesus is the Adam Soul, as well as incarnating later as Krishna. So, this is a lot to absorb already at the outset of January 1913, and wherein the new naming of the Anthroposophical Society also occurred.

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA142/English/AP1971/19130101p01.html

                The difference between Jesus and Caspar Hauser has to do with Jesus being the archetypal Human Spirit, and as such, being closely connected to God, the Primal Father, as a kind of duad formation since the beginning of Creation. Steiner would convey this in an even more convincing fashion in his course, “Christ and the Spiritual World”, GA 149, which you have spoken about in one of your presentations:

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA149/English/RSP1963/19131228p01.html

                So, in Jesus, we are dealing with an Angel, indeed, but he also evolved further into an Archangel over time because he insisted on remaining behind in the spiritual worlds the very longest before incarnating as a human being in order to extend the three pre-earthly deeds as Krishna into the earthly deed of Christ, which was indeed the fourth. This is so important that you refer to these essential observations that differentiate Jesus from Caspar Hauser. Jesus was actually preparing for his second incarnation on Earth when the 2nd Mystery of Golgotha occurred, and having sacrificed his measure, just as the Christ did, was also relieved of this assignment.

              9. The Nathan Soul worked with the Christ before the incarnation of Jesus.
                And continues to work as the Nathan Soul in the spiritual worlds, with the Christ.
                Casper Hauser has a mission connected to bringing the Christ impulse to humanity in a differant way

              10. “The Angel of the Buddha has graduated to the status of Archangel taking Michael’s place when he was promoted to Archai.
                Again to pick up your thread -The Angel of the Buddha worked with the Nathan Soul when he was incarnated as the Luke Jesus, so there is a connection.”

                Yes, and that connection is that the Buddha saw in the Nathan Jesus the incarnation of his predecessor, who was Krishna. Steiner covers this in the lectures on the Gospel of Mark, September 1912, GA 139.

                “The Nathan Soul worked with the Christ before the incarnation of Jesus. And continues to work as the Nathan Soul in the spiritual worlds, with the Christ. Casper Hauser has a mission connected to bringing the Christ impulse to humanity in a different way.”

                The Nathan Soul worked with Christ in effecting the three pre-earthly deeds; the first was in the Lemurian epoch, the second was in the Atlantean epoch, and the third was in the Post-Atlantean epoch. As a result, the Nathan Soul advanced further on and became Krishna, who is immortalized in the epic known as the Bhagavad Gita. His human incarnation as Jesus was to bring certain qualities needed for Christ, and especially a pristine physical body entirely untainted by Lucifer and Ahriman. Also, Jesus brought with him the two Ethers withheld from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Later, Christ would predict the 2nd Coming of Jesus just before His own crucifixion. He said to expect the return of the Son of Man “coming in and through the clouds with power and glory.”

                Now, why would you think that Jesus would only come once, after waiting so long to finally incarnate? Remember how the Master Jesus formed, and how often he incarnates, and why.

              11. To be clear the avatar that we call Krishna was not an incarnation of the Nathan Soul, which incarnated for the 1st time as the Luke Jesus.
                The connection with the Buddha is that the Luke Jesus received the astral body of the Buddha
                So are you saying that the Nathan Soul is not working from the spiritual world but is incarnated as the Master Jesus?
                And that the spirit of Casper Hauser, not the Nathan Soul, is the angel being that worked with Christ during the 2nd crucifixion to open the etheric realm for us now?

              12. Steiner makes the relationship between the Adam/Nathan Soul and Krishna very clear in the 5th lecture of “The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul”, and does so again in the 7th lecture of “The Occult Significance of the Bhagavad Gita”. Thus, the Buddha had to experience that behind the baby Jesus in the manger was his own predecessor, Krishna. As indicated, this is revealed in the lectures on “The Gospel of Mark”, wherein Steiner introduces Krishna’s importance in the gospels for the first time.

                We know that Zarathustra, who had been the Solomon Jesus until passing over to the Nathan Jesus at the age of 12, and for 18 years dwelled in the sheaths of Jesus until he was 30 years of age, became the Master Jesus after Christ incarnated. This is described in the one and only place where this is indicated, and that is in the 7th lecture of Steiner’s “The Gospel of Luke”.

