True-blue, Steiner-affirming Waldorf schools operate within a conspiratorial Weltanschauung. Not only do they generally have occult intentions that they conceal from students' parents, but they try to steer a safe course through a universe that, according to Rudolf Steiner, is powerfully affected by conflicting conspiracies, both the heavenly and the hellish. Steiner’s view of the universe was esoteric. The important things are hidden, known to only a few; and the important actors operate behind the scenes, out of sight. The good things are summarized in Steiner's own doctrines, which can be fully revealed only to initiates (shh!). The bad things predominantly consist of the covert machinations of evil gods and their human henchmen.

In the essay “Double Trouble”, I examine the “dark” brotherhoods, the "grey" and "black" magicians who lurk behind the scenes of human life. [1] Let’s look now on the bright side, the “white” side. (To help you wend your way through the admittedly dense tangle of the following quotations, I have highlighted the recurring, central term: The White Lodge.)

“You all know that the earth is guided in a particular way by the so-called White Lodge in which highly developed human individualities and individualities of a still higher kind [i.e., Angels, Archangels, etc.: gods] are combined. What do they do there? They work; they lead the evolution of the earth; while leading this evolution, they are devising a quite specific plan. It is really the case that during the evolution of each planet a specific plan is worked out by the guiding powers. While the earth is evolving, plans for the atom [seed or kernel] for the evolution of Jupiter — which succeeds the earth [i.e., “Future Jupiter” is our next evolutionary stage, following “Present Earth”] — are drawn up in the so-called White Lodge of the Earth. The plan is worked out in full detail. Therein lies the blessing and salvation of progress....” [2]

The good guys — humans and gods — huddle and come up with the plan that we are all to follow when we move along to our next planetary/evolutionary home. Evildoers try to derail the plan while good-doers seek to implement it. Perhaps we should quickly review two quotations we’ve seen on other pages here at Waldorf Watch: 

“While there should have been basically one form of human being...Lucifer and Ahriman [two great demons] preserved the form of the fifth Atlantean period into the sixth [i.e., they allowed fifth-stage humans to survive into the sixth stage of life on Atlantis] ... Instead of the intended consecutive development of races, there was coexistence of races.” [3]

According to Steiner's teachings, "evil" means straying from the correct path of spiritual evolution. We commit evil when we violate the plan formulated by the White Lodge. In sharp contrast, the role of the good Waldorf faculties is to help fulfill the divine plan: 

“Among the faculty, we must certainly carry within us the knowledge that we are not here for our own sakes, but to carry out the divine cosmic plan.” [4] 

We should note that although Steiner stressed the importance of freedom, we clearly have no freedom if the only good option open to us is to scrupulously follow a plan ginned up in a sort of celestial back room. If the plan of the White Lodge "is worked out in full detail," and if this plan offers us our sole hope of "the blessing and salvation of progress," then we really have no freedom. We must follow the plan. [See "Freedom".]

Reluctantly, we should also face up to the racial significance of Steiner’s doctrines. Black is evil, white is good. There are multiple races on Earth today only because demons fouled things up. We should have moved from dimness to brightness, from black to white, as it were. We should all be the same; we should all be white. But we have been foiled by our foes. [5]

Pause for a moment to consider Steiner's expression, "the so-called White Lodge." Don’t let Steiner confuse you when he tosses out equivocations such as “so-called.” He did this often, suggesting that he was speaking of such profound, holy secrets that words are hardly sufficient to convey his meaning. He was way deep.

Despite such verbal feints, Steiner claimed that the White Lodge is very real — it certainly exists. For confirmation, let’s look at an explanatory statement made by Richard Seddon, one of Steiner’s followers who evidently thought he could explain Steiner's teachings better than Steiner himself did. (It’s interesting that so many people, including yours truly, have spent so much time trying to explain Steiner, substituting clearer words for Steiner's murky ones.) 

[Seddon, speaking for Steiner]: "Earth evolution has taken place according to a spiritual plan, the inner structure of which is reformed [i.e., given new form] within humanity under the direction of the Masters of the White Lodge (such as Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, Christian Rosenkreutz [putative founder of the Rosicrucians]). This is compressed into an ever smaller kernel, so that a small copy of the whole physical evolution...becomes the atoms [sic] of the next Condition of Life." [6]

Seddon's formulation isn't really much clearer than Steiner's. The point both Seddon and Steiner have tried to make is that there is a supernal White Lodge operating out of sight, steering our evolution. The members of the Lodge include gods, humans who have become godly, humans who have housed gods (avatars), and occultists. They create a plan for us, which they compress into atoms or kernels (actually, seeds is a better image). The entire plan is miniaturized and put in these seeds, which later germinate to produce the next stage of evolution (aka "our next Condition of Life").

