mysteries of the sun and of the threefold man

8/13/2019 Mysteries of the Sun and of the Threefold Man

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Mysteries of the Sun and of the Threefold Man

By Rudolf Steiner

Translator is Unknown

GA 183

On-line since 1!th March" #$13

Here we have three lectures given by Rudolf Steiner in August of 1918 at Dornach, Switzerland.hey are lectures four, five, and si! of nine lectures in the lecture series entitled, Science,

Knowledge and Human Evolution"ublished in #er$an as,Die Wissenschaft vom Werden desMenschen.

%e "resent the$ here with the &ind "er$ission of the Rudolf Steiner 'achlassverwaltung,Dornach, Switzerland.

his e.e!t edition is "rovided through the wonderful wor& of(

%arious e&Te't Transcri(ersSearch for related titles available for

"urchase atA$azon.co$)

Thanks to a donation fro) the *os An+eles Steiner *i(rary" this *ecture Series has (een )ade a,aila(le for e,eryone&

O.T/.TS

*ecture + Au+ust #0" 118

*ecture ++ Au+ust #!" 118

*ecture +++ Au+ust #2" 118

*ecture

Dornach

24th August, 11!

Should anyone wish to understand the age in which he is actually living, he $ust do so out of wider cos$ic

connections. he "ettiness of this age lies in $an refusing, out of these wider connections, to enlighten hi$self about the

i$"ulses, the forces, wor&ing into the "resent ti$e. And to understand what is wor&ing anywhere nowadays it will

beco$e increasingly necessary to har& bac& to the conditions through which $an&inds develo"$ent "assed at the ti$e of

the -ystery of #olgotha this -ystery of #olgotha we have "resented it fro$ the $ost various "oints of view, and

have seen how dee"ly and with what significance it has ta&en hold of the whole course of evolution, the whole evolution

of $an. %e &now how differently $en "erceived and e!"erienced before and after the -ystery of #olgotha. 'aturally

one condition did not "ass over i$$ediately into the other. /ut when we $a&e a retros"ective survey, we discover what

has been stated fro$ so $any "oints of view. oday, so that a certain basis $ay be $ade for our further studies, there is

one thing to which + should "articularly li&e to "oint.

+f we consider the $ood, the condition of $ans soul, before the -ystery of #olgotha, we can say in general that inthe culture of $an&ind, the $an&ind fro$ who$ the "resent cultural life has arisen, a certain ca"acity e!isted in the soul

to loo& into the secrets of the cos$ic, s"iritual world. /efore the -ystery of #olgotha it went without saying that $en did

not loo& u" to the starry heavens in the way they do today. %e &now how $en now loo& at the stars and say( other "lanets

are connected with our earth and with it revolve around the sun, and there are innu$erable other fi!ed stars also having

their "lanets. And if $en notice what &ind of thoughts they are harboring in these reflections they have to own that they

are thin&ing of a great world $achinery. 0resent day $an has very little idea that anything beyond the forces of this great

world $achinery is ruling and wor&ing but for $an before the -ystery of #olgotha this was $ore or less self2evident. +t

was "articularly natural for hi$ to regard the Sun, for e!a$"le, 3uite differently fro$ the way in which the $odern

"hysicist regards it roughly s"ea&ing, si$"ly as a &ind of glowing ball in universal s"ace. /efore the -ystery of

#olgotha $en &new that the Sun thus s"o&en of in "hysics is only one ele$ent of the whole Sun, at the basis of which

lies what is of the soul and what is of the s"irit. And the S"iritual lying at the Suns basis the wise $en of #reece called

the universal good of the world, the goodness of the world, the unity, the good seething through the universe. hat was tohi$ the s"irit of the Sun. o this #ree& sage it would have see$ed crass su"erstition to thin& as the $odern "hysicist

thin&s that there outside in universal s"ace a $ere glowing ball is floating. o hi$ this glowing, floating ball was the

$anifestation of unified goodness, the active centre of the world. %ith this central good that is of a s"iritual nature there

was united what was of a soul nature called by the #ree&s Helios. hen, third, there ca$e the "hysical e!"ression of the

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#ood and of Helios, the "hysical Sun. hus, where the Sun is, the $an of that day saw what was threefold. And with this

three foldness then seen in the Sun, the $en who were thin&ing at the ti$e of the -ystery of #olgotha, "re"ared as the

were by their &nowledge of this -ystery of #olgotha, and also of the ancient $ysteries united the threefold Sun2

$ystery of the sages with the 6hrist -ystery, with the -ystery of #olgotha itself. 7or those who &new, veneration of the

Sun was one with veneration of the 6hrist for the$ the Sun2wisdo$ was united with the 6hrist2wisdo$.

o feel all this in accordance with nature, to e!"erience it as a $atter of course, it was necessary to have the

constitution of soul e!isting at that ti$e. /ut this constitution of soul vanished. +t was already vanishing by the eight "re2

6hristian century, beginning in the year before the -ystery of #olgotha the actual date of the 7oundation of

Ro$e. At the ti$e of the 7oundation of Ro$e the old "ossibility was vanishing of seeing the s"iritual outside in the6os$os, and as Ro$e enters history, what we $ay call the :"rosaic ele$ent co$es into hu$an evolution. he #ree&s,

for instance, "reserved in the whole of their world2conce"tion the "ower of seeing the other two Suns behind the Sun

the soul and the s"irit of the Sun and only because the -ystery of #olgotha did not descend "urely into the wisdo$

and "erce"tion of #reece, but into the wisdo$ and "erce"tion of Ro$e, has it ha""ened that &nowledge of the connection

of 6hrist with the s"iritual Sun has been cut off. hus the 6hristian gathers and eachers of the 6hurch have had

"articularly to concern the$selves with shrouding the -ystery of the Sun, $a&ing $an&ind forget this $ystery, not

allowing it to beco$e &nown. hroughout the further course of the develo"$ent of 6hristianity ;as it is called< a veil was

destined to be s"read over the dee", the significant and all2e$bracing wisdo$ of 6hrists connection with Sun2-ystery.

=6o$"are"he "hreefold Sun and the #isen $hrist4.+>.44

6o$"areAn %ccult &s'cholog'*ecture. + 1.>+++.18.?

Should we wish to define the tas& of the 6hurch, the 6hurch that owed its origin to 6hristianity having co$e down

into all that was Ro$an, we should have to say that this 6hristian 6hurch, colored as it was by Ro$e, had the "articular

tas& of shrouding as far as "ossible the 6hrist2-ystery, as far as "ossible &ee"ing "eo"le in ignorance of it. he

organisation the 6hurch e!"erienced through Ro$anis$ was es"ecially suited to &ee" $en as far as "ossible fro$

&nowledge of the 6hrist2-ystery. /y this, the 6hurch has beco$e an institution for holding bac& the $ystery of 6hrist,

an institution for ad$itting the world as little as it could to the 6hrist2-ystery. his is so$ething that today $ust beco$e

ever clearer to $an&ind, for the age $ust begin that is in the "osition to wor& with other conce"ts than those of Ro$e.

Ro$an conce"ts are "recisely those that have the hard outlines, the hard for$ of the cor"se. he conce"ts that are

develo"ed to gras", for e!a$"le, the truth about $an, as + drew hi$ on the blac&board for you a wee& ago, in what +

$ight call his nor$al aura, the conce"ts necessary for $ans true reality to be gras"ed again and through that the reality of

the world, these conce"ts $ust be fle!ible, they should not have shar" outlines. 7or reality is not rigid, it is so$ething that

is beco$ing. And should we want to understand reality with our conce"ts and ideas, we have with these to "ursue theflow, the beco$ing of reality.

%hen this fluidity of the conce"t is ignored there arises what to the undoing of $an&ind can be observed today in

countless "laces. a&e a "heno$enon that forces itself on the attention of any observer of the world who is wide awa&e

and in earnest. +t is as follows( you will allow it to be true that we have a$ong us in the world $en of learning in the $ost

various s"heres. hese learned ones are the cha$"ions, the &ee"ers of &nowledge. Although $odern $an is not a believer

in authority, in s"ite of having rid the world of such su"erstition, he ta&es on trust everything u"held in the various

s"heres by the learned. And these a$ong the$selves, always believe their brethren concerning a $atter outside their own

s"here. -en today do not willingly see into these connections for should they do so they would be shoc&ed at the

disconnected and chaotic nature of our culture. %e have, however, e!"erienced the following, for e!a$"le. *et us

su""ose so$e learned $an and we can always "ic& one out of the various s"heres has for his "articular s"here, let us

say, @gy"tology + will ta&e so$ething e!otic, so let it be @gy"tology. So, we will agree that his "rofession is to instructother $en, unable to avail the$selves of the sources of such &nowledge, concerning the "articular 3ualities of the

@gy"tian "eo"le. He gives these $en instruction also concerning the relations of the @gy"tians to other "eo"les of

anti3uity. +t is the "art of these $en to ta&e all this on trust for the instructor is an authority on @gy"tology. 'ow

so$ething $ost unfortunate is a feature of our age a great nu$ber of these learned $en who re"resent such s"ecial

subects have not re$ained silent. +t would have been better had they &e"t silence but this they have not done for

instance, they have today a""lied their way of thin&ing, their thought structure, under the i$"ression of these events to

their own "eo"le and its relation to other "eo"les. Here we have a good o""ortunity of seeing what nonsense is tal&ed.

