Set over against this Sun-body would have been a Moon-body, in which other

beings of like nature with the Sun-beings would have undergone their

experiences in the conditions of heat, air, and water. The progress from

the Sun-incarnation to that of the Moon would have consisted in the

Sun-beings seeing their own life, as in a reflection of the events on the

Moon. They would have thus been able to enjoy it, something which they

were still incapable of doing during the Sun incarnation. But evolution

did not remain at this stage. Something occurred which was of the deepest

significance for all future evolution. Certain beings adapted to the

Moon-body, take possession of the element of will (the heritage of the

Thrones) which was at their disposal, and by its means develop a life of

their own, which takes shape independently of the Sun-life. Alongside of

those Moon experiences which are entirely under the influence of the Sun,

there arise independent Moon experiences, and, at the same time, states of

rebellion or mutiny against the Sun-beings. And the various kingdoms which

had arisen on the Sun and Moon, first and foremost of which was the

kingdom of man’s ancestors, are drawn into these conditions. In this way

the Moon-body contains within it, spiritually and materially, two kinds of

life: one that is in inner union with the Sun-life, and another which has

“fallen away” from it and goes its own way independently. This division

into a twofold life appears in all subsequent events of the Moon

incarnation.

What presents itself to clairvoyant consciousness in this period of

evolution may be realized from the following pictures. The whole basic

mass of the Moon is formed of a semi-animated substance which at one time

moves sluggishly, at another quickly. This is not yet a mineral mass like

the rocks and constituents of the earth upon which present day humanity

walks. We might call it a kingdom of plant-minerals, only we have to

imagine that the main body of the Moon consists wholly of this

plant-mineral substance, as the earth today consists of rock, soil and

other substances. Just as now we have towering masses of rock, so there

were then harder portions embedded in the Moon’s bulk; these may be

compared with hard wooden structures or formations of horn; and as plants

now arise out of mineral soil, so the surface of the Moon was covered and

penetrated by the second kingdom, consisting of a kind of plant-animal.

Their substance was softer than the general mass of the Moon, and more

mobile. This kingdom extended over the other, like a viscous sea.

Man himself at that time may be called animal-man. He had in his nature

the component parts of the other two kingdoms; but his being was

thoroughly interpenetrated by an etheric and an astral body, upon which

the forces of higher beings worked, issuing from the severed Sun. His form

was thus brought to greater perfection. While the Lords of Form were

giving him a form which adapted him to Moon life, the Sun-Spirits were

giving him a nature which lifted him beyond that life. He had the power of

ennobling his own nature with the faculties given him by these Spirits,—in

fact, of raising what was akin to the lower kingdoms to a higher level.

Seen spiritually, the events now under consideration may be described in

the following way. Man’s ancestor had been brought to greater perfection

by beings who had fallen away from the Sun kingdom. This improvement

extended especially to everything that could be experienced in the element

of water. Over that element the Sun-beings, who were rulers in the

elements of heat and air, had less influence. The consequence of this was

that in the organism of man’s ancestor two kinds of beings manifested

themselves. One part of the organism was wholly interpenetrated by the

influences of the Sun-beings. In the other part, the rebellious

Moon-beings were operative. Owing to this, the latter part was more

independent than the former. In the former there could only arise states

of consciousness in which the Sun-beings lived; in the latter there lived

a kind of cosmic consciousness, such as was typical on Saturn, only now

upon a higher level.

Man’s ancestor consequently felt himself to be an “image of the universe,”

whereas his “Sun-part” felt itself to be only an “image of the Sun.” The

two beings now came to a kind of conflict in man’s nature. A settlement of

this conflict was brought about by the influence of the Sun-beings,

through which the material organism which made the independent universal

consciousness possible, was rendered frail and perishable. From time to

time this part of the organism had to be thrown off. During and also some

time after the separation, man’s ancestor was a being wholly dependent on

the Sun influence. His consciousness became less independent; he lived

within it, entirely surrendered to Sun-life. Then the independent portion

of the Moon was once more renewed. After some time this process was

repeated. Thus man’s ancestor lived on the Moon in alternating conditions

of clearer and duller consciousness; and the alternation was accompanied

by a change of his being in a material respect. From time to time he laid

aside his Moon-body and resumed it later. Seen physically, great variety

appears in the kingdoms of the Moon above mentioned. The mineral-plants,

plant-animals and animal-men are differentiated into groups. This will be

understood when it is borne in mind that as a result of certain organisms

having been left behind at each of the earlier stages of evolution, forms

possessing most varied qualities took physical shape. There are formations

still retaining the qualities of the early Saturn period, others showing

those of the middle period and again others of the closing period of

Saturn. A similar statement is true of all the stages of the Sun

evolution.

As organisms belonging to the evolving planet are left behind, so is it

also with certain beings connected with that evolution. Through the

progress of evolution up to the Moon period, different grades of such

beings have already arisen. There are the Sons of Personality who not even

on the Sun have attained their human stage; but there are also others who

then caught up with evolving humanity. A number of the Sons of Fire, who

should have attained humanity on the Sun, fell behind. Now, just as during

the Sun evolution certain of the Sons of Personality withdrew from the Sun

and caused the reappearance of Saturn as a separate body, so it also

happens that in the course of the Moon evolution the beings described

above separate and form individual celestial bodies. So far we have

mentioned only the separation into Sun and Moon; but for the reasons

already given, other world-organisms detached themselves from the

Moon-body, which made its appearance after the great interval between the

Sun and Moon.

After a certain time we have a system of cosmic bodies the most advanced

of which, as can easily be seen, must be called the New Sun. And just such

a bond of attraction as was described above for the evolution as existing

between the backward Saturn kingdom and the Sons of Personality on the new

Saturn, is formed between each of these bodies and the corresponding

Moon-beings. It would take us much too far to follow up in detail all the

celestial bodies that come into existence. It must suffice to have pointed

out the reason why a succession of them arises by degrees from the

undivided world-organism which appears as Saturn at the beginning of human

evolution.

After the intervention of the Lords of Form, on the Moon, evolution

proceeds for a while in the manner described. At the end of this time

there is again a pause. While it lasts, the coarser portions of the three

Moon kingdoms are in a sort of resting state, but the finer parts, in

particular the human astral body, extricate themselves from those coarser

organisms. They reach a condition in which the higher forces of exalted

Sun-beings are able to act upon them very powerfully. After the interval

of rest they again interpenetrate those parts of man’s being which are

composed of the coarser substances. Because they received such powerful

forces during the pause—in a free state—they are able to make those

coarser substances ripe for the influence, after a certain time, of the

Sons of Personality and the Sons of Fire, who have progressed normally.

In the meantime these Sons of Personality have raised themselves to a

level upon which they possess the “consciousness of inspiration.” Here

they are not only able—as was the case with clairvoyant

picture-consciousness—to observe the inner state of other beings in

images, but to apprehend the inner nature itself of those beings, as

though in a spiritual tone-language. But the Sons of Fire have risen to

that height of consciousness possessed on the Sun by the Sons of

Personality. Thus both kinds of spirits are able to influence the now more

developed life of the human being. The Sons of Personality act on the

astral body, the Sons of Fire on the etheric body of this human being. The

astral body thereby acquires the character of personality. It now not only

experiences pleasure and pain, but relates them to itself. It has not

arrived at a complete ego-consciousness, that says to itself, “I am here”;

but it feels itself upheld and protected by other beings in its

environment. When looking, as it were, up to these, it is able to say,

“This, my environment, keeps me alive.”

The Sons of Fire now work upon the etheric body. Under their influence the

movement of forces in that body becomes more and more an inner function of

life. What then results finds physical expression in a circulation of

fluids and in phenomena of growth. The gaseous substances have become

condensed into liquid substances; we may speak of a kind of nutritive

process, in the sense that what is received from without becomes

transformed and elaborated within. Perhaps if we think of something

intermediate between nutrition and respiration in the present meaning of

the terms, we may get an idea of what then happened in this respect. The

nutritive matter was drawn from the animal-plant kingdom by the human

being. We must think of those animal-plants as floating or swimming—or

even lightly attached in an element surrounding them, as the lower animals

of the present time live in water, or land animals in air. Yet the element

is neither water nor air in the present sense, but something midway

between the two, a kind of thick vapour in which most heterogeneous

substances move hither and thither, as though dissolved in currents

flowing in all directions.

