Reaching final conclusions about Anthroposophy and Waldorf education is difficult until you read some of Rudolf Steiner's works and evaluate them for yourself. We've walked through a few of Steiner's lectures and books elsewhere on this website. Here's another opportunity.

Trying to grapple with Steinerthought and Steinerspeech can be daunting, but with a little perseverance you can get the hang of it. As a sample and primer, let's focus on the sixth lecture of the series of lectures that has been published as THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1929). I will quote each paragraph of the lecture in sequence, and immediately after each, I will add a paraphrase with explanations. A certain degree of confusion will remain, but that’s inevitable when considering statements that Steiner himself said are difficult and only partially true — that is, they apply to only one of the many complex layers of spiritual reality.

In the sixth lecture, Steiner refers back to previous lectures and writings. Don't be intimidated. Reading those materials is helpful — I recommend it — but it is not essential for our purpose here, which is to gain some experience negotiating one's way through a typical Steiner production. (When necessary, I will fill in sufficient background material to ease the process.)

Fair warning: Lecture 6 contains racist statements. I have chosen this lecture because I have quoted some passages from it elsewhere. Thus, part of my purpose is to demonstrate that I have not distorted such statements by taking them out of context. The sad truth is that the context Steiner created for his most appalling statements is often appalling in and of itself. Of course, not all of Steiner's lectures consist of racist bilge — some are paeans to love and wisdom. But aside from racism, Steiner's lectures generally share various other characteristics that you will find in the following — especially occultism, obscurity, wearisome repetitions, illogic, hollow words, dreadful syntax, a disregard for facts, and a heavy reliance on sheer fantasy.

(In an effort to promote clarity, I have numbered the lecture's paragraphs. These numbers do not appear in THE MISSION OF THE FOLK SOULS.)

THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS

Lecture 6

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[Steiner's words]  "As you may imagine, it is a very complicated matter, when the Spirits of the different hierarchies [1] have so to work together with their forces that the mission of the earth can be fulfilled [2]; when they have so to work that finally a state of equilibrium comes about. [3] Hence you will understand also, that statements such as those made in our last lecture can only be made when one takes a quite definite period in evolution, and that the whole presentation is immediately altered if one considers evolution at another period. Hence also, if you wish to arrive at a complete understanding of these very complicated matters you must always take one course of lectures in connection with the others. [4]"

[My paraphrase]  Gods of various ranks [1] must work together if the purpose or mission of the Earth is to be fulfilled. [2] Such cooperation produces a state of equilibrium or balance. [3] Of course, all of this is very complicated. What I [Rudolf Steiner] will discuss now applies only to one stage of our evolution; I would have to speak in different terms when discussing a different stage of evolution. To get a more complete picture, you must take what I am saying now and put it within the context of what I have said in my other lectures. [4]

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[1] Steiner taught that there are many different types of gods, both good gods and evil gods. The gods are, for the most part, arrayed in nine ranks. The gods of the three highest ranks constitute the most august class or "hierarchy" of gods. The gods of the three middle ranks constitute the intermediate "hierarchy." The gods of the three lowest ranks constitute the least elevated "hierarchy". [See "Polytheism".]

[2] The good gods have created a divine cosmic plan for us and our universe. Everything has a purpose or mission. This includes the Earth itself: It has a mission, which is to assist humanity in its evolution. In particular, the planet Earth as it exists now is meant to assist us in a specific phase of our evolution, as we will see.

[3] Equilibrium suggests perfection, everything in its proper place, everything in proper balance. For this reason, Steiner equated equilibrium with love. We will return to this point.

[4] Steiner is right to remind us that, to gain anything like full understanding of his teachings, we need to keep each individual lecture and book in perspective, taking it in context with Steiner's other lectures and books. In this instance, we have made things harder for ourselves by leaping into the middle of a series of lectures. If you are new to studying Steiner, you may find the going especially tough. But have patience, and take heart. The more of Steiner's works you read, the more readily you'll see into (and perhaps through) his messages. And nowadays there are resources you can turn to for assistance. [You might, for instance, consult The Brief Waldorf/Steiner Encyclopedia for clarifications of arcane terms, themes, and doctrines.]

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[Steiner's words]  "I shall here draw attention to one point, and it should be taken as a sort of annotation. In the equilibrium of our earth the whole co-operation of the hierarchies is such, that we must look at what we described in our last lecture as the third hierarchy, the Spirits of Will, the Cherubim and Seraphim [1], as being something which, as regards this state of equilibrium, works from within the earth. You must naturally picture to yourselves this hierarchy as originally unfolding its powers from out of the universe towards the centre of the earth [2], and that the way in which man becomes aware of these forces does not correspond to their first direction, but the reverse direction they take when they are thrown back, reflected."

[My paraphrase]  For the moment I [Steiner] want to make one point, a sort of footnote. The equilibrium of things on Earth depends significantly on the gods called Spirits of Will, the Cherubim, and the Seraphim. These three types of gods are the members of the third or highest hierarchy of gods. [1] In helping to create the needed equilibrium, these gods work from inside the Earth itself. They send down their powers from high above us — their powers descend into the Earth and are then reflected back upwards — and we become aware of these powers only as they arise from the ground beneath us. [2]

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[1] Steiner often called this class of gods the first hierarchy. But other occasions he called this class the third hierarchy. (It depends on whether he counted from top to bottom or from bottom to top.) Complicating things further, on different occasions he used different names for the gods of each rank. If we count from bottom to top, here are the nine ranks of gods as indicated by names Steiner often applied: 1) Angels or Sons of Twilight, 2) Archangels or Spirits of Fire, 3) Archai or Spirits of Personality, 4) Elohim or Spirits of Form, 5) Principalities or Spirits of Motion, 6) Kyriotetes or Spirits of Wisdom, 7) Thrones or Spirits of Will, 8) Cherubim or Spirits of Harmony, 9) Seraphim or Spirits of Love.

[2] Steiner often taught that the powers of the gods beam down to Earth from various planets and stars overhead where the gods reside. These powers flow down into the Earth (creating differing conditions on different parts of the Earth), and then they flow up from the Earth into us. Thus, for instance, people born in one country or nation will be affected by different divine/astrological powers than people born elsewhere.

To dig into Steiner's account of the Earth's internal structure, see THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH: An Esoteric Study of the Subterranean Spheres (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007).

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[Steiner's words] "You will therefore only be able to form a complete idea of the very intimate processes which here take place, if you compare what was said in the last lecture with much that was said in my course of lectures given at Düsseldorf on the Hierarchies, in which a comprehensive idea was given of the heavenly part of the activity of the three hierarchies. [1] These things are by no means so simple, and, to make the mission of the earth comprehensible, it is necessary to select the point of view in such a way that we may see the reflections of the Spirits of these hierarchies in what we call the elements of earth-existence."

