Foundations of Esotericism

With this audience Rudolf Steiner was able to take this knowledge for granted and it is therefore only touched upon or partially dealt with in the different lectures of the Course.

Seven Stages of Consciousness (Planetary Evolutions)

Trance Consciousness, Universal Consciousness         (Old Saturn)
Deep Sleep Consciousness, Dreamless Consciousness        (Old Sun)
Dream Consciousness, Picture Consciousness              (Old Moon)
Waking Consciousness, Awareness of Objects                 (Earth)
Psychic or Conscious Picture Consciousness        (Future Jupiter)
Super-Psychic or Conscious Sleep-Consciousness      (Future Venus)
Spiritual or Conscious Universal Consciousness            (Vulcan)

Each of these develops through Seven Conditions of Life
(Rounds, Kingdoms)

First Elementary Kingdom
Second Elementary Kingdom
Third Elementary Kingdom
Mineral Kingdom
Plant Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
Human Kingdom

Each of these pass through Seven Conditions of Form (Globes)

Arupa
Rupa
Astral
Physical
Plastic-Astral
Intellectual
Archetypal or Primal-Pictorial

Every Condition of Form again goes through 7 x 7 stages of development; for instance our present Fourth Condition of Form (of the Mineral Kingdom, within the Fourth Planet, the Earth) goes through the so-called 7 Root-Races (ages or Main Periods of Time) and again through the Cultural Epochs of our present Fifth Root-Race (Post-Atlantean Age).

After every ‘Kingdom’ there is a short Pralaya (Sleep Condition) and after each Condition of Consciousness a long Pralaya.

* * * * * * * *

According to Notes of a Lecture-Cycle held in Berlin, October/November 1904 — thus one year before the present course — Rudolf Steiner made the diagram (next) and the appended explanation:

Thus man goes through the following Evolution:

I.   Elementary Kingdom
     Form  1.  arupic
           2.  rupic
           3.  astral
           4.  physical
           5.  plastic-astral
           6.  intellectual
           7.  archetypal

IV.  Mineral Kingdom
     Form 22. arupic
     to   28. archetypal

V.   Plant Kingdom
     Form 29. arupic
     to   35. archetypal

II.  Elementary Kingdom
     Form  8. arupic
     to   14. archetypal

VI.  Animal Kingdom
     Form 36. arupic
     to   42. archetypal

III. Elementary Kingdom
     Form 15. arupic
     to   21. archetypal

VII. Human Kingdom
     Form 43. arupic
     to   49. archetypal

I.   Elementary Kingdom (and so on, everything as with the first Planet)

The 25th stage is always the deepest, densest, middle stage. We are now on the fourth Planet, on the 25th. stage, thus on the densest stage of all. On the seventh Planet, in the seventh kingdom, the human kingdom, and the seventh Form, the archetypal, the highest perfection of human evolution will be attained. Man will then have his archetypal form; he will be a god-like human being and possess an all-embracing spiritual consciousness.

(Berlin, 29th October 1904)