The animal-plants appear only as condensed regular forms of this element,

often differing little physically from their environment. The process of

respiration exists alongside of the process of nutrition. It is not as it

is upon the earth, but like a drawing in and a streaming out of heat. To

clairvoyant observation it is as though during those processes, organs

opened and closed, through which a warming current passed in and out, and

through which airy and watery substances were also carried in and out. And

since man’s nature at this stage of evolution already possesses an astral

body, respiration and nutrition are accompanied by feelings, so that a

sort of pleasure ensues when materials which promote the upbuilding of

man’s nature are taken in from without. Aversion is caused if injurious

substances flow in, or even if they merely approach.

Just as during the Moon evolution the respiratory and the nutritive

processes were closely connected, as has been described, so was the

process of perception in close connection with reproduction. No immediate

effect was produced on any of the senses by the things and beings in the

environment of Moon humanity. Perception was, on the contrary, of such a

nature that the presence of things and beings called up pictures in the

dull, dreamy consciousness. These pictures were much more closely

connected with the real nature of the environment than the present

sense-perceptions, which record in colour, sounds, smell etc., so to

speak, only the outside of things and beings.

In order to get a clearer idea of the human consciousness on the Moon, let

us imagine human beings immersed in the vaporous environment described

above. Most varied processes take place in this vapour-element. Materials

unite, substances break asunder one from the other; some parts become

condensed, others rarified. All this happens in such a way that human

beings do not see or hear anything of it directly, but it calls up

pictures in their consciousness. These may be compared with the images of

our present dream-consciousness, as for instance when an object falls to

the ground, and a sleeping man does not discern what has really happened

but perceives it in the form of a picture; let us say he thinks that a

shot has been fired. However, the pictures in the Moon-consciousness are

not arbitrary, as is the case with such dream-pictures; although they are

symbols, not representations, yet they correspond with outer events. A

definite outer event can call up only one definite picture. The Moon-being

is therefore in a position to regulate his conduct by means of these

pictures, as present-day man does by means of his perceptions. We must

nevertheless be careful to notice that conduct, regulated by perception,

is governed by choice whereas action, under the influence of the pictures

we have described, takes place as if prompted by some dim instinct.

It is by no means as though only outer physical processes become

perceptible through this picture-consciousness, but it is through the

pictures that the spiritual beings, who rule behind the physical facts

together with their activities, become likewise perceptible. Thus the

Lords of Personality become visible, so to speak, in the phenomena of the

animal-plant kingdom; the Sons of Fire appear behind and in the

mineral-plant beings; and the Sons of Life appear as beings whom man is

able to imagine unconnected with anything physical,—whom he sees, as it

were, as etheric-psychic organisms.

Though these pictures of the Moon-consciousness were not representations,

only symbols of outer things, they nevertheless had a much more important

effect on the inner nature of man than the images now caused by

perception. They were able to set the whole inner being into motion and

activity. The inner processes were moulded in conformity with them. They

were genuine formative forces. Man’s being became what those formative

forces made it; it became, to a certain extent, a representation of the

events of its consciousness.

The further evolution progresses in this manner, the more it results in a

deeply incisive change in man’s being. The power issuing from the pictures

in the consciousness gradually becomes unable to extend over the whole

human bodily frame, which divides into two parts, or two natures. Members

are formed subject to the shaping influence of the picture-consciousness,

and they become to a great extent a copy of that life of imagination in

the way just described. Other organs escape such an influence. They are,

as it were, too dense, too much determined by other laws, to conform

themselves to the picture-consciousness. These organs withdraw from the

human influence; but they come under another, that of the exalted

Sun-beings themselves. A period of rest, however, is first seen to precede

this stage of evolution. During this pause, the Sun-Spirits are gathering

force to influence the Moon-beings under quite new circumstances.

After this term of rest, man’s being is distinctly divided into two

natures. One of these is withdrawn from the independent action of the

picture-consciousness; it assumes a more definite form, and comes under

the influence of forces which, though issuing from the Moon body, are only

called forth there through the influence of the Sun-beings. This part of

the human being shares more and more in the life which is stimulated by

the Sun: the other part rises, like a kind of head, out of the first one.

It is flexible, can move itself, and takes shape in conformity with the

life of dull human consciousness. Yet the two parts are closely connected

with each other; they send one another their vital fluids, and members

extend from one into the other.

An important harmony is now attained by the working out, during the time

in which all this happened, of such a relation between the Sun and Moon as

is in keeping with the aim of this evolution. It has already been

intimated in a former passage how the advancing beings throughout their

stages of evolution, shape their celestial bodies from out the general

cosmic mass. They emanate, as it were, the forces which govern the

aggregation of the substances. The Sun and Moon have thus separated from

each other, as was necessary for the preparation of the right abodes for

their respective beings. But this regulation of material and its forces by

the spirit is carried very much farther. The beings themselves condition

as well, certain movements of the heavenly bodies, and the definite

revolutions of them around each other. In consequence, those bodies occupy

changing positions with regard to each other. And if the position or

situation of one body relative to another is altered, the effects of their

respective inhabitants upon each other also change. So it is with the Sun

and Moon. Through the movement of the Moon around the Sun, which by this

time had come about, the human beings come alternately at one time more

into the sphere of the Sun’s influence, at another they are turned away

from it and are then thrown back more on their own resources. The movement

is a consequence of the “fall” of certain Moon-beings, as already

described, and of the settlement of the conflict which was thereby brought

about. It is the physical expression of the new relation of spiritual

forces created by this falling away. As a consequence of the rotation of

the one sphere round the other the beings inhabiting these heavenly bodies

experience the alternating conditions of consciousness above described. We

may put it thus, that the Moon alternately turns its life toward the Sun

and away from it. There is a Sun time and a planetary time and during this

latter, the Moon-beings develop on the side of the Moon which is turned

away from the Sun.

It is true however, that so far as the Moon is concerned, in addition to

the movement of the celestial bodies, still something else must be

considered. That is to say, clairvoyant consciousness, on looking back,

can plainly see the Moon-beings wandering around their own planet, at

quite regular periods of time. Thus at certain times they seek localities

where they can give themselves up to the Sun influence; at other periods

they wander to places where they are not subject to that influence, and

where they can, as it were, reflect upon their own being.

In order to complete the picture of these events, we must further notice

that the Sons of Life attain their human stage during this period. Man’s

senses, the beginnings of which already existed on Saturn, cannot even

yet, on the Moon, be used for his own perception of external objects. But

at the Moon stage those senses become the instruments of the Sons of Life,

who make use of them in order to perceive through them. These senses,

belonging to the physical human body, enter thereby into reciprocal

relations with the Sons of Life, by whom they are not only used but

improved.

Through the changing relations of the Sun, there appears now in the human

being himself, as has been already indicated, a change in the conditions

of life. Things so shape themselves that when the human being is dominated

by the Sun influence, he devotes himself more to the Sun life and its

phenomena than to himself. At such times he feels the greatness and glory

of the universe; he, so to speak, absorbs them. Those very exalted beings

who dwell on the Sun then influence the Moon, which again influences human

beings. This influence, however, does not extend to the whole of man, but

chiefly to those parts which have thrown off the influence of their own

picture-consciousness. It is then that especially the physical and the

etheric bodies attain a definite size and form. On the other hand, the

phenomena of consciousness retire into the background. But when the human

being is turned away from the Sun, it is occupied with its own nature; an

inner activity begins, especially in the astral body while the outer form,

on the contrary, becomes more insignificant, and less perfect in form.