'ow fro$ this we have to draw our conclusions, and conclusions founded on reality in thought. %e $ay say that 3uite a

nu$ber who are authorities in the do$ain of @gy"tology, and are thought to hold incontestable conce"ts in regard to the

"articular 3ualities of the @gy"tian "eo"le and their relations to other "eo"les, now, suddenly at the "resent ti$e, are

tal&ing utter nonsense about their own "eo"le and the relation of these to other fol&( Do you really believe that they are

tal&ing, have tal&ed, $ore intelligently about the @gy"tians and their relations to other "eo"lesB %hen /alfour s"ea&s

today about the relation of his "eo"le to the rest of the world, or when Houston Stewart 6ha$berlain is continually

uttering rubbish about the connections between $en, one can gather without $uch reflection that they are si$"ly tal&ing

nonsense "ure nonsense( And now 6ha$berlain has written "he (oundation of $ulture in the )ineteenth $entur', and

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a nu$ber of other boo&s for which there has not been the o""ortunity to verify the history. +n these he will naturally have

tal&ed e!actly the sa$e nonsense.

Already now the ti$e of testing has co$e, the ti$e of trial, when we have at last to see that it is not a $atter si$"ly

of delivering udg$ent that only has li$ited value by being right in a certain s"here that is true of al$ost every

udg$ent, the $ost false is right in so$e "articular but what $atters is to see& for that fle!ible, fluid udg$ent that

"resses on to the reality, and only through s"iritual science can that be found.

How re$ar&able it is what conflict today co$es to the surface between sound thin&ing and the thin&ing of the ti$es.

Recently we have heard of a religious discussion that has ta&en "lace in what was St. 0etersburg. =*eningrad.? A religiousdiscussion right in the $idst of /olshevis$( About a religion and its develo"$ent there s"o&e Socialists, 0riests of the

#ree& 6hurch, and it goes without saying, all &inds of bourgeois fol& who naturally were not the $ost intelligent of the

s"ea&ers. And fro$ the discussion that was carried on there which was of course tinged with $odern colour, but

throughout had recourse to the $ost rigid and ancient conce"ts fro$ this discussion, as it a""ears, it was "ossible to

learn $uch. 7or instance, one 0riest brought forward so$ething of the greatest interest. He felt hi$self obliged, it see$s,

to s"ea& as he was accusto$ed to address his floc&. 'ow for$erly he had naturally told his floc& that everything in the

world including 6zaris$, of course and indeed everything was fro$ #od. And what can this good 0riest do nowB

'aturally he still has so$ehow to follow the sa$e the$e that he used in s"ea&ing to his floc& no longer now his floc&

for he has no wish to ta&e on new conce"ts. So he says( he world is fro$ #od, all co$es fro$ #od. As we now have

Soviet rule that is fro$ #od too. /olshevis$ is certainly sent $an by #od. Since everything is fro$ #od, /olshevis$ as

well $ust co$e fro$ Hi$. %hat else was he to sayB + a$ 3uite sure that the deduction could be "ressed further why

should it not be $ade beautifully "lausible that the devil is fro$ #odB 'aturally the devil is a""ointed by #od

according to the sa$e deduction. his is how things are by getting dee"er light on what is necessity, it is natural that

one should $eet on all sides with the strongest o""osition. /ut no one can go to slee" who has underta&en to "lay a "art

in the re$odeling of $ans "owers of conce"tion.

'ow conce"ts wor&ed out by $aterialis$ conce"ts that "ass current as being incontestable belong to all that $ust

be $ost thoroughly overco$e. 'othing $eets us with $ore "ersistence fro$ the so2called authority of science than what

is &nown as the law of the conservation of energy and of $atter, of force and of substance. hat has grown very near to

$ans heart. +t is true, is it not, that the world conce"tion that has beco$e entirely $echanistic and "hysical, wants to be

deaf in face of the actual "resence of the s"irit. As it refuses to recognise the s"irit it cannot ascribe to it either duration or

eternity so it ascribes eternity to its little idol, the ato$, or anyhow to so$e $atter or force. /ut the truth is, $y dear

friends, that of all that is e!tended around you as what you can loo& u"on with your senses, what surrounds you in theworld as $atter and forces of all this in accordance with nor$al laws there will be nothing left by the ti$e of the

>enus age. %e &now that after the @arth evolution there follows that of Cu"iter, after the Cu"iter evolution that of >enus,

and then that of >ulcan. As $an finds hi$self again in different incarnations, so the earth finds itself as Cu"iter, fro$ the

Cu"iter evolution as >enus and then again as >ulcan. %hat today fro$ any e!"eri$ent in "hysics is found as $atter and

the structure of $atter, will not be there after the >enus e!istence. here is no conservation of $atter and force, the

$atter and force of which "hysicists s"ea&, beyond the e!istence of >enus. he whole law of the conservation of $atter

and of force is "ure su"erstition, and is so$ething by which all conce"ts in "hysics are governed. So$ething is concealed,

however, when the world is s"o&en of as consisting of indestructible $atter that is continuously being sub$itted to

different grou"ing, different arrange$ent. And what is thus concealed is the answer to the 3uestion( what then re$ains of

all that is so widely s"read out before our senses when this is no longer there when the >enus age has co$e or when it

is already half way through its ter$B %hat then re$ainsB %here is there anythingB %hat is still thereB

'ow, $y dear friends, direct your gaze outside into the vast circu$ference that you can see. *oo& at everything, loo&

at the whole of the &ingdo$s of $ineral, "lant, ani$al and $an loo& at all you can see in the way of stars, light2

"heno$ena see what ha""ens in air and water loo& wherever you li&e, include everything that can "ossibly be included

in your e!ternal sense "erce"tions then as& yourselves( %here is anything in which there will re$ain a vestige of our

"resent e!istenceB And the answer is( +n no ani$al, in no "lant, in no $ineral, not in any air, or any water nowhere but

in $an( f what you see today $an hi$self alone contains anything that in accordance with law continues beyond the

>enus e!istence 'owhere else can you see& anything "er$anent, anything that can be referred to by the conce"t of

eternity nowhere save in $an. hat is to say, if we are loo&ing for the seeds of the real future of the world where have

we to see&B %e $ust see& the$ in $an. %e cannot loo& for the$ in any other creation or any other &ingdo$. /ut before

the -ystery of #olgotha, $en of old naturally in s"irit saw through the &ingdo$s the cos$ic All. +f we ta&e the

re"resentative, the Sun, they saw a glowing ball, but through the glowing ball they saw Helios and the #ood.

'evertheless this glowing s"here of the Sun will not e!ist beyond the >enus age it will then disa""ear. And everything

through which $an, in ancient ti$es, saw in a veiled way, the constituents of so$e s"iritual e!istence will also disa""ear.

And of all that is here now there will re$ain for the future only what is "lanted seedwise into $an.

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%hat then has actually ha""enedB /efore the -ystery of #olgotha $en used to loo& out into the wide 6os$os they

saw stars u"on stars, they saw Sun and -oon, air and water, the various &ingdo$s. /ut they did not see the$ in the sa$e

way as $odern $an, for they saw the$ all with the divine s"iritual being behind. And behind all that, they saw the 6hrist

who had not then descended to earth. +n those olden ti$es 6hrist was seen to be united with the cos$os he was seen

outside the earth. here is nothing in which 6hrist was thus seen that will last beyond the >enus age. @verything through

which the s"iritual and also 6hrist in the cos$os were revealed to $an before the -ystery of #olgotha will last only to

the >enus e!istence. /efore the -ystery of #olgotha $en lived with the heavens, but these heavens are so "hysical that

they too will vanish with the >enus e!istence. %hat will last longer than that has its seed in $an alone. he 6hrist had to

co$e to $an out of the cos$os if He wished to tread with $an the "ath to eternity. /ecause all that + have described to

you is so, 6hrist descended fro$ the cos$os in order henceforth to be with what as seed in $an, will last on into eternity.

hat is the great cos$ic event that $ust be understood. /efore the -ystery of #olgotha $en could worshi" the #od,

the 6hrist, in the cos$os. Since the -ystery of #olgotha the ti$e has co$e when the seed for the eternal future of the

world is increasingly only in $an and the $en who were to co$e after had to have a 6hrist who is not outside in the

cos$os which will disintegrate, but be united with $an, united with the hu$an organisation, with the hu$an &ingdo$. +t

is literally true that what are there for the senses in the whole wide circu$ference as stars, as heavenly bodies, will "ass

away. =See Whitsuntidelecture Dornach F2924 "age .? /ut the word will re$ain, the *ogos, who has a""eared in the 6hrist and

is united with the eternal essential being of $an. And this is literally true, as things in the real occult, religious "ri$al

record are literal truth.

hat is also the reason why a double na$e has to be given + have already given indications of this the double

na$e 6hrist2Cesus. +t $ust not be forgotten that on the one hand we $ust recognise the 6hrist who belongs to the cos$os

beyond the earth, the s"iritual being who before the $ystery of #olgotha was not bound u" with $an on earth. hen He

descended and united Hi$self with hu$an nature with the Cesus. +n the twofold na$e 6hrist2Cesus there lies what it is

necessary to understand. +n the 6hrist we have to see the cos$ic, the s"iritual in Cesus we $ust wee that through which

this cos$ic, s"iritual being entered historic evolution, binding Hi$self to $an&ind in such a way that He can now live on

with the seed of $an into eternity.

