The Concealed Aspects of Human Existence and the Christ Impulse

By Rudolf Steiner GA 21
A lecture, delivered at The Hague, November 5, 1922, and printed from a stenographic report uncorrected by the lecturer with the authori ation of !arie "teiner# Translated from the original by $atharine %# &ederschmidt# This authori ed 'nglish translation was printed in agreement with Harry (ollison, !#A# )*+on#, -t was published as part of Spiritual Relations in the Human Organism and in .erman as part of Geistiger Zusammenhaenge in der Gestaltung des Menschlichen Organismus# /rivately printed for the members of the (ollege of "piritual "cience at the .oetheanum# No one is considered competent to pass 0udgment upon these writings who has not ac1uired the prere1uisite 2nowledge demanded by this school, either through the school itself or in a manner approved by it# *pinions e+pressed by other persons will be disregarded3 the authors of the writings in 1uestion will engage in no discussions regarding them#
(opyright 4 1951 This e#Te+t edition is provided through the wonderful wor2 of6 The Rudolf Steiner !u"lishin# Co$ %ondon

Than%s to an anonymous donation& this lecture series is no' a(aila"le$

C)*TE*TS
(over "heet (ontents (oncealed Aspects of Human '+istence Appendi+ 'soteric "tudies /rivately printed for the members of the (ollege of "piritual "cience at the .oetheanum# No one is considered competent to pass 0udgment upon these writing who has not ac1uired the prere1uisite 2nowledge demanded by this school, either through the school itself or in a manner approved by it# *pinions e+pressed by other persons will be disregarded3 the authors of the writings in 1uestion will engage in no discussions regarding them# TH' (*N('A%'7 A"/'(T" *& H8!AN '9-"T'N(' AN7 TH' (H:-"T -!/8%"' :87*%& "T'-N': A %'(T8:', 7'%-;':'7 AT TH' HA.8' November 5, 1922 Printed from a stenographic report uncorrected by the lecturer with the authorization of !A:-' "T'-N': Translated from the original by $ATHA:-N' %# &'7':"(H!-7T Publishers Anthroposophic /ress, -nc#6 New <or2 (ity :udolf "teiner /ublishing (o#6 %ondon uthorized !nglish translation" printed in agreement with Harry #ollison" M$ $ %O&on$' (opyright6 nthroposophic Press 1951 *o(em"er +,& 1-22

(ontents
The sleep life as a reflection of conditions of e+istence in pre=earthly life and the life after death# &irst, a condition li2e a 2ind of vague e+istence, as if diffused in the ether world3 the body becomes an outer ob0ect3 a feeling of an+iety before the abyss and a longing for the 7ivine# "econd stage6 a splitting of the soul and a cosmic consciousness in place of the physical consciousness3 the inner being of
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the person performs facsimiles of the planetary movements3 the unity with the (hrist affords the power to overcome the splitting of soul# The third stage of sleep includes the e+perience with the fi+ed stars# Then follows the living into the forces of the moon, which bring the human being bac2 into his physical body# After death we have a cosmic consciousness of those conditions which are reflected during sleep# As we wor2 on earth with nature?s forces, so we then wor2 con0ointly with the @eings of the Higher Hierarchies, and principally at the cosmic spirit=germ of our physical body# 7escription of the descent from the spiritual cosmos into the etheric cosmos towards the earth, through the region of the stellar forces# $nowledge about the high "un @eing in the school of the initiates of the first (hristian centuries# The regaining of this cosmic 2nowledge on a new stage through modern initiation# -ts permeation with the (hrist -mpulse#

The (oncealed Aspects of Human '+istence and the (hrist -mpulse

(ecture by Rudolf Steiner" The Hague" )o*ember +" ,-..$ -N connection with the public lectures and public gatherings, it always affords me a satisfaction also to be able to address this .roup here in The Hague, and - shall try this evening to say some things that may be to you a more intimate continuation, a supplement, of what - was able to e+press in the public lectures# )%ectures given in The Hague, :otterdam, and 7elft, Holland, from *ctober A1 to November B, 1922, -n order to have 2nowledge of the spiritual world and for the ac1uirement of an inner life with the spiritual world, it is necessary most of all to see in the right light that which one might call the concealed aspects of human e+istence# -ndeed, the concealed aspects of human e+istence are the more important aspects for the comprehensive 0udging and evaluation of human life# This may not be admitted willingly by people who merely thin2 superficially and materially, but it is none the less true# No one can become ac1uainted with human e+istence, unless he is able to enter into its concealed aspects# *ne could, perhaps, if - may thus e+press myself, demur against the .ods and say that they have put the most precious thing for man into the concealed aspects of his life3 that they have not afforded him what is most precious in the visible aspect of life# -f this had been done, man would in a higher sense remain impotent# Ce ac1uire spirit=soul strength, which then can permeate our whole being, through the very fact that we must first achieve our genuine human dignity and our human nature, that we must first do something in the realm of our soul and spirit in order to become man at all in the right sense of the word# And in this victory, in this necessity of having first to accomplish something to become man, in this lies that which can fill us with strength, which can permeate with forces the innermost depth of our being# -n order, therefore, to e+plain more definitely this leading theme which - have introduced today, - will spea2 to you again from a certain viewpoint about that concealed aspect of human e+istence which is enveloped in the unconsciousness of sleep# And then - will bring to your attention something of that which lies enveloped in states of e+istence that remain unconscious during earth life6 those states of e+istence in pre=earthly life and the life after death# The sleep life ta2es place in such a way for man that, after the transition through dreams D which have, however, but a very dubious e+istence and a very dubious significance for human life, if one simply accepts them as they present themselves D he falls into the unconsciousness of sleep, out of which he emerges only on awa2ening, when he immerses himself with his ego and his astral body in the ether body and physical body3 that is, when he ma2es use of both these principles as a tool in order to perceive his physical environment and then to wor2 within this physical environment through his will# @ut that which lies beyond birth and death is enveloped in that very part of man?s being which becomes unconscious when he falls asleep### And the conditions which the human being e+periences there - will describe to you as though they were conscious# They can become conscious only to the imaginative, the inspirative, and the intuitive consciousness# @ut the difference between this and what every man e+periences in the night is only a difference in 2nowledge# The individual who, as a modern initiate, loo2s into the sleep life 2nows how it is, but this does not ma2e the life of sleep into something different for him from what it is for every man, even for the one who passes through it 1uite unconsciously# Thus our description can be in conformity with reality when we describe that which remains unconscious as