                Yes, it is the Angel proxy who had incarnated so briefly as Caspar Hauser that conducted the 2nd Mystery of Golgotha in the Etheric World. As we know, the Christ was spared from having to undergo a second crucifixion, as was Jesus, who was preparing his next incarnation on Earth when this occurred. Steiner reveals certain details and clues in one of the rare times that he ever spoke about this reenactment of the Mystery of Golgotha here in these two lectures:

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19130518p01.html
                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19130520p01.html

              13. Yes, of course there is a connection with this avatar precursor to Christ, just like in Apollo & other ancient Sun gods; I was making the distinction between an overshadowing of a spiritual being & an incarnation.

                Christ was NOT spared from having to undergo a second crucifixion, as you can see clearly in the 2 May 1913, GA 152 lecture. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19130502p01.html

              14. But Jesus, who was the Adam Soul from the beginning, can be likened to the Avatar of Avatars. And what the lecture from May 2, 1913 says is that Christ was pushed out of the Etheric World, where He had dwelled for 1500 years in order to build the Moral Etheric Element, which has become so useful today, into the Astral World in the 16th century. This sets up the pretext to the 2nd Mystery of Golgotha by placing Christ in the Astral World adjacent to the Etheric World. So, indeed, Christ was involved here, but did not Himself have to endure the suffocation death on the Cross of the Etheric Golgotha. The Angel proxy for Christ did, though. You see, what had occurred for some six hours on Earth, and the Christ endured from 9 am to 3 pm, with a total solar eclipse beginning at noon, had to be replicated in the Etheric World for some six years due to the different time parameters of the physical and the etheric. Thus, Christ was spared in order to oversee the whole affair from His position on the Astral plane. It is this Angel that moves on in the pantheon of succession. And Christ, from the Astral World, is experienced in human etheric bodies since the second third of the 20th century, c. 1933. It can be shown that Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the first of these. My experience occurred in 1980 about 40 days after the eruption of Mount Saint Helen. Christ spoke into me from His position on a higher level, and this is the important thing to know that makes it all possible. That Christ is adjacent now to the Etheric World.

            2. Let’s do a comparative study:

              22 Now the poor man [Lazarus] died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

              https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+16&version=NASB1995

              23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” 25 He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

              https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13&version=NASB1995

              This comparison would seem to indicate that the Lazarus depicted in the Gospel of Luke dies poor and goes to Abraham’s bosom because he has died free of possessions and wealth (mammon), while the rich man is buried in Hades as a consequence of his love of mammon. In contrast, at the Last Supper, the raised Lazarus, depicted as the disciple whom Jesus loved, rests his head on Christ’ bosom. Thus, it would appear to be the difference between “the old dispensation”, which accords to Abraham, and a “new dispensation”, which is owing to Christ.

              In reality, the death of Lazarus is owing to his having been in the tomb for four days rather than two, which is when the sisters, Mary and Martha, first alert Christ that their brother is sick. It is Christ who waits two more days where He is before going to raise Lazarus. And, he makes it clear to his disciples, who don’t want to go except Thomas, that Lazarus has in fact died. So, what is going on here? As previously indicated, Lazarus is a totally unique name, and therefore there can be no doubt that Luke and John are describing the same person. The secret has to do with the fourfold nature of a human being in terms of: Physical Body, Etheric Body, Astral Body, Ego. When Lazarus dies and goes to Abraham’s bosom, he does so in his Astral Body and Ego, i.e, Soul & Spirit. And, when Lazarus is raised by the Christ power of Fire and the Holy Spirit, it is the Physical Body and Etheric Body that comes forth out of the tomb. The Soul and Spirit is provided by the return of the Baptist in order to occupy the sheaths of Lazarus, who indeed, has crossed the threshold of death. This sacrifice sets up the future reincarnation of Lazarus as Christian Rosenkreutz.

              1. When Steiner asked, “Who was Dmitri”?, what is he referring to? Is it Schiller’s unfinished play, Demetrius, left when Schiller died in 1805 by reputedly suspicious circumstances, i.e., poison. I admit to knowing little of Schiller other than his relationship with Goethe, which at one time was not understood by Schiller until he came to appreciate Goethe’s vision of Ideas as being the archetypes of Reality, such as the Plant. This helped transfer the theme of “Goethe as the Father of a New Aesthetic”, which Rudolf Steiner had written in 1888, over to Schiller, who had written “The Aesthetic Education of Man” in response to Goethe’s influence.
                1805 is also the year that Napoleon marched through Jena and had both Goethe and Hegel highly impressed. We know about its ultimate failure, but could Schiller have been sending a signal?

                “Dmitri”, based on Schiller, was produced as a play last November and ran in England at the Rudolf Steiner House for a few weeks.

              2. Yes, I think there is a connection with Schiller’s posioning & the play he was writing about Dmitri…

                Profofieff has much to say about Dmitri. I have only worked with his legend of the Russian Heros.

