CHAPTER IV. THE EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD AND MAN

From the foregoing observations it will be seen that man’s being is built

up of four principles: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral

body, and the vehicle of the ego. The ego works within the three other

principles, and transforms them. By means of this transformation, are

formed on a lower level, the sentient-soul, the rational- or

intellectual-soul, and the consciousness-soul: on a higher level of human

existence, are formed the Spirit-Self, the Life-Spirit, and Spirit-Man.

The relations existing between these human principles and the whole

universe are of a most varied character and their evolution is related to

that of the universe. By studying this evolution an insight is obtained

into the deeper mysteries of man’s being.

It is clear that human life is related in the most varied ways to the

environment or dwelling place in which it evolves. Physical science,

through the facts presented to it, has already been driven to the opinion

that the earth itself, man’s dwelling place in the broadest sense of the

word, has undergone evolution. Science points to former conditions of the

earth when man, in his present form, did not yet exist on our planet and

it shows how man has slowly and gradually evolved to his present condition

from primitive states of civilization. Physical science, therefore, comes

also to the conclusion that there is a connection between man’s evolution

and that of the heavenly body on which he lives—the earth.

Occult science traces this connection by means of a knowledge which

obtains its data from observation quickened by spiritual organs of

perception. It traces man backwards in his course of development, and the

fact becomes evident to occult science that the real inner spiritual being

of man has progressed through a series of lives on this earth. Occult

research arrives in this way at an epoch far back in the remote past, when

for the first time that inner being of man made its entry into “external

life” as we understand it. It was in this first earthly incarnation that

the ego began to function in the three bodies—the astral body, the etheric

or vital body, and the physical body; and it then carried over the results

of that activity into its next life.

If in our investigation we proceed backwards, in the manner indicated, as

far as that epoch, we discover that the ego finds an earth condition in

which the three bodies, physical, etheric, and astral, are already

developed and in which they bear a certain relation to each other. The ego

is, for the first time, united with the being composed of these three

bodies; and henceforth takes part in the further evolution of the three

bodies. Hitherto, up to the stage at which that ego came in touch with

them, they had evolved without a human ego.

Occult science must now go back still farther in its researches if it is

to answer the questions, “How did the three bodies reach that stage of

evolution at which they were able to receive an ego within them?” and “How

did that ego itself come into being and acquire the capacity for working

within these bodies?”

It is possible to answer these questions only when the gradual development

of the earth-planet itself is studied from the occult point of view. By

such investigation we arrive at a beginning of the earth-planet. That

method of examination which is based only on the facts of the physical

senses cannot arrive at conclusions concerning the beginning of the earth.

A certain point of view which avails itself of such conclusions arrives at

the result that everything material on the earth was formed out of a

primeval essence, or vapour. It is not the purpose of this work to enter

more fully into such conceptions of our planet’s origin; for in occult

science the important matter is not merely to inquire into the material

processes of the earth’s evolution, but first and foremost to discover the

spiritual causes lying behind what is material.

If we see before us a man raising his hand, we may consider his action in

two different ways: we may examine the mechanism of the arm and the rest

of the organism, in order to describe the process as it takes place from

the purely physical standpoint, or we may direct the spiritual vision to

what takes place in the man’s soul and there discover what constitutes the

inner motive for raising the hand. In this way an investigator, trained in

occult research, sees spiritual processes behind all the events of the

physical sense-world. In his eyes all transformations of the material part

of the earth-planet are manifestations of spiritual forces lying behind

what is material.

But if occult observation of this kind goes farther and farther back in

the life of the earth it comes to that point in evolution at which

material things first came into being. The material element is evolved out

of the spiritual. Up to this point the spiritual element was the only one

existing. By occult investigation the spiritual element is perceived, and

the observer can see how it becomes partly condensed, as it were, into

matter. We have before us a process which is taking place—on a higher

level—much as though we were observing a lump of ice being formed by

artificial means in a vessel of water. Just as we see the ice being

condensed out of what was previously only water, so may we, by means of

occult observation, watch the condensation of what was previously entirely

spiritual, so to speak, into material things, processes, and beings. In

this way the physical earth-planet was evolved out of a cosmic spiritual

essence; and everything that is combined materially with the earth-planet

has been condensed out of what was previously united with it spiritually.

We must not, however, think that _everything_ spiritual was at any one

time changed into material form; but, in the latter we have before us

merely the transformed portions of what was originally spiritual. Thus,

even during the period of material evolution, it is always Spirit that is

really the guiding and ruling principle.

It is obvious that the mode of thought which restricts itself to the

processes of physical sense—and to what reason is able to infer from

them—is incapable of expressing an opinion about the spiritual element of

which we are speaking. Let us assume that a being might exist to whose

senses ice would be perceptible, but not the finer condition of water,

from which ice is detached by refrigeration. For such a being, water would

be non-existent, and could become visible only when parts of it had been

transformed into ice. In the same way, the spiritual element behind

earthly processes remains hidden from one who only admits the existence of

what is perceptible to his physical senses. And if, from the physical

facts which he now perceives, he draws correct conclusions about earlier

conditions of the earth-planet, he can penetrate only as far as that point

in evolution at which the previous spiritual element was partially

condensed into material substance. Such a method of observation no more

discovers the spirit previously existing, than it perceives the spirit

which even now rules unseen behind the world of matter.

Not until we come to the last chapters of this work can we deal with those

methods by which man acquires the faculty of looking back, by means of

occult perception, upon those earlier conditions of the earth which are

now under discussion. For the present we shall merely intimate that the

facts concerning the primeval past have not passed beyond the reach of

occult research. If a being comes into corporeal existence his material

part perishes after physical death. But the spiritual forces, which from

out their own depth gave existence to the body, do not “disappear in this

way.” They leave their traces, their exact images behind them impressed

upon the spiritual ground-work of the world. Any one who is able to raise

his perceptive faculty through the visible to the invisible world, attains

at length a level on which he may see before him what may be compared to a

vast spiritual panorama, in which are recorded all the past events of the

world’s history. These imperishable traces of everything immaterial are

called in occult science the “Akashic Records.”

Here it must once more be repeated that investigations of the

supersensible realms of existence can be carried on only with the aid of

spiritual perception, and consequently can be instituted in the sphere now

under consideration, only by reading the Akashic Records above-mentioned.

Nevertheless, what was said earlier in this book in a similar instance

holds good here. Supersensible facts are only to be investigated by

supersensible perceptions; but once investigated and communicated by

occult science, they may be grasped by the ordinary powers of thought, if

these are honestly exercised without bias. In the following pages the

various conditions of the earth’s evolution, as given by occult science,

will be detailed. The transformation of our planet will be traced down to

the conditions of life in which we now find it. Any one who surveys what

comes before him at the present time merely through the evidence of his

senses, and then lends an ear to what occult science has to say on the

subject, namely:—how that which now lies before him has been evolved from

a far distant past,—will be able, if his thought is genuinely unbiased, to

say to himself: “In the first place, what occult science reports is quite

logical; in the second place, I can, if I assume the reports of occult

investigation to be correct, understand how things have become as they now

appear.” By “logical” is not meant, in this connection, of course, that

errors might not be made from a logical standpoint in some description

given by occult research. We are here speaking of “logic” as it is

understood in the ordinary life of the physical world. Just as a logical

demonstration is accepted there as it is in physical research, even though

a single investigator, in a certain domain of facts, may make illogical

statements, so is it also with regard to occult science. It may even

happen that an investigator who possesses the power of vision in

supersensible spheres may make mistakes in a logical presentment of them,

and may be corrected by another who has no supersensible perception, but

has, none the less, a capacity for sound thinking. In reality, nothing of

any weight can be said against the logical deductions of occult science.

And it ought to be unnecessary to insist that nothing can be adduced, on

purely logical grounds, against the facts themselves. In the domain of the

physical world it can never be proved by logic, but only by ocular

demonstration, whether or no there is such an animal as a whale;

similarly, supersensible facts can be known only through occult

perception.