When Steiner was still a Theosophist, he made the following pertinent remark about the Archangel Michael: 

“Michael will print theosophy's message into men, although not directly but by letting his wisdom stream into men's etheric bodies through the great white lodge [sic: in this instance, not capitalized by Steiner's translators].” [7] 

Michael is the Archangel having special responsibilities for human evolution just now. Another way to put this is that Michael will pump the White Lodge's plan into our etheric bodies. (The etheric body is the lowest of the three nonphysical bodies that Anthroposophists and Theosophists say humans have. [See "Incarnation".]) We need to be careful when considering statements that Steiner made while he was a Theosophist — he might have changed his tune later. Actually, though, he rarely did. When he broke away from Theosophy to establish his own cult, Anthroposophy, Steiner made some adjustments in his teachings, but by and large he stayed true to his Theosophical preachments. Near the end of his life, writing the 1925 forward to his master work, OCCULT SCIENCE, Steiner said he hadn’t had to change his mind about much over the years: 

“[E]verything that I have since been able to adduce [i.e., everything that I have learned since fist outlining my occult wisdom] becomes a further elaboration of the original picture [i.e., all of my later occult visions confirmed the truth of my original occult visions].” [8] 

So, you see, he had been right all along.

When we evolve further in the near future, Steiner said, the White Lodge will expand to become more inclusive. (In the following remark, “Rounds” indicate evolutionary phases; the "higher ego" is the highest form of the individual human spiritual ego or the "I"; and "Masters" and/or "Adepts" are mystical insiders or initiates, the kinds of guys who get elected to the Lodge(s). [For clarification on such points, see The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]) 

“In the Seventh Round everyone will have reached the stage at which our Masters stand today. Then our ego [or "I"] will be the bearer of all earthly experiences. To begin with this will be concentrated in the Lodge of the Masters. The higher ego then will draw itself together, become atomic and form the atoms of (future) Jupiter. [paragraph break] The White Lodge will be looked upon as a unity, an ego comprising everything. All human egos and all separateness will be given up and will flow together into the all-comprehensive universal consciousness ... These then are the atoms which will form Jupiter. The Moon Adepts formed the atoms of the present-day Earth. One can study the atom when one studies the plan of the Adepts Lodge on the Moon.” [9]

I'm sorry. If some of that seems like gibberish to you, that's because — assessed rationally — it is. Here's the takeaway: In the not-too-distant future, we will transcend our separateness and begin merging together into a form of superhumanity. We all will then, as it were, join the club; the White Lodge will fling open its doors.

The White Lodge has our best interests at heart — it will help us a lot in the future just as it has helped us a lot in the past. For example, the Lodge intervened once to strike a balance between Jehovah, who wanted to create a perfect human form, and Lucifer, who wanted to lure us into premature, false spirituality. (Jehovah, according to Anthroposophical doctrine, is not God. He is just one of a vast panoply of gods — Steiner was a polytheist. Jehovah, according to Steiner, is a nice enough god, but he is not very high up. [See "Old Testament".] Jehovah did not create the world, but he did create our physical form.) Neither Jehovah nor Lucifer would have led us in the right direction, so the White Lodge rode to our rescue. 

“Jehovah's aim was the perfection of form. Lucifer would have been able to develop...premature spirituality. The result would have been a violent battle between the Jehovah-spirits [i.e., Jehovah's spiritual assistants] and the hosts of Lucifer. There was the danger that through Jehovah some human beings would become living statues [i.e., physically perfect but spiritually vacant] and that others would be too quickly spiritualised through Lucifer [i.e., they would have prematurely left physical reality behind]. Means of bringing about equilibrium [were needed] ... In order to annul the battle between Jehovah and Lucifer, the White Lodge, which was just in its beginning, had to obtain material from one of the other planets ... The new material was brought over from Mars. Thus in the first half of our Earth evolution astral substance from Mars was introduced. A great advance was brought about through the introduction of this astral substance from Mars.” [10]

