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(Cont.)

Apocalypse - also see Götterdämmerung; Twilight of the Gods; War of All Against All

The term "Apocalypse" refers to the impending world-ending showdown between the forces of good and evil [1]; the term also refers to the Book of Revelation, which foretells such a battle (Armageddon). Rudolf Steiner offered elaborate interpretations of the Book of Revelation. [See, e.g., READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE (Anthroposophic Press, 1993) — a collection of lectures.] Steiner's discussion of biblical topics was informed by occultism and gnosticism. At one level, he said, the Book of Revelation is a disclosure of secret or occult spiritual knowledge, such as he himself offered. "At the end of the New Testament stands a remarkable document, the Apocalypse [2], the secret revelation of Saint John. [3] We need only read the opening words to feel the esoteric character of this book. 'The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God granted him, to show to his servants how the necessary events will shortly run their course; this is sent in signs  by the angel of God to his servant John.'  What is revealed here is 'sent in signs.' Therefore we must not take the literal sense of the words as they stand, but seek for a deeper sense, of which the words are only signs. But there are also many other things which point to such a 'secret meaning.' [4] John addresses himself to seven  communities in Asia. This cannot mean actual, material communities. For the number seven  is the sacred symbolic number [5] which must be chosen because of its symbolic meaning." — R. Steiner, CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1961), chapter 9, GA 8.

In Steiner's teachings, the mighty battle foretold in the Bible is the War of All Against All, which will come at the end of the present great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. [6] “The war of all against all will be an expression of the egotism that is always growing stronger ... That will be the end of the last post-Atlantean culture. [7] This catastrophe will also have its mission, its usefulness in the ascent of the entire human race. [8] However, the great war of all against all will be something much worse than war of the present-day with weapons. It will be a war of souls, of souls who no longer understand one another, a war of the classes. This future catastrophe is difficult for present-day consciousness to understand." — R. Steiner, READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), lecture 3, GA 104a.

Anthroposophists believe that the Apocalypse or War of All Against All is anticipated in Norse myths as Ragnarök (in German tellings, Götterdämmerung), the ultimate war of gods against giants, in which all are destroyed. [9]

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[1] See, e.g., "Matters of Form".

[2] I.e., the Book of Revelation.

[3] The Book of Revelation has traditionally been attributed to John the Apostle (one of Christ's twelve apostles), but more recently biblical scholars have largely rejected that attribution. "Revelation...appears to be a collection of separate units composed by unknown authors who lived during the last quarter of the 1st century, though it purports to have been written by an individual named John...at Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. The text includes no indication that John of Patmos and John the Apostle are the same person." — ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, July 15, 2015.

[4] I.e., the meaning of the Book of Revelation is hidden or occult.

[5] See, e.g., "Magic Numbers".

[6] See "All v. All".

[7] I.e., it will bring an end to our current great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.] It will usher in an extended period when the seals mentioned in the Book of Revelation will be opened and the trumpets of doom will sound.

[8] I.e., the terrible war — a "catastrophe" — is necessary for human evolution to proceed. (Evil must be confronted and defeated.)

[9] See "The Gods".

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apocrypha - also see Bible; gnosticism; occult

According to THE NEW STEINERBOOKS DICTIONARY OF THE PARANORMAL (SteinerBooks, 1980), apocrypha are "spiritual writings too sacred or mysterious for the uninitiated." Rudolf Steiner made heavy use of such texts. He claimed that his doctrines derive from his personal clairvoyant investigations of the spirit realm, but in fact he was a student of apocrypha. 

A more precise definition of "apocrypha" is this: "[I]n biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture. The history of the term’s usage indicates that it referred to a body of esoteric writings that were at first prized, later tolerated, and finally excluded [by church authorities]. In its broadest sense apocrypha has come to mean any writings of dubious authority. [paragraph break] There are several levels of dubiety within the general concept of apocryphal works in Judeo-Christian biblical writings. Apocrypha per se are outside the canon, not considered divinely inspired but regarded as worthy of study by the faithful. Pseudepigrapha are spurious works ostensibly written by a biblical figure. Deuterocanonical works are those that are accepted in one canon but not in all. [paragraph break] Heretical movements such as Gnosticism and Montanism spawned a great body of New Testament pseudepigrapha." — "apocrypha." ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, June 16, 2011.

Steiner affirmed apocrypha in passages such as this: "In the so-called ‘Gospel of the Egyptians’ there is a passage which already in the early centuries of our era was regarded as extremely heretical, because Christian circles either did not want to hear the truth or did not want the truth to come to light. Something was nevertheless preserved in an apocryphal writing where it is said in effect that salvation (the Kingdom) will come to the world when the Two become One and the Outer becomes as the Inner. This sentence exactly expresses the occult reality of which I have told you." — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW, lecture 6, GA 123.

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Apollo - also see Apollonian; Christ; Sun God

a) Apollo is the ancient Greek god of music, poetry, inspiration, and the pastoral life. Later, he became associated with the Sun, and in some accounts he was conflated with Helios, the god who drove the Sun across the sky.

b) In Anthroposophy, Apollo is Christ as apprehended imperfectly by the ancient Greeks. “Apollo, the Sun god, was the representative of the divine spiritual beings [1] which exist behind the tapestry of the sense world [2] ... We may now ask: What is the relation of Apollo to the Christ? When a Greek uttered the name of Apollo, he referred to the spiritual realm behind the sun [3]. But men's conception of a being or of a fact differs according to their capacities ... [W]hen the Greek uttered the name of Apollo he was indeed referring to the being which later was revealed as the Christ [4], but he could only conceive of it in a kind of veiled form, as Apollo.” — R. Steiner, THE EAST IN THE LIGHT OF THE WEST (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1940), lecture 6, GA 113.

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Apollo. [Public domain image.]

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[1] I.e., gods.

[2] In Anthroposophical belief, truth resides behind the maya or illusion of the physical world (the "sense world" accessible to our ordinary senses). Truth lies in the supersensible realm — beyond the reach of our ordinary senses.

[3] I.e., the spiritual region concealed behind the physical Sun.

[4] Steiner taught that Christ is the Sun God. According to Steiner, ancient peoples who worshipped Sun gods were — generally without realizing it — worshipping Christ.

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Apollonian - also see Apollo; head; cf. Dionysian

a) In general usage, this term is applied to things pertaining to the Greek god Apollo. 

b) In Anthroposophy, the term "Apollonian" is applied to forces emanating from the head, to the degree that Anthroposophy affirms the value of the head. Cool, measured judgment is considered Apollonian. Proponents say that Waldorf education balances coolly cerebral Apollonian influences with warmly emotional Dionysian influences. [1]

According to Anthroposophical accounts, Apollonian behavior is judicious and poised; it arises from, and reinforces, a broad, detached awareness. ◊ "Apollonian consciousness, if not in the classic period at least in modern literature, is high in the sky, removed from [earthly or mundane] action so as to gain a broad perspective. It differs from the Dionysian in that it keeps a distance from the concrete." — T. Moore, THE PLANETS WITHIN (Lindisfarne Books, 1990), p. 89. ◊ "In anthroposophy, [the term 'Apollonian'] is used to refer to the formative forces emanating from the power of thought located in the head. Concepts such as 'order', 'rest', 'cool' and 'motionless' define the scope of this energy ... In Waldorf education, teachers try to organize their lessons in such a way that Apollonian and Dionysian activities alternate to create a balanced and living dynamic. [2]" — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 8.

Steiner’s followers make some extraordinary claims concerning the powers of Apollo and Dionysus. Thus, for instance: “These two gods — Apollo and Dionysus — embody polar complementary forces that work in opposite ways to develop the child and young adult ... Left to themselves [3], these forces can work one-sidedly on the growing child, with devastating consequences. Allow the sculptural, formative, centripetal, linear forces of Apollo to exert too strong a grip, and we can see children grow prematurely stiff in carriage and sometimes burdened of soul ... Allow the musical, centrifugal, curvilinear forces of Dionysus to rise up too strongly, and we can see children who stay youthful and carefree too long ... Children overly prone to becoming trapped in the [physical] body need to draw, write, and revel in the details of a subject in order to loosen their ‘I’ [4] a little from the confines of the physical organism. By contrast, children who have difficulty taking hold of the physical organism [5] need to observe, as from a bird’s eye view, what they have drawn or written, or be encouraged to attend to the overall meaning or context of a subject, rather than its details. [paragraph break] Underlying these suggestions is the general maxim: Move, and you excarnate [6]; be still, and you incarnate. [7]” — D. Gerwin, introduction to BALANCE IN TEACHING (Anthroposophic Press, 2007), pp. x-xi.

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

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

[3] I.e., if they are not balanced, one offsetting or complementing the other.

[4] According to Anthroposophy, the “I” is the spiritual ego that confers divine individuality. Gerwin is saying that children who are prone to sink too deeply into the physical level of existence need activities that will loosen the soul or the “I” from the physical body.

[5] I.e., children who have difficulty incarnating sufficiently in their physical bodies.

[6] I.e., Dionysian activities help you to leave the physical body.

[7] I.e., Apollonian activities help you to enter the physical body.

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apotheosis - also see evolution; evolution of consciousness; gods; human beings

In Anthroposophy, the goal for humanity is to evolve upward to higher and higher levels of spiritual consciousness. [1] This means evolving to become gods, and then evolving to become higher and higher gods — we become deified, or we attain apotheosis, and then we ascend through the ranks of the gods. [2] We are human beings now because we evolved from lower levels to the human level of development. Other beings have been at this level before us [3], and they evolved further to become gods. We ourselves will (or should) follow a similar trajectory. [4]

◊ “[T]he gods who dwell in exalted regions had not always been gods, but had once been human beings ... [H]uman beings can become a god [sic] only when they are ripe for that condition ... Two paths are therefore open to humanity. Either a person can live patiently in anticipation of...deification (theosis), or one can imagine oneself prematurely already a god [hubris]. The first path leads to true deification; the second, to folly and madness.” — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 54.

◊ "Towards the middle of the Sixth Root-Race [5], in the last third, there will no longer be a physical body. Then the entire human being will again be etheric. [6] It will pass over into the finer substance. But this will not happen if man himself does not bring it about. For this he must first pass over to the nourishment which he prepares [within himself]. So that man, in so far as he no longer takes his nourishment from Nature, but gains it from his own wisdom, from the God within him, so far does he also hasten towards his own deification. [7]" — R. Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 30, GA 93a.

Steiner's vision of human apotheosis is fundamental to the mission of Waldorf education, as sometimes described by its adherents. “Rudolf Steiner...saw and addressed himself to the latent possibilities in man of advancing beyond the present-day accepted limits of cognition [8] to awaken knowledge of the spiritual worlds [9] ... That means that man himself properly belongs to those higher worlds ... If [a person] learns systematically to apply his will to his own thinking...it becomes God-thinking, a creative force itself [10] ... Rudolf Steiner’s method of work calls upon man, in the highest degree, to face and outgrow himself [11].” — F. Edmunds, AN INTRODUCTION TO STEINER EDUCATION - The Waldorf School (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004), pp. 6-7.

Steiner foresaw that humanity will (or should) rise through the nine divine ranks and ultimately become the highest divinity. We will become "the Father": "In an individual human being there lives a drop of divinity, and we are evolving towards the divine level, on the way to expressing our deepest, innermost nature. Once we have brought this deepest, innermost nature to expression we shall have gradually achieved the transformation of our own being into what is called in Christianity 'the Father'. What lies hidden in the human soul, the highest goal that lies ahead of us, is 'the Father in heaven.'" — R. Steiner, THE LORD'S PRAYER (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007), p. 17. 

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[1] See "evolution of consciousness" in this encyclopedia.

[2] There are nine ranks of gods, Steiner taught. [See "Polytheism".]

[3] See "human beings" in this encyclopedia.

[4] See "Evolution, Anyone?" and "The Tenth Hierarchy".

[5] I.e., during the sixth great epoch of human life on the present Earth. We are now in the fifth such epoch, Steiner taught.

[6] I.e., we once were nonphysical (ethereal, spiritual) beings; we are currently physical beings upon the physical Earth; we will evolve to become nonphysical again.

[7] I.e., we will become gods when we no longer need physical sustenance but gain our nourishment from our own spiritual wisdom. We will, in this sense, make ourselves gods. This will be our apotheosis.

[8] Instead of accepting the limits imposed by our brains and our ordinary senses, Steiner advocated "supersensible" cognition — clairvoyance. [See "clairvoyance" in this encyclopedia.]

[9] Steiner claimed that by using precise, disciplined clairvoyance, we can know the spirit realm. One of his most important books is titled HOW TO KNOW HIGHER WORLDS (or, in other editions, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS - How Is It Achieved?, and KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT).

[10] This is the result, Steiner said, of following his instructions for developing "exact" clairvoyance. We move toward the status of gods, able to alter reality through the sheer spiritual force of our thoughts: We think something, and that thing is thereby created. 

[11] This essentially means evolving to higher and higher levels of spiritual consciousness — we will "outgrow" ourselves by becoming gods and then evolving upward through the ranks of the gods.

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Aquarian Age - see Russian Age

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Aquarius - also see astrology; constellations; Russian Age; Saturn; Uranus; zodiac

This is one of the zodiacal constellations, the Water Carrier; the term also applies to the astrological sign for this constellation. Here is an Anthroposophical/astrological account of Aquarius: "Astrological sign (Jan. 21-Feb. 19) ... [R]uling planets, Saturn and Uranus ... [Q]ualities [of people born under this sign] — cautious, prudent, noble, progressive, mentally acute, intuitive, psychic, inquisitive, generous, cosmic, modest; but can be lazy, erratic, unreliable, too self-interested, subservient to others' opinions. Many astrologers consider this the finest of all twelve signs...." — G. Riland, THE NEW STEINERBOOKS DICTIONARY OF THE PARANORMAL (SteinerBooks, 1980), p. 13. 

An Aquarian is a human being born under the sign of Aquarius. "In Aquarius, the highly evolved individual [1] matures into a spiritualized being, the 'perfect man' of Christ [2] ... Today, most Aquarians are as yet far from being perfect men ... Highly evolved souls [3], responding to the mighty mood of Aquarius, become conscious of the Spirit in the Earth, the Cosmic Christ [4] ... These awakened ones becomes conscious cooperators with the Christ in the evolution of the cosmos ... The Aquarian Age...will not properly prevail until the Sixth Post-Atlantean Civilization. [5]" — J. Jocelyn, MEDITATIONS ON THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC (SteinerBooks, 2006), pp. 217-218.

Astrology underlies much of Anthroposophy, including Waldorf education. Steiner himself designed new representations for the twelve signs of the zodiac, including Aquarius. Here is a mystic verse Steiner wrote, expressing the "mood" of Aquarius. (He wrote similar verses for all the other signs of the zodiac.) "May what is bounded yield to the boundless./What feels the lack of bounds, may it create/Bounds for itself in its depths;/May it raise itself in the current,/As wave, flowing forth, sustaining itself,/In becoming, shaping itself to existence./Set yourself bounds, oh boundless!" — R. Steiner, TWELVE MOODS (Mercury Press, 1984), GA 40.

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[1] Personal and cosmic evolution are key themes in Anthroposophy. [See the entries for "evolution", "evolution of consciousness", and "planetary conditions" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] In Anthroposophy, Christ — the Sun God — is humanity's role model. He embodied what we should evolve to become.

[3] In Anthroposophical belief, such souls are spiritual guides, masters, and initiates; they are also, in a more general sense, Anthroposophists themselves.

[4] Steiner taught that the Sun God's essence flowed into the Earth when Christ was crucified. The Sun God then became the "Spirit of the Earth". [See the entry for "Cosmic Christ" in this encyclopedia.]

[5] Steiner taught that we currently live in the Fifth Post-Atlantean Age — the fifth historical period since the sinking of Atlantis. The Aquarian Age — when Aquarius will be the ruling constellation —  will come during the next historical period, the sixth since the sinking of Atlantis.

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Arabism - also see intellect; Islam

The influence and worldview of Arabs; Arab culture and identity. Steiner taught that Arabism is less advanced than the views of white Europeans. [1] In particular, he associated Arabism with the intellect, which he taught is a materialistic and faulty form of thinking. "We know what kind of associations the Arabic spirit calls up in those of us who have read and lived for some time with the last lectures which Rudolf Steiner gave in the summer of 1924; those karma lectures where Arabism has become almost a symbol not only for people who lived in the desert but who cultivated the desert of intellectualism. [2]" — A. Heidenreich, THE RISEN CHRIST AND THE ETHERIC CHRIST (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1969), lecture 2.

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[1] See, e.g., "Trinity" and "Islam".

[2] Steiner was an intellectual (or he was before he became a professed occultist), and he sometimes spoke of the value of intellect. However, in his Anthroposophical teachings, he more generally associated intellect with Ahriman and evil.