Thus during the Moon evolution there are two states of consciousness to be

clearly distinguished, alternating with each other; duller during the Sun

period and clearer during the time when life is left more to its own

resources. The first state though duller, is on the other hand more

unselfish; man then lives a life more devoted to the outer world, to the

universe. It is an alternation of states of consciousness, which on one

hand may be compared with the alternation of sleeping and waking in

present day humanity, as well as with his life between birth and death, on

the other hand with the more spiritual existence between death and a new

birth. The awakening on the Moon, when the Sun period gradually ceases,

might be described as something intermediate between the awakening of

contemporary man each morning, and his being born. And in the same way the

gradual dulling of consciousness at the approach of the Sun period

resembles a condition midway between falling asleep and dying. For on the

old Moon there was not yet such a consciousness of birth and death as man

now possesses. Man gave himself up to the enjoyment of the universe in a

kind of Sun life. During this period he was carried beyond his own life;

he lived more spiritually. We can only attempt an approximate description,

by way of comparison, of what man experienced during such times. He felt

as though the forces of the universe were streaming into him, pulsing

through him. He felt as though intoxicated with the harmonies of the

universe which he thus experienced.

As such times his astral body was as though set free from the physical

body; also part of the etheric body went with it out of the physical body.

This organism, consisting of the astral and etheric bodies, was like a

delicate, wonderful musical instrument, from the strings of which the

mysteries of the universe reverberated. And the members of that part of

the human being on which consciousness had but slight influence were

shaped in accordance with the harmonies of the universe. For the

Sun-beings worked in those harmonies. Thus this part of man was given its

form by the spiritual sounds of the universe; and at the same time the

alternation between the clearer state of consciousness during the Sun

period, and the duller one, was not so abrupt as was that between the

waking state and that of absolutely dreamless sleep in contemporary man.

The picture-consciousness was not so clear as the present waking

consciousness; but on the other hand, the other consciousness was not so

dull as the dreamless sleep of the present day.

Thus the human being had a conception, even though dim, of the play of the

cosmic harmonies in his physical body and in that part of his etheric body

which had remained united with the physical body. During the time when, so

to speak, the Sun did not shine on humanity, the picture-concepts replaced

these harmonies in man’s consciousness. There was then a revival

particularly of those parts of the physical and etheric bodies which were

under the immediate power of consciousness. On the other hand, other parts

of the human being, now not exposed to the formative forces streaming from

the Sun, underwent a kind of hardening and drying up process. When the Sun

period again drew near, the old bodies decayed; they fell away from the

human being, and as though from the grave of his old bodily form, the

rejuvenated human being appeared, who even in this new form, was still

uncomely.

A renewal of the life-process had taken place. By the operation of the

Sun-beings and their harmonies, the new-born body shaped itself again in

its perfection, and the process described above was repeated. Man felt

that renewal as if it were the putting on of new garments. The kernel of

his being had not passed through an actual birth or death; it had only

passed from a spiritual tone-consciousness, in which it was given over to

the outer world, to one of a more inner nature. It had sloughed off its

skin. The old body had become useless; it was thrown off and renewed. This

then more clearly describes what has been characterized above as a kind of

reproduction, and which as has been said, is closely connected with

perception. Man’s being has brought forth his likeness with respect to

certain parts of the physical and etheric bodies. However a being totally

different from the parent being does not come into existence, but the

kernel of the parent-being passes over into the offspring. No new being

arises, but the same one in a new form.

Thus the Moon human being experiences a change of consciousness. When the

Sun period draws near, his pictured images become dimmer and dimmer, and

blissful devotion takes possession of him; the harmonies of the universe

resound in his peaceful inner being. Toward the end of this time the

images of the astral body begin to be animated; he begins to be more

conscious of himself and able to experience sensation. Man experiences

something like an awakening from the bliss and tranquility in which he was

wrapped during the sun period.

At the same time another important experience begins. With this new

clearing up of the picture-consciousness the human being sees himself as

though enveloped in a cloud, which has descended upon him like a being

from the cosmos.

And he feels that being as something belonging to him, as a completion of

his own nature; he feels it as that which gives him existence, as his

“ego.” That being is one of the Sons of Life. Man feels toward him

somewhat like this: “I have lived in this being, even when I was given up

to the glory of the universe in the Sun period,—only then he was not

visible to me; now he is.” And it is also this Son of Life from whom

proceeds the force which, during the Sunless period, acts upon the body of

man. Then when the Sun period again approaches, man feels as though he

himself became one with the Son of Life. Even if man does not see him, he

nevertheless feels closely united with him.

Now the connection with the Sons of Life was such that not every

individual human being had a Son of Life to himself, but an entire group

of people felt such a being belonging to them. Thus people on the Moon

lived segregated into groups, and each group felt in one of the Sons of

Life its common “group-ego.” The etheric body of each particular group had

a specific form, in this way these groups differed from each other. But as

the physical bodies shaped themselves in conformity with the etheric

bodies, the differences of the latter were also stamped upon the former;

and the individual groups of human beings appeared as so many species of

people. As the Sons of Life looked down on the human groups belonging to

them, they saw themselves to a certain extent reproduced in manifold

individual human beings. And therein they felt their own egohood. They, so

to speak, mirrored themselves in man. This was indeed the mission of the

human senses at that time. It has already been shown that the senses did

not as yet transmit objective perceptions. But they reflected the nature

of the Sons of Life. What those Sons of Life perceived through reflection,

gave them their “ego-consciousness.” What was aroused in the human astral

body by this reflection was the dull dim pictures of the

Moon-consciousness. By thus acting conjointly and reciprocally with the

Sons of Life, the human beings laid the foundations of the nervous system

within their physical bodies. The nerves appear, one might say, as

continuations of the senses, directed inwardly into the human body.

It is evident, from this description, in what manner the three kinds of

Spirits, those of Personality, of Fire, and of Life, act upon

Moon-humanity. If we look back upon the most important, namely the middle

period of the Moon evolution, we may say that the Sons of Personality are

at that time implanting in the human astral body independence and the

character of personality. It is owing to this fact that man can turn his

attention inwards and work upon himself during those times when the Sun is

not shining upon him.

The Sons of Fire act upon the etheric body in so far as the independent

formation of the human being becomes imprinted upon it. Through their

means it comes to pass that human beings are again conscious of

themselves, as such, every time the body is renewed. Thus a kind of memory

is bestowed on the etheric body through the Sons of Fire.

The Sons of Life act on the physical body in such a way that it is able to

become the expression of the astral body which has now become independent.

They thus make it possible for the physical body to become a physiognomic

copy of its astral body. On the other hand, higher spiritual beings, in

particular the Lords of Form and of Motion, reach down into the physical

and etheric bodies, as far as these are developing during the Sun periods,

regardless of the independent astral body. Their intervention comes from

the Sun, in the manner described above.

Under the influence of such facts, the human being gradually matures to a

point where it can develop within itself the germ of the Spirit-Self just

as during the second half of the Saturn evolution it developed the germ of

the Spirit-Man and on the Sun that of the Life-Spirit. Thereby all the

Moon conditions are changed. Human beings have not only become more noble

and refined through successive transformations and renewals, but they have

also gained in power. For this reason the picture-consciousness was more

and more maintained during the Sun periods. It also gained influence in

the formation of the physical and etheric bodies, which hitherto had been

formed entirely by the action of the Sun-beings.

What took place on the Moon through human beings and the Spirits connected

with them became more and more like that which had formerly been effected

by the Sun with its higher beings. The consequence was that those

Sun-beings were able more and more to concentrate their forces on their

own evolution. By this means the Moon became, after a time, mature enough

to be again re-united with the Sun. To spiritual vision, these occurrences

take place as follows: The “rebellious Moon-beings” had been gradually

overcome by the Sun-beings and compelled to submit to them in such a

manner, that their activities became a part of and subordinate to the

activities of the Sun-beings. It is true that this happened only after the

lapse of long ages during which the Moon periods had become shorter and

shorter, and the Sun periods longer and longer. Now there again comes an

evolution during which the Sun and Moon form one world-organism. By this

time the physical human body has become quite etheric.

When it is said that the physical body has become etheric, it must not be

imagined that under such circumstances there is no existing physical body.

What was formed as a physical body during the Saturn, Sun, and Moon

periods, still exists. It is important to recognize the physical element

even where it is not externally and physically manifested. It may also be

present in such a way that it shows outwardly an etheric or even an astral

form. We must distinguish between the outward appearance and the inner

law. What is physical may become etheric and astral, at the same time

retain in itself the physical law. That is the case when the physical body

of man has attained a certain degree of perfection on the Moon. It becomes

etheric in form.