And as the centuries flowed on it was the tas& of the 6hurch to conceal, to $isre"resent, this $ystery of 6hrist which

was connected with the ancient $ysteries. Cust try really to study what during all those early centuries was "assed through

by $an, try to see clearly how it was with the individual $an who really wanted to see& 6hrist2Cesus, who really wanted

to find the "ath to Hi$ it was a long "ath of $artyrdo$. 6hrist2Cesus had always to be sought in defiance of

convention as even today he $ust be sought against the strea$ of those conventions that still "ersist.

ne cannot, however, co$e near the 6hrist2-ystery if one does not connect it with the $ystery of nature. 7or you see

what we have "laced before our souls, na$ely, the necessity for the descent of 6hrist fro$ cos$ic heights to the seed in

$an, the $ystery of 6hrist beco$ing Cesus, can be understood only when the study of nature, the study of the world,

cos$ology, the &nowledge of $ans beco$ing, and of the divine in $an when all these for$ a unity. +n a certain

s"here it is sought to "revent natural science beco$ing at the sa$e ti$e s"iritual science, or s"iritual science beco$ing

natural science. hat is what $ost theologians try to do, and, in another do$ain, what $ost $odern "hysicists try to do

to erect a barrier between "hysical science, on the one side, s"iritual science on the other. n no account $ust anything be

said about 6hrist2Cesus that is connected at the sa$e ti$e with the evolution of the earth nor anything be said about

earth2evolution, that is, about its details, that is connected with the great s"iritual $ystery.

ouching on these things, one actually touches on what is of $ost i$"ortance, of su"re$e i$"ortance in the life of

$odern $an. 7or confused chatter about all &inds of s"iritual things, that has indeed been brought to ones attention by

our friends, brought to ones attention ad nauseam this sort of confused chatter "rofits no one. + a$ referring to how

constantly "eo"le co$e to one saying( Cust listen( So and so has been s"ea&ing 3uite theoso"hically or

anthro"oso"hically he has said such and such a thing( his facile loo&ing around for su""ort in the "resent confusion is

not what we are $eant to be striving for( we should stand on the fir$ ground that s"iritual science will surely give us. he

ti$e is too grave for further co$"ro$ise, "articularly in this s"here. 7or to build the bridge between the &nowledge of

nature, that is, the &nowledge of anything "erceived, and the &nowledge to which belong sin and rede$"tion, in short, the

religious truths to set u" a bridge between these two do$ains can be done only when $an finds the courage really to

"enetrate to the s"iritual. And what is $ore, should he not have this sa$e courage he will never be able to discover reason

where the truths of life are concerned. 7or "enetrating s"iritual reality we need above all the "ossibility of being able to in

so$e $easure loo& bac& to the threefold Sun2-ystery of olden days, to loo& bac&, however, in the new way suitable for"resent2day $an&ind. 0recisely in the sa$e way as the sun is a trinity so also is $an. /ut it is i$"ortant that we should

really study this threefold $an, and this study is of the ut$ost i$"ortance at the "resent ti$e. oday + should li&e to give

you diagra$$atically so$ething of a "re"aratory nature that can guide you to the "ath that $ust really be sought for the

understanding of threefold $an. o$orrow and the day after we shall bring this i$"ortant subect to a close.

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Cust i$agine the following. %hat + a$ now s&etching is only $eant as a diagra$. ;see diagra$ 1


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Diagram 1

'ow "icture a third that again e$braces the first and also the second ;see green in diagra$.< his, however, is to a

great e!tent connected with its i$age, not yet se"arated fro$ it. So that if + want to &ee" strictly to the co$"arison + have

to say( he ladies are "ainting, but they are still there as ladies, and everything + have before $e as a whole is the ladies

and their i$ages that is there ;see orange in diagra$< and the greatest "art is also "resent in the "rototy"e.

So you have here drawn diagra$$atically, first above, an i$age grown hard, crystallized, that has as little as "ossible

to do with its "rototy"e the latter being by the side of it, newly arising. hat is indeed your head, the $ost $aterial and

the hardest "art of hu$an nature. +ts "rototy"e has ust nothing to do with it, arises afresh. And when you reach twenty2

eight years of age, your head beco$es so that out of itself nothing is forthco$ing, nothing is to be develo"ed. +n the

constitution of $an the greatest $aterialist is the head.

A second figure is breast and breathing and everything belonging to these. + could al$ost use the second as a $odel.

hat is rather $ore connected, s"irit and $atter de"ending $ore u"on each other here it is $ore "er$eated with s"irit.

All that is lung and breathing "rocess is for the earth already $ore s"iritual.

And what re$ains, the li$b syste$ in connection with all that has to do with se!, there s"iritual and "hysical are one,there they are still together. his belongs to the third diagra$. And you have threefold $an.

oday + have been able to draw this only diagra$$atically on the board. his $aestic and "rofound $ystery, at the

sa$e ti$e wonderful and fearful, is connected with the -ystery of the threefold Sun. his again is connected with all the

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truths that we need, as we need the bread of life, for everything that $ust be "ut in "lace of what is chaos, what has

reached a blind alley, and has led to the "resent hu$an catastro"he.

%e shall s"ea& of this further to$orrow.

*ecture

Dornach

2*th August, 11!

Gesterday + showed you threefold $an diagra$$atically. +t is indeed true that in our "resent life of s"irit very little

feeling e!ists for the understanding of $ans being as it $ust be gras"ed fro$ the stand"oint of s"iritual science.

'evertheless, we $ust bestir ourselves to get a clearer understanding of $ans being. 7or it is out of the understanding

bound u" with threefold $an that we are able to $aster also the $ost significant conce"tions that $ust be gained

concerning the whole of hu$an life, including $ans develo"$ent between death and a new birth.

oday let $e ust consider in detail this threefold $an. Gesterday indeed we saw how first of all we have to "oint to

$ans head. +n a certain sense this hu$an head is really a &ind of inde"endent for$ of being. Gou can "icture to

yourselves the hu$an s&eleton and how easily the head can be detached it can be lifted off li&e a ball. +t is true that in

reality the se"aration between the three $e$bers of $ans nature is not so si$"le that we can describe what can thus

easily be lifted off li&e a ball as the head "art. hings are not so definitely se"arated. %e have gradually to wor& ourselvesaway fro$ the "urely diagra$$atic away too, fro$ what nature herself suggests, to a living feeling, a living e!"erience

And, as you saw, + had yesterday to draw not indeed three circles lying ne!t each other, but one circle for the head, a

second circle that overla""ed the head, and a third circle that overla""ed both the others. So that if we would draw

threefold $an diagra$$atically in accordance with his "hysical nature, we should have to show hi$ thus( Head "art ;see

circleAin diagra$ 1 body ;oval


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the s"iritual is not so "ronouncedly outside for this breast $an during slee" it re$ains in close connection with the

"hysical.

And for the third $an of the li$b2syste$, to which se! $an belongs, there is "ractically no real se"aration between

the slee"ing and wa&ing conditions. ne definitely cannot say that the soul2s"iritual actually disconnects itself in slee" it

re$ains $ore or less united. So that one can well draw this other diagra$ of wa&ing $an saying( when "hysical $an is

awa&e ;see ain diagra$ 1< then the s"iritual $an would be thus ;yellow with circle a< And this would be slee"ing $an

;see +diagra$ 1enus stage, or till the Cu"iter age is

"assing over into the >enus age. /y the ti$e the >enus age has co$e these for$ative "rinci"les will be wor&ing at their

full intensity, in their correct for$. ;He $ight say that today they are still develo"ing $ere shadows of the real being of

this third "art of $ans nature, the e!tre$ities2$an.< hus we "resu""ose what will only be in e!istence at the ti$e of>enus, and $a&e an inco$"lete "icture of it in seed for$, not letting it go beyond the seed for$.

his is how the $atter stands when considered cos$ically. o loo& cos$ically at our for$ation, in our heats2forces

we are re"eating the old Sun2"eriod, in our breast we carry the earth evolution, and in so far as we are e!tre$ity $an we

bear in us the seed of the >enus evolution. his is regarded fro$ the cos$ic "oint of view.

6onsidered hu$anly it is rather different. here we $ust loo& u"on the hu$an individuality as it "rogresses fro$

incarnation to incarnation. hen we have to say( what in this incarnation we carry as our head, shows itself to be

connected with our "revious incarnation what we now bear in us as breast2$an is really only related to our "resent

incarnation what we have in us as as e!tre$ity $an will beco$e head in our ne!t incarnation, is already related to our

ne!t incarnation. + have said "reviously( there is so$ething revealing in the head es"ecially in its negative. +f you were tota&e an i$"ression of the "hysiogno$y of your head and consider it, you would recognise in this negative $uch of what

had its origin in your "revious incarnation. =See *ecture 1I. 14.>+++.191F "he "welve Senses and the Seven ife-&rocesses.?

