Foundations at the Periphery: Rudolf Steiner's Observations on Star Knowledge

“When we observe the astral plane we come upon certain beings there - only one kind among many - who seem to have no expression or manifestation among the beings found on the physical plane, but who are yet connected with it. There on the astral plane we meet with these astral beings - with pronounced will, pronounced purposes and so on within our immediate world. They have this existence on the astral plane, but they are related to, belong to, the same sort of beings as inhabit our present moon, having even a certain physical existence on the moon. One who is able to approach these things clairvoyantly knows that on their scene of action, the moon, these are beings in a certain respect similar to man, but they are dwarfs in comparison, scarcely reaching the height of a six or seven year old child. Upon the moon, however, a particular opportunity is offered them for their activity. The physical conditions are quite different there, the atmosphere for example is quite different and in consequence when these beings withdraw, so to speak, to their habitat they acquire the faculty of a tremendous roaring, of uttering immensely powerful, frightening sounds. These dwarf-like beings can maintain an astral existence within our world. You must in fact picture conditions in the higher worlds as being much more complicated than people are wont to.

“As soon as we speak from the aspect of higher worlds, there exists an unbroken connection between the different planets and so the moon is connected with the earth just as for instance Berlin and Hamburg are connected by the telephone. Beings that live on the moon can therefor carry out their operations on the earth with the aid of astral forces. One might call them the reverse side of other astral beings whom we also find in the astral world, beneficent beings who, compared with even the mildest human nature, are yet much, much milder - in their speech too, very mild and gentle. The speech of these beings has not yet that aridity of human language which a man must ponder over a long time if he is to express himself, and clothe his thoughts and ideas in words. One could say that the thoughts of these beings flow from their lips - not merely the expression of the thoughts in words, but thoughts themselves flow in a gentle language from their lips. These beings are likewise to be found within our astral world; they have their actual scene of action on another planet. As the first-named beings are at home on the moon, these second are at home on Mars, they inhabit Mars and are in fact the main population - as certain human races are the principal population on our earth. If we then mount up higher to the devachanic plane we find certain beings who in their own way are also of a mild, peaceable nature and who in a certain respect are extraordinarily clever. These beings to be found on the devachanic plane have their actual home on the planet Venus, as the other beings on moon and Mars. On Venus too we find a second species of beings who - in contrast to the gentle, amiable kind - represent wild and ferocious vitality, and whose principal occupation consists in mutual fighting and plunder.

“Again we find on the higher parts of the devachanic plane certain beings who are very difficult to describe. We can only do so comparatively by saying that they are infinitely inventive: at every moment of life they devise something - for it would be false to say that they think it out. Their inventive gift is rather as if one were to look at something and at the same instant - even in the beholding - one had the impression of how one could form it differently. Invention comes to them spontaneously. These beings, who have their home on Saturn, are again confronted by others who seem to be their reverse side; savage, horrible beings who possess to an infinitely higher, more frightful degree all that lives in man as wild, sensual greed and inordinate desire.

“Now all these beings who have been mentioned are by no means unconnected with our existence. Their deeds, activities, manifestations, are definitely extended into our life and their action is particularly to be traced by clairvoyance when certain conditions appear on earth. Thus the beings who - naturally as astral beings - are at home on the moon are present on earth in the most varied circumstances, when for instance a man falls prey to illusory ideas, or where insane people are gathered. Such astral beings show special preference for the neighborhood of insane asylums. They are, moreover, almost always to be found near mediums and somnambulists; these persons have such beings swirling round them, and a large proportion of the influences that are exercised upon them is derived from the presence of these creatures. Where on the other hand love and kindliness prevail, where humanitarianism is unfolded, there you find the mild, gentle Mars beings present as astral creations, taking part in the forces which are there at work. That is nourishment for them, the atmosphere in which they can live and when they exercise their influence on man.

“So you see how man in the most varied circumstances is continually accompanied by such swirling elemental beings, as they may be called. Man is never really alone; whatever he does and whatever he undertakes is at the same time an opportunity for the presence of creatures who encroach onto man's forces and occupy themselves there and whom one must know if one is to get a true view of life.” [reinforcement of the reality of this] “Everything that man does is like a summons to unknown beings. It is not only the insane or mediums that these moon beings - among whom are thoroughly malevolent little rascals, can venture to approach; when, for instance, young children are overfed in such a senseless way that they become greedy, then these beings can sidle up to them and spoil their development.