[My paraphrase] You will truly understand what I’m saying only if you have a broad understanding of the realms of the gods, which I have outlined in previous lectures. [1] To repeat: These matters are not simple. To make the mission of the Earth comprehensible, we must take the view that the powers of the gods are reflected in the substances of the Earth. [2]

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[1] Steiner here refers to lectures that have been published in English translation as SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1928) and, more recently, as THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD (SteinerBooks, 1996). Steiner repeated the same general description of the gods and their worlds in many other lectures and writings. [See, e.g., "Polytheism".] Other relevant book titles include OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE and KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT. [See, e.g., "Everything" and "Knowing the Worlds".] Despite the contradictions that mar Steiner's works, many basic themes are repeated over and over.

[2] Steiner taught that the material universe is an outward expression of the spiritual universe. Physical substances, including the four elements of nature, carry the imprint of spiritual forces. So, for instance, soil in one part of the Earth may have different spiritual effects than the soil in other parts of the Earth — the peoples living in different places will be differently affected.

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[Steiner's words]  "But if you take this into consideration, you will then also acquire a feeling of the infinite wisdom contained in the whole harmony of the forces of the universe, in the forces of the cosmos. You will also to a certain extent have the feeling that knowledge must be continually extended, that there must be no limit to it, as things are so complicated that when we think we have grasped one point of view, we are immediately compelled to pass on to another, which then throws light on the matter from another aspect. We can only advance little by little in our knowledge; nevertheless, from the indications given in the last lecture, especially at the close, you will have become somewhat more closely acquainted with what may be called the cooperation of the abnormal and the normal Spirits of Form [1], which brings about in our life on earth that there should be not merely one kind of humanity spread over the whole earth, but that a humanity might arise which can be manifested in the different races. [2]  For that uniform humanity, which man can only attain to again in the course of the evolution of the earth, the pure activity of the normal Spirits of Form would have been necessary. [3] These are the same spiritual Beings who in Genesis are called the Elohim [3], and we can really recognize seven of these normal Spirits of Form in the entire universe which surrounds our earth and together with it makes one whole."

[My paraphrase]  If you see things as I say you should, you will recognize the infinite wisdom that is contained in the harmonious actions of the gods and in their powers. You will also develop the true feeling that there is no limit to the search for spiritual knowledge: When we grasp one portion of it, we must move along to other portions which may throw new light on things and change our overall comprehension. We can extend our knowledge only step by step. Still, we can now see that normal and abnormal Spirits of Form [1] cooperated in such a way that humanity was split up into different races. [2] If only the normal Spirits of Form had affected us, we would all be members of a single race. But as things have worked out, we will not be reunited in a single race until a we have evolved further in the future. [3] The normal Spirits of Form are the gods who are referred to in the Book of Genesis as Elohim. [4] Seven of them can be found in the universe surrounding the Earth, the universe that together with the Earth constitutes a unified whole.

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[1] According to Steiner, the gods evolve much as we ourselves are evolving. "Normal" gods are those who have evolved in the proper manner; "abnormal" gods are those who have dropped behind, failing to stay abreast. 

[2] Steiner taught that the various races of humanity stand at different levels of development: Some races are higher than others. Here, Steiner says different sorts of gods, working together, caused humanity to separate into various races. On other occasions, Steiner pointed to interference by two demons: “Lucifer and Ahriman...fought against [the] harmonious tendency of development in the evolution of humanity, and they managed to change the whole process so that various developments were shifted and displaced. While there should have been basically only one form of human being...Lucifer and Ahriman [caused a separation] ... That is how it came about that physically different races inhabited the earth and are still there in our time....”— Rudolf Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), p. 75.

[3] Steiner taught that the original plan, devised by the normal gods, was for humanity to evolve together, as a group, from lowly racial forms (dark and childlike) to high racial forms (white and adult-like). The division into lower and higher races existing simultaneously on the Earth is chiefly attributable to the influence of abnormal gods. (If only normal gods had been involved, the original plan would have been successful and all humans in any epoch would exist in a single racial form.) As things stand, we will not all become members of the same race until the distant future.

[4] Steiner said that monotheism is false, except as an ideal for the very distant future. The “God” referred to in Genesis is actually a group of gods, he said: They are the Elohim. As usual, Steiner’s view differs markedly from the view of other scholars — and it is markedly different from mainstream religious teachings in the Western world. "Though Elohim is plural in form, it is understood in the singular sense. Thus, in Genesis the words, 'In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth,' Elohim is monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure seems polytheistic. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections." — “elohim,” ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA.

In the next paragraph, Steiner proceeds to discuss the seven Spirits of Form.

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[Steiner's words]  "There are seven Spirits of Form or seven Elohim. If we wish to form a conception of these seven with their various missions, and their vocation of establishing equilibrium or Love in the whole mission of the earth, we must clearly understand that these seven Spirits of Form so co-operate that what we have described in one of these lectures as ‘man in the second third of his life’ would actually be brought about. Thus if all these seven Spirits of Form could work in the way they have proposed among themselves, the essential ‘I’-man would express himself. [1] But as other spiritual Beings co-operate with them, and vary this uniform humanity, a quite special arrangement was necessary in the cosmos. If to-day you wished to seek in the cosmos the locality from whence the normal Spirits of Form are active, those Beings who, as described in our last lecture, in our present cosmos shine towards us in the light, then you must seek for them in the Sun. You must always seek in the direction of the Sun for that Cosmic Lodge, that community in the universe, in which these Spirits of Form take counsel together for the establishing of the earthly equilibrium, for the fulfillment of the mission of the earth. [2]" [I am splitting this long paragraph in two at this point. — Steiner is giving us too much to digest in a single bite. — R.R.]

[My paraphrase]  There are seven normal Spirits of Form or Elohim. They have separate missions, but by acting together they have aimed to create equilibrium or love for us. If this aim had been achieved, mankind would attain a condition that I [Steiner] have described as the second third of life: humans would be harmoniously complete, with correctly incarnated spiritual egos or “I”s. [1] But because abnormal gods participated in our development, a special arrangement had to be worked out. In the present stage of cosmic evolution, the beneficent Elohim can be found in the Sun, where they have a Lodge: the place where they confer with each other, working to help fulfill the mission of the Earth. [2]

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[1] According to Steiner, humans incarnate in stages: We are born with a physical body; at about sage seven we develop an etheric body; at about age 14 we develop an astral body; at about age 21, we develop and ego body or "I." [See "Incarnation".] The second third of life, as described by Steiner, runs from about age 21 to about age 42: This is the early, blooming stage of adulthood, when a human has a full, healthy "I." Here Steiner says tha humanity as a whole would have existed at this stage of development if the intentions of the seven Spirits of Form had been realized. (If the abnormal gods had not interfered, we would live the first third of life entirely in the spirit realm, descending to incarnation on Earth only during the second third, and reascending during the final third. — See THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS, lecture 4.)

[2] Good and evil beings work together behind the scenes of human history, Steiner said. The places where they meet are sometimes referred to as lodges. [See, e.g., "The White Lodge".] Here Steiner says the good Spirits of Form have their "Cosmic Lodge" on or in the Sun; from that location, they work to help fulfill the Earth's mission. (The Sun is home of Christ, the Sun God, and Michael, the Sun Archangel. [See "Sun God" and "Michael".]) 