+t is ust the other way round with the e!tre$ities $an. Gou cannot here ta&e an i$"ression but $ust "roceed

differently. hin& away in $an the head and the breast2syste$. /ut i$agine all that your hands and legs do now $a&e

a "icture of what they do. Here you have to $a&e a &ind of $a". Gou see, every ti$e you do anything with your hands

this is done at another "lace. hey go around outside, they co$e into relation with other beings. +f you would "aint all

that your hands and legs do, if you would draw a "icture of what your hands and feet, ar$s and legs do in the course of

your life and this would be a very ani$ated "icture) in this drawing you would discover a co$"licated $a", where

you would find revealed what is stored u" in you &ar$ically for your ne!t incarnation. +n this $a" you would be able to

read a great deal of the &ar$a of your ne!t incarnation. his is of "rofound significance. As the negative i$"ression of

the "hysiogno$y when at rest, reveals in the fir$ outlines of the drawing, what in the "revious incarnation has alreadyha""ened, so what one can ot down of the $ove$ents of ar$s, hands, legs and feet are e!traordinarily instructive about

what the $an will do in his ne!t incarnation. his is "articularly instructive about what he will carry out, where he will

go, where his legs will ta&e hi$. +f you si$"ly follow in his trac& to all the "laces where his legs will carry hi$, you

could $a&e a $a" of it. Gou would get re$ar&able "atterns on which $ens secret inclinations are not without their

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influence. -uch of $ans secret inclinations are not without their influence. -uch of $ans secret inclination is e!"ressed

in these "atterns. hese traces that are there are $ost revealing for what his ne!t incarnation will bring to a $an. 'ow we

have been considering this fro$ the hu$an "oint of view, whereas the other was a cos$ic view.

his $e$bering of $an that has the "resent in view signifies, however, a connection with the secrets of the old

-ysteries, in which the $atter was recognized in a $ore atavistic way, but where the secrets + have ust been disclosing

to you were already &nown. here is a beautiful saga concerning Jing Solo$on about the certainty with which $an sets

his foot on the "lace where he is destined to $eet his death. he $eaning of the saga is that a definite "lace e!ists on earth

where $an will die, and thither $an directs his footste"s. =See *ecture 4E.A (ragment of the .ewish Haggada.? his is

connected with the old -ystery2Jnowledge.

'ow when $an is living his ordinary life he has actually only his ordinary consciousness but as we have seen this

$an is a highly co$"licated being. %hen he is awa&e, when he has his head, his $ost recent s"iritual $e$ber, in his

"hysical head, he &nows nothing of this head. Gou will be right in saying( han& #od we do not &now anything of our

head for &nowing of our head $eans to have a headache. -en only &now about their head when it aches then they are

conscious of having a head, otherwise they are unconscious of it unconscious to a $ost re$ar&able degree, far $ore so

than in the case of any other $e$ber of the hu$an "hysical body. -an $ay count hi$self luc&y when in nor$al

consciousness he &nows nothing of his head. /ut beneath this consciousness of the head that ordinarily ta&es notice only

of the outer world, that only gets as far as &nowing what is around it beneath this consciousness lies another, a &ind of

drea$ consciousness, drea$2&nowing. Gour head, $y dear friends, is always drea$ing. And while you are conscious of

the outer world in the way fa$iliar to you, under the threshold of consciousness, in the subconscious, you are actually

"er"etually drea$ing. And what you are drea$ing, if you were able to bring this head drea$ing into your consciousness

and fully gras" it, would give you a "icture, a correct co$"rehensive "icture, of your "revious incarnation. 7or in your

head unconsciously, you are drea$ing of your for$er incarnation. hat is indeed so. here is always a slight

consciousness of your "revious incarnation going on, a drea$ing consciousness, only it is over"owered by the strong

light of of ordinary consciousness.

/y the year before the -ystery of #olgotha, the e!ternal consciousness had beco$e so strong that gradually this

subconsciousness of the "revious incarnation was co$"letely e!tinguished. /efore that year, however, $an &new a great

deal about this drea$ consciousness of the head. 7or this reason you find everywhere at the basis of the ancient cultures

re"eated lives on earth treated as a fact. his is due si$"ly to the sub2consciousness of the head not then having receded

so co$"letely into the bac&ground as it did in the course of the fourth, but "rinci"ally the fifth "ost2Atlantean age. @ven

in ordinary consciousness very little is &nown of what is connected in a soul2s"iritual way with the thora! and the$iddle$an. +t is in itself of a drea$ nature. his $iddle, thora! consciousness so$eti$es "ushes u" into $ans drea$

consciousness, but only very chaotically and irregularly. +f a $an is able to breathe regularly, when his heart beat even is

when in fact all the functions of $ans thora!, his $iddle "art, are in order, the consciousness of this "art is not so clear as

that of the head it too in ordinary life runs its course drea$ fashion. %e drea$ in our feeling, as + have stated here during

"ast years, in feeling we drea$ of this $iddle $an. /ut when we bring to light through consciousness, that beco$es $ore

clairvoyant, what lies in the feeling, what $an e!"eriences only in his feeling, or to "ut it differently, when $an learns to

loo& at what is going on in his thora!, as otherwise he can only loo& at what is in his head consciousness, then the

consciousness of the thora!, the $iddle2body s"lits definitely into two "arts. ne "art drea$s itself bac& into the whole

ti$e between the "revious death and the $ost recent birth or conce"tion. herefore while in your head consciousness in a

drea$ way, in dee" drea$ing, you have unconsciously what was in your "revious incarnation, in the drea$s of your

thora! you have what has $eanti$e been "assing since that incarnation u" to your "resent birth. And in the drea$s that

belong $ore to the lower "art of the thora! you have a definite consciousness of what there will be between your co$ingdeath and ne!t earth life. hus the consciousness concentrated in the breast, which, however, for $odern $an re$ains

$ore or less subconscious, is in reality a drea$ consciousness of both the ti$e before this birth and the ti$e after the ne!t

death. 7or this subconsciousness in the $iddle $an the riddle is solved of what lies between our last earthly death and the

following earthly conce"tion, with the e!ce"tion of or even including what we are now e!"eriencing between birth and

death.

ut of the third $an, out of the subconsciousness of the e!tre$ities $an, the tableau of the ne!t incarnation on earth

can be develo"ed in what during the whole of life re$ains strictly subconscious. his can only be brought to the surface

when a $an is able to draw it u" through ceaseless activity in the study and e!ercises of s"iritual science, so that certain

$o$ents of slee"2life that otherwise would "ass in unconscious slee", are lifted to the surface and the $an then beco$es

conscious during slee". %hat today $an has as wa&ing consciousness is really a &ind of collateral i$"ulse of his which

rays into the head fro$ outside. /ehind this consciousness, however, lies another that stretches itself over the for$er

incarnation, over the life of that incarnation to this one, over the life of this incarnation to the ne!t, and then over the ne!t

again. /ut $an slee"s away this consciousness.

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+n the head it is the consciousness of the "revious incarnation. +n all the organs that "rinci"ally serve the out2

breathing there wor&s a strong consciousness of the life between the "revious incarnation and this one. +n all the "rinci"le

functions that serve the in2breathing wor&s a consciousness of the "resent incarnation u" to the ne!t incarnation on earth.

And in the li$b2syste$, in all its $ost secret "rocesses, wor&s a consciousness of the ne!t hu$an incarnation, which

re$ains "re2e$inently subconscious.

hese states of consciousness have beco$e $ore less veiled since the beginning of the fourth "ost2Atlantean "eriod,

years before the -ystery of #olgotha. And the cry of our age is for the definite consciousness of the concrete events

of cos$ic and hu$an evolution to be brought bac& out of the general chaos of hu$an consciousness.

%e $ust $eet all that + have ust been develo"ing with another as"ect of what is "art of the being of $an. Gou see it

is really necessary that we should enter into these difficult details, otherwise we cannot arrive at an e!act understanding. +

should very $uch welco$e it if such &notty "oints were $et not only by a certain "assive acce"tance, but and this is

so necessary for "resent day $an that even for these difficult $atters a little enthusias$ were aroused, a little &een

"artici"ation, which is e!actly what is so hard in any society today.

Diagram 2

'ow, you turn your senses outward. here by $eans of your senses you find the e!ternal world s"read out as

so$ething "erce"tible. + will draw diagra$$atically what lies around us outside as so$ething s"read out for the senses.

Allow this ;see blue in diagra$ 4< to be what is lying outside. %hen you direct your eyes, your ears, your sense of s$ell,

or whichever sense you li&e, to the e!ternal world, the inner side of this outside turns towards you, turns towards your

senses hus this is the inner side of the outside ;see left of diagra$


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%hen you loo& out thus you see the "er$anent as the li$it of your vision that is a""ro!i$ately so, only + have drawn it

s$all. /ut now i$agine you could 3uic&ly fly out there, fly beyond there and ta&e a "ee" through fro$ the other side and

fro$ the other side see your sense i$"ressions. Gou could loo& out thus ;see u""er arrows in diagra$


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Diagram /

+t was not without reason that + once told you that $an actually has twelve senses. -ost of you &now this 3uite well

and + have $entioned it also in the notes at the end of $y last booiddles of the Soul. %e $ust thin& of the senses in

this way( that a nu$ber of the$ are turned towards what is sense2"erce"tible, whereas others are directed bac&wards.

/elow they are directed towards what is turned bac&. hose directed towards what is "erce"tible to the senses are( the ego

sense, and the senses of thin&ing, s"eech, hearing, seeing, taste and s$ell they go towards what is sense "erce"tible. he

other senses do not co$e into $ans consciousness because they are first of all directed toward what is within hi$ and

then to what in the world is reversed. hese are the senses of war$th, life, balance, $ove$ent and touch. %e can

therefore say that for the ordinary consciousness seven senses lie in the light ;above in diagra$ E< and five in the dar&

;below


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another $an, you can understand the thoughts of another $an, you can hear, see, taste, s$ell those are day2senses. +n

the night it is the sa$e with $an as when the earth is turned towards the other side $an is turned in the night to his other

senses, only these are not yet fully develo"ed. 'ot until the >enus age will they be so fully develo"ed that they can

"erceive what is on the other side. hey are not yet sufficiently develo"ed to "erceive what is towards the other side. his

is shrouded by night ust as the earth is shrouded when "assing by night through the other heavenly bodies, the other

"ictures of the zodiac. he "assage of $an through his senses is a "erfect "arallel with the course whether you say the

course of the sun round the earth or the earth round the sun is i$$aterial for our "ur"ose but those things are connected.