But it cannot be sufficiently emphasized that an obligation is laid upon

the explorer of supersensible regions, before he determines to approach

the invisible worlds with his own power of perception, to acquire first of

all the aforementioned logical faculty, and this is none the less

essential if he recognizes that the world, manifest to his senses, will

become comprehensible if he accepts the communications of occult science

as correct. All experiences in the supersensible world are nothing but an

uncertain—nay, a dangerous—groping in the dark if we despise the method of

preparation which has been described. Therefore in this book the facts

concerning the supersensible processes of the earth’s evolution will first

be given, before the path leading to the attainment of supersensible

knowledge is dealt with.

We have also, it is true, to take into account that the man who, by sheer

thinking, comes to accept what supersensible research has to impart, is by

no means in the same position as one who listens to the account of a

physical occurrence which he is unable to see. For thinking is in itself a

supersensible activity. Materialistic thinking cannot of itself lead to

supersensible phenomena. But if thought is directed to supersensible

matters through the accounts given of them by occult science, it grows by

its own activity into the supersensible world. What is more, one of the

very best ways of acquiring supersensible perception is to grow into the

higher worlds by meditation upon what has been communicated by occult

science. For such a mode of entry insures great clearness of perception.

For this reason such thinking is regarded by a certain school of occult

investigation as a most valuable first step to take in occult training.

It will be readily understood that it is impossible to mention in this

book all the details of the earth’s evolution, as it has been spiritually

perceived by occultists, in order to illustrate the way in which the

supersensible world is reflected in the manifested. Nor was this what was

intended when it was said that the unseen may everywhere be demonstrated

by its manifest effects. It was meant rather that everything that man

encounters may, step by step, become clear and comprehensible if he brings

manifested events under the illumination of occult science. Only in a few

characteristic instances will reference be made in the following pages to

confirmations of the invisible by the manifest, in order to show how this

may be done everywhere in the course of practical life, if desired.

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Pursuing the evolution of the earth backward according to the above method

of scientific spiritual investigations we arrive at a spiritual condition

of our planet. But if we go farther back along this path of research we

find that everything spiritual had previously passed through a kind of

physical incarnation. Thus we come upon a bygone physical planetary

condition, which was afterwards spiritualized, and subsequently

transformed into our earth by repeated materialization. Our earth is

therefore presented to us as the reincarnation of a very ancient planet.

But occult science can go back still farther; and it then finds the whole

process twice repeated. Thus, our earth has passed through three previous

planetary conditions separated by intermediate spiritual conditions of

rest. The physical substance, however, proves to be finer and finer the

farther back we follow the incarnations.

Now man, in the form in which he is at present evolving, makes his first

appearance upon the fourth of the planetary incarnations which have been

described, the Earth proper. And the essential characteristic of his form

is that it is composed of four principles, the physical, etheric, and

astral bodies and the ego. But that form could not have appeared if it had

not been prepared by the preceding events of evolution. The method of

preparation was that, in the earlier planetary incarnation, beings were

evolved who already had three of the present four principles of man: the

physical, etheric, and astral bodies. These beings who, in a certain

sense, may be called man’s ancestors, had as yet no ego, but they

developed the three other principles and their mutual relationship to such

a point that they became sufficiently mature to receive an ego. Thus man’s

ancestor attained to a certain degree of maturity of his three principles

during the earlier planetary incarnation. This condition became

spiritualized; and out of it a new planetary condition was formed in which

man’s matured ancestors were contained, as it were, in embryo. Because the

whole planet had passed through a process of spiritualization and had

appeared in a new form, it offered those embryos, with their physical,

etheric, and astral bodies, which were contained therein, not only the

opportunity of again evolving up to the level on which they had previously

stood, but the further possibility, after having arrived at that level, of

reaching out beyond themselves through receiving the ego.

The evolution of the Earth divides itself, therefore, into two parts.

During the first period the Earth itself appears as a reincarnation of the

previous planetary state. But that recurring state is a higher one than

that of the previous incarnation, in consequence of the intervening period

of spiritualization. And the Earth contains within itself the germs of

man’s ancestors belonging to the earlier planet. These were first

developed up to the level they had previously reached. The attainment of

this level marks the end of the first period. But now, owing to its own

higher stage of evolution, the Earth is able to carry the germs still

higher, that is, to qualify them for receiving the ego. The second period

of the Earth’s evolution is that of the development of the ego in the

physical, etheric, and astral bodies.

In the same way that man had been thus carried a stage farther by the

evolution of the Earth, so also had this been the case during the earlier

planetary incarnations. For man had in some measure existed as early as

the first of these. Light is therefore thrown on the present constitution

of man if his evolution is followed back to the far-remote past of the

first of the planetary incarnations mentioned above.

In occult science the first of these is called _Saturn_; the second is

termed _Sun_; the third, _Moon_; and the fourth is the _Earth_. It must be

distinctly understood that these occult terms are not to be in any way

associated with the names used to designate the members of the present

solar system.(8) In occult science Saturn, Sun, and Moon are merely names

for bygone forms of evolution through which the Earth has passed. In the

course of the following account it will be shown what relation these

worlds of remote antiquity bear to the celestial bodies composing the

present solar system.

The relationship of the four planetary incarnations previously mentioned,

can here be only briefly sketched; for the events, the beings and their

destiny on Saturn, Sun and Moon were in truth, just as varied as they are

on the Earth itself. Therefore only a few characteristics of these

conditions can be chosen to illustrate just how these earth conditions

have evolved out of earlier ones. In this connection, one should bear in

mind that the further back we go the more dissimilar to the present ones

do these conditions become. And yet they can only be described by making

use of ideas borrowed from existing conditions of the earth. If, for

instance, light, heat, etc., are mentioned in connection with these

earlier conditions, it must not be overlooked that they are not exactly

the same as that which we now term light and heat. And yet such

terminology is accurate, for the clairvoyant observer of earlier stages of

evolution perceives something that has developed into the light and heat

of the present time. And one who follows the descriptions thus given by

occult science will, from the inner relation of these things, easily be

able to form such perceptions as correspond to those events which have

taken place in a primeval past.

Of course there will be considerable difficulty in treating of those

planetary conditions which preceded the Moon incarnation. For during the

latter, conditions prevailed which bore, at least to a degree, some

resemblance still to earthly conditions. When one attempts to describe

these conditions one finds that such resemblances to the present time form

a certain basis on which may be expressed in clear concepts the

observations made through clairvoyance. It is quite different when the

Saturn and Sun evolutions are to be described. In that case, what lies

before clairvoyant observation is utterly different from the objects and

beings now belonging to the sphere of human life. And this difference

makes it exceedingly difficult to bring the corresponding facts of

primeval times within the scope of clairvoyant consciousness at all.

Since however the present constitution of man cannot be understood without

going back to the Saturn state, the description therefore must be given.

And surely no one will misunderstand such a description who keeps in view

the existence of the difficulty, and the fact that owing to it much that

is said must be in the nature of a suggestion or hint of the facts in

question, rather than an exact description of them.

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The physical body is the oldest of the present four principles of man’s

being. It is also the one, which, in its way, has attained the greatest

perfection. Occult research shows that this part of man already existed

during the Saturn evolution. It will be shown in the following account

that the form taken by the physical body on Saturn was, of course,

something quite different from the present physical body of man. The

earthly physical human body, from its nature, can only exist by being in

connection with the etheric and astral bodies and the ego, in the manner

described earlier in this book. Such a condition did not as yet exist on

Saturn. The physical body was then passing through the first stage of its

evolution, without having a human etheric body, an astral body, or an ego

incorporated in it.

During the Saturn evolution it was growing ripe for the reception of an

etheric body. For that purpose Saturn had eventually to pass into a

spiritual condition, and then to be reincarnated as the Sun. During the

Sun incarnation the physical body developed again to the stage it had

reached on Saturn as from a germ brought over and only then could it be

inter-penetrated by an etheric body. By means of this incorporation of an

etheric body, a change took place in the nature of the physical body; it

was raised to a second stage of perfection. A similar thing took place

during the Moon evolution. Man’s ancestor, as he had developed himself

when passing from the Sun to the Moon, incorporated in himself the astral

body. As a result, the physical body was changed for the second time, and

thus raised to its third stage of perfection; at the same time the etheric

body was likewise changed, and passed to its second stage of perfection.