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[Steiner's words]  "One thing only was necessary so that the abnormal Spirits of Form should not by their activity produce too much disorder as far as man is concerned; it was necessary that one of the Spirits of Form should detach Himself from the community; so that, in reality, you have only to look for six Spirits of Form or Elohim in the direction of the Sun, one of these Spirits had to isolate Himself, in order that through the simultaneous activity of the abnormal Spirits of Form, who are really Spirits of Motion, the equilibrium should not be completely upset. He it was Who in the Bible, in Genesis, is called Jahve or Jehovah. [1] If you wish to look for His activity in the universe, you must not seek for it in the direction of Sun, but in that in which Moon for the time being is to be found. [2] This is also indicated in my OCCULT SCIENCE, although looked at there from another aspect, when it is shown that the Spirits of Form go away with the separation of Sun [3], but that only in the special arrangement that took place in the separation of Moon [4], were the preliminary conditions created for the further evolution of man. For if Moon had remained united with Earth, the evolution of man could not have taken place. This further evolution of man was only made possible through one of the Elohim, Jahve, going forth with Moon, while the other six Spirits remained in Sun; it was only made possible through Jahve's co-operative work with His six other companions."

[My paraphrase]  The abnormal Spirits of Form are gods who should have evolved to a higher level, which would have meant they became Spirits of Motion. But they remained behind, continuing at the level of Spirits of Form. The seven normal Spirits of Form had to weaken the influence of these additional, retarded Spirits of Form, who otherwise would have created disorder. The seven normal Spirits of Form had to separate one of their own (Jehovah) from their group. [1] Otherwise, they would not have been able to create the equilibrium needed on Earth for further human evolution. Therefore Jehovah left his colleagues on the Sun and relocated on the Moon, for a while. [2] I [Steiner] referred to some of this in my book OCCULT SCIENCE, but in a different context. I spoke of the time when the Sun separated from the Earth, taking the Spirits of Form with it. [3] I also spoke of the need for the Moon to separate from the Earth [4] in order for mankind to evolve higher. Thus, human evolution has depended on the cooperation between Jehovah, on the Moon, and the other six normal Spirits of Form, on the Sun.

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[1] Steiner taught that Jehovah is not the God Almighty depicted in the Bible. Rather, Jehovah is one of the seven normal Spirits of Form. (Steiner frequently "corrected" the Bible.)

[2] To promote the evolution of humanity, Steiner said, Jehovah left his six cohorts on the Sun and moved to the Moon. (Because Jehovah is the gods of the Jews, Steiner referred to Judaism as the Moon religion. "As you know, we distinguish the Jews from the rest of the earth's population. The difference has arisen because the Jews have been brought up in the moon religion...." — Rudolf Steiner, FROM BEETROOT TO BUDDHISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999), p. 59.)

[3] Steiner taught that the Sun was once a part of the Earth; it eventually separated to become the central orb in our solar system. The Spirits of Form went with the Sun when it separated from the Earth.

[4] Later, Steiner said, the Moon similarly separated from the Earth. This provided a place Jehovah could move to, when his left is cohorts on the Sun.

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[Steiner's words]  "If we want to obtain a satisfactory conception of the activities of these normal Spirits of Form, it is best to think of them as streaming down to us in the sunlight. [1] But if we want to obtain an idea of the abnormal Spirits of Form, and of how they act in combination with the normal Spirits of Form, who are centered in Sun as it were (for it was only in order that the equilibrium could be brought about that Jehovah split off towards the Moon [2]); then we must imagine that a certain sun-force, which streams towards us in the normal Spirits of Form, is altered by the force that streams to us from the abnormal Spirits of Form, who are really Spirits of Motion. [3] These have their centre in the other five planets, speaking of the planets in the old way [4]. You must therefore seek for the centre of these others, the abnormal Spirits of Form, in Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury. [5]"

[My paraphrase]  The normal Spirits of Form can be thought of as sending their influences to us from the Sun. [1] The abnormal Spirits of Form alter the influences (the "sun-force") of the normal Spirits of Form, so that the effects on us are a combination of the influences sent to us by all of the Spirits of Form (the normal and the abnormal). The normal Spirit of Form whom we call Jehovah left the Sun, taking up residence on the moon, in order to create an equilibrium of Sun and Moon forces acting on us. [2] The abnormal Spirits of Form should have been Spirits of Motion, if they had evolved in the proper way. [3] They are based on five planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Thus, the influences reaching us from all of the Spirits of Form working in conjunction with each other come to us from all of the ancient sacred planets (Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury). [4] [5]

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[1] The Sun is, in many ways, the most crucial orb in our universe or solar system, as described by Steiner (taking many of his beliefs from ancient traditions). The Sun is the home of Christ, Michael, and six of the original normal Spirits of Form. Enormous good flows down to us from the Sun. (Bear in mind, however, that the Antichrist, Sorat, is also centered on the Sun. [See "Bad, Badder, Baddest".]

[2] Because one of the Spirits of Form moved to the Moon, a balance or equilibrium was established, sending us influences from both the Sun and the Moon.

[3] Gods generally evolve upward, from rank to rank. The gods Steiner calls abnormal Spirits of Form were once normal Spirits of Form, and they should have evolved to a higher rank: They should have become Spirits of Motion. (Normal Spirits of Motion stand one rank higher than Spirits of Form.) But these gods fell behind, thus remaining Spirits of Form (they became "abnormal" Spirits of Form because they did not graduate to become Spirits of Motion). 

[4] Steiner was a Theosophist before he broke away to set up Anthroposophy. (Anthroposophy is, in many ways, an offspring of Theosophy.) In Theosophy, "there are seven sacred planets...namely Saturn Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus, and...the Sun and Moon, which are, according to the Occult teachings, our heavenly Parents ... The concept of the seven sacred planets is not confined to theosophical literature. Origen wrote of the Gnostic enumeration as, 'Adonai equivalent to the Sun; Iaō, of the MOON; Eloi, of JUPITER; Sabao, of MARS; Orai, of VENUS; Astaphai, of MERCURY; Ildabaoth, of SATURN.'" — Planets, Sacred, THEOSOPHY WORLD (Theosophical Publishing House, Manila).

[5] This is Anthroposophy astrology: The planets and stars send down forces that influence humanity and events upon the Earth.

