Steiner referred to galaxies occasionally, just as he occasionally acknowledged other astronomical realities such as the existence of planets beyond Saturn or the truth that planets orbit the Sun. But for the most part, he denied the relevance of inconvenient scientific truths, essentially omitting them from his cosmology. [See "Higher Worlds" and "Deception".] Even when appearing to recognize scientific findings, he spoke in terms that create doubt as to whether he comprehended the nature of the phenomena he mentioned. "[I]t would be wrong to imagine that having passed through the portal of death we do not belong to any forces at all, for after death we are connected with the forces of the solar system and the other galaxies." — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND HUMANITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1992), lecture 3, GA 15.

The central, formal body of the Anthroposophical movement, headquartered in the Goetheanum, in Dornach, Switzerland. The General Society grew out of the original Anthroposophical Society. In 1923, Rudolf Steiner reconstituted the Society as the General Society, at which point he for the first time assumed a formal leadership role. (Previously, he was the spiritual leader but not the titular leader of the Anthroposophical movement). There are also national and regional Anthroposophical societies, all with ties to the General Society.

Like other subjects studied in Waldorf schools, geology may be infected with occult beliefs. “We can show that the British isles have risen and sunk four times and thus follow the path of geology back to the concept of the ancient Atlantis ... [W]e should not be afraid to speak about the Atlantean land with the children. We should not skip that ... The only thing is, you will need to disavow normal geology since the Atlantean catastrophe occurred in the seventh or eighth millennium.” — R. Steiner. [See "Basement".]

These Theosophical terms tended to fall from Steiner's vocabulary later in his career. In general, we can think of globes as stages of form [see "Matters of Form"], although in Theosophy the term is elastic. Here is the beginning of the definition of "globe" given in the ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY (Theosophical University Press, 1999): "In theosophy, a unit in the constitution of every planet or sun, each of which is composed of several globes, in their entirety referred to as a planetary or solar chain. Furthermore, moons, nebulae, and comets also have a seven or twelvefold constitution, even as has man, who is a copy in the small of the universe."

gnomes - also see elemental spirits; fairies; goblins; nature spirits; salamanders; sylphs; undines

According to Steiner, nature spirits dwelling within the Earth; also called goblins. Steiner taught that such being are real but invisible to ordinary vision. "A gnome is only visible to someone who can see on the astral plane, but miners frequently possess such an astral vision [i.e., clairvoyance]; they know that gnomes are realities.” — R. Steiner. Waldorf classrooms often have gnome dolls or statuettes, and the children are often led to believe that gnomes are real. Some parents report that Waldorf teachers use the gnome figures to insinuate Anthroposophical religious beliefs into class in an apparently cute and harmless manner. [See "Neutered Nature" and "Gnomes".]

 

gnosis - also see gnosticism (i.e., hidden or occult knowledge); occult

Knowledge of spiritual mysteries. The major sources Steiner drew upon when formulating Anthroposophy were Theosophy and gnostic Christian teachings. Steiner altered those teachings, but the parallels between gnosticism and Anthroposophy are clear, Steiner taught that the roots of gnosticism extend far back; ancient peoples had their own gnostic wisdom that, while imperfect, accords with the highest spiritual wisdom today (i.e., Anthroposophy). “Those men in [ancient] Greece who meditated upon the earliest stages of world-evolution spoke of a primordial Being for the understanding of whose nature a much more highly spiritual mode of knowledge is required than for an understanding of the events described in the Old Testament. These men spoke of the Being whom they held to be the actual Creator of the world — the Demiurgos. [paragraph break] The Demiurgos was a Being dwelling in spheres of lofty spirituality, in a world devoid of every element of that material existence with which in the Bible story the humanity created by Jehovah is naturally associated. We must therefore think of the Demiurgos as a sublime Being, as the Creator of the world who sends forth other Beings from Himself. The Beings sent forth by the Demiurgos were ranked in successive stages, each stage being lower than the last ... In Greece they were known as Aeons — of the first rank, the second rank and so on. The Aeons were Beings who had issued from the Demiurgos. Among these Aeons, Jahve or Jehovah was a Being of a relatively subordinate rank. And this brings us to a consideration of the teachings of the Gnostics, as they were called, in the early centuries of Christendom. It was said that Jehovah united with matter and that from this union man came into existence ... According to this Gnostic conception, therefore, Jehovah was a somewhat lower descendant of the more lofty Aeons who had proceeded from the Demiurgos, and as the outcome of Jehovah's union with matter, man was created ... The Gnostic teaching was that in the man Jesus there had dwelt a Being belonging to the ranks of the Aeons, a Being of a far more highly spiritual order than Jahve or Jehovah.” [See "Gnosis".]

   

gnosticism - also see esoteric; gnosis; initiation; occult; Rosicrucian

a) Heretical Christian movement of 2nd Century.

b) Occultism stressing secret or “mystery” knowledge (salvation comes not truth faith or good works but through initiation into occult mysteries). [See "Gnosis."] • "Even the external scholarship of today has come to recognise that in this period of transition at the beginning of our era some religious-philosophic geniuses lived. And they can best be encountered by looking at Gnosticism. The Gnosis is known in the most varied ways. Externally, remarkably little is really known about it, but from the available documents one can still get an impression of its endless depth.” — R. Steiner, CHRIST AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), lecture 1, GA 149. • “In the early years of Christianity it was those in whom something of the old spiritual perception still lingered, who were best adapted to understand the cosmic significance of the life and death of Christ. Gnosticism had done its work before it was rejected by the Church. Steiner himself as a child brought with him into the world a vestigial relic of the old clairvoyance, the old ‘original’ participation. Biographies and his own autobiography bear witness to it. And it is credibly reported of him that he took deliberate steps to eliminate it, not even rejecting the help of alcohol, in order to clear the decks for the new clairvoyance it was his destiny both to predict and to develop.” — O. Barfield, “Introducing Rudolf Steiner” (TOWARDS, Fall-Winter, 1983).