But when clairvoyant observation, which can perceive such things, is

directed toward an etheric body of this kind, that body is seen to be

ruled by physical, not etheric, laws. The physical element has in this

case been taken into the etheric world, there to rest and to be nurtured

as though in a mother’s tender care. Later it again emerges in a physical

form, but at a higher stage. If Moon-humanity had kept its physical body

in its coarse physical form, the Moon would never have been able to unite

itself with the Sun. By accepting the etheric form, the physical body

becomes more closely related to the etheric body, and by this means can

again be more closely interpenetrated with those parts of the etheric and

astral bodies which had been forced to withdraw from it during the Sun

periods of the Moon evolution. Man, who appeared as a being with a

two-fold nature during the separation of Sun and Moon, again becomes an

undivided being. The physical becomes more psychic. Therefore the psychic

also becomes more closely connected with the physical.

Now the Sun-Spirits, into whose immediate sphere this undivided human

being has entered, are able to act upon it in quite a different manner

from their previous influence from without on the Moon. Man is now in a

more psycho-spiritual environment. Owing to this, the Lords of Wisdom are

able to effect something momentous. They imbue and inspire him with

wisdom. He thereby becomes in a certain sense an independent soul. And to

the influence of these beings is added that of the Lords of Motion. They

act principally on the astral body, so that under their influence it

produces psychic activity, and an etheric body filled with wisdom. The

latter is the foundation of that which has been described above as the

rational or intellectual soul in contemporary man, whereas the astral

body, inspired by the Lords of Motion, is the germ of the sentient soul.

And because all this is effected in man’s being in his progressed

condition of independence, these germs of the rational and sentient soul

appear as the expression of the Spirit-Self. In this connection the

mistake must not be made of thinking that at this period of evolution the

Spirit-Self was something separate from the intellectual and sentient

souls. The latter are only the expression of the Spirit-Self, which

signifies their higher unity and harmony.

It is especially significant that the Lords of Wisdom intervene at this

period in the manner described. For they do this not only with regard to

humanity but also for the benefit of the other kingdoms which have been

elaborated on the Moon. Upon the reunion of Sun and Moon these lower

kingdoms are drawn into the Sun sphere. Everything in them which was

physical becomes etheric. There are, therefore, minela-plants and

plant-animals now in the Sun, just as there is humanity there. But those

other creatures are still endowed with their own laws of being. They

therefore feel like strangers in their environment. They came upon the

scene with a nature but little in harmony with their surroundings. But as

they have become etheric, the activity of the Lords of Wisdom may also

extend to them. Everything which has come from the Moon into the Sun now

becomes pervaded with the forces of the Lords of Wisdom. Hence what is

developed out of the Sun-Moon organism during this period of evolution may

be called in occult science the “Cosmos of Wisdom.”

When, therefore, after an interval of rest, our Earth system appears as

the successor of this Cosmos of Wisdom, all the beings newly emerging on

the earth, developing out of their Moon-germs, prove to be filled with

wisdom. And this is the reason why earthly man when contemplating the

things around him, is able to discover the wisdom concealed in their inner

nature. The wisdom in each leaf of a plant, in every bone in animal and

man, in the marvelous structure of the brain and heart, fills us with

admiration. If man requires wisdom to understand things, and therefore

gathers wisdom from them, this shows that there is wisdom in the things

themselves. For however much man might have striven to understand things

by means of wise perceptions, he could not draw wisdom from them unless it

had first been put into them. He who tries by means of wisdom to

understand things, assuming at the same time that wisdom had not first

been concealed within them, may just as reasonably believe that he can

empty water out of a glass into which it has not first been poured. As

will be shown later in this book, the Earth is the “old Moon” risen again.

And it appears as an organism full of wisdom, because it was permeated by

the Lords of Wisdom and their forces during the epoch that has been

described.

It will easily be understood that this description of the Moon condition

could take account only of certain temporary forms of evolution. It was

necessary to pause at certain things in the progress of events, and single

them out for delineation. It is true that this kind of description gives

only isolated pictures, and it may be deplored for this reason, that in

the foregoing account the evolutionary scheme was not brought down to a

system of precise and definite concepts. But in the face of such an

objection it may be well to point out that the description was

intentionally given in less clearly defined outlines. For it is not of so

much consequence here to give speculative ideas and to construct theories

as to represent what really passes before the spiritual eyes of

clairvoyant consciousness, when looking back upon these events. With

regard to the Moon evolution this cannot be done in such sharp and

definite outlines as are characteristic of earthly perceptions. In the

Moon period we are mainly concerned with variable, changing impressions,

with shifting, moving pictures and their transitory stages. We have,

moreover, to bear in mind that we are contemplating an evolution

continuing through long, long periods of time, and that out of all that

presents itself, it is possible to seize upon only momentary pictures and

fix them for delineation.

The Moon period actually reached its highest point at the time when the

astral body, implanted in man, had brought him so far along the

evolutionary path that his physical body afforded the Sons of Life the

possibility of attaining their human stage. Man had then attained all that

this epoch could give him for himself, for his inner nature on the upward

path. The following, or second half of the Moon evolution may therefore be

termed the “ebb-tide,” or wane. But even during this ebb-tide one sees a

most important thing taking place with regard to man’s environment, and

even with regard to himself. It is now that wisdom is implanted in the

Sun-Moon body. It has been shown that during the ebb-tide the germs of the

intellectual and sentient souls are implanted. But the development of

these, as well as of the consciousness-soul and with it the birth of the

“Ego”—the free self consciousness—does not ensue until the Earth period.

At the Moon stage the intellectual- and sentient-souls have as yet no

appearance of being used by human beings as a means of expression; they

appear rather as instruments of those Sons of Life who belong to humanity.

Were we to describe the feeling of the human dweller on the Moon in this

respect, we should have to say that he experiences the following: “The Son

of Life lives in and through me; he surveys through me the environment of

the Moon; in me he reflects upon the things and beings of that

environment.” The Moon human being feels himself overshadowed by the Son

of Life, and looks upon himself as the instrument of that higher being.

During the time of the separation of Sun and Moon he felt a greater

measure of independence when the Sun was turned away from him; but at the

same time he also felt as though the ego belonging to him, which had

disappeared from the picture-consciousness during the Sun period, now

became visible. It was, for Moon-humanity, what may be described as a

change in the states of consciousness, so that the Moon-being had this

feeling: “In the Sun period my ego wafts me away into higher regions, into

the presence of exalted beings, and when the Sun disappears it descends

with me into lower worlds.”

The actual Moon evolution was preceded by a preparatory stage. In a

certain way the Saturn and Sun evolutions were recapitulated. Now, after

the reunion of Sun and Moon, during what we have termed the ebb-tide, two

epochs may be distinguished one from the other. In the course of these,

even physical condensation occurs to a certain degree. Therefore

psycho-spiritual conditions of the Sun-Moon organism alternate with others

of a more physical nature. In such physical epochs human beings and those

of the lower kingdoms appear as though they were preparing, in stiff not

yet self-reliant forms, the type of what they were to become in a more

independent manner during the Earth period. We may therefore speak of two

preparatory epochs in the Moon evolution, and of two others during the

ebb-tide. In occult science such epochs may be termed cycles.(20) In that

period which follows the two preparatory epochs, and precedes those of the

ebb-tide—that is to say, during the time of the separation of the

Moon—three epochs can again be distinguished. The middle period is the

time when the Sons of Life reached the human level. It is preceded by a

period in which all conditions lead up to that crowning event; and it is

followed by one which may be called a time of adaptation and of perfecting

the new creations.

In this way the middle period of the Moon evolution is again divided into

three epochs, which, with the two preparatory periods and the two during

the ebb-tide make up seven Moon cycles, or rounds. It may therefore be

said that the whole Moon evolution passes through seven cycles, or rounds.