                We must remeber Steiner’s Question: ‘In all three problems it is important that one’s gaze is directed not towards death but towards birth. Where did they come from and with what tasks?’

    2. We will see in the age of Oriphiel a different kind of ‘chasing out the money changers’, I reckon. Whatever social landscape we have now will radically change, no doubt. One thing is certain that society now, as a whole, hangs on a very thin thread. Many take this for granted, and it wouldn’t take much to turn things upside down… it could be a war, a natural catastrophe, or a simple computer glitch that can render the whole infrastructure useless. So this is the perfect time for us to be discussing these things, and spreading what we know, and exercising our organ of ‘thinking’, because in the future… the efforts we make now with our ability to ‘think’ will come to use. Or rather, our inner and outer nature won’t be split like they are now, and like they were for Goethe. Much of what happens now is a preparation for that ‘dark age’ which will come in 300-400 years from now. This might be one of the things many of us don’t want to think about. But on the other hand, ‘Christ will walk on Earth again but in a different form’ – Steiner’s words. So what does that mean: in a different form? We are looking at some Biblical Epic stuff that will happen 300-400 years from now, in a landscape that might seem so bizarre to what we are experiencing now.

      1. Yes, you point out an interesting concept of how we need to develop our thinking so that ‘our inner and outer nature won’t be split’.
        What does that look like for you KJ?

        Do you think that Steiner Quote: ‘Christ will walk on Earth again but in a different form’ is refering to us being able to see Christ in the Etheric?

        1. That’s a great question, Hazel. I honestly don’t have a straight answer for that. I guess this is a whole issue of redemption, straightening out our karma, and living a more ‘pure’ life. Does that mean one has to be a monk? I don’t know, I don’t think it is that simple. A monk can still be a inwardly tortured.

          In regards to the Steiner Quote: ‘Christ will walk on Earth again but in a different form’ … I’ve been wondering if this has any correlation to this, from Manicheans GA93:

          “”What is the meaning of the utterance of Manes that he is the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, the Son of the Widow? It means that he will prepare for that epoch in which the men of the Sixth Root Race will be led by themselves, by the light of their own souls. Manes will create an overlapping stream, a stream which goes further than the stream of the Rosicrucians. The stream of Manes goes over to the Sixth Root Race which has been in preparation since the founding of Christianity. Christianity will appear in its perfected form in the Sixth Root Race.”

          ‘Its perfected form’ … ‘led by themselves, by the light of their own souls’. Manes, ‘Son of the Widow’? And further on, “In those who are the followers of the Sons of the Widow there will live the inviolable principle that Evil must be overcome through gentleness.”

          If I am reading this right, ‘Christ in a Different Form’ could potentially be a multiplicity, as in, Sons and Daughters of the Sixth Root Race… aka… Sons and Daughters of the Widow?

          Who is the Widow? Earth, Sophia? Is this what is meant by a Dark Age… will the ‘Father/Husband/Sun’ not be as influential, or seemingly has ‘left’?

          1. I relate to what you said about the monk still being tortured…

            Interesting that you would bring up Manes in connection to the Steiner Quote: ‘Christ will walk on Earth again but in a different form’
            I was thinking perhaps it had to do with the Maitreya Buddha & the etherization of the blood of Christ…

            The Son of the Widow relates to Isis – inhe 7th Cultraul Epoch Isis-Sophia will hold sway

            1. The different form of Christ is to experience Him in the Etheric body. One knows for sure when it happens, and can muse upon the various other options that come up. Steiner referred so often to Christ coming in this other form that a whole volume was compiled in dedication to it, and that is GA 118.

  4. Hazel wrote:

    “WOW…This insight is really changing how I interact with these earthly elements. Even though it’s still hard for me to see them as maya…”

    They are Maya/Illusion because they are effects of the external world. Behind Heat is the reality of Sacrifice. Behind Air is the reality of Bestowal. Behind Water is the reality of Resignation. Behind Earth is a reality of a Fourth Kind. To find the reality of Earth is to picture John the Baptist baptizing in the waters of the Jordan River in anticipation of a great event about to take place at the so-called, “Turning Point of Time”. What does he say? “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. This means no less than “change your mind about the way you feel and even possibly think”. Why? Because it is Maya. But, as we know, the Reality was coming. The problem with external Maya is that it is very seductive and persuasive; the seductive aspect is due to Lucifer, and the persuasive aspect is due to Ahriman. What links these two is Matter, which certainly has no reality, but does exist. This is proven b y the fact that Matter produces materialism, which is also not real, but very convincing as seen with the phases that materialism has gone through so far since the midpoint of the 19th century. It has even led to the abyss, which *is* real.