 

goblins - also see fairies; gnomes; nature spirits; salamanders; sylphs; undines

In Anthroposophy: gnomes; nature spirits dwelling in the earth. Steiner taught that such beings actually exist. “There are beings that can be seen with clairvoyant vision at many spots in the depths of the earth ... If you dig into the metallic or stony ground you find beings which manifest at first in remarkable fashion — it is as if something were to scatter us. They seem able to crouch close together in vast numbers, and when the earth is laid open they appear to burst asunder ... Many names have been given to them, such as goblins, gnomes and so forth ... What one calls moral responsibility in man is entirely lacking in them ... Their nature prompts them to play all sorts of tricks on man....” — R. Steiner. [See "Gnomes".]

God - also see Christ; Father; Godhead; gods; Holy Ghost; Jehovah; polytheism; tritheism

Steiner taught that monotheism is only an ideal; no one-and-only God exists. Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".] Steiner and his followers often speak of "God," but strictly speaking there is no precise referent for this word in Anthroposophical teachings. This is why, for example, Steiner altered The Lord's Prayer so that instead of addressing "Our Father, which art in heaven" it addresses "Ye Fathers in the heavens." [See "Power Words".]

 

Godhead - also see God; Spirit Man; cf. Father; Jehovah

a) God, the originator.

b) The essence of God.

c) Divine nature; in Theosophy and Anthroposophy, Spirit Man.

d) Also in Anthroposophy, the ground of being; the creative force behind all creation; divine will (and thus, in a sense, coextensive with the divine cosmic plan); when taken as a refinement of the Christian triune God, the hierarchy above hierarchies (Father, Word, and Holy Ghost, or Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu). [See "God".]

 

gods - also see deva; Norse gods; planetary gods; polytheism

According to Steiner, real beings:  Zeus, Thor, etc.:  rulers of spheres and functions; immortal, Angelic, or spiritual beings above man. [See "The Gods" and "Polytheism".]

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832) - also see Goethean "science"; Goetheanum; light

German poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher. Steiner edited Goethe's "scientific" writings and affirmed them, arguing for example that Goethe was right and Newton was wrong about the nature of light. [See "Goethe".]

Goethean "science" - cf. science

Observation of nature in a manner predisposed to "see" spirit within; projecting one's beliefs rather than maintaining objectivity; discarded and disavowed by modern science, but affirmed by Steiner and his followers, including Waldorf teachers. [See "Goethe".]

              

Goetheanum

The worldwide Anthroposophical headquarters, in Switzerland. Essentially a cathedral, the Goetheanum — named for Goethe — houses a monumental statue of Christ. The main hall has a large pipe organ, an enormous ceiling mural, and colored glass windows bearing occult and religious imagery. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"]

The second Goetheanum.

The first was destroyed by fire.

[R. R. photo rendering, based on image

on p. 10 of GOETHEANUM (Philosophical-Anthroposophical Press, 1961).]

Golgotha, Mystery of Golgotha - also see Christ

Calvary: the site of the Crucifixion; Mystery of Golgotha: the redeeming union of a god, Christ, with a man, Jesus. [See "Prototype".]

good and evil, and knowledge of - also see fall of man; hell; Lucifer; sin

Steiner taught that Lucifer brought us the knowledge of good and evil, which enables us to become free: we can choose between good and evil. “The temptation of Lucifer [i.e., Lucifer’s temptation of us] has had a specific effect on human life; as a result of it we can develop a particular kind of knowledge and reason, a particular way of relating through our powers of reason to things around us. This kind of relationship to the world and its phenomena arose because of Lucifer’s temptation and influence, because we tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” — R. Steiner. [See "Lucifer".]

good souls - also see evolution; white path; cf. bad souls; freedom

People and beings who walk the white (good) path of spiritual evolution. [See "Evil".]

Götterdämmerung - also see apocalypse; Ragnarök; twilight of the gods; War of All Against All

In Germanic mythology, the all-destroying final battle of the gods; reflected in Anthroposophy by the coming War of All Against All. [See "The Gods" and "All v. All".] "In a certain sense the Apocalypse represents a new kind of initiation; it shows how the old mysteries were transformed into Christian mysteries. When we look back at the old mysteries we find in them a more or less unified feature. It consisted of the following: Whether we go to Egypt, or to Persia, or to India, whether we are deepened in the Orphic or the Eleusinian mysteries, we find there complete agreement in one feature: a prophecy concerning the One who is to come. This trait is also found in the Northern European mysteries. There was an initiate in the most ancient times who was signified by the name 'Sig.' The Drotten mysteries, which were in Russia and Scandinavia, the Druidic mysteries in Germany all derived from an initiate with the name Sig, who was the founder of the northern mysteries. What happened in the mysteries has been preserved in the various myths and legends of the German nation and other Germanic peoples. The myths and legends are pictorial representations of what was experienced. In the Siegfried legend we see most clearly that feature that seeks for an end. This feature is expressed in mythological terms in the 'Gotterdammerung,' the twilight of the gods. This is characteristic of all the northern mysteries." — R. Steiner, READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), lecture 2, GA 104a.

grace

a) The freely bestowed favor of God or the gods: blessings, salvation.

b) In Anthroposophy: evolutionary assistance. "The background of the concepts of Sin, Original Sin, and Grace, is infinitely more profound than is generally imagined. The reason why this deep background is not perceived at the present time is that the real profundities of nearly all the traditional religions — this applies, to a greater or less extent, to nearly all of them in the form in which they now exist — have been more or less obliterated. The tenets of these religions seldom contain anything even remotely comparable with what lies behind these concepts of Sin, Original Sin and Grace. For what lies behind them is actually the whole evolution of the human race." — R. Steiner. [See "Sin".]