And with these connections, the wise $en of the ld -ysteries were very well ac3uainted.

+n the fourth "ost2Atlantean "eriod this gradually vanished fro$ consciousness but it $ust be brought bac& in s"ite ofthe resistance "ut u" against this it $ust be reinstated in the cultural life of $an&ind. 7or in these conce"ts that $an

$a&es his own there lies what lets us see 3uite clearly all that is ha""ening now in the social, historical life. So long as

you se"arate the life of nature fro$ that of the s"irit, as $odern $an loves to do, you do not arrive at conce"ts that can

"lay a "art in historical evolution you are over"owered by the conce"ts that are wor&ing in historical life. ver"owered(

here are indeed $any instances of this.

'ow you will agree that $en believe that, shall we say, for two hundred years they have been thin&ing a tre$endous

deal. %e can gather u" what they have been thin&ing for two hundred years, what they have develo"ed as ideals, what

they have tal&ed of still tal& of, as great ideals. %e can do this fro$ the ti$e of the ideals of the age of enlighten$ent to

that of the great would2be 6aesar, %oodrow %ilson. All that is tal&ed of about the various ideals, $en have been

thin&ing during these centuries, these last two centuries this has for$ed $ens thoughts. %orld history, however, is very

little affected by these thoughts, world history has been affected by so$ething 3uite different, by the thoughts that have

been wor&ing and weaving in things. And in reality never were the thoughts filling $ens heads farther re$oved fro$ the

great cos$ic thoughts living in things than at the "resent ti$e. %hat for the last hundred and fifty years, shall we say, has

"ro$"ted $an to wor& for a definite fashioning of the world is not thoughts of freedo$, e3uality, brotherhood, ustice,

and so on and so forth, it is the thoughts interwoven with the co$ing of the $achine loo$. hat the $achine loo$ arose

in $odern develo"$ent in the second half of the eighteenth century that this significant invention too& the "lace in

$an&inds evolution of the old hand2weaving that fro$ the $achine loo$ ca$e the whole $achine civilisation of

$odern ti$es in all this there weave the obective thoughts the real thoughts, that have given the world its "resent for$,

out of which has arisen the "resent chaotic catastro"he. Should we wish to write a history of this catastro"he, we have not

to turn to the thoughts tee$ing in hu$an consciousness we $ust turn to the obective thoughts of the founding, the

invention, of the $achine loo$ u" to the develo"$ent of big industry with its shadow, socialis$. for even if these two

things, big industry and socialis$, a""ear as o""osites they are "olaric o""osites belonging to one another, and as suchinse"arable.

%e $ust "ut our 3uestions to these obective thoughts and observe history in its beco$ing. hen we find that during

the eighteenth century, all through the nineteenth, and es"ecially so far as we have gone in this our twentieth century, $en

have given the$selves u" to $any illusions. hey are given over to illusion in their thoughts but the obective, historic2

cos$ic thoughts have co$"letely overwhel$ed the$. hese are weaving in things. And an interest though terribly

one2sided for these obectively weaving thoughts has really been gradually develo"ed only by those who have built u"

socialis$ as a world2conce"tion. hat is so$ething tre$endously characteristic. +f you follow the course of the nineteenth

century you will see that the bourgeoisie increasingly loses interest in the great 3uestions of world outloo&. hese great

3uestions are indeed beco$ing $ost distasteful to the bourgeoisie where "ossible they relegate the$ to aesthetics. A

"erfectly average bourgeois will listen in the theatre to all &inds of discussions about whether there are s"iritual beings or

not, when there is no need to believe in the$, and when it is not a 3uestion of the truth of anything. hen the $ost varied$atters can be "ut forward by /Krnsen and "eo"le of that il&. And what concerns the conce"tion of the world is today for

the bourgeoisie transferred into the real$ of aesthetics, into all $anner of dabbling with so2called art. +n recent years

"eo"le have been brea&ing each others heads over 3uestions concerning conce"tions of the world in the s"here of

socialis$. ;+ dont loo& on this as an ideal in a "hysical sense but in a s"iritual sense in a certain way it is so. Gou &now

how + have hinted e$"hatically that + li&e a little war$th even in the treat$ent of anthro"oso"hical truths.< he other

"eo"le have not troubled the$selves about this head2brea&ing but have left those alone who have loo&ed at the world

fro$ what is really a very narrow "oint of view, those who have only seen the world fro$ the as"ect of the factory, fro$

the inside of factories, fro$ the inside of "rinting wor&s, and so on. And it is e!tre$ely interesting what &ind of world

outloo& has been "roduced out of the "oint of view of the factory for that is socialis$, $y dear friends. +t is the factory

as"ect, the as"ect of $en who &now nothing beyond the inside of their factories. And in all that has develo"ed in this

s"here, little interest has been really shown by the bourgeoisie with their abstract ideas the bourgeoisie who even concern

the$selves with aesthetics in an abstract way to avoid the brea&ing of heads. hus in a curious way the bourgeoisie have

found the$selves between the old co$"letely $oribund world2conce"tion bereft of the s"iritual that would "refer to

relegate all great 3uestions to the real$ of aesthetics, and what has newly arisen as socialis$. his socialis$ has so far no

conce"ts at all it is a syste$ founded entirely on words. his is because as yet it has no view of the world whatever and

can only see the factory, and even so only the $ost e!ternal "art of the $echanis$. Cust i$agine what it really $eans

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when a $an has no inner &nowledge of the &ingdo$s of the $inerals, the "lants, the ani$als, and only &nows of the way

in which a certain coc& is $oved $echanically u" or down in a $achine, this or that filed or "laned, and things of that

&ind( Socialis$ is a world2outloo& founded on the "erce"tion of a "urely $echanical world. +t is the bit of the world cut

out by the socialist the bit that is $echanical, and on this he builds his conce"ts.

his has been allowed to arise through $en ado"ting the "rinci"le of only troubling the$selves about things

aesthetically. %hen the heoso"hical Society was first for$ed it had as its basis "rinci"le the $utual love of all $an&ind.

How this was breached( /ut + have said enough on that "oint its easiness e3uals its fruitlessness. /ut this also arises fro$

the desire whenever "ossible to "ush what has actual content into the real$ of what has none. So there could be no

genuine interest in the real course of things. +ndividual "eo"le however have found "leasure in the "eculiar weshouldsay conventional way of considering history.

'ow let us ta&e an e!a$"le of this let $e ta&e whatever e!a$"le you li&e fro$ the ti$e of the 6aesars try to learn

about this ti$e fro$ the te!t boo&s, or any boo&s written by the great historical authorities. + fancy you will gain very

little &nowledge in this way about a certain "ersonality who in the reign of 'ero "layed an i$"ortant "olitical "art ;so

even under 'ero you could have "olitical as"irations)< his "ersonality aroused 3uite s"ecial notice and gained

considerable influence on Ro$an "olitics under >es"asian and itus, so $uch so that it $ay be said that he was the soul

of the #overn$ent under these two e$"erors. hen this "ersonality went over to the other side in the reign of Do$itian

considering hi$ as a disaster for the Ro$an @$"ire. He turned to the other side and a lawsuit was brought against hi$, a

lawsuit that $ade a great deal of stir in Ro$e and was of $uch interest. During this case Do$itian changed suddenly

fro$ the tyrant into one who did not &now how to "roceed in the lawsuit and was therefore unable to "ass sentence on the

$an. hen again, as 'ero succeeded Do$itian, we see this "ersonality actively connected with the @$"eror, the 6aesar.

%e watch hi$ creating out of the whole world2conce"tion of that day what was great in "olitics, and at the sa$e ti$e see

how he once $ore sought to i$"lant for the last ti$e during the Ro$an @$"ire into the "olitical events really vast

conce"ts brought down fro$ the cos$os. Strangely enough in no current history boo& do you find any accurate account

of this "ersonality, not even in Seutonius or acitus, only in 0hilostratus. And 0hilostratus describes hi$ in such a way

that one does not &now whether he is giving a "icture of any Ro$an or of a real $an he "aints the life of A"ollonius of

yana. 7or it is A"ollonius of yana of who$ + have been s"ea&ing as having had so great an influence on "olitics fro$

the ti$e of 'ero to that of 'erva, and es"ecially under >es"asian and itus and 0hilostratus describes hi$. /auer the

theologian and historian of Lbingen was absolutely astounded that one should thus find nothing about such a "ersonality

as A"ollonius who "layed a "art of the ut$ost i$"ortance in what is historically re"resented. 'aturally /auer did not see

into the real reason for this for it is a 3uestion of our having in A"ollonius a historical "ersonality wielding indeed this

great influence but drawing down his "rinci"les straight fro$ the cos$os above. hat was in the highest degree fatal forthe 6hristianity then arising in Ro$e. And now + shall as& you to ta&e notice that everything in history is there by grace of

the 6hurch. here is nothing in history e!ce"t what the 6hurch has allowed $an to have. 'ot without ustification has an

old and by no $eans foolish $an $aintained that there was never a 0lato nor a So"hocles, but that $on&s in the

fourteenth and fifteenth centuries wrote their "lays for there is no "roof, no strict "roof of their e!istence. @ven though

the assertion is untenable, is indeed nonsense, nevertheless, as we have often e$"hasised, all that is conventional history

is $ost uncertain. And we should be 3uite clear about it. %e $ust indeed bring the "resent into connection with the "ast,

for we are now co$ing to a great and "regnant 3uestion.