Between them are intervals of rest, which have been mentioned repeatedly

in the above description. Yet we can approach a true concept of these

facts only if we do not think of the changes between the periods of

activity and those of rest, as sudden ones. For instance, the Sun-beings

little by little withdraw their activity from the Moon. A time begins for

them which, viewed from without, appears to be their resting period,

whereas in reality an intense, independent activity still continues on the

Moon itself. Thus the active period of one kind of being repeatedly

extends into the resting time of another. If we take account of such

things we may speak of a rhythmic ascent and descent of forces in cycles.

Indeed, similar divisions are to be recognized even within the seven Moon

cycles mentioned. We may then call the whole Moon evolution one great

cycle, and the seven divisions, or rounds, within it, “small” cycles; and

again, the separate parts of these, “smaller” cycles. This systematic

arrangement into seven times seven divisions is also noticeable in the Sun

evolution and can be indicated during the Saturn period. Yet we must bear

in mind that the boundaries between the divisions are somewhat obliterated

even in the Sun, and still more so in Saturn. These boundaries become more

and more defined the nearer evolution advances to the Earth period.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

At the close of the Moon evolution, which has been sketched in the

foregoing pages, all the beings and forces connected with it enter upon a

more spiritual form of existence. This is on quite a different plane from

that of the Moon period, and also from that of the Earth evolution which

follows. A being possessed of faculties so highly developed as to enable

him to perceive all the details of the Moon and Earth evolutions need not

necessarily be able to see what happens during the interval between the

two periods. For one possessing such vision, beings and forces would, at

the end of the Moon period, disappear, as it were, into nothingness; and

after an interval they would issue forth again from the dusky twilight of

the cosmic depths. Only a being endowed with considerably higher faculties

would be capable of following up the spiritual events which take place

during this interval.

When this interval is over, the beings who took part in the evolutionary

processes on Saturn, Sun, and Moon reappear endowed with new faculties.

Beings of a higher order than man have, by their former achievements, won

the power of bringing man’s evolution forward to a point at which he would

be able to unfold in himself, during the Earth period, a form of

consciousness which stands a step higher than the picture-consciousness he

had possessed during the Moon period. But man must first be prepared to

receive this gift.

During the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions, he incorporated within his

being the physical, etheric, and astral bodies. But those bodies were only

endowed with such faculties and powers as enabled them to have a

picture-consciousness; the organs and forms by means of which they could

attain to a cognizance of a world of outer sense-objects, such as is

requisite for the Earth stage, were still wanting. Just as the new plant

unfolds only what is concealed in the seed originating from the old plant,

so do the three principles of man’s nature appear, at the beginning of the

new stage of evolution, with such forms and organs as will enable them to

develop only a picture-consciousness. It is necessary first to prepare

them for the unfolding of a higher state of consciousness.

This takes place in three preliminary stages. During the first, the

physical body is raised to a level at which it becomes able to undergo the

necessary remodeling which is to serve as a basis for consciousness of

outer objects. This is one of the preliminary stages of the actual earth

evolution, and may be called a recapitulation of the Saturn period on a

higher level. For during this period, as during the Saturn period, higher

beings are working only on the physical body. When the latter has

progressed far enough in its evolution, all beings must first again pass

into a higher form of existence before the etheric body can also progress.

The physical body must, as it were, be recast, in order to be able, in its

remodeled state, to receive the more highly constituted etheric body.

After this interval devoted to a higher form of existence, a kind of

recapitulation of the Sun evolution on a higher level, occurs for the

purpose of shaping the etheric body. And after another interval, a similar

thing occurs for the astral body, by means of a recapitulation of the Moon

evolution.

Let us now turn our attention to the evolutionary processes taking place

after the close of the third recapitulation described. All beings and

forces have passed again into a state of spiritualization. During that

state they ascended into higher worlds. The lowest of the worlds, in which

something of them is still to be perceived during this spiritualizing

epoch, are the same in which contemporary man sojourns between death and a

new birth. These are the regions of the spirit-world. Thence the beings

and forces gradually descend again into lower worlds. Before the physical

Earth evolution begins they have so far descended that their lowest

manifestations are to be seen in the astral or psychic world.

Everything human existing at that period is still in its astral form. In

order to understand this condition of humanity, attention should be paid

especially to the fact that though man has within him the physical,

etheric and astral bodies, yet the physical and etheric bodies are not

present in their own forms but in astral form. It is not physical form

that makes the physical body physical, but the fact that it embodies

physical laws, although possessing an astral form. It is a being in a

psychic form with a physical law of existence. The etheric body is in a

similar position.

To spiritual vision the Earth at this stage of evolution appears at first

as a heavenly body all soul and spirit, in which, therefore, even physical

and life forces appear in a psychic form. In this world-organism

everything which will subsequently be moulded into the creatures of the

physical earth is contained in a germinal state. The globe is luminous;

but its light is not yet such as could be seen by physical eyes, supposing

even that they had then existed. The globe shines only in psychic light to

the opened vision of the seer.

A process now takes place on this globe which may be designated

“condensation.” The result of this is that after a time a fiery form

appears in the midst of the psychic globe; this condition was similar to

that of Saturn in its densest state. This fiery form is interpenetrated by

the action of the various beings who are taking part in the evolution. The

reciprocal action which is to be observed between those beings and the

planetary body is like a rising out of and a diving into the earth’s fiery

globe. Hence the earth’s globe is by no means a homogeneous substance, but

has somewhat the character of an ensouled and spiritualized organism. The

beings destined to become human on the earth in man’s present form are as

yet in a condition which renders them the least capable of sharing in the

activity of plunging into the fiery globe. They remain almost entirely in

the uncondensed environment. They are still living in the bosom of the

higher spiritual beings. At this stage they come in contact with the fiery

earth at only one point of their psychic form, and this causes one part of

their astral form to be densified by the heat. Thus earth-life is

enkindled in them. They therefore still belong to psycho-spiritual worlds

with regard to the greater part of their nature, but by coming in contact

with the earth’s fire, vital heat plays around them.

If we wish to draw a material, yet supersensible, picture of these human

beings in the very beginning of the earth’s evolution, we must imagine a

psychic ovoid, or egg, contained within the circumference of the earth,

and enclosed on its lower surface, as an acorn is by its cup. The

substance of the cup, however, consists solely of heat or fire. The

process of being enveloped by heat not only causes the kindling of life in

the human being, but a change appears simultaneously in the astral body.

In this body becomes incorporated the first germ of what afterwards

becomes the sentient-soul. We may therefore say that man at this stage of

his existence consists of the sentient-soul, the astral body, the etheric

body, and the physical body, which latter is formed out of fire. Those

spiritual beings who participate in human existence surge through the

astral body. Man feels himself bound to the earth body by the

sentient-soul. He has therefore at this time a preponderating

picture-consciousness, in which are manifested those spiritual beings in

whose bosom he reposes; and the feeling of his own body seems to be merely

a point within that consciousness. He looks down, so to speak, from the

spiritual world upon earthly possession, which he feels belongs to him.

Further and further the condensation of the earth now proceeds and at the

same time the differentiation of the various parts of man, as has been

described, becomes more and more defined. From a definite point of

evolution onward, the earth is so far condensed that only part of it is

fiery; another part has assumed a substantial shape, which may be termed

“gas” or “air.” A change also takes place now in man. He is not only

brought into contact with the heat of the earth, but the air substance is

incorporated in his fire-body. And as heat kindled life in him, the air

playing around him creates an effect within him which may be called

(spiritual) sound. His etheric body begins to resound. Simultaneously, a

part of the astral body becomes separated from the remainder; this part is

the germ of the intellectual-soul which appears later.

In order to bring before our eyes what takes place in the human soul at

this time, we must notice that the beings superior to man are surging

through the airy-fiery body of the earth. In the fire-earth it is at first

the Sons of Personality who are of importance to man, and when man is

stirred into life by the heat of the earth his sentient soul says to

itself, “These are the Sons of Personality.” In the same way the beings

called “Archangels” earlier in this book (in accordance with Christian

esotericism) appear in the air-sphere. It is their influences which man

feels within him as sound, when the air plays around him. And the

intellectual-soul then says to itself, “These are the Archangels.” Thus

what man at this stage perceives, through his connection with the earth,

is not as yet a collection of physical objects, but he lives in sensations

of heat which rise up to him, and in sounds; in those heat currents and

sound waves, however, he feels the Sons of Personality and the Archangels.