though the human being e+perienced it consciously# And this is what - shall now do# After the transition through dreams D as - intimated before D man passes, as regards the normal consciousness, into unconsciousness# @ut the reality of this unconscious state, as it manifests itself to the higher, supersensuous 2nowledge, is that, directly after falling asleep, man enters into a sort of contourless e+istence# -f he should reali e his condition consciously, he would feel himself poured out into an etheric realm# He would feel himself outside of his body, not limited, however, but widely diffused3 he would sense or observe his body as some ob0ect outside of himself# -f this condition should become conscious, it would be filled, as regards man?s soul nature, with a certain inner an+iety or uneasiness# He feels that he has lost the firm support of the body, as though he stood before an abyss# Chat is called the Threshold of the "piritual Corld has to e+ist for the reason that the human being must first prepare himself to have this feeling, the feeling of having lost that support which the physical body affords, and to bear that an+iety in the soul which is caused by his facing something entirely un2nown, something indeterminate#
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As - stated, this feeling of an+iety does not e+ist for the ordinary sleeper3 it is not in his consciousness, but he does pass through it, nevertheless# That which constitutes an+iety, for instance, in every=day physical e+istence is e+pressed in certain processes, even though they be subtle processes of the physical body6 when man senses an+iety, certain vascular activities in the physical body are different from what they are when he feels no an+iety# "omething occurs ob0ectively besides what the human being feels as an+iety, restlessness, etc#, in his consciousness# This ob0ective element of a soul=spirit an+iety man e+periences while he enters through the portal of sleep into the sleep state# @ut with the feeling of an+iety something else is connected6 a feeling of deep longing for a 7ivine= "piritual :eality that streams and weaves through the cosmos# -f man should e+perience in full consciousness the first moments after falling asleep D or even hours, perhaps, in the case of many persons D he would be in this state of an+iety and of longing for the 7ivine# The fact that we feel religiously inclined at all during the wa2ing life depends first of all upon the fact that this feeling of an+iety and this longing for the 7ivine which we e+perience in the night have their after=effects upon the mood of the day# "piritual e+periences pro0ected, so to spea2, into physical life fill us with the after=effect of that an+iety which impels us to crave to 2now the :eal in the world3 they fill us with the after=effect of the longing we bear while asleep, and they e+press themselves as religious feelings during the wa2ing hours of the day# @ut such is the case only during the first stages of sleep# -f sleep continues, something peculiar occurs3 the soul e+ists as though split, as though split up into many souls# -f the human being should e+perience this condition consciously D which only the modern initiate can completely behold D he would have the sensation of being many souls and conse1uently thin2 that he had lost himself# 'very one of these soul beings, which really are merely shadowy images of souls, represents something in which he has lost himself# -n this state of sleep the human being has a different appearance according as we observe him before or after the !ystery of .olgotha# Namely, the human being re1uires cosmic aid from without in regard to this condition, if - may so e+press it, of being split into many soul reflections# -n olden times, preceding the !ystery of .olgotha, the initiates, the old initiates, gave to the people indirectly through their pupils, through the teachers whom they sent out into the world for man2ind, certain religious instructions which evo2ed feelings during their wa2ing life# And these instructions, which were e+pressed by the people in ritual acts, strengthened their souls so that the human being carried, in turn, a sort of after=effect of this religious mood over into his sleep life# <ou can see the reciprocal action between being asleep and being awa2eE *n the one hand the human being, in his longing for the 7ivine during the first stage of sleep, e+periences that which induces him to develop religion during wa2ing life# -f this religion is developed during the wa2ing life D and it was developed through the influence of the initiates D it has its effect again upon the second stage of sleep6 through the after=effect of this religious mood the soul has then sufficient strength to bear the sensation of being split D at least to e+ist at all amidst this plurality# This truly is the difficulty that irreligious people have6 they have no such aid during the night in regard to this being split into many souls and thus they carry these e+periences over into the wa2ing life without the strength that religion affords# &or every e+perience we have during the night has its aftereffect in the wa2ing life# -t has not yet been a very long time since irreligion and non= religiousness began to play so large a, part among man2ind as it did during the last century, the 19th century# /eople still e+perienced the aftereffect of the influence of what earlier, more sincere, religious times meant to the human being# @ut, since the irreligious times continue, the ultimate result will be significant6 people will carry the after=effect of this splitting of their souls from their sleep state o*er into their wa2ing life, and this will principally contribute to the fact that they will not have the forces of coherence in their organism to distribute properly the nourishing effect of the food in their organism# And man2ind will be afflicted with significant diseases in the near future as a conse1uence of this irreligion# Ce must, indeed, not thin2 that the spirit=soul part of our being has no bearing upon the physicalE -ts relation is not such that irreligious development will be immediately punished with disease by some 2ind of demoniacal gods D life does not run its course in such a superficial manner D but there does e+ist, nevertheless, an intimate relation between our e+perience in the realm of soul and spirit and our physical constitution# -n order to possess health during the wa2ing hours of the day, it is essential that we carry into our sleep life the feeling of our unity with the divine=spiritual @eings, in whose realm of activity we immerse the eternal 2ernel of our own being# And it is only by a right e+istence within a spirit=soul world between falling asleep and awa2ening that we can produce the right and health=bringing forces of a spirit=soul element, so necessary for our wa2ing life# 7uring this second stage of sleep the human being ac1uires, not a cosmic consciousness, but a cosmic e&perience in lieu of the ordinary physical consciousness# As stated before, only the initiate goes through this cosmic e+perience consciously, but everyone has this e+perience in the night between falling asleep and wa2ing up# And in this second stage of sleep the human being is in such a state of life that his inner nature carries out imitations of the planetary movements of our solar system# 7uring the days we e+perience ourselves in our physical body# Chen we spea2 of ourselves as physical human beings, we say that inside of us are our lungs, our heart, our stomach, our brain, etc# ### this constitutes our physical inner nature# -n the second stage of sleep the movement of ;enus, of !ercury, of the sun, and of the moon constitute our inner spirit=soul nature# This whole reciprocal action of the planetary movements of our solar system, we do not bear it directly within us, not the planetary movements themselves3 but facsimiles, astral facsimiles of them then constitute our inner organism# To be sure, we are not spread out into the entire planetary cosmos, but we are of e+traordinary si e, compared with our physical si e in the daytime# Ce do not bear within us the real ;enus each time that we are in the state of sleep, but a facsimile of its movement# -n the second stage of sleep, between falling asleep and awa2ening, that which occurs in the spirit=soul part of our being consists of these circulations of the planetary movements in astral substance, 0ust as our