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Archai - also see Archon; Principalities; Spirits of Personality; Zeitgeists

According to Steiner, these are gods three levels above mankind. They are the highest gods in the lowest (third) divine hierarchy. [1] They dwell in the Venus sphere and oversee the cultural epochs of human evolution. [2] Because of their connection with historical periods, they are sometimes called Spirits of Time or Zeitgeists. They help mold the spirit or personality of an age, and thus are sometimes called Spirits of Personality. Anthroposophy teaches that they were human during Old Saturn [3], when they played a major role in promoting our development. “[N]ow at this stage in the evolution of Saturn [4] certain Beings [5] intervene ... Through them the I [6] looks down from the surrounding spaces on to Saturn, and communicates its nature to the single ‘live’ beings [7] ... The Beings [8] who bring this about may be called ‘Spirits of Personality’ (in Christian terminology they are the Archai, First Beginnings, or Principalities.)” — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), chapter 4, GA 13.

The involvement of the Archai in human evolution did not end with Old Saturn. "Archai...see to it that human beings are born at a particular moment and in a particular place so that they will be able to meet other human beings on earth in correspondence with and fulfilment of their karma. [9]" — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 8.

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[1] See "Polytheism".

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

[3] I.e., during the first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn.

[4] I.e., during one phase of Old Saturn.

[5] I.e., gods.

[6] The spiritual ego or "I," which human beings would come to possess, is in a sense a god or spiritual force, predating humanity, and in this passage its effects are described as being directed by the Archai. 

[7] These beings are the proto-humans, the beings that would evolve to become ourselves as we are now.

[8] Having told of "beings" (gods) who involved themselves in the evolution of other "beings" (proto-humans), Steiner here speaks again about divine "beings" (gods).

[9] See "Karma".

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Archangels - also see Fire Spirits; folk souls; Gabriel; Michael; Oriphiel; race soul; Raphael; Samael; Time Archangels

a) In Christianity, high-ranking angels.

b) According to Steiner, Archangels are gods, a step higher than Angels and thus two steps higher than mankind. Steiner taught that Archangels occupy the Mercury sphere and concern themselves with groups of humans such as  families, nations, peoples, and races. They are sometimes called Folk Souls, Folk Spirits, Race Souls, etc. They were human during Old Sun. [1] “Archangels are also called Spirits of Fire, and the Primeval Beginnings...[also] Archangeloi or Fire Spirits ... [T]hey bring single lives [2] into harmonious order with the life of larger human groups, as, for instance, nations, races, etc. Within our earth's evolution the Archangels’ task is to bring into certain harmonious relationship each single soul with the national or race-soul. [3]” — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1928), lecture 6, GA 110.

Four of the Archangels are associated with the seasons of the year. Raphael, the archangel of Mercury, exerts particular influence during spring; Uriel (or Oriphiel), the archangel of Saturn, becomes predominant in summer; Michael, archangel of the Sun, has particular influence in autumn; and Gabriel, archangel of the Moon, becomes predominant in winter. [See Rudolf Steiner, THE FOUR SEASONS AND THE ARCHANGELS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2008).]

Seven Archangels operate, on a rotating basis, to oversee 350-year-old phases of human history. "Of the many archangels, Rudolf Steiner mentions seven in particular who alternate as serving Epoch Spirits. [4] These seven archangels are: Oriphiel (200 BC - 150 AD), Anael (150-500), Zachariel (500-850), Raphael (850-1190), Samael (1190-1510), Gabriel (1510-1879), Michael (1879-2300). This sequence should be understood as a repeating cycle". — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 9.

According to Anthroposophical belief, there are nine ranks of gods divided into three tiers or "hierarchies." Archangels are gods of the eighth rank — they stand at the middle level of the lowest hierarchy, the Third Hierarchy.

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[1] In Anthroposophical belief, to be "human" is to stand at a particular stage of evolution. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "human stage of evolution".] Archangels were human during the second incarnation of the solar system, called Old Sun; they subsequently evolved to become gods.

[2] I.e., individual human beings.

[3] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "folk soul", "nation spirit", and "race soul".

[4] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Time Archangels".

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Archetypal Stage of Form - also see archetypal world; archetypes; Higher Spiritland Stage of Form; Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life; stages of form 

This is the seventh and final stage of form in our condition of life. [1] At this stage, we fully attain the form the gods intend for us at our current evolutionary level — a form established by the gods as an ideal model or archetype. Empowered by the gods, we are able to attain this form through our own efforts. "This [stage] comprises the creative forces and purposes of the archetypes [2] ... [Each person at this level] is in a state of absolute mobility and absolute self-control, able to shape everything out of itself [3] ... Through Intuition the deeds of individual beings from the ranks of the Hierarchies [4] can be grasped ... Progressive human beings [5] are indeed sun beings [at this stage] [6], and Christ, who has been the Earth Spirit [7], is once again the Spirit of the Sun, the Sun Genius. [8] But there is also a Sun Demon...Sorath [9] who seduces especially those who abuse spiritual forces in the practice of black magic [10] ... [Sorath] draws them down into the Abyss. [11]" — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publications, 2009), pp. 98-99.  (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 equivalent evolutions.)

We currently live in the condition of life called, occultly, the Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life. Within this condition of life, we evolve through seven subdvisions called, occultly, stages of form. The Archetypal Stage is the seventh of these stages of form. In the course of the seven stages of form, we descend, in steps, from Higher Spiritland to the Physical Stage of Form (this is a descent, as it were, from spirituality to physicality). Then we reascend, in steps, arriving finally at the Archetypal Stage of Form (this is an ascent, as it were, from physicality to spirituality). The fifth stage of form is a perfected version of the third; the sixth is a perfected version of the second; the Archetypal Stage is a perfected version of the first.

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[1] In Anthroposophical belief, we evolve upward through seven prolonged stages of increasing spiritual consciousness; these stages are generally called Conditions of Consciousness. Each Condition of Consciousness consists of seven shorter periods that may be termed Conditions of Life, and each of these consists of seven still shorter periods that may be termed Conditions or Stages of Form. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "design".]

The Archetypal Stage is the seventh or final Stage of Form during our current Condition of Life. The term "Archetypal Stage of Form" may also be applicable to the final stage in other Conditions of Life, but the realities encountered there may be very different. 

[2] See the entry for "archetypes," below.

[3] I.e., each can act as an archetype.

[4] I.e., gods. Steiner taught that there are nine ranks of gods; these are divided into three groupings called hierarchies.

[5] I.e., human beings who are evolving properly.

[6] I.e., they are spiritually connected to the divine powers of the Sun, especially Christ, who is the Sun God. [See "Sun God".]

[7] Steiner taught that the Sun God became the Earth Spirit by joining with the Earth at Golgotha (the blood of his host, Jesus, flowed into the Earth during the Crucifixion). Golgotha is Calvary.

[8] I.e., when his work on Earth is completed, the Sun God returns to the Sun. ("Spirit of the Sun" and "Sun Genius" are alternate terms for "Sun God".)

[9] I.e., Sorat, the Antichrist.

[10] See "Magic".

[11] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Abyss".

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archetypal world - also see archetypes; Spiritland; spirit world(s); cf. physical world; soul world

According to Steiner, especially in his Theosophical period and briefly thereafter, this is the spirit world, Spiritland. It is the world where archetypes [1] exist, constituting the models for phenomena that manifest in the physical world and in the soul world [2]. "[This] world is woven out of the substance of which human thought consists ... Thought, however, as it lives in man, is only a shadow picture, a phantom of its true nature ... [T]he thought that makes its appearance through a human brain related to the being [3] in the spiritland that corresponds to this thought ... The spiritual eye [4] sees in spiritland the thought 'lion' as really and actually as the corporeal eye sees the physical lion. [5]  ... [T]he surroundings of the person who learns to use his spiritual eye appear as a new world, the world of living thoughts [6] or spirit beings. In this world there are to be seen, first, the spiritual archetypes of all things and beings that are present in the physical and soul worlds. [7] Imagine a painter's picture existing in his mind before it is painted. This gives an analogy to what is meant by the expression archetype ... In the real world of spirit [8] there exist such archetypes for all things, and the physical things and beings are copies of these archetypes ... [A materialist] knows the thought world only in its shadowy abstraction. He does not know that the person with spiritual vision is as familiar with spirit beings as he himself is with his dog or his cat, and that the archetypal world has a far more intense reality than the world of the physical senses." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY, chapter 3, "The Three Worlds: 3. The Spiritland", GA 9.

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[1] See "archetypes", below.

[2] See "physical world" and "soul world" in this encyclopedia.

[3] I.e., a spiritual being, a god.

[4] I.e., the clairvoyant eye.

[5] Steiner uses the thought of a lion only as an example. His argument applies to all other thoughts and all other things about which we think.

[6] See "living thoughts" in this encyclopedia.

[7] Steiner often (but not always) said there are three worlds: the physical world, and above it two "higher worlds": the soul world and the spirit world.

[8] I.e., the archetypal world.

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archetypes - also see Archetypal Stage of Form; Platonism; polytheism

a) Typical examples, models, recurrent motifs.

b) According to Steiner, archetypes are spiritual beings who manifest as thoughts outside the brain or mind: They are perfect spiritual models for incarnated beings; they are spiritual powers that find expression or fulfillment in physical phenomena. Seen in the largest sense, Archetypes are the macrocosmic forces — divinities, gods — giving shape to the phenomena of the material universe, phenomena that are tiny, imperfect copies of their spiritual progenitors. All divine forces, all gods, may thus be deemed to be, in this sense, archetypes. ◊ “Occult investigation [1] shows decisively that all the things which surround us in this world — the mineral foundation, the vegetable covering, and the animal world [2] — should be regarded as the physiognomical expression, or the ‘below,’ of an ‘above’ or spirit life lying behind them. [3] From the point of view taken by occultism [4], the things presented to us in the sense world can only be rightly understood if our knowledge includes cognition of the ‘above,’ the spiritual archetype, the original Spiritual Beings [5], whence all things manifest have proceeded.” — R. Steiner, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1922), pp. 11-12. ◊ "In the spiritual world [6] all is in perpetual, mobile activity in the process of ceaseless creating. A state of rest, a remaining in one place such as we find in the physical world, does not exist here because the archetypes are creative beings. They are the master builders of all that comes into being in the physical and soul worlds. Their forms change rapidly and in each archetype lies the possibility of assuming myriads of specialized forms. They let the different shapes well up out of them, as it were, and no sooner is one produced than the archetype sets about pouring forth the next one from itself." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY, chapter 3, section 3, GA 9. 

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[1] I.e., spiritual science — the use of clairvoyance to penetrate spiritual mysteries.

[2] I.e., the mineral, plant, and animals kingdoms.

[3] I.e., the phenomena of the physical world are incarnations or expressions of spiritual beings or powers. That which is "below" (i.e., on the physical level of existence) reflects what is "above" (i.e., in the spirit realm).

[4] As Steiner used this term, it applies to investigation of hidden spiritual truths. Steiner identified himself as an occultist: a spiritual investigator.

[5] I.e., gods.

[6] Steiner sometimes used this term ("spiritual world") to apply to the entire spirit realm. On other occasions, Steiner used this term to apply to the higher of two worlds within the spirit realm: he was referring to the spirit world, which is higher than the soul world. Here, we may take the term as being used in the latter sense.

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architecture, Anthroposophical - see organic architecture

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Archon - also see Archai; cultural epochs; Spirits of an Age; Time Spirits

According to Steiner: a spiritual planetary ruler during a particular cultural epoch: a Spirit of an Age, one of the Archai or Spirits of Personality. [1] Archons (or Archai) are generally beneficent, helping to steer humanity in the correct direction. However, Steiner taught that there are also evil Archons who would mislead humanity. Thus, for instance, ◊ "Satan...is an exalted ahrimanic power [2] with the rank of an Archon (Spirit of Personality), who not only aims to throw human evolution off course, but even to throw the whole earth out of orbit. [3]" — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORETOLD BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2002), p. 98. ◊ "The Archons ... Rudolf Steiner would call them Ahrimanic demons." — D. Tresemer, THE VENUS ECLIPSE OF THE SUN 2012 (Lindisfarne Books, 2011), p. 44. [4]

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[1] These are gods three levels above mankind. [See the entry for "Archai", above.] A cultural epoch is an historical age such as the Greco-Roman Age. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "epochs" and "cultural epochs".]

[2] I.e., a demonic spirit allied with the arch-demon Ahriman.

[3] In Anthroposophical discourse, the name "Satan" often applies to Ahriman himself. However, a distinction is sometimes made, in which case Satan is seen as a servant of Ahriman. (As for whether Ahriman might throw the Earth out of its orbit: Steiner sometimes acknowledged that planets orbit the Sun, but on numerous occasions he denied it.)

[4] This goes too far. Not all Archons are demons, according to Steiner; the majority serve the divine cosmic plan. [See the entry for "divine cosmic plan" in this encyclopedia.]

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Aries - also see astrology; constellations; Mars; zodiac

This is one of the zodiacal constellations, the Ram. The name "Aries" also refers to the astrological sign for this constellation. ◊ "Astrological sign (Mar. 22-April 20) ... [R]uling planet, Mars ... [Q]ualities [of people born under this sign] — ambitious, sincere, industrious, courageous, pioneering, idealistic, high-spirited, loyal, generous, determined, energetic; but can be completely self-centered, unfeeling, and over-involved in projects." — G. Riland, THE NEW STEINERBOOKS DICTIONARY OF THE PARANORMAL (SteinerBooks, 1980), p. 42. ◊ "Aries rules the head and is symbolized by the ram ... Aries [represents] human beings in whom the Ego [1] is active ... [T]he Aries force forever flies off a center to the periphery and beyond ... This frequently produces negation and barrenness in the native who is unaware of himself as a being of soul and spirit [2] and who is not cognizant of the purpose of life on Earth. [3]" — J. Jocelyn, MEDITATIONS ON THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC (SteinerBooks, 2006), pp. 26-27.

Astrological lore of this sort receives serious attention from Anthroposophists. Astrology underlies much of Anthroposophy, including Waldorf education. Steiner himself designed new representations for the twelve signs of the zodiac, including Aries. Here is a mystic verse Steiner wrote, expressing the "mood" of Aries. (He wrote similar verses for all the other signs of the zodiac.) "Arise, oh shining light,/Take hold of growth and becoming,/Lay hold of the weaving of forces,/Yourself ray forth, life-wakening./In face of resistance, gain;/In stream of time, disperse;/Oh shine of light, abide!" — R. Steiner, TWELVE MOODS (Mercury Press, 1984), GA 40.

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[1] This is the spiritual ego, conferring divine individuality.

[2] Steiner taught that human beings have both souls and spirits. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]

[3] The purpose of life on Earth, Steiner taught, is to progress toward higher evolutionary/spiritual forms, in large part by discharging one's karma. Our mission on Earth now is entwined with the mission of the Archangel Michael. Our evolution is similarly connected with the evolution of the cosmos as a whole, as we and the gods attain higher and higher levels of consciousness. [See the entry for "evolution of consciousness" in this encyclopedia.]

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Aristotle - also see "I"; initiate, initiation; logic; philosophy; Plato; reincarnation; science; zoology

a) "Aristotle, Greek Aristoteles, (born 384 BCE, Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece—died 322, Chalcis, Euboea), ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history ... Aristotle’s intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts ... He was the founder of formal logic ... [H]e pioneered the study of zoology ... [H]e is, of course, most outstanding as a philosopher. His writings in ethics and political theory as well as in metaphysics and the philosophy of science continue to be studied ... [I]n 367, Aristotle migrated to Athens, where he joined the Academy of Plato (c. 428–c. 348 BCE). He remained there for 20 years as Plato’s pupil and colleague ... When Plato died about 348...Aristotle left Athens ... [Later] Aristotle, now 50 years old...established his own school." — "Aristotle", ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, accessed June 8, 2020.

b) "Steiner tells us that Aristotle was himself a great initiate and a highly developed individuality [1] who had already passed through important previous earth lives [2]. It was precisely because of this spiritual background that he was able to perform his difficult task of transmuting the living ideas and thoughts of his predecessors [3] into material satisfying to the analytical mind that was coming into existence [4] ... Whereas Plato had held that abstract ideas, or archetypes, are exclusively of a spiritual nature...Aristotle taught that the human mind can draw forth (ab-stract) the universal ideas from the sense perceptible objects [5], precisely because these contain both a physical element...and a non-physical element, The student of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy will recognize the similarity of this theory to Steiner's own epistemology." — S.C. Easton, MAN AND WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1989), pp. 69-70.

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[1] I.e., Aristotle possessed a highly developed spiritual ego or "I".

[2] I.e., Aristotle had reincarnated many times, often as important historical figures.

[3] Aristotle was a pupil of Plato, who was an important influence on him. But, in a larger sense, Aristotle's "predecessors" were previous philosophers generally, especially Greek philosophers.

[4] Steiner taught that humans were unable to think rationally until the time of ancient Greece.

[5] I.e., objects in the physical world, objects we can discern with our physical senses.