It is true that he cannot perceive those beings directly, only, as it

were, through a veil of heat and sound. While these perceptions are

penetrating from the earth into his soul, there continue to ascend and

descend within it the images of those higher beings in whose tender care

he feels himself to be.

Now evolution takes a further step, which is once more expressed in

condensation. Watery substance is incorporated into the Earth-body, so

that now the latter consists of three parts,—igneous, aeriform, and

aqueous. Before this happens, something of great importance takes place.

An independent celestial body is split off from the fiery-aeriform earth;

this new body becomes in its later development our present sun.(21)

Previously, earth and sun had formed one body. After the sun had been

split off, the earth still has at first everything within it which is in

and on the present moon. The separation of the sun takes place because

higher beings could no longer carry on their own evolution as well as

their task on Earth within this atmosphere, now densified to the

consistency of water. They separate from the general mass of the Earth the

only substances useful to them, and fare forth to make a new abode for

themselves in the sun. They now influence the earth from the sun, from

outside. Man, however, needs for his further evolution an environment in

which matter becomes still more condensed.

With the incorporation of watery substance in the earth-body a change also

takes place in man. Henceforth not only does fire stream into him and air

play around him, but watery substance is incorporated into his physical

body. At the same time his etheric part changes: that is, it is now

perceived by man as a fine light-body. Previous to this, man had felt

currents of heat rising up to him from the earth: he had felt air

surrounding him through tones; now, the watery element also penetrates his

fire-air body, and he sees its ebb and flow as the alternate flaring up

and dimming of light. But a change has also taken place in his soul. To

the germs of the sentient and intellectual souls is added that of the

consciousness-soul. The “Angels” work in the element of water; they are

also the real producers of light. It was as though they appeared to man in

light.

The higher beings who were previously in the Earth-planet itself, now

influence it from the sun. On this account all effects produced on the

earth are changed. The human being chained to earth would no longer be

able to feel the influence of the sun-beings within him, if his soul were

unceasingly turned toward the earth, from which his physical body is

taken. A change now appears in the conditions of human consciousness. At

certain times the sun-beings wrest the soul of man from his physical body,

so that man is now alternately purely psychic, in the bosom of the

sun-beings, and, when united with the body, in a condition in which he

receives earth influences. When in the physical body, heat currents stream

up to him; a sea of air is sounding round him and water pours into and out

of him. When man is out of his body the images of the higher beings in

whose care he is, float through his soul.

The earth passes through two periods at this stage of its evolution.

During one of these it allows its substances to circulate around the human

souls and clothe them with bodies; during the other, the souls have

withdrawn from it, and only the bodies are left and the human beings are

in a condition of sleep. It is speaking quite in conformity with facts to

say that in those times of a remote past the earth passed through a day

and a night time. (Expressed in terms of physical space this means that

through the reciprocal action of the sun-beings and the earth-beings, the

earth is brought into a movement in relation with the sun; thus there is

brought about the alternation of day and night periods described above.

The day period is when the surface of the earth, on which man is evolving,

is turned toward the sun; the night period, the time when man leads a

purely psychic existence, is when the earth’s surface is turned away from

the sun. Now it must not, of course, be imagined that in that far-off time

the earth’s motion around the sun was like its present motion. The

conditions were still utterly different. But even at this early point it

is helpful to realize that the motions of the celestial bodies are a

consequence of the mutual relations of the spiritual beings inhabiting

them. Spiritual-psychic causes produce in the celestial bodies positions

and motions which permit the manifestation of spiritual conditions on the

physical plane.)

If our gaze were turned upon the earth during its night period, its body

would appear like a corpse. For it consists to a great extent of the

decaying bodies of those human beings whose souls are in another state of

existence. The organized watery and aeriform structures of which human

bodies were formed become disintegrated, and dissolve into the rest of the

earth’s substance. Only that part of man’s body which was formed from the

very beginning of the earth evolution by the co-operation of fire and the

human soul, and which subsequently became denser and denser, continues to

exist as an insignificant looking embryo. Now when the day period begins,

the earth once more participates directly in the sun influence, and human

souls press forward into the sphere of physical life. They come in contact

with the embryos, and cause them to spring up and assume an external form,

which appears like an image of man’s psychic being. Something like a

delicate fertilization then takes place between the human soul and the

bodily embryo.

The souls thus embodied now begin once more to attract the aeriform and

watery substances and incorporate them in their own bodies. Air is

expelled and absorbed by the organized body,—the first beginning of that

which later appears as the respiratory process. Water too is absorbed and

expelled; the nutritive process in its original form has begun. But these

processes are not yet perceived as external ones. A kind of external

perception takes place in the soul only by means of the already

characterized kind of fertilization. Here the soul vaguely feels its

awakening to physical existence when it comes in contact with the embryo

which is held toward it from the earth. It then feels something which may

be put into words thus: “This is my form.” And such a feeling, which might

even be called a dawning consciousness of self, abides within the soul

through this union with the physical body. But the soul still feels the

process of absorbing air in an absolutely psycho-spiritual way, as an

image, which appears in the form of tone-pictures surging up and down;

these give form to the embryo which is being incorporated within them. The

soul everywhere feels itself in the midst of sound waves, and that it is

fashioning the body in accordance with those tone forces. Thus are human

forms developed at that stage of evolution. They cannot be observed in any

external world by our present consciousness. They evolve like vegetable or

flower forms of fine substance, therefore appear like flowers waving in

the wind.

During his Earth period, man experiences the blissful feeling of being

fashioned into such forms. The absorption of the watery parts is felt in

the soul as an accession of force, or inner strength. From without it

appears as growth of the physical human structure. As the direct influence

of the sun decreases, the human soul also loses the power of controlling

these processes. By degrees they are cast aside. Only those parts are left

which allow the embryo, above described, to mature. But man leaves his

body, and returns to the spiritual form of existence. (As not all parts of

the earth’s body are employed in building up human bodies, we must not

imagine that during the earth’s night period, it is composed exclusively

of disintegrating corpses and embryos waiting to be awakened. All these

are imbedded in other structures, which are formed out of the earth’s

substances. The status of those structures will be explained later.)

Now, however, the process of condensing the earth’s substance continues.

To the watery element is added the solid or “earthly” substance (“earthly”

in the sense of occult science). And when this happens man also, during

his earth period, begins to incorporate the earthly element in his body.

As soon as this incorporation begins, the forces which the soul brings

with it out of the disembodied state, no longer have the same power as

before. Previously, the soul had fashioned its body out of the igneous,

aeriform, and watery elements, in accordance with the tones which

resounded and the light-pictures which played around it. The soul cannot

do this with regard to the solidified form. Other forces now interpose to

shape it. What is left behind of man, when the soul withdraws from the

body, is not only an embryo to be fanned into life by the returning soul,

but a structure containing in itself reanimating power. The soul, at its

departure, not only leaves its image behind on earth but sends down some

of its animating power into that image.

Now on its reappearance on earth the soul alone no longer suffices to

awaken the image to life; reanimation must take place in the image itself.

The spiritual beings influencing the earth from the sun now uphold the

reanimating force that is in the human body, even though man himself is

not upon the earth. Thus, during its incarnation, the soul is not only

sensible of the sounds and light-pictures floating around, in which it

feels the beings next above it, but, through receiving the earthly

element, it comes under the influence of those still higher beings who

have taken up their abode on the sun. Previously, man felt that he

belonged to the psycho-spiritual beings with whom he was united when free

from the body. His ego was still within them. Now that ego confronts him

during physical incarnation, quite as much as everything else which is

around him during that period. Independent images of the psycho-spiritual

being of man were henceforth on the earth. These structures, in comparison

with the present human body, were of a finer material. For the earthly

part mixed with them only in its finest state, much in the same way as

when man of the present day absorbs the finely distributed substances of

an object through his organ of smell. Human bodies were like shadows. But

as they were distributed over the whole earth they came under earth

influences, which varied in their nature on different parts of the earth’s

surface. Whereas formerly bodily images corresponded to the human soul

animating them, and on that account were essentially alike over the whole

earth, differences now appeared between human forms. In this manner the

way was prepared for what appeared later as differences of race.