 

gravity - also see maya; physics; planets; science

a) In physics, the universal force of attraction; curved space-time.

b) According to Steiner, a local effect on solid planets; only a word. "Gravity is ... perceived only by those beings that live on a solid planet ... Beings who could live on a fluid planet would know nothing of gravity ... And beings who live on a gaseous planet would regard as normal something that would be the opposite of gravity ... [B]eings dwelling on a gaseous planet instead of seeing bodies falling towards the planet would see them always flying off ... Gravity begins when we find ourselves on a solid planet.” — R. Steiner. [See "Steiner's Blunders".]

great chain of being

Medieval Christian concept, rooted in earlier theology: a divinely ordered universe, extending from the highest to the lowest beings; the model for Steiner's spiritual hierarchies. [See "Rankings".]

great epochs - also see epochs; cf. cultural epochs

In Anthroposophy (drawn from Theosophy): seven extended periods of evolution on Earth, associated with root races: Polarian, Hyperborean, Lemurian, Atlantean, Post-Atlantean, Sixth (Seals), Seventh (Trumpets). Each great epoch consists of seven minor epochs, also called periods or ages. (In our own great epoch, these ages are also called cultural epochs.) All of these stages of spiritual growth have been planned out for us by the gods. Initiates can foresee the coming stages, and indeed the stages correspond to levels of initiation. “We are living in the fifth period of the fifth great epoch; we have still to live through two more periods of this great epoch. Then will follow the seven periods of the sixth great epoch and then the seven periods of the seventh great epoch. This makes sixteen stages of evolution in the future. Humanity has still to climb these sixteen stages. A man who can experience something of the conditions of existence there possible, is to a certain degree initiated. There is a correspondence between the degrees of initiation and the secret of the epochs still to come. In the life of our planet there are seven great epochs, and each of these seven has seven sub-periods — forty-nine conditions, therefore, in all.” — R. Steiner. [See "Epochs".]

Great Sacrifice

Spiritual self-abnegation. “That which becomes the force of Atma [i.e., Spirit Man] is, in so far as it is a force emanating from the Godhead, of a volitional nature. If you pause to reflect upon your own power of volition, upon your will power, then you have a pale copy, a pale reflection of that which proceeds from the force of Atma, from the Godhead. Will is the power or force which is least developed to-day. The will, however, has the potentiality to grow increasingly in strength until a time will come when it reaches its maximum potentiality, when it will be able to attain its goal, which the religions call the ‘Great Sacrifice’.” — R. Steiner. [See "The Center".]

Great Sin - also see black path

Leaving the upward (white) path of evolution. "Now on each planet there are also Spirits who have remained behind in evolution, they have remained stationary and not wished to progress. You will recognise a law from this: If the most outstanding fall and commit the 'great sin' of not advancing with evolution, then they become the very worst of all. The noble sense of liberty has been reversed into wickedness, into its opposite. Those are the Spirits of Temptation, and they must be taken gravely into account; they lead to the evil side of egoism, even today they are still in our environment, these evil Spirits of Saturn. All that is bad draws its power from these Spirits." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 9, GA 99.

"Group ego" is an alternative term for "group soul." Steiner used both expressions, but "group ego" is somewhat misleading. Animals have group souls, but no animal has an ego or "I" — possession of an ego or "I" is what separates humans from animals. Thus, saying that animals have any form of "ego" can cause confusion. In general, "group soul" is more accurate, although Steiner did indeed sometimes speak of "group egos": “[A]ll the animals of a particular species have a group ego or group soul. All individual lions, for example, are part of one group ego, as are all tigers or all pike. ... The individual animals are simply the limbs of what dwells in the astral world [i.e., the group ego]. These animal egos are different from the human ‘I’, although comparable from a spiritual point of view. An animal ego is an extremely wise entity, far wiser than an individual human soul.” — R. Steiner, WHITSUN AND ASCENSION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007), p. 47.

group soul - also see family soul; folk souls; race soul

According to Steiner, a real being: the over-soul shared by members of a spiritual grouping; more characteristic of animals than modern humans. Human groups such as nations and races have group souls, but individual humans have their own individual souls; animals do not have individual souls. "The higher we move in the scale of nature towards man, the more individual does destiny become. Animals have a group-soul, and the destiny of a group of animals is bound up with the group-soul. A man has his own Ego, and the individual Ego undergoes its destiny just as the group-soul of animals does." — R. Steiner. [See "Karma".] Early in human evolution on Earth, four group souls developed. [See "Four Group Souls".] We are evolving away from our group souls, but the process is not complete. "Even today human group-soulness is still not overcome. Those who claim the opposite merely fail to take into account certain subtler phenomena of life, such as the resemblance of certain people not only in their physiognomies but also in their soul qualities. In a sense, people can be divided into categories, and everyone will fit into one of them. Individuals may differ as to this or that quality but a certain group-soulness still makes itself felt and not only because there are still different peoples. The boundaries between the nations continue to disintegrate, but other groupings are still perceptible. Thus certain basic characteristics are combined in individuals in such a way that the last vestiges of group-soulness can still be perceived today." — R. Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), lecture 1, GA 117.

guardian angels - see angels

Steiner taught that we all have such guardians. For this reason, Waldorf teachers sometimes feel little need to protect children — the angels will do it. Waldorf teachers likewise rely on their own guardian angels, and they believe that as a group ("the college of teachers") a Waldorf faculty enlists the aid of archangels. "[Steiner]

 spoke of the teacher’s guardian angel who stands behind him, giving strength and the power of imagination. As a collective body, working together, the college [of teachers] attracts the attention of the next rank, the archangels, who help unite its members and give courage and inspiration." — R. Wilkinson. 

