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abdominal system - also see metabolic-limb system

According to Rudolf Steiner, this is one of the three primary systems that make up the human physical constitution. It includes both the metabolic organs and the limbs, and it is the seat of the will. “As we appear physically, we are clearly divided into the head system, the chest system, and the abdominal system, including the limbs." — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 59. The three systems are distinct from one another, Steiner said, but they also reflect and overlie one another. [See "What We Are".] 

Anthroposophy considers the will to be a separate faculty [see "Will"], centered in the limbs or the abdominal system as a whole. According to its practitioners, the Waldorf curriculum is designed to emphasize development of the will during early childhood, followed by emphasis on emotion during middle childhood, and thinking after the onset of puberty. [See "Soul School".]

For more on the abdominal system, see the entry in this encyclopedia for "metabolic-limb system".

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abnormal, abnormality - also see degenerate races; disease; evil; cf. advanced races; divine cosmic plan; normal

In general, according to Anthroposophical doctrine, a person or being is abnormal if s/he lags behind in evolution or otherwise varies from the central stream of the divine cosmic plan. [1] Seen from one perspective, abnormal beings have strayed but they are not necessarily evil. From another perspective, however, deviating from the divine plan is the very essence of evil. [See "Abnormal".] ◊ “At all stages there are members of the Hierarchies [2] whose development is incomplete and man lives both under the influence of the normal beings and of those who have remained behind. [3] These were termed the Spirits of Adversity [4] but it must be remembered that they are not evil in themselves.” — R. Wilkinson, RUDOLF STEINER - An Introduction to His World-view, Anthroposophy (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2001), p. 199. ◊ "Now on each planet there are also Spirits who have remained behind in evolution, they have remained stationary and not wished to progress. [5] 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 [6], and they must be taken gravely into account; they lead to the evil side of egoism...." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 9, GA 99. [See "Sin".] ◊ "You must always look towards the Sun...where [the] Spirits of Form [7] plan to...fulfil the mission of Earth-evolution [8]. Lest the activity of the abnormal Spirits of Form [9] should provoke too great a disharmony amongst mankind, one of the Spirits had to detach Himself from the community. In reality, therefore, only six Spirits of Form or Elohim work from the Sun; one of these Spirits had to detach Himself lest the simultaneous activity of the abnormal Spirits of Form, who are really Spirits of Movement [10], should disturb the balance or harmony" — Rudolf Steiner, THE MISSION OF THE FOLK SOULS, p. 99.

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[1] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "divine cosmic plan".

[2] I.e.,  gods. Anthroposophy is polytheistic.

[3] The latter are abnormal spiritual beings, primarily abnormal gods.

[4] See the entry for "Spirits of Adversity" in this encyclopedia.

[5] I.e., they have chosen not to evolve further; hence, they are abnormal.

[6] See the entry for "Spirits of Temptation" in this encyclopedia.

[7] According to Steiner, these are gods four spiritual levels higher than mankind. Here, Steiner indicates that some of these gods reside on or around the Sun.

[8] In Anthroposophical teachings, evolution is a process of advancement overseen by gods of various ranks.

[9] I.e., gods who should have been five levels higher than mankind but remain four levels above us.

[10] Gods five spiritual levels higher than mankind.

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Abraham - also see Jews; Judaism; Old Testament

The Hebrew patriarch. According to Steiner, the Bible does not accurately explain Abraham's role in Hebrew history. (Many of Steiner's "revelations" have this character — they "correct" the Bible and other texts or traditions.) Steiner taught that Shem, one of Noah's sons, had an etheric body [1] that housed an avatar (a god who had descended to Earth). [2] Melchizedek, a king/priest revered by Abraham, received this etheric body with its embodied avatar. Melchizedek was then able to guide Abraham who, in turn, guided the Hebrew people. "[I]n the later phase of the evolution of the Semitic people, it became necessary that a very exalted being [3] descend to earth in order to communicate with them and provide an impetus to their culture. Such a being was the Melchizedek of Biblical history who, as it were, had to ‘put on’ the preserved etheric body of Shem ... Melchizedek was able to transmit to Abraham the impulse necessary for the continued progress of Semitic culture. [4]” — R. Steiner, THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL ECONOMY (Anthroposophic Press, 1986), lecture 3, GA 109.

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[1] Anthroposophy teaches that fully incarnated humans have four bodies, three of which are invisible. The lowest of the invisible bodies is the "etheric body".

[2] See "Avatars".

[3] I.e., a highly evolved being, a god. (Steiner taught that gods, like humans, evolve.)

[4] Steiner taught that the Hebrews made a significant contribution to human evolution, especially by laying the groundwork for the arrival of the Messiah. But, Steiner taught, once the Sun God, Christ, incarnated on Earth, both the Hebrews and their culture/religion became outdated and should have ceased to exist. [See "RS on Jews".]

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abyss, Abyss - also see Eighth Sphere; hell; materialism; physical plane; cf. salvation

a) A deep (perhaps bottomless) canyon, or the bottomless deeps of the ocean. Figuratively, a profound gulf of separation.

b) "The Abyss": the bottomless pit of Hell.

c) In Anthroposophy: the region separating physical reality from spiritual reality, and/or the region of perdition entered by those who descend too far into physicality. [See "Hell".] People who fail to adopt the proper spiritual vision will revert to animal form and constitute an "evil race" in the abyss, Steiner taught. "Let us suppose a man were to deny it was the spirit which has given him a human countenance [1] ... He would remain united with the body [2] and go down into the abyss. And because of not having used the power of the spirit, the external shape would again come to resemble the previous form. The man who descends into the abyss would become animal like [3] ... The evil race, with its savage impulses, will dwell in animal form in the abyss." — R. Steiner, UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BEING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993), p. 103.

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 Steiner taught that during our current stage of evolution, we descend from the spiritual world to the physical world (symbolized here by the horizontal line). We must reascend, or we will fall too far and enter the abyss. "[I]n the abyss will sound forth names of blasphemy and of hatred ... [T]hose who remain in materiality [will] go down into the abyss ... They will afterwards form a world beneath the present world, so to speak, a world of the abyss, where man will again have assumed animal shape." — R. Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, lecture 7, GA 104. [Illustration from that lecture; color added.]

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[1] I.e., deny that our essential nature, which makes us human, is spiritual.

[2] I.e., the physical body — that is, he would sink into a wholly physical existence and be unable to leave it ("he would remain united with the body").

[3] Sic. Steiner taught that animals have etheric and astral bodies, and they share group souls, but they lack true spiritual essence; they do not have spiritual egos. (The spiritual ego or "I" makes us human.) Animal bodies, similarly, are lowly when compared to the human form. Animals generally represent previous, lower stages of evolution, Steiner taught.

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academic standards at Waldorf schools - also see anti-intellectualism; spiritualistic agenda; textbooks; Waldorf curriculum

Academic standards at Waldorf schools are often low; the underlying goal of the schools is to enact and spread Anthroposophy, not to provide an education as that term is usually understood. [1] Moreover, Steiner's followers view ordinary knowledge askance — clairvoyance and its results provide "real" knowledge, according to Anthroposophical doctrine; ordinary cognition, scholarship, and science do not. [2] For these reasons, textbooks are rarely used in Waldorf schools; the use of electronic learning aids, especially computers, is likewise avoided or minimized. Factual information about ordinary reality (what is usually called knowledge about the real world) is given little emphasis, and students are generally not asked to memorize (or, in this sense, learn) much factual information. [3]

Students in Waldorf elementary grades typically lag behind students in other schools, because Waldorf education postpones academic studies such as arithmetic and reading until the students incarnate their "etheric bodies." [4] The Waldorf curriculum [5] is geared toward the incarnation of the students’ three invisible bodies (the etheric, astral, and ego bodies), as well as the development of proto-clairvoyant modes of thought (imagination, etc.). [6] Waldorf defenders say Waldorf students catch up with their peers at other schools eventually. The evidence for this is spotty at best and depends on the chosen metric of comparison.

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[1] See, e.g., "Spiritual Agenda", "Schools as Churches", "Sneaking It In", and the entry in this encyclopedia for "Waldorf education - goals".

[2] See "Clairvoyance", "Steiner's Specific", and "Thinking".

[3] See "Academic Standards at Waldorf"; also see the entries for "knowledge" and "brain" in this encyclopedia.

[4] Steiner taught that fully incarnated human beings possess three invisible bodies, the first of which is the etheric body. The second is the astral body, and the third is the ego body or its essence, the "I." 

[5] See "Waldorf Curriculum".

[6] See "Thinking", "Thinking Cap", and the entries in this encyclopedia for "clairvoyance" and "imagination".

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Accadians - see Akkadians

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Active Soul Force, Region of - see soul world

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Adam - also see Adam Kadmon; The Bible; Eve; Old Testament; planetary migrations

a) In the Bible: the first man.

b) In Anthroposophy: a sufficiently hardened early human, able to remain on Earth when other humans migrated to other planets. Adam's wife, Eve, also remained. Human races arose when the descendants of Adam and Eve married the descendants of humans who went to other planets and then returned to Earth. "[T]here was a principal human couple who survived the densification of the earth [1]. Spiritual investigation [2] impels us to accept what to begin with seems incredible, that there was such a couple as Adam and Eve, as the Bible tells us, and that the races which arose on the return of the soul/spirits from the cosmos [3] came about through their union with the descendants of this couple.” — R. Steiner, GENESIS: Secrets of Creation (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2002), p. 126. [See "Genesis".]

c) Steiner also used the name “Adam” to refer to a primal condition of humanity in general. “By ‘Adam’ we have to understand not a single human being, but an ego-consciousness [4] that embraced several generations ... If you look back as far as to Adam, you see the ego-consciousness flow through generations for hundreds and thousands of years.” — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN (London Reference Library, 1942), lecture 8, GA 100. (Reconciling Steiner's various statements on many subjects can be difficult; Anthroposophy has many internal contradictions.)

d) Yet another Anthroposophical description (which may or may not be compatible with the others): ◊ "Adam, the ancestor of all living creatures, was a jellyfish that floated in albumin when the Earth was still in a liquid state." — Former Anthroposophist G. Perra. That is to say, when Old Moon reincarnated as Present Earth [5], the first human form — the "Adam" — was a sort of jellyfish: ◊ "Man...tumbled headlong down on to the earth. In the first stage of his earth existence he was a plant-animal formation, resembling the jellyfish. The organ that later became the head fastened itself to the bottom of the world ocean, which at that time covered the entire earth, while his extremities reached out towards the sun." — Anthroposophist G. Bondarev. ◊ "The Polarian human beings [6] were very similar to four-footed animals, but they were formed out of a soft, pliant substance similar to a jellyfish, but much warmer." — R. Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 23, GA 93a.

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[1] I.e., the condensation of the Earth into hardened physical form.

[2] I.e., spiritual science — Anthroposophy — which employs "exact" clairvoyance.

[3] I.e., other planets. People who could not bear the initial hardening or densification of the Earth fled to other planets, Steiner taught; they returned to Earth later. (The Earth and the other planets were very different then from their current conditions.) [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "planetary migrations".] The "soul/spirit" is the combined human soul and spirit. Steiner taught that we have both souls (our immaterial selves in one incarnation) and spirits (our immortal immaterial selves, which we carry through all incarnations).

[4] I.e., a spiritual ego shared by many people, spread across space and time; when humanity evolved further, individuals developed their separate spiritual egos.

[5] Old Moon was the third incarnation of the solar system. Present Earth is the fourth. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "incarnations of the solar system".]

[6] I.e., the first humans on Earth. ("Human beings" at that stage, and at earlier stages, were not yet truly human; they might better be termed proto-humans. "Polaria" was mankind's first earthly dwelling place during Earth's current stage of form. That period was the "Polarian Epoch". [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]) 

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Adam Kadmon (Adam Cadmon) - also see Adam; Christ; Jesus; Lucifer

According to Kabbalistic teachings (Hebrew mysticism), Adam Kadmon is the perfect prototype of the human form, or the mystical meaning of that form. Drawing from such teachings, Steiner said this prototype informed the first incarnate human being, Adam, who became corrupted and fell due to the intervention of Lucifer. But, Steiner said, the prototype also remained, unsullied, in the spiritual realm until it descended as one of the two Jesus children who became the receptacle for the incarnating Sun God, Christ.

"[T]hrough the hidden forces at work in unconscious depths, the human soul and spirit was [sic] presented to humanity...as the child at the beginning of the physical evolution on earth ... [I]t is the child who was there before human beings had reached the point of first physical embodiment in Earth evolution. This is the being known in the Kabbalah as Adam Cadmon — the human being who descended from divine, spiritual heights with all that he had acquired during the periods of Saturn, Sun and Moon incarnations. [1] The human being in his spiritual state at the very beginning of earth evolution, born in the Jesus child — this was what the divine wisdom presented to humanity through the festival of Jesus’ birth [2] ... [B]efore the luciferic forces [3] began their work, we possessed an unsullied nature and being, which can inspire us with undying hope ... The Jesus of the Gospel of St Luke — not the Jesus described in the Gospel of St Matthew [4] — is the child before whom the shepherds worship … [A]t the place visited by the shepherds a human soul had been born in the state of innocence in which the soul existed before the first incarnation on earth ... [T]he soul of the Jesus child described in the Gospel of St Luke…was kept back in the worlds of spirit when the other human souls began to pass through their incarnations on earth [5]. This soul remained in the guardianship of the holiest mysteries of the Atlantean and post-Atlantean epochs [6] … Then it was sent forth into the body predestined to receive it and became one of the two Jesus children — the child described in the Gospel of St Luke." — R. Steiner, CHRISTMAS (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007), pp. 61-65.