“Now these beings in yet another respect are by no means unconnected with man. They have on the contrary a deep relation to our human structure. Of all that exists in the human body, there is actually only one thing that belongs or can increasingly belong to man - and that is his blood. Man's blood is the direct expression of his ego. If however he is not perpetually careful to strengthen his ego inwardly through a strong and vigorous will, through strong forces of his soul, if so to speak, he loses control of his ego then other beings can fasten upon his blood, and that is very grave and evil for him. On the other hand, many other beings are anchored in other parts of the present human organism.” (8, pp. 3-7)

“Just as a man can fill two professions so too can the astral body be on the one hand the builder of the nervous system, and on the other hand the builder, the creator, of the lymph. In the same way man's etheric body is the builder and creator of the whole glandular system, as well as in another aspect the organiser, creator and controller of the circulation of the chyle.

“Now we must be clear that in the human astral body and etheric body, the ego is definitely the only master . Gradually in the course of evolution man's ego attains to a greater control over his astral body and his etheric body as he changes the former into spirit-self or Manas and the latter into life-spirit or Budhi. But as long as man has not control of these parts of his being, other beings are connected with these human members.

“In the human astral body other beings are embedded like maggots in cheese - forgive the unappetizing comparison - but it is so. And in fact the astral beings which are embedded in, and connected with, the human astral body are those whom I have described as having their real habitat on the moon or Mars, according as they are benevolent or malevolent. They anchor themselves there. And lymph, the whitish juice that courses through man, belongs to the body of beings who live in our astral world.

“They are here the parasites of men. If there were no human race here on earth they would very soon take their departure; they could find no dwelling place, it would not suit them here. But there are beings, men and higher animals, who have lymph and there these beings have their physical manifestation. Thus not merely a material substance pulses through our body but in such a circulation move whole hosts of these beings. And the preponderance of moon beings or Mars beings of this nature circling through a man gives his lymph its special character. If more moon beings circulate through his body he is a man who inclines more easily to wrong-doing, irritation and anger, if more Mars beings, then he is a man who is more inclined to gentleness, kindliness, mildness.”

“Now if you examine clairvoyantly what one calls chyle, that is, the external expression of the human etheric body, you find similar beings are also incorporated into this. The beings anchored there are those whom we have already characterized as the good and evil Venus beings, those having their home on Venus and existing in our devachanic world. Living in this fluid that courses through the human body, these beings have their actual home on the devachanic plane, and insofar as they take on a physical body, have their physical life on Venus. And since Venus is connected in a certain way through its forces with our whole earthly vegetation and all that lives on earth, you will realize the connection existing between man's nourishment and the effect produced in him through what he takes in as nourishment. Influences of the Venus beings live in all the plants and naturally also in the animal kingdom. The influences may come on the one hand from the good, gentle, mild Venus beings, or on the other hand from the wild beings who have been described to you as greedy for plunder and engaged in conflict with each other. According as one or the other kind work upon our animals and plants, so are virtues and vices built into man's body when the flesh of these animals or the food obtained from these plants are transformed into chyle.

“It is more difficult to understand the way in which the Saturn spirits work upon man. There are on the one hand Saturn spirits who directly they observe anything immediately make some invention, on the other hand there are those who develop terribly disordered passions of a sensual nature, in comparison with which all that man can develop in this direction is child's play. These Saturn spirits insinuate themselves into the human body in a still more hidden way, namely, through sense perception. When we turn our eye to a beautiful, pure and noble thing, a concept is aroused in us; when we turn our eye to a sordid, ignoble thing then a different concept is aroused. Now when a concept is called forth in the soul through outer impressions there slip into man at the same time these Saturn spirits - the good and the bad, When man is sensing they draw into him through eyes and ears and the whole skin.” [Historical examples of negative effects of perfumery] (8, pg. 13)

“You are aware that in the (old) Saturn development of human evolution the first inception of the senses came into existence through the forces of (old) Saturn. In a similar way Saturn still works into man and among his inner bodily organs it is the liver upon which the Saturn forces have a strong and intensive influence. And although certain forces are present in the liver from which man must free himself, yet they are necessary to enable him to come to his present form and shape; they must however be overcome. You can prove this in a certain way by external evidence. You can discover, for instance, that in the period before birth and directly after birth, when the human body is being built up, the liver occupies the greatest space in relation to the rest of the body and then that it becomes smaller and smaller. In fact the ratio at birth could be given as 1:18 whereas the relation later is 1:36.” (8, pp. 15-16)

“The following will seem grotesque, even preposterous to those whose concepts are rooted in modern astronomy. Nevertheless it is a truth of cosmic evolution that when a planet like our earth has risen to sun-existence, when it has gradually achieved union with the sun and even sun-existence is transcended, there arises, as a still higher stage of evolution, something that in a certain way you can perceive in the heavens: there arises what we today call a `zodiac' - it is the stage higher than that of a fixed star. Thus when beings are no longer restricted to the form of existence belonging to a fixed star but have expanded their evolution so powerfully that it extends beyond fixed stars and the fixed stars lie like bodies in it - then a higher stage is reached, the stage of Zodiac-existence. The forces which work from a Zodiac upon a planetary system themselves evolved, in former ages, in a planetary system and have advanced to the stage of a Zodiac.” (8, pg. 22)