[See "Serving the Gods".]

Guardian(s) of the Threshold

a) A concept that apparently originated in a work of fiction: ZANONI, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton: guardian of the spirit realm.

b) According to Steiner, two such guardians really exist: the lesser and the greater Guardian. “The important experiences marking the [esoteric]  student's ascent into the higher worlds include his meeting with the Guardian of the Threshold. Strictly speaking, there are two Guardians: a lesser and a greater. The student meets the lesser Guardian when the threads connecting willing, feeling, and thinking within the finer astral and etheric bodies begin to loosen ... The greater Guardian is encountered when this sundering of the connections extends to the physical parts of the body, that is, at first to the brain. The lesser Guardian is a sovereign being. He does not come into existence, as far as the student is concerned, until the latter has reached the requisite stage of development ... [He is a] A truly terrible spectral being.” — R. Steiner. [See "Guardians".]

Scene from THE GUARDIAN OF THE THRESHOLD.

[R. R. sketch based on production at the Goetheanum.]

GUARDIAN OF THE THRESHOLD, THE

A mystery play by Rudolf Steiner. [See "Plays".]

Guiding Lodge - see lodge of twelve

guru - also see masters

spiritual guide and teacher (from Hinduism and Buddhism); Steiner said we each need one; for Anthroposophists, he is in effect the guru-from-the-grave. [See "Guru".]

---

- H -

Hades - see kamaloka

In Greek mythology, the underworld; also the god of the underworld. [See "Kamaloka".]

Harwood, A. C. (1899(?)-1975)

Anthroposophist and Waldorf educator, founder of the first Waldorf school in Britain, Michael Hall. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf".]

head - also see brain; thinking

According to Steiner, not our most important part — merely a metamorphosed cuttlefish (i.e., squid). The brain within the head is similarly devalued, in the Waldorf belief system. Thinking with the brain is useful in some circumstances, but better thinking occurs outside the head. [See "Steiner's Specific".]

 

“It is bias that causes people to imagine that their heads 

are the most perfect part of themselves. 

It is certainly structured in a most complicated way, 

but it is really just a metamorphosed cuttlefish.” — R. Steiner, 

PRACTICAL ADVICE TO WALDORF TEACHERS (Anthroposophic Press, 2000), p. 98.

head, heart, and hands (a Waldorf motto) - also see academic standards; curriculum; holistic education; whole child

Waldorf schools say they educate the whole child; Steiner said the head is not the seat of real knowledge, the heart (inspiration, clairvoyance) is more reliable, and the use of the hands has occult benefits (e.g., knitting strengthens the teeth). Essentially, in attempting to "educate" all parts of a student, Waldorf schools hope to send the student to the "white path." [See "Beat".]

health - also see disease; karma; medicine; nutrition

In Waldorf belief, health is largely a matter of karma — if your karma permits, you will be in tune with cosmic forces and thus healthy; if your karma requires it, you will be ill in order to pay your karmic debts and thus become once again in tune with cosmic forces. Other factors are such things as the astrological influences of the stars and planets, but these of course are also intimately connected to destiny or karma. As with all things in the Waldorf belief system, apparent causation, at the physical level, is illusory. Real causes are occult — that is hidden. “We must ask ourselves: In what constellation were we living when, in the nineties, the present influenza epidemic appeared in its benign form? In what cosmic constellation are we living at the present moment? By virtue of what cosmic rhythm does the influenza epidemic of the nineties appear in a more acute form today?" — R. Steiner. [See "Steiner's Quackery".]

heart - also see medicine

According to Steiner, the heart is a sense organ, not a pump. “[Science] sees the heart as a pump that pumps blood through the body. Now there is nothing more absurd than believing this, for the heart has nothing to do with pumping the blood.” — R. Steiner. [See "Steiner's Quackery".]

heaven - also see Devachan; higher worlds; Spiritland

According to Steiner, the Biblical heaven does not exist; rather, there are spiritual levels or "higher worlds" above us, and our goal is to rise through them as we evolve toward spiritual perfection. As in most things, Steiner used varying terms when discussing the higher worlds and indeed he contradicted himself on numerous occasions. He used the term "heaven" from time to time, but his description of the spirit realm contains no such place at least as it is usually conceived in discussions of the Bible. The closest Steiner came to affirming the existence of heaven came in his references to Devachan during his Theosophical period. If we accept "Devachan" as a Theosophical synonym for "heaven," then this is what Steiner meant on at least some occasions when he referred to heaven. In a more general — and vaguer — sense, Steiner referred to three higher worlds, which Anthroposophists often equate with the three levels of heaven alluded to by St. Paul. In this wider sense, then, "heaven" is shorthand for all of the higher worlds. [For Steiner's account of the spirit realm, see "Higher Worlds".]

Hebrew, Hebrews - also see anti-Semitism; Jews

Semitic people descended from the patriarch Jacob, grandson of Abraham; Jews. According to Steiner, Jews no longer have a role to play in human evolution and thus should disappear as a people. [See "RS on Jews".]