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[1] I.e., the human being as it existed during the ancient stages of evolution known as Old Saturn, Old Sun, and Old Moon. Our "incarnations" then were not physical as we understand this term now.

[2] I.e., one of the two Jesus children was a new incarnation of Adam Kadmon, the perfect prototype of Adam. (We might paraphrase the beginning of Steiner's statement as "The perfect prototype of humanity, Adam Kadmon, was reborn in the Jesus child....") According to Steiner, two children named Jesus, having lived near one another, merged to become the human vessel into which the Sun God descended. [See "Was He Christian?"]

[3] I.e., the forces of Lucifer, which corrupted the early, unsullied human being.

[4] The other Jesus provided other legacies, other spiritual forces. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Jesus".] Steiner here differentiates between varying accounts presented in the various Gospels of the New Testament.

[5] I.e., whereas other human souls incarnated and reincarnated numerous times during various periods of earthly history, this unblemished Jesus soul remained in the spiritual or heavenly realm until it descended as one of the two Jesuses who, merging, would receive the Sun God, Christ.

[6] I.e., it was preserved in the occult or mystery wisdom possessed by initiates during the period when humanity lived on Atlantis, and again during early periods of our own post-Atlantean epoch.

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adept - also see gnosis; initiate; mysticism; occultism

As conceived in Anthroposophy, an adept is an individual skilled in the application or use of gnosis [1], occult knowledge; and adept is a high, wise initiate. “The weapons of the mystic [2] are concentration and inner vision; the weapons of the occultist [3] are intuition and synthesis. Each corresponds to the other; they complete and presuppose each other. [paragraph break] These two human types are blended in the Adept, in the higher Initiate. [4] No doubt one or the other, and often both, are met with in the founders of great religions and the loftiest philosophies. No doubt also they are to be found again, in a less, but still very remarkable degree, among a certain number of personages who have played a great part in history as reformers, thinkers, poets, artists, statesmen. [5]” — E. Schuré, “The Personality of Rudolf Steiner and His Development”, introduction to THE WAY OF INITIATION (Harper & Row, 1960), by Rudolf Steiner, GA 10. [See "Adepts".]

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[1] See "Gnosis".

[2] "Mysticism - the path that leads to the supersensible world through contemplation and self-surrender. In general it can be said that a mystic tries to acquire initiation by finding the ultimate reality either within himself or in nature." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 83.

[3] As Anthroposophists use the term, "occultism" is the study of hidden spiritual truths. Steiner described himself as an occultist; his most important book is AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE. In practice, Anthroposophists can be considered both mystics and occultists.

[4] For an overview of occult initiation, see "Inside Scoop".

[5] In Anthroposophical belief, the true history of mankind — hidden from most scholars — is to a large degree the history of occult initiation and the activities of occult initiates. Steiner identified many historical and legendary figures as occult initiates: King Arthur, for instance, and Moses.

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admirers of Rudolf Steiner - also see Barfield, Owen; Bellow, Saul; Kafka, Franz; Schweitzer, Albert; Wilkinson, Roy

Some illustrious individuals — including Saul Bellow, Franz Kafka, and Albert Schweitzer — have expressed admiration for Rudolf Steiner. Certainly, Steiner's teachings can be deemed, from various perspectives, attractive; arguably, they offer a grand and noble vision. But Steiner's admirers often lack extensive knowledge of his actual words and doctrines. Schweitzer, for instance, almost certainly was not fully acquainted with Steiner's unorthodox medical teachings and his controversial views on "lower" races [see "Steiner's Quackery" and "Steiner's Racism"], and Bellow probably was not fully apprised of Steiner's contentious teachings about Judaism [see "RS on Jews"]. When Steiner's admirers gain greater knowledge of Anthroposophy, they may either become full converts or they may recoil, disillusioned. For some, the institutions and ideology of the Steiner movement come to seem both alarming and repellent. [See, e.g., "My Life Among the Anthroposophists".] 

In their recruitment materials, Waldorf schools often include admiring quotations about Steiner, although these materials often mischaracterize him, identifying him as a philosopher or scientist, for instance, whereas he identified himself as a clairvoyant, "spiritual" scientist, and occultist. Individuals such as Owen Barfield and Roy Wilkinson, who truly grasped and embraced Steiner's mystic teachings, offer the most cogent commendations of Steiner. But such individuals are generally less well known than luminaries such as Schweitzer and Bellow, so their statements are less useful for public relations purposes.

People can make mistakes; even the illustrious can make mistakes. The admiration some celebrities have expressed for Steiner should not sway us; perhaps in this one matter — the validity of Steiner's teachings — they have made a mistake. Clearly, Anthroposophists would reject the proposition that they should abandon their beliefs because a celebrity of some sort has criticized Steiner. By the same token, no one should embrace Steiner's teachings because a famous individual has spoken well of Steiner. The only way to sensibly judge Steiner's teachings is to absorb Steiner's own words and evaluate them on their merits. To explore Steiner's two chief expositions of his teachings, read his books OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE and KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT. [To consider analyses of these books, see "Everything" and "Knowing the Worlds".] Steiner's primary exposition of the rationale for Waldorf education is presented in the book variously titled STUDY OF MAN, A GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN BEING, and THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE. [See "Oh Humanity".]

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adult teeth - see teeth

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advanced races - also see Aryans; Caucasian race; Europeans; higher races; race; root races; sub-races; white race; cf. backward races; degenerate races; evil races; savages

According to Steiner, some races are more advanced than others. The white race is the most advanced — whites are the most “normal” humans, coming closest to realizing the "ideal human type." Other races are evolutionarily retarded — they are abnormal. [1] Steiner taught that blacks are childish, Asians are adolescent, and American Indians are senescent; whites, by contrast, are adult. [See "Steiner's Racism" and "Races".] 

Female influences in the past led to the development of advanced races, Steiner said. "The preeminence of the feminine soul [2]...was especially strong in the last Lemurian period [3] and continued into the Atlantean times [4], during which the fourth subrace [5] was preparing itself. But one must not imagine that this was the case among all of mankind. It was true, however, for that part of the population of earth from which the truly advanced races later emerged." — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 5, GA 11.

Advanced races stand higher than other races that must be adjudged lower, Steiner taught. Individual humans can evolve upward by passing from lower to higher races during the long process or reincarnation.  “[E]ach person has the opportunity to become caught up in the essence of one incarnation [6]...or instead to undergo the transformation into higher races, toward ever higher perfection. Races would never become decadent, never decline, if there weren’t souls that are unable to move up [7] ... Look at the [lower] races ... [T]hey only exist because some souls could not climb higher.” — Rudolf Steiner, DAS HEREINWIRKEN GEISTIGER WESENHEITEN IN DEN MENSCHEN (Rudolf Steiner Verlag), GA 102, p. 174.

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[1] See the entry for "abnormal", above.

[2] Steiner taught that males and females have distinctly different souls, interests, and needs — although ultimately we are all alike, incarnating in both male and female bodies over time, and containing both male and female qualities during each incarnation.

[3] I.e., the time when we lived on the continent of Lemuria.

[4] I.e., when we lived on Atlantis.

[5] In Anthroposophy, as in Theosophy, a "subrace" (or "sub-race") is a branch of the dominant, intended "root race" that exists during an evolutionary epoch. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for these terms.]

[6] To be "caught up" at the level attained during one incarnation means stalling at that level, failing to evolve higher.

[7] According to the divine plan of the gods, individuals should evolve to higher and higher levels of spiritual consciousness. During mankind's current condition, this progress is reflected in the progression from low (backward) racial forms to high (advanced) racial forms. But some individuals fail to evolve upward.

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Advent - also see Christ, Second Coming of; Christmas; festivals; higher I; highest I; Spiral of Light

Advent is the celebration of the coming or second coming of Christ. In the church calendar, Advent occurs in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Advent is often celebrated in Waldorf schools, but the event is frequently disguised as a Winter Festival or a Spiral of Light (a ceremony in which students walk a mystical spiral pattern, lighting and carrying candles, often in a darkened room). [See "Magical Arts".] "Advent ... Ample attention is paid to this period in Waldorf schools. On the Monday morning after each Advent Sunday, pupils gather in the school hall to sing Advent songs about the forthcoming birth of Jesus [1] ... In [Waldorf] nursery schools [2], an Advent spiral of fir branches is laid out on the floor ... The whole sequence [of Advent events] represents an evolution towards the arrival of the highest possible human potential — the human being's higher 'I' [3] — with which Christ [4] can unite through his own descent to earth."  — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 3.

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Advent observance in a Waldorf school. The candles and evergreen branches form a spiral pattern on the floor. Students, one at a time, follow the spiral inward, carrying unlit candles. They light their candles from the flame at the center, then ceremoniously they trace the spiral again in the opposite direction. [This Waldorf Life.]

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[1] Waldorf schools are essentially disguised religious institutions. "Advent songs," like many other songs performed in Waldorf schools, are essentially hymns or prayers set to music. In Anthroposophical belief, Jesus was the human host for the Sun God's incarnation on Earth. [See "Sun God".]

[2] This practice is not confined to Waldorf nursery schools; it may also occur in higher grades at Waldorf schools.

[3] According to Anthroposophical belief, the "I" is the spiritual ego, the spark of divinity that confers unique individuality. The "higher I" is the portion of the "I" that remains in the spirit realm while a human lives an incarnated life on Earth. [See the entries for "I" and "higher I" in this encyclopedia.] Note that the celebration of Advent in Waldorf schools ultimately entails occult Anthroposophical beliefs, which may or may not be explained to the students.

[4] According to Anthroposophical belief, Christ is the Sun God who descend to incarnation on Earth. Christ is the "highest I" or mankind's prototype: He represents the ideal toward which mankind should evolve. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "highest I".]

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Advent spiral - see Advent; Spiral of Light

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adversarial powers - see Ahriman; Ahrimanic beings; Asuras; demonic beings; demons; evil beings; Lucifer; Luciferic beings; Sorat; Spirits of Adversity; Spirits of Darkness; Spirits of Hindrance; Spirits of Obstruction; Spirits of Opposition; Spirits of Temptation

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aeon, Aeon - also see ages; Christ; Demiurge; epochs; Jehovah

In gnostic teachings, an aeon is an age (an historical epoch) or the god presiding over that age. Christ is sometimes deemed to be a high aeon. In some teachings, Jehovah is described as a rather lowly aeon. "The Aeons were Beings who had issued from the Demiurgos [1]. Among these Aeons, Jahve or Jehovah [2] was a Being of a relatively subordinate rank." — R. Steiner, “Gnostic Doctrines and Supersensible Influences in Europe” (ANTHROPOSOPHY, Vol. 6, No. 3), GA 225. [See “Was He Christian?”.]

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[1] In Gnostic belief, the creator god.

[2] In Steiner's teachings, Jehovah is not the One and Only God of monotheism; he is one of a great many gods, specifically the god of the Jews, who resides on the Moon.

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Aesir - also see Angels; Archangels; gods; Norse myths; cf. Vanir

In Norse myths, the Aesir are one of two rival bands of gods. [1] The Aesir are generally deemed the better, more admirable deities — they were gods of valor, triumphant battle, and construction. They prevailed over dreadful giants at the beginning of the world. "[These] gods, in Northern mythology called Aesir (pillars and supporters of the world), having thus triumphed over their foes...now began to look about them, with intent to improve the desolate aspect of things and fashion a habitable world." — H. A. Gruber, MYTHS OF THE NORSEMEN (Dover Books, 1991), p. 5. Rudolf Steiner taught that the Aesir were in fact Angels and Archangels. "After Atlantis [2] men saw the weaving [3] of the Angels and Archangels whom they called the Aesir. They were the Beings who as Angels and Archangels were concerned with the ‘I’ of man [4] which then awoke at an elementary level. These Beings took over the leadership of the Germanic peoples. What the other peoples of the East [5] had 'slept through', namely, the perception of how the soul, the inner life, was gradually developed ... [T]his had to be experienced by the peoples of Europe beginning from the lowest stage. They had to be fully conscious in order that these soul-forces might gradually develop. [6]" — R. Steiner, THE MISSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL FOLK SOULS, lecture 8, GA 121.

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[1] The other band were the Vanir, also called Vanas or Wanes. The Vanir were gods of wealth, commerce, and fertility — admirable in their way, but unheroic as seen by the warlike Norsemen.  

[2] I.e., after the continent of Atlantis sank.

[3] I.e., creative activities.

[4] In the sense Steiner uses the term here, the "I" is the human spark of divinity; possessing an "I" makes one a full human being. [See "I" in this encyclopedia.]

[5] I.e., non-Germanic peoples coming out of, or living in, the East (generally speaking, Asians).

[6] Steiner asserted that Europeans, especially in central and northern Europe (generally speaking, Germany), have led human evolution in the years since Atlantis was destroyed. Here he tells of easterners sleeping through a discovery Europeans made, enabling the evolution of the human soul. [See "Central Europe" and "Germans, Germany" in this encyclopedia.]

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Africans, “black race" - also see Mercury race; "Negro race"

According to Steiner, Africans are members of an abnormal human line. “Groups of men in whom the bones had, as it were, become too strong, were now left behind as degenerate races ... The last remnant of those human groups in which the nutritive system hardened too soon now forms the Negroid races." — R. Steiner, UNIVERSE, EARTH AND MAN (Collison, 1931), lecture 6, GA 105. [See "'Negro'".] 

