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(Cont.)

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square - also see fourfold nature of man

According to Steiner, the square is the symbol of the fourfold nature of man. [See "Signs" and, in this encyclopedia, "fourfold nature of man".]

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stages of form - also see conditions of life; great epochs; evolution

In Anthroposophical belief (drawing heavily from Theosophy), stages of form — also called conditions of form — are parts of the pattern of human evolution [1]. The largest stages of our evolution are called planetary conditions or conditions of consciousness [2]. Each planetary condition contains seven conditions of life or kingdoms of life [3]. In turn, each condition of life contains seven stages of form. Each time we enter a new condition of life, we pass through seven stages of form, one by one, in a fixed order. In our present condition of life (the Mineral Kingdom Condition of Life), the stages of form are called Higher Spiritland, Lower Spiritland, Astral Stage, Physical Stage, Perfected Astral Stage, Intellectual Stage - Lower Spiritland, and Archetypal Stage - Higher Spiritland. (These names may also be applied to the stages within other conditions of life, but the stages themselves will be different.) 

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In effect, the stages of form are degrees of manifestation. In effect, we move from the higher region of the spirit world to the lower region of the spirit world, then to the soul world (also called the astral plane), then to the physical world. Then we proceed back up through the worlds in more highly evolved form. We receive shaping forces at each level. 

Everything in this evolutionary pattern begins in Higher Spiritland as a thought or spiritual impulse. Then it gradually descends toward embodiment, becoming more and more concrete at each stage until it reaches the Physical Stage, where it is fully, physically incarnated. Then it begins to reascend, in increasingly spiritualized form, climbing up through the soul world and the lower portion of the spirit world until it reaches the higher portion of the spirit world, where it becomes archetypal (it becomes a perfected spiritual paradigm). [See "Matters of Form".] 

◊ “You have...the seven different forms of consciousness [4], Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth, and so forth. [5] In each of these stages of consciousness, Saturn, Sun, etc., there are seven life-stages [6]; and in each life-stage, [there are] seven stages of form.” — R. Steiner, HOW CAN MANKIND FIND THE CHRIST AGAIN? (SteinerBooks, 1984), p. 77.  

◊ “Each condition of life must...pass through seven stages of form, in such a way that you have to consider your present physical condition of form to be in the very middle. [7]” — R. Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), pp. 176-177.

◊ "Each condition of consciousness [runs] its course in seven conditions of life; each condition of life in seven conditions of form. That is 7 x 7 x 7 conditions. In fact, an entire evolution such as that of the earth passes through 7 x 7 x 7 conditions of form. Our earth was once [Old] Saturn [8]; this went through seven conditions of life and each condition of life [went] through seven conditions of form. Therefore you have forty-nine conditions of form upon Saturn [9], forty-nine upon the [Old] Sun, forty-nine upon the [Old] Moon, etc.; 7 x 49 = 343 conditions of form [10]. Man passes through 343 conditions of form in the course of his evolution [11]." — R. Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1958), lecture 10, GA 104.

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A part of the pattern of our evolution, according to Steiner. 

[Detail from a diagram in THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, a collection of Steiner lectures; color added.] 

Anthroposophists, Theosophists, and others have used varying terms for many of the things discuss in their collective teachings. In this Anthroposophical chart, we are shown seven "Conditions of Consciousness" (otherwise known as "Planetary Conditions", among other names), each of which contains seven "Kingdoms of Life" (otherwise known as "Conditions of Life", among other names), each of which in turn contains seven "Conditions of Form" (otherwise known as "Stages of Form", among other names).

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[1] See "evolution" in this encyclopedia.

[2] See "planetary conditions" and "conditions of consciousness" in this encyclopedia.

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

[4] I.e., Conditions of Consciousness.

[5] I.e., Old Saturn, Old Sun, Old Moon, Present Earth, etc. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]

[6] I.e., Conditions or Kingdoms of Life.

[7] I.e., we currently exist in the fourth Condition of Form, the Physical Condition of Form. Thus, we are about halfway from the beginning of the first Stage of Form ("Higher Spiritland") to the end of the last Stage of Form ("Archetypal Stage - Higher Spiritland"). Our evolution to the Physical Condition of Form has caused us to become increasingly dense or material; our evolution from this point forward will cause us to become less and physical and more and more spiritual.

[8] I.e., the first Condition of Consciousness — the first incarnation of the solar system and thus of the Earth itself — was Old Saturn. [See "Old Saturn".]

[9] I.e., Old Saturn, which consisted of seven conditions or kingdoms of life, consequently consisted of 49 conditions of form (7 x 7).

[10] I.e., each Condition of Consciousness (Old Saturn, Old Sun, Old Moon, etc.) consists of seven Conditions of Life, each of which consists of seven Stages of Form. Thus, if we agree that there will be a total of seven Conditions of Consciousness (Steiner sometimes said so; on other occasions he said there will be 12), our evolution will consist of 49 Conditions or Kingdoms of Life (7 x 7), or 343 Conditions of Form (7 x 7 x 7). 

[11] That isn't the whole story. Each Condition of Form contains seven Great Epochs, and each of them contains seven Cultural Epochs. Thus, we will pass through 2,401Great Epochs  (7 x 7 x 7 x 7) and 16,807 Cultural Epochs (7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7). Bear in mind, also, that if there will actually be 12 Conditions of Consciousness, all the number we have seen here must be enlarged proportionately. (There would then be 84 Conditions or Kingdoms of Life (12 x 7), and so forh.)

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stars - also see astrology; astrosophy; constellations; horoscopes; planets; Sun

According to Steiner, stars are outward manifestations of spiritual powers — gods. Stars exert spiritual (astrological) influences on the Earth and on human beings. "[J]ust as the physical forces of the stars have an influence on the earth, so do their spiritual powers also have an influence on the earth, and above all on the human being." — R. Steiner, FROM BEETROOT TO BUDDHISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999), p. 55. [1] Astrology is rarely far below the surface of Waldorf belief. [2]

Astronomy is often taught to sixth grade students in Waldorf schools. These classes generally confine themselves to the astronomical knowledge and lore possessed by the ancient Romans. (In Waldorf belief, sixth graders have developed to about the spiritual level of ancient Rome. [3]) In these classes, then, virtually all lights in the night sky are deemed "stars" — there is little or no differentiation between stars, planets ("wandering stars"), nebulae, galaxies, etc. [4]

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[1] See "Astrology" and "Star Power".

[2] See "Waldorf Astrology".

[3] Steiner taught that as they grow, children recapitulate the evolutionary history of mankind as a whole. Thus, there is a correct time to teach each subject, and generally a correct way to teach it.

[4] See "Oh My Stars".

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states of elementary existence - also see elements; ether; nature spirits; physical plane

This terms applies to the Anthroposophical hierarchy of levels or conditions of existence in the physical or elementary realm. It runs from impalpable ethers down through the four classical elements: fire, air, water, and earth. Steiner enumerated seven such states. "[T]here are seven states of elementary existence. The first, the most rarefied state [is the life ether], which constitutes and brings about life; then what we call number, or sound-ether; then light-ether; then warmth-ether; then we have air, or the gaseous element, the watery element and finally the earthy or solid. [1]" — R. Steiner, GENESIS (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1959), lecture 7, GA 122. (Note that fire or warmth straddles the divide between ethers and elements. The "element" of fire is found, as it were, in the "warmth-ether.")

 Life Ether 

 Number Ether 

 Light Ether 

 Warmth Ether 

 Air 

 Water 

 Earth 

Physical reality, as described by Steiner, consists of combinations of the various ethers and elements which he called the states of elementary existence. Behind or within the ethers and elements are various gods whose influence is made manifest in them. [2] The seven states of elementary existence are involved in, but should not be confused with, the seven conditions of life. [3] 

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for the various ethers and elements; also see "Neutered Nature" and "Beings".

[2] "The 'lower' elements and 'higher' ethers are the result of the previous evolutionary stages and arose through sacrifice of high spiritual beings [i.e., gods] that gave the substance for other lower spiritual beings to grow and develop. Our physical reality is made up from, or woven from these elements and ethers ... Each of these elements and ethers has its own set of laws ... Elements and ethers are concepts mapping to the influences of spiritual beings such as Elementals of nature and the elementary kingdoms...." — "Spectrum of Elements and Ethers", aanthroposophy.eu, 10/01/2023.

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

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Staudenmaier, Peter

Historian who has researched Anthroposophical racism and traced links between Anthroposophy and Fascism/Nazism. According to the faculty and staff directory at Marquette University, where he is a faculty member, "Peter Staudenmaier is Associate Professor of History, with a focus on modern Europe. He joined the Marquette faculty in 2011 after receiving his PhD from Cornell in 2010. His work centers on Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, environmental history, and the history of racial thought ... He is the author of Between Occultism and Nazism: Anthroposophy and the Politics of Race in the Fascist Era (Leiden: Brill, 2014) and articles on topics ranging from antisemitism to esotericism." [Accessed 5/11/2025.]