“We may picture to ourselves that around this Saturn, this first, dawn-condition of our planetary system, there were the constellations of the Zodiac - but not as they are today. The single stars composing the Zodiacal constellations around that ancient Saturn were scarcely to be distinguished from each other. They glittered only very faintly, like beams of light streaming out from Saturn. The best way to picture this is to think of ancient Saturn encircled by beams of light, just as our earth is encircled by a Zodiac. And in the course of Earth-evolution itself these light-masses developed into the present star clusters comprised in the Zodiac. So that the Zodiac - to use an abstract expression - has differentiated out of that original ocean of flame.” (8, pg. 23)

“Something rather remarkable comes to light when we compare planetary existence with zodiacal existence. The occultist makes use of two words to indicate the difference between them. He says: Everything that is contained in the Zodiac is under the sign of `Duration'; everything that is comprised within planetary existence is under the sign of `Time'. You can get an idea of what this means if you remember that not even the farthest reaches of the mind can conceive of changes having taken place in the Zodiac. Each single planet may have undergone considerable change throughout long and greatly differing periods of evolution; the forces working in the Zodiac remain, relatively speaking, fixed and permanent. As far as human thinking is concerned, we can say that planetary existence belongs to the sphere of the Finite, whereas Zodiacal existence belongs to the sphere of Infinitude. This, as already said, must be taken in the relative sense, but for the present it is sufficiently accurate.” (8, pg. 24)

“The forces which caused the first, rarefied Saturn-masses to gather together were those which streamed down from the Zodiac, producing on Saturn the first germinal inception of physical man. We can say in effect: what is at first contained in a planetary system evolves to a `sun' existence, then to a zodiacal existence and has the power to be itself creative, to offer itself in sacrifice within a planetary existence. The forces from the Zodiac `rain' down continuously into the planetary existence and continuously ascend again. The distribution of forces in our earth existence may be conceived as follows: - on the one side forces are descending from the Zodiac and, on the other, forces are ascending to the Zodiac.

“As far as our human understanding goes, these forces began to descend during the Saturn-existence of our Earth and when Earth-existence proper had reached its middle point, the stage had arrived when they gradually began again to ascend. We have now passed beyond the middle point of our evolution, which fell in the middle of the Atlantean epoch.

“When, therefore, you think of the whole Zodiac, you must picture that some of its forces are descending and some are ascending. We think of the forces which are now involved in the ascending line of evolution, collectively, as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra - because they actually belong to these constellations. The descending forces are comprised, approximately speaking, in the five constellations of Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Thus forces rain down from the Zodiac and ascend again: seven constellations of ascending, five of descending forces. The ascending forces also correspond, in man, to the higher members of his being, to his higher, nobler attributes. The forces which are in descending phase of evolution have first to pass through man and within him to attain to the stage at which they too can become ascending forces.” (8, pp. 25-26)

“From then on it was possible for the ego to participate in the work of the forces belonging to the Zodiac, to reach into the Zodiac. The more the ego strives for the highest point of its evolution, the more it works into the Zodiac. There is nothing that happens in the innermost core of the ego that has not its consequences right up to the very Zodiac. He will attain full power over Libra in the Zodiac when his ego has developed Atma, or spirit-man. He will then be a being from whom something streams out, who has passed out of the sphere of Time into the sphere of Duration, Eternity.

“Such is the path of man. But there are other beings whose lowest sphere of operation is man's highest. The Being whose innermost nature belongs wholly to the Zodiac, whose forces belong wholly to the Zodiac and only manifests in planetary life through his lowest member, which corresponds to Libra as man's lowest member to Pisces - This is the Being who spreads life throughout the whole of our universe:”

“Just as man receives life into himself, so does this being radiate life through the whole of our universe. And just as man turns his ego up towards Libra, so does this Being radiate His very Self over our sphere in sacrifice. This Being is called the `Mystical Lamb', for Lamb and Aries are the same; therefor the description `Sacrificial Lamb' or `Ram' is given to Christ. Christ belongs to the cosmos as a whole. His I, his Ego, reaches to Aries and thus he becomes himself the `Great Sacrifice', is related with the whole of mankind and in a certain sense the beings and forces on the earth are His creations.” (8, pp. 31-33)

“Thus there were beings at the very beginning of our Earth who were scarcely fitted to take part in further development, who were still so young in their whole evolution that any further step would have destroyed them. They had to receive a sphere of action, so to speak, on which they could preserve their complete youthfulness. This scene of action was the cosmic body which we call `Uranus', and which therefor has but slight connection with our earthly existence. Uranus has become the theatre for beings which had to remain at a very backward stage.