The Lodge has super powers, remember, and its membership includes beings from many distant worlds. As we've already learned, the original Rosicrucian, Christian Rosenkreutz, is in the Lodge. Rosicrucianism is a form of occultism particularly dear to Steiner. His book THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN is an eye-opener, indicating how gnostic Christianity is the real deal (although incomplete prior to the additions Steiner himself made to the secret canon). [11] Here is another eye-opener. Christian Rosenkreutz actually presides over the Lodge, sometimes. At least, he has been empowered to call meetings of the members. And, bear in mind, another member of the Lodge is Buddha, who it turns out is Christian Rosenkreutz's best pupil. Here's what happened.

"A Conference of the greatest and most advanced Individualities [i.e., the members of the White Lodge] was called together by Christian Rosenkreutz. His most intimate pupil and friend, the great teacher Buddha, participated in these counsels and in the decisions reached.” [12] (I have inserted the term "White Lodge", and highlighted it, on my own authority, such as it may be. Disregard it if your prefer, but I am simply formulating Steiner's clear meaning more clearly than Steiner himself did.)

They decided Buddha should go to Mars and fix things there. 

“At that spiritual Conference it was resolved that henceforward Buddha would dwell on Mars and there unfold his influence and activity. Buddha transferred his work to Mars in the year 1604.” [12 again]

Buddha allowed himself to be crucified on Mars, which was useful to the Martians as well as to us, since we go to Mars, as it were, after we die. [13] 

“Buddha, the Prince of Peace, went to Mars — the planet of war and conflict — to execute his mission there. The souls on Mars were warlike, torn with strife. Thus Buddha performed a deed of sacrifice similar to the deed performed in the Mystery of Golgotha [i.e., Calvary — Christ on the cross] ... Buddha performed this deed on Mars in the service of Christian Rosenkreutz. Thus do the great Beings who guide the world [i.e., the members of the White Lodge] work together, not only on the Earth but from one planet to another. [paragraph break] Since the Mystery of Mars was consummated by Gautama Buddha, human beings have been able to receive different forces from Mars during the corresponding period between death and a new birth ... [T]his word of Peace, issuing mysteriously from Buddha, resounds from the planet of war and conflict to the soul of men on the Earth.” [14] (Again, I have inserted the term "White Lodge", and highlighted it, on my own authority, such as it may be. To read or quote Steiner means confronting the need, constantly, to clarify his tortured prose, even if only in the silence of one's own mind.)

Let's close by surveying additional revelations Steiner offered concening the White Lodge. See how they strike you. (They help explain what Seddon and I attempted to explain, in helping Steiner to say what he was trying to say, above.)

◊ "The Rosicrucians were the messengers of the White Lodge. From them went out in very truth events of world significance. Everything of importance that happened during [their] time could eventually be traced back to the lodges of the Rosicrucians. Outwardly quite other personalities made the history of Europe, but seen from within, the latter were the instruments of occult individualities. Even Rousseau and Voltaire were such instruments of occult individualities standing behind them." [15]

◊ "The being whom we call the archangel Gabriel started directing things around 1525 [AD]. Through the right control of births he brought it about that the organ that's in the sinus above the root of man's nose gradually developed. It's not directly perceptible physically, but if one could compare a recent corpse with one from the 13th century, one would find differences in structure and in the windings of the brain at the place mentioned. Archangel Gabriel gradually prepared this organ in man, so that he was able to take in the message of archangel Michael, who was next in line in 1879. Through this new organ Michael will print theosophy's message into men, although not directly but by letting his wisdom stream into men's etheric bodies through the great white lodge, and from there a man must consciously let them flow into the organ for them and then let them work in his etheric body. Those who make messages receptive for the message are ready to work on human an dearth evolution in the right way, and an esoteric should place this high, ideal goal before his soul modestly but also decisively and to become ever more aware of his high, responsible task. The others who don't use the organ allow it to degenerate and dry out, and so they don't do the work they should be doing." [16]