Helios — also see Christ

The ancient Greek Sun god. Steiner taught that various ancient peoples apprehended Christ, the Sun God, but only incompletely. Thus, they gave Him other names and failed to fully grasp his mission promoting human evolution. [See "Was He Christian?"] But at a deep level, Steiner argued, mythic understanding of the spirit realm is generally consistent across cultures. ”That is something that one must keep well in mind in order to recognize that in spite of the difference of the separate myths, there existed a certain community of soul! One could sometimes wish that there might be as much common understanding among modern men as, let us say, between the Greeks and the Egyptians, so that the Greeks understood what the Egyptians expressed! A Greek would never have uttered so much nonsense about Egyptian conceptions as Woodrow Wilson is able to think in one week about European conceptions — if one can call it thinking! The Greeks related that Chronos had begotten a son by Rhea in an irregular way. Thus the Greeks speak of Chronos and Rhea — we shall see immediately how they fit into the Greek myth — and this irregular son, who was so begotten, was Osiris. So just think: the Greeks hear that the Egyptians have an Osiris, and the Greeks on their part relate of Osiris that he is the son of Chronos and Rhea, but not begotten in the right way, so incorrectly begotten that Helios, the Sun-God became so angry about the matter that he made Rhea barren.” — R. Steiner, ANCIENT MYTHS: THEIR MEANING AND CONNECTION WITH EVOLUTION (Steiner Book Centre), lecture 1, GA 180.

hell - also see abyss; eighth sphere; kamaloka; perdition

According to Steiner, the Biblical hell does not exist; rather, there are various spiritual locations or states where souls are purged or where the results of evil are endured. The physical realm itself may be considered a form of hell to the degree that it is separated from the spiritual realm. But no one outside Anthroposophy truly comprehends such subjects. "We have in modern consciousness the feeling of a contrast between heaven and hell; others call it spirit and matter. Fundamentally there are differences only in degree between the heaven and hell of the peasant and the matter and spirit of the philosophers of our day." — R. Steiner. [See "Hell".]   

herbs - also see homeopathy; medicine

Used in Anthroposphical medicine. [See "Steiner's Quackery".] 

“Question: Do the herbs that grow on mountains have greater healing properties than those that grow in valleys? If so, what is the explanation? 

“Dr. Steiner: It is an actual fact that mountain-plants are more valuable as remedies than those that grow in valleys, particularly than those we plant in our ordinary gardens or in a field. It is a good thing that this is the case, for if the plants growing in the valleys were just like those on the mountains, every foodstuff would at the same time be a medicine, and that would not do at all! The plants that have the greatest therapeutic value are indeed those that grow on the mountains. Why is this? All you need to do is to compare the kind of soil in which mountain-plants grow with that in which valley-plants grow.” — R. Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH AND MAN AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1987), lecture 10, GA 354.

Herbs hold a special place in Anthroposophical lore. Steiner claimed that he received his first spiritual initiation from a herb gardener. “In the same train, weekly, rode a strange man [Felix Koguzki]. He was a licensed herb gatherer who went to pharmacies in Vienna to sell the medicinal herbs he had collected. This man had profound insights into the spirituality in nature, related to the sun and the moon. For Rudolf Steiner it was a blessing of destiny that he could share with this man some of his own experiences. In his Mystery Plays Rudolf Steiner pictures this man in the role of Felix Balde. However, Rudolf Steiner had questions that went far beyond the grasp of Felix, so Felix brought him in contact with another man in Vienna, whose identity has never been revealed. Rudolf Steiner refers to him as a “Master” [or “M.”] and states that he taught him what one needs to know in order to work effectively out of the spiritual world into this materialistic age. To conquer the ‘dragon’ of materialism you have to get into his skin. It seems to me that Rudolf Steiner may have stayed with this man for a long weekend. When they parted the Master said: ‘You know now who you are! Act accordingly, and remain always true to yourself.’” — E. Katz, “The Mission of Rudolf Steiner, from an address given to the American Anthroposophical Society.

heredity - also see parents

In Anthroposophy, heredity or lineage is important, especially as reflected in one's race; but individual karma is more important. [See "Science".]

Hermes - also see Mercury

a) In Greek mythology, the messenger god.

b) According to Steiner, a student of Zarathustra and an early apprehension of Christ. “Although Christ appeared only later, He was always present in the spiritual sphere of the earth. Already in the ancient Oracles of Atlantis, the priests of those Oracles spoke of the ‘Spirit of the Sun’, of Christ. In the old Indian epoch of civilization the Holy Rishis spoke of ‘Vishva Karman’; Zarathustra in ancient Persia spoke of ‘Ahura Mazdao’, Hermes of ‘Osiris’; and Moses spoke of the Power which, being eternal, brings about the harmonization of the temporal and natural, the Power living in the ‘Ehjeh asher Ehjeh’ (I am the I AM) as the harbinger of Christ. All spoke of the Christ.” — R. Steiner. [See "Moses".]

hexagram - also see astral body; pentagram

A six-pointed star; according to Steiner, a framework for the astral body. [See "Signs".]

              