“Then evolution proceeded. Apart from Uranus, all that forms the universe was contained in an original pap-like mass. Within it were beings who in their development stood precisely at the stage at which we human beings stood when our Earth passed through the Saturn condition. And for these beings a special theatre, `Saturn', was created, since standing at that stage, only just beginning their existence, they could not share in all that came later. Thus a second cosmic body split off, Saturn, which you still see in the heavens today.

“The next thing that took place was the separating of another planet which had become the scene for a certain stage of development. That was the planet Jupiter, the third to split off from the misty mass which for us is actually the earth. When Jupiter had split off there gradually arose the forerunners of contemporary humanity. That is to say, our present human beings emerged again just as a new plant comes out of a seed.

“The sun pressed out and now we have sun, with earth and moon together. During this time Mars - in a way which would take too much time to relate now in detail - had again formed a theatre for particular beings, and in its further advance Mars actually passed through the earth and moon and left behind what today we know as iron.”( 8, pp. 42-43)

“Mercury and Venus are two planets which have split off as centers for those Fire-Spirits who are exalted far above human existence, yet who could not have supported the sun-existence. So you have Mercury in the neighbourhood of the sun as an arena for those beings who had not been able to live with the Fire-Spirits on the sun, and Venus as an arena for beings who in a certain respect had remained behind the Mercury beings but who yet stood far above man.” (8, pg. 47)

“If the moon forces had remained with the earth, they would have held him fast in one form. Forces that give the form must proceed from the moon, while forces that continually alter the form proceed from the sun. But in order that the present human form should arise, a molder, a modeler of form, must work from the moon; it was not possible otherwise.” (8, pg. 47)

“The beings who stood nearest man were the Venus and Mercury beings. Until, at the end of the Atlantean Age, man could make the first feeble efforts to work independently with his ego upon the three bodies - for that was just possible at the end of the Atlantean Age - he had to have teachers. These teachers were beings of Venus and Mercury, and they went on working far beyond the Age of Atlantis. But they are not to be looked on as we look on our present teachers; the Venus beings must rather be thought of as those who endowed man with his intellectuality. The exalted Fire-Spirits of Mercury instructed in the Mysteries; there they appeared - if we may say so - in a spiritual embodiment and were the teachers of the first initiates.” (8, pp. 48-49)

“It was a quite amazing period of our earth's evolution. Something took place then on the grandest scale similar to what happens when you strew fine sand on a metal plate and stroke the plate with a violin bow. The Chladny sound-figures are formed and you know of course what regularly-shaped figures and formations appear. Thus the instreaming music from cosmic space gives rise to the most manifold forms and figures, and the substances dissolved in the water which were themselves watery, they listened to the cosmic music and arranged themselves in conformity with it. The most important formation of the dance of the substances to the cosmic music is albumen, protoplasm, the foundation of all living growth. Materialists may think what they will of the mechanical construction of albumen from oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and so on; the original protoplasm was formed of cosmic substance that had been formed from the harmonies of the cosmic music. And thus the substances in the living were organized according to the world music.” (8, pg. 80)

“We have all this at the beginning of the condition of the earth when it still contained the moon after the departure of the sun. But as long as the moon remained in the earth there was an increasing hardening of the albuminous formation, and the state that I have described as mummifying would have resulted if the coarsest substances and beings had not left the earth. The least developed portion of the human creature at that time were the nerves that went to the sense organs. But the sense organs had not yet opened. They had been formed from within outwards but as yet they were not open. And now the moon went out with the coarsest substances. The consequence was that the human being could then gradually pass over to a higher condition. His senses were opened, the two heavenly bodies were now outside and could now hold a balance. Whereas they built up man as long as they were united with the earth, they now worked in from the outside; they opened his senses and made him a seeing, hearing being as he appears to us today. The departure of the moon was practically in the middle of the ancient Lemurian Age. We then have a human being who had not yet opened his sense organs but who had a powerful gift of clairvoyance.” (8, pp. 81-82)

“Again and again we come across indications concerning the close connection between the human being and the life of Nature. When scientific books speak of the oscillations of the price of wheat within certain limited epochs of time and at the same time draw attention to the changes in the formation of glaciers or in the water levels of the Caspian Sea, it may at first glance appear that one cannot earnestly bring such things in connection with each other. Nevertheless new connections are continually being discovered and confirmed. Many other things will be ascertained, though many errors will have to be eliminated, but essentially speaking, scientists have been able to supply proofs for these apparently enigmatic inter-relationships.