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Steiner, Anna (1853-1911) - also see Eunicke, Anna; cf . Steiner, Marie

Rudolf Steiner's first wife. "Anna Eunicke and Rudolf Steiner married in 1899. It [was] a childless and likely a transactional marriage of convenience, Anna owned a large house...while Rudolf Steiner owned [only] the clothes he stood in." — John Paul, "Rudolf Steiner: From Theosophy to Anthroposophy (1902-1913)", European Journal of Theology and Philosophy, 2022, 2 (5), pp.8-17. The couple were evidently never deeply attached to one another, and they became estranged when Steiner turned to occultism, a shift that perplexed Marie. [See "What a Guy".] A final rift occurred when Rudolf became closely involved with Marie von Sivers, who shared Steiner's new esoteric interests. Anna and Rudolf divorced in 1904; Anna died in 1911.

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Steiner, Marie (1867-1948) - also see Sivers, Marie von; cf . Steiner, Anna

Rudolf Steiner's second wife; the couple married in 1914. Marie became an influential Anthroposophist, especially after Rudolf Steiner's death in 1925. [See "What a Guy".] She encouraged Anthroposophists to see Rudolf Steiner as a Christlike figure. “His life, consecrated wholly to the sacrificial service of humanity, was requited with unspeakable hostility; his way of knowledge was transformed into a path of thorns. But he walked the whole way, and mastered it for all of humanity.” — M. Steiner, in the Conclusion to R. Steiner's THE STORY OF MY LIFE (Anthroposophic Press, 1928), p. 340.

One of Marie's tasks during the husband's life was to arrange for stenographers to record the contents of his lectures. [See "About the Publication of Rudolf Steiner's Lectures", THE KARMA OF VOCATION.] 

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Steiner, Rudolf (1861-1925) - also see admirers of Rudolf Steiner; Anthroposophy; biodynamic gardening and farming; books by Rudolf Steiner; Christian Community; medicine; Steiner, Anna; Steiner, Marie; Waldorf schools

Rudolf Steiner was an Austrian/German lecturer and author; a professed clairvoyant and occultist. [1] Originally a secular intellectual who was widely known in Germany, Steiner shifted into occultism, became a Theosophist, and later founded his own occult system, Anthroposophy. He was the originator of Waldorf education, Anthroposophical medicine, and biodynamic agriculture, among other pursuits. [2] Steiner was a genuine polymath, but his followers often credit him with significant contributions in fields where his influence actually has been scant, such as architecture. Steiner claimed to be a scientist, but he did no real science — he professed to use clairvoyance to "scientifically" study the spirit realm. He produced some writings of a philosophical nature, but following his conversion to occultism, his work shifted accordingly, and he revised some of his early writings to make them consistent with his later, paranormal teachings. [3]

Encyclopedists have generally been lax in their presentations of Steiner. Until recently, Steiner's influence has been so minor that there seemed little point in delving deeply into his work. [4] The worldwide spread of Waldorf schools is changing this, however. In the field of education, Steiner's influence has been noteworthy and is increasing. Partly as a result, Steiner is now coming under the scrutiny of serious scholars such as Geoffrey Ahern [5] and Peter Staudenmaier [6]. In addition to examining Steiner's work in education, medicine, and agriculture, such scholars have shone light on Steiner's his occultism, his racism, and his German nationalism.

Steiner's works and influences are discussed at least tangentially on virtually every page here at Waldorf Watch. Some pages, however, are particularly focused on Steiner. These include "What a Guy", "Guru", "Steiner and the Warlord", "Steiner Static", "Steiner's Bile", "Steiner's Blunders", "Steiner's Racism", "Steiner's 'Science'", "Steiner's Specific", and "Top Ten Jokes Told by R. Steiner". The pages "Say What?" and "Wise Words" consist mainly of quotations from Steiner. "Everything" summarizes Steiner's major book, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE, and "Knowing the Worlds" examines KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT, the book in which Steiner outlines procedures his followers should undertake in their quest to attain clairvoyant knowledge of the spirit realm. "Oh Humanity" deals with THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, which is the foundational work for Waldorf schooling, while "Faculty Meetings" summarizes the book FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, which records conversations between Steiner and the teachers at the first Waldorf school. Other pages extend these discussions; these pages include: "Advice for Teachers", "Discussions", "Foundations", "Underpinnings", "Basement", and "Oh Man". "Lecture" takes an in-depth, paragraph-by-paragraph look at one of Steiner's occult lectures. "Biodynamics" considers Steiner's agricultural teachings, "Steiner's Quackery" delves into Steiner's medical pronouncements, and "Philosophy" includes a look at Steiner's PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM. "Best", "Love and the Universal Human", "Most Significant", and "Nutshell" consider some elements of Steiner's work that have drawn particular praise from his followers and/or the versions of his work that they wish to present to the public.

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Rudolf Steiner. [Public domain photograph; color added.]

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Here is a brief summary of Rudolf Steiner’s life [7]:

◊ Rudolf Steiner is born on Feb. 27, 1861, in Austria-Hungary.

◊ Rudolf is raised in various Austrian towns, as his father — a railroad employee — is transferred from post to post.

◊ 1867  Rudolf enters a local school; he is removed after being accused of causing a disturbance; thereafter, he receives homeschooling.

◊ 1868  During this year, Rudolf is visited by a ghost in a railroad station, or so he later claims.

◊ 1869  After his father is transferred once again, Rudolf enrolls in another school; he is assigned extra lessons because his work is unorthodox.

◊ 1876  Rudolf begins tutoring classmates and others.

◊ 1879  Rudolf enrolls in the Vienna Institute of Technology. While there, he begins editing the "scientific" works of the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Steiner completes this project at the Goethe Archives in Weimar. Steiner will claim afterward that he was initiated into occult mysteries during this period.

◊ 1883  Rudolf Steiner graduates from the Vienna Institute of Technology; he continues working as a private tutor. He becomes politically active in the German nationalist movement within Austria.

◊ 1886  Steiner publishes his first book, A THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE IMPLICIT IN GOETHE'S WORLD CONCEPTION.

◊ 1888  Steiner becomes editor of Deutsche Wochenschriftt {German Weekly} magazine; he contributes essays on cultural and political/historical issues.

◊ 1891  Steiner is awarded a doctorate in philosophy at Rostock University. (Steiner did not attend Rostock. He submitted a thesis and took an oral exam. He received the lowest passing grade.)

◊ 1893  Steiner publishes THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM, a work he will later revise significantly. In its revised form, the book is studied by his followers today and is taken to be a foundation of Anthroposophy.

◊ 1897  Steiner moves to Berlin, where he becomes editor of Magazin für Literatur {Magazine for Literature}; he contributes book reviews and essays. Seeking to establish himself as a philosopher, he espouses rationalist views, criticizes Theosophy, and associates himself with socialistic intellectual perspectives.

◊ 1899  Rudolf Steiner marries Anna Eunicke, a union about which he is later reticent. Also in 1899, he becomes instructor at a working men's institute in Berlin, then he becomes involved in Theosophy and starts lecturing on occultist themes.

◊ 1902  Steiner joins the German Theosophical Society, becoming General Secretary. Indicating that he is clairvoyant and always has been, he begins referring to his doctrines as Anthroposophy (knowledge or wisdom of the human being). He meets Marie von Sivers, who will become his second wife.

◊ 1903  Steiner separates from his first wife, who has been perplexed by his turn from liberal academia to Theosophy.

◊ 1904  Rudolf and Marie Steiner divorce. During the same year, Rudolf Steiner publishes KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT, one of his fundamental occultist expositions. Also around this time, he is appointed leader of the Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria.

◊ 1905  Steiner is active in politics during this period; he presses for reforms in German society and culture.

◊ 1907  Steiner organizes a world conference of the Theosophic Society, in Munich, Germany. Thereafter, he begins writing four "mystery plays" that are still performed by Anthroposophical groups today.

◊ 1909  Steiner publishes OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE, framing his overall occultist conceptions. He later revises the book several times.

◊ 1911  Anna Steiner (Rudolf's first wife) dies.

◊ 1912  Rudolf Steiner creates eurythmy, a dance form representing visible speech, with the purpose of connecting practitioners to the spirit realm.

◊ 1913  Steiner breaks from Theosophy; he establishes Anthroposophy as a separate movement. Work begins on the Anthroposophical headquarters building, a wooden structure erected in Dornach, Switzerland. Steiner names the building the Goethanum, in honor of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. During this year, the General Anthroposophical Society is established.

◊ 1914  Most of Rudolf Steiner's time in this and following years is devoted to lecturing about his avowed occult research and visions, including the application of his doctrines in such fields as education, medicine, and agriculture. On December 24, 1914, Rudolf Steiner marries Marie von Sivers, whom he has known for several years as a fellow esotericist.

◊ 1919  Steiner directs the formation of the first Waldorf school, in Stuttgart, Germany. The school is sponsored by Emil Molt, owner of the Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik {Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory}. Rudolf Steiner remains involved with the school throughout the following years.