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[Steiner's words]  "You have now, when you look into the cosmos, a sort of distribution of the normal and the abnormal Spirits of Form. Six of the normal Spirits of Form are centered in Sun, one of them — Jahve or Jehovah — forms the equilibrium for them from Moon, by ruling and guiding the latter. The activities of this Spirit of Form are influenced by the activities proceeding from Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury. [1] These forces stream down upon Earth, are stemmed there and ray up again from Earth, as was described at the close of our last lecture. [2]"

[My paraphrase]  So, to repeat: Six normal Spirits of Form have their center in the Sun, while the seventh provides equilibrium by working from the Moon. The activities of the Spirit of Form on the Moon, Jehovah, are affected by the activities of the abnormal Spirits of Form, who properly should be Spirits of Motion and work from Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury. [1] The forces sent to Earth from these spirits on their various spheres enter the Earth and then beam upwards from within the Earth. [2]

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[1] The influences reaching us from the sacred planets often come to us indirectly. Here, Steiner indicates that the abnormal Spirits of Form on the planets channel at least some of their influences through Jehovah, the normal Spirit of Form who sends down Moon forces to us.

[2] As we were informed previously, influences coming from above pour down into the Earth, and we receive them indirectly when they radiate upward from within the Earth.

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[Steiner's words]  "Thus if you have a part of Earth's surface upon which a certain activity is exercised from the Sun by the Elohim or normal Spirits of Form, then nothing would come into existence on that particular part of the Earth's surface but the entirely normal ‘I’, that which gives man his normal being, which produces the average general human nature. [1] Now into these forces of the Spirits of Form, which through the state of equilibrium would otherwise dance here upon the surface, are intermingled the forces of Mercury. Hence in that which here unfolds as the force of the Spirits of Form, there dances and vibrates not only the normal, but also that which intermingles in the normal forces of the Elohim, in the normal forces of the Spirits of Form, that namely, which comes from the abnormal Spirits of Form who are centered in the several planets. [2] From this we see, that through these abnormal Spirits of Form, there are five possible centers of influence, and these, in their reflection upon humanity from the centre of the Earth, really produce what we know as the five main races who inhabit the Earth. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  If any region of the Earth received only the influences sent by the normal Spirits of Form, the forces in that region would be entirely beneficial, so the people living there would have normal “I”s — human nature in that region would be entirely normal. [1] But the influences of the normal Spirits of Form are mingled with abnormal forces coming from Mercury and other planets. In various regions of the Earth, the influence of one planet or another has greater impact. [2] Thus, there are five centers of cosmic influence upon the surface of the Earth. The people living near these five centers are affected by them, and this is why we have five main races among the peoples of the Earth. [3]

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[1] The normal or good gods have laid out what Steiner sometimes called the divine cosmic plan for human evolution. The influences of the normal gods would normally follow this plan and produce entirely beneficial results: The humans receiving these influences would themselves be normal or correct (they would be fully and properly formed, according to the divine plan).

[2] But abnormal influences (deviating from the divine plan) reach us from the abnormal gods dwelling on Mercury and other planets. (The strength of the influence from any one planet, such as Mercury, may be higher in one part of the Earth than in others. Thus, one center of planetary influences upon the Earth may be especially full of Mercury influences, while another center may be especially full of Mars influences, and so forth.)

[3] There are five centers of planetary influences upon the Earth, corresponding to the five planets occupied by abnormal Spirits of Form. Because the planetary influences in these five centers differ from one another, five different types of human beings have evolved: These are the five major races of humankind.

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[Steiner's words]  "If we now more closely characterize the spot which in our recent statements we placed in Africa, by saying, that through the co-operation of the normal Spirits of Form with the abnormal ones centered in Mercury, the negro race came into existence, we are then, from an occult standpoint, quite correct in describing what appears in the black race, as the ‘Mercury race’."

[My paraphrase]  The black or Negro race came into existence because, in Africa, the influence of the normal Spirits of Form mingled with abnormal influences coming from Mercury. In this sense, we can call the African race the “Mercury race.”

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[Steiner's words]  "Let us now follow on further along the line which we then drew through the central points from which the several races sprang. We then come to Asia and find there the Venus-race or the Malay race. We then pass on across the wide domain of Asia and in the Mongolian race we find the Mars-race. We then pass over into the domain of Europe and we find in the Europeans, in their basic character, in their racial character, the Jupiter men. If we cross over the ocean to America, where the place is at which the races or civilizations die, we then find the race of the dark Saturn, the original American-Indian race, the American race. The American-Indian race is the Saturn race. [1]"

[My paraphrase]  If we trace a line connecting the various centers of cosmic influence on the Earth [1], we see that in Asia the Malay race emerged — it is the race that is under the influence of Venus. If we move up to the interior of Asia, we find the Mongolian or Mars race. Moving to Europe, we find the European or Jupiter race. Crossing the ocean to America (this is the place where races or civilizations die), we find the American Indian or Saturn race. [2]

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[1] The line should run from Atlantis (in what is now the Atlantic Ocean) south and east to Africa, then east to southern Asia, then north to central Asia, then west to Europe, and then farther west to America. (We will see a simplified version of the line, presently.)

[2] Steiner was a little hard on America, describing it as a land where Saturn and/or Ahriman holds sway. Its a nasty place, really. [See "America".]

We should note that while Steiner taught that white Europeans are the most highly evolved of mankind's races, they are not perfect: They have not received the pure, undiluted influence of the Spirits of Form, but they have been influenced by Jupiter forces.

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[Steiner's words]  "In this way, if occultly you picture this matter more and more clearly, you find in these five planets the forces which have experienced their external manifestations in these five parts of the world."

[My paraphrase]  The five planets manifest their powers in five different regions of the Earth (giving rise to five different races).

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[Steiner's words]  "If you form a more and more distinct and concrete conception of this, you will acquire an inner knowledge [1] of these unique racial characters which are spread over the Earth, a knowledge of this peculiar co-operation of the normal and abnormal Spirits of Form. Thus we have, as it were, drawn the picture which holds good for a certain point. But what I have said about the different parts of the Earth, again only holds good for a quite definite epoch of evolution. It holds good for the epoch when, at a definite moment of the old Atlantean evolution, the migration of peoples started from a spot in Atlantis [2] and wandered across to the right place where they could receive the corresponding racial cultivation. Hence in my OCCULT SCIENCE you will find it pointed out that in old Atlantis, in certain Mystery Places, named the Atlantean Oracles [3], the guidance of this distribution of mankind over the Earth was taken in hand, so that in fact that equilibrium, that state of balance could be brought about which led to the corresponding distribution of the races. In one such Mystery-Oracle the truths of which we are now speaking were always investigated, and originally man was entirely guided by them. In this manner, what happened on the Earth was correspondingly directed from such centers."

[My paraphrase]  If you grasp this matter deeply, you will gain an inner knowledge [1] of the racial characteristics of the people who have spread over the Earth. Each race was molded by the particular combination of forces reaching it from the normal and abnormal Spirits of Form. Bear in mind, however, that what I have said about the five centers of cosmic influence is true only up to a certain point, that is it is true for a certain stage of human evolution. Specifically, it describes what happened when human beings dispersed from Atlantis [2] and moved into the five general regions of the Earth. I have discussed this in my book OCCULT SCIENCE: On Atlantis, in certain places called Mystery Places or Oracles [3], certain Initiates [4] understood  the cosmic influences affecting the Earth and they helped guide the various peoples to the places on the Earth where they would receive their special racial characteristics. Equilibrium was produced on the Earth when each race established itself in its proper place.