“Many of these phenomena are connected with the sun's influence and arise with the constantly changing number and size of the sun-spots. Their maxima and minima appear with a certain regularity. A maxima can be ascertained after approximately 11 and 1/9^th years. A comparative study of these observations moreover shows that eventually one can also take a period of 22 and œ years.

“It is impossible to ignore the fact that changes in climatic conditions are due to the influence of sun-spots. A maximum of sun-spots seems to bring with it a decrease in the sun's radiation of heat, which may result in great changes in Nature. Good wine years, for example, come in oscillating intervals of 11 years. So far it has not been possible to ascertain scientifically how the climatic oscillations extending over periods of 35 years may be brought into connection with sun-spots. (These were observed by Bruchner).

“But what must we think when we find that one of the greatest scientists and so accurate a thinker as Aristotle states that in accordance with primeval truths the stars are Divine Beings and that all other teachings which refer to the Gods are popular inventions! Aristotle voiced his views with a certain precaution when he spoke of these ancient truths, but he deals with them as something which should be treated with respect and reverence.

“An echo of this primeval wisdom which modern natural scientists brush aside with a shrug of the shoulders lives in a distorted and foolish form in what is generally known as astrology. In spite of its distorted form, it leads us back to the primeval wisdom of humanity. It is however not easy to ascertain in what this primeval wisdom really consisted. In the stars and in the earthly planet a modern scientist only sees physical bodies which travel through the space of the universe, and he will declare that it is childish to assume that other celestial bodies should have a meaning for the history of humanity. In past ages one had different feelings when the human being was set against the universe. One did not think of bones, muscles or sensory organs, but of the feelings and sensations which lived in the human soul. And the stars were looked upon as the bodies of Divine-spiritual Beings who sent their influences into the souls of men.

“Whereas to-day we perceive the transformations which take place in the sun's mechanical processes, the men of past ages perceived the activity of soul-spiritual forces which went from star to star. The Great Initiates did not speak of purely mathematical forces, but of influences based upon purely spiritual forces which went from star to star.”

“It is significant to bear in mind that through the great progress in natural science and in astronomy which could be made during the 19^th century, it was possible to develop and amend the world-conception which was called into being by Kant and by Laplace, but its fundamental lines remained the same. Even spectral analysis, the great invention of Kirchhoff and of Bunsen, seems to supply the proof for this conception, for it was possible to show that a great number of the mineral substances which constitute our earth are also to be found upon other celestial bodies. Upon the sun itself it was possible to trace the existence of more than two thirds of all the known elements.” (126, pp. 22-25)

“In order to understand this, we should bear in mind that in the forces of attraction and of repulsion anthroposophical spiritual research recognises the earthly correlative of forces which in the spiritual sphere produce the movements of the planets. They are known in the Kant-Laplace system, with all the additions and modifications to which it has been subjected, as forces of GRAVITATION.

“To spiritual-scientific investigation it is evident that the forces of revolution in the universe are impulsed by the souls of the animals, and this explains why the animal kingdom is not dependent on the planets. Each planet has a vegetable kingdom in common with the solar system with which it is connected. Each planet, however, as its own forces of revolution and consequently its own animal-kingdom, to the extent in which it is capable of having one.

“If we now study the human being, we must draw attention to a deeply significant fact. As an embryo, the human being is subjected to the influence of the Moon. The development of the human embryo lasts ten lunar months. As long as the human being is not an independent being, he is under the influence of the lunar forces. The forces which are active in the plant and which draw out their flowers and their fruits are solar forces. The human body is dependent on the forces of the Moon only in so far as its form is concerned. And these form-giving forces of the Moon appear in a certain contrast with the forces of the Sun. Sun and Moon appear as the contrasts of life and force. This contrast is needed in human development.

“The light which is rayed out by the moon is not only reflected sunlight, but it contains plastic, form-giving forces. The light of the Sun is not only mere light, but it is a life-giving force, one which precipitates the processes of life, so that under its exclusive influence, the human being would be old immediately after his birth.

“The stars, the sun and the moon ray down upon us not only rays of light, but spiritual streams of life. We cannot grasp this if we only see the physical light, for spiritual facts can only be experienced with the aid of an artistic fantasy, in a sensory-supersensible vision, in a living image which thus arises, or with the aid of spiritual scientific investigation.

“The human being consists of many members, or parts of his being. When he is asleep, only his physical and his etheric body lie upon the bed; the astral body and the ego separate from the lower members and ascend to the spiritual world. There, the human being receives forces which are higher than those which he obtains during the day from the sun and from the moon.