When the human body became independent, the previous close union of the

earth-man with the psycho-spiritual world was to a certain extent

dissolved. Henceforth, when the soul left the body, the latter, in a way,

continued to live. If evolution had gone on advancing in this manner, the

earth would have hardened under the influence of its solid elements. To

the eyes of the seer who looks back on those conditions, human bodies,

when abandoned by their souls, appear to become more and more solidified.

And after a time the human souls returning to earth would have found no

available material with which to combine. All the substances available for

man would have been used up in filling the earth with the hardened,

wood-like remains of incarnations.

Then an event took place which gave a new turn to the whole evolution.

Everything in the solid earthly substance which could contribute to

permanent induration was eliminated. At this point our present moon left

the earth. And what had previously directly conduced to a moulding of

permanent forms, now operated from the moon indirectly and in a diminished

degree. The higher beings, on whom that moulding of forms depended, had

resolved to exercise their influences upon their earth no longer from its

interior, but from without. By this means there was brought about in the

bodily structure of man a difference which must be called the beginning of

the separation into a male and a female sex.

The finely constituted human forms which formerly inhabited the earth, had

produced through cooperation of the two forces within themselves, that of

the embryo and that of the animating force, the new human form, their

descendant. These descendants are now transformed. In one group the

animating power of the psycho-spiritual element was paramount; in another

the animating germinal force. This was caused by the weakening of the

power of the solid element in consequence of the moon’s leaving the earth.

The reciprocal action of these two forces now became more delicate than it

had been before—when it occurred within one single body, consequently the

descendant also became more delicate and fine. He entered the earth in a

delicate condition, and only gradually incorporated more solid parts

within him. In this way the possibility of union with the body was once

more given to the human soul returning to earth. It no longer animated the

body from without, because that animation took place on the earth itself;

but it became united with the body, and enabled it to grow. Of course a

certain limit was set to that growth. Through the separation of the moon,

the human body had for a time become supple; but the more it continued to

grow on the earth, the more the solidifying forces got the upper hand. At

length the share borne by the soul in the organization of the body grew

less and less, and the body disintegrated when the soul ascended to

psycho-spiritual modes of existence. One can trace how the forces

gradually acquired by man during the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions take

part more and more in the progress of man during the described formative

periods of the earth. The first part to be kindled by the earth’s fire is

the astral body, still containing within it the etheric and physical

bodies in a state of solution. Then the astral body is organized into a

more subtle astral part, the sentient soul, and into a grosser etheric

part, which henceforth is in contact with the earth-element; when this

occurs, the etheric or vital body, already fore-shadowed, makes its

appearance. And while the intellectual and consciousness-souls are being

evolved in the astral man, there are incorporated into the etheric body

those coarser parts which are susceptible to sound and light.

At the time when the etheric body still further densifies and changes from

a light-body into a fire or heat-body, the stage of evolution has been

reached at which, as described above, parts of the solid earth-element are

incorporated into man. Because the etheric body has condensed to the

consistency of fire, it is now able, by means of the forces of the

physical body previously implanted in it, to combine with those substances

of the physical earth attenuated as far as the fire-state. But by itself

it would no longer be able to introduce air substances into the body which

has meanwhile become more solidified. Then, as indicated above, the higher

beings dwelling on the sun interpose, breathing air into the body. While

man, by virtue of his past, is able of himself to become permeated with

earthly fire, higher beings direct the breath of air into his body.

Heretofore the etheric body of man, as a receiver of sound, had been the

director of the air current. It permeated man’s physical body with life.

Now the physical body gets life from without. The result is that this life

becomes independent of the soul part of man. On departing from the earth,

the soul leaves behind not only the seed of its form, but also a living

image of itself. The Lords of Form now remain united with that image, and

the life they have bestowed, they transfer to man’s descendants, when his

soul has left the body. Thus comes about what may be called heredity, and

when the human soul once more appears on earth it feels that it is in a

body animated by the life of its ancestors. It feels itself especially

attracted to just that kind of a body. In this way something like a

_memory_ is formed of the ancestor with whom the soul feels itself to be

at one. This memory passes through the line of descendants in the form of

a consciousness possessed in common. The ego thus flows down through the

generations.

At this stage of evolution man, during his life on earth, was conscious of

himself as an independent being. He felt the inner fire of his etheric

body to be combined with the external fire of the earth. He could feel the

heat that was streaming through him as his own ego. In those heat

currents, interwoven with life, are to be found the first beginnings of

the circulation of the blood. But in what flowed into him as air, he did

not exactly feel as his own being. Indeed, it was the forces of the higher

beings we have described that were working in that air. But still there

was left to him, within the air that flowed through him, that part of the

active forces which belonged to him by virtue of his previously formed

etheric powers. He was master in one part of those air currents. And to

that extent, it was not only the higher beings who were shaping him, but

he himself. He formed the air parts of his being in accordance with the

images of his astral body. While air was thus flowing into his body from

without, a process which became the basis of respiration, part of the air

was formed within him into an organism which became fixed and was the

basis of the subsequent nervous system. Thus man at this period was

connected with the external earth by heat and air.

On the other hand, he was not conscious of the introduction within himself

of the solid element of the earth. Although it contributed to his own

embodiment, he could not perceive directly what was being supplied but

could only do so through a dim consciousness in the image of the higher

beings who were active in the process. In the same kind of picture-form,

as an expression of the beings above him, man had previously perceived the

introduction of the fluid element into the earth. Through the

densification of his earthly form the pictures have now undergone a change

in his consciousness. The solid element has been mixed with the fluid.

This incoming of the solid element must also be seen to be the work of

higher beings operated from without. It is no longer possible for the

human soul to have the power of directing the supply for that supply has

now to serve his body, which is being built up from without. He would

spoil its form if he were to direct the influx himself.

What, therefore, reaches him from without appears to him to be directed by

authoritative orders issuing from the higher beings who are at work on the

shaping of his body. Man feels himself to be an ego; he has within him, as

part of his astral body, his intellectual-soul, through which he inwardly

perceives, in the form of pictures, what is happening externally, and by

means of which he permeates his delicate nervous system. He feels himself

to be descended from ancestors, by virtue of the life flowing down through

the generations. He breathes, and feels it to be the effect of the higher

beings who have been described as the Lords of Form. He is likewise

subject to their impulses in all that which comes to him from the outside

(as his food). What he finds most obscure is his origin as an individual.

As to that, he only knows that he has been under the influence of the

Lords of Form expressing themselves in earth-forces. In his relations with

the outer world, man was guided and ruled. This finds expression through

the fact that man has a consciousness of the psycho-spiritual activities

operating behind his physical environment. It is true that he does not see

the spiritual beings in their own form, but he is conscious in his soul of

sounds and colors. He knows, however, that it is the actions of spiritual

beings that are realized through that world of images. What those beings

communicate to him, reaches him as sound; their manifestations appear to

him in light-pictures.

The innermost concepts, of which earthly man becomes conscious, are those

conveyed to him by the element of fire or warmth. He can already

distinguish between his own inner heat and the heat currents of the

earth’s periphery. In these latter are manifested the Sons of Personality.

But man has only a dim consciousness of what is behind the currents of

external heat. It is in those very currents that he feels the influence of

the Lords of Form. When powerful effects of heat are produced in man’s

environment, the soul feels that spiritual beings are now heating the

earth’s circumference—beings, from whom a spark has been detached, which

warms his inner being.

In the effect of light, however, man does not yet distinguish in quite the

same manner between the outer and the inner. When light-pictures appear

around him, they do not always produce the same feeling in the soul of the

earth-man. There were times when he felt them as external images. This was

during the period when he had just descended from the disembodied state

into incarnation. It was the period of his growth on earth. As the time

approached for the embryo to be developed those images faded, and man only

retained something like inner memory-pictures of them. The actions of the

Sons of Fire (Archangels) were contained in those light-pictures, which

appeared to man to be the servitors of the Fire-spirits who sent down a

spark into his own inner being. When their outer manifestations died away,

man felt them inwardly in the form of images (memories). He felt himself

united with their forces. And so indeed he was. For by means of what he

had received from them, he was able to work upon his surrounding

atmosphere. This, under his influence, began to emit light.