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blood circulates through our physical organism during the day, stimulated by the movement of breathing# Thus through the night we have circulating within us as our inner life, so to spea2, a facsimile of our cosmos# @efore we can e+perience this circulation of the planetary after=effects we must first e+perience the splitting of the soul# As - said before, the people of olden times, previous to the !ystery of .olgotha, received instructions from their initiates, in order that they might be able to bear this splitting of the soul and that the soul should find its way within these movements which now constituted its inner life# "ince the !ystery of .olgotha something else has ta2en the place of this old teaching# Namely, something has occurred which the human being can now appropriate inwardly to himself as a feeling, a sentiment, a soul life, and a soul mood, when he really feels himself one with the deed which was accomplished for man2ind by the (hrist @eing through the !ystery of .olgotha here on earth# The individual who truly feels his unity with the (hrist and the !ystery of .olgotha to the degree that in him are fulfilled the words of "t# /aul6 FNot -, but the (hrist in meG, he has, through this unity with the (hrist and the !ystery of .olgotha, developed something in his feeling which has its after=effect in sleep, so that he now has the strength to overcome the splitting of his soul and the power to find his way in the labyrinth of the planetary orbits which now constitute his inner self# &or we must find our way, even though we are not conscious in our inner being of that which constitutes for the soul the planetary circulation in place of the blood circulation during the day, which now continues in the physical body we have abandoned# After this e+perience, we enter the third stage of sleep# -n this third stage we have an additional e+perience D of course, the e+periences of the preceding stage always remain and the e+periences of the ne+t stage are added thereto D in the third stage is included, what - should li2e to call the e+perience of the fi+ed stars# After e+periencing the circulation of the planetary facsimiles we actually e+perience the formations of the fi+ed stars, that which in former times, for instance, was called the images of the Hodiac# And this e+perience is essential to the soul aspect of the human being, because he has to carry the after=effect of this e+perience with the fi+ed stars into his wa2ing life in order to have the strength at all to control and vitali e his physical organism at all times through his soul# -t is a fact that, during the night, every human being first e+periences an etheric preliminary state of cosmic an&iety and longing for the /i*ine, then a planetary state, as he feels the facsimiles of the planetary mo*ements in his astral body, and he has the e+perience of the fi&ed stars in that he feels D or would feel if he were conscious D that he e+periences his own soul=spiritual inner self as a facsimile of the hea*ens" of the fi&ed stars$ Now, my dear friends, for the one who has insight into these different stages of sleep, a significant 1uestion arises, - might say, every night# The human soul, the astral organism, and the ego being, leave the physical body, their inner self is filled with facsimiles of the planetary movements and of the constellations of the fi+ed stars# The 1uestion arising now is this6 FHow is it that every morning, after each sleep, the human being returns to his physical body againIG And it is here where the science of initiation discovers that the human being would actually not return if, on entering the planetary movements and the constellations of the fi+ed stars, he did not also live his way into the forces of the moon while e+panding outward into the facsimiles of cosmic e+istence# He lives his way into the spiritual forces of the moon, into those cosmic forces which are reflected in the physical moon and in the moon=phases# Chile all other planetary and fi+ed star forces actually draw the human being out of his physical body, it is the lunar forces which again and again return him, when he wa2es, to his physical body# The moon is connected in general with all that brings the human being from his spiritual life into the physical life# -t, therefore, ma2es no difference D the physical constellation is not the thing to be considered, although a certain significance attaches thereto D whether we have to do with new moon, full moon, the first or last 1uarter of the moon3 in the spiritual world the moon is always present# -t is the lunar forces which lead the human being bac2 into the physical world, into his physical body# <ou can see, my dear friends, that, as - briefly describe to you the e+perience the human being has between falling asleep and awa2ening, - am, upon the whole, giving you something of a general description of his so0ourn in the spiritual world# And this is the state of the matter# &undamentally, we e+perience every night a reflection of the life between death and a new birth# -f we loo2 into pre=earthly life with the imaginative, the inspirative, and the intuitive consciousness, we see ourselves first of all as spirit=soul human beings in a very early state of pre=earthly e+istence# Ce see ourselves possessed of a cosmic consciousness# *ur life there is not a reflection of the cosmos, as is our sleep life, but we are actually diffused through the real cosmos# About the middle of our life between death and a new birth we feel ourselves as spirit=soul beings, fully conscious D in fact with a much clearer and more intensive consciousness than we could possibly have anywhere upon the earth D surrounded by divine=spiritual @eings, by the divine=spiritual Hierarchies# And, 0ust as we wor2 with nature?s forces here on earth, 0ust as we use e+ternal ob0ects of nature as tools, so in the same way does wor2 ta2e place between us and the @eings of the higher spiritual Hierarchies# And what manner of wor2 is thisI This wor2 consists in the fact that the spirit=soul human being, con0ointly with an enormous number of sublime spiritual @eings of the cosmos, is weaving the cosmic spirit=germ of his physical human body in the spiritual realm# However peculiar this may seem to you D to weave the physical human body as spiritual germ out of the whole cosmos D it is the greatest, the most significant piece of wor2 conceivable in the cosmos# And not only does the human soul in the state described wor2 at this, but the human soul wor2s at it con0ointly with whole hosts of divine=spiritual @eings# &or, if you visuali e the most complicated thing that can be formed here on earth, you find it primitive and simple in contrast with that mighty fabric of cosmic vastness and grandeur which is woven there and which, compressed and condensed through conception and through birth, becomes permeated with physical earth matter and then becomes the human physical body#