◊ "In the middle of Lemuria there came about for the first time what we call incarnation, incarnation in the sense in which we have human beings to-day. Mankind was guided by great leaders and teachers whom we call ‘the sons of the fire mist’. To-day the fifth root-race is also guided by great initiates, but our initiates are different from the leaders of mankind at that time. You must now come to understand what this difference was. There is a great difference between the leaders of the two preceding root-races and those of our fifth race. The leaders of those races too were united in a White Lodge. But they did not undergo their earlier evolution on our earth planet, but in another environment. They descended to earth already mature, descended as human beings of higher development, in order to instruct men who were still in their infancy, in order to teach them the first arts which they needed. This period of instruction lasted through the third, fourth, and right into the fifth root-race." [17]

◊ "The 'Adepts' are the Mahatmas or the Masters of the White Lodge or the Masters of Wisdom and the Harmony of Sensations and Feelings." [18]

◊ "The great plan for the whole of human evolution has actually been spiritually devised in the White Lodge, which is as old as humanity itself. A coordinated plan for the guidance of all human progress confronts us here. All other associations are only subordinate branches; even family groupings, etc., are all linked up in the great plans which leads us up to the Lodge of the Masters. There the plan according to which all mankind develops is spun and woven." [19]

If you didn't know these things before, you know them now.

— Roger Rawlings

[R.R.]

CLARIFICATIONS 

(?)

1.

“I recently received a magazine published in America in which anthroposophically oriented spiritual science is characterized ... You know by now that Reverend Kully [Max Kully, a Catholic minister, German] stated that there are three evils in the world. One is Judaism, the other Freemasonry, but the third — worse than all of them, even worse than Bolshevism — is what is taught here in Dornach [i.e., Anthroposophy] ... What about America? I want to read you a small paragraph from an American publication written at the same time Catholic journals over here printed their view [i.e., Kully's view] of anthroposophy: ... ‘Steiner's other occult books...all point to the same thing, namely, his writings are purely misleading ... [They are] superficial occultism’ ... The American article concludes with several more nice sentences: ‘Steiner claims to be an initiate. That may be; but whether he is of the White Lodge or belongs to the Brothers of Shadow is something one can only decide when it is realized that he stood on the side of men of 'blood and iron'...and that a number of his students here (in America) were interned as German spies.’” — Rudolf Steiner, SPIRITUAL SCIENCE AS A FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL FORMS (Anthroposophic Press, 1986), lecture 1, GA 199.

Evils: demonic powers (detail).

[Non-Anthroposophic image.]

2.

FROM ACADEMIC DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

(EN.ACADEMIC.COM):

"A round in the esoteric cosmology of Theosophy, Anthroposophy, and Rosicrucianism is a cosmic cycle or sequence by which an evolving reincarnating being passes through the various stages of existence as the Earth, the Solar System or the Cosmos comes into and passes out of manifestation.

"The Theosophical concept of rounds

"In Theosophy, the whole process is very simple. A round is a process in a planetary chain, according to which a life cycle or life-wave of souls or monads begins its evolutionary journey on the first and most subtle or spiritual of the series of seven globes; then finishing its evolution there, proceeds to the next, and so on, to the densest or most manifest globe (usually called globe D), which in our case is the gross, physical Earth. From there it proceeds on the ascending arc, through increasingly more etherial globes....

"The Anthroposophical concept of rounds

"Rudolph [sic] Steiner retained the basic concept of root races and sevenfold cycles within cycles, but his description is considerably simpler, concentrating only on the seven cycles of the present Solar System. Each of these cycles constitutes a coming into being and passing out of being of the solar system, and each is divided into seven rounds, upon which man passes through seven root races....

"The Rosicrucian concept of rounds

"According to Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings about the scheme of evolution, in the beginning of a "Day of Manifestation" a certain collective Great Being, God, limits Himself to a certain portion of space, in which He elects to create a Solar System for the evolution of added self-consciousness. In God there are contained hosts of glorious Hierarchies and lesser beings of every grade of intelligence and stage of consciousness, from omniscience to an unconsciousness deeper than that of the deepest trance condition...."

[http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/943292]

Got it? The Theosophical take is "very simple" and the Anthroposophical take is "considerably simpler". Perhaps somewhat confusingly, the word "round" does not appear in the discussion of the Rosicrucian concept of rounds. I guess this is because the Rosicrucian take is so extremely simple that the concept being discussed does not need to be discussed. Or...