    1. Of course I get it intellectually that it has to do with the external aspect. But I really resonate to the idea spoken of by Steiner in another beloved lecture series: ‘Harmony of the Creative Word’ that the elements are the offspring of these great spiritual beings & that makes them very real to me – I revel in their appearance, their beauty…which I know is thanks to Lucifer! But I move that into my soul force so that it becomes reverence & awe for the Elemental Beings; & I work to release them from their Ahrimanic imprisonment…

      1. This also ties in with the last thread, in regards to ‘what’ we do with the material
        world… world of elements… matter/maya:

        From GA104a Reading the Pictures of the Apocalypse, lecture XI

        “ Human beings today are already creative on the earth. They can force the lifeless forces of nature to serve them. They can build cathedrals, they can sculpt marble. Today they are masters of lifeless nature. Even though Raphael’s paintings of the Madonna are falling to dust, even though the external physical world is passing away, what the human being achieves in terms of art during the evolution of the earth will one day resurrect in a different form. The crystals we see today were once forms worked out by human beings during the old Moon embodiment of the earth, in a way similar to how we create and form artistically today. What the spirits once achieved in infinite ages of time now grows out of the earth; today it rises up. So, too, the matter of Raphael’s Madonnas will also rise up. In the distant future, everything that human beings now create will rise again with the brightness of crystals. The place that humanity has prepared and will find waiting is called the “New Jerusalem” by the writer of the Apocalypse. A new world will arise, inhabitable by human beings who will have achieved the requisite state of maturity. In a new state, in the Jupiter existence, they will find the place where, out of love and out of human work, peace will reign.”

        This surely is mind blowing, in the sense, that what we do as humans during our Earth-Earth phase will help serve the develop enemy of the humans during the Jupiter-Earth phase, just as what humans did for us during their Moon-Earth phase.

        This is perhaps how Lucifer and Ahriman can help serve humanity, with how we interact with ‘matter’… just as long as the moral compass (Christ) can balance the two.

        In terms of a Chartres revival, the seven liberal arts as it was laid down by the teachers of that time… deal specifically with how we create a true meaningful art, in the sense that art is the catalyst for Earth’s spiritualization, just as described in the passage above – in a sense.

        I often wondered why the seven liberal arts were considered the only ones listed. The first three, are what Frans Lutter describes (the trivium) as having to do with self development: rhetoric, grammar, dialect. The other four, the quadrivium: Arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy… deal with our relation to our physical world. Of course, we can list many arts… but fundamentally speaking, it is the study of these that really penetrate our understanding of the material world, or what we can perceive with the senses. Maybe perhaps better put, it is through these four disciplines that by means of working with the material, we bridge a connection with the spiritual. Music, for instance, we can certainly hear it with our ears… but after some time, we begin to hear it in our inner being.

        I just find this fascinating, because something that seems so simple can be the basis of a sort of educational revival, where it encourages artistic interaction with the world in which we live in.

        Then that question of, ‘what, and why’ we manipulate the material world becomes more clear.

        1. Yes even the physical realm, what we call material-matter-Mother will be redeemed.

          Kyle you would love this book by Christian Community Priest Friedrich Benesh, ‘Apocalypse – the Transformation of Earth’
          https://www.project-apocalypse.com/blog/friedrich-beneschs-book-apocalypse-die-verwandlung-der-erde-eine-okkulte-mineralogie-the-transformation-of-the-earth-an-occult-minerology/

          In regards to the Platonic stream Frans Lutters has a sweet little book called ‘The Grail Mystery & the 7 Liberal Arts’ – is that your reference? He talks about the mysteries of the # 7, the various Platonic characters, & describes the liberal arts as the Virgins of the Grail…Little morsels to wet our appetite for more research…

          I wholeheartedly agree that an ‘artistic interaction’ with the world is where it’s at!

          xox

          1. Thanks for the link, Hazel, I will definitely check that book out.

            And yes, that is the book I referred to by Frans Lutters. I’ve had this book for some time now, and I always keep coming back to it. Quite a lot to build off of. I think it helps to see how these streams, in their seven different art forms, have evolved over time… and to see how different arts cross over (I.e. arithmetic and music).

            Of course, we know, looking into the past inspires the future.

              1. I am intrigued by the idea of freeing Elemental Beings from the imprisonment of Ahriman, and it caused the remembrance of a lecture in which is described a certain “enchantment” of the Lily, which seeks to be recognized by humans, and which therefore will be “disenchanted” in order to escape and evolve to a higher state of being.