On the earth the ego was incorporated in man’s ancestor, now composed of

the physical, etheric, and astral bodies. Thereby the physical body

reached its fourth stage of perfection, the etheric body its third, and

the astral body its second stage; the ego is only now at the first stage

of its existence.

If we give ourselves up to an unprejudiced examination of man’s nature,

there will be no difficulty in acquiring a correct idea of these different

stages of perfection of his separate principles. For this purpose we have

merely to compare the physical with the astral body. It is true, the

astral body, as a psychic principle, stands on a higher level of evolution

than the physical body. And in future ages, when the former has been

perfected, it will be of very much more consequence to man’s complete

being than the present physical body. Yet, in its own way, the latter has

reached a certain high degree of perfection. Consider the marvelous wisdom

with which the structure of the heart is planned, the amazing structure of

the brain—nay, even of part of a single bone, such as the upper end of the

thigh bone. In the end of this bone we find a net-work or scaffolding,

wonderfully constructed and composed of delicate spicules and lamellæ. The

whole is so arranged that with the least expenditure of material the most

effective action on the joint-surfaces is obtained—hence the most

efficient distribution of friction and a proper freedom of movement. Thus

wise arrangements are found in the parts of the physical body. And if we

go on to observe the harmonious co-operation of the part with the whole,

we shall find that it is certainly true that this principle of man’s being

is perfect and it does not affect the question that in certain parts

something apparently useless appears, or that disturbances of structure or

functions may take place. It will even be found that such disturbances are

in a way only the necessary shadows of the wisdom-filled light which is

poured out over the whole physical organism.

Now compare with this the astral body as the medium or vehicle of pleasure

and pain, desires and passions. What uncertainty rules in it with regard

to pleasure and pain; how the desires and passions, of which it is the

scene, run counter to the higher goal of man; how senseless they often

are. The astral body is only now on its way to attain the harmony and

inner poise already possessed by the physical body. Similarly it might be

shown that the etheric body is certainly more perfect in its own way than

the astral but less perfect than the physical body. And it will equally

result from a corresponding study of the ego that this, the real kernel of

man’s being, is now only at the beginning of its evolution. For how much

has already been accomplished of its mission, that of transforming the

other principles of man’s being in order that they may become a revelation

of the ego’s own nature?

The result of an outer examination of this kind is intensified for the

occult student by something else. It might be pointed out that the

physical body is attacked by diseases. Now occult science is in a position

to show that a large proportion of all diseases owe their origin to the

fact that the perverse actions and mistakes of the astral body are

transmitted to the etheric body, and indirectly through the etheric,

destroy the perfect harmony of the physical body. The deeper connection,

which can here be only hinted at, and the true cause of many of the

conditions of disease, elude that kind of scientific observation which

confines itself solely to the facts obtained by means of the physical

senses. The connection in most cases comes about in such a way that an

injury to the astral body does not cause manifestations of disease in the

physical body in the same incarnation in which the injury takes place, but

in a later one. Hence the laws now under consideration have a meaning only

for one who is able to admit that human earth-life is repeated again and

again. But even if deeper knowledge of this kind is rejected, ordinary

observation of life makes it plain that human beings indulge in far too

many pleasures and desires which undermine the harmony of the physical

body. And the seat of pleasure, desire, passion, is not in the physical

but in the astral body. The latter is still so imperfect, in many

respects, that it is able to destroy the harmony of the physical body.

It should also be mentioned here that such explanations as these are by no

means intended as proofs of the assertions of occult science about the

evolution of the four principles of man’s being. The proofs are drawn from

spiritual research, which shows that the physical body has behind it a

transformation, enacted four times, into higher degrees of perfection, and

that man’s other principles have been perfected to a lesser degree, as has

been described. It is desired merely to indicate here that these

communications made by spiritual research relate to facts which are

visible in their effects even to ordinary observation, in the degrees of

perfection reached by the physical body, etheric body, and so forth.

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If we wish to draw an approximately true picture of the conditions

prevailing during the Saturn evolution, we must take into account the fact

that while it lasted, there were virtually, as yet, none of the things and

creatures existing which now belong to the earth and are included in the

mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. The beings of these three

kingdoms were formed during later periods of evolution. Of all the earthly

beings physically perceptible today, man alone existed at that time and of

him only the physical body existed as described. But there are at present

belonging to the earth not only the denizens of the mineral, vegetable,

animal and human kingdoms, but other beings as well, not manifesting in a

physical embodiment. Such entities were also present during the Saturn

evolution, and their activity on the Saturn scene of action brought about

the subsequent evolution of man.

If the organs of spiritual perception are directed, not to the beginning

and end, but to the middle period of evolution of this Saturn incarnation,

we find there a condition which consists principally of heat. Nothing is

to be found composed of gaseous, fluid, or even solid constituents. All

these states appear only in later incarnations. Let us assume that a human

being, with the present organs of sense, were to approach the Saturn

condition as a spectator. None of the sense-impressions possible to him

would confront him there except the feeling of warmth, or heat. Suppose

such a being approached this Saturn; he would only sense, upon entering

the space occupied by it, that it was in a different degree of heat from

the rest of surrounding space. But he would not find that portion of space

by any means equally warm throughout, for warmer and colder parts would

alternate in the most complicated manner. Radiating heat would be felt

along certain lines. And not only straight lines, but regular figures

would be formed by the variation in heat. Something like a cosmic being,

organically constructed in itself would be discerned, appearing in

changing conditions, and consisting only of heat.

It is difficult for a man of the present day to form an idea of anything

consisting only of heat, for he is not accustomed to think of heat as

something self-existent, but as a perceptible quality of warm or cold

gaseous, liquid, or solid bodies. To one who has adopted the physical

conceptions of our time it will seem particularly absurd to speak of heat

in the foregoing manner. He will, perhaps, say: “There are solid, liquid,

and gaseous bodies; but heat only denotes a condition assumed by one of

these three bodily forms. If the smallest particles of gas are in motion,

the movement will be felt by heat. Where there is no gas, there can be no

movement, consequently no heat.”

To an occult investigator the fact appears differently. To him heat is

something of which he speaks in the same sense as he speaks of gases, of

liquids, or of solid bodies. To him it is simply a still finer substance

than gas. And gas to him is nothing but condensed heat, in the same sense

that liquid is condensed vapour, or a solid body condensed liquid. Thus

the occultist speaks of heat bodies just as he does of bodies formed of

gas and vapour.

If we are to follow the spiritual investigator into this region, it is

however necessary to admit that there is such a thing as psychic

perception. In the world, as it presents itself to the physical senses,

heat appears entirely as a condition of solid, liquid, or gaseous bodies;

but that condition is merely the outward appearance of heat, or the effect

of it. Physicists speak only of this effect of heat, not of its inner

nature. Just let us try then to leave entirely out of consideration any

effect of heat received through external bodies, and to realize merely the

inner experience which comes from saying the words: “I feel warm,” “I feel

cold.” That inner experience is the only thing capable of giving an idea

of what Saturn was during its period of evolution described above. It

would have been possible to pass right through the portion of space it

occupied; no gas would have been there to exercise pressure, no solid or

liquid body from which light-impressions could have come; but at every

point of space occupied, one would have felt inwardly, without any

external impression: “Here there is such and such a degree of heat.”

In a cosmic body of this character there are no conditions for the animal,

vegetable, and mineral organisms of to-day.(9) The beings whose sphere of

action was this Saturn, were at quite a different stage of evolution from

that of the present inhabitants of the earth who are perceptible to the

senses. In the first place there were beings there who had no physical

body like that of contemporary man. We must also guard against thinking of

man’s present physical embodiment, when mention is made of a “physical

body” in this connection. We should instead carefully distinguish between

the physical and the mineral body. A physical body is one governed by the

physical laws which are now observable in the mineral kingdom. Now man’s

present physical body is not only ruled by those physical laws, but is

also permeated with mineral matter. There can be no question as yet on

Saturn of a physical-mineral body of this kind. There is only a physical

bodily form, governed by physical laws; but these laws are manifested only

through the agency of heat.