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Chen we refer to a germ here on earth, we thin2 of it as a small germ which afterwards becomes relatively large# @ut, when we refer to the cosmic spirit=germ in relation to the human body as a product of the spiritual, this germ is of gigantic si e# And from that moment on, which - have pointed out to you, when the soul is coming towards its birth, the soul=spiritually magnificent human germ is gradually diminishing# The human being continues to wor2 at it with the aim constantly in view that this will be woven together, pressed together, condensed into the physical human body# -t was really not without reason that the older initiates D through a 2ind of clairvoyance which, to be sure, is no longer suitable to us, although the more recent science of initiation shows the same fact D that the older initiates called the human body the Temple of the .ods# -t is the Temple of the .ods, for it is woven out of the cosmos by the human soul con0ointly with divine @eings each time between death and a new birth# %ater on D in a manner still to be described D the human being is given his physical form# Chile the human being is weaving the spirit=germ of his physical body at the stage indicated, he is, as regards his soul being, in a condition, in a mood, that can only be compared with what the modern initiates call intuition# The human being lives with his soul within the activity of .ods# He is wholly diffused in cosmic=divine e+istence# -n this state halfway between death and a new birth he is participating in the life of the .ods# @ut then, as the human being proceeds on his way, as he comes closer to conception or birth, a change ta2es place# -n a certain way, his consciousness is then impressed with the fact that the divine=spiritual @eings of the Higher Hierarchies are withdrawing from him# And there appears to him only something li2e a revelation, li2e a reflection, as if the .ods had withdrawn and only their nebulous images were still standing before the human soul, and as if a 2ind of veil were being woven as a nebulous imitation of that which in reality had been woven before# The intuitive consciousness he formerly possessed now changes to a cosmic inspired consciousness# The human being lives no more with the divine=spiritual @eings of the Higher Hierarchies3 he lives with their manifestation# @ut in place of this an inner ego develops more and more within the soul consciousness# 7uring the clima+, - might say, of life between death and a new birth, the human being lives entirely with the divine=spiritual @eings of the Higher Hierarchies3 the ego has no inner strength3 it becomes conscious again of its inner self only when the .ods withdraw and only their manifestation remains# The glory of the .ods, their radiation, enters a 2ind of inspired consciousness3 but, as a recompense, the human being feels himself as a self=e+istent being# And that which now awa2ens first in him is, - might say, an eager desire, a 2ind of craving# !idway between death and a new birth, the human being wor2s at the spirit=germ of his physical body, so to spea2, out of a deep inner satisfaction# Although he reali es that the ultimate goal will be his physical body in his ne+t earthly life, he is not permeated with an eager desire, but only D we might say D with admiration for this physical human body, considered from a universal standpoint# At the moment when the human beings is living no more in divine worlds, but only in the manifestations of divine worlds, the eager desire arises in him to reincarnate upon the earth# Just while the ego consciousness is becoming continually stronger does this eager desire awa2en# Ce withdraw, so to spea2, from the divine worlds and come closer to what we shall become as earthly human beings# This eager desire becomes continually stronger, and what we see around us is also undergoing a change# /rior to this, we were living in nothing but @eings, in the divine=spiritual Hierarchies3 we 2new ourselves to be one with them# Chen we spo2e of our inner self we were really spea2ing of the cosmos D but the cosmos itself consisted of @eings, @eings in sublime stages of consciousness with whom we were living# Now an outer glory is to be seen, and in this outer glory the first images gradually appear of that which, ultimately, are the physical reflections of the divine=spiritual @eings# This glory emanates from the @eing which man 2new there beyond as the "ublime "olar @eing, and in this glory appears, so to spea2, the sun as seen from without, or as seen from the world# Here on earth we loo2 up to the sun# There, while descending to the earth, we at first see the sun from the other side# @ut the sun emerges, the fi+ed stars emerge, and behind the fi+ed stars the planetary movements emerge# And with the emergence of the planetary movements a 1uite definite 2ind of forces emerges6 the spiritual forces of the moon3 they now ta2e control of us# -t is these lunar forces which, little by little, carry us bac2 into the earthly life# "uch is actually the aspect of things which the human being beholds on his descent from cosmic worlds to earthly e+istence6 that, after an e+perience of divine=spiritual Hierarchies, he proceeds to images of them# @ut these images of @eings gradually become star= images, and the human being enters into something which, - might say, he first sees from behind6 he enters that which is manifest from the earth as the cosmos# The details of what the human being there consummates can be discerned, and the modern science of initiation can penetrate 1uite deeply into what man there e+periences# Just through details in this domain do we begin to become ac1uainted with life# &or no one 2nows life who is able to see the human being in connection with earthly e+istence alone# Chat great value does our connection with the earthly e+istence have for us thenI 7uring the enormously long stretches of time between death and a new birth the earth, at first, really means nothing to us, and that which gleams towards us, as the e+ternal, so to spea2, is transmuted into entire worlds of .ods, in which we live during these long stretches of time and which appear e+ternally to us again as stars only when we are nearing the earth for another earthly e+istence# Chat the human being at first wove, as the spirit=germ of his physical body, he 2nows, for the time being, to be one with the whole universe, with the spiritual universe# %ater, when he sees only the manifestation of the divine=spiritual worlds, this germ gradually becomes his body, which is now also a facsimile of the cosmos# And out of this D his body D arises the eager desire for an earthly e+istence, for an ego consciousness in his body# This body now still contains much which is untouched by the earthly e+istence, for it is a spirit body# As regards this body, the fact still remains entirely undetermined at a certain stage whether, for instance, the human being will be a male or a female personality in his ne+t earthly e+istence# &or, during this whole time between death and a new birth, up to a very late stage, before we are born