%e have once $ore this ti$e fro$ the $odern "oint of view, referred to threefold $an, his connection with cos$ic

truths and the necessity for all this again to be disclosed. 'ow, $y dear friends, in what has consisted the $ain activity of

the 6hurch, es"ecially since the eighth @cu$enical 6ouncil in 6onstantino"le in 8F9B %hat has been its chief activityB +ts

chief activity has been to wi"e out, to blot out fro$ $ans consciousness, what in those ancient ti$es even 6hristianitystill understood as the connection of $an with the cos$os, with the great s"iritual world. @verything betraying this

connection has been su""ressed in real alar$. And only because not everything can be su""ressed, because Jar$a is

wor&ing against this su""ression, have such wor&s re$ained as those of 0hilostratus. herefore you can understand when

now you bring the "resent into connection with the "ast that certain church$an are $ade terribly uneasy by the growing

tendency to foster the connection between what $a&es roan a cos$ic being, this $an hi$self, and his tas&.

+t is i$"ortant that we do not $erely "ursue half2aslee" what should be the will of the Anthro"oso"hical -ove$ent.

%e $ust "ursue it as indeed is necessary with our consciousness full of life and force.

%ith this + have indicated what is to be continued and enlarged u"on to$orrow.

*ecture 3 of 3

Dornach

2*th August, 11!

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6ertain 3uestions will increasingly obtrude the$selves u"on those who really thin&, even though in these ti$es of

overwhel$ing $aterialis$ these thin&ers would "refer to &ee" the$ $ore or leas at a distance. here are $any such

3uestions, and today + should li&e, out of all of the$, to "ic& a few that arise fro$ $an, in s"ite of resisting it, beco$ing

aware of the s"iritual world. o such 3uestions belong those, for instance, raised in the course of everyday life certain

$en die young, others in old age, others again in $iddle life. 6oncerning the fact that on the one hand young children die

and on the other hand "eo"le grow to old age and then die concerning this fact 3uestions arise in $an to which by the

$eans today called scientific the answer can never be found. @veryone has to own this after inner reflection. Get in

hu$an life these are burning 3uestions and surely anyone can feel that infinitely $uch in life $ust receive enlighten$ent

when we can really get down to these 3uestions( why do so$e hu$an beings die early, so$e as children, so$e as

adolescents, so$e in the $iddle of the nor$al "eriod of lifeB %hy do other die oldB %hat significance has this in thewhole cos$osB

-en still had ideas, conce"ts, with which to answer these 3uestions u" to that "oint of ti$e described in these

lectures, the ti$e at the beginning of the fourth "ost2Atlantean "eriod, that is, u" to a""ro!i$ately the $iddle of the

eighth "re26hristian century. -en had conce"ts that ca$e down out of ancient wisdo$. +n those olden ti$es before the

eighth "re26hristian century, ideas were in fact circulating everywhere in the cultural life of the earth giving $en, in

confor$ity with the $ind of those ti$es, the solution to such 3uestions as are here $entioned. %hat today we call science

cannot connect the right $eaning with these 3uestions and has no idea that there is so$ething in the$ for which $en

should be see&ing a "ossible answer. All this arises because since the "oint of ti$e indicated, all conce"tions related to

s"iritual and therefore to i$$ortal $an have actually been lost. nly these conce"tions re$ain that are connected with

$ans transitory nature, $an between his birth and his death. + have drawn attention to how in all the old world2

conce"tions they s"o&e of the Sun as being threefold the sa$e sun that is "erceived out there by the "hysical senses as a

shining s"here in cos$ic s"ace. /ut behind this sun the wise $en of old saw the soul2sun, according to the #ree&s Helios,

and behind this soul2Sun again, the s"iritual2Sun, still identified by 0lato, for e!a$"le, with the #ood. -odern $en do

not see any real sense in s"ea&ing of Helios, the soul2Sun, or for that $atter of the s"iritual2Sun, the #ood. /ut as the

"hysical sun shines u"on us here between birth and death, there shines into our ego, if + $ay say so, during the ti$e we

"ass between death and a new birth, the s"iritual sun identified by 0lato with the #ood. And during this ti$e between

death and a new birth, to s"ea& of a shining s"here in the way it is s"o&en of in our $odern $aterialistic world2

conce"tion has no $eaning. /etween death and a new birth there is only $eaning when we s"ea& of the s"iritual2Sun

0lato still referred to as the #ood. A conce"t of this &ind is ust what should show us so$ething. +t should lead us to

reflect how the $atter really stands with regard to the "hysical re"resentation we for$ of the world. +t is not ta&en

seriously in its full sense, at any rate not so seriously that our outloo& on life is actually "er$eated by it, that in all our

"hysical re"resentations of the world, in what is s"read out "erce"tibly before us, we have to see a &ind of illusion, -aya.

+t is indeed funda$entally this &ind of re"resentation of the Sun that anyone acce"ts when ta&ing as his authority

$odern "hysics, astro"hysics, whatever you li&e to call it. +f he were able to travel to the "lace where the "hysicist "laces

the sun, on a""roaching it he would now let us turn fro$ the conditions of hu$an life and assu$e that absolute

conditions of life could "revail he would beco$e aware of over"owering heat, this is how he would "icture it. And

when he had arrived inside the s"ace that the "hysicist considers to be filled by the sun, he would find in this s"ace red

hot gas or so$ething of the &ind. his is what the "hysicist considers to be filled by the sun, he would find in this s"ace

red hot gas or so$ething of the &ind. his is what the "hysicist actually "ictures a ball of glowing gas or so$ething

li&e it. /ut it is not so, $y dear friends, that is definitely $aya, co$"lete illusion. his re"resentation cannot hold water in

face of true "hysical "erce"tion that is "ossible, let alone what can actually be "erceived s"iritually. %ere it "ossible to

get near the sun, to reach where the sun is, we should find yes, indeed, an getting near, we should find so$ething that

would have the sa$e effect as going through floods of light. /ut when we ca$e right inside, where the "hysicist su""osesthe sun to be, we should find first what we could only call e$"ty s"ace. %here the "hysical sun is su""osed to be there is

nothing at all, absolutely nothing. + will draw it diagra$$atically ;blue centre in yellow circle, diagra$ not available< but

in reality nothing is there there is nothing, there is e$"ty s"ace. /ut it is a strange &ind of e$"ty s"ace( %hen + say there

is nothing there + a$ not s"ea&ing 3uite accurately there is less than nothing there. +t is not only e$"ty s"ace for there

is less than nothing there. And that is so$ething that is an e!traordinarily difficult idea for the $odern western $an to

"icture. @ven today $en of the east ta&e this as a $atter of course for the$ there is absolutely nothing strange or difficult

to understand when they are told that less than nothing is there. he $an of the west thin&s to hi$self es"ecially when

he is a hard and fast follower of Jant, and there are far $ore followers of Jant today than those who are consciously so

he thin&s to hi$self that if there is nothing in s"ace then it is ust e$"ty s"ace) However this is not the case, there can

also be e!hausted s"ace. And if indeed you were to loo& right through this corona of the sun, you would feel the e$"ty

s"ace into which you would then enter $ost unco$fortable that is to say it would tear you asunder. /y that it would

show its nature, that it is $ore or it is less, however we can best e!"ress it, than e$"ty s"ace. Gou need only see& thehel" of the si$"lest $athe$atical conce"t and when + say e$"ty s"ace is less than ust e$"tiness you will no longer find

$y $eaning so "uzzling. 'ow let us assu$e you "ossess so$e &ind of "ro"erty. +t can also ha""en that you have given

away what you "ossess and have nothing. /ut we can have less than nothing, we can have debts. hen we do actually

have less than nothing. +f we "ass fro$ fullness of s"ace to its ever di$inishing fullness, we can co$e to e$"ty s"ace

0age 15 of 45


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and we can still go an beyond $ere e$"tiness ust as we can go beyond having nothing to having debts. +t is a great

wea&ness of the $odern world outloo& that it does not &now this "articular &ind of if + $ay so e!"ress it negative

$ateriality, that it only &nows e$"tiness or fullness and not what is less than e$"tiness. 7or because &nowledge today,

the world outloo& today is ignorant of what is less than e$"tiness, this world outloo& is $ore or less held in the bonds of

$aterialis$, strictly confined by $aterialis$ + should li&e to say, under the ban of $aterialis$. 7or in $an also there

is a "lace that is e$"tier than e$"ty, not in the whole of hi$ but where there are layers of what is e$"tier than e$"ty. As

a whole, $an, "hysical $an, is a being who $aterially fills a certain s"ace but there is a certain $e$ber of $ans nature,

of the three + have referred to, that actually has so$ething in it li&e the sun, e$"tier than e$"ty. hat is yet, $y dear

friends, youll have to "ut u" with it it is the head. And it is ust because $an is so organised that his head can beco$e

e$"ty and in certain "arts $ore than e$"ty, that this head has the "ower to $a&e roo$ for the s"iritual. 'ow ust "icturethe $atter as it actually is.