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arithmetic - also see mathematics

Arithmetic or elementary mathematics is generally not taught in Waldorf schools until the children reach age seven, as the teachers wait for the children's etheric bodies to incarnate. Once math instruction begins, it is given a subtle but pervasive mystical significance. ◊ "It is possible to introduce a religious element into every subject, even into math lessons. Anyone who has some knowledge of Waldorf teaching will know that this statement is true." — R. Steiner, THE CHILD's CHANGING CONSCIOUSNESS AS THE BASIS OF PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 94. ◊ “Mathematical science teaches the way to become independent of sense-perception [1], and at the same time it teaches the surest path; for though indeed its truths are acquired by supersensible means [2], they can always be confirmed in the realm of the senses ... No one can become an Occultist [3] who is not able to accomplish within himself the transition from thought permeated with sense to thought emancipated from sense-perception." — R. Steiner, “Mathematics and Occultism” (THE ANTHROPOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT, Vol. 6, No. 28), GA 35. 

Steiner taught that particular arithmetical operations are more congenial to children who have particular temperaments. [4] Thus, for example, phlegmatic children do well with addition while melancholic children are comfortable with subtraction, Steiner said. [See "Mystic Math".]

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[1] A key goal of Anthroposophists is to develop clairvoyance, which they deem a form of cognition that is freed from dependence on the ordinary senses. Here, Steiner indicates that mathematics — which deals with concepts that stand apart from the particularities of ordinary existence — moves us toward such transcendent perception. Steering children toward development of clairvoyant abilities is an underlying objective in Waldorf math instruction. Of all the branches of mathematics, Steiner said geometry has the greatest spiritual effect: “Basic geometric concepts awaken clairvoyant abilities.” — R. Steiner, THE FOURTH DIMENSION: Sacred Geometry, Alchemy, and Mathematics (Anthroposophic Press, 2001), p. 92.

[2] I.e., means that do not depend on the ordinary senses. "Supersensible" may be taken, approximately, as a synonym for "supernatural" or "extrasensory."

[3] Steiner was a professed occultist — he claimed to possess secret knowledge that is hidden from people who rely on the ordinary senses and the physical brain.

[4] See "Humouresque" and "Temperaments"..

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Armageddon - see Apocalypse; Ragnarök.

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art - see arts; arts-intensive Waldorf curriculum; crafts; music; shaded drawing; painting; wet-on-wet painting; veil painting

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Arthur, King - also see Holy Grail; mystery streams; pagan

a) A legendary king of Britain (possibly based on a Romano-British tribal chief, 5th or 6th century AD). Legends tell of his quest, alongside his "Knights of the Round Table," for the Holy Grail. [See "Grail".]

b) According to Steiner, Arthur was a real person, an initiate — in effect, a proto-Anthroposophist. "After Atlantis sank [1], great initiates [2] led two main streams of people from west to east, one through Africa, the other through Europe ... [T]he northern stream of initiates raised a strong, powerful stock of people who not only knew how to spite their enemies but were also physically a match for demonic influences [3]. At various locations in Europe there were mystery centers [4], the existence of which is reported in many old sagas. For example, behind the legend of King Arthur and his Round Table is hidden a report of such a secret school [5]. King Arthur was a high initiate who made known the wisdom of the mysteries to his pupils." — R. Steiner, ESOTERIC LESSONS 1904-1909 (Steiner Books, 2007) p. 427. [See “Pagan”.]

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Traditional image of Arthur, the legendary British king. [Etching by Gustave Doré.]

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[1] See "Atlantis".

[2] I.e., spiritual leaders who possess occult knowledge.

[3] I.e., they were strong enough to resist demons.

[4] A mystery center is a location where initiates delve into spiritual mysteries (hidden or occult knowledge of the spirit realm).

[5] Mystery centers are "schools" of occult knowledge that is divulged to aspirants there.

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Arthur stream, Arthurian stream - also see ancients; Grail stream; Hibernian mysteries; Arthur, King; mystery streams

In Anthroposophical usage, "mystery streams" are cultural traditions, bearing mystery (occult) knowledge, that feed into Anthroposophy. The northern stream is carried especially in Norse myths. The western stream, also called the Arthurian stream, is found in the mythology of the Celts and Irish, and in the legends of King Arthur and his knights. The southern stream, comes through the occult teachings of Ancient Egypt and Rome, and from the Knights Templar. The eastern stream, also called the Grail stream, was carried through ancient India, Persia, and Greece. [1]

"[The] Arthurian stream [is] one of the four mystery streams that form the basis of anthroposophy. [2] This mystery stream originates, from a European point of view, in the West, and is linked to Hiberia [3]...Celtic Christianity [4] and the legendary figure of King Arthur [5] ... The Druids [6] were their priests. In the etheric aura of the earth, they witnessed Christ approaching our planet [7] ... The monk Columba [8] took Celtic Christianity from Ireland...to England where...it disappeared from the visible world [9]. However, it remained active in the spiritual world and resurfaced again in anthroposophy." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 9.

Although Anthroposophy tells of four mystery streams, Steiner sometimes spoke particularly of the Arthur(ian) and Grail streams, the two streams he associated most closely with Christianity. "Two streams come to meet one another — the pre-Christian Christ stream [10]...and the Christian Christ stream. [11] The one is known, subsequently, as the Arthur stream; the other as the Grail stream. Later on they came together; they came together in Europe, above all in the spiritual world. [12]" — R. Steiner, COSMIC CHRISTIANITY AND THE IMPULSE OF MICHAEL (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1953), lecture 6, GA 240.

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[1] See "mystery streams" in this encyclopedia. Also see, e.g., H. Van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), pp. 82-83, and R. Steiner, WORLD HISTORY AND THE MYSTERIES IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998).

[2] See "Anthroposophy" in this encyclopedia.

[3] I.e., ancient Ireland.

[4] In its old form, according to Anthroposophy, this was a leading version of pagan Christianity. [See "Pagan".]

[5] See "Arthur, King", above.

[6] See "Druids" in this encyclopedia.

[7] I.e., they clairvoyantly witnessed the descent of the Sun God to Earth. According to Steiner, Christ is the Sun God. [See "Sun God".]

[8] St. Columba (c. 521-597 CE), an Irish abbot, is credited with converting the Picts (an ancient people in Scotland) to Christianity.

[9] I.e., the physical universe.

[10] Pre-Christian knowledge of Christ, according to Steiner, was the apprehension of the Sun God vouchsafed to ancient peoples, who understood that god only imperfectly.

[11] I.e., the stream manifested in the Christian religion, which had a truer comprehension of the Sun God. (Steiner argued that his own teachings, Anthroposophy, contain knowledge of the Sun God that is still truer, surpassing that found in mainstream Christian churches.)

[12] I.e., these streams merged in the spirit realm; on the physical plane, the merger was manifested in Europe. (Steiner taught that Europe is the most spiritually advanced region, especially Central Europe, and particularly Germany. See the entries for "Europe", "Central Europe", and "Germans, Germany" in this encyclopedia.]

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arts - also see arts-intensive Waldorf curriculum; beauty; colors; crafts; declamation; eurythmy; music; shaded drawing; wet-on-wet painting; veil painting

At Waldorf schools, the arts are thought to have spiritual powers and effects; arts are emphasized in order to attain such spiritual benefits. “This is what gives art its essential lustre: it transplants us here and now into the spiritual world.” — R. Steiner, quoted in THE GOETHEANUM: School of Spiritual Science (Philosophical-Anthroposophical Press, 1961), p. 25. When considering such statements by Steiner and his followers, you should realize the statements are meant literally, not figuratively. Thus, for instance, Steiner said “In having people do eurythmy [1], we link them directly to the supersensible world. [2]” — R. Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 247. 

For Steiner and his followers, linking to the spiritual or supersensible world is a central life goal for all upward-evolving humans. Pursuit of this goal is woven into the Waldorf curriculum, although the religious nature of Waldorf education is often kept hidden. [3] Steiner taught that art comes to us from the spirit realm; the true origin of art lies with the gods, so performing or creating art is effectively a religious activity. "It is only during our materialistic age that...we have forgotten the supersensible origin of art.” — R. Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY, p. 238. Characteristic forms of art found in Anthroposophical communities and Waldorf schools seek to evoke and express spirituality. Thus, young Waldorf students are taught a style of painting — "wet on wet" watercoloring — that produces images that approximate Steiner's descriptions of the spirit realm, while older students are taught a second style — "veil painting" — that suggests the soul's capacity to pierce the veil of illusion and see clairvoyantly into the spirit realm. [4]

Steiner said the arts come from the gods and they lead us back to the gods. Different arts are avenues to different gods. "Epic poetry points to the upper gods [5], those considered female because they transmitted fructifying forces: the Muses [6]. Homer had to offer himself up to these upper gods in order to bring to expression, in the events of his great poem [7], the thought element of the cosmos [8]. Epic poetry always means letting the upper gods speak ... And the art of the drama? It originated...from a presentation of the god Dionysus working up out of the depths [9]. At first it was Dionysus alone, then Dionysus and his helpers [10]...the subterranean gods, gods of will [11], making use of human beings to bring to manifestation not the human but divine will ... Thus we may say in summary: Epic poetry turns to the upper gods, drama to the lower gods. True drama shows the divine world lying below the earth ... In contrast, epic poetry sees the upper spiritual world [12]...." — R. Steiner, THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION, lecture 3, GA 276.

The Anthroposophical attitude toward art is revealed in such books as ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION (Anthroposophic Press, 1964), and ART AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF MYSTERY WISDOM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996). 

[See “Magical Arts” and the entry "arts-intensive Waldorf curriculum," below.]

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[1] This is a form of dance performed by Steiner's followers and usually made a required activity in Waldorf schools.

[2] I.e., the spiritual realm. "Supersensible" may be taken to mean, approximately, supernatural or extrasensory. 

[3] See "Secrets".

[4] See the entries for "wet-on-wet painting"  and "veil painting" in this encyclopedia.

[5] Anthroposophy posits the existence of nine ranks of gods arrayed in a hierarchy, extending from the highest gods to lowly gods. [See "Polytheism".] Here, Steiner suggests that some gods reside in the upper reaches of the cosmos while others dwell in lower regions.

[6] In Greek and Roman mythology, the Muses are nine goddesses who preside over various arts and sciences: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (lyric poetry accompanied by the flute), Terpsichore (choral dance and singing), Erato (lyric poetry accompanied by the lyre), Melpomene (tragic drama), Thalia (comedic drama and light verse), Polyhymnia (hymns and mime), and Urania (astronomy).

[7] Homer (circa 800 BC) is generally credited as the author of both The Iliad and The Odyssey, although some critics argue that these poems were produced by different poets, and/or that the poems were produced by numerous poets contributing to the ancient Greek oral tradition of epic poetry. Whether  poet named Homer actually existed in ancient times cannot be proven, although traditions holds it to be probable. "Although [The Iliad and The Odyssey] have always been attributed to the shadowy figure of Homer, little is known of him beyond the fact that his was the name attached in antiquity by the Greeks themselves to the poems." — "Homer", Encyclopaedia Brittanica Online, 2024.

[8] I.e., the ideas or plans of the gods; the thinking that informs and shapes the cosmos. [See, e.g., the entry in this enecyclopedia for "divine cosmic plan".]

[9] Dionysus is the ancient Greek/Roman earth god of fruitfulness and verdure. Under his influence, lifeblood, sap, and juices arise and flow. He was celebrated in festivals (Dionysia or Bacchanalia) fueled by consumption of wine. "Dionysus had the power to inspire and to create ecstasy, and his cult had special importance for art and literature. Performances of tragedy and comedy in Athens were part of two festivals of Dionysus ... Dionysus was also honoured in lyric poems called dithyrambs." — "Dionysus", Encyclopaedia Brittanica Online, 2024.

[10] "The followers of Dionysus included spirits of fertility, such as the satyrs and sileni (woodland spirits) ... Dionysus often took on a bestial shape and was associated with various animals." — Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

[11] According to Steiner, the upper gods epitomize cosmic or divine thought while the lower gods express the powers of will, especially divine will. In his teachings generally, Steiner located thinking in the head and will in the metabolic organs. (Bear in mind, however, that Steiner often disparaged the brain, asserting that true cognition — clairvoyance — is seated in immaterial organs of clairvoyance, not in the physical head.)

[12] Adjusting our terminology slightly, we may say that epic poetry is what Steiner often called "Apollonian" — it is associated with Apollo, god of the Sun. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Apollonian" and "Dionysian".]

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arts-intensive Waldorf curriculum - also see alternative education; arts; eurythmy; literature; music; painting; progressive education

Arts are stressed in Waldorf schools, and this tends to make the schools attractive. But the purpose of the arts at Waldorfs is occult: The goal is to enter the spirit realm and invoke spiritual presences. ”This is what gives art its essential lustre: it transplants us here and now into the spiritual world.” — R. Steiner, quoted in THE GOETHEANUM: School of Spiritual Science (Philosophical-Anthroposophical Press, 1961), p. 25. ◊ Wet-on wet watercolor painting, perhaps the most characteristic form of Waldorf art, creates images representative of the spirit realm as Steiner described it, a place of colors and tones but indeterminate forms. "[W]hen the soul arrives on earth [1]...it has come down from spirit-soul worlds [2] in which there are no spatial forms ... But though the world from which the soul descends has no spatial forms or lines, it does have color intensities, color qualities. Which is to say that the world man inhabits between death and a new birth...is a soul-permeated, spirit-permeated world of light, of color, of tone; a world of qualities not quantities; a world of intensities rather than extensions.” — R. Steiner, THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION (Anthroposophic Press, 1964), p. 23.

According to Waldorf belief, colors have spiritual properties. [3] “We have seen that colours...are windows through which we can ascend spiritually into the spiritual world.” — R. Steiner, ART AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF MYSTERY WISDOM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2010), p. 111. ◊ Music, too, is believed to have spiritual effects. “[O]n listening to music, [a person] has an inkling...of the spiritual world.” — R. Steiner, quoted in ART INSPIRED BY RUDOLF STEINER, John Fletcher (Mercury Arts Publications, 1987), p. 136. [4] ◊ The special Anthroposophical type of dance, eurythmy, is meant to create an immediate connection to the spirit realm. “Eurythmy shapes and moves the human organism in a way that furnishes direct external proof of our participation in the supersensible world. [5] In having people do eurythmy, we link them directly to the supersensible world.” — R. Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 247. [6]

Much of the artwork (drawings and paintings) produced in Waldorf schools is intended for inclusion in the students' notebooks or "lesson books." [7] These purport to record the material studied during various portions of the school year. The books can be colorful and striking, but they may also mislead the students' parents, giving the impression that much more has been learned than is actually the case. The students assemble the books primarily by copying material their teachers display on classroom chalkboards. The students may not be quizzed on this material or required to memorize much subject matter. [8] Indeed, so much time may be spent on creation of the lesson books (copying from the chalkboard) that little else gets accomplished. As one prominent Waldorf educator has acknowledged, “Copying is the curse of the Waldorf Schools. There is altogether too much of it, and it is not confined to the elementary school. In high school, where there is much less excuse for it, it still goes on. The way in which many [Waldorf] teachers organize their work implies that they consider that the whole object of the course is the creation of a gorgeous notebook [i.e., lesson book]. And the way in which some teachers judge the work of other teachers implies the same thing.” — K. Francis, THE EDUCATION OF A WALDORF TEACHER (iUniverse, 2004), p. 132. [9]

The Waldorf approach to art can become disillusioning. The following is by a mother whose daughter attended a Waldorf school: "It was not long before I realized that our child was not drawing at school. I thought this odd because, from my reading and observation of my mother's studio art classes for children, I knew that they should be free to make their first mark in line. I became frustrated that this universal instinct of childhood was being thwarted by my daughter's kindergarten teacher who claimed, when asked, that linear work must not be encouraged until pupils are older ... Beginning painting was limited to orchestrated exercises using large brushes to produce color on wet paper ... I noticed that the work of higher grades displayed in the hallways was also exclusively executed in this wet-on-wet technique — the repetitive compositions indicated their being copied from a single source ... When [my daughter's] accumulated wet-on-wet 'artwork' came home, I was aware that, unlike her prolific creative drawing done at home, at school the self-expression we had anticipated was actually being frustratingly suppressed." — S. Lombard, "Our Brush with Rudolf Steiner", FREETHOUGHT TODAY, Vol. 17 No. 4, May 2000, Page 8.

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[1] I.e., at birth.

[2] 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. Steiner likewise taught that above the physical world are the soul world and the spirit world. The term "spirit-soul worlds" encompasses both.

[3] See "Mystical Colors".

[4] See “Magical Arts”.

[5] The supersensible world is essentially the spirit realm — it is beyond the reach of our ordinary senses. (Note that Steiner often used different terms for the same things. The supersensible world is essentially the combined spirit-soul worlds.)

[6] See "Eurythmy".

[7] See "Lesson Books".

[8] Waldorf schools generally de-emphasize memorization. [See "Report Card".] Certainly, there is more to education than memorizing; but committing some material to memory — mastering or learning the material — is essential in any genuine educational system.

[9] See "His Education".