hierarchies - also see gods; polytheism

Generally, in Anthroposophy, ranks of beings, extending from the lowest to the highest; but often, in Anthroposophy, the term is applied exclusively to the ranks above man and becomes, then, a synonym for "gods". [See "Tenth Hierarchy".] "When we have to speak of what we call the Spiritual Hierarchies, it means that our souls' gaze must rise to those beings who, in the sphere of our earth, have a higher existence than man. In the visible world we can only progress to beings that represent four degrees of one hierarchy, i.e., the mineral world, the plant world, the animal world and the human world. Above man begins a world of invisible beings, through the knowledge of the supersensible world, and man is able (as far as it is possible for him) to rise a certain distance towards those beings and powers, which are the continuation in the invisible world of the four grades found within the realm of the earth. The knowledge and investigation which lead us into those regions has not, as you all know, come into existence only at our present time in evolution. There is what we may call a primeval world-wisdom; — all that man can fathom, all that he can know and realise, all that he has gained in ideas and conceptions, all that he has attained through clairvoyant imagination, inspiration, and intuition, — all has been lived before, and known before, by those Beings who are higher than he. He only follows so to say, in their track. To make use of a trivial example: the watchmaker has first the idea, then he makes the watch according to the idea. A watch is made after the maker's ideas which preceded the watch; afterwards everyone can study and observe for himself from what ideas the watch was made, he can follow up the thoughts of the watchmaker. At the present point of evolution it is indeed only this kind of connection that man can have with primeval world-wisdom and with the spiritual beings that stand above him. Spiritual beings had first those imaginations, inspirations, intuitions, those ideas and thoughts according to which the world, as we see it, was formed. Man finds these thoughts and ideas in the world again; when he rises to clairvoyant vision, he finds the imaginations, inspirations, and intuitions, by the help of which he can penetrate into the world of those spiritual beings. We can, therefore, say that before our world came into being there already existed the wisdom of which we are going to speak: it is the PLAN OF THE WORLD." — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1928), lecture 1, GA 110.

higher I - see I

Higher Spiritland - also see Devachan; higher worlds; Stages of Form

In Anthroposophical writings, the first Stage of Form; the realm of true intuition, maximal clairvoyant clarity. [See "Lucky Seventh".] In a somewhat different usage, Spiritland is the Theosophical conception of heaven, Devachan, and may be taken as more or less equivalent to the spirit world. [See "Higher Worlds".] Steiner discusses the lower and higher levels of Devachan in his book THEOSOPHY. In Anthroposophical writings, Higher Spiritland is the realm/phase where anything that will eventually assume a physical form is originally conceived as an archetype. Each archetype is then sharpened in Lower Spiritland, cast as an image in the soul world, and finally made manifest in the physical world.

higher worlds - also see heaven; KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT; soul world; spirit world

Spirit realms above earthly reality. Gaining knowledge of them is a central goal of Anthroposophy. We enter these worlds during sleep and after death. Steiner generally said that there are three higher worlds, corresponding to three levels of our inner being. The first higher world is a place of memory — it is the physical universe as you remember it when you pass on. The second higher world is the soul world, which corresponds to that incorporeal part of yourself that forms your spiritual identity during a single lifetime. (You have different souls in other lifetimes.) The third “higher world” is the spirit world, corresponding to the incorporeal part of yourself that is immortal, that remains your spiritual essence throughout your many lives. All of the higher worlds, including their spheres and planes, are inhabited by numerous gods, both good and bad. [See "Higher Worlds" and "Polytheism".]

A revised edition of KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT

published under a new title by the Anthroposophic Press in 1994.

highest I - see I

Hinduism - also see Brahma; karma; reincarnation; rishis; Shiva; Veda; Vishnu; yoga

A diverse set of Indian religions stemming from the Veda (or Vedas) scripture; polytheistic, with a core belief in reincarnation; drawn upon heavily in Theosophy and Anthroposophy. [See "Veda".]

history - also see past

According to Steiner, history as usually understood is entirely mistaken; it would be better to learn no history; the truth is occult sand available only to clairvoyants. [See "Oh My Word".] On the other hand, to the extent that history is studied, it — like other subjects studied at Waldorf schools — may be infested with occult beliefs. 

“We are all part of history, a fact which is considerably reinforced if we can accept the idea of reincarnation. Events are symptoms of inner processes, of spiritually guided progress.” — R. Steiner

. [See "Basement".]

holistic education, Waldorf style - also see whole child

The "whole child" addressed by Waldorf teachers has 12 senses, four bodies, a karma, a "temperament" (phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, melancholic), etc. [See "Holistic Education".] The Waldorf curriculum is intended to assist in the incarnation and development of various "bodies" and "organs" or "members" that exist only in occult belief; there is no basis for such concepts in modern science, medicine, or education. Waldorf schools are not primarily interested in education, as most people understand that term. Their objectives are spiritualistic, and they are suitable only for families that share Anthroposophical beliefs. [See "Spiritual Agenda".]

Holy Ghost - also see Christ; Father; God; Sophia; tritheism

a) In orthodox Christianity, the third person in the Trinity - the aspect of God that is spiritually active in the world.

b) According to Steiner, a beckoning light, illuminating past and future lives; what Christ bestowed; the cosmic "I"; the feminine side of divinity, the female creator of Christ. "One could also say that the ‘Holy Spirit’ is the (feminine) ‘Mother’ principle of the (male) ‘Son’ principle, Christ. We owe the development of the ‘Christ in us’ to the ‘Holy Spirit’ (the female creator of Christ)." — R. Steiner. [See "God".]

Holy Grail - also see Arthur, King; Round Table

a) In Christian legend, the cup or platter used by Jesus at the Last Supper.

b) In Anthroposophy: "mystery" (i.e., hidden, occult) spiritual knowledge and fulfillment. “[I]n this arising of the Holy Grail there stands before us everything that went into the post-Christian renewal of the principle of the ancient Mysteries. Fundamentally speaking, the phrase the 'Holy Grail', with all that belongs to it, involves a reappearing of the essence of the Eastern Mysteries.” — R. Steiner. [See "Grail".]