“The astral body consists of the far lighter substantiality of the astral world, so that the starry world can influence it far more easily. Even as the physical forces influence our physical body when we are awake, so the world of the stars, the closer and the more distant ones, influences the astral body, for man is born out of the universe, out of that same cosmic spirit that also gave rise to the starry spaces.” (126, pp. 35-37)

“Here I come to a point where a little secret, so to say, must be unveiled, one which may only be divulged at this point. In truth if we wish to speak esoterically, as the writer of the apocalypse has done, we must speak of Mercury as the morning star. By the morning star he meant Mercury: I have given the direction towards thine `I', to the morning star, to Mercury. - You may still find in certain books of the Middle Ages, which describe the true state of affairs, that the stars of our planetary system are enumerated thus: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and then Earth is followed not as it is now by Venus, Mercury, but by the reverse, Mercury, Venus.” (9, pg. 71)

“Firstly, the being who influences fertilisation takes up its abode mainly on the sun; and then the being who represents static, permanent form departs together with the moon. Sun and moon gradually separate from the earth. With the sun go all the beings who, had they remained united with the earth, would have caused life to become too frenzied; and with the moon go all those forces which would have brought about hardening and rigidity - everything that would have tended to make form final. The earth remains in the middle, as it were between the two. This is why man on earth is influenced in his actions alternately by moon-forces and by sun-forces.” (10, pg. 33)

“What was the event which enabled man to perceive the forces present in the sun, those exalted forces which had to leave the earth and which were united with the sun? These forces streamed down into the earth gradually and the decisive moment when the power was bestowed upon man to receive in full consciousness the spiritual as well as the physical forces of the sun, was that of Christ's appearance on earth.

“We can therefor say: there was a point in time when man separated physically from the sun. The fish reminds us of our condition before we had to separate ourselves from the sun. But this was also the time when the higher forces, whose leader is Christ, the sublime Sun-Spirit, also left the earth; after which, men gradually matured to the point where they were able to receive His forces in the way they had received the physical forces of the sun from outside. It was necessary that the inner, spiritual power should appear on the earth as a reality just as the physical forces of the sun had appeared in an earlier epoch.” (10, pg. 120)

[Repeat of the reasons for forming of separate planets, as required for beings at different stages of evolution] “Now one should not believe that these beings inhabiting the various bodies of the solar system have no connection with the inhabitants of the earth. We must see that the physical boundaries are not the real boundaries, and that it is possible for the beings of the other to exercise magical influences upon the earth. Thus the influences of the spirits of the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury extend into the earth. The two latter stand nearer to the earth, and after the sun had withdrawn they helped men to prepare the earth as we have it today.

“Here I would like to add one thing, because misunderstandings have crept into the naming of the planets. In all occult nomenclature, what astronomers call Venus is called Mercury, and vice versa. Astronomers know nothing of the mysteries behind this, because in the past it was not desired that the esoteric names should be revealed. This happened in order to conceal certain things.

“All these spirits of the other planets influence the earth. From every planet influences descend upon man. To begin with, however, these influences had need of an intermediary. Through the great Manu this was provided by the seven Rishis being initiated in such a way that each understood the mysteries and influences of a single planet. We find hints of this in many ancient occult writings. When, for example, it is said that there are mysteries beyond the seven, the reference is to those preserved by the holy Manu himself concerning the time before the splitting-off of the planets.

“These fourteen aspects of the moon, in the order in which they follow on one another, were the cause of fourteen nerve-filaments being annexed to the human spinal cord. The cosmic forces worked in such a way that these fourteen nerve-filaments correspond to the fourteen phases or aspects of the moon. This is the result of the Osiris influence. During the fourteen days leading to the new moon, there is no Osiris influence. These fourteen phases from full moon to new moon have their result, and for Egyptian consciousness this result was achieved through Isis. Through the Isis influence fourteen other nerve-filaments proceed from the spinal cord. This makes a total of twenty-eight nerve-filaments, corresponding to the different phases of the moon.”

“At the same time that the sun went out from the earth, the earth began to turn on its axis so that at one time one side of the earth would be shone upon by the sun, and at another time it would not be shone upon; thus day and night began. But at that time the days and nights were much longer than today. At the time when the moon was not yet split off, whenever such a human form (already considerably condensed) was on the sunny side, there was organised into this gas-mass something of such an animal form below in the water-earth. Human and animal forms were combined so that there was a human form above and an animal form below. The upper part protruded toward the sun, but the lower parts were weaker, and the animal body joined itself to them. The upper part protruded out of the water-earth, and the sun influence, proceeding through the flower-men, worked on the inner forces of earth and moon. Because here an animal form was joined to the human body, which was then at the fish level, it was said that the sun, which illuminated the human body, stood in the sign of the Fish. The first hint of this formation actually coincided with the sun's being in the sign of the Fish, but the sun passed many times through this sign before the next formation took place. The beginning of this formation, however, was the time when the sun stood in the zodiacal sign of the Fish, and this sign received its name because beings at the fish stage united themselves with man at that time.” (11, pp. 72-73)

“There were ever higher animal forms, which man took into himself, At one time, what had developed out of the fish was called the Water-man, because it lived in the water and contained the germ of the later man. A still higher form that developed could be called the Ram. {The context indicates Capricorn} “The singular thing is that what corresponded to man in his lower members actually gave the name to the then prevailing constellation. The feet are actually the original Fish; the calves or shanks are the Water-man, which for a long time enabled man to steer while swimming; the knee we find to be related to the sign of the Ram.” {The context indicates Capricorn} “The animal kingdom evolved more and more, and what became the thigh was designated as the Archer.