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arupa conditions of form - see Archetypal Stage of Form; Higher Spiritland Stage of Form; stages of form

During his Theosophical phase, Steiner employed the terms "arupa" and "conditions of form"; he later amended them. In Theosophical terminology, adapted from Sanskrit and Hinduism, "arupa" means bodiless. The first arupa condition of form — the initial condition in a sequence of seven — is what Steiner later termed the Higher Spiritland Stage of Form. The second arupa condition of form — the last of seven, coming after a spirit has descended into physicality and then reascended — is what Steiner later termed the Archetypal Stage of Form. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Archetypal Stage of Form",  "Higher Spiritland Stage of Form", and "stages of form".] 

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Aryan Epoch - also see Aryans; great epochs; Post-Atlantean Epoch

This is one of the labels Steiner attached to the present stage of human development, a period defined by the Aryan race. [1] "In the Aryan epoch, what had taken place in an earlier epoch was introduced into man's thinking as religion, making a stage by stage recapitulation. We are in the fifth Sub-Race of the Aryan Root-Race. [2]" — R. Steiner, THE TEMPLE LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1985), pp. 190-191. Such language is more characteristic of Steiner's Theosophical period than his later Anthroposophical period. In his later period, Steiner more typically referred to the present great epoch of human development as the "Post-Atlantean Epoch" — that is, the first great epoch following the destruction of Atlantis. [3] This is how the epoch is generally labeled in Anthroposophical literature today. [4]

The root races generally bear the names of the epochs in which they predominate. Thus, the root races to date, in order, have been the Polarian, Hyperborean, Lemurian, Atlantean, and Aryan root races. However, Steiner cautioned his followers that tracing the histories of races, especially as they exist in the current epoch, is complex. "If we want to have a picture in our minds of the migrations of the Fifth Root Race (Aryan), we must realize at the very outset that it is difficult to see clearly in this chaos. Descendants of many earlier races have continued to exist among us, and even in the Fourth Root Race (Atlantean) there was a population which spread out like rays and was itself mixed with descendants of other races. The peoples of Southern Asia are remains of the population of ancient Lemuria, whose descendants are still to be found in the interior of Australia. Remains of the Fourth Root Race (Atlantean) are to be found in Western and Northern Asia and in Southern Europe. That is the soil into which the branches of the Fifth Root Race (Aryan) were implanted." — R. Steiner, "The Migrations of the Races" (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive).

According to Theosophical/Anthroposophical teachings, our history on the planet Earth during our present condition of consciousness, condition of life, and stage of form [5] includes seven major periods or "great epochs". [6] We currently live in the fifth of these major periods, sometimes called the Aryan Epoch or, more frequently now, the Post-Atlantean Epoch.

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[1] See the entry for "Aryans", below.

[2] In Theosophy and Anthroposophy, "sub-races" are subdivisions of root races. During each epoch, one root race is meant to exist — it is the form of humanity appropriate to that epoch. Within the root race are various sub-races. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "root races: and "sub-races".] Steiner also taught that, because of the interference of Ahriman and Lucifer, races that should have died out — races that should not exist now — have continued to exist.

[3] See "Atlantis".

[4] The term "Aryan Epoch" appears prominently in the work of American Rosicrucian Max Heindel: "The present Epoch is called the Aryan Epoch." — M. Heindel, THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION (Rosicrucian Fellowship, 1911) p. 165. Steiner claimed that Heindel cribbed much of his material from him and his colleagues: "A man from America learned our teaching over a period of many months, wrote it down, brought it to America in a watered down version and then published a Rosicrucian Theosophy, which he copied from us." — R. Steiner, THE FIFTH GOSPEL (Anthroposophic Press, 2006), lecture 5, GA 148.

[5] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "conditions of consciousness", "conditions of life", and "stages of form".

[6] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "epochs" and "great epochs".

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Aryans - also see Aryan Epoch; race; root races

a) Indo-European people who invaded Indian in the second century BC.

b) In Nazi ideology, non-Jewish Caucasians.

c) In Theosophy/Anthroposophy, the root race of our evolutionary period. [1] “The ancestors of the Atlanteans lived in a region [2] which has disappeared ... After they had passed through various stages of development the greatest part of them declined. These became stunted men, whose descendants still inhabit certain parts of the earth today as so-called savage tribes. [3] Only a small part of Lemurian humanity was capable of further development. From this part the Atlanteans were formed. Later, something similar took place. The greatest part of the Atlantean population declined, and from a small portion are descended the so-called Aryans [4] who comprise present-day civilized humanity [5] ... [T]he Lemurians, Atlanteans, and Aryans are root races of mankind.” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Garber Communications, 1990), pp. 45-46.

In denying that Anthroposophy is racist, Steiner's followers often claim that everyone alive today is — regardless of skin color — an "Aryan." Thus, we should all be essentially equal. However, Steiner taught that many people today are members of outdated inferior races that, due to demonic interference, have persisted down to the present. “Lucifer and Ahriman [6]...managed to change the whole process ... While there should have been basically only one form of human being...Lucifer and Ahriman preserved [earlier racial types] ... Thus, forms that should have disappeared remained. Instead of racial diversities developing consecutively, older racial forms remained unchanged and newer ones began to evolve at the same time. Instead of the intended consecutive development of races, there was a coexistence of races. That is how it came about that physically different races inhabited the earth and are still there in our time. [7]” — R. Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), p. 75.

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[1] In Theosophy and Anthroposophy, a "root race" is the form of humanity meant to exist during a particular stage of evolution. Root races are divided into sub-races.

[2] I.e., the predecessors of the people living on Atlantis were the people who lived on the ancient continent of Lemuria. [See "Lemuria"; also see "Atlantis".]

[3] Although, in some Theosophical and Anthroposophical accounts, all humans alive at any one time are deemed members of a single root race and thus are said to stand at the same level of development, here and elsewhere Steiner distinguishes between lower and higher races existing at the same time — e.g., savages as opposed to civilized humans.

[4] Steiner often distanced himself slightly from terms that he used. Thus, here, he speaks of "so-called Aryans." Such formulations allowed him to suggest that the common understanding of most matters was at least partly mistaken, whereas he himself possessed deeper, truer understanding. (Note that later he refers to Aryans without any distancing or qualifying phrases.)

[5] I.e., most people deteriorated to lower levels of development, but a small group proved capable of evolving higher.

[6] According to Steiner, these are arch-demons.

[7] I.e., lower, older (less evolved) human types exist alongside higher, newer (more evolved) types. In this formulation, "coexistence of races" is a bad thing, resulting from the action of demons.

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Asgard - also see gods; Norse myths

In Norse myths, this is the home of the gods or, more specifically, the land of the august gods known as the Aesir. [1] "In the Old Norse language, the word for god is Asa (plural Aesir) and the place where the gods lived was called As-gard, meaning 'the garden of the Aesir.' [2] The earth was called Mid-gard, meaning 'middle garden,' because it was in the middle between Asgard and the depths where the roots of Yggdrasil were. [3] The gods wanted a bridge between their world and the world of man so that they could travel easily from Asgard to Midgard. They made this bridge: the rainbow. [4]" — C. Kovacs, NORSE MYTHOLOGY, Waldoirf Education Resources (Floris Books, 2009), p. 20. The hall of Odin, the highest Norse god, is located in Asgard. [5] There, dead heroes await the final battle against the giants, the battle of Ragnarök, which will bring the end of the world. [6]

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[1] See "Aesir" in this encyclopedia.

[2] This account is debatable. In Norse myths generally the Aesir are one of two bands of gods; the other band are the Vanir. [See "Vanir" in this encyclopedia. The Vanir did not live in Asgard.]

[3] Yggdrasil is an immense, mythical tree believed to stand at the center of the created universe. Its roots are said to extend to the worlds of the giants and the world of the gods, and more. [See "Yggdrasil" in this encyclopedia.]

[4] In the myths, generally, the bridge is not the rainbow per se, but a flaming rainbow-bedecked bridge called Bifröst or Bilröst.

[5] The hall is Valhalla.

[6] See "Ragnarök" in this encyclopedia.

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Asia, Asians - also see abnormal; Chinese people; Malayan race; Mongolian race

According to Steiner, Asia is the home of abnormal humans [1] descended from one branch of the peoples of Atlantis. [2] The main Asian sub-races [3] are Malayans and Mongols. In the hierarchy of races, Steiner said, Asians (yellow-skinned) embody the adolescent stage, between blacks (childish) and whites (adult). Asians live largely through their emotions, whereas blacks rely on instinct, and whites use their powers of thinking. [4] Asia is associated with Lucifer (the light-bearer, in the eastern land of the sunrise — from a European perspective), a demonic gift-bearer and tempter. Like other nonwhite races, Asians represent unproductive side-streams, branching off from the correct central stream of human evolution, Steiner indicated. ◊ "How can we fail to realise that the Asiatic peoples have retained certain cultural impulses of past earthly epochs, whereas the Euro-American peoples have advanced beyond them?” — R. Steiner, "The Christ-Impulse as Bearer of the Union of the Spiritual and the Bodily" (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), a lecture, GA 174b. ◊ “[F]undamentally we have two groups of people representing combinations: those on European soil, forming the root stock of the white population, who had predominantly developed the feeling of personality [5] ... On the other hand there are those peoples in Asia with passive, self-effacing natures in whom just this passivity expresses itself in the highest degree. This makes the people dreamy, and the etheric body [6] penetrates very deeply into the physical body. That is the fundamental difference between the European and the Asiatic peoples." — R. Steiner, THE BEING OF MAN AND HIS FUTURE EVOLUTION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1981), pp. 120-121. ◊ “Very few inventions have been made in Asia. They [7] can assemble things, but as for inventions themselves, that is, that which arises from experience with the external world, the Asians cannot do this ... This sort of independent thinking which Europeans develop in dealing with their surroundings, the Asians do not have this. The Japanese will therefore follow [8] all the European inventions, but they will never think up something on their own.” — R. Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 59. 

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

[2] See "Atlantis".

[3] See the entry for "sub-races" in this encyclopedia.

[4] See "Steiner's Racism".

[5] I.e., individuality. Steiner taught that one becomes truly human by developing a human spiritual ego, an "I". Steiner here argues that Europeans have evolved to possess individuality, whereas Asians have not.

[6] The etheric body, Steiner taught, is the lowest of the human invisible bodies, lower than the astral body and the "I". The etheric and physical bodies are earthbound; the astral body and the "I" ascend to the spirit realm at night.  [See "Incarnation".]

[7] I.e., Asians.

[8] I.e., copy or imitate.

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Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA)

Coordinating and certifying authority for Waldorf schools on the North American continent. From the Association's website (downloaded 11/22/2015): "The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) is a non­profit membership organization of independent Waldorf Schools and Institutes in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The Association was founded in 1968 to assist schools and institutes in working together to strengthen and nurture Waldorf Education and to advance Waldorf principles. Today there are over 900 Waldorf schools in 83 countries. In North America, there are greater than 160 member schools and 14 teacher education institutes."

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asteroids - also see colonies in space; comets

These are small bodies, composed primarily of rock, orbiting the Sun. Most occupy a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. According to Steiner, they are celestial way stations, celestial colonies. “In order that man...may receive, between death and a new birth [1], something of the forces of Jupiter and also of Saturn [2], many planetoids [3] are interspersed between Mars and Jupiter; in their outer aspect they are constantly being discovered by the astronomers [4]. They make up the region which in its spiritual aspect is experienced by a man after death because he cannot yet reach Jupiter [5]. They have the remarkable characteristic of being spiritual colonies, as it were, of beings from Jupiter and Saturn who have withdrawn there. And before a man is ripe for existence on Earth, he can find in this region of the planetoids, which are there for that purpose, a kind of preparatory substitute, before he is able to enter the region of Jupiter and Saturn. [6] At present, therefore, by the time a man has gone through death and rebirth, he has achieved his Mars-organisation [7], and has absorbed those Jupiter and Saturn forces to be found in the colonised regions of the planetoids. With the after-effects of this...the human being embarks on another earthly life.” — R. Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 10, GA 227. 

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[1] Steiner is referring, here, to the process of reincarnation. 

[2] I.e., the spiritual/astrological influences of Jupiter and Saturn. In our lives between earthly incarnations, Steiner said, we ascend and descend through the spheres of various planets and their gods. 

[3] I.e., asteroids.

[4] I.e., astronomers perceive only the outer (physical) body of the asteroids, not their spiritual essence.

[5] I.e., we cannot receive the full impact of Jupiter's influence because we have not yet evolved sufficiently.

[6] I.e., preparing for reincarnation on Earth, we gain some of the benefits of Jupiter and Saturn by spending time among the asteroids.

[7] I.e., organs and capacities conferred by the influence of Mars.

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astral beings - also see astral body; astral plane; astral world; cf. etheric beings

According to Anthroposophical doctrine, drawing from Theosophy, these are beings deeply connected with stars; they exist on the astral plane. They condescend to have relationships with humans beings, stooping from the celestial or soul world to deal with us. [1] Their lowest embodiment is the astral body; they have no etheric or physical bodies. [2] “Now in this world-of-soul (let us call it the soul world for the present; medieval philosophers referred to it as the heavenly world or the celestial)...we find beings who are just as real as we are during our life between birth and death, nay, more so. They are, however, beings who do not need to come to embodiment in a physical, or even in an etheric, body. They live — as in their lowest corporeality — in that which we are wont to call the astral body. Constantly, during our life and after our death, we are connected intimately with a large number of these purely astral beings. [4]” — R. Steiner, "On the Connection of the Living and the Dead" (General Anthroposophical Society transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), a lecture, GA 168.

Many astral beings are beneficent, but not all are. Some evil astral beings are produced by human wickedness, especially when we are tempted by Lucifer and his minions. Our wicked thoughts become wicked astral beings. "[I]f you consider human life upon the earth, you will admit that by means of this human life — as you know from elementary Spiritual Science [5] — there arise a number of astral beings, of astral forms, which are actually harmful, hindering to life. From man himself stream forth continually, erroneous, base, evil thoughts; these are, as we know, realities, which pass out into the astral world and continue to exist there; so that the astral sphere of a planet [6] is filled, not only by the normal substances of its psychic being, but also by this out-poured astral substance. If we should only investigate all the harmful forces brought forth by the various Luciferic Spirits [7], we should find an enormous mass of harmful, astral substances in a planetary system." — R. Steiner, SPIRITUAL BEINGS IN THE HEAVENLY BODIES AND IN THE KINGDOMS OF NATURE, lecture 7, GA 136.

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[1] The soul world is the lower of the two "higher worlds" above the physical plane of existence, Steiner taught. 

[2] Anthroposophy teaches that fully incarnated humans have four bodies: the physical, etheric, astral, and ego bodies (or the "I"). Beings more highly evolved than humans no longer have all of these lower bodies — the higher a being stands in the celestial hierarchies, the more completely spiritualized it becomes.

[3] Steiner taught that the higher worlds above the physical world are the soul world and, above it, the spirit world.

[4] The astral beings — spirits of the stars; gods existing on the astral plane and (sometimes) higher — involve themselves with us both during our Earthly lives and during our lives in the spirit realm, between Earthly lives. Essentially, they are gods, although Steiner also discussed other nonphysical beings.

[5] Both Theosophy and Anthroposophy consider themselves to be "spiritual sciences": disciplines that enable adherents to objectively study the spirit realm.

[6] Planets have physical forms, but also astral (spiritual) essences. (The "sphere" of a planet is generally the portion of outer space contained within the orbit of that planet. Steiner sometimes said planets orbit the Sun, but sometimes he said they don't. [See "Deception".])

[7] See "Luciferic beings" in this encyclopedia.

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astral body - also see astral man; astral nature; astral organization; etheric body; nonphysical bodies; spirit body

According to Steiner, the astral body is the second of our nonphysical bodies; it is also called the soul body, faith body, or sentient body. [1] Housing the soul [2], the astral body consists of soul forces/living forces that fine-tune the physical body (which has been shaped by the etheric body). [3] The astral body contains the senses (twelve in all). [4] It incarnates at about age 14, an event marked by the sexual changes of puberty. Once this body develops adequately, it actuates the knowledge-acquiring faculty called inspiration (the second stage toward clairvoyance). [5] Steiner taught that in addition to humans, animals also have astral bodies; plants and minerals do not. 

The Waldorf curriculum is keyed to the incarnation of the astral body as well as the etheric body and the “I”. [6] As the various invisible bodies incarnate, we effectively recapitulate former periods of cosmic evolution, Steiner taught. Gods one level above humanity, Angels, implant true clairvoyant images in the astral body. “[T]he astral body is the legacy of the Moon-evolution [7], the etheric body of the Sun-evolution [8], the physical body, in its first rudiments, of the Saturn-evolution [9]... The astral body is the member nearest to the Ego [10] ... The Angels form pictures in man's astral body and these pictures are accessible to thinking that has become clairvoyant.” — R. Steiner, THE WORK OF THE ANGELS IN MAN’S ASTRAL BODY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1960), GA 182.