'aturally we have to "icture things diagra$$atically, but use your i$agination and "icture that everything $aterially

filling your head + a$ going to draw in the following way. his is the diagra$ of your head ;see red in diagra$ 5


17/25

a$ rather drastic in "ortraying the brain and how the holes are left ;blue in diagra$ F


18/25

Diagram

%hen $an is aslee" this $oves $ore or less out of the body, as it was drawn yesterday ;diagra$ 4


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substance fro$ the region &nown in $y boo& "heosoh'as the region of burning desire. hus so$ething ta&en fro$

burning desire and introduced into $an gives this "art of hi$.

+f + a$ describing this in detail what + have here colored lilac + should have to call soul2life. As you &now, a certain

"art of the soul2s"here, of the soul2land, has been given the na$e soul2life. his substance of it would have this violet

color,this lilac, and for$s in $an a "art of his soul2s"iritual being.

And if we continue in this way the orange here would have to be called active soul2force. So that you have to

re$e$ber that your soul2life is what during your life between birth and death enters you with $ost intensity by way of

your senses. And behind, chec&ing itself, not so well able to enter, held u" by the soul2life, there is the active soul2force.

Still further behind there is what is called soul2light ;yellow in diagra$ 8


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$iracle or let us say through clairvoyant vision, su"ersensible vision, a $an $ight see so$ething of the nature of what

+ have been trying to "icture, na$ely $ans life of soul and s"irit. Gou will find it obvious that this should loo& rather

different fro$ what a short ti$e ago + was describing as the nor$al aura, if you understand what + was describing only a

few days ago as the aura revealed when the whole $an is seen, that is, "hysical $an with his encircling aura. /ut now +

have ta&en out the $an of soul und s"irit, so that this $an of soul and s"irit has been abstracted fro$ the "hysical $an.

7ro$ this you recognise that in one case the colors have to be arranged in one way, in another case in another way

you recognise also that for su"ersensible consciousness things loo& very different. ry si$"ly to see $ans aura as it is

while $an is in the "hysical body then loo& at this aura. urn your attention that is, fro$ the $an of soul and s"irit,

and try to see the $an why stretches out his organs into "hysical $an. /ut when you see the $an during the ti$e betweendeath and a new birth, then you also see how the whole changes. Above all, the region that is red here ;Diagra$ < goes

away, goes here, and the yellow goes below, the whole gradually gets into disorder. hese things can be "erceived but the

"erce"t has so$ething confusing about it. herefore it will not be easily "ossible for $odern $an to bring $eaning and

significance into this confusion if he does not turn to other e!"edients.

'ow we have shown that $ans head "oints to the "ast whereas the e!tre$ities $an "oints to the future. his is

entirely a "olaric contrast, both the head and the e!tre$ities of $an ;re$e$ber what was said yesterday< are actually one

and the sa$e, only the head is a very old for$ation, it is overfor$ed. hat is why it has the holes so far the e!tre$ities

$an has not these holes on the surface he is still full of $atter. o have these holes is a sign of over develo"$ent.

Develo"$ent in a bac&ward sense can be seen in the head and $uch hangs on that. -uch de"ends too on $an being able

to understand that e!tre$ities $an is a recent $eta$or"hosis the head an old $eta$or"hosis. And because e!tre$ities

$an is a recent $eta$or"hosis he has not so far develo"ed the ca"acity to thin& in "hysical life but his consciousness

re$ains unconscious he does not o"en u" to the $an of soul and s"irit such holes as are in the brain.

Gou see it is infinitely i$"ortant for s"iritual culture, and will in future beco$e $ore and $ore so, for us to "erceive

that these two things that outwardly, "hysically, are as totally different fro$ one another as the head $an and e!tre$ities

$an, are according to soul and s"irit, one and the sa$e, and only differ because they are at different stages of

develo"$ent in ti$e. -any $ysteries lie in this "articular fact that two e3ual "hysical things at different stages of their

develo"$ent in ti$e, can be really one and the sa$e that, though outwardly "hysically different, this is only due to the

conditions of their change, of their $eta$or"hosis.

#oethe with his theory of $eta$or"hosis began in an ele$entary way to for$ conce"ts by which all this can be

understood. %hereas otherwise since ancient ti$es there has been a deadloc& in the for$ation of conce"ts, with #oethethe faculty of for$ing conce"ts once $ore arose. And these conce"ts are those of living $eta$or"hoses. #oethe, it is

true, always began with the $ost si$"le. He said( when we loo& at a "lant we have its green leaf but the green leaf

changes into the flower "etal, into the colorso$e "etal of the flower. /oth are the sa$e, only one is the $eta$or"hosis of

the other. And as the green leaf of the "lant and the red "etal of the rose are different $eta$or"hoses, the sa$e thing at a

different stage, $ans head and his e!tre$ities organis$ too are si$"ly $eta$or"hoses of one another. %hen we ta&e

#oethes thought on the $eta$or"hosis of the "lant we have so$ething "ri$itive, si$"le but this thought can blosso$

into so$ething of the greatest and can serve to describe $ans "assing fro$ one incarnation to the ne!t. %e see the "lant

with its green leaf and its blosso$, and say( this blosso$, this red blosso$ of the rose is the $eta$or"hosis of the green

leaf of the "lant. %e see a $an standing before us and say( that head you are carrying is the $eta$or"hosis of ar$s,

hands, legs, feet of your "revious incarnation, and what you now have as ar$s, hands, legs and feet will be changed into

your head of the ne!t incarnation.

'ow, however, will co$e an obection that evidently sits heavily on your souls. Gou will say( good gracious but +

leave $y legs and feet behind, $y ar$s and hands too + do not ta&e the$ into $y ne!t incarnation ... how then should $y

head be $ade out of the$B +t is true, this obection can be $ade. /ut once again you are co$ing here u" against -aya. +t

is not true that you actually leave behind your legs, feet, hands, ar$s. +t is indeed untrue. Gou say that because you still

cling to -aya, the great illusion.

%hat indeed with the ordinary consciousness you refer to as your ar$s, hands, legs and feet, are not your ar$s,

hands, legs and feet at all, but what as blood and other uices fills out the real ar$s, hands, feet and legs. his again is a

difficult idea but it is true. Su""ose that here you have ar$s, hands, feet and legs, but that what is here is s"iritual,

s"iritual forces. 'ow "lease to thin& that your ar$s, hands, legs and feet are forces su"ersensible forces. Had you these

alone you would not see the$ with your eyes they are filled out, these forces, with uices, with the blood, and you seewhat as $ineral substance, fluid or "artly solid the s$allest "art solid fills out what is invisible ;hatching in diagra$

9


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for$, @lohi$, they thin& cos$ic thoughts, and their thoughts are $y ar$s and hands, $y legs and feet and their thoughts

are filled out with blood and other fluids. /ut neither are blood and the other fluids what they a""ear "hysically these

again are the ideas of s"irits of wisdo$, and what the "hysicist calls $atter is only outer se$blance. he "hysicist ought

to say when he co$es to $atter( here + co$e to the thoughts of the s"irits of wisdo$, the Jyriotetes. And where you see

ar$s, hands, feet, legs, you cannot touch the$ but should say( here the s"irits of for$ are building into these sha"es their

cos$ic thoughts.

Diagram

+n short, $y dear friends, strange as it sounds, there are no such things as your bodies, but where your body is in

s"ace there inter$ingled with one another live the cos$ic thoughts of the higher hierarchies. And were you able to seecorrectly and not in accordance with -aya, you would say( into here there "roect the cos$ic thoughts of the @!usiai, the

s"irits of for$, the @lohi$. hese cos$ic thoughts $a&e the$selves visible to $e by being filled out with the cos$ic

thoughts of the s"irits of wisdo$. hat gives us ar$s and hands, legs and feet. 'othing, absolutely nothing, as it a""ears

in -aya is there before the s"iritual vision, out there stand the cos$ic thoughts. And these cos$ic thoughts crowd

together, are condensed, "ushed into one another for this reason they a""ear to us as these shadow figures of ours that go

around, which we believe to have reality. hus, as far as the "hysical $an is concerned, he does not e!ist at all.

%ith certain ustification we can say that in the hour of death the s"irits of for$ se"arate their cos$ic thoughts fro$

those of the s"irits of wisdo$. he s"irits of for$ ta&e their thoughts u" into the air, the s"irits of wisdo$ sin& their

$aterial thoughts into the earth. his brings it about that in the cor"se an aftershadow of the thoughts of the s"irits of

wisdo$ still e!ists when the s"irits of for$ have ta&en bac& their thoughts into the air. hat is "hysical death that is its

reality.

+n short, when we begin to thin& about the reality we co$e to the dissolution of what is co$$only called the "hysical

world. 7or this "hysical world derives its e!istence fro$ the s"irits of the higher hierarchies "ushing in their inter$ingled

thoughts, and + beg you to i$agine that finely distributed 3uantities of water are introduced in so$e way which for$ a

thic& $ist. hat is why your body a""ears as a &ind of shadow2for$, because the thoughts of the s"irits of for$ "enetrate

those of the s"irits of wisdo$, the for$ative thoughts enter the thoughts of substance. +n face of this conce"tion the whole

world dissolve into the s"iritual. %e $ust, however, have the "ossibility of i$agining the world to be really s"iritual, of

&nowing that it is only a""arent that $y ar$s and hands, $y feet and legs are given over to the earth. hat is what it

see$s in reality the $eta$or"hosis of $y ar$s and legs, hands and feet begins there and co$es to co$"letion in the life

between death and a new birth, when $y ar$s and legs, hands and feet beco$e the head of $y ne!t incarnation.