According to Steiner, Africans are childlike and passionate. Steiner taught that blacks, heated by the Sun, are continuously “cooking” inside. "[E]verything connected to the body and the metabolism is strongly developed in the Negro. He has, as they say, powerful physical drives, powerful instincts ... [H]is whole metabolism operates as if he were being cooked inside by the sun. That is where his instinctual life comes from. The Negro is constantly cooking inside, and what feeds this fire is his rear-brain. [1]” — R. Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 55.

Steiner taught that black Africans are called the "Mercury race" because they are formed by powers in/on the planet Mercury. [2] "If we now more closely characterize the spot which in our recent statements we placed in Africa, by saying, that through the co-operation of the normal Spirits of Form [3] with the abnormal ones centered in Mercury [4], the negro race came into existence, we are then, from an occult standpoint, quite correct in describing what appears in the black race, as the ‘Mercury race’." —R. Steiner, THE MISSION OF THE FOLK SOULS, lecture 6, GA 121.

Blacks live instinctual lives, Steiner taught, whereas Asians live largely through their emotions, and whites rely on their superior powers of cognition. [5] 

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[1] According to Steiner, the "degenerate" character of "the Negro" is indicated by the Negro's heavy reliance on the "rear-brain" and his passionate "instinctual life" (he "cooks" inside because of his hot passions).

[2] See “Races”.

[3] According to Steiner, Spirits of Form are gods four spiritual levels higher than humans. "Normal" Spirits of Form have evolved in the proper manner.

[4] I.e., Spirits of Form who have not evolved in the proper manner reside in and around Mercury. (Abnormal gods standing at a particular level might have reached a higher level if they evolved as they should.)

[5] See "Forbidden".

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ages - also see cultural epochs; epochs; great epochs; cf. yugas  

In Anthroposophy, this term is sometimes used for cultural epochs [1] and sometimes for great epochs [2]. The former usage is more frequent and proper, according to Steiner's teachings.

Steiner taught that during our Earthly existence, mankind has evolved through a series of "great epochs" or extended temporal periods. One of these, for instance, was the Atlantean Epoch, when we lived on Atlantis. [3] In turn, Steiner said, each great epoch consists of seven shorter periods. During our current great epoch (the Post-Atlantean Epoch), these shorter periods are termed cultural epochs or ages. Thus, for instance, we recently passed through the Greco-Roman Age, and we now lived in the Anglo-Germanic Age. [4]

According to Anthroposophical belief, these are the seven ages or cultural epochs or our current great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. The Indian Age was the first cultural epoch of mankind's existence on the planet Earth as it exists now (in the Post-Atlantean Epoch). The Persian Age was was the second cultural epoch, etc. We now live in the Anglo-Germanic Age. The Russian and American Ages lie in the future.

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "epochs" and "cultural epochs".

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "great epochs".

[3] See "Atlantis".

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Greco-Roman Age" and "Anglo-Germanic Age".

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.According to Anthroposophy, there are seven major stages of evolution: 

the seven conditions of consciousness. 

During each of these, we evolve through seven conditions of life. 

During each of these, we evolve through seven stages of form. 

During each of these, we evolve through seven great epochs. 

During each of these, we evolve through seven cultural epochs.

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Agnishvattas - see Archangels

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Ahern, Geoffrey

Fellow of the Center for Leadership Studies, Exeter University, UK; one of the first scholars to attempt a dispassionate study of the Anthroposophical movement. See his book SUN AT MIDNIGHT - The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West (James Clarke & Co., 2009).

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Ahriman - also see Ahrimanic beings; Ahrimanic world; America; Antichrist; intellect; Lucifer; Satan; technology

a) The devil as posited in the Zoroastrian religion.

b) According to Steiner, Ahriman is Satan, aka Mephistopheles, aka Beelzebub. [1] He is the demonic rival/partner of Lucifer. [2] Ahriman is the power of darkness, materialism, external life, technology, intellect, and egoism. He will incarnate in the third millennium AD and will be centered in the West. "[B]efore only a part of the third millennium of the post-Christian era has elapsed, there will be, in the West, an actual incarnation of Ahriman: Ahriman in the flesh. Humanity on earth cannot escape this incarnation of Ahriman. It will come inevitably." — R. Steiner, THE INFLUENCES OF LUCIFER AND AHRIMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), pp. 16-17.

Ahriman is “the supreme intellectual power.” — R. Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), p. 167. Lucifer gave humanity the gift of intellectual apprehension, but under Ahriman this gift has turned into a cold and heartless force of destruction. “The intellect destroys or hinders.” — R. Steiner, WALDORF EDUCATION AND ANTHROPOSOPHY, Vol. 1 (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 233. Steiner's followers believe that the products of the intellect — particularly technological devices such as TVs and computers — come from the realm of Ahriman; this is essentially why Waldorf schools try to minimize students' exposure to such devices. [3] Indeed, the incarnation of Ahriman may come through such devices. "With the achievement of the stored program computer [4], it begins to be possible to talk in terms of a (macrocosmic) [5] incarnation vehicle capable of sustaining the being of Ahriman.” — D. B. Black, THE COMPUTER AND THE INCARNATION OF AHRIMAN (Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1981), p. 33.

The two arch-demons, Lucifer and Ahriman, work in cooperation but also competition with one another. According to Steiner, Lucifer attempts to seduce humans into a false spirituality, while Ahriman attempts to seduce humans into complete immersion in the physical realm. Succumbing to either demon would be disastrous — Steiner said we need Christ to hold the demons at bay, so that we may benefit from their "gifts" while resisting the worst effects of their temptations. [6] 

Of these two arch-demons, Ahriman is usually depicted as the more terrible; he represents the greater danger to humanity today. "[T]oday...the spirit-soul [7] is asleep. The human being is thus in danger of drifting into the Ahrimanic world [8], in which case the spirit-soul will evaporate into the cosmos. We live in a time when people face the danger of losing their souls [9] to materialistic impulses." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 115.

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Bust of Ahriman attributed to Rudolf Steiner. 

Ahriman's malevolence is clearly indicated. [Public domain image.] 

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[1] See “Ahriman”.

[2] See "Lucifer".

[3] See "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes".

[4] I.e., a computer that carries its programs internally.

[5] In Anthroposophy, the macrocosm is the universe or cosmos; the human being is the microcosm, a miniature replica reflecting the structure and spiritual powers of the macrocosm. Whatever affects the macrocosm affects the microcosm, and vice versa.

[6] See "Was He Christian?"

[7] Steiner taught that we have both souls (our immaterial selves in one incarnation) and spirits (our immortal immaterial selves, which we carry through all incarnations). The "spirit-soul" (or the "soul-spirit") is the combination of these two.

[8] I.e., the realm ruled by Ahriman, a realm of thorough immersion in material or physical existence, far removed from the spirit realm.

[9] Here "souls" is used somewhat informally — both soul and spirit (the spirit-soul) arguably are meant.

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Ahrimanic beings, Ahrimanic powers - also see Ahriman; Ahrimanic world; Luciferic beings; cf. Michael

According to Steiner, these are Ahriman's minions; spirits who exist under the domination of Ahriman and/or who serve Ahriman. [1] These minions make war against the benevolent powers of the universe. One such struggle culminated during Steiner's own lifetime, according to Steiner. Ahriman's forces were then pitted against the archangel Michael [2] and his followers. “[W]e have to point to a struggle, a real war in [the spiritual] world, which began...and came to a certain conclusion...by the autumn of 1879. [3] To have the right idea about these things, you must visualize a battle which continued for decades in the spiritual world, from the 1840s until the autumn of 1879. [paragraph break] This may be called a battle which the spirits who are followers of...Michael fought with certain ahrimanic powers [4]. Please consider this battle to have been in the first place a battle in the spiritual world. Everything I am referring to at the moment relates to this battle fought by Michael and his followers against certain ahrimanic powers.” — R. Steiner, THE FALL OF THE SPIRITS OF DARKNESS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2008), pp. 136-137.

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[1] See the entry for "Ahriman", above. If Ahriman himself is included in the ranks of Ahrimanic beings, then Ahriman may be conceived as consisting of these beings.

[2] See "Michael".

[3] See the entry for "1879" in this encyclopedia.

[4] I.e., minions of Ahriman. (Steiner taught that Ahriman threatens humanity in many ways; he has many different powers and servants; he and his powers extend into many spheres of existence.)

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Ahrimanic world - also see Ahriman; America; materialism

The world or the plane of existence dominated by Ahriman. [1] In one sense, the Ahrimanic world is the material world, exemplified particularly by materialistic America. “This [America] is the region where, through the prevailing external conditions, above all a relationship is developed with the mephistophelian-ahrimanic nature [i.e., the spirit of Ahriman]. [2]" — R. Steiner, SECRET BROTHERHOODS and the Mystery of the Human Double (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004), p. 69. In another sense, Ahriman's world is the evil level of the lower portion of the heavenly or "devachanic" realm. "[T]he evil Lower Devachan [is] the province of Ahriman. [3]" — R. Steiner, THE ETHERISATION OF THE BLOOD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1971), GA 130. [4] 

More generally, the Ahrimanic world can be conceived as a realm or sphere of existence, created by Ahriman, in which no true spirit or soul can survive. "The human being is...in danger of drifting into the Ahrimanic world, in which case the spirit-soul [5] will evaporate into the cosmos. We live in a time when people face the danger of losing their souls to materialistic impulses. This is a very serious matter. We now stand confronted with that fact." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 115.

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[1] See the entry for "Ahriman", above.

[2] See "Steiner and the Warlord", "America", and the entry in this encyclopedia for Mephistopheles (who, Steiner taught, is Ahriman). 

[3] "Devachan" is a term used in Theosophy, referring to the heavenly world we enter after death. There are lower and higher regions of Devachan, and they include areas of evil. Steiner spoke of Devachan when he was still a Theosophist; he generally dropped the term later. In both Theosophy and Anthroposophy, descriptions of the various worlds beyond our own are extremely convoluted.

[4] See "Evil Ones".

[5] Steiner taught that we have both souls (our immaterial selves in one incarnation) and spirits (our immortal immaterial selves, which we carry through all incarnations). The "spirit-soul" (or the "soul-spirit") is the combination of these two. 

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Ahura Mazda (Ormazd) - also see Christ; Lodge of Twelve; Sun God; White Lodge; Zoroaster; Zoroastrianism; cf. Ahriman

a) The chief Zoroastrian god, the opponent of Ahriman. [1]

b) In Anthroposophy, Ahura Mazda is the Sun God, which is to say he is Christ [2] as comprehended by Zoroastrians. [3] Ahura Mazda is the spirit of, or behind, the Sun; he is the spirit that promotes, and in a sense creates, life, much as the physical Sun does. "Zarathustra called that which lies behind the physical Sun, Aura Mazda or Ahura Mazdao ... With this spiritual essence behind the Sun, all spiritual experiences and conditions are bound up, just as the existence and well-being of plants, animals and all that lives on Earth are bound up with the physical Sun. Behind the physical Sun lives the spiritual Lord and Creator, Ahura Mazdao. This is the derivation of the name 'Ormuzd,' Spirit of Light."  — R. Steiner, "Zarathustra", ANTHROPOSOPHY, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1927.

Steiner taught that various pre-Christian religions had some (incomplete) knowledge of Christ; they called him by various names. In the following passage, Steiner tells of a "lodge" of initiated spiritual beings (Bodhisattvas or Buddhas). [3] There are twelve regular members in the lodge, plus a thirteenth who is Christ or, in other words, Ahura Mazda. "If you were able to look into the great Spirit-Lodge of the twelve Bodhisattvas [4] you would find that in the midst of the Twelve there is a Thirteenth — one who cannot be called a ‘Teacher’ in the same sense as the Bodhisattvas, but of whom we must say: He is that Being from whom wisdom itself streams as very substance. It is therefore quite correct to speak of the twelve Bodhisattvas in the great Spirit-Lodge grouped around One who is their Centre; they are wrapt in contemplation of the sublime Being from whom there streams what they have then to inculcate into Earth evolution in fulfilment of their missions. [5] Thus there streams from the Thirteenth what the others have to teach. They are the ‘Teachers’, the ‘Inspirers’; the Thirteenth is himself the Being of whom the others teach, whom they proclaim from epoch to epoch. This Thirteenth is He whom the ancient Rishis [6] called Vishva Karman [7], whom Zarathustra called Ahura Mazdao, whom we call the Christ." — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1964), lecture 7, GA 114. [See “God”.]

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[1] See "Ahriman".

[2] See "Sun God".

[3] Zoroastrianism is the Persian religion founded by Zoroaster or Zarathustra in the sixth century BCE. [See the entries for "Zoroaster" and "Zoroastrianism" in this encyclopedia.]

[3] "Buddha" is a title awarded to an enlightened being. [See the entry for "Buddha, buddha" in this encyclopedia.] A Bodhisattva is an individual who may attain full enlightenment but who delays entry into nirvana (an enlightened state beyond suffering) in order to save distressed human beings. In Anthroposophy, enlightenment is a matter of occult initiation. [See the entry for "initiate, initiation".]

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Lodge of Twelve" and "Bodhisattvas".

[5] I.e., from him they receive their assigned missions in support of human spiritual evolution.

[6] Hindu saints.

[7] See the entry for "Vishva Karman" in this encyclopedia.