The astral body is far more attuned to the spirit realm than are the physical and etheric bodies. Indeed, every night, when we sleep, the astral body and the “I” rise into the spirit realm while the physical and etheric bodies remain behind on Earth. During one of his lectures, Steiner drew a diagram [10] showing the astral body and the “I” floating outside the physical body and its attendant etheric body. Describing the diagram, Steiner said: “Here we have the physical body and the ether body. It [the ether body] fills the whole of the physical body. And here we have the astral body, which is outside the human being at night. At the top it [the astral body] is very small and hugely bulging down below. Then we have the I. This is how we are at night. We are two people in the night [physical and ether bodies on Earth, astral body and "I" in the spirit realm]." — R. Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 102. Arrows in the diagram show how, after their sojourn in the spirit realm, the astral body and "I" return to the physical and etheric bodies in the morning.

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[1] See "Incarnation".

[2] See the entry for "soul" in this encyclopedia; cf. spirit. (Anthroposophists sometimes say the astral body is the soul, but — if we are to be guided by Steiner's teachings — this is only approximately accurate.)

[3] The etheric body is the first of our three nonphysical bodies. Unlike the astral body, it is tightly bound to the physical body.

[4] See "What We're Made Of".

[5] See the entry for "inspiration" in this encyclopedia.

[6] The "I" or ego is the third and highest of our nonphysical bodies (the ego is contained in the "ego body").

[7] I.e., the third incarnation of the solar system, called Old Moon.

[8] I.e., the second incarnation of the solar system, called Old Sun.

[9] I.e., the first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn.

[10] To see a copy of the diagram, see, e.g., "Incarnation". [Scroll down to "Set to Fail?".]

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astral conditions of form - see Astral Stage of Form; Perfected Astral Stage of Form; stages of form

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astral light - see akasha 

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astral man - also see astral body; astral plane

According to Anthroposophical doctrine, this is the portion of a human being that lives on the astral plane, in the astral body. "The astral body [1] is the bearer of feeling, of happiness and suffering, joy and pain, emotions and passions; wishes and desires, too, are anchored in the astral body ... Thus we have the fourfold human being: physical man, etheric man, astral man, [and] ego or 'I '. [2]” — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 2, GA 99. In a sense, the astral man is the true human being who survives beyond death (although the true human must also have a higher component: the spiritual ego or "I"). "This astral man clothes himself between birth and death with the physical and etheric bodies, and after death goes out into a soul-spiritual world [3]. In regard to this astral nature of man [4] birth and death are only outer manifestations. Thinking, feeling and willing can be understood only in the context of man's physical organization [5], and can be found only between birth and death. There they develop, gradually decline, and disappear. The astral being underlying them, the foundation for the inner life of the soul, extends above physical and etheric man and is incorporated in a cosmic world [6]. It is not enclosed within man's physical organism."

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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; above it is the astral body; and above that is the ego body holding the spiritual ego or "I".

[2] Steiner gave varying accounts of the human constitution: He varyingly said we consist of three, four, seven, or nine major parts. [See "What We're Made Of".] In the fourfold account given here, the physical man is comprised of the physical body, the etheric man is coextensive with the etheric body, the astral man is present in the astral body, and the ego or "I" is a person's unique, divine individuality. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "physical body", "etheric body", "astral body", "ego" and "'I'".]

[3] I.e., the spirit realm (consisting of the soul world and the spirit world).

[4] See "astral nature", below.

[5] I.e., in the physical body. (Reconciling Steiner's various statements about which body does what can be challenging.)

[6] I.e., the spirit realm.

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astral nature - also see astral body; astral plane; astral world

According to Steiner, astral nature is either the third division of the sevenfold nature of man, combining Soul Nature (a) and Sentient Soul, or it is the third division of the fourfold nature of man. [1] Steiner taught that, basically, we have a physical body tied to an invisible etheric body; above these are the astral body and the "I". [2] Astral nature is the portion of a being's constitution that functions on the astral plane or in the astral world [3]; it is the essence of the astral body. [4] Most of these terms are relative, however, and have varying meanings in varying circumstances. According to Steiner, many other beings in addition to human beings have astral natures, expressed during life on Earth and elsewhere. ”[I]f we should observe the astral nature of the individual moon-beings clairvoyantly — and we are entirely justified in speaking of them — we would be convinced that the worst and basest feelings that we have on earth are as nothing compared to what is found on the moon. [5] Thus, in respect of the astral, the etheric, and the physical parts of the moon, we may speak of beings, of elements, that had to be expelled so that our earth could pursue its way, free from injurious influences [6].” — R. Steiner, EGYPTIAN MYTHS AND MYSTERIES (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), lecture 6, GA 106. 

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[1] See "What We're Made Of".

[2] See "Incarnation".

[3] This is the soul world, which is higher than the physical level of existence and lower than the spirit world.

[4] See the entry for "astral body", above.

[5] See, e.g., "Lunacy".

[6] I.e., the moon is a receptacle for damaging things that we humans had to cast aside (things we "expelled") so that we and the Earth could continue evolving ("so that our earth could pursue its way, free from injurious influences").

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astral organization - also see astral body; astral nature; astral plane; soul world

According to Anthroposophy, "astral organization" is the inner structure or constitution of astral forces (forces originating in the astral plane or soul world) that go to make up the astral body [1]. This organization represents one's astral nature [2]. In ordinary Anthroposophical parlance, "astral organization" may be deemed essentially synonymous with "astral body." Influences from the highest of our organizations or bodies flow downward, from higher structures to lower structure. "In a certain sense, then, we have an invisible man within us ... [W]e can say that this invisible man also contains the ego [3], the astral organization [astral organism or astral body], the etheric organization [etheric body] [4]...and the physical organization [physical body] [5] ... During earthly life there is a continuous stream [of forces flowing] from ego to astral body, to etheric body, to physical body." — R. Steiner, THE INVISIBLE MAN WITHIN US (Mercury Press), GA 221.

Anthroposophical teachings about man's constitution — including the astral organization — find little if any confirmation in modern medical knowledge. Sometimes outsiders can do little but silently hear out Anthroposophists on such matters. "All that enters into man through the absorption of foodstuff is carried into the astral organism by the kidney system [6] ... The I-organization is connected with hydrogen, just as the physical organisation is connected with carbon, the etheric organisation with oxygen and the astral organisation with nitrogen [7] ... In the animal the sentient substance [8] comes forth from the living, as in the plant the living [comes forth] from the lifeless. Thus there is a twofold stream of substance. The life is not carried to the point of formed living in the etheric. It is kept in flow, and form inserts itself through the astral organization into the streaming life [9]." — "I-organization," FREE MAN CREATOR, an Anthroposophical website, March 2024. 

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[1] See the entry, above, for "astral body".

[2] See the entry, above, for "astral nature".

[3] See "Ego".

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "etheric body" and "etheric organization".

[5] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "physical body".

[6] Modern science is silent on this question, since it does not recognize the existence of the astral organism (nor the astral body not the astral organization). According to modern science, humans have two kidneys. The kidneys' function is to remove waste products from the blood and then to expel urine, bearing away the waste.

[7] These "organisations" are the constitutions of man's various bodies: the ego body, the astral body, the etheric body, and the physical body.

[8] "Sentient substance" is arguably a meaningless term, unknown in modern medical knowledge.

[9] This entire sentence, like the one before it, is essentially meaningless, if we are to heed modern medical knowledge. Such writing may strike non-anthroposophists — rightly or wrongly —  as gibberish.

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astral plane - also see astral nature; astral world; elementary world; soul world

According to Steiner, drawing from Theosophy, this is the astral world or the soul world. [1] In Anthroposophical texts, the astral plane is alternately described as existing above the etheric plane or as including the etheric plane. [2] In the latter, more common description, the astral plane is the realm of "ether" and/or "astral" beings — it is the imaginative world, also sometimes called the elementary world, and as such it is the first "higher world" we enter when we are initiated [3] or fall asleep or die. Astral beings, who are essentially akin to our true selves, dwell on the astral plane. ◊ “As soon as an initiate enters the astral plane he comes to know a whole series of new beings who are utterly unrepresented on the physical plane, and who yet appear to be beings such as he is himself. [4]” — R. Steiner, INVESTIGATIONS IN OCCULTISM SHOWING ITS PRACTICAL VALUE IN DAILY LIFE (Health Research Books, 1996), p. 111. ◊ "A whole web of beings is spun out over the astral world [5] ... If we make a study of these beings, we come to what we can call the constitution, the social life in the astral world ... [D]o these beings live with one another? They have no such dense physical bodies of flesh and blood as we humans have; they have astral bodies, are at most of etheric substance [6]. They stretch out their feelers into our world ... In fact, our physical world is only the external expression of what takes place on the astral plane [7] ... One could easily be tempted to think that the social life on the astral plane is similar to the life on the physical plane. But...a definite peculiarity exists in the astral world, which is not to be found at all on the physical plane. That is the penetrability of the substance of the astral plane. It is impossible here [8] to place yourself on the spot where someone else is already standing; impenetrability is a law of the physical world. In the astral world it is not; there, the law is penetrability. And it is absolutely possible — it is even the rule — for beings to penetrate each other, and where already one being is, another presses in. Two, four, hundreds of beings can be on one and the same spot in the astral world. But that results in something else, namely, that the logic of common life [9] on the astral plane is quite different [10]." — R. Steiner, THE ASTRAL WORLD, lecture 1, GA 107.

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[1] The soul world is higher than the physical level of existence and lower than the spirit world.

[2] See the entry for "etheric realm" in this encyclopedia. (Note that Steiner's terminology was not always consistent. He sometimes used different words for the same thing, or the same word for different things.)

[3] Initiation, in the sense used here, is admission to the inner circle of occultists: those who possess secret or occult spiritual wisdom.

[4] Steiner discussed numerous nonphysical beings, especially a wide array of gods. [See "Polytheism" and "Beings".]

[5] I.e., a large number of beings inhabit the astral plane, forming a web of astral/social connections.

[6] Note how the terms "astral" and "etheric" overlap in such passages.

[7] This is a premise in much of Anthroposophy: The physical world is only a pale reflection or outgrowth of the spirit realm. According to such thinking, the physical world is almost unreal as compared to the extremely real and important spirit realm.

[8] I.e., on the physical plane.

[9] I.e., the shared, interpenetrative life on the astral plane.

[10] I.e., whereas the physical plane is restricted by tight rules of linear logic, a very different and truer sort of thinking prevails in the spirit realm. [See, e.g., the entries in this encyclopedia for "living thoughts" and "contradiction".]

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astral realm - also see astral plane; astral world; spirit realm

In Anthroposophical teachings, this is the realm sometimes referred to as the astral world or the astral plane [1]. It may be considered to be the spiritual region above the etheric realm. Or, perhaps loosely, it may be deemed the higher portion of the spirit realm generally [2]. Like other portions of the spiritual cosmos and their denizens, the astral realm and its denizens can be observed only through the use of clairvoyance. "[I]f you want to look for the spiritual being, the soul of [an] Angel, you must seek it in the astral realm, you must seek it clairvoyantly." — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES, lecture 7, GA 110. When a human being sleeps at night, the astral body and the "I" rise out of the physical body and it attendant etheric body: They enter the spirit realm, Steiner taught [3]. More precisely, the astral body and the "I" may be understood as entering the astral realm. There, the human soul expands so that it encompasses the entirety of that realm: "As incredible as it may seem, it is nevertheless revealed that the human soul pours itself out in a unified way over the astral realm. The investigators [4] who were acquainted with this realm knew well why they called what departs from the physical the ‘astral body.’ The reason was that this inner element draws out of heavenly space, with which it forms a unity, the forces it needs in order to replace what the day's efforts and work used up from the physical body. Thus the human being in sleep passes into the great world [5] and in the morning draws himself back within the limits of his skin, into the small human world, into the microcosm [6]"  — R. Steiner, ANTWORTHEN DER GEISTESWISSENSCHAFT AUF DIE GROSSEN FRAGEN DES DASIENS {Spiritual Science's Answer to the Large Questions of the Present Time}, "The Spirit in the Realm of Plants", GA 60.

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

[2] See "spirit realm" in this encyclopedia.

[3] See "sleep" in this encyclopedia.

[4] I.e., ancient spiritual savants, who knew the spiritual cosmos far better than modern humans generally do.

[5] The spirit realm or the astral realm.

[6] Steiner taught that human being is a microcosmic replica of the great world, the macrocosm: the cosmos. Here, the term "microcosm" refers to the small, physical realm humans inhabit when they are caught inside their physical bodies.

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astral sheath - also see astral body; etheric sheath; incarnation; sheath

A protective, nonphysical covering within which the astral body [1] gestates; in effect, it is an astral womb. It drops away, merging again with the surrounding spirit realm, when the astral body is born or incarnated. ◊ "In ordinary life, when the protective astral sheath is cast off in the course of development and the astral body is actually born, the sheath dissolves into the universal astral world. [2]" — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1964), lecture 4, GA 114. ◊ "We know that-at physical birth only the physical body is fully born. The organs could develop before birth because the embryo is completely protected by the surrounding maternal sheath. Only when this is pushed aside is this body exposed to the physical elements. The ether body is not born yet, even less the astral body; they are still surrounded by an etheric and an astral sheath. These sheaths, visible only to spiritual sight [3], are not part of a person's own nature, but they envelop and protect him. At the change of teeth [4] in the seventh year when the ether body is born, the etheric sheath is pushed aside as was the maternal body at physical birth. And only at puberty is the astral body born [5] and fully exposed to the influences of the external world." — R. Steiner, SUPERSENSIBLE KNOWLEDGE, lecture 10, "Stages in Man's Development in the Light of Spiritual Science", GA 55.

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[1] See the entry for "astral body", above.

[2] See the entry for "astral world", below.

[3] I.e., clairvoyance.

[4] I.e., when baby teeth are replaced by adult teeth.

[5] The astral sheath is pushed away at this time.

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astral slap - also see authority; discipline

In Waldorf schools, a nonphysical blow, used for nonphysical discipline. Speaking to Waldorf teachers, Steiner said this: “If you give them [i.e., students] a slap, you should do it the way Dr. Schubert [one of the teachers] does ... There are physical slaps and astral slaps. It doesn’t matter which one you give, but you cannot slap a child sentimentally.” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 323. [See "Slaps".]

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astral sphere - also see astral plane, astral realm, astral world

According to Anthroposophical teachings: This is a region or area of soul forces, astral forces. [1] Physical reality occurs within higher realities; physical planets, for instance, exist within astral spheres that enclose the planets. The astral sphere of a planet may contain both good and evil astral reflections of human thinking. [2] "From man himself stream forth continually, erroneous, base, evil thoughts; these are, as we know, realities, which pass out into the astral world [3] and continue to exist there; so that the astral sphere of a planet is filled, not only by the normal substances of its psychic being, but also by this out-poured astral substance. [4]" — R. Steiner, SPIRITUAL BEINGS IN THE HEAVENLY BODIES AND IN THE KINGDOMS OF NATURE, lecture 7, GA 136. The forces of the Earth's astral sphere infuse us, affecting such things as the gender of each individual human being. "Certainly we do not take our sexual nature with us into higher worlds [5]; however, the origin of the two sexes is to be found in the astral sphere. In the same way as ice is formed from water, that which meets us in the physical world as masculine and feminine is formed out of the polarity of higher principles. We can approach this best if we consider it as the polarity of life and form. This polarity is also expressed in nature. We can see budding life in the tree and at the same time that which builds up hard forms, slows down growth and transforms it into the solid trunk. Life and form must work together in everything that lives. And if we look at the nature of the sexes from this standpoint we can say: That which corresponds to the life principle [6] is the masculine, while that which brings life into a certain form [7] expresses itself in the feminine." — R. Steiner, "Man and Woman in the Light of Spiritual Science" (Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 56.

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[1] I.e., forces within the soul, forces existing at the astral level of being (in the souk world or on the astral plane).

[2] Our thoughts, actions, and words, Steiner taught, create spiritual beings, spirits that exist in the spirit realm.

[3] See "astral world", below.

[4] Just as the physical world consists of physical substance (elements, matter), so the astral world consists of astral substance.

[5] I.e., when we leave physical existence, we cease to be male or female.

[6] I.e., the principle that leads to the creation of life.

[7] I.e., the principle that gives embodiment and form to life.

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Astral Stage of Form - also see astral beings; astral world; stages of form

According to Anthroposophical doctrine, drawing heavily from Theosophy, we evolve through seven long evolutionary periods, which may be called conditions of consciousness [1]. Each condition of consciousness — an incarnation of the solar system [2] — contains seven sub-periods, which may be termed conditions of life [3]. Likewise, each condition of life contains seven shorter phases, which may be termed stages of form [4].

We currently live in the Physical Stage of Form. Prior to this, we evolved through the Astral Stage of Form. That stage was very different from what we experience now, so it is difficult for us to describe, but it was the third stage of our descent toward physical existence within the Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life [5]. Having descended, as it were, from the higher regions of the spirit world (Higher Spiritland) to the lower regions of the spirit world (Lower Spiritland), we entered the soul world, otherwise called the astral world (the Astral Stage) [6]. Having completed our evolution in the Astral Stage of Form, we proceeded to physical existence (the Physical Stage).