◊ 1921  Steiner founds the first Anthroposophic medical clinic.

◊ 1922  At the beginning of the year, the Goetheanum is destroyed by fire — Anthroposophists blame arson by right-wing enemies, but no proof is forthcoming. Steiner continues with his diverse enterprises. During the year, he oversees the establishment of the Christian Community, an overtly religious offshoot of Anthroposophy.

◊ 1923  During this year Steiner reportedly contracts the illness that will eventually kill him. He remains active, however. Among other activities, he oversees the design of a new Goetheanum, a concrete structure to be built on the site of the original Anthroposophical headquarters in Dornach.

◊ 1924  Steiner's health deteriorates. By some accounts, he has stomach cancer. Still, he continues to help steer Anthroposophical enterprises, including Waldorf education. Construction begins on the second Goetheanum.

◊ Rudolf Steiner dies on March 30, 1925.

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Footnotes

[1] For biographical information about Steiner and summaries of his thinking — much of it given from a pro-Anthroposophical perspectives — see, e.g., Henry Barnes, A LIFE FOR THE SPIRIT - Rudolf Steiner in the Crosscurrents of Our Time (Anthroposophic Press, 1997); Stewart C. Easton, RUDOLF STEINER - Herald of a New Epoch (Anthroposophic Press, 1980); Johannes Hemleben, RUDOLF STEINER - An Illustrated Biography (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001); Gary Lachman, RUDOLF STEINER - An Introduction to His Life and Work (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2007); Emil Molt, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF RUDOLF STEINER, Vols. 1 & 2 (Floris Books, 2008); Heiner Ullrich, RUDOLF STEINER (Bloomsburg Academic, 2008). You might also consult Steiner's AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Chapters in the Course of My Life: 1861-1907 (SteinerBooks, 2006); the editors have included a lengthy chronology running to 1925, the year of Steiner's death. Also worth consulting: a collection of remembrances titled A MAN BEFORE OTHERS - Rudolf Steiner Remembered (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993). Less favorable accounts of Steiner may be found in such works as Anthony Storr's FEET OF CLAY - Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus (Free Press Paperbacks, 1996) and Peter Washington's MADAME BLAVATSKY'S BABOON - Theosophy and the Emergence of the Western Guru (Secker & Warburg, 1993).

[2] See, e.g., “Here’s the Answer”, "Steiner's Quackery", and "Biodynamics".

[3] See, e.g., "Exactly", "Philosophy", and "Occultism".

[4] Here is the entire entry for Steiner in the ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, accessed 8/31/2024:

Rudolf Steiner (born February 27, 1861, Kraljević, Austria—died March 30, 1925, Dornach, Switzerland) was an Austrian-born spiritualist, lecturer, and founder of anthroposophy, a movement based on the notion that there is a spiritual world comprehensible to pure thought but accessible only to the highest faculties of mental knowledge.

Attracted in his youth to the works of Goethe, Steiner edited that poet’s scientific works and from 1889 to 1896 worked on the standard edition of his complete works at Weimar. During this period he wrote his Die Philosophie der Freiheit (1894; “The Philosophy of Freedom”), then moved to Berlin to edit the literary journal Magazin für Literatur and to lecture. Coming gradually to believe in spiritual perception independent of the senses, he called the result of his research “anthroposophy,” centring on “knowledge produced by the higher self in man.” In 1912 he founded the Anthroposophical Society.

Steiner believed that humans once participated more fully in spiritual processes of the world through a dreamlike consciousness but had since become restricted by their attachment to material things. The renewed perception of spiritual things required training the human consciousness to rise above attention to matter. The ability to achieve this goal by an exercise of the intellect is theoretically innate in everyone.

In 1913 at Dornach, near Basel, Switzerland, Steiner built his first Goetheanum, which he characterized as a “school of spiritual science.” After a fire in 1922, it was replaced by another building. The Waldorf School movement, derived from his experiments with the Goetheanum, by the early 21st century had more than 1,000 schools around the world. Other projects that grew out of Steiner’s work include communities for persons with disabilities; a therapeutic clinical centre at Arlesheim, Switzerland; scientific and mathematical research centres; and schools of drama, speech, painting, and sculpture. Among Steiner’s varied writings are The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (1894), Occult Science: An Outline (1913), and Story of My Life (1924).

While this is better than previous entries in the BRITANNICA and various other encyclopedias, it is both cursory and, in a number of spots, moot.

[5] See, e.g., G. Ahern, SUN AT MIDNIGHT - The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West (James Clarke & Co., 2009).

[6] See, e.g., P. Staudenmaier, BETWEEN OCCULTISM AND NAZISM - Anthroposophy and the Politics of Race in the Fascist Era (Brill, 2014).

[7] See "What a Guy". Various accounts of Steiner's life differ from one another in ways both large and small. The chronology given here represents my best effort at reconciling the accounts. — R.R. 

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Steiner schools - see Waldorf schools 

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Steiner Waldorf schools - also see Waldorf schools

The compound term "Steiner Waldorf" is used primarily in Great Britain; it is applied to schools that elsewhere would be called either Waldorf or Steiner schools. Most schools that base their work on Rudolf Steiner's educational tenets are much the same, whatever their designations and wherever they exist.

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Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF)

This was the original name of the coordinating and certifying organization overseeing Waldorf schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland. From the SWSF website: "The SWSF is the membership organisation for all the Steiner schools and independent Steiner Early Years settings in the UK and Ireland. Our aims are: • to safeguard the ethos and identity of Steiner Waldorf education. • to support our member schools in their efforts to provide a high quality and distinctive education. • to represent the interests of Steiner education in the wider educational, academic, social and political context." [12/7/15.] In late 2023, the name of the organization was changed to Waldorf UK.

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stellar script - see occult script; also see Akashic Record

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stenographers - also see books by Rudolf Steiner; Steiner, Marie

Many of the books attributed to Rudolf Steiner consist of transcripts of his lectures, discussions, meetings, etc. Because Steiner did not personally review all of these transcripts, the resulting books may — Steiner himself cautioned — contain some errors. In most cases, however, the individuals recording his remarks were devout followers who presumably were conscientious and diligent. Steiner's second wife, Marie, arranged for stenographers to transcribe his lectures. Teachers at the first Waldorf school — who were generally committed Anthroposophists — recorded his statements made during faculty meetings and other discussions.

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stigmata - also see Christ; Golgotha; Halle, Judith von; initiation

◊ "Stigmata, singular stigma, in Christian mysticism, bodily marks, scars, or pains corresponding to those of the crucified Jesus Christ — that is, on the hands, on the feet, near the heart, and sometimes on the head (from the crown of thorns) or shoulders and back (from carrying the cross and scourging). They are often presumed to accompany religious ecstasy. [paragraph break] The first example of the alleged miraculous infliction of stigmata occurred in St. Francis of Assisi ... In the next century the same alleged wonder occurred to a Dominican sister, Catherine Benincasa, better known as St. Catherine of Siena ... From the 14th to the 20th century, more than 300 persons were identified as having been stigmatized; more than 60 were declared saints or the blessed in the Roman Catholic Church." — ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, Sept. 29, 2015. 

◊ "There are two main reasons for believing the stigmata are usually self-inflicted rather than psychosomatic or miraculous. One, no stigmatic ever manifests these wounds from start to finish in the presence of others. Only when they are unwatched do they start to bleed ... And two, Hume's rule in 'Of Miracles' is that when an alleged miracle occurs we should ask ourselves which would be more miraculous, the alleged miracle or that we are being hoaxed? Reasonableness requires us to go with the lesser of two miracles, the least improbable, and conclude that we are witnessing not miracles but pious frauds ... Reasonableness seems to require the non-miraculous explanation ... Self-inflicted wounds are common among people with certain kinds of brain disorders. Claiming that the wounds are miraculous is rare, however, and is more likely due to excessive religiosity than to a diseased brain, though both could be at work in some cases." — R. T. Carroll, THE SKEPTIC'S DICTIONARY, 9/30/15.

Steiner taught that stigmata may appear during the process of Christian initiation. "In the fourth exercise, the pupil's body must become as foreign to his feelings as any external object — a stick of wood for example — and he must not say 'I' to his body. This experience must become so much a part of his feelings that he says: 'I carry my body about with me as I do my coat.' He connects his ego no longer with his body. Then something occurs which is called the Stigmata. What in many cases might be a condition of sickness is in this case a result of Meditation, because all sickness must be eliminated. On the feet and hands and on the right side of the breast appear the so-called Stigmata." — R. Steiner, THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN (Anthroposophic Press, 1962), lecture 11, GA 103. The controversial Anthroposophist Judith von Halle has claimed to bear the stigmata on her body since 2004. [See "JvH".]

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strict clairvoyance - see exact clairvoyance

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students at Waldorf schools - see Waldorf students

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STUDY OF MAN - see THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE

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subhumans - also see automatons; evolution; nature spirits; racism; subordinate nature spirits; sub-physical world

Steiner taught that being "human" means reaching a certain stage of spiritual evolution. [1] All beings who have not reached or surpassed this stage are thus, in a sense, subhuman. Steiner also taught that there are four kingdoms of nature [2], the highest of which is the human kingdom. All the entities in the other kingdoms (animal, plant, and mineral) are thus also, in a sense, subhuman.