+ have been here telling you $any things that "erha"s at least in their for$ $ay have struc& you as so$ething strange.

/ut what is all this ulti$ately of which we have been s"ea&ing but an ascending fro$ $an as he a""ears, to $an as he

really is, ascending fro$ what lives e!ternally in -aya to the successive ran&s of the hierarchies.

0age 41 of 45


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+t is only when we do this, $y dear friends, that we are able to s"ea& in a for$ that is ri"e today of how $an is

"er$itted to &now a so2called higher self. %hen we si$"ly rant about a higher self, when we si$"ly say( + feel a higher

self within $e . . . then this higher self is a $ere e$"ty abstraction with no content for the ordinary self is in the hands of

-aya, is itself -aya. he higher self has only one $eaning when we s"ea& of it in connection with the world of the

higher hierarchies. o tal& of the higher self without "aying heed to the world that consists of the s"irits of for$ and the

angels, archangels and so on, to s"ea& of the higher self without reference to this world, $eans that we are s"ea&ing of

e$"ty abstractions, and at the sa$e ti$e signifies that we are not tal&ing of what lives in $an between death and a new

birth. 7or as here we live with ani$als, "lants and $inerals, between death and a new birth we live with the &ingdo$s of

the higher hierarchies of who$ we have so often s"o&en. nly when we gradually co$e nearer to these ideas and

conce"ts ;in a wee&, "erha"s, we shall be s"ea&ing of the$< shall we a""roach what can answer the 3uestion( why do$any hu$an beings die as $ere children, $any in old age, others in $iddle ageB

'ow, $y dear friends, what + have ust given you in outline are concrete conce"ts of what is real in the world. ruly

they are not abstract conce"ts + have been describing, they are concrete conce"ts of world reality. hese concrete conce"ts

were given, for a $ore atavistic "erce"tion, it is true, in the ancient $ysteries. Since the eighth "re26hristian century they

have been lost to hu$an "erce"tion, but through a dee"ening of our co$"rehension of the 6hrist2/eing they $ust be

found again. And this can only be realised on the "ath of s"iritual science.

*et us $a&e ourselves fro$ a certain "oint of view another &ind of "icture of hu$an evolution. %e will here &ee"

before us e!ceedingly i$"ortant conce"ts. 'ow it can be said that when we go bac& in the evolution of $an we discover

and + have often described this that in ancient days $en had $ore of the grou"2soul, and that the individual souls

were $e$bered into what was grou"2soul. Gou can read about this in various cycles( =7or e!a$"le(3niverse, Earth and Man,

andEg'tian M'ths and M'steries.? we can then diagra$$atically re"resent hu$an evolution and say( in olden days there were

grou"2souls and each of these s"lit u" ;it would a""ear thus to soul "erce"tion but different for the "erce"tion of the

s"irit


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here is sense in s"ea&ing of this figure only if we have first s"o&en of the s"iritual as has been done here today for

then we &now everything that is wor&ing together in these souls, how the higher hierarchies are wor&ing together on these

souls. here is no sense in s"ea&ing of this figure if our gaze is not fi!ed on the hierarchies. +t was thus that they s"o&e u"

to the ti$e of the 0ythagorean School and it was fro$ the 0ythagorean School that A"ollonius learned what + s"o&e

about yesterday and about which + shall be tal&ing further in these ne!t wee&s. /ut then after the eighth "re26hristian

century, when the 0ythagorean Schools were in their decadence, the "ossibility of thus s"ea&ing was lost. And gradually

the conce"ts that are concrete, that have reality by being related to the higher hierarchies these conce"ts have beco$e

confused and hazy to "eo"le. hus there has co$e to the$ in the "lace of Angels, Archangels, Archai, S"irits of 7or$,

S"irits of -ove$ent, S"irits of %isdo$, hrones, instead of all this concrete weaving of the s"irit, they arrived at a

conce"t that now "layed a certain "art in the "erce"tion of the #ree&s the conce"t of the "neu$a. @verything beca$ehazily confused( 0neu$a, universal s"irit, this indistinct conce"t still so loved today by the 0antheists ... s"irit, s"irit,

s"irit ... + have often s"o&en of how the 0antheists "lace s"irit everywhere that goes bac& to #ree& life. Again this figure

is "ortrayed ... but you can now see how what was once concrete, the fullness of the #odhead, now beca$e an abstract

conce"t 0neu$a. he white is 0neu$a, the red "hysical $atter ;see diagra$ 1I< if we are considering the evolution of

$an. he #ree&s, however, at least still "reserved so$e "erce"tion of this 0neu$a, for they always saw so$ething of the

aura. hus, for the$, what you can "icture in these white branches was always of an auric nature, so$ething really

"erce"tible. here is the great significance of the transition fro$ that constituted #reece to all that was Ro$an that the

#ree&s still in their "erce"tion e!"erienced 0neu$a as so$ething actual and s"iritual, but that the Ro$ans did so no

longer. @verything now beco$es 3uite abstract with the Ro$ans, co$"letely abstract conce"ts and nothing $ore. he

Ro$ans are the "eo"le of abstract conce"ts.

-y dear friends, in our days you find in science the sa$e diagra$) Gou can co$e u"on it today in $aterialistic boo&s

on science. Gou will find the sa$e diagra$, e!actly the sa$e, as you would have found in the old -ysteries, in the

0ythagorean Schools, where everything was still related to the hierarchies. Gou have it with the #ree&s where everything

is related to the 0neu$a again today you find it drawn, and we shall see what it has now beco$e. oday the scientist says

as he $a&es this sa$e drawing on the blac&board for his students( in the "ro"agation of the hu$an race the substance of

the "arents ger$ cells "asses over to the children but "art of this substance re$ains so that it can again "ass over to the

children and and again there re$ains so$e of this to "ass over anew to the children. And another "art of the ger$ cell

substance develo"s so that it can for$ the cells of the "hysical body. Gou have e!actly the sa$e diagra$, only the

$odern scientist sees in the white ;see diagra$< the continuity of the substance of the ger$ cell. He says if we go bac& to

our old hu$an ancestors and ta&e this ger$ cell substance of both $ale and fe$ale, and then go to "resent day $an and

ta&e his, it is still the sa$e strea$, the substance is continuous. here always re$ains in this ger$ substance so$ething

eternal so the scientist i$agines and only half of the ger$ "las$a goes over into the new body. he scientist hasstill the sa$e figure but no longer has the "neu$a the white is now for hi$ the $aterial ger$ substance nothing is left

of soul and s"irit, it is ust $aterial substance. Gou can read this today in scientific boo&s, and it is ta&en as a great and

significant discovery. hat is the $aterialising of a higher s"iritual "erce"tion that has "assed through the "rocess of

abstraction in the $idst stands the abstract conce"t. And it is really a$using that a $odern scientist has written a boo&

;for those whose thin&ing is sound, it is a$using< in which he says right out( what the #ree&s still re"resented as 0neu$a

is today the continuity of the ger$ substance. Ges, it is foolish, but today it counts for great wisdo$.

7ro$ this you can, however, see one thing, it is not the drawing that does it) And you will therefore understand why

to a certain e!tent + have always been against drawing diagra$s so long as we were still trying to run our Anthro"oso"hy

within the heoso"hical Society. ne had only to enter any theoso"hical branch and the walls as a rule would be

"lastered with all $anner of diagra$s there were drawings of every "ossible thing with words attached there ware whole

genealogical trees and every "ossible &ind of s&etch. However, $y dear friends, these drawings are not i$"ortant. %hat$atters is that we should really be able to have living conce"tions for the sa$e drawing can re"resent the soul2s"iritual in

the flowing of hierarchies, the "urely $aterial in the continuous ger$2"las$. hese things are seen very hazily by $odern

$an. herefore it is so i$"ortant to be clear that the #ree&s still &new so$ething of the real self in $an, of the real

s"iritual and that it was the Ro$ans who $ade the transition to the abstract conce"t. Gou can see all this in what is

e!ternal. %hen the #ree& tal&ed about his #ods, he did so in a way that $ade it 3uite evident that he was still "icturing

concrete figures behind these #ods. 7or the Ro$ans the #ods, in reality, ware only na$es, only e!"ressions, abstractions

and they beca$e abstractions $ore and $ore. 7or #ree& a certain idea was ever "resent that in the $an before hi$ the

hierarchies were living, that in each $an the hierarchies were living a different life. hus the hierarchies were living

differently in every $an. he #ree& &new the reality of $an, and when he said, that is Alcibiades, that is Socrates, or that

is 0lato, he still had the conce"t that there in Alcibiades, Socrates or 0lato ware rising u", within each in a different way,

the cos$ic thoughts of the hierarchies. And because the cos$ic thoughts arose differently these figures a""eared

different.

All this was entirely lac&ing in the Ro$an. 7or this reason he for$ed for hi$self a syste$ of conce"ts that reached its

cli$a! when fro$ the ti$e of Augustus on and actually fro$ an earlier date,

mysteries of the sun and of the threefold man

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