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air - also see air ether; earth; elements; fire; sylphs; water

In Anthroposophical teachings, drawing from ancient lore: Air is one of the four "elements." It is the home of the nature spirits [1] called sylphs. [2] ◊ "[A] Greek philosopher, Empedocles, [taught] that all substances are composed of four elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Aristotle agreed and emphasized that these four elements are bearers of fundamental properties." — ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, "Chemical Element", Jan. 5, 2015. ◊ Anthroposophy recognizes "the 'four elements', the archetypal activities of earth, water, air and fire, which were once dynamic qualities in the medieval cosmos and are now Anthroposophical." — G. Ahern, THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT (James Clarke & Co., 2009), p. 92. ◊ "Each of the four elements is home to the corresponding type of elemental beings." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 36. ◊ "[I]t is in the element which is of the nature of air and warmth that those beings live which an earlier clairvoyant art designated as the sylphs." — R. Steiner, MAN AS SYMPHONY OF THE CREATIVE WORD, lecture 7, GA 230. [3]

Anthroposophy is generally backward, accepting teachings that science has long since discarded. Science today recognizes more than one hundred elements, and air is not one of them. (Nor are earth, water, or fire now categorized as elements.) According to modern physical science, air consists of various gases, predominantly oxygen and nitrogen.

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[1] I.e., elemental beings — invisible beings that dwell within the elements.

[2] See "Beings".

[3] I.e., the elemental beings who dwell in air are sylphs. [See the entry for "sylphs" in this encyclopedia.]

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air ether - also see air; elements; ether; pentagram

Steiner affirmed the ancient belief that there are four fundamental "elements": air, earth, fire, and water. [1] Early in his career as an occultist, he said there is an "ether" associated with each element. Air ether is the rarefied, more elevated variant of the element called air. The symbol for air ether, Steiner said, is the circle, and its color is green. Air ether functions in the human nerve system, and its taste is sour. [2]

In his early teaching, Steiner also indicated that there is a fifth ether, "thought ether". [3] He later generally taught that in fact there are four ethers: life ether, light ether, sound ether, and warmth ether. [4] (In this later scheme. the fifth ether — thought ether — is folded into sound ether.)

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[1] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "elements".

[2] See R. Steiner, FROM THE CONTENTS OF ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), 12/1/1906, GA 266.

[3] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "thought ether".

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for these terms.

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air-fire beings - also see Luciferic beings; Lucifer; cf. earth-water beings; sylphs

According to Steiner, these are Luciferic beings [1] composed of air and warmth, dwelling in the atmosphere around the Earth. They battle against Ahrimanic beings [2] and they interfere with the astrological influences [3] humans should receive. "[W]e find these air-fire beings making sallies from their strongholds not only upon the Ahrimanic powers, but upon the influences that should be continually reaching man from Mars, Jupiter and Saturn." — R. Steiner, MAN’S LIFE ON EARTH AND IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLDS (Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1952), p. 89. [See "Neutered Nature".]

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[1] I.e., minions of Lucifer. In Anthroposophical belief, Lucifer is one of the two great demons who tempt, threaten, and to some extent benefit mankind.

[2] I.e., minions of Ahriman. In Anthroposophical belief, Ahriman is the other great demon who tempts, threatens, and to some extent benefits mankind. Ahriman and Lucifer sometimes cooperate with each other, and sometimes they compete against each other.

[3] Belief in astrology is central to Anthroposophy and much that happens in Waldorf schools. 

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akasha (akasa) - also see Akashic Chronicle; ether

The spiritualistic universal ether, sometimes termed astral light; originally a Hindu concept, adopted by Theosophy and Anthroposophy. [1] "Akasa (Sanskrit) [from akas to be visible, appear, shine, be brilliant]  The shining ether, cosmic space, the fifth cosmic element. [2]" — ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY (Theosophical University Press, 1999). 

Occult knowledge is supposedly inscribed on this ether, in the form of the Akashic Chronicle or Akashic Record. [3] Reading this inscribed information is difficult. "Akasha pictures speak a confusing language, because the Akasha is alive." — R. Steiner, AT THE GATES OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1986), lecture 2, GA  95. [See "Akasha".] In order to read such pictures, one must develop reliable powers of clairvoyance, Steiner said. [4]

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[1] Physicists once postulated a universe substance, "ether," that filled the universe and served as the medium for the propagation of light. The concept was eventually dropped from physics, but a similar concept stemming from Hindu teachings has remained embedded in both Theosophy and Anthroposophy. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "ether".]

[2] The ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles taught that there are four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. [See, e.g., "Chemical Elements", ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE.] Ancient Hindu teachings include a similar belief, except that a fifth element is added: ether or empty space. [See, e.g., THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF WORLD RELIGIONS (Ocford Universoty Press, 1997), p. 599.]

[3] See the entry for "Akashic Chronicle," below.

[4] See "Exactly".

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Akashic Chronicle or Record(s) - also see akasha; clairvoyance; occult script

A supersensory storehouse(s) of knowledge, written on akasha. [1] "In occult lore of the Theosophical period and modern New Age teachings, [the Akashic Chronicle is] the permanent trace of all past events, preserved on the akasha or astral light." — J. M. Greer, THE NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE OCCULT (Llewellyn Publications, 2009), p. 10. The Chronicle can be read by initiates, according to Steiner and other self-described initiates. [2] “[A]t a certain high level of his cognitive power, man can penetrate to the eternal origins of the things which vanish with time. A man broadens his power of cognition [3] in this way if he is no longer limited to external evidence where knowledge of the past is concerned. Then he can see in events what is not perceptible to the senses, that part which time cannot destroy. He penetrates from transitory to non-transitory history. It is a fact that this history is written in other characters [4] than is ordinary history. In gnosis and in theosophy it is called the 'Akasha Chronicle.’" — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), preface, GA 11. [See "Akasha" and “Gnosis”.]

"Not only events that took place in the physical world can be unveiled [by reading the Chronicle], but also underlying spiritual connections." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 5. Thus, the Chronicle leads to understanding of the eternal and spiritual as well as the merely temporal and physical. In this sense, it ushers initiates to an understanding of the deepest truths.

Because the Akashic Chronicle cannot be perceived by anyone but professed clairvoyants, its existence is — from a rational perspective — extremely doubtful. Indeed, if occult Anthroposophic "knowledge" depends on clairvoyance and the Akashic Chronicle, neither of which can be confirmed as real, then such "knowledge" — which is the basis of Waldorf pedagogy — is virtually indistinguishable from fantasy. 

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[1] See the entry for "akasha", above. (The Akashic Chronicle is "supersensory" or "supersensible" in that it cannot be perceived by our ordinary senses.)

[2] For an overview of occult initiation, see "Inside Scoop".

[3] I.e., clairvoyance. [See the entry for "clairvoyance" in this encyclopedia.]

[4] I.e., a different kind of writing. “The third stage [in the process of initiation] is Reading in the Occult Script ... One learns to discover an inner connection which is expressed in these figures [i.e., characters of the script] ... Our script [i.e., ordinary writing] is a last decadent relic of this old occult writing....” — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), p. 163. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "occult script".]

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Akashic Realm  - also see Heat Death; Realms of Spirit; Seventh Epoch (Trumpets)

In Anthroposophy: This is the fourth area of the spirit world, above the Oceanic [1]. Containing the archetypes [2] of the soul, it is the penultimate portion of Lower Devachan [3]. We will effectively pass through this realm as we proceed through the seven realms or stages [4] — analogous to cultural epochs [5] in our own Post-Atlantean Epoch [6] — that will occur during the seventh great epoch [7], the Epoch of Trumpets [8]. The Akashic Realm will unfold after the Atmospheric Realm and will ruled by Aquarius [9]. "The fourth region transcends everything that might still have existed even if there had been no mankind. It includes all man's original thoughts which enable him to bring something new into the world and to act upon it, no matter whether the thoughts are those of an ignorant or a learned man, of a poet or a peasant. They need not involve any great discoveries; they may belong to everyday life." — R. Steiner, AT THE GATES OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE, lecture 2, GA 95. 

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On occasion, Steiner taught that the spirit world or Devachan consists of seven identifiable areas or realms. These areas contain a) archetypes that give rise to levels of existence and b) germinating seeds or initial points from which forms of existence develop. The first four areas constitute the lower part of the spirit world or Devachan; the upper three areas constitute the upper part of the spirit world or Devachan.

 ◊ HIGHER DEVACHAN ◊ 

 7. Germinating seeds for Physical Reality 

 6. Germinating seeds for the Living 

 5. Germinating seeds for the Soul 

 ◊ LOWER DEVACHAN ◊ 

 4. Akashic : Origin of Archetypal Thoughts 

 3. Atmospheric : Archetypes of the Soul 

 2. Oceanic : Archetypes of Living 

 1. Continental : Archetypes of Physical Reality 

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[1] See "Oceanic Realm" in this encyclopedia.

[2] See "archetypes" in this encyclopedia.

[3] Devachan is the spirit world. [See "spirit world(s)", "Devachan", and "Lower Devachan" in this encyclopedia.] 

[4] See "Realms of Spirit" in this encyclopedia. (In the fourth Realm of Spirit, we effectively recycle through the fourth region of Devachan. [See "Devachan" in this encyclopedia.]) In some Anthroposophic texts, our experience in the fourth realm is described as "heat death". [See "Heat Death" in this encyclopedia.]

[5] See "cultural epochs" in this encyclopedia.

[6] See "Post-Atlantean Epoch" in this encyclopedia.

[7] See "great epochs".

[8] See "Seventh Epoch (Trumpets)".

[9] See "Aquarius".

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Akkadians - also see Atlantean; Atlantis; sub-races

The sixth sub-race [1] that, according to occult teachings, arose on Atlantis. [2] “The men of the sixth subrace, the Akkadians, developed the faculty of thought even further than the fifth. [3] They differed from the so-called Primal Semites in that they employed this faculty in a more comprehensive sense than the former ... Turbulent conditions...began to prevail under the fifth subrace, and in the sixth they led to a feeling of the need to bring the obdurate thinking of the individual under general laws ... The calculating faculty of thought...spurred men to enterprises and new foundations. The Akkadians were therefore an enterprising people with an inclination to colonization. It was commerce, especially, which nourished the waxing faculty of thought and judgment.” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 3, GA 11.

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According to Theosophical teachings — which Steiner affirmed during his Theosophical period — the Atlanteans constituted the fourth root race in humanity's evolution: The Atlanteans were the divinely intended racial form of the fourth great epoch. [5] The Atlantean root race, like the others before and since, was comprised of seven sub-races. [6] Here are the Atlantean sub-races (subdivisions of the Atlantean root race):

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[1] According to Theosophy and Anthroposophy, a sub-race is a subdivision of a root race, the intended racial form for a stage of evolution. [See the entries for "sub-races" and "root races" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] See "Atlantis".

[3] I.e., the fifth sub-race, the Primal Semites.

[4] See the entries for "root races" and "great epochs" in this encyclopedia.

[5] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "sub-races", "Rmoahals", "Tlavatlis", etc.

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alchemy - also see magic; cf. chemistry

a) A pseudoscience aimed at converting base metals to precious metals.

b) More generally, any mystical, antiscientific “science” or process.

c) In Anthroposophical belief, alchemy is occult transmutation, a mystical process proceeding from and leading to spiritual knowledge. "Alchemy has always been known in its higher manifestations as a way to contact the deeper levels of reality, described as the superhuman ‘spirits' or guiding archangels of the universe [1] ... [A]lchemy is finally seen in Rudolf Steiner’s presentation as a step towards the cosmic understanding we will need for our future role [in cosmic evolution].” — A. J. Welburn in the introduction to ALCHEMY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001), a collection of Steiner's lectures.

Astrologers sought "the philosopher's stone," the mineral that would transmute base metals into precious metals. Steiner taught that the true philosopher's stone is the power, which evolving mankind will attain, to transmute one's physical body to a higher form: "In the far future...Man will learn to extend his power more and more ... [He will build] his corporal frame himself. That is a grand perspective of the future, for in this way no more beings will be killed [2]. In times to come man's body will consist of transparent soft carbonic matter. He will then have found the philosopher's stone; he will have changed his own body into the philosopher's stone." — R. Steiner, INVESTIGATIONS IN OCCULTISM SHOWING ITS PRACTICAL VALUE IN DAILY LIFE (Putnam and Sons, 1929), p. 184.

Alchemical knowledge — or the knowledge of the inner, moral power of substances such as metals — plays an important role in healing, Steiner taught. For example, "Gastric disorders arise because a person is too much attached to the dead. Under such circumstances, a person is dominated by the dead ... Equilibrium is restored by administration of copper ... If suitable doses of copper are administered, the patient is inclined to withdraw somewhat from the realm of the dead and his health improves...." — R. Steiner, ALCHEMY- The Evolution of the Mysteries (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001).

[See "Alchemy".]

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Rudolf Steiner, ALCHEMY - The Evolution of the Mysteries (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001).

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[1] In Anthroposophical teachings, Archangels are gods two levels higher than humanity. Archangels guide human development during various periods. [See, e.g., the entry for "Time Archangels" in this encyclopedia.] More generally, Steiner taught, Archangels supervise various groups of human beings, such as families, nations, and races.

[2] I.e., we will not need to eat anything to develop and preserve our bodies; we will create our bodies out of our own wisdom and power.