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upon the earth, there is no meaning in the 1uestion of man or woman# The conditions there differ entirely from those that are reflected on earth as man and woman# There are also conditions which occur in the spiritual e+istence and are reflected on the earth3 but that which appears on earth as man and woman ac1uires significance only relatively late, prior to our descent to earth# Chen the human being, according to certain former 2armic connections, thin2s it best to e+perience his ne+t incarnation on earth as a woman, we can trace in detail how, on his descent to the earth in order to unite with the physical embryo, he chooses that time which is 2nown here on earth as the time of full moon# Ce can say, therefore, when we are loo2ing from any region here on earth at the full moon, that we then have the time which the beings choose for their descent to the earth who desire to become women, for then only is this decision made# And the time of new moon is the time which beings choose who wish to become men# Thus, you see, the human being enters his earthly e+istence through the portal of the moon# @ut the force which the male re1uires in order to enter life on earth is then flowing out into the cosmos3 we move toward it as we come in from the cosmos, and this force is radiated by the moon when it is 2nown as new moon for the earth# The force which the female re1uires is radiated from the moon when it is the full moon3 then its illuminated side is turned toward the earth, and its unilluminated side is toward the cosmos D and this force, which the moon can send out into the cosmos from its unilluminated side, the human being re1uires if he wishes to become a woman# Chat - have now been describing to you shows that the ancient concept of astrology, which nowadays has been brought to a complete decadence by the ordinary astrologers, was well grounded# *nly, we must be able to achieve an inner view of the connection of things# Ce must not loo2 merely at the physical constellation in a calculating manner, but must see into the corresponding spiritual element# There it is really possible to enter into details# As you 2now, the human being descends from the cosmos in a definite state# &rom the spiritual cosmos he enters the etheric cosmos# Now - am still spea2ing of the etheric cosmos alone3 the physical aspect of the stars is, in this connections, ta2en less into consideration, as is, li2ewise, the physical aspect of the moon# The essential moment when the human being decides to descend to the earth depends, as - have stated, upon the phase of the moon during this descent, and thus it may happen that he e+poses himself to a decisive new moon in order to become a man, or to a decisive full moon to become a woman# @ut then D since the descent is not made so very rapidly, but he remains e+posed for some time D if he is descending through the new moon as a man, he may still, for one reason or another, decide to e+pose himself to the coming full moon# Thus he has made the decision to descend as a male3 he has made use to this end of the forces of the new moon3 but, during his descent, he still has at his disposal the remainder of the moon?s cycle, the phase of the full moon# He then fills himself with lunar forces in such a way that they do not affect his condition as man or woman, but rather the organi ation of his head, and what is connected with the organi ation of his head from without, from the cosmos, if that constellation occurs of which - have 0ust spo2en# Thus, after the human being has made the decision3 F- shall become a man through the time of the new moonG, and continues living in the cosmos, so that he has not passed completely through the lunar influence but is still e+posed to the ne+t full moon, then, through the influence of the lunar forces in this condition he will, for instance, have brown eyes and blac2 hair# Thus we may say that the manner in which the human being passes the moon determines not only his se+, but also the color of his eyes and hair# -f, for instance, the human being has passed the full moon as a woman and is later e+posed to a new moon, the result may be a woman with blue eyes and blond hair# .rotes1ue as this may seem, we are absolutely predestined by the manner of our e+perience through the cosmos, as to the way in which our soul=spirit organism wor2s its way into our physical and our etheric organism# /rior to this time there has been no decision made as to our becoming a blond or a brunette3 this is determined only by the lunar forces as we pass them, on our descent from the cosmos into earthly e+istence# And 0ust as we pass by the moon, which really guides us into earthly e+istence, so do we pass by the other planets# -t is not immaterial, for e+ample, whether we pass "aturn in one or another way# Ce may pass by "aturn, for instance, when the constellation is such that the force of "aturn and the force of %eo in the Hodiac co=operate# @ecause of our passing the region of "aturn 0ust as its force is being increased through %eo in the Hodiac, our soul will D conditioned, of course, by our preceding 2arma D ac1uire the strength to meet intelligently the outer contingencies of life so that they do not defeat us over and over again# -f, however, "aturn is being dominated more by (apricorn, we shall become wea2 human beings that do succumb to the outer contingencies of life# All these e+periences we bear within us as we prepare from the cosmos our earthly e+istence# *f course, we can overcome this through an appropriate training, but not by voicing the opinion of the materialists that all this is nonsense, that we need not pay any attention to it at all# *n the contrary, it can be overcome by the fact that we develop these forces, really develop them# And in the future man2ind will learn again, not only to insure that a child shall have good mil2 to drin2 and good food to eat D although no ob0ection is to be made to this D but man2ind will learn again to observe whether this or that person has within him forces of "aturn or Jupiter active under this or that influence# %et us suppose that we find that a human being has within him, through his 2arma, forces of "aturn under the most unfavorable influence D of (apricorn or of A1uarius, for instance D so that he is e+posed to all life?s difficulties# Then, in order to strengthen him we shall search most carefully for other forces within him# &or instance, we shall as2 ourselves whether he has e+perienced the passage through the sphere of Jupiter, of !ars, or through any other sphere# And we shall always be able to correct and annul one condition by means of the other#