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA223/English/AP1946/19230928p01.html

                “When we observe a plant in the usual way we do not in the least sense the presence of an elemental being dwelling in it, of something spiritual; we do not dream that every such plant harbors something which is not satisfied by having us look at it and form such abstract mental pictures as we commonly do of plants today. For in every plant there is concealed — under a spell, as it were — an elemental spiritual being; and really only he observes a plant in the right way who realizes that this loveliness is a sheath of a spiritual being enchanted in it — a relatively insignificant being, to be sure, in the great scale of cosmic interrelationship, but still a being intimately related to man.”

                [….]

                “While unfolding its leaves, but especially its blossom, the lily is really expecting something. It says to itself: Men will pass and look at me; and when a sufficient number of human eyes will have directed their gaze upon me — so speaks the spirit of the lily — I shall be disenchanted of my spell, and I shall be able to start on my way into spiritual worlds. — You will perhaps object that many lilies grow unseen by human eye: yes, but then the conditions are different, and such lilies find their release in a different way. For the decree that the spell of that particular lily shall be broken by human eyes comes about by the first human glance cast upon the lily. It is a relationship entered into between man and the lily when he first lets his gaze rest upon it. — All about us are these elemental spirits begging us, in effect, Do not look at the flowers so abstractly, nor form such abstract mental pictures of them: let rather your heart and your Gemüt enter into what lives, as soul and spirit, in the flowers, for it is imploring you to break the spell. — Human existence should really be a perpetual releasing of the elemental spirits lying enchanted in minerals, plants, and animals.”

              2. Yes, Those lectures are very dear to me.
                And it’s interesting that he uses the lily in the example, as that is my fav. flower, but of course this principle goes for all elemental beings in every kingdom of nature…

              3. This might seem like a silly question, but once a plant (for example) is ‘beheld’ in this sense… wha then happens to [it] when the enchantment is ‘broken’? As in, when the elementals are released… what then? Are we speaking of the life force of a plant? Or are we speaking of the elementals enchantment of being ‘earth-bound’?

              4. It’s good to question – to bring clarity – so that we can use our intentions effectively – You got it: The human being, thru our engagement with the Elemental Beings behind nature, are able to release them from their ‘earth-bound’ enchantment. For me, engagement means, filling my heart-thinking with reverence, wonder, awe, – & the intention to ‘see’ or experience the spiritual essence of matter.

                This interaction allows the Being to see itself apart from the material. Spiritual Science shows us that during different times of the year the Luciferic forces rise & at other times the Ahrimanic powers seek to take over these beings using them for their own purposes; so that makes our engagement even more important.

                Also we can know that for the human being to move into our next stage of evolution – to move up the ladder & become the 10th Hierarchy of Love & freedom, we are tasked with becoming the guardians of these elemental beings, so that they can rise into their human stage, just as our guardian angels are helping us become our higher selves now…

              5. Are you familiar with the parable of the white lily and the red rose? It is a spinoff of Floris and Blancheflour that was told in the middle ages, and comes from the pen of Vladimir Soloviev as a young man, and led to his meeting with the Divine Sophia in the desert outside Cairo, Egypt in 1875. Steiner would come to make acquaintance with Soloviev’s concept of the White Lily when he followed him across the threshold of earthly death on July 31, 1900. Twelve years later, he would tell the Russian members all about it in the first private lecture to them given in Helsinki, Finland on April 11, 1912. As such, it is all about how the concept of the White Lily exactly befits the Russian Folk Soul as an homage to the Eternal Feminine, and how much this fits the Russian Folk Soul to embrace Anthroposophy.

              6. White lily with red rose
                We marry,
                And with secret, prophetic dream
                We attain eternal Truth.

                Speak the prophetic word!
                Quickly cast your pearls into the cup;
                Now bind our Dove
                With new coils of the old Serpent.

                The free heart hurts not!
                Should the Dove fear Prometheus’ fire?
                The pure Dove is calm
                In the flaming coils of the mighty
                Serpent.

                Sing about violent tempests!
                In violent tempests we find repose;
                For white lily with red rose
                We marry.

                When Rudolf Steiner followed the soul and spirit of Friedrich Nietzsche across the threshold of death on August 25, 1900, he perceived the symbol of the red rose, which is akin to the German Folk Soul, and thus a kind of marriage was ascertained between the Russian and German Folk Souls as a matter of spiritual destiny; a destiny which was vigorously opposed by the forces of evil working to keep these nations apart during both world wars in the twentieth century. For Rudolf Steiner, though, this perception would be the catalyst in the shift of focus from philosophy to theosophy in this pivotal year in which two very influential philosophers died just 25 days apart.