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alcohol - also see drugs

Steiner sometimes cautioned against the use of alcohol, yet he also credited alcohol with an important function in human evolution, enabling humans to develop individual spiritual identities. Steiner said that before the use of alcohol, humans only possessed group souls [1], like animals do; we did not have true individuality. Alcohol then helped us rise to a higher, more individuated level, and because humans have not yet risen to full spiritual selfhood today, alcohol remains necessary. It will disappear when it is no longer needed. “Men have not always used alcohol ... Wine, alcohol, only appeared at a certain time in the history of humanity and the world; and it will disappear from it again ... Alcohol was the bridge which led from the group-ego [2] to the independent, individual ego [3]; without the material effect of alcohol man would never have made the transition from the group-ego to the individual ego; it produced the individual, personal consciousness in man. When humanity has reached this goal [4], it will no longer require alcohol, and this will then disappear again from the physical world.” — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN (London Reference Library, 1942), lecture 8, GA 100.

Steiner is reported to have relied on alcohol to suppress his primitive powers of clairvoyance so that he could proceed to higher forms of clairvoyance. “Steiner himself as a child brought with him into the world a vestigial relic of the old clairvoyance, the old 'original' participation [5]. 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 [6] it was his destiny both to predict and to develop.” — O. Barfield, “Introducing Rudolf Steiner” (TOWARDS, Fall-Winter, 1983). 

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[1] A group soul is a soul shared by all the members of a species or population. [See the entry for "group soul" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] I.e., group soul.

[3] See "Ego".

[4] Steiner taught that, in addition to our individual souls, we still have group souls as members of families, nations, and races. When we cease to have group souls, and when we fully develop the capacities of our individual egos, we will no longer need alcohol.

[5] I.e., primordial awareness of, and involvement in, the spirit realm. (Steiner taught that ancient peoples has innate powers of clairvoyance that have now largely bee lost.)

[6] Steiner claimed to attain "exact" clairvoyance. [See "Exactly".] 

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All Against All, The War of - also see American Age; electricity; evil; Post-Atlantean Epoch; science; technology; War of All Against All

a) Thomas Hobbes used this expression to denote the state of primitive human existence before the institution of civil government.

b) Rudolf Steiner adapted the expression, applying it to a future apocalyptic war.

The Anthroposophical account of human history, past and future, is marked by eruptions of great violence. Steiner taught that the Lemurian Age ended in catastrophic flooding brought about by human misdeeds, and the Atlantean Age ended in explosive firestorms caused again by human misdeeds. The pattern will repeat, Steiner said: Our Post-Atlantean Age will end in a disastrous, all-encompassing war, the War of All Against All. 

"The Lemurian epoch [1] was destroyed by fire, the Atlantean [2] by water; our epoch and its civilisation [3] will be destroyed by the War of All against All, by evil. Human beings will destroy each other in mutual strife. And the terrible thing — more desperately tragic than other catastrophes — will be that the blame will lie with human beings themselves. [4] A tiny handful of men will make good and thus insure their survival in the sixth epoch of civilisation. [5] This tiny handful will have attained selflessness. The others will develop every imaginable skill and subtlety in the manipulation and use of the physical forces of nature, but without the essential degree of selflessness. In the seventh epoch of civilisation [6], this War of All against All will break out in the most terrible form. Great and mighty forces will be let loose by [scientific] discoveries, turning the whole earth-globe into a kind of [self-actuated] live electric mass. [7] In a way that cannot be discussed, the tiny handful will be protected and preserved. [8]" — R. Steiner, “The Work of Secret Societies in the World” (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), a lecture, GA 93. [See "All v. All".] 

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[1] I.e., the period when humans lived on the continent of Lemuria.

[2] I.e., the Atlantean epoch — when we lived on Atlantis.

[3] Steiner here refers to the great epoch in which we now live, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. This great epoch consists of seven shorter, cultural epochs. Steiner will refer to some of these later in this passage.

[4] Steiner generally indicated that the blame for the destruction of Lemuria and Atlantis also lay with human beings, although in this passage (when he refers to "other catastrophes") he seems to deny it. 

[5] Steiner taught that we currently live in the fifth cultural epoch (the Anglo-Germanic Age) of the fifth great epoch (the Post-Atlantean Epoch). "A tiny handful" of humans will advance into and through the sixth cultural epoch (the Russian Age) as selfless beings; they will be accompanied by other humans who are less spiritually evolved. During the seventh cultural epoch (the American Age), the dreadful War of All Against All will erupt. Only the survivors of that War, and any superior humans who manage to rise above it, will progress to the sixth great epoch, the Epoch of the Seals.

[6] I.e., this will be the seventh cultural epoch of the Post-Atlantean Epoch: the American Age.

[7] Steiner provided various accounts of the horrors that science and technology will unleash.

[8] According to Anthroposophical belief, the tiny handful will be the true Anthrosophists of that era (reincarnated Anthroposophists: themselves).

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alp - see elves

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alternative education - also see holistic education; occultism; progressive education

Waldorf schools often present themselves as offering "alternative" education. This claim is true, but the alternative provided by Waldorf is not likely to appeal to most families. Unlike conventional and/or public education as found in most modern counties, Waldorf education is rooted in occultism. [See, e.g., “Soul School”.]

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America - also see Ahriman; American Age; materialism; Native Americans; cf. Germany; Russia

According to Steiner, America is the home of abnormal humans [1] — Native Americans — who are descended from one branch of Atlanteans (i.e., peoples of Atlantis). [2] “Groups of men in whom the bones had, as it were, become too strong, were now left behind as degenerate races. They could not adapt themselves to post-Atlantean conditions [3]; the last remnant of these people are the American Indians; they had degenerated.” — R. Steiner, UNIVERSE, EARTH AND MAN (Collison, 1931), lecture 6, GA 105. 

Steiner added that white Americans — transplanted Europeans — are abnormally materialistic and they are associated with the arch-demon Ahriman. [4]  America, then, represents antipathy to, or fear of, spirituality. "Ahrimanic fear [5], the holding back from the spiritual, makes itself felt especially in the culture of the West, and particularly in the element of American civilization ... The mark of Americanism is fear of the spiritual." — R. Steiner, A SOUND OUTLOOK FOR TO-DAY AND A GENUINE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 181. [See “America”.]  The counterpart or rival of Ahriman-America is Lucifer-Russia. These are the two fountainheads of evil in the modern world, according to Steiner. "Ahriman-America should not have the only voice; Lucifer-Bolshevism [i.e., Russian Communism[ should not be allowed to do the only deed. [6]" — Helmuth von Moltke the Younger speaking to R. Steiner from beyond the grave, according to R. Steiner. [7] The nation offering mankind the truest path into the future, Steiner indicated, is Germany. [8]

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[1] See the entry for "abnormal", above.

[2] See "Atlantis".

[3] I.e., conditions after Atlantis sank. We currently live in the Post-Atlantean great epoch, Steiner taught. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Post-Atlantean Epoch".]

[4] See “Ahriman”.

[5] I.e., the fear of spirituality, a fear implanted by Ahriman.

[6] That is, the powers of Ahriman, centered in American, and the powers of Lucifer, centered in Russia (which then was Communist orBolshevik), must not be allowed to go unanswered.

[7] See "Steiner and the Warlord".

[8] See "Germans, Germany" in this encyclopedia.

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American Age - also see America; automatons; intellect; mechanization; spider beings; War of All Against All; Wilson, Woodrow

In Steiner's account of human evolution, the seventh and concluding cultural epoch of our current great epoch [1] will be the American Age. It will run from 5733 CE to approximately 7900 CE. [2] There will be little advancement over the prior Russian Age [3]; in a sense, retrogression or at least stasis will occur. Anglo-American culture will predominate, under the direction of an abnormal god opposed to spiritual progress. The Moon will reunite with the Earth. Horrible monsters of intellect will be unleashed, and the epoch will culminate in the War of All Against All. [See “All v. All”.] 

"The Seventh Age [4]: This age extends from 5733 [CE] to about 7900 [CE] ... The age as a whole is dominated by Anglo-American culture, led by an abnormal Spirit of Personality [5] who does not work for the progress of evolution ... World egoism [6]...proceeds from the English-American people; through their inventions they cover the earth with a network of egoism fraught with evil ... This dominating egoism causes the drying up of regions where it is pursued ... Because by this time sufficient souls have the power to use the moon forces [7] for the benefit of evolution, the moon again unites with the earth [8] ... When the moon does unite, all the thoughts of the shadowy intellect [9] which at present have no reality at once become substantial realities. There springs forth a terrible brood of beings, automata [10] lying between the mineral and plant kingdoms, possessed of an overwhelming power of intellect. This swarm spreads over the earth as a ghastly network of spiderlike creatures [11] ... The reunion with the moon brings the culmination of evil on earth. The whole Post-Atlantean epoch ends with the War of All Against All. [12]" — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORETOLD BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2002), pp. 54-60.

According to Anthroposophical belief, these are the seven ages or cultural epochs or our current great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. We currently live in the Anglo-Germanic Age. The American Age will be the final period of the Post-Atlantean Epoch.

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "epochs", "cultural epochs", and "great epochs".

[2] See "Oriphiel".

[3] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Russian Age".

[4] I.e., the seventh cultural epoch: the American Age.

[5] Spirits of Personality are gods three stages higher than humanity, Steiner said. But an abnormal Spirit of Personality is a god who should have evolved higher; it should be four stages higher than humanity, but it has lagged behind its fellows. The American Age will be sick, as indicated by the abnormality of its presiding spirit, a backward god who "does not work for the progress of evolution." (Steiner uses the present tense, here — "is dominated" — although he is describing events in the distant future. Such usage creates a sense of timelessness and mystic sagacity.)

[6] I.e., global arrogance; worldwide egotism and selfishness.

[7] I.e., the Moon's astrological/spiritual forces.

[8] Steiner taught that the Moon and Sun were both once part of the Earth. They separated in the distant past, and they will reunite with the Earth in the future. The Moon will rejoin the Earth during the American Age.

[9] Although he was an intellectual, Steiner generally deplored intellect. It is dark ("shadowy") and abstract, he said; it is involved in the destructive powers of science and technology, and it functions under the sway of Ahriman. During the American age, dark or shadowy evils that previously existed only as intellectual thoughts will become incarnated evil realities stalking over the surface of the Earth.

[10] I.e., robots or robot-like creatures, having brains but not souls.

[11] See, e.g., "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes".

[12] See “All v. All”.

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American Indians - see Native Americans 

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American Transcendentalists - also see America; transcendentalism

These were members of an idealistic philosophical and political-reform movement centered in New England in the nineteenth century. Foremost among them were Ralph Waldo Emerson [1], Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. American Anthroposophists stress real and fancied parallels between American Transcendentalism and Anthroposophy; they attempt to make their creed (Anthroposophy) seem compatible with American thought and values. [2] Actually, however, Anthroposophy assigns centrality to the German nation and culture, and it associates America with Ahriman. [3] Moreover, there are fundamental differences between Steiner's occultism and the romanticism of the American Transcendentalists. 

Waldorf teacher-training programs in America sometimes give emphasis to American Transcendentalists, and some American Anthroposophists have published works that seek to reconcile Anthroposophy and American Transcendentalism (e.g., John Fentress Gardner's AMERICAN HERALDS OF THE SPIRIT), but Anthroposophical interpretations of the Transcendentalists' work have received little affirmation outside the Anthroposophical movement.

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[1] Steiner referred to Emerson on various occasions, but the extent of his admiration for Emerson is uncertain. "According to American anthroposophists, Rudolf Steiner is supposed to have said that everything Emerson taught in his lectures could serve as a foundation for Anthroposophy. Steiner's remark is widely believed though not verified, as far as I know." — G. Hughes, "Hearing Steiner's Anthroposophy in Emerson's Prophetic Voice," in R. McDermott's AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY AND RUDOLF STEINER (Lindisfarne Books, Anthroposophic Press, 2012),  p. 1. Whatever Steiner may have said on the point, the truth is that there is a vast difference between Emerson's teachings and Steiner's.

[2] See “Light and Dark”.

[3] See "The Good Wars" and “America”.

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Amshaspands - also see Time Rulers; Zoroastrianism

These are Zoroastrian [1] spiritual powers: time beings or time rulers (spirits who embody or preside over temporal periods). Steiner adopted various Zoroastrian teachings, including belief in Ahriman [2] and belief in the Amshaspands. In Anthroposophy, the Amshaspands are linked to the astrological signs of the zodiac. [3] ◊ "I should like to [speak about time] ... Not, however, the abstract Time we think of today, but Time viewed as a living, super-personal Being. [4] From this Being proceed the rulers of Time [5]; first of all the Amshaspands, the spiritual Beings who are symbolised in cosmic space by the signs of the Zodiac. [6]” — R. Steiner, CHRIST AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD & THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), lecture 4, GA 149. [See "Magic Numbers".] ◊ "Amshaspands or Amesha Spenta (Avestan: Ameša Spenta 'immortal saints' or 'healers') are, according to Persian tradition [7], spiritual beings who populate the upper astral plane [8] and are essentially comparable to the Archangels of the Christian doctrine of hierarchy [9]. They are the immediate followers of Ahura Mazda [10], whose various attributes are revealed through them ... They are lords of the forces of nature...and regulate the course of the year." — "Amshaspands", AnthroWiki.

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[1] See the entry for "Zoroastrianism" in this encyclopedia.

[2] See “Ahriman”.

[3] Astrology underlies much of the Anthroposophical and Waldorf belief system.

[4] I.e., a high god.

[5] See, e.g., the entry for "Time Spirits" in this encyclopedia.

[6] See “Zodiac”. 

[7] I.e., Zoroastrianism.

[8] See "astral plane" in this encyclopedia.

[9] See "Archangels" in this encyclopedia.

[10] Ahuta Mazda is the Zoroastrian God of Light or the Sun God. Steiner said he is Christ as apprehended by ancient Persians. [See the entry for "Ahura Mazda", above.]