More strikingly, Steiner taught that some people are not really human, having become demonic. "Our culture would not be in such a decline if people felt more strongly that a number of people are going around who, because they are completely ruthless, have become something that is not human, but instead are demons in human form ... Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 650. [3]

Steiner also taught that evil humans may evolve downward, falling to subhuman levels of existence. ◊ "Let us suppose a man were to deny it was the spirit which has given him a human countenance [4] ... He would remain united with the [physical] body and go down into the abyss. And because of not having used the power of the spirit, the external shape would again come to resemble the previous form. [5] The man who descends into the abyss would become animal like [sic] ... The evil race, with its savage impulses, will dwell in animal form in the abyss." — R. Steiner, UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BEING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993), p. 103. ◊ "Let us take an extreme case and imagine that a person unites too fully with what is to constitute the character of an incarnation [6] ... Such souls lose the possibility of incarnation and find no other opportunity [7] ... [T]here are no more bodies bad enough [to house them] ... Beings that stay behind at such stages appear in a later epoch as subordinate nature spirits. [8]" — R. Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), p. 70. 

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[1] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "human stage of evolution".

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "kingdoms of nature".

[3] See "Steiner's Bile". (Note that Steiner made these remarks in a meeting of Waldorf teachers.)

[4] I.e., suppose a man were to deny that he is human because of he is essentially a spiritual being.

[5] I.e., denying his spiritual nature, such a man would be trapped in physicality, and his physical body would revert to a previous, animal-like form.

[6] I.e., they enter too deeply into physical existence.

[7] I.e., they cannot reincarnate; they lose the ability to evolve upward. (Steiner said sinking to this level is very difficult — it happens only if a person falls deeply into material life during 16 consecutive earthly lives.)

[8] I.e., they become subhuman — they become lowly types of elemental beings. [See "Neutered Nature" and the entries in this encyclopedia for "elemental beings", "nature spirits", and "subordinate nature spirits".]

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subject teachers at Waldorf schools - also see Waldorf teachers; cf. class teachers

These are teachers who, unlike Waldorf class teachers [1], are restricted to presenting one or two subjects to the students at various grade levels [2]. They usually hold, at least informally, a lower rank than the class teachers, and they are often excluded from membership in the "college of teachers" [3]. In many cases, they are less familiar with Anthroposophy than are more senior teachers at the school, they may not be deeply committed to the Waldorf movement, and they may not remain in their jobs for long. On the other hand, they may be gradually converted; they may ultimately make a full commitment to Anthroposophy and Waldorf [4].

Steiner indicated that Waldorf schools should avoid using subject teachers, if at all possible. Certainly, a Waldorf schools should not adopt "a subject teacher system [5]." Instead, class teachers should strive to teach virtually all subjects. "I do not see why we should go into a subject teacher system. I think it is desirable that you [6] can do that [i.e., teach the subjects]. I once had a mathematics teacher who did not recognize one single plant when we went on a school excursion [7]. He knew a lot about mathematics and physics, but had no understanding of anything else. He didn’t know anything except Bohemian, German, physics and mathematics [8]." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, meeting 39, GA 300.

Critics have argued that when Waldorf schools minimize the use of subject teachers, they deprive students of the benefit of instruction by truly qualified instructors. Instead, the students are taught virtually all subjects by teachers who lack expertise in various subjects. The quality of such instruction presumably is lowered, while class teachers struggle to teach subjects they have not mastered [9].

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[1] Waldorf class teachers take responsibility for groups of students and stay with them for years, giving them their main lessons in a wide range of subjects at progressively higher class levels. Often, a class teacher will usher group into the school as the new first grade, and then stay with this group at least through fifth grade. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "class teachers at Waldorf schools".]

[2] Frequently, subject teachers are hired to present subjects at greater length and/or depth than class teachers are able to do. Such subjects may include eurythmy, foreign languages, special arts and crafts such as weaving, and sciences such a physics and chemistry.

[3] This is, often, the central administrative body in a Waldorf school. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "college of teachers".]

On some occasions, class teachers may double as subject teachers. For instance, a class teacher shepherding a group of students from grades 9 through 12 may also teach all math classes in a Waldorf high school. (Waldorf class teachers working with the higher grades are less intensively involved with their classes than class teachers working with the lower grades. The upper-grade class teachers have more time to undertake other tasks, and sometimes they are known by such alternative titles as "class advisors.") Subject teachers who are also class teachers (or class advisors) may often be included in a school's college of teachers.

[4] See the sections "Indoctrination of Teachers" and "Progressive Involvement Outside Teaching" in "Indoctrination".

[5] I.e., a system in which most or all of the teachers confine themselves to a few narrow subjects.

[6] Steiner was addressing the faculty at the first Waldorf school. Virtually all of these teachers were Anthroposophists and class teachers.

[7] I.e., a class trip or a nature walk.

[8] Steiner argues that subject teachers are too specialized; they lack the wider knowledge that schoolteachers should possess. (The "mathematics" teacher Steiner refers to here was apparently knowledgeable about not just math, but also physics, the German language, and the Czech language, formerly known as Bohemian. Still, this teacher's vision was too limited to satisfy Steiner's requirements.)

[9] The academic quality of Waldorf education has often been low. [See, e.g., "Academic Standards at Waldorf".]

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sub-material world - see sub-physical world

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subordinate nature spirits - also see evil; Great Sin; subhumans; sub-physical world; cf. spiritual guides

Steiner taught that errant humans lag behind in evolution and may fall so far behind that they lose their souls and become subhuman — specifically, they become a low form of nature spirit. "Now let us take an extreme case and imagine that a man unites too fully with what is to constitute the character of an incarnation. [1] Let us suppose he reaches what is to be reached in sixteen incarnations; he takes the sixteen false paths. [2] The earth does not wait for him, the earth goes forward [3] and he finally arrives at a point where he can no longer incorporate [i.e., incarnate] in a human body, for none are in existence. [4] There will be no more bodies in which souls that have grown too much involved in their bodily nature can incarnate. Such souls lose the possibility of incarnation and find no other opportunity ... They must therefore live a bodiless existence. They must cut themselves off entirely from the progress of evolution. Why have they deserved this? By reason of the fact that they have not made use of life! [5] The world is around them; they have possessed senses in order to perceive the world, to enrich the life-kernel [6] and mold it to a higher stage. They do not advance with world evolution, they remain behind at a certain stage. Beings that stay behind at such stages appear in a later epoch with approximately the character of the earlier age. They have grown together with it, but not in the forms of the later epoch. [7] They appear in a later epoch as subordinate nature-spirits. [8]" — R. Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), pp. 69-70.

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[1] I.e., he separates too completely from the spirit realm, sinking too far into physical existence.

[2] I.e., he repeats and deepens this error 16 times.

[3] I.e., the Earth and its inhabitants continue evolving while he stands still or regresses.

[4] I.e., there are no more bodies suitable for him because humanity has evolved to a higher level; lower types of human beings and their bodies have ceased to exist. 

[5] I.e., they have not used their incarnations to improve themselves; they have wasted their lives.

[6] I.e., their basic inner essence. [See the entry for "monad" in this encyclopedia.]

[7] I.e., they remain at the prior level of evolution ("they have grown together with it"), and they do not incarnate in the forms available to evolved humans in the new, higher era.

[8] I.e., they are now bodiless beings of a lowly sort who have merged into the forces of the physical world.

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sub-physical world - also see demons; nature spirits; physical world; subhumans; subordinate nature spirits

Steiner taught that below physical world lies a sub-physical world, the abode of sub-human beings [1] as well as some nature spirits or elemental beings [2]. In addition, more terrible beings — such as demons — find their true homes in the sub-physical world. "We have the physical world, the astral world, the Lower Devachan and the Higher Devachan [3]. If the body is thrust down lower even than the physical world, it comes into the sub-physical world, the lower astral world, the lower or evil Lower Devachan, and the lower or evil Higher Devachan [4]. The evil astral world is the province of Lucifer, the evil Lower Devachan the province of Ahriman, and the evil Higher Devachan the province of the Asuras [5]. When chemical action is driven down beneath the physical plane — into the evil Devachanic world — magnetism arises [6]. When light is thrust down into the sub-material — that is to say, a stage deeper than the material world — electricity arises. If what lives in the Harmony of the Spheres [7] is thrust down farther still, into the province of the Asuras, an even more terrible force — which it will not be possible to keep hidden very much longer — is generated [8]." — R. Steiner, THE ETHERIZATION OF THE BLOOD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1971), GA 130.

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[1] See "subhumans", above.

[2] See "Neutered Nature". Some nature spirits or elemental beings are morally neutral, and these may be considered integral to the natural/physical world. Other nature spirits are distinctly evil and/or the products of evil. These may be located in the sub-physical world.