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Ce shall simply have to learn to thin2 of the human being not only in relation to what he begins to eat and drin2 in the earthly e+istence, but we shall have to consider him in relation to what he becomes, because of his having passed through the cosmic worlds between death and a new birth# Chen the human being is close to his earthly course of life, then he e+periences a sort of loss of his being# <ou 2now from my description that he was connected with what he has woven as the spirit=germ of his physical body# -nto this spirit=germ he has woven, besides, the e+periences during the descent through fi+ed stars and planets# At a definite stage, actually 1uite close to conception and birth, this spirit=germ is no longer there# -t has, in the meanwhile, descended with its forces as a system of forces to the earth# -t has fallen from the human being# -t has united itself on the earth independently with the physical substance of heredity which the ancestors, father and mother, afford# Chat is being woven there in the organism descends to the earth sooner than the human being himself as a spirit=soul being# And then, when the human being reali es that he has actually surrendered to the parents that which he himself had woven in the cosmos, he is able, in the last stage prior to his earthly e+istence, to ta2e to himself from the etheric world what is essential for his own etheric organism D since there is no longer a necessity to do any more weaving on his physical body, which is essentially complete and has been surrendered to and been made a part of the flow of heredity# Now he draws together his etheric organism3 and, together with this latter, he unites with that which he himself has prepared through his parents# He ta2es possession of his physical body, in which all this cosmic fabric of the spirit=germ is drawn together, and which is interwoven with what the human being himself united with it as he descended through this or that stellar region# -t is, indeed, not arbitrarily that he passes through new moon or full moon and causes himself to become man or woman, or to have blac2 or blond hair or blue or brown eyes, but all this is intimately connected with the results of his preceding 2arma# This shows you that, whereas the human being in the sleep state e+periences as his inner nature merely facsimiles of the planetary world, the world of the fi+ed stars, he now passes through these worlds in their reality between death and a new birth# He passes through these worlds3 they become his inner nature# And it is always the lunar forces which bring us bac2 to the earth# They differ essentially from all other stellar forces in this respect, in that they bring us bac2 to the earth# -n the sleep state they bring us bac2 to the earth3 they bring us bac2 also after we have e+perienced all that - have briefly described, in order to enter once more a life course on the earth# @ut let us consider once again that which is there outside of the physical body, in the form of astral body and ego organi ation, between falling asleep and awa2ening# -t is not fabricated from physical bones and physical blood3 it is a spirit=soul entity# @ut our whole moral intrinsic 1uality is woven into it# Just as we consist, when awa2e, of bones, blood, and nerves, so does that which leaves us during sleep and returns on awa2ening consist of the actuali ed 0udgments of our moral deeds# -f - have accomplished a good deed during the day, its effect is reflected in my sleep body within the spirit=soul substance that leaves me during sleep# !y moral 1uality lives within this# And, when the human being passes through the /ortal of 7eath, he ta2es with him his whole actuali ed moral evaluation# -t is a fact that, between birth and death in the earthly life, the human being creates within himself a second being# This second human being, who leaves the body every night, is the result of our moral or immoral life, and we ta2e it with us through the /ortal of 7eath# This result, which is merged with our eternal essential being, is not the only element we possess within the spirit=soul substance which passes out of us during the night# Just after death, however, when we are first in the ether body and then in the astral body, we hardly see anything in ourselves but this moral entity of our being# Chether we were good or bad, this is what we behold3 we are this# Just as here on earth we are a, human being in whom the s2in forces, or the nerve forces, or the blood forces, or the bone forces predominate, so, after death, we are, to our own perception, what we were, morally or immorally# And now after death we proceed on our way, first through the sphere of the moon, then through the sphere of the fi+ed stars### until the time arrives when we can begin to wor2 with the @eings of the Higher Hierarchies on the spirit=germ of our future physical body# @ut, if we were to ta2e this moral element up into the highest worlds, where we are to weave our future physical organism in its spirit=germ, this physical organism would turn out to be a monstrosity# &or a certain length of time between death and a new birth, the human being must be separated from what constitutes his moral 1uality# -ndeed, he leaves his moral 1uality behind in the moon sphere# -t is an actual fact that, when leaving the moon sphere, we leave our moral and immoral human being in the moon sphere and enter into the pure sphere of the .ods, where we can weave our physical body# - must now revert again to the difference between the times prior to the !ystery of .olgotha and those following it, including the present# The older initiates made very clear to their pupils D and through them to all man2ind of the civili ation of that time D that, in order to be able to find the transition from the world which - called in my boo2 Theosophy the soul=world, and which we really e+perience in its entirety while still in the moon sphere, into the world which - called the spirit=land, the human being must develop on earth the feelings that enable him to be led upward by the spiritual "un @eing, after having left behind the whole bundle of his moral after=effects in the moon sphere# All that history relates to us in regard to the first three (hristian centuries, and even the fourth century, is fundamentally a falsification3 for in those centuries (hristianity was 1uite different from the thing described# -t was something 1uite different for the reason that within it there held sway the conception which came from understanding the ancient science of initiation# &rom this wisdom of initiation it was 2nown that, in the life after death, the sublime "un @eing led the human being out of the moon sphere, after he had left behind his moral bundle, and, on his return, led him bac2 again into the moon sphere# This gave the human being the strength D which he could not have had through himself D to ma2e this moral being a part of himself, at a certain time before his birth, in order to fulfill his destiny on earth within his soul, and to prevent it from entering his body# &or otherwise, the human being
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would be born a monstrosity and be utterly diseased in his body# This moral bundle had to be ta2en over again in the moon sphere, during the descent, in order that it should not enter into the body# Those initiates who were living at the time of the !ystery of .olgotha, and even in the three or four centuries following thereafter, said to their pupils6 /reviously the sublime "un @eing was only above in the spiritual worlds# @ut, as man2ind progressed, the ego consciousness has become so bright upon the earth that it becomes all the more obscured in the spiritual world# -n other words, the brighter our ego consciousness is by means of the physical body only, here below on the earth, the dar2er is it above# The human being would no longer come into contact with the "un @eing, he would not find through his own power the transition after death from the moon sphere to the higher spheres, had the (hrist not descended and passed through the !ystery of .olgotha# The @eing whom the human being met formerly after death only in the spiritual world has now descended3 He has lived here upon earth ever since the !ystery of .olgotha3 and now the human being