The three worlds (the spirit world, the soul world, and the physical world) are tightly interconnected, occupying the same "space." Our activities in the astral world produce manifestations in the physical world, and vice versa — the astral world as we experience it is at least partly populated by astral beings — good and bad — that we ourselves created during previous evolutionary cycles. [7] We thus, in a sense, create our own astral stage. "All our earthly actions [8] are...accompanied by astral beings [9], leaving a trail behind us; the astral stage of form is therefore already prepared [10] ... [A]ny karmic effects we produced objectively as grotesque astral beings must still be adjusted [11] ... The fruits of all we have done [previously] unfold again as astral forms.... [12]" — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publications, 2009), p. 93.

We currently live in the condition of life called, occultly, the Mineral Kingdom. Within this condition of life, we evolve through seven subdvisions called, occultly, stages of form. The Astral Stage is the third of these. Essentially, we descend, in steps, from higher spiritland to the physical stage, then we reascend, in steps, arriving finally at the archetypal stage. The fifth stage of form is a perfected version of the third; the sixth is a perfected version of the second; the seventh is a perfected version of the first.

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[1] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "conditions of consciousness".

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "incarnations of the solar system." (During each of the seven long evolutionary periods, the solar system incarnates in a new form, and evolving humanity rises to a new level of consciousness.)

[3] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "conditions of life".

[4] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "stages of form".

[5] The Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life is the fourth of the seven conditions of life. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life".]

[6] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "spirit world", "astral world", and "soul world".

[7] We lead many lives, Steiner taught, incarnating over and over. Steiner usually said there will be seven conditions of consciousness, each of which contains seven conditions of life, each of which in turn contains seven stages of form. Hence, there are 49 conditions of life overall (7 x 7), and 343 stages of form overall (7 x 7 x 7). We pass through all of these as we evolve, reincarnating repeatedly.

[8] I.e., actions performed during our lives on Earth, especially during the fourth condition of consciousness, called Present Earth. Steiner taught that we currently live on the planet Earth as it is incarnated now, within the Present Earth condition of consciousness. We lead a series of Earthly lives interspersed with lives in the spirit realm when we are "dead." Actions we take during one evolutionary cycle affect conditions we experience during subsequent cycles. We create our own karma. [See "Karma".]

[9] I.e., spirit beings, largely of our own making. (Our actions, words, and even thoughts have spiritual consequences. In a sense, they create spirits or spirit beings that live separate from ourselves.)

[10] I.e., the spirit beings we created during our various prior lives exist on the astral plane and constitute a large portion of the astral realities we will encounter in our subsequent lives.

[11] I.e., if we through error or evil produced deformed astral beings, we must confront these and deal with them as we work out our karma.

[12] I.e., shapes or beings in the astral world.

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astral vision - also see clairvoyance; imagination; pictorial thinking; cf. inspiration; intuition.

According to Steiner, this is the first, lowest form of clairvoyance: imagination. [1] Using it, one finds images or symbols that represent spiritual truths. At later, higher levels of cognition — inspiration and intuition [2] — we pass beyond these symbols to see the Truth directly. "[E]xact, correct observation [3] appears at first in symbols. If man concentrates for instance on his spinal cord, it is a fact that he always sees [4] a snake. He may perhaps also dream of a snake, because this is the creature which was placed out in the world when the spinal cord was formed [5], and has remained at this stage. The snake is the spinal column outwardly projected into the world. This pictorial way of seeing things is astral vision (Imagination)." — R. Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 1, GA 93a.

Steiner taught that in the past humans generally possessed natural clairvoyant powers [6]. Most modern humans have lost these powers, he said, but a few retain them. "Present-day man knows but little of [nature spirits such as gnomes [7]]; in our time it is only through poetry that they are known. Miners (of minerals) however know such beings very well. A gnome is only visible to someone who can see on the astral plane, but miners frequently possess such an astral vision; they know that gnomes are realities." — R. Steiner,  FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM, lecture 27.

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[1] See the entry for "imagination" in this encyclopedia. (Ordinary imagination is deemed, in Anthroposophy, a step toward clairvoyance if the images produced contain truth. A higher type of imagination — sometimes termed Imagination — is deemed, in Anthroposophy, the first of several types of actual clairvoyance.)

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

[3] In general, "correct" observation, for Anthroposophists, entails piercing the veil of illusion. The observer moves past the limitations of the ordinary senses, developing higher powers of observation and cognition (essentially, clairvoyance). The goal is to attain "exact" clairvoyance.

[4] I.e., imagines. The image of a snake as discussed in the quoted passage is not an invention or fantasy, Steiner says — it is a true perception of a spiritual fact or link. Snakes truly embody the essence of the spinal cord.

[5] Steiner taught that animals evolved from humans — they branched off from the human evolutionary line at various stages of human development. Snakes branched off when the human spinal cord was developed.

[7] See the entry for "natural clairvoyance" in this encyclopedia.

[8] See "Gnomes". 

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astral world - also see astral plane; Devachan; soul world; supersensible

In general, in Anthroposophy, this is the soul world or astral plane, intermediate between the physical and spiritual worlds. “The three worlds are 1. The physical world, the scene of human life. 2. The astral world or the world of soul. 3. The devachanic world [1] or world of spirit. The three worlds are not spatially separate. We are surrounded by the things of the physical world which we perceive with our ordinary sense, but the astral world is in the same space; we live in the other two worlds, the astral and devachanic worlds, at the same time as we live in the physical world. [2]" — R. Steiner, FOUNDING A SCIENCE OF THE SPIRIT (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999), pp. 10-11. Sometimes Steiner specified that the gods of the astral world speak to us through colors, musical tones, and other elements of the arts. [3] 

Steiner's varying use of terms can cause confusion. Sometimes he used the term "astral world" to denote the entire universe that lies beyond the reach of our senses. Defined in this way, the "Astral World" contains the supersensible aspects of multiple worlds. “The Astral World  As long as we are only observing the physical world, the Earth as our dwelling-place appears like a separate cosmic body. However, if supersensible cognition [4] rises to the level of other worlds, this separation ceases [5] ... In addition to the Earth’s supersensible aspect, other cosmic bodies [6] that are physically separate from the Earth are embedded in the world [7] that we enter in this way. Those who perceive supersensible worlds do not observe only the Earth’s supersensible aspect but to begin with they also perceive the supersensible aspect of other cosmic bodies.” — R. Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1997), p. 402.

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[1] In Theosophical usage, Devachan is the happy spiritual realm that we enter after death. Steiner used this term less after breaking from Theosophy.

[2] The higher worlds infuse the lower, physical world. But Steiner also taught that we can be blinded to, and separated from, the higher worlds despite their imminence. We currently live in a time when the higher worlds are difficult to discern, and we can easily lose contact with them — and hence lose our souls — altogether.

[3] See “Magical Arts”.

[4] I.e., clairvoyance. "Supersensible" may be taken to mean supernatural or extrasensory.

[5] I.e., our consciousness rises to a level at which we perceive that the Earth is profoundly connected to other worlds. All of these worlds are one, in a sense: All are parts of the broadly conceived "Astral World."

[6] In general, planets and their spiritual spheres or regions of influence.

[7] I.e., the "Astral World" defined in this broader sense.

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astrology - also see astrosophy; constellations; horoscope; zodiac; cf. astronomy

Astrology is a superstitious system that attempts to trace the spiritual or magical influences of celestial objects, principally the stars and planets, on man and the Earth. [1] Astrological charts or horoscopes are drawn in an effort to learn individuals' destinies as reflecting the influences of stars, planets, the Moon, etc. [2] 

Astrology runs as a broad thread through much of Anthroposophy and its offshoots. Steiner dismissed popular or vulgar astrology, but he taught that true forms of astrology are possible; they existed in the past and can yield wisdom even today. “[T]he old, real, and genuine Astrology expresses itself in the destinies of men. [3]” — R. Steiner, ROSICRUCIANISM AND MODERN INITIATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1965), lecture 3, GA 233a. Steiner urged Waldorf teachers to include astrological indications in various subjects taught to Waldorf students. “When teaching animal geography, you need to consider the zodiac in connection with what I have just said, that is, look at the projection of the zodiac upon the Earth. [4] You will then find the areas of the animal groups on the Earth. You have some globes where the zodiac is drawn upon the Earth. They will provide you with what you need [5].” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 661. 

Note that in the second quotation, above, Steiner indicates that astrology — or at least the implications of astrology — should be present in Waldorf classrooms. The degree to which this directive is followed varies from one Waldorf school to another, and from one teacher to another. But indeed astrology underlies many Waldorf beliefs and practices.

Astrology should be carefully distinguished from astronomy. Indeed, there is no support for astrology in the science of astronomy [6]. "Astrology, type of divination that involves the forecasting of earthly and human events through the observation and interpretation of the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. Devotees believe that an understanding of the influence of the planets and stars on earthly affairs allows them to both predict and affect the destinies of individuals, groups, and nations. Though often regarded as a science throughout its history, astrology is widely considered today to be diametrically opposed to the findings and theories of modern Western science." — "Astrology", ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITTANICA, online, Marc, 2024.

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Many Anthroposophical texts deal with astrology. This book was written by a follower who, Steiner said, understood his teachings particularly well. [ANTHROPOSOPHY AND ASTROLOGY - The Astronomical Letters of Elizabeth Vreede (SteinerBooks, 2001).]

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[1] See “Astrology” and "Star Power".

[2] See "Horoscopes".

[3] Steiner taught that much astrological lore today is false; many astrologers are false. But he also said that "real and genuine" astrology has been practiced and can be practiced still.

[4] I.e., trace the areas of influence various astrological constellations have upon the surface of the Earth. Thus, for instance, different animals exist in different places because various parts of the zodiac affect conditions in various parts of the Earth.

[5] Various types of zodiacal globes are available today. The most sophisticated consist of a small globe of the Earth positioned within a larger, transparent globe bearing figures of the zodiacal constellations and other celestial objects.

[6] See the entry, below, for "astronomy".

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astronomy - also see asteroids; comets; Moon; planets; stars; Sun; cf. astrology; astrosophy

This is the scientific study of celestial objects (planets, stars, galaxies, etc.), outer space, and the physical universe. Astronomy is often a required subject in Waldorf schools, especially in sixth or seventh grade [1]. But, typically, little real astronomical information is presented. The Anthroposophical view of the heavens is essentially Medieval and akin to astrology. [2] According to Steiner, astronomers — like other "materialistic" scientists — know little or nothing of value. Indeed, Steiner indicated, scientists are often intentionally misled by occult savants who possess the Truth. (True knowledge of the stars and planets comes through the use of clairvoyance, Steiner taught.) 

A few of Steiner's statements about astronomical matters: 

◊ ”In all occult nomenclature, what astronomers call Venus is called Mercury, and vice versa. Astronomers know nothing of the mysteries behind this, because in the past it was not desired that the esoteric names should be revealed. This happened in order to conceal certain things.” — R. Steiner, EGYPTIAN MYTHS AND MYSTERIES (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), lecture 4, GA 107. 

◊ “I have spoken to you of the ingenious description of the sun given by astrophysicists. But if it were possible to journey to the sun it would be found with amazement that nothing of what is to be expected from these physical descriptions exists ... The sun is not really the same when in the course of the year or a day it shines onto the earth from Taurus, or from Cancer, or the other constellations. In each case it is different ... [W]e should really speak of the Aries-sun, Taurus-sun, Cancer-sun, Leo-sun, and so on. For the sun is a different being in each case.” — R. Steiner, AGRICULTURE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), pp. 35-37. 

◊ “[M]aterialistic physicists would be immensely astonished if they went up into space expecting to find the sun as they describe it in their science. Their descriptions are nonsense. If by some convenient transport the physicists could reach the sun, they would be amazed to find no gas whatsoever. They would find hollow space, a real vacuum. This vacuum radiates light.” — R. Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH AND MAN AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS (Anthroposophic Press, 1987), pp. 143-144. 

◊ “[T]he moon today is like a fortress in the universe, in which there lives a population that fulfilled its human destiny over 15,000 years ago, after which it withdrew to the moon together with the spiritual guides of humanity ... This is only one of the 'cities' in the universe, one colony, one settlement among many ... As far as what concerns ourselves, as humanity on earth, the other pole, the opposite extreme to the moon is the population of Saturn.” — R. Steiner, RUDOLF STEINER SPEAKS TO THE BRITISH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 93. 

◊ "[M]any planetoids are interspersed between Mars and Jupiter; in their outer aspect they are constantly being discovered by the astronomers ... They have the remarkable characteristic of being spiritual colonies, as it were, of beings from Jupiter and Saturn who have withdrawn there.” — R. Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 10, GA 227.

◊ “Mars consists primarily of a more or less fluid mass, not as fluid as our water but, shall we say, more like the consistency of jelly ... [E]verything on Mars is much more full of life than on the earth. The earth is a dead planet in a far stronger sense than Mars, on which everything is still more or less living. " — Rudolf Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH AND MAN AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS (Anthroposophic Press, 1987), lecture 10, GA 354. 

◊ “Mars today is in a condition similar to that of the earth in [an] earlier epoch and therefore also has upon it those living beings, those animal beings which the earth had upon it at that time. And ‘human beings’ on Mars are as they were on the earth at that time — still without bones ... These things can be known. They cannot become known by the means employed in modern science for acquiring knowledge; nevertheless it is possible to know these things. [3]” — R. Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH AND MAN AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1987), lecture 10, GA 354. 

Anthroposophists teaching in Waldorf schools face a problem when they attempt to teach astronomy. It is the problem they face concerning so many other subjects: Anthroposophical beliefs are incompatible with firmly established factual knowledge — i.e., objective truth. A Waldorf science teacher can teach real science, or he can teach Anthroposophy-tainted pseudoscience, but he can't teach both. [4] The problem is perhaps most pointed for Waldorf astronomy teachers, given the sorts of statements Steiner made about the stars and planets (as we have seen).

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[1] See “Oh My Stars”.

[2] See the entry for "astrology", above.

[3] Steiner "knew" such things thanks to his claimed use of clairvoyance. In his day, long before space probes had been sent to the Moon, Mars, etc., Steiner's statements about astronomical matters may have seemed plausible. But science has long since gained sufficient real astronomical knowledge to disprove Steiner's assertions about the stars, planets, and other astronomical phenomena.

[4] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "science curriculum at Waldorf schools". 

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astrosophy - also see astrology; cf. astronomy

As Anthroposophists use this term, it applies to clairvoyant knowledge of the stars and their powers: Anthroposophical astrology. Anthroposophists believe astrosophy is truer than ordinary astrology and vastly better than ordinary astronomy. The approach taken by secular scientists has its uses, Rudolf Steiner indicated, but to truly understand the stars we need an astronomy that has "deepened" beyond mere physical science. Relying on physical astronomy alone is damaging, Steiner said. ”What is offered by a well-developed astronomy that has deepened into astrology and astrosophy...is all destroyed for immediate use by [physical astronomy].” — R. Steiner, PASTORAL MEDICINE (Anthroposophic Press, 1987), lecture 10, GA 318. 

Here is how the Anthroposophical Society of America has described a recent book about astrosophy: "Beginning with the basics, the book [1] takes the reader through an introductory course on astrosophy — from understanding and working with the zodiac and planetary spheres to actual chart construction [2] and to the spiritual significance and deeper meaning behind practical astrosophy and its potential for one’s own inner development [3]. It also covers a historical perspective and carefully draws important distinctions between today’s popular astrology and the esoteric basis for an approach to star wisdom as viewed and developed through spiritual science [4]. This is an essential guide for anyone who wants to begin a study of this discipline and spiritual path through the stars [5]." — Promotional material for a lecture on astrosophy co-sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society of America in 2023.

[See "Astrosophy".]

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[1] SPEAKING TO THE STARS: Introduction to Astrosophy; A New Star Wisdom developed by Willi Sucher from the insights of Rudolf Steiner (Lindisfarne Books, an imprint of Steiner Books, 2023), by Jonathan Hilton.

[2] I.e., the drawing of horoscopes.

[3] I.e., spiritual advancement.

[4] In this context, "spiritual science" is Anthroposophy.

[5] Note: The objective is not knowledge of the stars but "a spiritual path through the stars." As conceived in Athroposophy and, generally, in astrosophy, the stars are manifestations and residences of various gods. 

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Asuras - also see evil; evil beings; Spirits of Darkness

a) In Indian mythology: evil spiritual beings.

b) In Zoroastrianism: benevolent spiritual beings.

c) In some usages: a name for all spiritual beings.

d) In Theosophy: devils or, according to Steiner, gods equivalent to Spirits of Darkness or Archai. "[Spirits] of 'Darkness' (in Christianity, Archai, in theosophy, Asuras)." — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Harper & Row, 1981) chapter 15, GA 11.

e) In Anthroposophy: abnormal Archai [1] who lure humans into extreme egoism. "Asuras are spirits of the very greatest egoism who remained behind during Saturn evolution. [2] They want to condense matter and compress it ever more so that it can't be spiritualized and brought back to its original condition. They're the dregs of the planetary evolution that goes from Saturn to Vulcan. [3] The asuras inhabit the moon and from there they work on the men whom they want to drag down into the eighth sphere [4] and thereby tear away from progressive evolution and its goal — the Christ. [5] All those who strive towards the eighth sphere will eventually live on a moon. [6]" — R. Steiner, FROM THE CONTENTS OF ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 266. 