[3] Here Steiner speaks of our ordinary world (the physical world) and the spirit worlds above it. He will proceed to discuss the sub-physical world. (The astral world is the soul world. Above it are two Devachans, which are the two precincts of the spirit world. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Devachan", "soul world", and "spirit world(s)"; also see "Higher Worlds".])

[4] I.e., below the physical world are demonic reflections of the worlds above the physical world.

[5] These are demons. [See "Lucifer", "Ahriman", and "Asuras" in this encyclopedia. [Also see "Evil Ones".] 

[6] Steiner says that when forces from the physical world are extended down into the sub-physical world, they give rise to terrible powers. Thus, when the processes of chemistry are "driven down" into the sub-physical realm, magnetism results. Steiner proceeds to identify two more terrible powers: electricity and an unnamed, hidden power. Note that for Steiner, magnetism and electricity are demonic. This helps account for the Waldorf aversion to modern technology. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "technology".] Some of Steiner's followers have argued that the unnamed, hidden power is atomic energy.

[7] I.e., the harmony or music made by the celestial spheres and the gods that rule them. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "harmony of the spheres" and "music of the spheres".]

[8] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Devachanic world." In an Anthroposophical diagram reproduced there, the "terrible force[s]" of the evil Higher Devachan are labeled "terrible forces of destruction." Steiner's vision of the future includes great violence and destruction. [See, e.g., "All vs. All".] 

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sub-races - also see races; root races

In Steiner's teachings (especially during his Theosophical period), these are divisions of the great root races. [1] Each root race has seven sub-races. Generally, sub-races are equivalent to the dominant populations of cultural epochs. "We are now living in the Fifth Sub-Race of the Fifth Root-Race. This Root-Race is usually called the Aryan Race [3] and includes as the First Sub-Race the Ancient Indian, which developed in the region of Southern Asia [4] ... Later we find in the near East the Ancient Persian Race [5] which received its religious teaching and its culture from Zarathustra ... Then as the Third Sub-Race, we find the Egyptian, Chaldean, Babylonian, Assyrian peoples, out of which the Semitic-Jewish civilisation gradually developed. There then arose the Fourth Sub-Race, the Graeco-Roman civilisation in Southern Europe, which lasted until the ascent of the Germanic peoples in Northern, Central and Western Europe. Two further civilisations are yet to follow. Seven Sub-Races together form a Root-Race." — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 24, GA 93a.

In Steiner's later lectures, he tended to speak more of cultural epochs than of sub-races. During the Post-Atlantean great epoch, he said, we pass through seven stages of cultural/spiritual development, beginning with the Indian Age and ending with the American Age. [6] During each successive cultural epoch, we are more evolved than during previous cultural epochs, and this is reflected in our racial development, Steiner taught: We rise from "low" racial forms to "higher" racial forms. [7]

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   These are the seven intended sub-races of our current root race as Steiner described them especially during his Theosophical period. The dominant sub-race today is the Anglo-German; the sixth and seventh sub-races lie in the future. (The Aryan race is the fifth intended root race; the Anglo-German race is the fifth intended sub-race within it. The sixth sub-race will arise during the Russian Age; the seventh during the American Age.) [8]

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[1] Root races, Steiner indicated, are the intended major evolutionary stages of humanity occurring during successive great epochs. Great epochs, as they apply to humanity in recent cosmic evolution, are major developmental stages during the Physical Stage of Form. [See "Matters of Form" and the entries for "root races", "stages of form", "epochs" and "great epochs" in this encyclopedia.] The great epochs we have passed through, up to the present, are the Polarian, Hyperborean, Lemurian, and Atlantean Epochs; we now exist in the Post-Atlantean Epoch. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]

[2] Cultural epochs, also called ages, are subdivisions of great epochs. [See the entries for "cultural epochs" and "great epochs" in this encyclopedia.]

[3] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Aryan Epoch" and "Aryans".

[4] I.e., Ancient Indians were the first sub-race of the Aryan root race; they lived in Southern Asia during what occultists call the Indian Age or the Indian cultural epoch.

[5] I.e., the sub-race of the Persian Age.

[6] We currently live in the Post-Atlantean great epoch, Steiner taught: This is the great epoch following the destruction of Atlantis. [See "Atlantis" and "Atlantis and the Aryans".] This great epoch may also be termed the Aryan epoch. The cultural epochs within this great epoch bear essentially the same designations as the intended sub-races of these periods: Indian, Persian, Egypto-Chaldean, Greco-Roman, Anglo-German, sixth (Russian), and seventh (American).

[7] See "Steiner's Racism" and "Races".

[8] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Russian Age" and "American Age".

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substandard souls (sub-standard souls) - also see backward souls; evil souls; useless human beings

Some people are not up to standard; they are abnormal or inferior, according to Steiner. "Low" races tend to be populated by such souls, according to Steiner. The Chinese race, for example, includes many substandard souls, according to Steiner: This is a consequence of opium addiction in China. “By bringing about the ‘opiumising’ of Chinese bodies and causing generations to come into being under the influence of opium's forces, it was possible [for demonic forces] to condemn the Chinese to take in, to a certain extent, some very immature, sub-standard souls. [1]” — R. Steiner, THE KARMA OF UNTRUTHFULNESS, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1988), lecture 13, GA 173. [2]

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[1] I.e., substandard souls have tended to incarnate in Chinese bodies. (Demons made use of opium use in China to cause substandard souls to incarnate in China.]

[2] For more of Steiner's teachings about various races and peoples, including the Chinese, see "Races" and "Differences". Also see the entries for "abnormal", "bad souls", and "evil souls" in this encyclopedia.

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Sun - also see astronomy; Christ; Michael; Old Sun; solar pitris; Sorat; stars; Sun at midnight; Sun Genius; Sun God; Sun Hero; Sun humans; Sun Leader; sunspots

a) The Sun is the star the Earth orbits.

b) According to Steiner: The Sun is the star the Earth follows. “[W]hen the Earth is here and this is the Sun [Steiner points at a diagram he created], the Earth follows along. But we look at the Sun from here [a place far behind the Sun], and so it appears as though the Earth goes around it, whereas it is actually only following. The Earth follows the Sun.” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 30. 

This is a reconstruction of Steiner's diagram. The planets accompany the Sun on a twisting path through space, Steiner said. From our perspective on the Earth, the Sun sometimes seems to be to our left, at other times to our right. This creates the illusion that we circle the Sun, Steiner said. "[I]t appears as though the Earth goes around it, whereas it is actually only following. The Earth follows the Sun.” 

(Steiner was inconsistent on this point, sometimes denying that the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, sometimes acknowledging that they do. [1])

c) According to Steiner: The Sun is the original location of Christ, the Sun God, and other Sun beings. It is the locus of New Testament consciousness and gnostic knowledge [2], and thus it is the font of solar healing powers. ◊ “With greater or less understanding, the first Christians of the earliest centuries after Christ regarded him as the 'mighty Sun God'. [3] But during these first Christian centuries, the faculty of instinctive clairvoyance once possessed by human beings was fading. [4] People could no longer see in the sun the great kingdom at whose center the Christ had once dwelt.” — R. Steiner , THE KARMA OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009), p. 41.  ◊ “It is...important that the deeds of Christ Jesus are always seen in relation to the physical sun, which is the external expression of the spiritual world that is received at the point where Christ’s physical body is walking around. When Christ Jesus heals, for instance, it is the sun force that heals.” — R. Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), pp. 65-6.

d) According to Steiner: "Sun" — or, more properly, "Old Sun" — is the second mega-stage of our evolution, our second condition of consciousness. [5] Whereas the Sun that we see overhead is a physical/spiritual object in space, Old Sun was a period of time or duration. “Man now passes [6] through his second stage of consciousness on the Sun. [7] It resembles that into which today man sinks during a calm and dreamless sleep. [8] This condition, which interrupts man's state of wakefulness today, is a remainder, as it were, a memory of the time of the Sun development. [9] One can also compare it with that dull state of consciousness in which the world of plants exists today.” — R. Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), p. 175.

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[1] See "Deception".

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

[3] Steiner is here affirming the wisdom of the first Christians. Christ is, indeed, the Sun God who came to Earth, Steiner taught. [See "Sun God".] In most matters, Steiner tended to affirm the wisdom of the ancients as opposed to what he considered the ignorance of most moderns. [See, e.g., "The Ancients".]

[4] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "atavistic clairvoyance" and "natural clairvoyance".

[5] See "Old Sun" and the entry in this encyclopedia for "conditions of consciousness".

[6] I.e., passed. Steiner uses the present tense, here, but he is describing events that happened long ago.

[7] I.e., during Old Sun, we rose to our second condition of consciousness.

[8] I.e., the consciousness we attained during Old Sun was similar to deep, dreamless sleep.

[9] I.e., the period of our evolution called Old Sun.

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Sun at midnight - also see initiation; midnight hour; Sun; Sun God

"[A]t night...an initiate [1] can dispel the darkness of matter through his powers of inner vision [2], to perceive the sun's radiance. Not only the sun can be perceived...but also Christ and other spiritual beings who dwell in the sun. [3]" — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 116. 