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[1] For Steiner, “inner” knowledge — heartfelt, subjective, clairvoyant — always trumps cold, dry, brain-centered knowledge.

[2] Steiner taught that mankind has lived through several epochs during life here on the Earth. We lived on Atlantis during the fourth such epoch, and we now live in the post-Atlantis epoch.

[3] “Oracles” are places where occult knowledge is dispensed, and/or they are the holy mystics who dispense such wisdom from such places.

[4] Initiates are mystics who have been admitted to the inner circle, who possess secret or “mystery” wisdom. Steiner doesn’t use the word "initiates” here, but he did so in many other lectures. For example “Etheric bodies such as those possessed by the most notable initiates of the seven Atlantean Oracles are valuable ... It was incumbent upon the Great Initiate of the Sun oracle to preserve the etheric bodies of the seven greatest initiates ... While leading His small group of simple people to Asia, He carried the etheric bodies of the seven most significant initiates of Atlantis with Him.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL ECONOMY IN CONNECTION WITH QUESTIONS OF REINCARNATION (SteinerBooks, 1986), pp. 38-39.

[Paragraph 13]

[Steiner's words]  "In the stream of peoples that traveled across Africa and crystallized into the Ethiopian race, we have to look for an impulse which could be given by the Mercury-oracle, in which one could clearly observe how the normal Spirits of Form (the six Elohim and Jahve or Jehovah) co-operated, and how the abnormal Spirits of Form whose activities proceeded from the centre of Mercury also worked in. [1] According to the astrological [2] co-operation of these various centers of force, the point of equilibrium was sought for on our Earth, and in accordance with this the centre of balance was taken as the point of radiation for the race in question. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  The people who traveled into Africa and became the Ethiopian of black race were guided by the Mercury Oracle of Atlantis. In the impulse coming from this Oracle we can clearly comprehend the influence of the normal Spirits of Form mingled with the influence of the abnormal Spirits of Form radiating from the center of Mercury powers on the Earth. [1] The various centers of astrological forces [2] reradiating from the Earth became the proper homes of the various races. [3]

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[1] A newer translation makes this passage somewhat clearer: “The wave of peoples who swept across Africa and crystallized into the Ethiopian race is an expression of an impulse from the Mercury Oracle in which one could clearly observe the cooperation of the normal Spirits of Form (the six Elohim and Jahve or Jehovah) and also the participation of the abnormal Spirits of Form working from the Mercury Centre.” — THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), p. 102. The center of power for each abnormal Spirit of Form is in a planet, and this is reflected in a center of influence on the Earth. Centers and Oracles can be in the same geographical location, but they need not be and usually are not.

[2] Yes, astrology. Astrology is woven through much Anthroposophical and Waldorf thinking. [See "Astrology" and "Star Power".]

[3] Or, as this is put in the newer edition: “The Centre of equilibrium on Earth was selected in accordance with the right astrological conjunction of planetary forces at the various centres and the point of radiation for the race in question was determined thereby.” — THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS (2005), p. 102. According to Steiner, a race became whole and balanced when it occupied its proper location upon the Earth. (The proper place was the spot where the astrological powers corresponding to that race was correctly counterbalanced by the matching forces reflected back upward from within the Earth.)

[Paragraph 14]

[Steiner's words]  "The formation of the other races was also directed in a similar way. In accordance with this, the great map is then drawn, into which are entered the influences with respect to peoples, families, etc. [1] That is the great map, which is an image of the heavenly activity which originates through the forces of the heavenly powers flowing into man, radiating back from him, and forming his destiny. [2] What may we now consider a man of the Mercury race, of the Ethiopian race as being? We may so look upon him that we say: This man is originally destined and organized by the Elohim to express in himself the whole human nature. But now from the Mercury centre the abnormal Spirits of Form worked with great power and caused man to be so varied that the form of the Ethiopian race arose; and it was the same with each of the other races. Thereby the streams of the peoples were guided in quite a definite way from the original centre, and thus the line which I drew for you a few days ago originated. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  All of the races were formed in a similar way. We can speak of a “great map” showing the centers of influence for the various races on the surface of the Earth. (Similar centers exist for peoples, nations, families, and so on.) [1] The destiny of human beings [2] is formed through the cosmic influences streaming down from above and then reflecting back through the human being. So, what can we say about anyone who is a member of the Mercury or Ethiopian race? The good gods wanted him/her to be a full-fledged, complete human being in the best sense. But the abnormal Spirits of Form have caused the Ethiopian (i.e., black) person to be so different from the norm that s/he became a member of a distinct, separate race. The same is true of the other races. All peoples were guided from the original center in Atlantis — they spread out across the Earth along the line I mentioned earlier. [3]

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[1] Steiner taught that a race, nation, family, etc., is a real spiritual being — it has a real existence over and above the existence of its members. Thus, a race has its own soul — its "folk soul." Each member of that race has an individual soul, but s/he also shares in the overall soul of the race.

[2] Karma is a central concept in Anthroposophy. Each individual forms his/her own karma (destiny or fate): What you do in one life affects your fate in your future lives. But here we see that karma is also heavily influenced by cosmic forces originating outside the individual.

[3] The line presumably should run from Atlantis to Africa, southern Asia, central Asia, Europe, and America. But the diagram Steiner drew is highly schematic and actually focused on just three locations:

[Diagram 3, Lecture 4.]

The people of Africa, Steiner said, are essentially childlike. When we follow the line from Africa to Asia, we reach a region where people are essentially adolescent, Steiner said. When we follow the line farther, to Europe, we reach a place where people are essential adult, Steiner said. (If we were to extend the line from Europe to America, we would reach a place where Steiner said people are essentially senescent, close to death, or extinct.

[Paragraph 15]

[Steiner's words]  "You must therefore imagine the Spirits of Form radiating from a centre. We have to suppose this centre as being at a definite period of time in old Atlantis. There we have that which sank down into the Atlantean continent and shaped it in such a way that the human spirits were brought under the rulership of the corresponding abnormal Spirits of Form."

[My paraphrase]  We can describe this all as follows: The influence of the Spirits of Form radiated from a center located (at least for a while) in Atlantis. Cosmic influence sank down into Atlantis at that place and influenced humanity in such a way that various people came under the rule of various abnormal Spirits of Form.

[Paragraph 16]

[Steiner's words]   "Thus were the great foundations of the races created, and when man looks up into the infinite expanses of the heavens, he must there seek the forces which constitute him. They constitute him however in their rays which return from the Earth. When he looks up to the normal Spirits of Form, to the Elohim, he is looking up to that which really makes him into man; and when he looks up to what is centered in the several Planetary Spirits (with the exception of the Sun and Moon) [1], he sees that which makes him belong to a particular race. [2]"

[My paraphrase]   This is how the races were formed. We are what we are because of cosmic forces. [1] The normal Spirits of Form have made us human beings, and the abnormal Spirits of Form have separated us into different races. [2]

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[1] As we have seen, Steiner considered the Sun and Moon to be planets, since he subscribed to the ancient concept of seven “sacred” planets. He omitted Neptune and Uranus from his account of the solar system, since these were unknown to the ancients, and Steiner usually preferred ancient beliefs rather than the findings of modern science.