The image below is a rough sketch of a rough sketch that Steiner tossed off. (I’ve chosen my own colors.) Ranged along the top are the "planets": Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Earth (green, vague), Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan. (Yes, Vulcan). At the bottom is the human being: physical body (blue) around the etheric body (orange) around the astral body (red) around a nearly invisible stack: reading, top to bottom, the stack represents sentient soul, intellectual soul, consciousness soul, and upper trinity (i.e., manas, budhi, and atma). Each human part is connected to its equivalent planet. For example, 

“The human being was never on Mars, but his intellectual soul is connected esoterically with this planet in such a way that its forces have been taken from there.” — Rudolf Steiner, CORRESPONDENCE AND DOCUMENTS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1988), p. 71.

Got it?

 [My sketch, 2009, 

based on the one in the book.]

The world would presumably be a better place 

without evil secret societies lurking in the shadows.

But good secret societies are something else:

"You have heard of Hatha-Yoga, Rajah-Yoga, and other exercises of different kinds, by means of which societies and brotherhoods connected with occult science have initiated their members. Somebody may say: All this, surely, could be attained without these secret societies. But I can tell you — and in the course of the lecture you will realise it — that the world cannot do without such societies." — Rudolf Steiner, "The Work of Secret Societies in the World" (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 93.

For more on occult lodges,

both good and evil,

see "Occult Lodges".

For Seiner's views on freedom,

see "Freedom".

For his views on democracy,

see "Democracy".

Endnotes

[1] See "Double Trouble".

[2] Rudolf Steiner, THE TEMPLE LEGEND AND THE GOLDEN LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1997), p. 190.

Concerning Steiner's use of planetary names for stages of evolution, see, e.g., "The Planets".

[3] Rudolf Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN: The Evolution of Individuality (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), p. 75.

[4] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 55.

[5] In additon to "Steiner's Racism", see, e.g., "Races", "Differences", and "White/Black". For more on Lucifer and Ahriman, see "Lucifer" and "Ahriman".

[6] Richard Seddon, THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND OF THE EARTH AS FORESEEN BY RUDOLF STEINER (Temple Lodge Publishing, 2002), p. 92. 

Note the name of the publishing house.

Christian Rosenkreutz, whose name fortuitously combines "Christian" and "Rose" (a symbol of Christ) and "Cross" (kreutz), is almost certainly a fictional character. 

"Christian Rosenkreuz, the putative founder of the group, who is now generally regarded as a fictional character rather than a real person.” — "Rosicrucian." ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, Online, 11 Aug. 2009. 

We shouldn't be surprised that Steiner believed this fiction. He was really quite unsophisticated, believing all manner of myths, fairy tales, and fantasies. His own work, after all, is fiction.

[7] Rudolf Steiner, FROM THE CONTENTS OF THE ESOTERIC CLASSES, EL, Berlin, 5-5-'09, GA 266.

The provenance of this quotation is slightly iffy, but if it is good enough for the Steiner Archive, I guess it is good enough for us. 

[8] Rudolf Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1975), p. 12.

He wrote the first version of the book in 1909, before he split from Theosophy.

[9] Rudolf Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 25, GA 93a.

[10] FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM, lecture 26.

[11] Rudolf Steiner, THEOSOPHY OF THE ROSICRUCIAN (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1966).

[12] Rudolf Steiner, THE MISSION OF CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1950), lecture 7, “The Mission of Gautama Buddha on Mars”, GA 130.

[13] We don't go to the planet Mars, so much, as to the sphere of Mars. And, not to conceal this from you, we go to other planetary spheres, too. But in re Mars: 

“We continue our journey between death and a new birth and, thus, enter the Mars sphere ... While we pass through the Mars sphere, we learn in a conscious way from the beings there. The spiritual population of the Mars sphere consists of beings who know  the cosmic speech, along with other beings who are warlike, and so on.” — Rudolf Steiner, AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE (Anthroposophic Press, 2000), p. 78.

[14] THE MISSION OF CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ, lecture 7.

[15] FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM, lecture 15.

[16] FROM THE CONTENTS OF THE ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 266.

[17] GREEK AND GERMANIC MYTHOLOGY IN THE LIGHT OF ESOTERICISM (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), lecture 1, GA 90f.

[18] Endnote in SPIRITUALISM, MADAME BLAVATSKY, AND THEOSOPHY, by Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophic Press, 2001), p. 288.

[19] THE TEMPLE LEGEND AND THE GOLDEN LEGEND, p. 186.

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