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[1] I.e., a spiritual seeker who has been admitted to the inner circles of spiritual knowledge. [See "Inside Scoop".]

[2] I.e., clairvoyance.

[3] See section c) in the entry for "Sun", above. 

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Sunbridge Institute (formerly Sunbridge College)

A Waldorf teacher-training institution, located in Chestnut Ridge, New York, USA.

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Sun Genius - also see Sun God; Sun Hero; Sun Leader; cf. Antichrist; Sorat

In Anthroposophical teachings, the "genius" of a realm is the spirit of that realm, the presiding and defining god of that place and time. Such geniuses often have opponents who are the demons of those places and times. Christ, the Sun God, is the genius of the Sun. [1] His opponent is the demon of the Sun, Sorat, the Antichrist. [2] "One describes the Christ-Being as the genius of the sun ... But there is also an opposing principle to the Lamb [3], there is also a Sun-Demon, the so-called Demon of the Sun, that which works in the evil forces of man, thrusting back the force of the Lamb, and it works in such a way that a certain amount of the human race is thrust out of the evolution which leads to the sun. [4]" — R. Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1958), lecture 11, GA 104. Note that at the Crucifixion — the "Mystery of Golgotha" — Christ became the genius of the Earth; He poured His essence into the Earth. Steiner indicated that Christ's union with the Earth is permanent, but he also sometimes indicated that eventually Christ will return to the Sun.

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[1] See "Sun God".

[2] See "Bad, Badder, Baddest".

[3] I.e., Christ, the Lamb of God. (See John 1:29.)

[4] According to Steiner, the good and worthy evolve, in part, by casting aside the evil and unworthy, who are unable to evolve further.

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Sun God - also see Ahura Mazda; Apollo; Baldur; Christ; Helios; Hu; Ra; Sol; solar pitris

According to Steiner, the god whom we perceive as Christ is the same being other peoples and religions worshipped as the Sun God. [1] “[T]he highest Ruler of Sun, the Sun-God, [appears to us] as the Christ.” — R. Steiner, ROSICRUCIAN WISDOM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2000), p. 100. Essentially all the peoples who have worshipped the Sun God were actually worshipping Christ, Steiner said, although their understanding of Christ was limited. Thus, for example, ”[W]hen the Greek uttered the name of Apollo [2] he was indeed referring to the being which later was revealed as the Christ, 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. 

Only now, by attending to Steiner, can we comprehend Christ properly, or so Steiner assured us. Christ's role is to steer us in the proper evolutionary direction. [3] He is our guide, our model, our prototype. [4] If we do not go where He directs us, we will fall into decay. “Had Christ not appeared on the earth, had He remained the Sun-God only, humanity on the earth would have fallen into decay.” — R. Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING (Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1958), “World-Pentecost; The Message of Anthroposophy”, GA 226. [See "Sun God" and "Was He Christian?"]

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This is Christ — the Sun God — as represented in a sculpture, attributed to Steiner, that stands in the Anthroposophical headquarters, the Goetheanum. [5] [Public domain photograph.]

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[1] See "Sun God".

[2] Apollo was 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. [See "Apollo" in this encyclopedia.]

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

[4] See "Prototype".

[5] See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"

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Sun Hero - also see Sun Genius; Sun God; Sun Leader

a) According to Steiner: This term was applied to high initiates in Mithraism, a religion centered on the Sun God. “Those who had reached the second stage of Initiation [1] were known as ‘Occultists’; at the third stage they were ‘Warriors,’ at the fourth, ‘Lions.’ At the fifth stage of Initiation a man was called by the name of his own people: he was a ‘Persian,’ ‘Indian,’ or whatever it might be. For that man alone who had reached the fifth degree of Initiation was regarded as a true representative of his people. At the sixth stage a man was a ‘Sun Hero’ or one who ‘runs in the paths of the Sun.’ And at the seventh stage he was a ‘Father.’” — R. Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1955), lecture 1, GA unassigned (S-1211).

b) According to Steiner: In some traditions, the term was also applied to Christ or to an associated spiritual perception of the essence of the Sun; it referred to a variant apprehension of Christ. “In the ancient Mysteries [2], before men spoke of a Christos [3], they spoke of a Sun Hero who embodied the same ideal as is connected with the Christos in Christianity. The bearer of this ideal was called the Sun Hero. Just as the sun completes its orbit [4] in the course of the year [5] bringing about an increase and decrease in light, and its warmth apparently withdraws from the earth and then again radiates anew, just as it contains life in its death and lets it stream forth anew, so likewise does the Sun Hero, through the power of his spiritual life, become master over death and night and darkness. [6]” — R. Steiner, SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL (Anthroposophic Press, 1967), lecture 3, GA 96.

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[1] In this passage, as in most where he speaks of initiation, Steiner means attaining occult knowledge of spiritual matters: occult initiation. [See "Inside Scoop".]

[2] i.e., ancient centers of occult knowledge. [See the entries for "mystery" and "mystery schools" in this encyclopedia.]

[3] I.e., the mysterious essence of Christ, the Sun God.

[4] Steiner made many strange statements about the motions of the Sun and planets. [See "Deception".] The Sun, of course, does not "orbit" the Earth (as Steiner seems to suggest here) or anything else in the solar system; all the planets in the solar system orbit the Sun. (The Sun orbits the center of the glaxay we call the Milky Way. But the Sun does not do this in a year, nor does this orbit affect seasonal changes in light and warmth. The Sun takes about 230,000,000 years to circle the center of the galaxy.)

[5] Like the other stars in the Milky Way galaxy, the Sun orbits the center of the galaxy, a process that takes eons. But Steiner is not speaking of this: He is talking about the annual motions of Earth and Sun relative to each other ("the sun completes its orbit in the course of the year").

[6] I.e., the vision men had of a 'Sun Hero' was the vision of the spirit who conquers death: Christ. 

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Sun humans, Sun human beings - also see Jupiter humans; Mars humans; Mercury race; Moon humans; planetary humans; Saturn humans; Sun; Venus humans; Vulcan humans

According to Steiner, these are (primarily) humans who developed during the Old Sun period of evolution. ◊ ""The second of the great evolutionary periods — the Sun stage [1] — uplifts the human being to a higher level of consciousness than he attained on Saturn [2], although compared with man's present consciousness, his condition on the Sun might still be called unconsciousness. For it is well-nigh equivalent to the state in which he now finds himself in absolutely dreamless sleep [3] ... [A] portion of the Saturn warmth-substance separates off and comes to an independent existence alongside of and among the Sun human beings, constituting thus a second kingdom [4]." — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE, chapter 4, section 4, GA 13.  ◊ "In the Sun-human-being we have the physical body and the etheric body. [5] The etheric body had been instilled into man by the Spirits of Form. [6]" — R. Steiner, THE INFLUENCE OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS ON MAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1961), lecture 4, GA 102.

Steiner also spoke of people who have a particular connection with the forces of the Sun. These are people who are particularly alive to Christ in His true form as the Sun God [7]: they are the "true" Christians or Anthroposophists. Taking the Sun God into their hearts, Steiner's followers apprehend the "Sun at midnight." [8] Anthroposophical prayers often focus on the Sun and its god [9], just as Anthroposophically influenced church services of the Christian Community [10] — services performed in at least some Waldorf schools — address Christ in his "solar heights." [11] Anthroposophists consider themselves to be on a mission akin to that of Michael, the Archangel of the Sun. [12] In essence, this mission is to save the world by spreading the solar light of Anthroposophy. Indeed, Anthroposophists are Sun humans in that "Anthroposophy is also called the School of Michael." — H. v. Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 78.

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[1] I.e., during Old Sun. [See "Old Sun".] Steiner uses the present tense, here, although he is describing events that happened long ago.

[2] I.e., during Old Saturn. [See "Old Saturn".]

[3] Steiner taught that oiur consciousness during Old Saturn was akin to coma, after which during Old Sun our consciousness rose to become similar to deep slumber.

[4] I.e., some remnants of the life forms created during Old Saturn reached Old Sun but tended to be unable to rise to the correct Old Sun condition. These formed a second, lower kingdom in addition to the "Sun human beings".

[5] The etheric body is the lowest of the three invisible bodies that, Steiner said, human beings today possess. [See "Incarnation".]

[6] I.e., gods four levels above humanity. [See the entry for "Spirits of Form", above.]

[7] See "Sun God".

[8] See the entry for this term, above.

[9] See "Prayers".

[10] See "Christian Community".

[11] See "Waldorf Worship".

[12] See "Michael".