[2] That is, the gods made us what we are — our identity comes from cosmic forces. Higher, normal gods made us human; abnormal gods made us members of different races. Although Anthroposophists today often claim that Steiner said very little about races, in fact his concept of racial identity lies close to the heart of his teachings about human evolution.

[Paragraph 17]

[Steiner's words]  "Now how do these Race-spirits work in and upon man? [1] They work in a very unique way, so that, as one might say, they excite his forces first of all when they reach the physical body. You know that what we call the four fundamental parts of man [2], are projected and imaged in certain parts of the physical body, so that we may say, the ‘I’ images itself in the blood; [3] the astral body in the nervous system; the etheric or life-body in the glandular system, and only the physical body stands for itself, it is an image of its own being, and for the man of the present day it has all its laws within itself. [4] The ‘I’ reflects itself in the blood, the astral body in the nervous system, the etheric body in the glandular system."

[My paraphrase]  How do the "Race Spirits" (the abnormal Spirits of Form responsible for forming races) affect individual humans? [1] Race Spirits have particular influences, starting with their effect on the physical body. Our invisible bodies [2] project themselves onto various parts of the physical body: The “I” projects itself into our blood [3], the astral body into our nervous system, and the etheric body into our glands. The physical body is different from our other bodies; it does not project itself onto anything except itself. In the present stage of evolution, the physical body has its own laws. [4] But, to repeat, the “I” projects itself into our blood, the astral body into our nervous system, and the etheric body into our glands.

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[1] Steiner is referring, here, to the abnormal Spirits of Form he has been discussing. Generally speaking, there are five Race Spirits, according to Steiner; they have their homes on five different planets. The five Race Spirits give form to the five major races of humanity, Steiner said. Race Spirits, by this account, are different from race souls. The latter are the shared, communal souls of the various races. An African, for instance, has an individual soul, but he also shares in the folk soul — the race soul — of the black race. Steiner said folk souls are Spirits of Fire or Archangels. These are lower gods, standing just two levels above mankind, whereas Spirits of Form stand four levels above us (and Spirits of Motion stand five levels up). [For more on these topics, see the entries for relevant terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]

[2] As I mentioned previously, Steiner taught that we have four bodies, three of which are invisible. We have physical bodies, etheric bodies, astral bodies, and “I”s. [See “What We Are”.] Here Steiner says the three invisible bodies project themselves into three of our physical bodily systems.

[3] Blood has enormous importance (it is connected with our highest invisible body), and the different races have significantly different types of blood, according to Steiner. [See Rudolf Steiner, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD (Health Research Books, 1972).]

[4] We currently live in an extremely physical or material condition, but — according to Steiner — we were essentially nonphysical in the past and we will be that way again in the future, but in an improved, higher form: we will be immensely “spiritualized.” We will then leave our grossly physical bodies behind.

[Paragraph 18]

[Steiner's words]  "Those spiritual Beings, who there seethe and boil in man [1] so that his racial character may come about, cannot at first work directly into his higher parts. They seethe first of all in these images [2] of the higher parts in the physical body. They cannot as yet enter right into the physical body, but they seethe in the other three members, in that which is the image of the ‘I’, the blood; in the image of the astral body, the nervous system; and in that which is the image of the etheric body, the glandular system. In these three systems, which belong to the physical body but are reflections of the higher members, [are] the Race-spirits, the abnormal Spirits of Form. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  The Race Spirits operate within us. They seethe and boil [1] inside the images [2] projected into us by our three invisible bodies. Thus, although they cannot affect our physical bodies directly, they indirectly influence our blood, nerves, and glands. The Race Spirits are present within these systems: blood, nerves, and glands. [3]

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[1] The specific gods referred to ("those spiritual Beings") are, again, the abnormal Spirits of Form whom Steiner has here called "Race-spirits." Steiner uses pejorative terms (seething snd boiling) to describe the effects of these abnormal gods upon us. Our racial identities come to us from divine beings, gods, but they are presented negatively.

The Race Spirits cannot work directly upon any of our bodies as such (they "cannot at first work directly into [man's] higher parts [the invisible bodies]" and "They cannot as yet enter right into the physical body"), but they can work their way into three basic systems of the physical body, which are reflections of our higher bodies.

[2] In Steiner's teachings, physical reality essentially consists of images of the spirit realm. Spirit is real; the material of physical level of existence is fundamentally unreal except to the degree that it manifests or reflects of the spiritual level.

[3] According to Steiner: The presence of the Race Spirits within our bodily systems causes us to have our differing racial characteristics. (Different Race Spirits are predominant within the different races, and thus the races differ from one another.)

[Paragraph 19]

[Steiner's words]  "Here you see that the physical body of man is determined from within; so that these various spiritual Beings set to work in those parts of the physical body which are the projections, the shadows of the higher members. Now where for instance does Mercury set to work? I say Mercury, so as to include all the abnormal Spirits of Form to be found in Mercury. [1] He intervenes by co-operating with others, especially in the glandular system. He seethes in the glandular system, and there are expressed the forces which originate through that preponderance of the Mercury forces, which work in the Ethiopian race. [2] Everything which gives the Ethiopian race its special characteristics comes from the fact that the Mercury forces seethe and surge in the glandular system of this people. [3] What modifies the universal human form into the special form of the Ethiopian race with black skin and woolly hair and so on, is the result of their activity. This modification of the common human form comes therefore from these forces."

[My paraphrase]  The physical body is formed from within, by the workings of spiritual powers (gods) transmitting their influences into the systems of the body. Now, how does Mercury (i.e., the combined abnormal Spirit of Forms centered in Mercury) [1] work on the physical body? He to seethes in the glandular system, as is most evident in the Ethiopian (i.e., black) race. All of the special characteristics of the black race come from the effects of Mercury in the glands. [2] The things that separate blacks from the other human races — black skin, woolly hair, and so forth — come from the effects of Mercury in the glands. [3]

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[1] According to Steiner: There are five Race Spirits — one for each of the five major human races. However, each god or spirit may be seen as a compound figure, consisting of numerous interrelated gods or spirits. Thus, the Race Spirit of Mercury may be seen as a collective entity — as a single god with multiple minions, or as numerous similar spirits who function together as a single god. (In the spirit realm, Steiner other said, there are no simple divisions or separations; essences flow into one another; the single is multiple and the multiple is single.)

[2] I.e., black Africans.

[3] Thus, black Africans are especially influenced by the abnormal Spirit(s) of Form on Mercury, and they are especially affected by the workings of their glandular system, according to Steiner. (In the next paragraph, Steiner calls the black African "the glandular type of man.")