Therefore the physical body is a fine, subtle, ethereal heat body; and the

whole of Saturn consists of such heat bodies. They are the beginnings of

the present physical-mineral human body. The latter has been formed out of

the former, because there have become incorporated with the original body

the more recently formed gaseous, liquid, and solid substances.

Among the beings of which we are now speaking, who, besides man, were

inhabitants of Saturn, there were, for instance, some which did not need a

physical body at all. The lowest principle of their nature was an etheric

or vital body. On the other hand, they had one principle higher than the

human principles. Man’s highest principle is the Spirit-Man (Atma); these

beings have one still higher. And between the etheric body and the

Spirit-Man they have all the principles described in this treatise which

are also found in man: the astral body, ego, Spirit-Self, and Life-Spirit.

Just as our earth is surrounded by an atmosphere, so too was Saturn; only

in this case the “atmosphere” was of a spiritual nature. It really

consisted of the beings just named and some others. Now there was constant

reciprocal action between the heat bodies of Saturn and the beings we have

described. The latter projected the principles of their being down into

the physical heat bodies of Saturn. And while there was no life in those

heat bodies themselves, the life of their neighbours was expressed in

them. They might be compared to mirrors; only there were reflected in

them, not the images of the living beings mentioned above, but their

conditions of life. Therefore, although nothing living could have been

discovered in Saturn itself, yet it had a vivifying effect on its

environment in celestial space, because it reflected back into space, like

an echo, the life which had been sent down into it. The whole of Saturn

appeared as a mirror of celestial life. The very high beings, whose life

was reflected by Saturn, are called in occult science “Lords of

Wisdom.”(10) Their activity on Saturn was not just beginning in the middle

period of that evolution, which has been described; in a certain way it

had even then already ceased. Before they could be in a position to

rejoice in the reflection of their own life from Saturn’s heat bodies they

had to make those bodies capable of producing such a reflection. Therefore

their activity began soon after the beginning of the Saturn evolution.

When this happened, the body of Saturn was still chaotic material, which

could not have reflected anything.

And in contemplating this chaotic matter, one has transferred himself, by

spiritual observation, to the beginning of the Saturn evolution. What is

to be observed there does not as yet bear anything of the later character

of heat. If we wish to describe it, we can only speak of a quality which

may be compared with the human will. From first to last it is nothing but

“Will.” Therefore it is an entirely spiritual condition that meets us

here. If we ask whence came this “Will,” we see it proceeding from the

effluence of exalted beings, who brought their evolution, by steps only to

be dimly conceived, up to such a height that when the Saturn evolution

began they were able to pour forth “Will” from their own being. When this

effluence had lasted a certain time, the activity of the Lords of Wisdom

described above was combined with this Will. Through this means the will,

which had hitherto had no attributes, gradually received the quality of

reflecting life back into celestial space. In occult science the beings

who found their happiness in pouring forth will, at the beginning of the

Saturn evolution are called the “Lords of Will.”(11)

After a certain stage of the Saturn evolution had been reached, through

the co-operation of will and life, begins the influence of other beings,

who are also within Saturn’s environment. These are the “Lords of

Motion.”(12) They have no physical or etheric body. Their lowest principle

is the astral body. When the Saturn bodies have acquired the capacity for

reflecting life, the qualities which have their seat in the astral bodies

of the Lords of Motion interpenetrate that reflected life. In consequence

of this, it appears as though expressions of feelings, emotions, and

similar psychic forces had been cast out of Saturn into celestial space.

The whole of Saturn appears like one animated being, manifesting

sympathies and antipathies. These psychic manifestations, however, are by

no means its own, but merely the activity of the Lords of Motion reflected

back.

This also having lasted for a certain period, there begins the activity of

yet other beings, that is, of the “Lords of Form.”(13) Their lowest

principle, too, is an astral body; but that body is at a different stage

of evolution from that of the Lords of Motion; whereas the latter

communicate only general manifestations of feeling to the reflected life,

the astral body of the Lords of Form operates in such a way that the

manifestations of feeling are flung out into cosmic space as if they came

from individual beings. It might be said that the Lords of Motion make the

whole of Saturn appear as an animated being. The Lords of Form separate

that life into individual living beings, so that Saturn now appears as a

conglomerate of such psychic beings.

Let us imagine, for the sake of illustration, a mulberry or blackberry,

made up, as it is, of small individual berries. In a similar manner, to

clairvoyant vision, Saturn, during the period of evolution now being

described, is made up of individual Saturn beings, which of course have

neither life nor soul of their own, but reflect the life and soul of its

denizens. Into this condition of Saturn now come beings whose astral body

is also their lowest principle, but who have brought it to such a high

stage of development that it operates in the same way as the present human

ego. Through these beings, the ego in the environment of Saturn looks down

on that planet, and imparts its nature to Saturn’s individual living

beings. Thus something is sent out from Saturn into cosmic space, which

has an effect similar to that of human personality in the present

conditions of life. The beings causing that effect are designated “Sons of

Personality.”(14) They confer on the Saturn bodies the appearance of

personality. Personality itself, however, is not present on Saturn, but

only, as it were, its reflected image, the shell or husk of personality.

The real personality of these spirits is in the environment of Saturn. As

a result of these Sons of Personality letting their essence stream back

from the Saturn bodies in the manner described, that fine substance is

bestowed on those bodies which has previously been described as heat. In

the whole of Saturn there is no subjectivity; but the Sons of Personality

recognize the image of their own subjectivity, when it streams out to them

from Saturn as heat.

When all this is taking place, the Sons of Personality are on the same

level on which man now stands. They are then passing through their “human”

period. In order to look at this fact with an unprejudiced eye, we must

imagine it possible for a being to be human without being in the exact

form in which man now exists. The Sons of Personality are “human beings”

on Saturn. They have as their lowest principle not the physical body, but

the astral body with the ego. Hence they cannot express the experiences of

their astral body in such physical and etheric bodies as those of

contemporary man; they not only _have_ an ego, however, but _are aware_ of

the fact, because the heat of Saturn brings that ego streaming back into

their consciousness. In fact, they are human beings under different

circumstances from those of earth.

As the Saturn evolution progressed, facts follow of a different kind from

those already related. Whereas everything hitherto was a reflection of

outer life and feeling, there now begins a kind of inner life. In the

Saturn world a life of light begins flickering here and there, and growing

dim again. A quivering glimmer is seen in some places, something like

flashes of lightning in others. The Saturn heat bodies begin to glimmer,

to sparkle, and even to emit rays. This stage of evolution having been

reached, there again arises the possibility for certain beings to develop

their activity. They are those known to occult science as “Sons of

Fire.”(15) Although these beings have an astral body, they are unable at

his particular stage of their existence to stir their own astral bodies;

they would not be capable of any feeling or emotion unless they could act

upon the Saturn heat bodies which have attained the stage of evolution

described. That action affords them the possibility of recognizing their

own existence from the effect which they produce. They cannot say to

themselves, “I am here”; but rather, “My environment causes me to be

here.” They have perceptions, and what they perceive is the light-effects

in Saturn which have been described. These are, in a certain manner, their

ego. This gives them a peculiar kind of consciousness. It is designated

“picture-consciousness.” It may be represented as having the nature of

human dream-consciousness, except that the degree of activity it enjoys

must be imagined as being very much greater than it is in human dreams,

and also that it is not a question of shadowy dream-pictures floating

hither and thither, but of pictures that have a real connection with the

play of light on Saturn.

During this reciprocal action between the Sons of Fire and the Saturn heat

bodies, the germs of the human sense organs begin their evolution. The

organs, by means of which contemporary man becomes cognizant of the

physical world, begin to shine in their first delicate ethereal outlines.