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Sun Leader, sun-leader - also see Ahura Mazda; Christ

According to Steiner, this is Christ as prefigured in early, incomplete apprehensions of Christ. One such Sun Leader was the Zoroastrian Sun God, Ahura Mazda. “In the ancient Persian epoch [1], the leadership of humanity was apportioned to the Archangels. They put themselves under the direction of the Christ earlier than did the beings in the rank next below them. [2] Of Zarathustra [3] it can be said that pointing to the sun, he spoke to his followers and his people in some such words as these: ‘In the sun there lives the great Spirit Ahura Mazdao [4], who will one day come down to the earth.’ For the beings out of the region of the Archangels [5] who guided Zarathustra, pointed to the great sun-leader [6] who had not at that time come down upon the earth but had only begun his journey thither in order, later on, to enter directly into the earth evolution. [7] And the guiding beings who directed the great teachers of the Indians [8], also pointed out to these the Christ of the future; for it is a mistake to think that these teachers had no foreknowledge of the Christ. They said that He was ‘beyond their sphere’ and that they ‘could not attain’ unto Him. [9]” — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE OF MAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1976), lecture 3, GA 15.

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[1] In Anthroposophical teachings, this was the second cultural epoch. [See the entries for "cultural epoch" and "Persian Age" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] I.e., Angels. Steiner taught that Archangels are gods standing two levels above humanity while Angels are gods standing one level above humanity. [See "Polytheism".]

[3] Also called Zoroaster, he was the founder of the Persian religion known as Zoroastrianism.

[4] This is the central god of Zoroastrianism. He is the Sun God; hence, according to Steiner, he is Christ. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Ahura Mazda".]

[5]  I.e., the Archangels themselves (the beings or spirits who dwell in the "region of the Archangels").

[6] I.e., Christ, the leading god of the Sun. [See "Sun God".]

[7] I.e., when the Sun God came to Earth (as Christ), he provided new guidance for human evolution on Earth. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Christ impulse".]

[8] In Anthroposophical teachings, the first cultural epoch was the "Indian Age". [See the entry for this term in this encyclopedia.] Here, Steiner says that the guiding spirits of both the Indian and Persian cultural epochs conveyed some foreknowledge of the future incarnation of Christ on Earth.

[9] I.e., they were aware of Christ, but they realized he was far beyond their comprehension.

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Sun sphere - see Spiritland

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sunspots - also see Saturn (Old Saturn); Sun

Steiner taught that the present members of the solar system are, or contain, remnants of past stages of evolution (such as Old Saturn) and/or they are, or contain, precursors of future stages of evolution (such as Future Vulcan). [1] The spots that can be seen on the Sun, he said, are remnants of Old Saturn. "[T]he so-called sunspots...are the last vestiges of Saturn [2], which remain in the shining sun-mass as dark portions ... Physical science substantiates the physical causes of the sunspots through its astronomy and astrophysics; the spiritual causes, however, lie in that residue remaining from Saturn [3]." — R. Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 9, GA 99.

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[1] According to Steiner, Old Saturn was the first incarnation of the solar system, and Future Vulcan will be the seventh. [See "Matters of Form" and the entry in this encyclopedia for "incarnations of the solar system". Concerning the relationship between the present solar system and various past and future incarnations of the solar system, see "The Planets".]

[2] I.e., the solar system as it existed during Old Saturn.

[3] I.e., physical science explains the physical cause for sunspots, but the deeper causes are spiritual (and are explicated by R. Steiner).

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Sun supermen - see supermen

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supermen - also see Anthroposophy; gods; Mercury; planetary spirits; spiritual science; Sun; Venus; Vulcan

In Anthroposophical belief, these are spiritual beings, more advanced than humans, who are bringing the truths of spiritual science [1] to Earth. Standing higher than humanity in spiritual evolution, they are deities. “Vulcan beings [2] are now actually entering this earth existence ... And it is thanks to the fact that these beings from beyond the earth are bringing messages down into this earthly existence that it is possible at all to have a comprehensive spiritual science today ... The beings I have spoken about will descend gradually to the earth. Vulcan beings, Vulcan supermen, Venus supermen, Mercury supermen, Sun supermen, and so on will unite themselves with earth existence. [3]” — R. Steiner, MATERIALISM AND THE TASK OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (SteinerBooks, 1987), p. 261. [See "Supermen".] Essentially, these supermen are gods one level higher than humanity; gods commonly referred to as Angels. "[T]he ancient Egyptians still remembered a time when the leading personalities of the nation were clearly conscious of their connection with what are called gods, angels ... They were man's predecessors, advanced beyond the human stage [4] ... If we really wish to speak of 'Supermen,' [5] it is these beings who may rightly be so called. Human during the Moon-period [6], the planetary stage [7] preceding our Earth [8], they had now outgrown humanity. They were only able to appear in an etheric body to clairvoyants. [8] It was thus that they came down to earth from spiritual worlds and ruled here even as late as post-Atlantean times. [9]" — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE OF MANKIND (Anthroposophical Society of Great Britain, 1921), lecture 2, GA 15.

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[1] See the entry for "spiritual science", above.

[2] I.e., spirits of Vulcan. [See "Vulcan".]

[3] To the extent that the celestial orbs listed here are physical presences in the solar system, Steiner suggests that Vulcan exists physically in the solar system: The "supermen" of Vulcan come from that planet to the planet Earth.

[4] I.e., they had evolved beyond the human stage of evolution [see the entry for this term in this encyclopedia] — they had become gods.

[5] The philosopher Freidrich Nietzsche, among others, had made supermen a common topic of consideration, especially in Germany. But Nietzsche was not referring to gods headquartered on other planets. "Superman, German Übermensch, in philosophy, the superior man, who justifies the existence of the human race ... This superior man...would emerge when any man with superior potential completely masters himself and strikes off conventional Christian 'herd morality' to create his own values, which are completely rooted in life on this earth."  — ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE, April 3, 2016.

[6] I.e., the third incarnation of the solar system, called Old Moon. [See "Old Moon" in this encyclopedia.]

[7] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "planetary conditions" and "incarnations of the solar system".

[8] I.e., the fourth incarnation of the solar system, called Present Earth. [See "Present Earth" in this encyclopedia.] 

[9] I.e., they did not have physical bodies, having evolved beyond the need for these. They had etheric bodies that clairvoyants could perceive. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "etheric body".]

[10] This is quite recently. Steiner taught that during the great epoch preceding our present epoch, humanity lived on Atlantis. We now live in the Post-Atlantean Epoch. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.] 

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supernatural - see clairvoyance; ghosts; gods; higher worlds; nature spirits; phantoms; seances; specters; supersensible; supersensory

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supersensible - also see clairvoyance; supersensible world; supersensory

Steiner used this term to refer to things that are beyond the reach of our ordinary senses — clairvoyance is needed. Most of what Steiner described (invisible human bodies, higher worlds, etc.) is supersensible. This may mean that they are supernatural or spiritual, or — from the viewpoint of skeptics — they are imaginary. Steiner claimed that the supersensible things he described certainly exist, and he studied them "scientifically" through his use of clairvoyance. “One often hears it objected that works on Occult Science [1] do not prove what they adduce; they merely make their statements and declare: 'This is what Occult Science teaches.' It would be a misunderstanding to think that anything put forward in these pages was intended in this spirit. Our purpose is different; it is to encourage what is developed in the human soul through the knowledge of Nature to go on evolving, as indeed it can do by its own inherent power. We then point out that through this evolution the soul will encounter supersensible realities ... To those who opine that there are limits to human knowledge which man cannot transcend and which compel him to stop short of an invisible world, the answer is: No doubt, with the mode of knowledge they have in mind, man will never penetrate into an unseen world. If one considers this to be the only mode of knowledge they have in mind, man will never penetrate into an unseen world. If one considers this to be the only mode of knowledge, one cannot but come to the conclusion that the human being is denied access to a higher world — if such a world exists. [2] And yet, supposing it to be possible to evolve another mode of cognition, the latter may after all lead into a supersensible world. If such a mode of knowledge is ruled out, then indeed one arrives at a point of view from which any discussion of a supersensible world must appear meaningless. Yet for an open mind the only possible reason for this opinion is that the one who holds it is unacquainted with the other form of knowledge [3] ... We cannot deny a man's right not  to concern himself with the supersensible; but he can never have the right to declare himself competent to judge, not only of what is known or knowable to himself, but of what he alleges to be unknowable to ‘Man’ in general!” — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), chapter 1, GA 13. [4]

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[1] See the entries for "occult science" and "spiritual science" in this encyclopedia. In general, Steiner used both terms to apply principally to his own teachings: Anthroposophy. But he also used the terms more generally to apply to allied mystical systems. Here, he asserts a distinction between his teachings and other forms of "Occult Science."

[2] Here, Steiner refers in a general sense to the spirit realm. On other occasions, he taught that there are two "higher worlds" above the physical level of existence: the soul world and the spirit world. [See "Higher Worlds".]

[3] I.e., clairvoyance, the mode of knowledge Steiner claimed to employ when investigating supersensible realities.

[4] As Steiner indicates here, all of his teachings (which constitute the core of Anthroposophy and the basis for Waldorf education) depend on "the other form of knowledge" — which is clairvoyance. The great problem (which he dismisses) is that there is no convincing evidence for the existence of clairvoyance. The conclusion that clairvoyance is almost certainly a delusion is not, as Steiner argues, a result of individual failure to develop clairvoyance; it is the carefully researched result of numerous studies. [See "Clairvoyance".]