[Paragraph 20]

[Steiner's words]  "If you now pass further over to Asia, you find there in a similar manner something we might describe as Venus forces, as an abnormal development of the Spirits of Form. These Venus forces operate by attacking principally that which we call the reflection of the astral body, the nervous system. They operate however in a peculiar way, and indeed not directly as Venus-spirits upon the nervous system. For the nervous system can be affected in two indirect ways [1]; one way is through the respiration. When the breathing is specially worked upon, these activities establish themselves in man's respiratory and nervous system, and give it a definite form. This indirect way is selected by the abnormal Spirits of Form whom we may call Venus Beings, in the Malay race, in the yellow tinted races of Southern Asia, and towards the Malay Archipelago. Just as the glandular type of man is spread over the land of Ethiopia, so over these parts of Malaya there is spread the type of man in whom the abnormal Spirits of Form work upon the nervous system indirectly through the respiratory system. There the nervous system is worked upon indirectly through the respiratory system. In the nervous system is brewed that which, with special modifications, produces the more or less yellow-colored part of humanity. The transformation there brought about, certainly expresses itself more in that part of the nervous system which we sum up in the expression ‘Solar Plexus’, therefore not really in the higher nervous system but in that mysterious part of the nervous system which runs in two strands parallel with the spinal marrow and spreads out in various directions. This part of the nervous system, therefore, is worked upon indirectly through the respiratory system, this part which in our sense does not yet belong to the higher mental activity. These Venus-forces which work in this race, seethe deep down in the unconscious organism. [2]"

[My paraphrase]  We find similar effects in South Asians, the Malay race, who are largely influenced by abnormal Spirits of Form from Venus. These Venus spirits attack the nervous system indirectly, through respiration. [1] The yellow Malay race is especially affected by these Venus spirits deep down in the “solar plexus” — that is, the Malays are affected in the unconscious part of the nervous system, in the nerves that run down alongside the spine and then spread outward. The Malay race is characterized by effects in the lower portions of the nervous system, not in the higher portions where elevated thinking occurs. [2] The Venus forces determine the character of the Malay race by affecting the race deep down in the unconscious portion of the nervous system.

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[1] Steiner mentions two indirect ways the nervous system can be affected, but he discusses only one of them here. He discusses the second way a few paragraphs down — we’ll get to it. (See paragraph 25.)

[2] Steiner taught that high mental attainment — sharp, clear thinking — is characteristic of Europeans. He taught that Asians, generally, lead more emotional lives, while Africans lead instinctive lives. [See "Forbidden".] Here, he clarifies that while "the Malay race" is determined largely by effects on the nervous system, this does not mean the Malays are equipped for "higher mental activity."

[Paragraph 21]

[Steiner's words]  "Now let us go up over the wide Mongolian plains. In those plains those Spirits of Form are principally active who work indirectly through the blood. There in the blood is brewed that which brings about a modification of humanity and produces the basic character of the race. There is, however, something very peculiar in this Mongolian race. There the Mars-spirits enter the blood: But they work in it in quite a definite way, viz., they are there able to work towards [1] the six Elohim who are centered in the Sun. In the Mongolian race, therefore, they work towards these six Elohim, and in doing so they make a special attack in the other direction towards Jahve or Jehovah Who has separated His field of action from that of the six Elohim [2]."

[My paraphrase]  Central Asians or members of the Mongol race are especially affected by abnormal Spirits of Form from Mars who work indirectly on the blood. The activity of these spirits within the blood produce the modifications of the human form that give rise to this race. And the Mongol race has a very peculiar characteristic. The Mars-spirits functioning within the blood of this race work in conjunction with [1] the six normal Spirits of Form on the Sun and they work against the seventh Spirit of Form, Jehovah, on the Moon. [2] The Mongol race has this activity within its blood.

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[1] “Working toward(s)” something usually means working in conformity with it, and/or aspiring to it. But a different interpretation is also possible. Here is how the matter is expressed in the more recent edition: “The Mars Spirits enter into the blood. But they work in the blood in a specific manner. They are able to counteract the influence of the six Elohim who are centred in the Sun. In the Mongolian race, therefore, they work in opposition to these six elohim. At they same time they actively oppose the influence of Jahve or Jehovah....” — THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), p. 105.

[2] As we have seen, Steiner taught that Jehovah, the god of the Jews, is centered on the Moon. Judaism, he said, is the Moon religion. [See "RS on Jews".] Here Steiner posits a sort of natural antipathy between Mongols and Jews. The spirits in Mongols' blood work against Jehovah (they "make an attack toward" Jehovah or "they actively oppose the influence of...Jehovah").

[Paragraph 22]

[Steiner's words]  "But besides this co-operation [1] of the Mars-spirits with the six Elohim and Jahve, which results in the Mongolian race, there is still something quite special. Just as the six Elohim from the Sun and Jahve from the Moon act upon the Mongolians, whilst the Mars-spirits work towards them, so in another case we must imagine that from the direction of the Moon the Jahve forces again meet and co-operate with the Mars-spirits, and that thus a special modification arises. Here you have a special modification of humanity, viz., that which belongs to the Semitic race [2], explained from its most occult background. In the Semites you have a modification of collective humanity, in which Jahve or Jehovah shuts Himself off from the other Elohim and invests this people with a special character, by co-operating with the Spirits of Mars, in order to bring about the special modification of this people."

[My paraphrase]  The interaction [1] of the Mars spirits with the seven normal Spirits of Form creates the Mongol race. Similarly, Moon or Jehovah influences combine with Mars influences to create the Semitic race. [2] Semites are different from other people because Jehovah cooperates with the Mars Spirits to make Semites different.

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[1] The newer edition uses the word “interaction”: “But apart from this interaction of the Mars spirits with the six Elohim and Jahve which produce the Mongolian race....” — p. 105.

Paragraph 22 is essentially an aside, in which Steiner discusses a different relationship between the Mars and Moon spirits, a relationship that he says leads to the Semitic race.

[2] The Semitic race is not one of the five main races. Semites are Jews and others (primarily Arabs) who use a Semitic language: chiefly Hebrew, Arabic, or Aramaic. Steiner was speaking mainly of Jews.