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Anael - also see Archangels; Time Archangels; Venus

The Archangel of Venus. [1] According to Anthroposophical belief, he was Time Archangel [2] during the period 150-500 AD, and he will take up this role again during the fifth period of the Anglo-Germanic Age [3], ~2600-2950 AD. During Anael's future rule, "Venus fills [i.e., will fill] the soul with ideals and religious impulses, and gives rise to great deeds ... [I]ntellectuality becomes increasingly paralyzed by immorality ... The gap between ordinary abstract thinking and...imaginative pictures grows wider [4] ... Antisocial forces also continue to increase until the thirtieth century ... Materialists...will now find their brains too soft for thinking. [5]" — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2002), p. 33.

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[1] In Anthroposophical belief, Archangels — who are typically associated with various celestial bodies — are gods two levels higher than humanity. [See the entry for "Archangels", below.]

[2] I.e., an Archangel who presides over 350-year-long phases of human existence. [See the entry for "Time Archangels" in this encyclopedia.]

[3] See the entry for "Anglo-Germanic Age", below.

[4] Steiner taught that intellect is cold and largely false, as opposed to warm, heartfelt clairvoyance. (The latter produces true "imaginative pictures.")

[5] Steiner taught that true cognition, clairvoyance, does not occur in the brain; the brain is only capable of shallow intellectual thinking, As evolution proceeds, thinking that depends on the brain will become virtually impossible, especially for "materialists" (i.e., people who are wholly oriented to the physical plane of existence).

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Ancient Akkadians - see Akkadians

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ancient clairvoyance - see ancients; atavistic clairvoyance; natural clairvoyance

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Ancient Mars - see Old Mars; Old Moon

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Ancient Mongolians - see Mongols

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Ancient Moon - see Old Moon

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Ancient Rmoahals - see Rmoahals

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ancients, ancient ways, ancient powers, ancient wisdom... 

People of antiquity (ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, etc.). Like other esotericists, Steiner and his followers have given the ancients credit for being wiser in some ways than modern humans, especially modern scientists. Steiner credited the ancients with natural clairvoyance and a primordial, living awareness of the spirit realm. “Imagine what the people of ancient times perceived [clairvoyantly], entrancing them, pouring through their heads, till they exclaimed, 'Ah, the nymphs! Ah, the gnomes! [1] How the nymphs whirl in my head, how the gnomes hammer....' That no longer exists for us. Today the hammering, surging, and whirling are eclipsed and overwhelmed by what comes from [physical] seeing or hearing [2].” — R. Steiner, ISIS MARY SOPHIA (SteinerBooks, 2003), p. 230. [See “The Ancients”.] 

Repairing this loss is a key aim of Anthroposophy. Steiner taught that by following him, we can attain a new, higher, truer form of clairvoyance and thus a higher knowledge of the spirit realm. [3]

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[1] In Anthroposophical belief, such beings really exist.

[2] I.e., we no longer have innate clairvoyance; we no longer directly perceive spiritual realities (nymphs! gnomes!). We rely instead on our ordinary physical sense organs; we perceive only the physical level of existence.

[2] See "Knowing the Worlds".

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Ancient Saturn - see Old Saturn

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Ancient Semites - see Primal Semites

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Ancient Sun - see Old Sun

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Ancient Tlavatlis - see Tlavatlis

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Ancient Toltecs - see Toltecs

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Ancient Turanians - see Primal Turanians

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Angel Jesus - also see Angels; Archangels; Christ; Jesus; Nathanic Jesus; Solomonic Jesus

According to some Anthroposophic texts, the Angel Jesus is an Archangel (a god two levels above humanity) who condescended to work at the level of an Angel (a god one level higher than humanity). The Angel Jesus has functioned in the spirit realm much as the earthly Jesus (the combined Solomonic and Nathanic Jesuses) functioned in the physical realm, providing a vessel in which the Sun God could incarnate: "[The Angel Jesus is a] pure immaculate Angelic being who sacrifices himself so that Christ may work through him. The Angelic being is actually of the status of an Archangel, who has descended to work on the Angelic level in order to be closer to human beings and to assist them on the path of confrontation with evil." — R. Powell, JOURNAL FOR STAR WISDOM 2016 (Lindisfarne, Anthroposophic Press, 2015), p. 229.

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Angels - also see guardian angels; Lunar Pitris; Sons of Life; Sons of Twilight; supermen

In Anthroposophy, Angels are divine beings — gods — one evolutionary rank above humanity. They dwell in the Moon sphere, and each Angel has responsibility for overseeing one individual human being. Thus, Angels are also known as Guardian Angels. They also are known by such names as Sons of Life, Sons of Twilight, Spirits of Dusk, and so on. [See "Polytheism".]

"Angel - spiritual being nearest to the human being ... The general task of angels is to guide us through life. Angels focus their guiding activities on enabling us to experience the spiritual world through the power of imaginative thought. They do this by instilling spiritual images into the astral body [1] when people are asleep." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 6.

Angels and other, higher gods underwent the same kinds of evolution we humans are passing through, but they did so ahead of us. Thus, Old Saturn was the first stage of evolution for us, but it was the second stage for Angels, who began their own evolution in a previous period unknown to us. We were scarcely alive during Old Saturn, but Angels stretched and grew during that period. "[Certain] Beings found it possible to unfold their activity on Saturn [2]. These Beings may be called the ‘Sons of Twilight,’ or ‘Sons of Life’ (in Christian language they are the Angeloi or Angels.)” — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), chapter 4, part 3, GA 13. 

Various gods passed through the "human" level of development during various previous stages of cosmic evolution — that is, they stood then at the level we stand at now. Angels were "human" during Old Moon. “These beings [3] are the ‘Sons of Twilight,’ the ‘Spirits of Dusk’ ... They attain[ed] the stage of humanity only on the Moon [4]. On earth [5] they, as well as their predecessors, the Sons of Fire [6], have already grown beyond the stage of humanity.” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 14, GA 11.

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In Anthroposophical theology, there are nine ranks of gods divided into three "hierarchies". [See "Polytheism".] Angels (also known as Angeloi, Sons of Life, or Sons of Twilight) stand at the lowest rank of the lowest divine hierarchy, the Third Hierarchy. Above the Angels stand the Archangels (Spirits of Fire, Archangeloi). Above them stand the Archai (Spirits of Personality, Primal Beginnings, Principalities). [Adapted from a table in R. Wilkinson's RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2005), p. 186; color added.]

•••

[1] Anthroposophy teaches that fully incarnated humans have four bodies, three of which are invisible. The second of the invisible bodies is the "astral body."

[2] I.e., during the first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn. (Adapting to the language used by others before him, Steiner often spoke and wrote in terms that can mystify and beguile more than inform. When he described life "on" various "planets," he sometimes meant existence on actual planets, but often he meant existence in/on phases of the solar system's evolution. His meaning must often be deduced from context. [See the entries for "planets" and "planetary conditions" in this encyclopedia.])

[3] I.e., Angels.

[4] I.e., they were human during the third incarnation of the solar system, called Old Moon.

[5] I.e., during the fourth incarnation of the solar system, called Present Earth.

[6] I.e., Archangels.

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Anglo-Germanic Age - also see cultural epochs; Gabriel; Michael; Samael

According to Anthroposophy, this is the present cultural epoch (1413 AD - 3573 AD); sometimes called the European-American Age. The earliest years of this Age were presided over by Samael, the Archangel of Mars. [1] Samael was succeeded by Gabriel, the Archangel of the Moon. Currently, Michael — the Archangel of the Sun — presides. “The fifth, Anglo-Germanic age began in 1413 [AD] and will extend until 3573 [AD]. Although we might suppose that we understand it because we live in it, we have so far seen only its earliest stages ... It carries the future within it like a seed. At first, however, it spiritually looked backwards [2] ... [We] experience progressive deterioration [3] ... Around 1471 spiritual rulership passed [from Samael] to Gabriel, the Archangel of the Moon. His period was dominated by the rise of the nation-state and of natural science (both firmly rooted in the moon forces of heredity) [4] ... Gabriel brought also the moon quality of occultism [5] ... Meanwhile Michael, the Sun Archangel, who strides ahead of Christ as his countenance [6], was preparing a new spiritual content for humanity ... His rulership of 350 years as Time Archangel began in 1879. [7]” — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge, 2002), pp. 17-19. 

Under Michael, we have begun to rise out of our gross physicality, although the process of ascent will be long and difficult. Michael will continue as Time Archangel until approximately 2250 CE. Thereafter, the remainder of the Anglo-Germanic Age will be overseen by four more archangels: Oriphiel, Archangel of Saturn (~2250-2600 AD); Anael, Archangel of Venus (~2600-2950 AD); Zachariel, Archangel of Jupiter (~2950-3300 AD); and finally Raphael, Archangel of Mercury (~3300-3650 AD; this period extends into the next cultural epoch, the Russian Age).

According to Anthroposophical belief, these are the seven ages or cultural epochs or our current great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. We currently live in the Anglo-Germanic Age.

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[1] In Anthroposophical belief, Archangels — who are typically associated with various celestial bodies — are gods two levels higher than humanity. [See the entry for "Archangels", below.]

[2] During each phase of evolution, Steiner taught, we recapitulate prior stages.

[3] In our lives on the physical Earth, we have sunk farther and farther into physicality, removing us farther and farther from the spirit realm, Steiner taught.

[4] In Anthroposophy: The Moon is a parasitic sphere, not a source of true light like the Sun; the influences of the Moon tend to be unreliable, unstable; heredity, which is less important than karma, is affected by the changeable Moon.

[5] Steiner identified himself as an occultist, meaning a seer who possessed hidden (secret, occult) knowledge. Occultists presumably can be either good or evil. (Good occultism is generally oriented toward the Sun; evil occultism may be oriented toward the Moon.)

[6] Anthroposophy teaches that Christ is the Sun God. Michael, as the Sun Archangel, is Christ's defender.

[7] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Time Archangels" and "1879".

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animal - see animals

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animal form (of evil race) - also see abyss; animals; evil races

Sinful humans descend through lower and lower stages of existence, Steiner taught. Instead of progressing upward in proper evolution, they fall back to prior, lower stages of development. Ultimately, entering a form of perdition, they may become bestial or animal-like and fall into the abyss. [1] "The evil race [2], with its savage impulses, will dwell in animal form in the abyss." — R. Steiner, UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BEING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993), p. 103.

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[1] See the entry for "abyss", above.

[2] I.e., the "race" or subset of humanity comprised of evildoers. (Steiner is not saying, here, that an ethnic group existing today is "the evil race"; he is saying that an evil race will develop as more and more evildoers plunge into the abyss.

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animal kingdom of nature - also see Animal Kingdom Condition of Life; animals; kingdoms of nature

This is the kingdom of nature above the plant kingdom and below the human kingdom, Steiner taught. [1] Steiner generally taught that the human kingdom stands above the animal kingdom, but he sometimes indicated that in terms of physical formation, the human kingdom can be considered part of the animal kingdom. "Basically speaking, everything in [man's] earthly environment belongs to one of the three kingdoms of Nature — to the mineral or the plant or the animal kingdom, or indeed the physical human kingdom, which in this particular connection can be taken as belonging to the animal kingdom." — R. Steiner, MAN AND THE WORLD OF THE STARS (SteinerBooks, 1963), lecture 4, GA 219. Higher portions of the human kingdom transcend the animal kingdom, Steiner said; our essential nature is spiritual, not physical.

According to Anthroposophic doctrines, beings in the animal kingdom have physical, etheric, and astral bodies, but they lack "I's". [2] The mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms of nature all exist now, but as evolution proceeds the lower kingdoms of nature will be extinguished in sequence: first the mineral kingdom will be eliminated, then the plant kingdom, and eventually the animal kingdom. (Human beings have "I's" because the human kingdom extends beyond the animal kingdom.)

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "plant kingdom" and "human kingdom".

[2] Anthroposophy teaches that fully incarnated humans have four bodies, three of which are invisible. The invisible bodies are the etheric body, astral body, and ego body (or ego, or "I"). The "I" is the spiritual ego, giving each person unique individuality.

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Animal Kingdom Condition of Life - also see animal kingdom; conditions of life

According to Anthroposophy, during each condition of consciousness (Old Saturn, Old Sun, etc.) [1], beings that are evolving upward pass through seven ancillary cycles — to reach the next condition of consciousness, they must rise through these cycles. In our own condition of consciousness today, Present Earth [2], these cycles may be called conditions of life. (The same term may be applied to cycles within other conditions of consciousness, although the environment there may be very different.) Proceeding through the seven conditions of life takes us through the types of animate existence that are possible in a given condition of consciousness. The sixth condition of life represents the animal kingdom of nature, an evolutionary phase in which animal existence is the lowest existent level — there is no plant kingdom or mineral kingdom. Here, we become ensouled. 

Existence in the Animal Kingdom Condition of Life is a preliminary version of life as it will be experienced in the Future Venus condition of consciousness [3], and thus the "animal" life we will experience then will be far more advanced than anything we see in the animal kingdom around us on the planet Earth today. Indeed, we currently live in the Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life [4]; the Animal Kingdom Condition of Life lies in our future. "In this sixth Life Condition [5], which may be seen as a precursor of Venus evolution [6], there is no longer any mineral or plant kingdom. 'Earth and heaven have vanished' (Rev. 20:11). Humanity now comes to exist as a fine substance of warmth and air expressed in vibrations, sound, rhythmic or nonrhythmic will, and is thus revealed to all. Breathing is fully developed, and everything taken in as light and warmth fashions the spiritual body [7] and becomes wisdom. Human beings reproduce by uttering their likeness [8], and the whole atmosphere resounds with the power of the Word. [9] Thus is fulfilled 'Let us create men in our own image' (Gen. 1:26)." — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publications, 2009), p. 107. (Note that Seddon's descriptions of these matters, like Steiner's, incline toward our own evolution. Terms would need to be adjusted if we sought to accurately describe the experiences of other beings who have evolved through their own equivalents of the Animal Kingdom Condition of Life.)