Human phantoms, displaying as yet nothing but the primeval light pictures

of the sense-organs, become discernible within Saturn to the clairvoyant

faculty of perception. Thus these sense-organs are the result of the

activity of the Sons of Fire; but they are not the only spirits who shared

in their creation. Other beings come upon the scene of Saturn at the same

time as these Sons of Fire,—beings so far advanced in their evolution that

they are able to make use of the germs of the human sense-organs for

beholding the cosmic events taking place in the Saturn life. They are the

“Lords of Love.”(16) If they were not there, the Sons of Fire could not

have the consciousness described above. They behold the events on Saturn

with a consciousness which makes it possible for them to convey these

events as pictures to the Sons of Fire. They themselves forego all the

advantages which might accrue to them from contemplating events on Saturn;

they renounce all joys and pleasures; they give up all these in order that

the Sons of Fire may come into possession of them.

A new period of Saturn’s existence succeeds these occurrences. Something

else is added to the play of light. If what here presents itself to

clairvoyant perception be reported, it may seem an absurdity to many.

Within Saturn, intermingled sensations of taste seem to be surging. Sweet,

bitter, sour, etc., are perceived throughout the interior of Saturn; while

without, in cosmic space, all this expresses itself as tone, as a kind of

music.

In the course of these processes there are again certain beings who find

it possible to develop activity on Saturn. These are the “Sons of

Twilight, or Life.”(17) They enter into reciprocal action with the forces

of taste surging up and down within Saturn. By this means their etheric or

vital body attains a state of such activity that it may be called a kind

of metabolism. They bring life into the interior of Saturn. Hence

processes of nutrition and excretion take place. This inner life makes it

possible for yet other beings to come into the planet, the “Lords of

Harmony.”(18) They bestow a dim kind of consciousness on the Sons of Life,

which is even more vague and dim than the dream-consciousness of

contemporary man. It is of the kind that now comes to man in dreamless

sleep, and is, indeed, of such a low order that it does not, so to speak,

“enter into his consciousness.” Yet it is there. It differs from waking

consciousness in degree and also in its nature. Plants, too, have this

dreamless-sleep consciousness at the present time. Even though it does not

bring about any perceptions of an external world, in the human sense of

the word, yet it regulates the life processes and brings them into harmony

with the processes of the outer world.

This adjustment cannot be perceived by the Sons of Life at the stage of

Saturn’s evolution now being described; but the Lords of Harmony perceive

it, and therefore it is they who really do the adjusting. All this life is

enacted within the human phantoms already described. To clairvoyant vision

they consequently appear animated; yet their life is only a semblance of

life. It is the life of the “Sons of Life,” who, so to speak, make use of

the human phantoms in order to manifest themselves.

Let us now turn our attention to the human phantoms with their semblance

of life. During the Saturn period described, their form is constantly

changing. Sometimes they bear one aspect, sometimes another. In the

further course of evolution, their forms become more definite, and

occasionally permanent. This is due to their becoming interpenetrated by

the action of the Spirits described at the beginning of the Saturn

evolution,—the Lords of Will (the Thrones). The consequence is that the

human phantom itself is endowed with the simplest, dullest form of

consciousness. This must be thought of as still duller than the

consciousness of dreamless sleep. Under present conditions, minerals have

that consciousness. It brings the inner being into harmony with the outer

physical world. On Saturn it is the Lords of Will who regulate that

harmony. And thus man appears as a copy of the Saturn life itself. That

life which is on a large scale on Saturn, is at this stage on a small

scale in man. Thus the first germ is prepared for that which is still only

a germ in contemporary man the “Spirit-Man” (Atma). This dull human will

(within Saturn) is manifested to clairvoyant faculty by effects which may

be compared with odours. Outside in celestial space, there is a

manifestation like that of a personality, which however is not directed by

an inner ego but is regulated from without, like a machine. Those who

regulate it are the Lords of Will.

It will become evident, from a survey of the foregoing, that starting from

the previously described middle period of the Saturn evolution, the

following steps of that evolution can be characterized by comparing their

effects with the sense-perceptions of the present time. It might be said

that the Saturn evolution manifests as heat; then a play of light is

added; then an appearance of taste and sound; finally something emerges

which manifests within the interior of Saturn as sensations of smell, and

without, as a human ego acting mechanically.

What have the Saturn revelations to say about what preceded the heat

condition? Now this is something that cannot be compared with anything

accessible to outer sense-perception. A state of things precedes the heat

condition, which contemporary man experiences only in his inner being.

When he gives himself up to ideas which he forms in his own soul, without

having any inducement brought to bear on him by an external impression,

then he has something within himself which cannot be perceived by any

physical sense, but is only accessible to the perception of the higher

clairvoyant vision. Manifestations precede the heat condition of Saturn,

which can only be perceived by a clairvoyant. Three such conditions may be

mentioned: pure psychic warmth, not outwardly perceptible; pure spiritual

light, which is outward darkness; and lastly, something of a spiritual

essence which is complete in itself, and needs no outer being in order to

become self-conscious. Pure, inner heat accompanies the appearance of the

Lords of Motion; pure, spiritual light, that of the Lords of Wisdom; pure

inner being is linked with the first emanation of the Lords of Will.

Thus, with the appearance of heat on Saturn, our evolution comes forth out

of the inner life of pure spirituality into outwardly manifested

existence. It will be particularly difficult for present-day consciousness

to accept this, if it must be said in addition that at the same time, with

the advent of the Saturn heat condition, what we call “Time” also makes

its first appearance. That is to say, the previous conditions have nothing

to do with time. They belong to that sphere which may be called, in occult

science, “duration.” Consequently, everything that is said in this book

about the conditions existing in the “Sphere of Duration” must be

understood in such a way that when expressions referring to time

conditions are used, they are only to be accepted for the sake of

comparison and explanation. That which, in a certain sense, precedes

“time,” can be expressed in human language only by terms which imply the

idea of time. Even if we are aware that the first, second, and third

Saturn conditions were not enacted “one after the other,” in the present

sense of the word, yet we cannot do otherwise than describe them one after

the other. Indeed, in spite of their duration or coexistence in time, they

are so dependent on one another that this very dependence may be compared

with sequence, in time.

This indication of the first conditions of evolution on Saturn also throws

light on any further questions that may be asked as to the origin of those

conditions. From the purely intellectual point of view, it is, of course,

quite possible, when dealing with the source of anything, to inquire after

“the source of the source.” But in the face of facts, this is not

possible. A comparison, however, will help us to realize this. If we find

ruts on a road we may ask, “To what are they due?” And the reply may be,

“To a carriage.” It may further be asked: “Whence did the carriage come?

Whither is it going?” An answer founded on fact is again possible. We may

then proceed to ask, “Who occupied the carriage? What purpose had the

person in using it? What was he, or she, doing?” At last, however, we

shall reach a point at which inquiry by means of facts finds its natural

limit; and on inquiring further we get away from the original questions.

We only continue the inquiry mechanically, as it were.

In such matters as the one brought forward as a comparison, it is easy to

see where facts demand the end of the inquiry. It is not so evident when

we are face to face with great cosmic questions. But as the result of

really exact observation, it will nevertheless be seen that all inquiry as

to origins must come to an end at the Saturn condition portrayed above.

For we have reached a region in which beings and events are no longer

justified by that from which they proceed, but by themselves.

As a result of the Saturn evolution it appears that the human germ

developed up to a certain point. It attained the low, dim state of

consciousness described above. We must not imagine that its evolution does

not begin until the last of the Saturn stages. The Lords of Will carry on

their work through all conditions. Only the result is most striking to

clairvoyant perception in the last period. There is nothing like a fixed

boundary between the activities of the several groups of beings. If it is

said that the Lords of Will work first, then the Lords of Wisdom, and so

on, it is not meant that they are working only at that time. They are

working all through the Saturn evolution; only their activity can best be

observed during the periods specified. The several groups have, as it

were, the leadership at those times.

Thus the whole Saturn evolution appears as a working out of what streamed

forth from the Lords of Will through the Lords of Wisdom, Motion, Form,

and the rest. Through this process those spiritual beings themselves

experience evolution. For instance, after they have received their life

reflected back from Saturn, the Lords of Wisdom stand on a different level

than before. The result of that activity exalts the faculties of their own

being. The consequence is that, on the completion of such activity,

something similar to human sleep comes upon them. To their periods of

activity in connection with Saturn succeed other periods, during which

they live, as it were, in other worlds. At these times their activity is

withdrawn from Saturn. On this account clairvoyant perception sees an

ascent and a descent in the Saturn evolution that has been described. The

ascent lasts until the formation of the heat condition. Then, with the

play of light, the ebb-tide sets in. When the human phantoms have assumed

form through the Lords of Will, the spiritual beings have also gradually

withdrawn themselves. The Saturn evolution dies away; as a phase of

evolution, it disappears. A kind of resting pause occurs.