“Man was an animal then, which for the first time could move about on the islands that were forming in the water. In his upper parts he became ever finer, and at the top he actually preserved the flower-form. He was illuminated from above by an organ that he carried on his head like a lantern. The then human form is rightly conceived if we see the upper part as etheric and the lower part as animal-like. In older pictures of the Zodiac, the form of the Archer is shown as an animal below and a man above. Thus, the centaur was once an actual human form. When man looked like this, the moon had not yet withdrawn.

“When the moon withdrew from the earth, sexuality appeared. The centaur-man was still sexless. Sexuality appeared when the sun stood in the sign of the Scorpion, and this is why we always connect sex with this sign. The Scorpion is what in the animal kingdom corresponds to the stage of evolution at which man stood when he had developed sexuality. In his upper half, man was turned toward the cosmic forces, but in his lower half he was a bisexual being.” (11, pp. 74-75)

“Now we must not imagine - and this must be emphasized - that after the sun had stood in the sign of the Scorpion, and then in the sign if the Balance, the hips immediately developed. This would show the tempo of evolution as proceeding much too rapidly. The sun travels through the whole zodiac in a period of 25,920 years. At one time the sun rose in spring in the Ram, earlier in the sign of the Bull, and so on. About 747B.C. the sun again entered into the Ram; in our time it rises in the sign of the Fish. The time during which the sun traverses a sign has some significance, but such a period would not suffice for the change that had to take place in order for man to progress from sexuality under the sign of the Scorpion to the evolving of the hips under the sign of the Balance. The sun goes once through the zodiac, and only after this complete circuit does the forward step occur. In earlier times it had to make the transit oftener before the forward step could take place. Therefore we cannot apply to more ancient epochs the familiar time-reckonings of post-Atlantean times. The sun had first to go completely around - in earlier ages even several times - before evolution could progress a step. For those members that required a stronger molding, the time lasted even longer.

“There is for instance a certain relationship between a man's heart and his brain which can be described in a somewhat pictorial way by saying that this mutual relationship of the heart and the brain corresponds to the relationship of the sun and the moon - the heart being the sun and the brain the moon. So we have to know, if a disturbance occurs in the heart, for instance, that insofar as this is rooted in the etheric body, it is bound to have an effect on the brain, just as when something happens on the sun, an eclipse, for instance, the moon is bound to be affected. It is no different, for these things have a direct connection.

“In occult medicine these things are also described by applying the images of the planets to the constellation of man's organs. Thus the heart is the sun, the brain the moon, the spleen saturn, the liver jupiter, the gall mars, the kidney venus and the lungs mercury. If you study the mutual relationships of the planets you have an image of the mutual relationships of man's organs insofar as they are in the etheric body. The gall could not possibly ail - and this would show spiritually in the etheric body - without the illness having its effect on the other organs mentioned, in fact if the gall is described as mars, its effect would be similar to the effect of mars in our planetary system.” (104, pp. 31-32)

“The human soul must be capable of winning a conceptual net without being directly in a position where we can draw it out of the observation. Methods, even though scientific, which we employ in order to gain ideas about the world through outer observation are useless for the construction of a conceptual net in the human soul. We must employ a method independent of outer experience as well as of clairvoyant perception, for the souls must - as already stipulated - be able to build concepts before attaining supersensible perception. Thus man has to pass on from one concept to another and so retain his position within the conceptual net itself. In order that this process may take place within the soul, the prerequisite of a method is necessary which has nothing to do with either outer observation or clairvoyant experience. Such movement in pure concepts is called - in the sense of the philosopher Hegel - the dialectic method. The true dialectic method is the one where man lives only in concepts and is able - so to speak - to let one concept grow out of another. Man then lives in a sphere in which he disregards both the sense world and the supersensual, which form its basis.