can establish a relation to Him according to the words of "t# /aul6 FNot -, but the (hrist in meG# -n this way the human being ta2es strength from the earth with him, strength given to him by the (hrist here on this earth, which enables him to leave behind in the moon sphere his moral being which he creates within himself and to proceed to higher spheres, there to wor2 on the spirit=germ of his physical body# -t also gives him the strength on his descent through the moon sphere to ta2e up his 2arma again of his own free will, ta2e up the after=effects of his good and evil deeds# -n the course of historical evolution, we have become free human beings# @ut the reason we have become such is that the (hrist force we have ac1uired has enabled us through free inner strength to ta2e over our 2arma on our descent through the moon sphere# No matter whether we li2e this or do not li2e it here on earth, we do this at the stage - have described, if we have become true (hristians on earth# - have been endeavoring, my dear friends, to show you a little of the way in which the modern science of initiation can see into worlds which we might call the concealed aspects of human e+istence, to show you how really everything pertaining to the human being can be elucidated only as we are able to see into these concealed aspects# And at the same time - tried to show you in connection therewith what the (hrist -mpulse means to man2ind of the present time3 for we will have constantly to revert to it# "ince the !ystery of .olgotha, we cannot be a whole human being, unless we find the way to this (hrist -mpulse# Therefore it is necessary that Anthroposophical spiritual science shed light more and more upon the (hrist -mpulse in the right way# &or the manner in which light was shed on the (hrist -mpulse in the past, when man?s consciousness was obscured, would, if continued, deprive a large part of man2ind D 0ust thin2 of the *rientals, thin2 of the inhabitants of other continents D of the possibility of embracing (hristianity# @ut that (hristianity which is rooted deeply in Anthroposophical spiritual science will actually D if once the essence of spiritual science, as it is here intended, is understood thoroughly D be eagerly grasped particularly by the *rientals, who are endowed with an ancient spirituality, even though it is in decadence# -n this way only can that peace prevail on earth which must proceed from the soul and spirit of men, and which is so indispensable to the earth, as every impartial person feels today# Ce shall have to be much more convinced of the fact that all present= day thin2ing concerning outer institutions is really worthless, and that it is very necessary on the other hand, to appeal directly to human souls# @ut we can appeal to the souls only if we are able to say something to them about the true home of the soul, about the e+periences of the human being that lie beyond his physical e+istence, in those states of consciousness - have been describing to you today# 'ven if those states of consciousness do not e+ist during the earth life, their effects do e+ist# *h, my dear friends, the one who has insight into life sees in the countenance of every human being a reflection of cosmic destinies which the individual has e+perienced between death and a new birthE - have described to you today how destiny D whether one has become a man or a woman D can be understood by means of the cosmos, even how the color of the eyes and hair can be understood only when we can loo2 into cosmic e+istence# Nothing in this world is comprehensible unless it can be understood by means of the cosmos# The human being will feel himself to be truly a human being only when we can inform him through true spiritual 2nowledge of his relation with that which is bac2 of the sensuous=physical e+istence# 'ven though the human beings on earth are not yet aware of it, man2ind unconsciously thirsts for such a 2nowledge# Chat is developing convulsively today in all domains, be it the domain of the spiritual, the e+ternally 0uridical, or the economic life, all is ultimately a result of the spiritual# *nly as the human being learns again to 2now of his relation with e+tra=physical e+istence, can all this be transformed from forces of decadence into upward moving forces# &or physical e+istence is meaningless unless seen in connection with super=physical e+istence# The physical human body becomes significant only then when we can see it, so to spea2, as the confluence of all those sovereign forces that are woven between death and a new birth# This is the tragic character of materialistic 2nowledge of the world that, in the final analysis, it does not 2now matter itself# Ce lay the human body upon the dissecting table3 we e+amine it most carefully as to its tissues and its individual physical component parts# This is done in order to ac1uire a 2nowledge of matter# @ut we do not learn to 2now it in this way, for it is the product of spirit, and only as we are able to trace it bac2 to those stages where it is woven out of spirit do we 2now it# Human beings will comprehend precisely this physical=material e+istence only when their souls are led cosmically into the realm of soul and spirit# -f we permeate ourselves with the consciousness that we should comprehend more and more our connection with the spirit=soul realm of the cosmos, we then become true Anthroposophists# And you, my dear friends, will surely not ridicule me when - say that the world is in need today of true Anthroposophists who will bring about an ascent for humanity through that consciousness which results from e+periencing the spiritual, even though at first we should only grasp it as a reflection and not ourselves have attained to clairvoyant 2nowledge# Ce need not be clairvoyant in order to wor2 beneficently after we possess spiritual 2nowledge# Just as little as a person needs to 2now what constitutes meat when he is eating it and it nourishes him, 0ust as little does a person need to be clairvoyant in order to be efficacious through his wor2 and through his whole association with the life of the higher worlds# -f we accept spiritual science before we are clairvoyant, it is as though we were consuming it# &undamentally, clairvoyance adds nothing to what we can become for the world through spiritual 2nowledge# -t satisfies merely our 2nowledge# This 2nowledge must, indeed, e+ist# *f course, there have to be people who e+amine the composition of meat, but this 2nowledge is not re1uired in order to eat#
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%i2ewise there must be clairvoyant persons today who can investigate the nature of man?s connection with the spiritual world3 but, in order to bring about that which is essential to man2ind, it is necessary that we be healthy human souls# -f they are informed of the science of the spirit, they will sense the digestive power of the soul nature3 they will appropriate this spiritual science, digest it, and assimilate it into their wor2# And this is what we need today throughout the civili ed world6 e+ternal human wor2 which is spirituali ed through and through in the right and true sense#

Appendi+