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supersensible world - also see spirit realm; supersensible; supersensory

In Steiner's teachings, generally, this is the entire realm inaccessible to our ordinary senses. It includes numerous regions above and below the physical plane of existence. [1] Through the lower portions of our nature, we erect barriers preventing us from perceiving the supersensible world, Steiner said. "In our life in the physical world of the senses, the double [2] immediately makes itself invisible by means of the sense of shame ... Simultaneously, however, the double also conceals [the supersensible world]. It stands like a guardian in front of that world, refusing entry to anyone not yet suitable for entering. The double can therefore be called ‘the guardian of the threshold to the world of soul and spirit.’ [3] We encounter this guardian of the threshold not only when we enter the supersensible world [while still alive] but also when we enter it through physical death." — R. Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1997), p. 361. 

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[1] See "Higher Worlds".

[2] See "Double Trouble" and the entry for "double" in this encyclopedia. The double is, roughly, one's lower self or the demonic shadow of the self that resides within one. Here, Steiner indicates that most people are blind to the supersensible world because their doubles deceive them.

[3] See "Guardians". The double, acting as a "guardian", tries to prevent us from passing the threshold into the supersensible world. (Usually, Steiner differentiated between the soul world and the spirit world. [See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.] Here, he indicates that the "supersensible world" is the spirit realm in general, consisting of the soul and spirit worlds.) The fundamental problem with Steiner's argument, from a rationalist point of view, is that there is no solid evidence for the existence of the supersensible world or for the existence of the double.

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supersensory - also see clairvoyance; supersensible

This term applies to phenomena and experiences beyond the reach of our ordinary senses; it is essentially synonymous with "supersensible." [1] "Once we have developed our concepts and thoughts from the sensory facts and beings [2], we have the urge to move upward with them to the supersensory, to the spiritual and divine. [3]" — R. Steiner, MATERIALISM AND THE TASK OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1987), lecture 15, GA 204.

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

[2] I.e., facts and beings that can be apprehended with the ordinary senses.

[3] Here, Steiner suggests that everything that lies beyond the reach of our ordinary senses is "spiritual and divine." On other occasions, however, he spoke of supersensory facts and beings that are subhuman and even demonic. [See, e.g., "Beings" and "Evil Ones".]

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superstition - also see astrology; magic; occultism; self-deception

Anthroposophy is largely an amalgam of various religious and spiritual traditions that may, certainly, contain important wisdom and truths. However, Anthroposophy also includes, at another level, a vast array of superstitious fallacies. Steiner taught, and many of his followers believe, that astrology (as verified by Steiner) is genuine [1]; likewise magic [2]; likewise gnomes, undines, specters, ghosts [3]; etc. Anthroposophical practice is laced through with magical activities. [4] The central undertaking in Anthroposophy is the professed use of clairvoyance. [5] 

The world and the cosmos portrayed in Anthroposophical texts bears little resemblance to the universe described by modern science. Steiner taught, and his followers generally believe, that fire-breathing dragons once roamed the Earth; the Norse gods are real beings; Buddha went to Mars, where he was crucified; the subterranean layers of the earth have feelings and passions; horoscopes are useful tools; ditto dreams; islands float in the sea; supermen from other worlds have descended to Earth; humans have migrated to other planets; Jehovah lives on the Moon; Lucifer makes Venus his home; etc. [6] If there is truth in some of the sources from which Steiner drew, Anthroposophy nonetheless contains many beliefs and practices that most sensible, rational, well-educated people would find difficult or impossible to accept.

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

[2] See "Magic".

[3] See "Neutered Nature".

[4] See, e.g., "Biodynamics".

[5] See "Clairvoyance".

[6] For such matters, see "Steiner's Blunders".

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supplementary exercises - also see exercises; meditations; prayers; spiritual exercises

Steiner specified various spiritual exercises for his followers to perform in their quest to become clairvoyant. [1] Among these, the "supplementary exercises" may be described as follows: "Six basic exercises for spiritual development, given by Rudolf Steiner ... They are: mastery of thinking, through concentration; mastery of will impulses, through actions not imposed by any outward necessity; mastery of feelings by developing equanimity; positivity, by seeking positive aspects in even the most negative occurrences; open-mindedness, by practising willingness to contemplate the possibility of things we might otherwise dismiss as untrue; harmony, by combining all five previous exercises in overall equilibrium." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), pp. 116-117. The fifth of these is especially necessary if one is to extend credence to Steiner's occult teachings. Whether the exercises can produce their promised effects is, at a minimum, questionable. [2]

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[1] See "Knowing the Worlds" and the entry for "spiritual exercises", above.

[2] Clairvoyance is almost certainly a delusion; it almost certainly does not exist. If clairvoyance does not exist, then Steiner's exercises cannot have their intended effect. [See "Clairvoyance".]

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sylphs - also see fairies; nature spirits; cf. air-fire beings

According to Anthroposophical belief: These are nature spirits or elemental beings that live inside the air. [1] Steiner said such beings really exist. “[W]e behold the deepest sympathy between the sylphs and the bird-world. Whereas the gnome [2] hates the amphibian world, whereas the undine [3] is unpleasantly sensitive to fishes, is unwilling to approach them, tries to avoid them, feels a kind of horror for them, the sylph, on the other hand, is attracted towards birds, and has a sense of well-being when it can waft towards their plumage the swaying, love-filled waves of the air. And were you to ask a bird from whom it learns to sing, you would hear that its inspirer is the sylph. Sylphs feel a sense of pleasure in the bird's form. They are, however, prevented by the cosmic ordering [4] from becoming birds, for they have another task. Their task is lovingly to convey light to the plant. [5] And just as the undine is the chemist for the plant, so is the sylph the light-bearer. The sylph imbues the plant with light; it bears light into the plant.” — R. Steiner, MAN AS SYMPHONY OF THE CREATIVE WORD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1970), lecture 7, GA 230.

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[1] See "Neutered Nature".

[2] I.e., a nature spirit dwelling in the earth. [See "Gnomes".]

[3] I.e., nature spirit of water. [See the entry in this encyclopedia for "undine".]

[4] I.e., the organization of the cosmos willed by the gods.

[5] I.e., any plant, all plants. (Sylphs convey sunlight to the plant kingdom, Steiner says here. By contrast, the scientific explanation is that photons pour down on the Earth from the Sun. Sylphs do not enter this picture.)

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symbols, occult - also see astrology; seals; signs

Anthroposophists use symbols — many of them devised by Steiner — in an effort to elicit spiritual presences and as aids to meditation. Steiner's explanations of such symbols are presented in, for instance, the book OCCULT SIGNS AND SYMBOLS. [See "Signs".] Anthroposophical symbols include astrological signs (representing constellations and planets) as well as traditional mystic emblems. Steiner's revised versions of symbols for the constellations of the zodiac can be found, for instance, in CALENDAR 1912-1913 (SteinerBooks, 2003), and his planetary symbols can be found in MYSTIC SEALS AND COLUMNS (Health Research, 1969) — original title PICTURES OF OCCULT SEALS AND COLUMNS.

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Some symbols used by Anthroposophists refer to Steiner's own work. This medallion represents Steiner's play, THE SOUL'S PROBATION. [See, e.g., the cover of FOUR MYSTERY PLAYS (SteinerBooks, 2007); RR sketch, 2010.]

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sympathy - also see antipathy; rhythm; will

In Anthroposophical belief, humans who — in the process of reincarnation [1] — have descended to the physical world experience a continual rhythmic oscillation between antipathy and sympathy. Antipathy is caused by our descent; sympathy anticipates our return to the spirit realm. The power of sympathy, expressed through the will [2], unites us with phenomena — it reforges the links that were broken by our descent from cosmic harmony. "Because we can no longer remain in the spiritual world [3]...we are brought down into the physical world. In being brought down into the physical world we develop an antipathy for everything spiritual ... [But] we unite ourselves in sympathy with that which radiates out towards our later existence [4] ... [S]ympathy...changes our soul life into what we know as our will for action, into that which holds in germ [5] what after death is spiritual reality. Here we come to the real understanding of the life of soul and spirit. [6] We create the seed of the soul life as a rhythm of sympathy and antipathy." — R. Steiner, STUDY OF MAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966), lecture 2, GA 293.

Rhythmic fluctuation between sympathy and antipathy (incarnation and excarnation) are needed by the soul, Steiner said. Waldorf teachers often attempt to design class activities to alternate between these poles, as part of their general effort to make education spiritually rhythmical. [7]

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[1] See "Reincarnation".

[2] See "Will".

[3] Steiner refers, here, to the spirit realm generally. On other occasions, he differentiated between two higher or spiritual worlds, the soul world and the spirit world. [See "Higher Worlds".]

[4] I.e., our anticipated life after death.

[5] I.e., in germinal or preparatory form.

[6] Steiner differentiated between soul and spirit. [See the entries for "soul" and "spirit" in this encyclopedia.]

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