“We have explained the activity of the soul as she passes along through the network of concepts. She spins concept upon concept in the sense of the dialectic method. She leads man from concept to concept. Naturally, we have to begin at one point or another, but thereafter we proceed from concept to concept. By so doing we should approach the sum of all concepts adapted to - in the universe - the sense-world below and the superphysical world above. All these self-motive concepts that have adapted themselves to both worlds are called - in the widest sense of the word - `the categories'. Thus, fundamentally considered, is the entire human conceptual network constructed of categories. We might say, in other words: - all concepts are categories, as all categories are concepts. We certainly have been accustomed to call the more important - the basic concepts, - their kernals - categories, in correspondence with Aristotle. But we can, in the strict sense, use the word `concept' and `category' reciprocally so that we can call the sum of our self-motivated, self-generated concepts `Category Theory'. And Hegel's work - the Logic - derived from Logos, which latter also means concept, is in reality a theory of categories. Hegel himself has said: If we establish the network of concepts in its full extent, we find therein the thoughts of the Divine Being before the world's creation. Because we find the concept within the world, they must originally have been implanted therein. When we follow up these concepts, we discover the Divine Thoughts - the categorical content of the Universe.”

“Certainly, one must have a point where to begin. That, naturally, must be the most simple concept - the one with the least content. The concept with the least content and the greatest circumference is the concept of `being'. It is adapted to the entire extent of our world. We express nothing of the nature of `being' when we merely speak of it. In the concept of `being' also something more is hidden - something which can give birth to another concept, and this is the concept of `non-being' - the antithesis of the first concept. The `non' (or nothing) resides in `being', springs forth from it if we inwardly consider `being', so that we have here seen how one concept can grow out of another. If we wish to form an idea of the `non- or not-being', we shall find the attempt as difficult as it is important. Many people, philosophers included, will say that it is altogether impossible to form a concept of `nothing'. But for the Anthroposophist it is of the utmost importance to do it. There will come a time when much will depend on our ability to comprehend the concept `nothing' in the proper way. Spiritual Science suffers from this lack of pure understanding of the concept `nothing'. Consequently Theosophy has become a theory of emanations.

“Imagine yourself facing exterior reality, observing the world from one point of view - one depending on yourself alone. You see, for example, two people, one tall, the other short. You think something about these two - form a concept - one you would never had formed had you not met the two people face to face. It is immaterial what were your thoughts about these two, but the concept would not have been formed had you not met them. But now this concept becomes a factor - a factor which has originated out of `nothing', and whose inner activity continues within you. `Nothing' is, therefore, a real factor in world existence, and you will never understand this world-existence unless you comprehend the true meaning of `nothing'. You would also have a better understanding of Nirvana, if you have a clear concept of the `Nothing'.

“At the very moment when we comprehend the concept `being', we are compelled to designate it as `creature'. It is `being' arrested within itself, `being' permeated by itself. This will become clear to you by thinking of the essentials and nonessentials of a thing. This essential part is the `being' active within - all `being' hardening itself to action. We speak of the being of man when we consider his higher members together with his lower, and perceive the concept of `essence' as the concept linked immediately to `being'. From the concept `essential' being we obtain the concept `appearance', outward manifestation, the opposite of `essential' being, - of that which resides within `essential' being - e.g. that which exteriorises from it. `Essential' and `appearance' are similarly related as are `being ` and `nothing'. If we combine `essential' and `appearance' with each other, we obtain that appearance is contained within `essential' being. We distinguish between the exterior appearance and the inner being. But when inner being overflows into appearance so that the appearance itself contains the essence, we speak of `reality'. No dialectician will conceive the idea of `reality' in any other way than `appearance' permeated by `essential' being. `Reality' is the fusion of both these concepts.

“We can proceed still further - to yet purer concepts. We can say: - `Essential' being is that being which resides within itself, becomes conscious of itself within itself - is able to manifest itself. Now, when this being not only manifests itself, but extends its `lines' into the environment, - to be capable of expressing more - we move to the concept of the `concept' itself. Within us is active our `essential' being. But when we allow the concept to work within us, we have something within that points outwards - something that encompasses the exterior world. In this way we can proceed from being, appearance and reality to the `concept'. We now have in us the concept, and we have seen by formal logic how the concept operates within the chain of reasoning. There the concept remains within itself. But now it can extrude, and we speak of a concept which reflects the nature of things. Here we arrive at true `objectivity' - the opposite to the subjectively operative concept; as `appearance' is related to `essentiality', so is `objectivity' to `concept'. And only then have we correctly comprehended the concept `objectivity' when we have proceeded in this manner. If we now combine `concept' with `objectivity' we come to the `idea' which holds at the same time, the objective appearance and the subjective within it.

“Thus grow to all directions concepts from the original concept of `being'. Thus is evolved this transparent, diamantine, crystalline world of concepts which enables us to face the world of the senses. Then we find how the sensible and supersensible worlds coincide with this conceptual - dialectic, and man attains to that concord of concept and reality of which true knowledge (perception) really consists.” (127, pp. 6-13)