Holy Spirit - see Holy Ghost

homeopathy - also see herbs; medicine

Treating diseases through tiny doses of substances that could cause those diseases. [See "Steiner's Quackery".]

horoscope - also see astrology; zodiac

An astrological forecast, often in chart form, of a person's destiny based on the position of stars and planets, especially at the time of birth; used by Steiner and at least some Waldorf teachers. "Each of us is assigned a particular horoscope, in which the forces are revealed that have led us into this life." — R. Steiner. [See "Horoscopes".] As he was on so many topics, Steiner was inconsistent on the question of horoscopes. He sometimes repudiated horoscopes, but on other occasions he affirmed their potential validity. His general position was that the common understanding of virtually any subject — and especially esoteric subjects — is mistaken and he himself offered the needed correction. Thus, ordinary horoscopes are severely flawed but any horoscopes that he himself interpreted reveal cosmic truths.

A horoscope template.

[Public domain.]

HOW TO KNOW HIGHER WORLDS — see higher worlds; KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT

Hu — also see Christ

a) In ancient Egyptian religion, an attendant of Ra, the Sun God.

b) In Anthroposophy, the Sun God — Christ. “Christ, the Sun God, who was known by earlier peoples under such names as Ahura Mazda, Hu, or Balder, has now united himself with the earth...." — M. Jonas. [See "Was He Christian?"]

human beings - also see Anthroposophy; automatons; evolution; freedom; human constitution; human stage; Jupiter humans; Mars humans; Moon humans; race; Saturn humans; subhumans; Sun humans; universal human; Vulcan humans

According to Anthroposophical doctrine, humanity stands at the center of the entire created universe. Humans are spiritual beings who have evolved from Old Saturn. Future evolution (to Venus, Vulcan, and beyond) will see humans become gods and, ultimately, God the Father. Other beings have also passed through a "human" phase of evolution on their ascent to divinity. Some people on Earth now are human in form only — they are not really human beings. [See "The Center" and "What We're Made Of".]

human stage of evolution

We are now at the human stage of our evolution (i.e., we are currently human beings); other beings had human stages in their own evolutions. [See "Steiner Static".] “[E]ach planetary condition has a special task. What is the task of our earth? It is to make human existence possible for man as man. All the activities of the earth are such that through them man may become an I-being, an Ego being. This was not the case in the former conditions it has passed through. Man has only become human, in the present sense of the word, on earth. The former planetary conditions, which the earth has passed through had a similar task. Other beings became human on those other planets, and now stand at a higher stage than man ... The ancient Spirits of Personality had found on Saturn, pure warmth. The Archangels, who were first able to become human on the Sun, found there gas or smoke, also. What had they to do in order to secure a footing on the Sun, to establish a dwelling-place there? They formed their own souls, they wove their inner being, their soul-bodies out of warmth into light, and they joined to these soul-bodies the gas that was there, a external body.” — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES (Anthroposophical Publishing Co.), lecture 3, GA 110.

 

humanism - also see alternative; progressive

a) A rational approach or attitude that looks to human beings rather than gods to give meaning to life; emphasis upon human virtue and abilities.

 

b) In Anthroposophy, placing man at the center of the universe, as the object of the gods' worship. Waldorf schools often claim to be humanistic, but this is true only in the latter sense, i.e., only in accordance with Anthroposophical doctrine. [See "The Center".]

humours - see temperaments

Bodily fluids as catalogued by ancient physicians: black bile, blood, choler (or yellow bile), and phlegm; term is also applied to the resulting "temperaments": phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, and phlegmatic. [See "Humouresque".] “humour, also spelled Humor,  (from Latin “liquid,” or “fluid”), in early Western physiological theory, one of the four fluids of the body that were thought to determine a person’s temperament and features. In the ancient physiological theory still current in the European Middle Ages and later, the four cardinal humours were blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile); the variant mixtures of these humours in different persons determined their “complexions,” or “temperaments,” their physical and mental qualities, and their dispositions. The ideal person had the ideally proportioned mixture of the four; a predominance of one produced a person who was sanguine (Latin sanguis, “blood”), phlegmatic, choleric, or melancholic. Each complexion had specific characteristics, and the words carried much weight that they have since lost: e.g., the choleric man was not only quick to anger but also yellow-faced, lean, hairy, proud, ambitious, revengeful, and shrewd. By extension, “humour” in the 16th century came to denote an unbalanced mental condition, a mood or unreasonable caprice, or a fixed folly or vice.”  — “humour." ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. 

hymns

Religious songs, often sung in Waldorf schools. For instance, THE WALDORF SONG BOOK (Floris Press, 1992) includes such hymns as FOR ALL THE SAINTS: 

"For all the saints who from their labours rest,

Who thee by faith before the world confest,

Thy name, O Jesus, be for ever blest."

[See "Prayers".]

Hyperborean Epoch

According to Steiner, our second evolutionary period on Earth. [See "Steiner Static".] “During the Age which preceded the Lemurian Age, we have the Hyperborean Age on the Earth, that of the Sun Men, of the Apollo-Men ... They [Adepts of the Sun] passed over to the Moon. There also they had the possibility of being on a higher level than the Moon-men, and they developed to quite special heights. They were the forefathers of the Earth-men, but had hastened much further ahead. When ... the Hyperboreans lived in their soft forms, these Sons of the Sun were in position to incarnate and they formed a particularly beautiful Race. They were the Solar Pitris. Already in the Hyperborean Epoch they created for themselves an upright form, completely transforming the Hyperborean bodies. This the other human beings were unable to do. In the Hyperborean Epoch the Solar Pitris became the beautiful Apollo-men, who in the Second Race had already attained the upright posture.” — R. Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 23, GA 93a.