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[1] That is, gods who should be four levels higher than humanity but who have not evolved as far as they should have: They stand three levels above us. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "abnormal" and "Archai".] Although abnormal gods are not always evil, the Asuras are evil.

[2] I.e., during the first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn.

[3] I.e., the overall pattern of our solar system's evolution, from its first incarnation (Old Saturn) to it the seventh incarnation (Future Vulcan). [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "incarnations of the solar system".]

[4] I.e., perdition: an eighth state of evolution, dangling below the main seven. [See "Sphere 8".]

[5] The goal of human evolution, Steiner often indicated, is to realize the potential given to us by Christ, the Sun God. The evil intention of the Asuras is to prevent us from reaching that goal; instead, they would drag us into one version of hell, as described by Steiner. [See "Hell".]

[6] I.e., they will depart from the upward course of evolution, becoming stranded on backwaters (moons).

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atavistic clairvoyance - also see clairvoyance; natural clairvoyance; cf. exact clairvoyance

Steiner taught that ancient peoples had innate, primitive powers of clairvoyance. With these, they were more directly attuned to the spirit realm than most modern people are. “A person who cannot read world phenomena [clairvoyantly] is like a cosmic illiterate where these phenomena are concerned.... In the time of ancient clairvoyance human beings were far less illiterate in the spirit.” — R. Steiner, ART AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF MYSTERY WISDOM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), pp. 111-112. Waldorf teachers generally accept the proposition that ancient peoples had such clairvoyance, and sometimes they convey this belief to their students. "The History curriculum for fifth and sixth grades in a Waldorf school follows the thread of development of cultures through Ancient India, Persia, Egypt and Chaldea, Greece, and Rome. This provides a picture of the changing human consciousness from ancient clairvoyance to the loss of spiritual vision [i.e., clairvoyance]...." — R. Wilkinson, TEACHING HISTORY, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2000).

In general, mankind has lost its ancient, natural clairvoyant powers, Steiner taught. This loss has led to the spiritually blind condition of the modern world, he said. [1] However, occasionally the old clairvoyance resurfaces, and it is then "atavistic" clairvoyance. This represents a reversion to a lowly form of spiritual vision, not controlled by the "I", our spark of divine identity [2]; it is not "exact" clairvoyance of the type Steiner claimed to possess and that he said others could develop by following his instructions. [3] Sometimes, in Anthroposophic texts, the word "atavistic" is used as a virtual synonym for "ancient," so that various peoples in the past are credited with possessing "atavistic clairvoyance": "If we go back to the ages before the Mysteries [4] to which I am now referring...we find in the regions of civilized humanity people with a primeval atavistic clairvoyance, human beings who, if they spoke of the needs of life, could invoke the impressions of their heart, of their soul, of their inner vision. [5] These people were spread over the regions now called India, Persia, Armenia, North Africa, South Europe, etc." — R. Steiner, THE COSMIC NEW YEAR (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1938), lecture 1, GA 195.

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[1] E.g., “When we today — permeated even a little with anthroposophical consciousness — take a walk in the streets, we no longer see human people; rather we see [blind] moles that move about in the smallest of circles....” — R. Steiner, EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENTS (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 92.

[2] See "Ego" and the entry for "I" in this encyclopedia.

[3] See "Knowing the Worlds" and "Exactly". Steiner taught that Waldorf teachers should seek to develop high, "exact" clairvoyance, what he called "the Waldorf teacher's consciousness." [See "Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]

[4] I.e., spiritual mysteries. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "mystery" and "mystery knowledge".]

[5] "Inner vision" is second sight or clairvoyance. 

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athletics - see sports; cf. circus arts

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Atlantean, Atlanteans - also see Atlantean Epoch; Atlantis

An Atlantean was a resident of Atlantis. ◊ “The ancient Atlantean did not possess a developed intellect and mind, but he was equipped with fine somnambulistic-clairvoyant forces [1]. Logical power...did not exist in ancient Atlantis, for man's faculties of thought and feeling were quite different. At that time, he could not have combined thoughts, nor could he have reckoned, counted, or read, as men do now; yet certain somnambulistic-clairvoyant spiritual forces lived in him. He could understand the language of Nature and could hear God [2] speak to him in the murmuring waves; he could understand the rolling thunder, the rustling forest, the delicate aromas of the flowers; he could understand this language of Nature ... [T]he Atlantean just went out and listened to the sounds of the trees and of the wind and these told him what he had to do." — R. Steiner "The Adept-School of the Past", ANTHROPOSOPHIC NEWS SHEET 31/32, 1941, GA 97.

◊ ”While the power to think logically was absent among the Atlanteans (especially the earlier ones), in their highly developed memory they possessed something which gave a special character to everything they did ... Memory is closer to the deeper natural basis of man than reason ... Thus the Atlanteans could control what one calls the life force. [3] As today one extracts the energy of heat from coal and transforms it into motive power for our means of locomotion, the Atlanteans knew how to put the germinal energy [4] of organisms into the service of their technology ... Plants were cultivated in the Atlantean period not merely for use as foodstuffs but also in order to make the energies dormant in them available to commerce and industry ... [T]he Atlanteans had mechanisms in which they — so to speak — burned plant seeds, and in which the life force was transformed into technically utilizable power. The vehicles of the Atlanteans, which floated a short distance above the ground, travelled at a height lower than that of the mountain ranges of the Atlantean period, and they had steering mechanisms by the aid of which they could rise above these mountain ranges.” — 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: They 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] I.e., the Atlantean had a dreamlike, sleep-walking type of clairvoyant consciousness.

[2] Anthroposophy is polytheistic; it recognize many gods. When Anthroposophical texts refer to "God" (i.e., the one and only Lord of the universe), the reference must be understood as imagistic rather than literal.

[3] I.e., the spiritual-physical force that makes life possible, conferring strength and vitality, and enabling growth. [See the entry for "life force" in this encyclopedia.]

[4] I.e., primal or basic energy: life force.

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

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

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Atlantean Epoch - also see Atlantean; Atlantis; great epochs

According to the Anthroposophical account of evolution and history (derived largely from Theosophy), this was the fourth great epoch of our current stage of form. [1] During the Atlantean Epoch, we lived on the continent of Atlantis [2] and we were, thus, Atlanteans. [3] Following the end of the Atlantean Epoch, marked by the physical destruction of Atlantis, we entered the Post-Atlantean great epoch, the historical epoch in which we currently exist. [4]

Some Anthroposophists, drawing from indications attributed to Rudolf Steiner, have asserted that the Atlantean Epoch began about 65 million years ago [5] and ended around 7500-7000 years BC [6].

Steiner taught that the Atlantean Epoch was the fourth great epoch of our existence on the physical Earth during our current stage of form. Prior to living on Atlantis, we lived on the continent of Lemuria [5] during the Lemurian Epoch. After Atlantis was destroyed, we spread out across the Earth as we know it now, during the Post-Atlantean Epoch. The Epochs of Seals and Trumpets lie in our future.

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[1] Great epochs are extended historical periods. They are subdivisions of still longer evolutionary periods called stages of form. [See the entries for "stages of form", "epochs", and "great epochs" in this encyclopedia].

[2] See the entry for "Atlantis," below.

[3] See the entry for "Atlantean, Atlanteans", above. (Anthroposophy teaches that we reincarnate over and over as we evolve. Thus, our ancestors were really ourselves as we existed at earlier stages of evolution. Humans alive today previously lived in other bodies, at other developmental levels, in the past.)

[4] See the entries for "Post-Atlantean Epoch" and "Aryan Epoch" in this encyclopedia.

[5] See "Lemuria".

[6] See "Atlantis", AnthroWiki, accessed 6/26/2024.

[7] See S. C. Easton, MAN AND THE WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (SteinerBooks, 2023), p. 27.

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Atlantis - also see Atlantean; Atlantean Epoch

A fabled lost continent. Plato spoke of Atlantis, evidently as a fictional device. [1] Science has found no evidence that Atlantis ever actually existed.

According to Steiner, Atlantis was a real place, the home of mankind before the present ("Post-Atlantean") phase of evolution: We lived on Atlantis during the "Atlantean Age." During that period, we met various gods who walked the Earth. “[I]n Atlantis...man learned to know Thor, Zeus, Wotan, Baldur [2] as actual companions ... When man still lived in the water-fog atmosphere [of Atlantis]...incarnations were possible for [these gods] ... [They] assumed a human form and moved about in the physical world.” — R. Steiner, EGYPTIAN MYTHS AND MYSTERIES (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), p. 140.

The leaders of human society on Atlantis were occult initiates, Steiner taught. [3] They acquired great powers, but in this lay the seeds of their destruction. “Powerful rulers [of Atlantis] themselves were initiated ... [T]he initiated kings and leaders of the Atlanteans came into being. Enormous power was in their hands, and they were greatly venerated. But in this fact also lay the reason for decline and decay ... [T]he misuse of these powers arose. When one considers the capabilities of the Atlanteans resulting from their mastery of the life force [4], one will understand that this misuse inevitably had enormous consequences.” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), pp. 51-52.

Atlantis sank because of human misdeeds.  “Mighty and ominous powers of Nature were thus let loose by the deeds of men, leading eventually to the gradual destruction of the whole territory of Atlantis by catastrophes of air and water. [5] Atlantean humanity — the portion of it, that is, which did not perish in the storms — was compelled to migrate. As a result too of the great storms, the whole face of the Earth changed. Europe, Asia and Africa on the one hand, and America on the other, began gradually to assume their present shape....” — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1979), pp. 198-200.

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A recent collection of Steiner's teachings about Atlantis. [Rudolf Steiner, ATLANTIS - The Fate of  a Lost Land and Its Secret Knowledge (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007).]

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[1] "Atlantis...a legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean ... The principal sources for the legend [of Atlantis] are two of Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias." — ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, June 20, 2015. 

[2] Thor, Wotan, and Baldur are Norse gods.

[3] For some Anthroposophical beliefs about initiates and initiation, see "Inside Scoop".

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Atlantean" and "life force".

[5] Steiner equated the destruction of Atlantis with the Flood described in the Old Testament. Noah (Manu) was the initiate who led some Atlantean survivors to safety, Steiner said.

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Atma - see spirit man

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Atma-Buddhi - also see Atma; Buddhi; life spirit; spirit man 

According to Steiner, drawing from Theosophy, this is the combination of Atma (the self or soul: spirit man) and Buddhi (life energy: life-spirit). [1] These were two spiritual essences that combined to create the inner essence of the physical human being that evolved later. Atma-Buddhi was achieved during the second incarnation of the solar system, called Old Sun. [2] "From the middle of the sixth course of the Sun onward [3], man himself is [i.e., was] so far advanced that he can unconsciously work on his physical body. [4] In this respect he now relieves the 'Sons of Twilight'. [5] Through this activity...he creates the first germinal predisposition to the living spiritual being, which one calls life-spirit (Buddhi) [6] ... From the middle of the seventh course of the Sun onward, the germ of spirit-man (Atma), already formed on Saturn [7], appears again. [8] It combines with the life-spirit (Buddhi), and the animated monad (Atma-Buddhi) thus comes into being. [9]" — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 15, GA 11. Steiner tended to use Theosophical/Sanskrit terminology early in his career as an occultist. But after he broke away from Theosophy to found Anthroposophy as a separate movement, he tended to use clearer terminology of his own formulation instead.

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "spirit man" and "life spirit".

In Theosophy, Atma-Buddhi is often described thus: "Atma-buddhi (Sanskrit) Ātma-buddhi [from ātman self + buddhi spiritual soul] The divine-spiritual part of a human being ... Atma-buddhi is impersonal and a god per se, but when divorced from manas it can have no consciousness or perception of things beneath its own plane." — ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY, March, 2024. Manas is "the human person, the reincarnating ego." — Ibid.

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "incarnations of the solar system".

[3] I.e., from the midway point of the sixth period of life during Old Sun. (Each incarnation of the solar system consists of seven phases or periods, Steiner taught. Here Steiner refers to the sixth such subdivision of Old Sun. Further on, he refers to the seventh.)

[4] I.e., the proto-human of Old Sun worked unconsciously to create the preliminary form of the human physical body. (Steiner uses the present tense, here — "man himself is" — although he is describing events that happened long ago. To understand the passage, shift each verb into the past tense.)

[5] I.e., the proto-human took over such work from the Angels, who had previously had this responsibility. (Angels or Sons of Twilight are gods one level higher than ourselves, Steiner taught.)

[6] I.e., we took our initial steps toward realizing the life spirit (Buddhi).

[7] I.e., first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn. (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.])

[8] I.e., during the seventh period of Old Sun, the initial version of spirit man (Atma) — which had been formed during Old Saturn — reappeared. It then merged with the initial version of the life spirit to create the initial version of Atma-Buddhi.

[9] I.e., when Atma-Buddhi was formed by the union of the life spirit and spirit man, the evolving proto-human became an "animated monad" — that is, a living entity having its own independent existence. [See the entry for "animated monad", above.]

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Atma-Buddhi-Manas - also see Atma-Buddhi; spirit self

This is the further development of Atma-Buddhi (see above), adding Manas or spirit self [1] after man reaches the Present Earth stage of evolution. These were three spiritual essences that combined to create the inner essence of the physical human being that evolved out of them. [2] “One must therefore imagine the earth, when it condenses as a refined etheric body out of its astral precursor [3], to be a conglomerate of an etheric mineral basic mass and of etheric plant, animal, and human beings [4] ... In all this it must be borne in mind that what today is separated from the earth as Sun and Moon, is still entirely united with the earth. [5] Only later [did] both heavenly bodies separate from the earth. The ‘higher man’ (spirit-man, life-spirit [6], spirit-self, Atma-Buddhi-Manas) has as yet no independence at this stage. He still constitutes a member of the spirit state [7], and for the time being is bound to the Spirits of Form [8]....” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), chapter 17, GA 11. Steiner tended to use Theosophical/Sanskrit terminology early in his career as an occultist. But after he broke away from Theosophy to found Anthroposophy as a separate movement, he tended to use clearer terminology of his own formulation instead.

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

In Theosophy, Atma-Buddhi-Manas is often described thus: "Atma-buddhi-manas (Sanskrit) Ātma-buddhi-manas [from ātman self + buddhi spiritual soul + manas mind] The reincarnating ego in conjunction with the monad. ... The combination of atma-buddhi-manas is sometimes mystically called the divine swallow or the uraeus of flame, when the speaker intends to convey the idea that spirit, the spiritual soul, and the intellect or higher manas are all united and therefore immortal...." — ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY, March, 2024. 

[2] I.e., the fourth incarnation of the solar system, coming after Old Saturn, Old Sun, and Old Moon. 

[3] According to Steiner, the "earth" (or the solar system as a whole) gradually condensed to become the physical realm we know today. The solar system began as astral substance; it later condensed to etheric substance; eventually it would condense further to physical substance. (Steiner uses the present tense, here — "it condenses" — although he is describing events that happened long ago.)

[4] I.e., Earth (and the entire solar system) existed at the etheric level, formed of etheric substance ("an etheric mineral basic mass"). Plants, animals, and humans (as they existed then, in preliminary forms) were also etheric; they had not yet become physical.

[5] I.e., at that stage the Earth, Sun, and Moon did not exist as separate bodies — they were still united as a single cosmic body. (Essentially, this body contained everything that constitutes today's solar system; the solar system was essentially a single, unified body.)

[6] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "spirit man", "life spirit", and "Atma-Buddhi".

[7] I.e., the spirit realm. (We had not yet become physical entities. The process of condensation was a process of descent, leading us eventually down to the physical existence we know today.)

[8] I.e., the proto-human of that stage was closely connected to gods who stand four evolutionary levels above humanity; such gods are called Spirits of Form, among other names. [See "Polytheism".]

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Atman - see spirit man.

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Atmospheric Realm - also see Realms of Spirit; Seventh Epoch (Trumpets)

In Anthroposophy: This is the third 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 Atmospheric Realm will unfold after the Oceanic Realm and before the Heat Death Realm [9]. The Atmospheric Realm will ruled by Pisces [10]. "Third is the 'atmospheric' region, which contains the flowing archetypes [11] that form and organize the astral qualities [12] of all beings ... It also contains deeds of love and devotion ... Human egos [13] look down from the sun sphere [14] and speak formatively, creatively [15], into the warmth substance, calling forth beings such as existed in ancient Saturn [16] or the Polarian epoch [17] ... At the third trumpet [18] the flaming star called Wormwood [19] falls on a third of the rivers, its bitterness bringing death to many people (Rev. 8: 10)." — R. Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge, 2002), p. 85.