              7. I have had a hypothesis conjuring up a bit in my head recently, regarding the Russian Folk Soul, or Slavic soul. Native Americans do have their origins in Slavic lands, even though some may argue more Asiatic influence. Nevertheless, there is a folk tale of the origin of the Water Lily, and this is what reminded me of this, in relation to the White Lily:

                “ The Star Maiden:
                A Native American Legend
                One night, a young boy was sleeping under the stars. In a deep sleep, the boy dreamed about the silver stars in the night sky. There was one star in his dream that was brighter than all the others. Suddenly, this star began to move across the sky, floating closer and closer to Earth. It landed on a tree just above the boy’s head.
                In his dream, the star was transformed1 into a beautiful young woman with long hair and glowing eyes. She was still shining like a star. The star maiden reached out to the boy and said, “I have seen your world. It has called out to me. Everything is so beautiful: the clear blue water, the pretty flowers and your people. I want to live in this world. If you speak to your wisest chiefs, perhaps I can change my form and live among your people. Ask them what form I should take.”
                When the boy woke up, he ran to his village and found his chief. A meeting was called and all the wisest chiefs listened carefully to the boy’s story. One chief stood up and said, “Of course we will welcome this beautiful star into our village. Tell her that she may take on any form she wants. She can be anything that makes her happy. Go now and tell her this.”
                That very night, the boy went back to the tree where he slept the night before, and waited. As he looked up, the bright star descended from the heavens. The star maiden2 appeared. Startled and excited, the boy told the woman what the chiefs had said. He led the star maiden back to the village.
                The next day, the star maiden turned herself into a gorgeous wild flower. This didn’t make her happy though. Animals came close to crushing her in their path. The ground shook all around her and she was sad.
                The next day, the star maiden turned into a lovely red rose. But the garden she lived in was far away from the village. She missed the people who she wanted to be around the most.
                That night it seemed she gave up. She rose back up into the sky and the people in the village were afraid she was leaving for good because she couldn’t be happy among them.
                They watched as the star maiden floated over their lake. She looked down into the water and saw her reflection and the reflection of her sister stars. “Come my sisters!” the star maiden called out. “Come with me and make these beautiful waters our home.”
                The people smiled, and satisfied, they went to sleep. The next morning they went back to the lake and saw something magical. The lake was covered with hundreds of floating flower stars like the villagers had never seen. The star maiden and her sisters became water lilies.
                So, every time you see a water lily, remember the star maiden and how she came down from heaven to live among us.”

                Now, some may think it is a stretch to see the Slavic impulse in Native American folk traditions. But if one contemplates what Steiner lists as characteristics of the sixth cultural epoch, it is something to the effect of what has been occurring with Westerners being changed by Native culture. This can be proved in the dynamics which Steiner describes in the World History lectures when Conquerors are changed by the Conquered and same reversed. You can see germinal phases of this in Permaculture, Rainbow Gatherings, and the Anastasia Communities in Russia, for example.

                Another indication is the Cherokee language coming from a kind of Proto-Slavic origin… as some have noted similarities in the written languages.

                Regardless is it is accurate or inaccurate to note Native American culture has Slavic origins, I do think there is something to be said of the synthesis between Western and Native that points to qualities of a sixth cultural epoch… where we are intended to go to next. People are leaving out that this is a global phenomena, not something that is purely Russian – per say. So when one looks to the Ukraine war, for example, as a fight for the Slavic impulse… I don’t see any relevance there. It is something that only has to do with nations fighting each other. There is nothing Slavic (except the superficial meaning of the word) about it, or the the Slavic impulse that is supposed to be a characteristic of the sixth epoch.

              8. I love these legends, so powerful, thank you.

                Your hypothesis makes me think that perhaps the Native American ethos which so much exemplifies the character of what the 6th Cultural epoch must bring, may have a chance to be recapitulated in those that will reincarnate into humanity during the 6th Cultural epoch in that region of the world to world to work with the Slavic Folk Soul. But that will only happen if forgiveness & healing can occur in the soul life of many who hold the grief of their genocide.

                Ukraine & even Russia, as we see them now, are, as you say, playing at nationalism, but really behind them both – pulling the strings of this puppet show propaganda, are the Western elite who don’t care how much ‘collateral damage’ they create along the way.