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During mankind's existence on Earth (or, more properly, during the Present Earth condition of consciousness), we evolve upward through seven conditions of life: We rise progressively from the 1st Elementary Kingdom (when we begin to develop our physical bodies) throiugh succeeding stages to the Human Kingdom (when we fully develop our spiritual egos). The penultimate condition of life is the Animal Kingdom (when we become ensouled). We currently exist in the Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life. [Detail from a chart in Richard Seddon's THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publications, 2009), p. 132; color added.]

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[1] Conditions of Consciousness are the largest stages of cosmic/human evolution; they are incarnations of the solar system. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "conditions of consciousness" and "incarnations of the solar system".]

[2] This is the fourth incarnation of the solar system.

[3] I.e., the sixth incarnation of the solar system, called Future Venus.

[4] We are "human" now, but we have not yet fulfilled our human potential. We still have mineral bodies and we are in various ways imperfect. We will not reach our potential as human-beings-on-Earth until we reach the seventh condition of life, the Human Kingdom Condition of Life. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "human stage of evolution" and "Human Kingdom Condition of Life".]

[5] I.e., sixth condition of life, the Animal Kingdom Condition of Life.

[6] I.e., Future Venus.

[7] I.e., the immaterial human body at that stage of evolution. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "spirit body".]

[8] I.e., we will reproduce through speaking our intention to reproduce. Steiner taught that the larynx will become our organ of reproduction. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "larynx".]

[9] I.e., the Word of God, or gnosis.

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animal man - also see animals; Moon humans; Old Moon

During the Old Moon stage of evolution [1], Steiner taught, we stood at a stage of development roughly equivalent to the status of animals today, although even then we were higher than animals are now. (Prior to Old Moon, we were essentially like plants during Old Sun, Steiner taught. [2]) Those animal men of Old Moon who were capable of evolving further rose to become the human beings we know now during Present Earth. [3] Those who were incapable of evolving further branched off and became animals such as we know now. ◊ “If, as he had developed on the Sun [4], man was called plant man, the man of the Moon [5] can be called animal man." — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 16, GA 11. ◊ "To physical sight all these animal-men had various forms that recall our present animals, but they only remind us of these; it is only when we rise from physical sight to astral vision [6] that we perceive the higher nature of the animal-man of the Moon." — R. Steiner, UNIVERSE, EARTH AND MAN (Harry Collison, 1931), lecture 5, GA 105. ◊ "Our plant-world has sprung from the lunar plant-animal. [7] Similarly, the animal world [of today] has arisen from the lunar animal-man. [8] So we see that on the [present] Earth [9], each of these lunar kingdoms makes a descent into materiality. [10]" — R. Steiner, AN ESOTERIC COSMOLOGY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1978), lecture 27, GA 94.

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[1] This was the third incarnation of the solar system, during which we attained our third condition of consciousness (equivalent to dreaming sleep). [See the entries for "conditions of consciousness", "evolution of consciousness", and "incarnations of the solar system" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] I.e., during the second incarnation of the solar system.

[3] This is the fourth incarnation of the solar system.

[4] I.e., during Old Sun. (When he described life "on" various "planets," Steiner sometimes meant existence on actual planets, but often he meant existence in/on phases of the solar system's evolution. His meaning must often be deduced from context. [See the entries for "planets" and "planetary conditions" in this encyclopedia.])

[5] I.e., the proto-human during Old Moon. During that stage of our evolution, we were not yet truly human. [See the entry for "human stage of evolution" in this encyclopedia.]

[6] I.e., clairvoyance.

[7] Some beings that existed during Old Moon were intermediate between plants and animals, Steiner taught. Here he says that the plants we know today evolved from the plant-animals of Old Moon.

[8] Steiner taught that animals branched off from the upward line of human evolution. Here he indicates that animals embody the lower portions of the proto-human beings (animal-men) of Old Moon. (We, the humans of today, have evolved from the higher portions of the animal-men of Old Moon, Steiner said.)

[9] I.e., during Preset Earth.

[10] Steiner taught that physical reality as we know it now did not develop until the fourth condition of consciousness, Present Earth. Here he indicates that the physical plants, animals, and humans of Present Earth descended from ethereal predecessors that existed during Old Moon.

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animals, animality - also see animal kingdom; animal man; biology; zoology

According to Steiner, animals are members of the third tier of creation, above plants and below man. Animals are endowed with etheric and astral bodies but not with "I's." [1] Humans did not evolve from animals, Steiner taught; instead, animals branched off from the human evolutionary line. They became "hardened" or established in their physicality too soon, failing to continue the correct upward movement toward spirituality. Thus, they "fell" and became the lowly creatures of the natural world. Thus, animals are descended from man. 

In a sense, animals chose their own fate. But in another sense, we humans pushed animals away. Sensing that they were becoming a drag on us, we ejected them from the community of being who were evolving higher. "[T]he animal kingdom is the human being spread out [2] ... [A]nimals [are] the by-products of human development ... [T]he animal forms represent physically incarnated soul forces which the human being had to dispense with in order to mature sufficiently to receive the ego [3] ... We see then that man is not the result of animal evolution but that he is at the beginning of it and is central to it. Indeed he is the cause of it. The animal world represents soul qualities which the human being has discarded although he still retains remnants of them.” — R. Wilkinson, MAN AND ANIMAL (The Robinswood Press, 1990). 

Unlike humans, animals do not possess individual souls — they only have group souls, Steiner said. [4] Human beings revert to a sort of animal condition in Kamaloka (in effect, purgatory), but then we rise higher, prepared to enter the spirit realm. [5] Evil humans, however, become trapped in animal form in the Abyss — they fall to subhuman condition, reverting to lower evolutionary levels. [6]

For more on animals, see “Biodynamics”, “Neutered Nature”, and "Evolution, Anyone?".

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[1] Anthroposophy teaches that fully incarnated humans have four bodies, three of which are invisible. The invisible bodies are the etheric body, astral body, and ego body (or ego, or "I"). Animals have three of these four bodies, but they are subhuman because they lack ego bodies (no animal can say or think "I").

[2] I.e., according to Steiner, each animal species represents a single attribute (the remnant of the stage of evolution at which that species ceased evolving). Human beings possess a full spectrum of attributes. A similar spectrum exists in the animal kingdom only when all animals are considered together.

[3] I.e., animals represent physically incarnated stages of soul development through which humans passed through and then left behind. Only by evolving higher could we become human, receiving our spiritual egos or "I"s.

[4] See the entry for "group souls" in this encyclopedia.

[5] We purge ourselves of passions and worldly attachments by revisiting those lowly conditions and then transcending them. [See "Kamaloka".]

[6] See "Hell".

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animated monad - also see Atma-Buddhi; monad; Old Sun

In Theosophy and Anthroposophy, this is Atma-Buddhi (the germ of our developing spiritual essence) [1], which originated during Old Sun. [2] 

More generally, a monad is a self-enclosed being, an individual. [3] We become monads when we, in our spirits, carry our individuality through this life and our future lives. [See, e.g., R. Steiner, INITIATION, ETERNITY, AND THE PASSING MOMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1980), p 44.] The sum of all monads is Monad, the macrocosmic human, Christ. [See R. Steiner, CORRESPONDENCE AND DOCUMENTS 1901-1925 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1988), p. 83.]

"From the middle of the sixth course of the Sun onward [4], man himself is so far advanced that he can unconsciously work on his physical body [5]. In this respect he now relieves the “Sons of Twilight” [6]. Through this activity in dullness, he creates the first germinal predisposition to the living spiritual being, which one calls life-spirit (Buddhi) [7] ... From the middle of the seventh course of the Sun onward, the germ of spirit-man (Atma) [8], already formed on Saturn, appears again. It combines with the life-spirit (Buddhi), and the animated monad (Atma-Buddhi) thus comes into being." — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY, chapter 15, "The Life of the Sun", GA 11.

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[1] See the entry for "Atma-Buddhi" in this encyclopedia.

[2] This was the second incarnation of the solar system.

[3] "Monad, Monas [from Greek monas a unit, individual, atom] A unit, a one; something nondivisible and which is therefore conceived of as real, in contradistinction to compound things which (as compounds) are not real." — ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY (Theosophical University Press, 1999). An animated monad is a living monad. "Monads are the ultimate elements of the universe, spiritual-substantial entities, self-motivated, self-impelled, self-conscious, in infinitely varying degrees. They engender other monads, which in turn engender others, and thus springs up the host of living entities forming the immense variety and unity of the manifested world." — Ibid. (Bear in mind that Steiner's teachings are not wholly consistent with mainline Theosophy.)

[4] I.e., from the middle of the sixth phase of evolution during Old Sun.

[5] I.e., man began to direct his own evolution, if only obliquely.

[6] I.e., as man began vaguely (or dully) charting his own course forward, he replaced the gods called Angels (or Sons of Twilight) who had been doing this work on man's behalf.

[7] See the entry for "life spirit" in this encyclopedia.

[8] See the entry for "spirit man" in this encyclopedia.

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Anthroposophia, Anthropo-Sophia - also see Anthroposophy; female; goddesses; Sophia

This is a variant of "Anthroposophy" (a word whose roots mean human wisdom) emphasizing "Sophia" (the goddess of wisdom, the female element in divinity, according to Steiner). [1] Steiner said the female principle is intuitive, inconstant, emotional, and wise. [2] This germinating, female spiritual force is found at the root of civilization; it is the impetus in, and essence of, Anthroposophy, Steiner taught.

According to Steiner, Christ represents male spiritual force and the Holy Ghost represents female spiritual force. The Holy Ghost, as female or mother, gave birth to Christ-in-us and his wisdom-in-us, Anthroposophia (Anthropo-Sophia). "One could...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, ISIS MARY SOPHIA (SteinerBooks, 2003), p. 49. [3] The Holy Ghost is, in effect, the divine Sophia, divine wisdom, which — according to Anthroposophy — is Anthroposophy.

Many of Steiner's followers believe that Anthroposophia is a real spiritual being, a goddess who oversees their movement and who works for the correct evolution of humanity. 

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Sergei O. Prokofieff, THE HEAVENLY SOPHIA AND THE BEING ANTHROPOSOPHIA (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2000).

From the publisher: "Based on the author's own experience of the supersensible being who stands behind the science of the spirit known as Anthroposophy, THE HEAVENLY SOPHIA is the culmination of 25 years of work by Sergei Prokofieff on Rudolf Steiner's spiritual impulse. The being Anthroposophia, he shows, is not a poetic image or an abstract concept, but is an actual spiritual entity who works in the higher worlds for the good of earthly evolution, bringing to humanity...'the new revelation of the heavenly Sophia, the divine wisdom'."

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[1] See "Goddess".

[2] See "Gender".

[3] See "God".

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Anthroposophical medicine - see medicine 

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Anthroposophical Society - also see Anthroposophy; First Class; General Anthroposophical Society; Goetheanum; School of Spiritual Science

This is the central organization of Steiner's followers, founded in 1913; reconstituted in 1923 as the General Anthroposophical Society. It is headquartered at the Goetheanum, in Dornach, Switzerland. [1] Originally, Rudolf Steiner had no formal connection to the Society, although all of its work was essentially based on his teachings. Upon the reconstitution of the Society in 1923, Steiner assumed a formal leadership role. There are also national Anthroposophical Societies around the world (e.g., the Anthroposophical Society in America) and regional branches (e.g., the Los Angeles Branch).

Steiner said Waldorf schools should not be formally associated with the Society, although individual faculty members could (or should) become members. [2] Keeping formal separation between the schools and the Society was smart public relations, he said. “[W]e have to remember that an institution like the Independent Waldorf School with its anthroposophical character, has goals that, of course, coincide with anthroposophical desires. At the moment, though, if that connection were made official, people would break the Waldorf School’s neck." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 705.

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[1] See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"

[2] Membership is not required, but Steiner strongly indicated that Waldorf teachers should be (or become) Anthroposophists. "As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word in our innermost feeling.” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.