-n connection with this lecture that :udolf "teiner gave on November 5, 1922, in The Hague, he addressed the members of the Anthroposophical "ociety in the following words6 FAnd now, my dear friends, after these e+planations permit me to add some remar2s to today?s lecture which are, to a certain degree, connected with the lecture itself# /ardon me for spea2ing of my own an+ieties# These an+ieties of my own, to be brief, have to do with the possibility of being able to go on with the building of the .oetheanum, in 7ornach# !y dear friends, the fact is that since the building of the .oetheanum has been begun, and it is in large part completed, it must be continued to completion# Chat if this could not be doneI This is bound up with the very fact that this .oetheanum is a symbol today for that spiritual movement which is to be born into the world through Anthroposophy# -f there had never been a circle of friends through whom the beginning of the building of the .oetheanum could be brought to reali ation, then Anthroposophy would have had to find some other avenue of e+pression# Today the building of the .oetheanum cannot simply be discontinued without damage# And it is this, my dear friends, that weighs heavily on my soul3 for, if the results of what 1 have said in this regard remain the same as they have thus far, it will not be months, but only wee2s for the moment to arrive when we shall come to a complete stoppage in 7ornach# Naturally, - cannot ma2e such a statement without remembering with heartfelt gratitude that in this very country individual friends have made sacrifices in a most devoted manner for what has been accomplished thus far in building the .oetheanum# !y than2s for this are profound and heartfelt, and - 2now that many of our friends have done their utmost in this matter# This - must, naturally, presuppose# @ut, on the other hand, - cannot do otherwise than to emphasi e the fact D without wishing to critici e anything D that the worry weighs heavily on my soul over the fact that we shall not be able to continue with the building of the .oetheanum unless we receive abundant help on the part of a greater number of our friends, and that this Anthroposophical !ovement, which has been active these last years at all possible points of the periphery, will tie without a center# Therefore, my dear friends, - cannot but tell you what is at sta2e# Anthroposophy as such has spread very much in the world3 and - assure you that, even here in Holland, the dear friends present today are only a very small part of the people who are in touch with Anthroposophy# Ce can 0udge this by the sale of our literature and we can see how, in many ways, Anthroposophy has become important to many persons# *n the other hand, something different can be observed D we can voice this without malice, even though we may create an impression of malice D we 2now that, on the other hand, the enemies of truth have made their appearance# And these, my dear friends, are well organi ed# Among them e+ist strong international ties# The enemies of Anthroposophical wor2 are as well organi ed as our Anthroposophical !ovement D pardon me for saying this D is badly organi edE This is something we have yet to reali e# How is it that we have to say today that, in a few wee2s, the .oetheanum may be without any means for its progress toward completionI <ou may have everything possible on the periphery D Caldorf "chools, etc# D all this is naturally void of power if there is no center# 0ut for this center the right heart is lac1ing among the membership2 %et it be understood that - am not saying that this or that person is not giving all he has or, perhaps, does not have3 it is not in the least my intention to go into such details# @ut, if our souls possessed the same enthusiasm for Anthroposophy which our opponents of all shades have today for anti=Anthroposophy, we should be very differently established# Then it would not be so difficult to collect the pennies, trivial in comparison with the wealth of the world D in spite of the impoverished world of today D to finish the .oetheanum# @ut the right heart for this is really lac2ing, my dear friends3 yet we cannot do otherwise than to save this symbol in 7ornach from failure# -t can be saved from ruin if we can combine a strong enthusiasm with all our longing for Anthroposophical 2nowledge# -n these remar2s - am not referring to any individuals# @ut, on the whole, the prevalent spirit within our circles is to start things with great apparent enthusiasm# The building of the .oetheanum was begun with enthusiasm# This enthusiasm has vanished, particularly in those who in the beginning displayed great enthusiasm# And these very persons have left this problem of going on to me alone# -t has in many instances become characteristic, my dear friends, that people cannot remain enthusiastic3 that something flares up D and those who shared in this sudden bla e leave the fire and do not 2eep feeding it# The warmth of heart dies out# And then come those worries# And, in view of the seriousness of the matter, my dear friends D why should - not call attention in this intimate circle to such a thingI The seriousness of the cause demands it# *n the other hand there really e+ists the necessity to e+tend spiritual science as such# @e assured, a heavy responsibility rests on the one who is able to state at all that it depends on the conditions of the cosmos, in one way or another, whether a human being becomes a man or a woman, whether he has blue eyes and blond hair or brown eyes and blac2 hair# - mention this only as an e+ample# A statement li2e this cannot he made carelessly# -t re1uires years of research before one arrives at the point of ma2ing such a statement, for one who does this without being conscious of his
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responsibility will usher disaster into the world# @ut it is necessary today, on the one hand, to e+tend this spiritual science3 on the other hand, my dear friends, new cares spring up because of the developments in the periphery, when the enthusiasm does not persist, through the very fact that these things are there# New establishments are founded, and they have to be cared for# The worries have to be borne# These two things do not coincide unless the "ociety, as bearer of the Anthroposophical !ovement, is a reality built on firm inner ground# "ocieties, that are realities built on firm ground, can surely accomplish great thingsE @ut it is imperative to observe that along with the need to deepen spiritual science more and more, there moved along, at the same time, an increasingly badly organi ed "ociety, a will displaying less and less enthusiasm for ma2ing the "ociety itself an instrument# And the first thing for which - repeatedly beg our friends, since we are confronted by urgent necessity, is that they shall ma2e the "ociety into a living, active being in the world# This is highly essential, my dear friends# -t is greatly to be desired that the center in 7ornach shall not crumble, but that friends shall be found who will give us help# There is, for instance, the wonderful possibility of gradually achieving significant results in the field of medicine, of therapeutics through the discoveries of remedies, based on spiritual science# @ut all this depends on the e+istence of the center in 7ornach# The moment the 7ornach center brea2s down everything brea2s down, and it is this that - want our friends to be conscious of, for it has in many instances disappeared from their consciousness# And - must say, it has really become an e+tremely heavy burden for me, a crushing burden# - am saying this for the reason, my dear friends, that you may find the opportunity to thin2 with me about these things in your good heart3 for these things have to be thought out#G

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