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◊ 7. Third Woe ◊

◊ 6. Second Woe ◊

◊ 5. First Woe ◊

◊ 4. Heat Death ◊

◊ 3. Atmospheric ◊

◊ 2. Oceanic ◊

◊ 1. Continental ◊

These are the seven "realms of spirit" we will pass through during the Seventh Epoch (Trumpets). 

The seven realms are comparable to the seven cultural epochs we must pass through during the current fifth great epoch, the Post-Atlantean Epoch. However, the realms will be sequential states of existence rather than sequential periods of time. And just as spirit is higher than soul, the Realms of Spirit in the Seventh Epoch (Trumpets) will occur at a higher level than the Regions of Soul in the Sixth Epoch (Seals). The "Atmosphere Realm" will be the third Realm of Spirit. (I am adapting, here, terminology used by R. Seddon in his effort to explicate R. Steiner's teachings about future evolution.)

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

[2] See "archetypes" in this encyclopedia.

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

[4] See "Realms of Spirit" in this encyclopedia. (In the third Realm of Spirit, we effectively recycle through the third region of Devachan. "In the first region of Devachan we see the archetypes of the physical world in so far as it has no life ... It can be compared with the solid land on Earth and is therefore called the 'Continental Mass' of Devachan ... Life circulates in Devachan like blood in the body. This second region is called the 'Ocean' of Devachan ... In a third region, the 'Atmosphere', we encounter feelings and emotions, pleasure and pain ... Everything that pleasure and pain signify are its Atmosphere [i.e., the atmosphere of Devachan]." — R. Steiner, AT THE GATES OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE, lecture 2, GA 95. [See "Devachan" 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 "Oceanic Realm" and "Heat Death".

[10] See "Pisces".

[11] See "archetypes".

[12] I.e., qualities on the astral plane or in the astral body.

[13] See "ego" and "I" in this encyclopedia.

[14] See "sphere".

[15] By this time, humans will have developed the godly power to create by speaking (what we think and then speak becomes real).

[16] I.e., Old Saturn, the first incarnation of the solar system.

[17] I.e., the Polarian Epoch, the first great epoch of Present Earth.

[18] These events reflect prophecies in the Book of Revelation, specifically during the blowing of the trumpets of doom. (Steiner/Seddon strive to make Anthroposophical forecasts consistent with biblical prophecy, but often the effort is strained.)

[19] "The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter." — Rev. 8: 10-11. In common usage, "wormwood" refers to a bush having a bitter taste; by extension, the word means a state of bitterness or sorrow.

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Atmospheric Region - see Atmospheric Realm; spirit world(s), spiritual world(s)

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atom - also see atomic theory; physics; science

a) In physics, atoms are the basic units of the various chemical elements. Once thought to be indivisible — the smallest units of matter — atoms are now known to consist of subatomic components.

b) Steiner offered multiple, generally dismissive and more or less incompatible descriptions of atoms. ◊ “[T]hose thought-out atoms have no existence.” — R. Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD, ORDEALS OF THE SOUL, REVELATIONS OF THE SPIRIT (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), p. 184. ◊ "If physicists were for once to talk sense, they would not produce speculations about atoms and molecules, but they would say: The visible world consists of the past, and carries in it not molecules and atoms, but the future." — R. Steiner, COLOUR, (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Company, 1935), lecture 1, GA 291.  ◊ “[T]he atom is nothing else than congealed electricity.” — R. Steiner, THE TEMPLE LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1985), p. 114. ◊ "[A]ll atoms are holes or empty bubbles in the spiritual world. All physical things are composed of countless numbers of such holes. When we touch things we bump into these holes, this nothing." — R. Steiner, FROM THE CONTENT OF ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript. Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 266. ◊ “[A]toms are really tiny little caricatures of demons." — R. Steiner, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 161.[See "Atoms".] Some of these statements are clearly fatuous ("congealed electricity," "caricatures of demons"); others are harder to evaluate ("in the spiritual world"). Overall, however, Steiner gives the impression that he was pontificating on a subject he knew little or nothing about. He did this often, on a wide array of subjects.

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atomic ether - see life ether

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atomic theory - also see atom; scientific theory

The theory (quite well established by science) that, at a deep level, physical reality consists of tiny bundles of energy/mass called atoms. For the most part, Steiner denied the truth of the atomic theory. “[A]toms are really tiny little caricatures of demons, and our learned scholars would not speak about them as they do unless people had grown accustomed, in education, to putting everything together out of its parts.” —R. Steiner, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 161. Steiner often dismissed academics, scientists, and other authorities, frequently directing sarcasm their way ("our learned scholars"). He taught that phenomena are not built up from below, with tiny parts (such as atoms) combining to create larger structures; instead, he taught that all structures are delivered whole, from above, from the spirit realm. At least concerning physical phenomena, he was wrong.

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aura - also see auric sheath

a) In ordinary usage, an aura is the distinctive atmosphere, characteristic, or quality of a person, place, or thing.  

b) According to mystics, an aura is a colored nimbus of vital forces radiating from a living form, revealing spiritual and psychological qualities. Auras of this sort are accepted as real by Anthroposophists, although the auras are visible only to clairvoyants such as Steiner. "The color effects perceptible to the spirit eye [1] that ray out around the physical man observed in his activity, and that envelop him like a somewhat egg-shaped cloud, are the human aura. The size of this aura varies in different people, but we may say that the entire man [2] appears on the average twice as long and four times as wide as the physical man." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), “Thought Forms and the Human Aura”, GA 9. Today, Anthroposophists and their allies sometimes attest to the reality of auras. E.g., "It was in 2003 when I saw a human's aura for the first time. I was on a Geomancy seminar in France on one of the greatest Place of Power in Europe — the Mont St Odile ... I saw everyone's aura, everything's aura and the whole place was bathed in light. I suddenly lived in all the realms at the same time. Which was kinda scary. But also very beautiful. This is probably comparable to a drug experience. I don't know since I've never taken drugs." — "geomant" writing in "Anthroposophy", LIVEJOURNAL, 2006. 

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[1] I.e., clairvoyant vision.

[2] I.e., physical man plus aura.

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auric sheath - also see aura; sheath

According to Steiner, this is the spiritual "skin," the outer covering that separates a spiritual being from the rest of the spirit realm. ”If we investigate the human physical body, it is found to contain the same materials and forces as are to be found outside in the rest of the physical world. It is the same with the spirit man. [1] In it pulsate the elements of the external spirit world. In it the forces of the rest of the spirit world are active. Within the physical skin a being is enclosed and limited that is alive and feels. It is the same in the spirit world. The spiritual skin that separates the spirit man from the unitary spirit world makes him an independent being within it, living a life within himself and perceiving intuitively the spiritual content of the world. [2] Let us call this ‘spiritual skin’ (auric sheath) the spirit sheath. Only it must be kept clearly in mind that the spiritual skin expands continually with advancing human evolution so that the spiritual individuality of man (his auric sheath) is capable of enlargement to an unlimited extent. [3]” — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), chapter 1, part 4, GA 9.

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[1] I.e., the man living wholly or nearly so in the spirit realm. (Steiner taught that we live in the spirit realm between Earthly incarnations, and we rise into the spirit world — literally, not merely in dreams — each night during sleep.) In a somewhat different sense, Steiner taught that "spirit man" is Atma. [See the entry for "spirit man" in this encyclopedia.] Just as a physical man is composed of physical materials and forces, a spirit man is composed of spiritual materials and forces. The auric sheath separates the spirit man from other spirit beings.

[2] Within the auric sheath, one is a monad or animated monad. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]

[3] Steiner taught that our evolution will take us to higher and higher (or wider and wider) levels of divinity. The ultimate, essentially infinite enlargement of "the spiritual individuality of man" would make the super-evolved human being the ultimate divinity.

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Authorities - also see Exusiai; Mights; Powers; Spirits of Form; Spirits of Motion

In Hebrew and Christian esotericism, these are high angels, also known as Powers or Exusiai. According to Steiner, they are gods; he identified them with the Spirits of Form [1], for instance when he wrote of "the Spirits of Form (in Christian esotericism, 'Exusiai,' or 'Authorities')." — R. Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), p. 124. According to Steiner, usually, the Spirits of Form occupy a rank four levels higher than humans. [See "Polytheism".]  But on some occasions, Steiner located Authorities and Exusiai five steps above mankind. See, e.g., ESOTERIC LESSONS 1904-1909 (SteinerBooks, 2007), pp. 346-347, where Steiner distinguishes Authorities from Powers (gods four steps above mankind) and locates them on the level of Mights (gods five steps above mankind). [2]

These are the ranks of divine beings, from highest to lowest, according to some esoteric teachings. Nine ranks of angelic beings were denominated, as shown on the left, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 6th century CE. [3] According to Steiner, the beings shown here are actually gods, and he assigned them the names shown on the right. Steiner usually identified Authorities with the Spirits of Form. (Note that, in Anthroposophy, other names are also sometimes used for beings of the various ranks.) In Steiner's teachings, human beings constitute (or will constitute) the tenth rank. [4] Thus, Sons of Twilight (rank 9) stand one level higher than humanity, Spirits of Fire (rank 8) stand two levels higher than humanity, etc. Ultimately, Steiner said, humans will ascend through the ranks, destined for the pinnacle of divinity. [Table adapted from E. R. Smith's THE BURNING BUSH (Anthroposophic Press, 1997). Also see R. McDermott, THE NEW ESSENTIAL STEINER (Lindisfarne Books, 2009).] 

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[1] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Spirits of Form".

[2] Mights are also called Dynamis and Spirits of Movement.

[3] "Pseudo-Dionysius The Areopagite, (flourished c. 500), probably a Syrian monk who, known only by his pseudonym [Dionysius the Areopagite], wrote a series of Greek treatises and letters for the purpose of uniting Neoplatonic philosophy with Christian theology and mystical experience ... Historical research has been unable to identify the author, who, having assumed the name of the New Testament convert of St. Paul (Acts 17:34), could have been one of several Christian writers ... The treatises 'On the Divine Names,' 'On Mystical Theology,' 'On the Celestial Hierarchy,' and 'On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy' comprise the bulk of the Dionysian corpus of writings." — ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, July 21, 2015.

[4] See "Tenth Hierarchy".

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authority, authoritarianism - also see discipline; guru; veneration; Waldorf teachers

Steiner told Waldorf teachers they need to exert firm authority with their students, especially the young ones. The students want this, he said; but, regardless, Waldorf teachers must exercise authority. “[I]t will be very good if you can keep the children from losing their feeling for authority. That is what they need most. You can best achieve that by going into things with the children very cautiously, but under no circumstances giving in.” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 14-15. In the same vein, Steiner said this to Waldorf teachers: “[Students] will have inner strength when we [Waldorf teachers]...tell the children to do this and that today and tomorrow and the next day. They will do it out of respect for authority, because they know that in school someone must command.” — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, Foundations of Waldorf Education (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 93.

The degree of authority asserted by Waldorf teachers should gradually lessen in the upper grades, Steiner said. After puberty, students should begin to think for themselves and prepare themselves to quit depending on authority figures. Of course, by the time Waldorf students reach the upper grades, they should be firmly established on the path their authoritative instructors set for them in the early, formative years. 

Seen in a wider context, the principle of authority is central in Anthroposophy. Steiner urged his followers to cultivate a feeling of veneration for their spiritual superiors. Respect for authorities, rather than critical analysis of the authorities' pronouncements, should be a guiding principle. For spiritual seekers, a spirit of veneration should begin in childhood, Steiner said, and it should be carried into adulthood. While denying that he advocated meek submission, Steiner nevertheless told his followers to bestow veneration where it is due. "There are children who look up with religious awe to those whom they venerate. For such people they have a respect which forbids them, even in the deepest recess of their heart, to harbor any thought of criticism or opposition ... From the ranks of such children are recruited many students of higher knowledge. Have you ever paused outside the door of some venerated person, and have you, on this your first visit, felt a religious awe as you pressed on the handle to enter the room which for you is a holy place? If so, a feeling has been manifested within you which may be the germ of your future adherence to the path of knowledge. It is a blessing for every human being in process of development to have such feelings upon which to build ... Experience teaches that they can best hold their heads erect who have learnt to venerate where veneration is due...." — R. Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1944), p. 10. Veneration leads to reliance upon a master or guru, Steiner taught. A spiritual seeker “would find himself plunged into the stormy sea of astral experiences [i.e., soul experiences] if he were left to fend for himself. For this reason he needs a guide who can tell him from the start how these things are related and how to find his bearings in the astral world. Hence the need to find a Guru on whom he can strictly rely." — R. Steiner, AT THE GATES OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1986), lecture 12, “Occult Development”, GA 95.

In Waldorf education, the teacher often stands in the role of master or guru for students. Steiner said Waldorf teachers fulfill a priestly role. Waldorf is thus, according to its critics, fundamentally authoritarian. So, for example, historian Peter Staudenmaier wrote the following in a review of a book by a leading German scholar of Anthroposophy: "Helmut Zander’s new book offers an illuminating and informed guide to contemporary anthroposophy in its various manifestations ... The book is especially insightful on the authoritarian and hierarchical elements within internal anthroposophical culture and its chronic difficulties with open debate and democratic procedures ... Discussing the growing popularity of Waldorf schooling in China, for instance, Zander notes the possibility that this success may have to do with similarities to standard Chinese educational practices, above all an authoritarian and teacher-centered pedagogy, reflecting longstanding features of the Waldorf model...." — P. Staudenmaier, "Helmut Zander, Die Anthroposophie: Rudolf Steiners Ideen zwischen Esoterik, Weleda, Demeter und Waldorfpädagogik (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2019)", Theologische Revue 116 (2020).

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automatons (automata) - also see intellect; materialism; spider beings; subhumans

a) Robots.

b) According to Steiner, wholly materialistic people who are inhuman or subhuman: They are mechanisms that merely resemble real human beings. Additionally, in the future, there will be monsters of intellect who will essentially rank as automatons. Sometimes Steiner used the word "automation" literally, and sometimes he used it figuratively. ◊ "[M]an is...descending so deeply into the material world that he is no longer speaking falsely when he declares that it is the material substance of his body which thinks, that his brain actually does the thinking. [1] Man is becoming a kind of automaton in the universe, and as the result of his denial of the soul and Spirit he is losing the soul and Spirit. [2]" — R. Steiner, MAN AND NATURE — Intellect in Man and Nature Bereft of the Gods, GA 198. ◊ “The task of Anthroposophy is not simply to replace a false view of the world with a correct one ... The task is to raise the spirit-soul [3] into the realm of the spiritual, so that the human being is no longer a thinking and feeling automaton." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 115. ◊ ”From the earth, there will spring forth a horrible brood of beings. In character they will be in between the mineral and plant kingdoms. They will be beings resembling automatons, with an over-abundant intellect of great intensity. [4] Along with this development, which will spread over the earth, the latter will be covered as if by a network or web of ghastly spiders possessing tremendous wisdom. Yet their organization will not even reach up to the level of the plants. [5] They will be horrible spiders who will be entangled with one another. In their outward movements they will imitate everything human beings have thought up with their shadowy intellect, which did not allow itself to be stimulated by what is to come through new Imagination and through spiritual science in general. [6]” — R. Steiner, MATERIALISM AND THE TASK OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1987), lecture 14, GA 204.

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[1] Steiner usually taught that the physical brain does not produce thoughts. But on some occasions, as here, he said that the brain does produce certains types of thoughts: those that apply only to the physical realm.

[2] According to Anthroposophy, true human beings have both souls and spirits. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.] Automatons, however, have neither. (We lose our souls and spirits if we sink to become automatons.)

[3] I.e., the combined spirit and soul, sometimes also called the soul-spirit.

[4] Steiner generally deprecated intellect. [See, e.g., "Steiner's Specific".]

[5] I.e., the internal structure or constitution of the "spiders" will be at a lower level than plants.

[6] I.e., the "spiders" will result from the use of intellect that has not been moderated by imagination (clairvoyance) or spiritual science (Anthroposophy).

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avatars - also see Christ; Krishna; Maitreya Buddha; Shem 

Originally a Hindu concept: An avatar is the manifestation of a god, or a god incarnated on Earth. Steiner identified Christ as an avatar. (Generally Steiner indicated that Christ was the only god who descended to Earth. But at other times he indicated that other gods have done the same.) “[I]t can happen that such a being [1] appears; if we test it clairvoyantly in regard to the soul, we cannot say, as we can of other human beings, that we trace it back in time and discover it in a previously fleshly incarnation, then trace it farther back and find it again in another incarnation, and so on [2] ... Such a spiritual being who descends in this way into a human body in order to intervene in evolution as a human being is called an ‘avatar’ in the East ... The greatest avatar being who has lived on earth, as you can gather from the spirit of our lectures here, is the Christ.” — R. Steiner, THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL ECONOMY (Anthroposophic Press, 1986) lecture 2, GA 109. [See "Avatars".]

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[1] I.e., an avatar.

[2] I.e., the avatar is not a reincarnated human being; it may appear human, but it is a god.