The human germ at the same time enters upon a state of dissolution; not,

however, a state in which it passes away, but one like that of a plant

seed, resting in the earth in order that it may ripen into a new plant.

Thus the human germ reposes, until a new awakening, in the depth of the

cosmos. And by the time the moment of awakening has arrived, the spiritual

beings described above have acquired, under other conditions, the

faculties by means of which they can further advance the human germ. The

Lords of Wisdom have, in their etheric body, gained the faculty not only

of enjoying the reflection of life as they did on Saturn, but of pouring

life forth from themselves, and endowing other beings with it. The Lords

of Motion are now as far advanced as were the Lords of Wisdom on Saturn.

Then the lowest principle of their being was the astral body; they now

possess an etheric, or vital body; and in a corresponding degree the other

spiritual beings have reached a further stage of evolution. All these

spiritual beings are therefore able to work at the further evolution of

the human germ in a different way than on Saturn.

But the human germ was dissolved at the end of the Saturn evolution. In

order that the more highly evolved spirit-beings might resume their work

where they had left it off, the human germ must once more briefly

recapitulate the stages through which it had passed on Saturn. This, in

fact, is what appears to clairvoyant faculties of perception. The human

germ comes forth out of its retirement and begins to develop by its own

ability, by means of the forces which had been implanted within it on

Saturn. It comes forth out of the darkness as a “being of Will,” and

assumes the appearance of life, of soul qualities, etc., up to that

mechanical manifestation of personality which it possessed at the end of

the Saturn evolution.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

The second of the great periods of evolution that have been mentioned, the

“Sun period,” effects the raising of man’s being to a higher stage of

consciousness than that which it had attained on Saturn. Compared with

man’s present state of consciousness, the Sun condition might certainly be

termed “unconsciousness.” For it is approximately that condition which

contemporary man experiences during absolutely dreamless sleep. Or it

might be compared to the low degree of consciousness in which our

vegetable world now slumbers. For occult science there is no such thing as

unconsciousness, but only different degrees of consciousness. Everything

in the world is conscious.

In the course of the Sun evolution, the human being attains a higher

degree of consciousness through the incorporation within it of the

etheric, or vital body. Before this can take place the Saturn conditions

must be recapitulated in the manner described above. This recapitulation

has quite a definite meaning. That is to say, when the period of rest

which was spoken of in the foregoing statement has come to an end, that

which was formerly Saturn issues forth, out of “cosmic sleep,” as a new

celestial body, the Sun. But the conditions of evolution have meanwhile

changed. The spiritual beings, whose activity on behalf of Saturn we have

portrayed, have progressed onward into different conditions. Yet at first

the human germ appears on the newly formed Sun in the form it possessed on

Saturn. It has first of all so to transform the various stages of

evolution through which it has passed on Saturn that they may suit the new

conditions on the Sun. Consequently, the sun epoch begins with a

recapitulation of the occurrences on Saturn, adjusted to the changed

conditions of Sun life. Now when the human being has advanced so far that

the stage of evolution it reached on Saturn has been adapted to the Sun

conditions, the Lords of Wisdom already mentioned, begin to let the

etheric, or vital body, pour into the physical body. The higher stage

which man reaches on the Sun may therefore be characterized in this way:

the physical body, already formed in the germ-state on Saturn, is raised

to a second stage of perfection by becoming the vehicle of an etheric or

vital body. This last-named etheric body attains its first degree of

perfection on its own account during the Sun evolution. In order, however,

that the second degree of perfection for the physical and the first for

the etheric body may be reached, the intervention of still other

spirit-beings is necessary during the further course of the Sun life, in a

similar manner to that which has been described as taking place during the

Saturn stage.

When the Lords of Wisdom begin to stream forth their etheric body, the

Sun, previously dark, begins to shine. At the same time the first

appearances of inner activity are seen in the human germ; life has begun.

What had to be described as a semblance of life on Saturn now becomes

actual life. The influx lasts for a certain time, at the end of which an

important change for the human germ sets in—that is to say, it organizes

itself into two parts. Whereas up to this point the physical and etheric

bodies formed an intimately connected whole, the physical body now begins

to detach itself as a separate part. Yet even that separated physical body

is still pervaded by the etheric body. Therefore we have now to do with a

human being composed of two principles. One portion is a physical body

permeated by an etheric body; the other is an etheric body and nothing

else. This separation comes to pass, however, during a period of rest in

the Sun life. During this pause the shining, which had begun to appear,

dies away. The separation takes place during a “cosmic night,” as it were.

Yet this interval of rest is much shorter than the one between the Saturn

and Sun evolutions mentioned above. At the expiration of the rest period

the Lords of Wisdom work for a while on the two-fold being of man, just as

they had previously done on the undivided being. Then the Lords of Motion

begin their activity. They cause their own astral body to stream through

the human etheric body. By this means man acquires the capacity for

executing certain inner movements in the physical body. These movements

may be compared with those of sap in a plant of our own time.

The Saturn body consisted exclusively of heat substance. During the Sun

evolution that heat substance is condensed into a state which may be

compared with that of our present-day gas or steam. In occult science

“air” is the name ordinarily used for this condition. The first beginnings

of such a state are seen after the Lords of Motion have begun their

activity. The following spectacle is presented to clairvoyant

consciousness. Within the heat substance there appears something like

delicate formations which are set in rythmic motion by the forces of the

etheric body. These formations represent the human physical body at the

stage of evolution now attained by it. They are permeated through and

through with heat, and are also wrapped, as it were, in a heat envelope.

From a physical point of view, man’s nature may now be said to be composed

of heat structures with air forms embedded in them—the latter in regular

motion. Hence, if we wish to retain the foregoing comparison with a plant

of the present day, we must remember that it is not a solid plant organism

which we have to consider, but an air or gas form,(19) the movements of

which may be compared with the circulation of the sap in plants of to-day.

The evolution thus indicated continues. After a certain time another

interval of rest sets in; after this the Lords of Motion go on working

until their activity is supplemented by that of the Lords of Form. The

effect of the latter is that the gas structures, which before were

constantly changing, now assume lasting form. This, too, happens because

the Lords of Form cause their forces to flow in and out of the human

etheric body. When the Lords of Motion alone were acting on the gaseous

organisms, these were in perpetual motion, not keeping their form for an

instant. Now, however, they temporarily assume distinguishable shapes.

Again, after a certain period, there occurs a time of rest; and then once

more the Lords of Form continue their activity. But the conditions within

the Sun evolution are now entirely changed. For the point has been reached

when the Sun evolution has attained its zenith. This is the time at which

the Lords of Personality, who attained their human stage on Saturn, ascend

to a higher degree of perfection. They advance beyond the human stage;

they attain a form of consciousness which contemporary man does not yet

possess in his normal course of development on the earth. He will acquire

it when the earth—the fourth of the planetary stages of evolution—has

reached its goal and has entered upon the next planetary period. Then man

will not only perceive around him what his present physical senses enable

him to apprehend, but he will be able to see in images the inner psychic

conditions of the beings surrounding him. He will have a (clairvoyant)

picture-consciousness, although retaining complete self-consciousness.

There will be nothing dream-like or vague in his clairvoyance, but he will

perceive what is psychic, in pictures certainly, but in such a way that

these images will be the expression of realities, as physical colours and

sounds are now. Man, at present, can attain to this degree of clairvoyance

only through occult training, which will be treated later in this book.

Now this clairvoyance is attained by the Sons of Personality, as a gift of

their normal evolution, midway in the Sun period; and it is just on this

account that they become capable of acting on the newly formed etheric

body of man during the Sun evolution, in a way similar to that in which

they acted on the physical body on Saturn. Just as there the heat

reflected their own personality back to them, so do the gaseous organisms

now reflect back to them, in gleams of light, the images of their

clairvoyant consciousness. They clairvoyantly behold what is taking place

on the Sun. And this vision is by no means mere observation; it is as

though something of the force which mortals call love made itself felt in

the images which stream forth from the Sun. If a clairvoyant looks more

closely, he will find the cause of this phenomenon. Exalted beings have

blended their activity with the light that is being radiated from the Sun.