At that time nature forces and human forces were not as yet separated from

each other as they subsequently became. What happened on earth still

emanated to a great extent from human forces. Viewing nature processes on

the earth from the outside, one would then have seen in them not only

something independent of man, but also the effect of human activity within

those processes. Sound-perceptions assumed a still more different form to

the earth-man. From the beginning of earth-life they had been perceived as

outer tones. Whereas the external air pictures were perceived up to the

middle of earth existence, the external tones could be heard even after

that middle period. And only toward the end of his life did the earth-man

become insensible to them. But the memory-pictures of those sounds

remained. In them were contained the manifestations of the Sons of Life

(Angels). When, toward the end of his life, man felt himself inwardly

united with those forces, he was able, by imitating them, to produce

mighty effects in the earth’s watery element. The waters surged in and

above the earth under his influence. Man had perceptions of taste only

during the first quarter of his earth-life, and even then they seemed to

the soul like a memory of the experience of his disembodied state. As long

as they lasted, his body continued to grow more and more solid by

assimilating external substances. In the second quarter of earth life

growth still continued, but the form was already fully developed. At this

time man could perceive other living beings near him only through their

heat, light, and sound effects; for he was not as yet capable of imagining

the solid element. During the first quarter of his life he received the

taste-impressions described, only through the watery element.

Man’s external bodily form was an image of this inner psychic condition.

Those parts were most fully developed which contained the first

fore-shadowing of the later form of the head. The other organs appeared

only as appendages. These were shadowy and indistinct. Yet earth-beings

varied with regard to form. There were some in whom the appendages were

more or less developed, according to the earth-conditions under which they

lived. This varied with people’s different dwelling places on the earth.

Where they were more involved in the things of earth, the appendages

became more prominent. Those human beings who at the beginning of physical

development on earth were the ripest, owing to their previous evolution,

having come in contact with the fire-element at the very beginning before

the earth had been condensed into air, were those now able to develop the

first beginnings of the head most completely. They were those persons

possessing most inner harmony.

Others were ready for contact with the fire-element only when the earth

had already evolved air within it. They were more dependent upon outer

conditions than the first mentioned, who distinctly felt the Lords of Form

through heat, and during their earth-life felt as though they retained a

memory of having belonged to those spirits and of having been connected

with them in the disembodied state. The second species of human beings

only had the memory of the disembodied state to a more limited degree;

they were conscious of their fellowship with the spiritual world chiefly

through the light-influences of the Sons of Fire (Archangels). A third

type of human beings was still more entangled in earthly existence. It was

they who were unable to come in contact with the fire-element until the

earth was separated from the sun and had absorbed the watery element

within itself. Their feeling of fellowship with the spiritual world was

especially slight at the beginning of earth-life. Only when the activities

of the Archangels, and more especially of the Angels, influenced the inner

imaginative life, did they feel this connection to any degree. On the

other hand, at the beginning of the earth-period they were full of active

impulses for performing deeds which can be accomplished under earthly

conditions only. In them the extremities were particularly strongly

developed.

When the Moon-forces, before the separation of the moon from the earth,

tended more and more to harden the latter, it happened that among the

descendants of the embryos left behind upon the earth by man, there were

some in whom human souls returning from the disembodied state could no

longer incarnate in consequence of the Moon-forces. The form of these

descendants was too much solidified and through the Moon-forces, had

become too unlike the human form to be able to reassume it. Consequently

certain human souls no longer found it possible, under these

circumstances, to return to earth. Only the ripest and strongest of these

souls felt competent to transform the earth-body during its growth, so

that it could blossom into a human form. Only a portion of the bodily

descendants of man became the vehicles of earthly human beings. Another

part, because of its solidified form, was able to receive only souls on a

lower level than those of men. But there was one group of human souls,

however, which was prevented from participating in the earth-evolution of

that time. In this way they were driven to embark on another course.

There were souls who, as far back as the separation of the sun from the

earth, found no place on the latter. For their further evolution they were

removed to a planet which, under the guidance of cosmic beings, was

detached from the universal world-substance,—that substance of which the

earth formed a part at the beginning of its physical evolution, and from

which the sun had separated. This planet, in its physical expression, is

the one known to outer science as “Jupiter.” (Here we are speaking of

celestial bodies, planets, and their names exactly in the sense of a more

ancient science, and as is in harmony with occult science. Just as the

physical earth is only the physical expression of a great psycho-spiritual

organism, so is every other celestial body. And as the seer does not

denote only the physical planet by the word “earth,” nor only the physical

fixed star by “sun,” so when speaking of “Jupiter,” “Mars,” and the other

planets, he signifies far-reaching spiritual relationships. The form and

mission of the heavenly bodies have, in the nature of things, been

essentially changed since the times of which we are here speaking,—in a

certain respect even their position in celestial space has been changed.

It is possible only for one who follows with the seer’s vision the

evolution of those celestial bodies back to remote ages of the past, to

apprehend the connection of contemporary planets with their predecessors.)

On Jupiter the souls that have been described continued their evolution.

And later, when the earth was tending more and more toward solidification,

still another abode had to be prepared for souls who even though they were

able to occupy the solidified bodies for a time, could no longer do so

when this solidification had progressed too far. An appropriate place for

their further evolution was prepared on “Mars.” Even as far back as the

time when the soul was still united with the sun, and was incorporating

the sun’s air elements within itself, certain souls were proving unfit to

participate in the earth’s evolution. They were too powerfully affected by

the earthly bodily form. Accordingly, even at that time, they had to be

withdrawn from the direct influence of the Sun-forces. These had to

influence them from without. The planet Saturn became the scene of their

further evolution.

Thus, in the course of the earth’s evolution, the number of human forms

decreased, and forms appeared which had not embodied human souls. These

were able to receive only astral bodies as the human physical and etheric

bodies on the old Moon had done. While the earth was becoming depopulated

as far as human beings were concerned, these other beings were colonizing

it. Eventually all human souls would have been compelled to leave the

earth if, by detaching the Moon from it, a way had not been provided to

preserve those human bodies which at that time could still harbor human

souls. It was made possible for these, during their earth life, to

withdraw the human ego from the effects of the Moon-forces coming directly

from the earth, thus allowing it to mature sufficiently within themselves

until it could be exposed directly to those forces. As long as the embryo

was developing within man, it was under the influence of those beings who,

under the leadership of the mightiest of their number, had detached the

moon from the earth in order to conduct the evolution of the latter over a

critical point.

When the earth had developed the air element within it, astral beings were

present as described above, who had belonged to the old Moon and who had

been left behind. They had fallen short even of the lowest human souls in

their evolution. They became the souls of those forms which already before

the separation of the Sun had to be abandoned by man. These beings are the

ancestors of the animal kingdom. As time went on, they developed

especially those organs which in man thus far only existed as appendages.

Their astral body had to work on the physical and etheric bodies in the

same way as did the human astral body during the old Moon-period. Now the

animals which had thus come into existence had souls which could not dwell

in the individual animals. The soul extended its being also to the

descendant. Virtually, animals descended from one form have a soul in

common. Only when the descendant diverges from the ancestral type through

special influences, does a new animal soul become incarnated. In this

sense, in accordance with occult science, we can speak of a species or

group-soul, in animals.

Something of a similar nature took place at the time of the separation of

sun and earth. There came forth from the watery element, forms no further

evolved than man was before the old Moon-evolution. They could only

receive an impression from anything of an astral nature when the latter

influenced them from without. This could not happen until after the

departure of the sun from the earth. Whenever the sun-period of the earth

set in, the astral element in the sun stimulated these forms in such a way

that they formed their vital body out of the etheric part of the earth.

When the sun turned away from the earth, that etheric body was again

dissolved into the common earth-life. And as a result of the co-operation

of the astral part of the sun with the etheric part of the earth, there

emerged from the watery element those physical forms which became the

ancestors of the present vegetable kingdom.