              9. Hazel, there is a lot of power packed into this remark:

                “Ukraine & even Russia, as we see them now, are, as you say, playing at nationalism, but really behind them both – pulling the strings of this puppet show propaganda, are the Western elite who don’t care how much ‘collateral damage’ they create along the way.”

                Collateral damage makes me think of the reason given for the collapse of WTC 7, which was the building that imploded on the late afternoon of 9/11/01. Western elites make me think of the oft spoken insight about the US-UK connection which has a long history. Yet, of course, Spiritual Science is here to describe what is really the underlying influence in this puppet show, pulling the strings. Because we are referring to seriously damaging and destructive events seen throughout the 20th century, and now, just 22 years into the 21st century of a whole new millennium, it becomes even more possible to differentiate Lucifer and Ahriman, who are basically complementary spiritual beings who were held over from the Ancient Moon evolution, for a special place in Earth evolution. As such, they are not destructive, but supportive of their role in bringing about the freedom of individual human consciousness.

                Now, what *IS* destructive and damaging is the role played by Sorat/Soradt/Sorath, who is the being who occupies the lowest level of the sub-earthly and takes the form of a six-fold Asuras, in the same way that Christ is the sixfold Elohim of the Sun. So, you see, the dichotomy is between the Sun and the Earth, with the Sun as the highest, and the Earth as the lowest. This is what creates the active dynamic we are experiencing today, and is leading to the division between good and evil into a schism of sorts, with even racial distinction. That is why it is possible today to not only look back to the 3rd Cultural epoch in its relationship to the 5th Cultural epoch today, which is on a higher level of the materialism that first arose then, but also possible to look ahead to the 7th Cultural epoch, which is already forming, for the inevitable War of All Against All.

                As such, Rudolf Steiner spoke in great detail about the aims of Sorath in lecture-courses on the Book of Revelation, ref. GA104, GA104a, GA346. And, especially in the third course, which was his very last, given concurrently with the final volume of the KR series, GA238, he takes pains to describe how from the very first arising of Sorath in 666 AD, it was a matter of migrating the influence of the anti-Christ into Europe, and eventually to America with the colonization program that would see the genocide of the native Americans. Since 1998, it has all been in the hands of Sorath here in the West. That is why a “dark cloud” sits over the head of so many people, as Marianne Williamson sees in her intuition.

              10. The cloud over America can be described thru Spiritual Science as seeing the double of the American Folk Soul – the corruption of Columbia into Uncle Sam.

                This occurred as well with the Folk Soul of Central Europe – casting Germany into the abyss with WW1 which led to Hitler.

                Rudolf Steiner incarnated into the German peoples to further the Consciousness/Spiritual Soul during the current Michael Age. This impulse was meant to have its cradle in middle Europe, not in America, which infuses it with all kinds of backward will forces aligned with the negative aspects of the Consciousness Soul age = Social exclusion.

                Actually I see America & Russia putting on a big show of opposition when in fact they are both working to debauch the Consciousness Soul. This will affect the goal of the 6th Cultural Epoch, & bring the 7th with its ‘War of All Against All’in too soon.

                Yes Sorat is the true evil, but he is working thru Lucifer & very strongly thru Ahriman, for these adversarial beings can take over a human being making them tools for Sorat. And there is no doubt that Sorat is in deed behind the incarnation of Ahriman happening now.

                Our task is make sure the Love of All happens, starting now, to implant in us a firm foundation for the Angels to work in our astral body consciously in the next epoch, preparing us for what is to come after.

              11. This is where I feel where Inspiration plays in which brings about Imagination. The Debauching of The Consciousness Soul definitely seems to be something to be aware of, as you said Hazel, which America and Russia has a part in.

                Going back to Imagination, probably the one of the main ‘hindrances’ of that (imagination) is that of television (tell a vision) and social media… which essentially had its roots in the advent of the printing press. The printing press brought about the Newspaper, which essentially caused the death of individual opinions/thinking and the art of telling stories or hearing stories and news by word of mouth. What once was poetic expression of the vernacular has been diluted down to a homogenized expression.

                Not to get off on a tangent here, but the issue of ‘hinderance’ made me think of Mammon. Not necessarily overtly destructive like Sorat, but very much obstructive. So I wonder where Mammon plays a part in all this. For much of what causes issues, I feel, are hindrances that are very much built in our society. This can be seen at so many levels.

                To get to the point about Imagination… these hindrances cause blocks to that imagination, because we are facing so many forces which prohibit our use of it… rather, much of our spiritual energy is used for material comfort, or survival.