They are the Lords of Love (the Christian Seraphim) already mentioned.

Henceforth they act, together with the Sons of Personality, on the human

etheric, or vital body. By means of that activity the etheric body

advances a step farther along its path of evolution. It acquires the

capacity not only of transforming the gaseous forms within it, but of so

elaborating them that the first indications of a propagation of living

human beings appear. Emanations, so to speak, are driven out (as though

exuded) from the gaseous organisms that take on shapes resembling their

mother-forms.

In order to describe the further course of the Sun evolution, reference

must be made to a fact in the formation of worlds which is of the greatest

possible significance. It is this,—that by no means every being attains

the goal of its evolution in the course of one epoch; there are some that

fall short of that goal. Thus, during the Saturn evolution, not all of the

Sons of Personality actually reached the human stage for which, as

described above, they were destined; and just as little did all the

physical human bodies, developed on Saturn, attain the degree of maturity

which qualifies them to become vehicles of an independent etheric body on

the Sun. The consequence is that beings and organisms are present on the

Sun which are not in harmony with their environment. These must now make

up, during the Sun evolution, for what they failed to attain on Saturn.

The following may, therefore, be clairvoyantly observed during the Sun

period. When the Lords of Wisdom begin their pouring in of the etheric

body, the Sun body is to some extent darkened. Structures are mingled with

it which, properly speaking, belong to Saturn. They are heat organisms

which are not able to condense themselves into air in the proper manner.

These are the human beings left behind in the Saturn stage. They are not

able to become vehicles of a normally developed etheric body.

Now the heat substance of Saturn, which has thus been left behind, splits

into two parts on the Sun. One part is absorbed, as it were, by human

bodies, and henceforward forms a kind of lower nature within man’s being.

Thus something, which really corresponds to the Saturn stage, is

incorporated in the bodily part of man on the Sun. Now just as the Saturn

body of man made it possible for the Sons of Personality to raise

themselves to the human stage, the Saturn part of man performs the same

office on the Sun for the Sons of Fire. They raise themselves to the human

stage by letting their forces flow in and out of the Saturn part of man,

as did the Sons of Personality on Saturn.

This also happens during the middle period of the Sun evolution. The

Saturn part of the human being is then so far matured that with its help

the Sons of Fire (Archangeloi) are able to pass through their human stage.

Another part of the Saturnian heat substance becomes detached and attains

an independent existence alongside of and among the human beings on the

Sun. This forms a second kingdom by the side of the human kingdom, a

kingdom which develops on the Sun only a perfectly independent physical

body, like a heat body. In consequence of this, the fully evolved Sons of

Personality are not able to direct their activity toward any independent

etheric body in the manner before described. But there were also certain

Sons of Personality left behind at the Saturn stage who fell short of the

human stage. A bond of attraction exists between them and the second Sun

kingdom which has become independent. They must now act toward the

backward kingdom on the Sun as their advanced brethren did on Saturn in

regard to human beings. The latter had only their physical body perfected

here. But there is no possibility on the Sun for such a work on the part

of the backward Sons of Personality. They therefore separate themselves

from the Sun body, and form an independent celestial body outside it. This

body, accordingly, withdraws from the Sun, and from it the backward Sons

of Personality act on the beings of the second Sun kingdom which have been

described. In this way two world-organisms have been formed out of the one

which was previously Saturn. The Sun has now in its environment a second

celestial body, one which exhibits a kind of re-birth of Saturn, a new

Saturn. From this Saturn the character of personality is conferred on the

second Sun kingdom. Therefore within this kingdom we have to do with

beings which have no personality on the Sun itself. Yet they reflect back

to the Sons of Personality on the new Saturn the special personality of

those spirits. Clairvoyant consciousness is able to observe among the

human beings on the Sun, heat forces which act upon the regular course of

Sun evolution, and in which the sway of the spirits described as belonging

to the new Saturn is to be seen.

We notice the following facts about man’s being during the middle period

of the Sun evolution. It is divided into a physical body and an etheric

body. Within these the activity of the advanced Sons of Personality plays,

conjointly with that of the Lords of Love. Now part of the backward Saturn

nature is mingled with the physical body. In this plays the activity of

the Sons of Fire. We now see in everything which the Sons of Fire effect

on the backward Saturn nature, the forerunners of the present human

sense-organs. It has been shown how these Sons of Fire were already at

work on the elaboration of the sense-germs in the heat substance on

Saturn. The first outline of the present human glands is to be recognized

in what is accomplished by the Sons of Personality conjointly with the

Lords of Love (Seraphim).

But the above described is not the whole of the activity of the Sons of

Personality dwelling on the new Saturn. They not only extend their

activity to the second Sun kingdom mentioned above, but they also

establish a kind of connection between that kingdom and the human senses.

The heat substances of this kingdom flow in and out of the germs of the

human sense-organs. By this means the human being on the Sun acquires a

kind of perception of the lower kingdom situated outside him. That

perception is naturally a dim one, closely corresponding to the dull

Saturn-consciousness previously described. And it consists essentially of

varied heat effects.

Everything here described as taking place in the middle of the Sun

evolution continues for a certain definite period. Then a time of rest

again occurs. After that, things continue for a while in the same manner

up to a certain point of evolution, at which the human etheric body is so

far matured that a united action of the Sons of Life (Angeloi) and the

Lords of Harmony (Cherubim) can set in. To clairvoyant consciousness,

certain manifestations now appear within man’s being, which may be

compared with perceptions of taste, and which are made known externally as

sounds. A similar thing has already been stated about the Saturn

evolution. But here on the Sun the processes relating to human beings are

more from within and are full of more independent life.

The Sons of Life thereby acquire that dim picture-consciousness which the

Sons of Fire had already attained on Saturn. In this the Lords of Harmony

are their helpers. They really behold clairvoyantly what is now being

enacted within the Sun evolution; only they give up all the results of

that contemplation, and the enjoyment of those revelations of Wisdom that

arise from it, and allow them to stream, like splendid visions of

enchantment, into the dream-like consciousness of the Sons of Life. The

latter again work these pictures of their visions into the etheric body of

man, so that it attains higher and higher stages of development.

Again an interval of rest ensues, again everything is awakened from

“cosmic sleep”; and after further lapse of time the human being is

sufficiently advanced to use its own forces. These forces are the same

that were poured forth into man’s being by the “Thrones” during the latter

part of the Saturn period. This human being now evolves an inner life,

which, in its manifestation to clairvoyant consciousness, may be compared

with an inner perception of smell. But outside, in the direction of

celestial space, man’s being is manifested as a personality, though not

one directed by an inner ego. It appears more like a plant with the

character of a personality. It has been stated that at the end of the

Saturn evolution personality is manifested somewhat machine like. And just

as then, the first germ was developed of that which still remains a germ

in contemporary man,—the Spirit-Man (Atma),—so at this point there is

formed a similar first germ of the Life-Spirit (Budhi).

When all this has continued for some time, an interval of rest again

occurs. Following this, as in previous instances, the activity of the

human being is resumed for a while. Then conditions commence, which mark a

new intervention of the Lords of Wisdom. By its means human nature becomes

capable of feeling the first traces of sympathy and antipathy for its

environment. In all this there is still no real sensation but only a

premonition of sensation. For the inner life-activity, which might be

characterized in its manifestation as perception of smell, is revealed

externally as a kind of primitive language. If the human being is inwardly

conscious of a useful smell—or taste, or glitter,—it is manifested

outwardly by a sound; and the same thing happens, in a corresponding way,

with an inwardly uncongenial perception. Through all the events described,

the real meaning of the Sun evolution for the human being is indicated.

The human being has reached a higher stage of consciousness than that of

the Saturn period. It is the consciousness of sleep.