---

- I -

I, ego, - also see astral body; ego; ego consciousness; etheric body

According to Steiner (drawing on Theosophy), the "I" or "ego" consists of spirit forces (spirit is higher than soul). It is divine human selfhood ("ego": not to be confused with the psychoanalytic term), the power of human self-transformation. It incarnates (i.e., is born) at about age 21. After it develops adequately, it enables the knowledge-acquiring faculty of intuition (the third stage toward clairvoyance). The "I" is the fourth division of the four-fold nature of man. It is, in a sense, one of our invisible bodies — the fourth component of our current human constitution (along with the physical body, etheric body, and astral body), but more accurately it is our spark of divinity, our divine human essence. One's "I" can be perceived only by oneself. [See "Ego".]

The I can be considered one's higher self, the spiritual essence that we may not initially realize we possess. It comes to us from the cosmic I — during previous evolutionary phases, the cosmic I (divine selfhood) was spread throughout the created universe. Now, during our current phase of evolution, we work on realizing our individual I, receiving it, as it were, from the cosmic forces of divinity. [See Robert McDermott’s discussion of this in THE NEW ESSENTIAL STEINER (Lindisfarne Press, 2009), pp. 163-164.] 

Higher forms of the I have been bestowed by the gods at various stages of our evolution. We may consider the “higher I” to be a transcendent, shared spiritual identity; it is, in a sense, a god within us. “Just as the leader of the Sun’s evolution [i.e., the presiding spirit of the Sun phase of our evolution] became the higher I that worked in the life body of the descendants of human beings who had remained on Earth, [the] Jupiter leader became the higher I that spread like a common consciousness through the human beings who had their origins in the interbreeding of Earth offspring with humans who first appeared on Earth during the period of the air element and then moved to Jupiter.” — R. Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1997), p. 238.

In a supplementary sense, we enlarge our individual I's by moving outward from them. This may be taken as the process of spiritual elevation and evolution. We came from the universal spiritual powers and we will return to reunite with them, but in altered, evolved form. We make our own I’s and our own higher I’s; indeed, we will remake the universe as we fulfill our I’s by moving beyond them. The I is reduced as the higher I is perfected. “Our ethical principles become the guides for [our] soul forces. Through moral judgment, the I becomes the soul’s guide ... If an individual then extracts a higher I from the ordinary one, the original I becomes independent in a certain respect, and it loses as much vital strength as is given to the higher I.” — R. Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE, p. 308. 

Anthroposophists also speak of the "highest I." This is the godly being we can become when the individual/higher I is united with the universal I, which may be considered the Holy Spirit. "The being to come was disclosed to Moses from two sources as the highest form of the 'I'." [McDermott, p. 107.] We move toward attainment of the highest I by following our Prototype, Christ — thereby receiving the Spirit within the enveloping activities of the innumerable gods. Steiner alluded to this in the Foundation Stone Meditation, which he offered upon the placement of the foundation stone for the second Goetheanum. [See the Brief Waldorf/Steiner Encyclopedia entry for "Christmas Conference".] We become what we may become as we enable the world, indeed the universe — indeed the gods — to become their own ultimate fulfillment. (Like all meditations, the words are meant to inspire deep spiritual contemplation; they are opaque to ordinary understanding/) “Soul of Man! ... [T]he surging/ Deeds of the World’s Becoming/ Do thine own I/ Unite/ Unto the I of the World ... Soul of Man! ... Practice spirit-vision/ In quietness of Thought,/ Where the eternal aims of Gods/ World-Being’s Light/ On thy own I/ Bestow/ For thy free Willing.”* — R. Steiner, quoted by Sergei O. Prokofieff in THE FOUNDATION STONE MEDITATION (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2006), pp. 210-211.

ideal magic - also see white magic; Michael

According to Steiner, receiving the illumination offered by Anthroposophy, becoming a new person, and assisting the forces of light (especially the Archangel Michael). "What I mean by ideal magic is the following: when someone looks back over life with ordinary consciousness, one will see how, from year to year and from decade to decade, one has changed in a certain sense. Such a person would see that habits have changed, however slowly. One gains certain capacities while others disappear. If one looks honestly at the capacities that exist during earthly life, one would have to say that, over time, one becomes someone else. Life causes that to happen. We are completely devoted to life and life educates us, trains us and forms the soul. 

"If, however, people want to enter the spiritual world — in other words, want to attain ideal magic — they must not only intensify inner thinking so that they recognize a second level of existence, as I previously described, but they must also free their will from its connection to the physical body. Ordinarily, we can activate the will only by using the physical body — the legs, arms, or the organs of speech. The physical body is the basis for our will. However, we can do the following: as spiritual researchers we must carry out exercises of the will in a very systematic way to achieve ideal magic along with exact clairvoyance. Such a person must, for example, develop the will so strongly that, at a particular point in life, one recognizes that a specific habit must be broken and replaced with another in the soul." — R. Steiner. [See "The Waldorf Teacher’s Consciousness".]

idealism

According to Steiner, one of the twelve justified or defended world conceptions. "[T]here may be other persons who speak as follows ... [The] world of material phenomena is in itself devoid of meaning. It has no real meaning unless there is within it a progressive tendency ... [T]here must be a realm of ideas and ideals within the world-process ... [T]heir view is that life has meaning only if ideas work through it and give it purpose ... The adherents of such a world-outlook as this, which takes everything as a vehicle for the ideas that permeate the world-process, may be called Idealists and their outlook: Idealism." — R. Steiner. Steiner associated idealism with Aries. 

[See "Philosophy".]

Steiner warned his followers to be cautious about accepting or administering inoculations. He said that inoculations can interfere with karma — it may be karmically necessary to suffer a particular disease. He also said that black magicians and materialistic scientists will create vaccines that will attack human spirituality. "[T]hese inoculations will influence the human body in a way that will make it refuse to give a home to the spiritual inclinations of the soul.” — R. Steiner, SECRET BROTHERHOODS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004), p. 91. [See “Steiner’s Quackery”.]