                So, out of all the people in the world today, how ma y people are taking the time to imagine how things can be different? We can’t make any change unless we imagine it first.

              12. Yes, when we can free ourselves from this false narrative perpetuated by the various media & screens, we can cultivate a fresh, active imagination – which opens the door to being able to hear the truth given to us thru inspiration, & then our intuition can come in – to make us co-creators with Beings such as Michael to do our part to bring in the Divine Plan.

                To go forward with Steve’s point of the adversarial beings bringing in necessity – I think the ‘hindrance’ also plays a part in holding us back for various reasons. Just like the character in the 1st 2 Mystery Dramas called Retardus, who after serving to stop things from going too fast was actually transformed & did not return in the later dramas.

                My understanding of Mammon is that he is face of covetousness, an entity that promotes selfishness associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. Mammon in the New Testament is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth. The Gospel of Matthew & also Luke both quote Jesus using the word in a phrase often rendered in English as “You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

                To address your question: “So, out of all the people in the world today, how many people are taking the time to imagine how things can be different? We can’t make any change unless we imagine it first.” It doesn’t have to be a ton of people. I know Marianne Williamson & her tribe are doing it in their way. I agree that we have to imagine truth, beauty & goodness & the highest evolution before it can happen. Our intention to build up thought pictures is tantamount – That’s why I started the 10:10 Thought Seed Initiative, so that anyone who wants to can join in co-creating an imagination of the Earth as the New Sun of the New Jerusalem…

              13. One of the things that Kyle alludes to is the presence of subliminal messaging transmitted through television, and now with the android device. Thus, high-speed messages with immoral content designed to offset the work of the angels in the astral body. Steiner is quite specific in indicating that this work of the angels in the astral body is conducted during sleep and meant to create the moral pictures needed for the rightful conduct of the 6th Cultural epoch. Yet, the world is filled with a kind of “anti-word”, which forms the propaganda of clever neuro-linguistic programs (NLP) which actually sponsor wrong thinking. Spiritual Science exists to reverse this wrong thinking. Marianne Williamson picked up “A Course in Miracles” in 1976, which forms the Dialectical Psychology for the kind of thought reversal needed to reassert the Cosmic Word back into human awareness.

              14. So true about the subliminal messages – this insidious mind-control tool is extremely prevalent & many seek it out like addicted mice in the maze. When I think of how so many people, many of my friends even, ‘binge watching’ images that harden the sheaths & steal the soul, seeping into dreams, corrupting the ability to digest spiritual thoughts in sleep…I wonder how we can counteract this weapon?

                I have to say that I wouldn’t be able to get thru a day if I didn’t have my meditative rhythms & Spiritual Scientific research. But even so, some days I am overwhelmed by what is lucking in the ethers like that dark cloud we have been talking about. It’s hard not to feel its influence. But, Thank God – even just speaking the Lord’s Prayer acts as a protective shield. I feel how this prayer spoken by Christ Jesus & by so many who strive to hold the Christ Light buoys me up & strengthens my heart-thinking…

                I remember when the Course in Miracles first hit the New Agers. Somehow it never felt right for me…I guess I have enough to do to follow the path of initiation as laid out by Anthroposophy…

              15. If Anthroposophy represents the redemption and resurrection of the Cosmic Word, which received a blow when the Temple of Artemis was destroyed on the day that Alexander was born, then we are in good stead in this endeavor. Yet, many more millions are mired today in a consistent barrage of what constitutes no less than a very cleverly organized “anti-Word” campaign of the propaganda of lies. The only solution it seems to me is to counter-weaponize with the fruits of Anthroposophy and its inherent spiritual-scientific research. With regard to ACIM, which I discovered ten years after MW, and not long before hearing the name, Rudolf Steiner, for the first time, it was all about the Dialectical Psychology which is its chief message. In other words, reversal of corrupted thoughts in which we are unforgiven and unforgiving in a loveless and hateful world. Pure anti-Christic logic, which creates a huge amount of collateral damage on the mental and emotional side of the equation. To weaponize against this is one of the aims we are already engaged in. But, you know the old adage, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”

                If people would apply what is written in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, it would help in seeing how much Anthroposophy represents a modern methodology: “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened”. This is also known as The Divine Syllogism, ref. Matthew 7:7

              16. The Mysteries of the Word given in the Temple of Artemis were released into the cosmic ethers with the burning; this was ordained by the higher powers, so that initiation should not stay behind temple walls. The jealousy of the gods & the jealousy of the human being are part of this equation, which we are still grappling with.

                The only ‘weapon’ against hate is Love.

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