After a time, the point of evolution is also reached at which the higher

beings connected with the Sun stage must pass into other spheres in order

to work out that with which they have endowed themselves by their work on

the human being. A long period of rest sets in, one similar to that

between the Saturn and Sun evolutions. Everything that has been perfected

on the Sun passes into a condition which may be compared with that of a

plant when its powers of growth are resting in the seed. But just as those

powers of growth appear again in a new plant, so does everything that was

living on the Sun come forth again, after the period of rest, from the

cosmic depths, to begin a new planetary existence.

The meaning of such a term of rest, or “cosmic sleep,” will readily be

understood if we will only direct our spiritual vision to one of the

orders of beings already mentioned, for instance, to the Lords of Wisdom.

They were not far enough evolved on Saturn to be able to ray forth an

etheric body from themselves. They were only prepared for this after they

had gone through their experiences on Saturn. During the rest (Pralaya)

they transform into actual capacity what has been previously only prepared

within them. Thus on the Sun they are evolved far enough to pour forth

life from themselves, and to endow the human being with an etheric body of

its own.

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After the interval of rest, that which had previously been the Sun comes

forth again out of the “cosmic sleep.” That is, it again becomes

perceptible to the clairvoyant faculties which had been able to observe it

before, but had lost sight of it during the resting period. There are now

two points to be observed with regard to the newly appearing planetary

organism, which may, in occult science, be denoted the “Moon” (and this

must not be confused with that portion of it which is now the earth’s

moon). In the first place, that which had detached itself during the Sun

period as a “new Saturn” is once more within the new planetary body. This

Saturn has therefore been again united with the Sun during the term of

rest. Everything which was in the original Saturn reappears at first as

one world-organism. Secondly, the human etheric bodies which had been

formed on the Sun have been absorbed, during the resting period, by that

which constitutes the spiritual sheath of the planet. At this point of

time, therefore, they do not make their appearance united with the

corresponding physical human bodies, but these latter at first appear

separately. They contain everything which had been gained for them on

Saturn and the Sun, but they are without the etheric, or vital body.

Indeed, they cannot incorporate that etheric body within themselves

immediately, for it has also been passing, during the period of rest,

through an evolution with which they are not yet harmonized.

What occurs at the beginning of the Moon evolution, in order to bring

about this adjustment, is, first of all, another recapitulation of the

Saturnian events. The physical part of man passes once more through the

stages of the Saturn evolution, but under greatly altered circumstances.

On Saturn there were only the forces of a heat body at work within him;

now there are also those of the gas body that has been elaborated. These

latter forces do not, however, appear quite at the beginning of the Moon

evolution. Then everything appears as though man’s being were composed

only of heat substance, and as though the gas forces were lying dormant

within that substance. Then comes a time when the first indications of

these forces make their appearance; and lastly, in the latest period of

the Saturn recapitulation, man’s being has the same appearance as during

the animated period of his Sun existence. Yet, all life still proves to be

but a semblance of life.

Next occurs a period of rest similar to the short periods of rest of the

Sun evolution. Then the pouring in of the etheric body, for which the

physical body has now become ripe, begins anew. As in the case of the

recapitulation of Saturn, this influx takes place in three distinct

periods. During the second of these, man’s being is so far adjusted to the

new Moon conditions that the Lords of Motion are able to bring into play

the faculty they have acquired. This faculty consists in pouring the

astral body out of their own being into man’s being. They prepared

themselves for this work during the Sun evolution, and during the time of

rest between the Sun and Moon they transformed what had been prepared into

the faculty alluded to. This influx lasts for a while, then one of the

shorter intervals of rest sets in. After that the influx continues until

the Lords of Form begin their activity. In consequence of this pouring of

the astral body into the human being by the Lords of Motion, man acquires

his first psychic qualities. He begins to develop sensations in connection

with the processes which take place within, through the possession of an

etheric body, and which during the Sun evolution were still of a

plant-like nature; these processes now give him sensations of pleasure and

displeasure. But it is nothing more than a constant inner ebb and flow of

such pleasure and displeasure, until the Lords of Form intervene. Then

these changing feelings are so transformed that there appear in man’s

being what may be regarded as the first signs of wish or desire. The human

being strives after a repetition of what has once caused pleasure, and

tries to avoid what has been felt as antipathetic. However, since the

Lords of Form do not give up their own nature to the human being, but

merely let their forces stream in and out, desire is wanting in depth of

feeling and independence. It is directed by the Lords of Form, and has an

instinctive character.

The human physical body on Saturn was a heat body; on the Sun a

condensation into the gaseous state, or into “air,” has taken place. Now,

as during the Moon evolution, the astral element is rayed into the

physical part, which at a definite moment attains a further degree of

condensation and arrives at a state which may be compared with that of a

liquid substance of today. In accordance with the usage of occult science

this state may be called “water.” By water, is not meant only the water we

now have, but this term applies to every liquid form in existence. The

physical human body now gradually assumes a form composed of three kinds

of material structures. The densest is a “water body”; through this flow

air currents; and all of this again is permeated by manifestations of

warmth.

Now all the organisms do not attain full, adequate maturity during the Sun

stage. Therefore there are organisms to be found on the Moon which are

only at the Saturn stage, and others which have only reached the Sun

stage. In this way two other kingdoms arise by the side of the normally

evolved human kingdom. One consists of beings which have stopped short at

the Saturn stage, and therefore have only a physical body, which even on

the Moon is not yet able to become the vehicle of an independent etheric

body. This is the lowest of the Moon kingdoms. A second consists of beings

which have been left behind at the Sun stage, and which therefore do not

mature sufficiently on the Moon to take on an independent astral body.

These form a kingdom between the one just mentioned and the regularly

developed human kingdom.

But there is still something else taking place: The substances containing

only heat forces and those containing only air forces, permeate these

human beings. Thus it happens that the latter have within them on the Moon

both a Saturnian and a solar nature. In this way a kind of cleavage has

taken place in human nature; and by means of this cleavage, something very

momentous is called forth within the Moon evolution after the activity of

the Lords of Form has begun. The first evidences of a cleavage in the

cosmic body of the Moon becomes then apparent. One part of its substances

and beings separates from the other; two heavenly bodies are formed out of

one. One of these becomes the abode of certain higher beings who were

previously more closely connected with the undivided celestial body; while

the other is occupied by human beings, the two lower kingdoms described

above, and certain higher beings who did not pass over to the first

celestial body.

The first heavenly body, with the higher beings, appears like a reborn but

refined Sun; the other is really the new formation, the “old Moon.” The

regenerated Sun, on going out, takes with it only “heat” and “air” from

the substances which have been formed on the Moon; on what is left as the

Moon there is the liquid condition as well as the other two substances. As

a result of this separation the beings which have withdrawn with the

newborn Sun are not, in the first place, hampered in their further

evolution by the denser Moon beings. Thus they are able to continue their

own progress without hindrance. But thus they attain just that much more

power to act now upon the Moon beings from their Sun. And they in turn

also acquire thereby new possibilities of evolution. Most important of

all, the Lords of Form are still in union with them. These accentuate the

passions and the desire-nature, and this expresses itself gradually also

in a further condensation of the physical human body. What was previously

nothing but liquid in that body assumes a densely viscous form; and the

air-like and heat-like formations are correspondingly condensed. Similar

processes take place in the two lower kingdoms.

The result of the separation of the Moon-body from the Sun-body is that

the former bears the same relation to the latter as the Saturn-body once

did to the whole cosmic evolution surrounding it. The Saturn-sphere was

formed out of the body of the “Lords of Will” (the Thrones). From out its

substance emanated back into cosmic space everything which the

above-mentioned spiritual beings in the environment of Saturn experienced.

And this radiation by degrees awakened independent life, by means of the

subsequent processes. All evolution is due to the fact that independent

beings differentiate themselves from their environment, then this

environment like a reflection stamps itself upon those differentiated

beings who then evolve further independently. The Moon-body, having

likewise separated from the Sun-body, reflects at first the life of the

latter. If nothing further had then happened, the following cosmic process

would have taken place: There would have been a Sun-body in which

spiritual beings adapted to that body would have lived through their

experiences in the elements of heat and air.