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Anthroposophy - also see Anthroposophical Society; biodynamic gardening and farming; Christian Community; "doing" Anthroposophy; General Anthroposophical Society; historical narrative of Anthroposophy; medicine; occult science; polytheism; Rosicrucianism; School of Michael; Steiner, Rudolf; spiritual science; Theosophy; Waldorf schools

The word "Anthroposophy" (pronounced an-throw-POSS-o-fee) comes from Greek, meaning human ("anthropo") wisdom ("sophy"), or knowledge of the human being. Generally described as "spiritual science" by its adherents, Anthroposophy is a polytheistic religion entailing meditations, observances, and prayers. [1] A variant of Theosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy assigns tremendous significance to human beings, placing them at the center of the created universe. The faith’s cosmology is essentially a set of reassurances for the frail human ego. The principles and practices of Waldorf education derive from Anthroposophy. [2]

The "human wisdom" embodied in Anthroposophy is esoteric and fundamentally unsupported by verifiable knowledge or information. Critics contend that there is no real knowledge or wisdom in Steiner's Anthroposophy. According to Anthroposophical belief, human beings have both souls and spirits, they have three invisible bodies, they have 12 senses, they exhibit four classical temperaments, their racial identities reflect their degree of spiritual evolution, their hearts do not pump blood, their brains do not think, they have karmas, they are heavily influenced by astrological forces, they have hidden inner doubles, and so on. None of this is demonstrably true. [3]

The "science" in Anthroposophy is the use of clairvoyance to study the spirit realm. [4] Rudolf Steiner laid out spiritual exercises, meditations, prayers, and other practices intended to assist his followers in developing precise or exact powers of clairvoyance. [5] The process, he taught, is a modern form of occult initiation. [6] He claimed that he himself was a high initiate whose clairvoyant findings — being "exact" — are very nearly undeniable. [7]

Anthroposophists believe that there are invisible worlds both above and below us, populated by powerful, invisible beings. The beings below us have no true spirits, while those above us are, for the most part, beneficent gods. According to Anthroposophy, there are many ranks of gods. [8] The gods have evolved, much as we evolve, and we ourselves will ultimately rise to the highest divine rank. Our evolution began during a period called Old Saturn, followed by Old Sun and Old Moon. [9] After our present existence during Present Earth, we will evolve through the phases Future Jupiter, Future Venus, and Future Vulcan. [10] This is the central narrative of Anthroposophy. [11]

While most of the gods are good and merciful, Steiner indicated, there are also evil gods, demons, and other forces of evil. The intended trajectory of human development is upward, but not all humans participate properly in evolution as intended by the good gods. Some people descend, taking the "black path" toward perdition. [12] It is possible, indeed, that only a small band (in effect, only Anthroposophists) will persevere in the ways of righteousness. The coming War of All Against All will winnow humanity, just as previous catastrophes have done. [13]

Steiner became a Theosophist in 1902. In 1913, he broke away to establish Anthroposophy as a separate occult movement. However, he had described his own teachings as Anthroposophy even while he was nominally a Theosophist, and his teachings changed little after the break. In 1919, Steiner oversaw the creation of the first Waldorf school. Waldorf schools are rooted in Anthroposophy, and Waldorf faculties are typically guided by Anthroposophists. Indeed, the chief purpose of Waldorf education is to spread Anthroposophy and its purported benefits, although the effort is often covert and subtle. [14]

Like many of the sources from which it draws [15], Anthroposophy is a complex, multi-layered body of teachings. Such complexity can be alluring. A single falsehood, standing alone, may be readily pierced and rejected; it has little power to sway us. But a rich tapestry of untruths, multicolored and vibrant, may exert a powerful, persistent attraction. Anthroposophy offers an intricately detailed alternative reality. The susceptible may lose themselves within it — they may plunge into its fabulous landscapes and remain for the rest of their days in a world that is far removed from what other people would call reality.

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The best guide to Anthroposophy is Steiner's magnum opus, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE. It has been published in many editions. This is one of the most recent (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009).

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[1] Anthroposophists generally deny that their ideology is a religion; they prefer to call it a spiritual science. But the teachings and practices of Anthroposophy are clearly religious, and there is little or no real science in them. [See “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?” and "Is Anthroposophy Science?"]

[2] See “Everything”, “Here’s the Answer”, and "Spiritual Agenda".

[3] See, e.g., "What We're Made Of", "Our Parts", "Oh Humanity", "Races", "Karma", "Waldorf Astrology", and "Double Trouble".

[4] See "Clairvoyance".

[5] See "Knowing the Worlds".

[6] See "Occultism" and "Inside Scoop".

[7] See "Exactly".

[8] See "Polytheism".

[9] See "Old Saturn", "Old Sun", and "Old Moon, Etc."

[10] See "Present Earth" and "Future Stages".

[11] See "Everything", "Higher Worlds", "Matters of Form" and "Steiner Static I".

[12] See "Evil", "Evil Ones", "Hell", and "Sin".

[13] See "All v. All" and "Steiner Static II".

[14] See "Here's the Answer", "Oh Humanity", and "Sneaking It In".

[15] See, e.g., "Basics".

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Antichrist - also see Ahriman; Christ; Sorat

In Christian tradition: the personal opponent of Christ; or, secondarily, any opponent of Christ. Many Christians believe that the former — the "great" Antichrist — will spread sin and destruction through the world before being defeated at Christ's Second Coming.

According to Steiner, Sorat is the “great” Antichrist. [1] He is the Sun Demon, the reverse image of Christ the Sun God. [2] "Christ is the good spirit, the intelligence of the sun [3]; the adversary is the demon of the sun. Certain forces that are constantly working on the human astral body [3] come forth from the demon of the sun. This demon of the sun is the opponent of the Christ spirit and is called Sorat." — R. Steiner, READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), lecture 10, GA 104a. 

“Minor” Antichrists or stand-ins for Sorat may include Ahriman and other evil beings. [4]

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[1] See "Bad, Badder, Baddest". 

[2] Christ, in Anthroposophical belief, is the Sun God.

[3] Christ, the Sun God, may also be referred to as the Sun hero, the genius of the Sun, the intelligence (or spirit) of the Sun, etc.

[4] See "Ahriman" and “Evil Ones”.

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anti-intellectualism in Anthroposophy - also see academic standards at Waldorf schools; anti-scientific bias; brain; intellect; thinking

Steiner taught that true cognition comes from clairvoyance, not through use of the brain. (Clairvoyance is not seated in the brain but in nonphysical organs of clairvoyance, Steiner said. [1]) In Waldorf schools, intellectual work is minimized and/or postponed — children are not deemed capable of rational though until quite late. According to Waldorf doctrine, use of the intellect should always be mediated by will and emotion. “The brain is an instrument for purely intellectual apprehension. [2] Intellectualism and materialistic thinking are one and the same [3] ... This manifests itself, on the one hand, in the empty formalism of belief; on the other, in Bolshevism. [4]” — R. Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), pp. 147-148. [See “Steiner’s Specific”.]

When children undergo the entire process of Waldorf education, beginning in kindergarten and extending through high school, they are unlikely to emerge with respect for intellect or with a sharp capacity to employ intellect. By the time intellect is given nominal emphasis in the final years of high school, the children will have absorbed (if Steiner's plan has been followed) such a deeply emotional, intuitive, mystical approach to life that all forms of brainwork may be deeply compromised. [5]

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[1] See, e.g., "Knowing the Worlds".

[2] Purely intellectual apprehension is shallow and does not produce ultimate truth, Steiner taught.

[3] "Materialistic thinking" is use of the material brain; it is confined to the material or physical plane of reality and thus knows nothing profound or ultimately important. (Steiner sometimes indicated that no thinking at all occurs in the brain. At other times, he indicated that the brain does think, but it does so only in a shallow, materialistic way, applying only to the physical world.)

[4] Sic: emphasis by Steiner. (Bolshevism is Communism.)

[5] See, e.g., "Thinking Cap".

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antipathy - also see feelings; sympathy; thinking

In Anthroposophical belief, humans who have descended to the physical world experience a continual rhythmic oscillation between antipathy and sympathy. The former is caused by our descent into physicality; the latter anticipates our return to the spirit realm. Due to antipathy, we develop the capacity for thinking as it exists in the physical world. This is a necessary but limited capacity, unlike the fuller cognition coming through spiritual existence. [1] Antipathy temporarily alienates us from the spiritual. "Because we can no longer remain in the spiritual world [2]...we are brought down into the physical world. In being brought down into the physical world we develop an antipathy for everything spiritual so that we radiate back the spiritual, pre-natal reality [3] in an antipathy of which we are unconscious. We bear the force of antipathy within us, and through it transform the pre-natal element into a mere mental picture or image. [4] And we unite ourselves in sympathy with that which radiates out towards our later existence...after death. [5] We are not immediately conscious of these two, sympathy and antipathy, but they live unconsciously in us, and they signify our feeling, which consists continually of a rhythm, of an alternating between sympathy and antipathy." — R. Steiner, THE STUDY OF MAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 2, GA 293.

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[1] See, e.g., "Thinking".

[2] Steiner generally taught that there are two worlds above the physical world: the soul world and the spirit world. Here he refers to the spirit realm (consisting chiefly of the soul and spirit worlds) in general.

[3] I.e., the reality we knew before Earthly incarnation: the reality of spiritual existence.

[4] Our lives before Earthly incarnation come to seem almost unreal to us.

[5] Our positive feelings for the spirit realm focus on our coming lives after Earthly death.

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anti-scientific bias at Waldorf schools - also see Ahriman; anti-intellectualism; Goethean "science"; science; technology

Although Steiner claimed that Anthroposophy is a science, he disparaged real science. The study of science is consequently often downplayed or distorted in Waldorf schools. Antiscientific ideas are sometimes taught quite explicitly. Science is deemed to fall within the ambit of Ahriman and other demons. [1] "[S]cience speaks under the influence of the demonic Mars-forces. [2]" — R. Steiner, ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009), p. 126.

Steiner opposed “scientific simpletons” with their “scientific trash” and their “logical, pedantic, narrow-minded proof of things.” He deplored “primitive concepts like those...of contemporary science.” — R. Steiner, THE KARMA OF UNTRUTHFULNESS, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), p. 276; THE RENEWAL OF EDUCATION (Anthroposophic Press, 2001), p. 94; ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 240; HOW CAN MANKIND FIND THE CHRIST AGAIN (Anthroposophic Press, 1984), p. 54. The demonic nature of science spreads Evil across the globe, Steiner said. "[W]hen we listen to a modern physicist blandly explaining that Nature consists of electrons...we raise Evil to the rank of the ruling world-divinity.” — R. Steiner, "Concerning Electricity", ANTHROPOSOPHIC NEWS SHEET, No. 23/24, June 9, 1940. According to Steiner, scientists rarely if ever talk sensibly. "If physicists were for once to talk sense, they would not produce speculations about atoms and molecules." — R. Steiner, COLOUR (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Company, 1935), lecture 1, GA 291.

Scientists use the material brain and the physical body's senses; they are intellectuals, not esotericists or occult initiates. From an Anthroposophical perspective, the findings of science may have superficial bearing on conditions in the physical universe, but they are devoid of deep insight. In steering students away from belief in science, Waldorf schools try to protect them from what the schools deem multiple baleful influences.

To the degree that science is promoted in Waldorf schools, it tends of be "Goethean" science — that is, a spiritualistic study of phenomena based on the metaphysics of the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. [3] In essence, this means science classes are infused with speculative romanticism and, perhaps indirectly, Anthroposophy. [4]

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[1] See "Ahriman" and “Evil Ones”.

[2] I.e., evil forces originating on Mars.

[3] See "Goethe".

[4] See, e.g., the discussion of THE WONDERS OF WALDORF CHEMISTRY in “Steiner’s ‘Science’”.

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anti-Semitism, Steiner's - also see Hebrews; Jehovah; Jews; Judaism; Moon religion; Nazism

Steiner made numerous anti-Semitic statements throughout most stages of his career. He said Jews no longer have a useful role to play in human development and therefore should cease to exist as a separate people. [1] He taught that Jews are distinct from all other peoples, having been under the sway of Jehovah, a god who dwells on the Moon. [2] Jews are highly materialist and lack spiritual vision, he said. "As you know, we distinguish the Jews from the rest of the earth's population. The difference has arisen because the Jews have been brought up in the moon religion [3] for centuries ... The Jews have a great gift for materialism, but little for recognition of the spiritual world." — R. Steiner, FROM BEETROOT TO BUDDHISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999), p. 59. 

Steiner also occasionally made philo-Semitic statements, and historian Peter Staudenmaier has argued that Steiner began as an anti-Semite, changed to a pro-Jewish position, and then reverted to anti-Semitism.

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[1] See "RS on Jews".

[2] See, e.g., "Genesis".

[3] I.e., they worship the Moon being, Jehovah.

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It can take a while to grow accustomed to Steiner's idiosyncratic use of language. If you have difficulty with some of the passages quoted in this encyclopedia, working your way through such passages may at least provide a general sense of the sorts of things Steiner said. You are confronting Anthroposophical discourse, which typical Waldorf teachers affirm.

The task of grasping Steiner's meaning is complicated by several factors, including his variable, inconsistent terminology. Steiner sometimes used different words for the same thing, or the same words for different things. He claimed that he was discussing matters that are very nearly beyond the reach of human language and human comprehension. He also evidently preferred not to be pinned down or understood completely. None of this, however, stops his followers from proclaiming the truth of his statements.

It is best to read Steiner in German, his native tongue, but even the Germany texts tend to be obscure. The problems found in English translations of his works, as seen here at Waldorf Watch, tend to reflect problems evinced in the original German texts.

I have accessed Anthroposophical texts in various ways. 1) Chiefly, I have acquired books in the old-fashioned way, buying and possessing them as physical objects. When I refer to a book I possess, I give the title, publisher, date of publication, and page number for each reference. 2) I have dipped into some books through Google Books [http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search]. I generally provide the same information for these volumes. 3) I have read various texts at the Rudolf Steiner Archive [http://www.rsarchive.org/Search.php]. Because the Archive does not provide page numbers, for these references I generally provide titles, names of publishers, dates of publication, and (where applicable) GA numbers. Be advised that Google Books sometimes gives inaccurate page numbers, and the Steiner Archive is full of typos. I have corrected these problems as well as I could, but I may have missed some instances.

You may have difficulty finding a few of the sources I cite. Anthroposophists tend to conceal various sources, and sometimes — following criticism — they remove or alter sources that they had previously made available.

— R. R.