[Paragraph 23]

[Steiner's words]  "You will now perceive the special element contained in the Semitic people and its mission. [1] In a certain deep occult sense the writer of the Bible [2] was able to say, that Jahve or Jehovah had made this people His own, and when to this you add the fact that there was here a co-operation with the Mars-spirits who direct their attacks chiefly upon the blood, then you will also comprehend why the continuous action of the blood from generation to generation was of quite special importance to the Semitic Hebrew people, and why the God Jahve describes Himself in the Semitic people as the God Who comes down in the blood from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and so on. That is the important thing: how the blood runs through all these generations. By describing Himself as ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’, Jehovah says: ‘I act in your blood’. [3] That which always works in the blood, that which must be fought out in the blood, — the co-operation with the Mars-spirits, — that is one of the mysteries which lead us deeply into the wise guidance of the entire humanity of the Earth. [4]"

[My paraphrase]  Semites — in particular Jews — have a special mission, just as all races and peoples do. [1] Jehovah made the Jews his own chosen people. His influence, combined with that of the Mars Spirits, works in the blood of the Jews. Jehovah said that he passes through the blood of the Jewish people. [3] The interaction of Moon forces and Mars forces in the blood of the Jews is one of the mysteries that shows the gods’ wise guidance of humanity. [4]

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[1] Steiner does not describe the Jews' mission here, but elsewhere he said it was to prepare the way for the Christ. Having completed that mission, "Judaism as such has long since outlived its time; it has no more justification within the modern life of peoples." — Rudolf Steiner, "Robert Hamerling: Homunkulus", first published in DEUTSCHE WOCHENSCHRIFT, vol. 6, nos. 16 and 17, 1888; GESAMMELTE AUFSATZE ZUR LITERATUR 1884-1902 (Dornach, 1971), GA 32, p. 152.

[2] In reality, of course, the Bible was written by numerous authors.

[3] This is a fine example of Steiner reinterpreting the Bible to suit his own occult doctrines.

[4] You can make your own judgment about how much “wisdom” is shown in these doctrines

[Paragraph 24]

[Steiner's words]  "So you see, that the blood of mankind is acted upon in a twofold manner; that two races originate, by the blood of mankind being acted upon; on the one side we have that which we call the Mongolian race, on the other that which we may describe as belonging to the Semitic race. That is a great polarity in humanity, and we shall have to trace much that is of immense importance back to this polarity, if we wish to understand the depths of the Folk-souls. [1]"

[My paraphrase]  Human blood is affected in two distinctly different ways, giving rise two two different races: the Mongol race and the Semitic race. These races stand as polar opposites of each other. There is immense significance in this, and we will have to grasp it if we are to understand the significance of Folk Souls (i.e., the souls of nations, peoples, and races). [1]

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[1] In paragraphs 23 and 24, Steiner has introduced what he considers a very important topic. But this topic is tangential to the focus of this lecture. So he will now drop the tangential topic and return to his exposition of the five main races and their ties to the five abnormal Spirits of Form.

[Paragraph 25]

[Steiner's words]  "We shall now go back still further and trace how the Spirits and Beings who have their centre in Jupiter seethe and boil in man. These select for themselves the second point of attack, so as to act indirectly upon the nervous system. [1] The one point of attack is through the senses of man; the other point of attack which works into the nervous system, goes indirectly through the respiratory system into the solar plexus. [2] The attack proceeding from Jupiter goes indirectly through the sense-impressions and streams out from thence upon those portions of the nervous system which are centered in the brain and spinal cord. [3] Here flow in, in those races belonging to the Jupiter humanity, those forces which give the special stamp to the racial character. This is more or less the case in the Aryans, in the peoples of Asia Minor and Europe, those whom we reckon as belonging to the Caucasian race. In these arises that modification of universal humanity which comes from the abnormal Spirits of Form whom we may describe as Jupiter Spirits, working upon the senses. The Caucasians therefore are determined through the senses. [4]"

[My paraphrase]  Let’s circle back now to examine the second indirect way the human nervous system can be influenced. [1] Jupiter Spirits attack the nervous system through the senses (just as Venus Spirits attack it through respiration). [2] In general, the Aryan or Caucasian race is formed by the effects of Jupiter Spirits attacking the higher portions [3] of the nervous system through the senses. [4]

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[1] Steiner previously told of one way the nervous system can be indirectly affected. (See paragraph 20.) Now he tells of a second way.

[2] The first indirect avenue to the nervous system (and especially the "solar plexus") is through respiration. The second avenue — which Steiner now introduces — is through the senses.

[3] The Malay race, Steiner says, develops through effects on the lower portion of the nervous system. Thus, Malays are not characterized by high mental activity. By contrast, the Caucasian race develops through effects on the higher portion of the nervous system. Thus, Caucasians are characterized by high mental activity — they are thinkers.

[4] Steiner taught that whites (Caucasians, Aryans) are the highest race, but this is not the same as saying they are perfect. Even whites diverge from the human norm that the good gods intended for us; they just diverge less than other races do. As you’ll see in a moment, Caucasians can reach high pinnacles of near-perfection.

Jupiter forces, determining the special characteristics of Aryans, work through the brain. Although Steiner generally disparaged the brain and brainwork, he indicates that Aryans have better brains than other races do. (The brain is the apex of the nerve system, which entails the senses. Thus, Steiner speaks here of brains, nerves, and senses. Steiner contrasts Aryans or "Jupiter humanity" with Malays or the "Venus race," which he says is affected in the lower portion of the nervous system, the "solar plexus".)

[Paragraph 26]

[Steiner's words]  "Now you will also understand that a people like the Greeks, who were quite specially and consciously under the influence of Jupiter or Zeus [1], who felt themselves to be a centre for the Zeus influence, were pre-eminently determined by what flows into the nervous system through the senses. Of course the Greeks were also influenced by the Elohim who stream in from Sun. [2] But the case was such, that among the Greeks everything that acts upon the senses was devoted to the influence of Jupiter or Zeus, and by that means this people attained its greatness. Everything the Greeks saw in the way of external form, external life, contained important meanings for them. They saw the spiritual in their perceptions of the physical, and hence became the basic people for all sculpture, for all external form-giving. [3] This indicates a very special mission of the Greek people, who are so eminently the people of Jupiter or Zeus, who even at the time when, — especially through the entrance of the star-constellation [4], — the co-operation of the Zeus or Jupiter-forces with the universal Elohim-forces took place, felt themselves to be the people of Zeus."

[My paraphrase]  The ancient Greeks are a prime example of the Caucasian race — they knew they were under the influence of Jupiter or Zeus [1], and they were deeply influenced by what they perceived with their senses. [3] The Greeks were also influenced by the normal Spirits of Form on the Sun [2], but they owed their special characteristics to the influence of Zeus. They perceived spiritual truths behind the physical universe revealed by the senses — this is why they excelled at sculpture and other arts that give form to spirit. In this, we see the special mission of the Greek people, which was reinforced by powers from the stars or zodiac. [4] The Greeks attained greatness through their conscious connection to Zeus.

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[1] Steiner has said that Jupiter forces have special effects on Caucasians. Here he identifies these forces with the god Jupiter, otherwise known as Zeus.

Steiner holds up the Greeks as prototypical Caucasians, admirable thinkers. Steiner taught that rational thinking first became possible amog the Greeks; no other or prior peoples were rational.

[2] These are the six normal Spirits of Form mentioned previously; they are centered on the Sun. In this paragraph, Steiner refers to them as "universal Elohim-forces" — they affect every human, just as the Sun affects all life on Earth. The Greeks flourished at the crucial time (the "Turning Point of Time") when the central Sun God, Christ, descended to Earth. [See the entry for "Turning Point of Time" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] This was the dawning of a new age, a new direction for human spiritual evolution.

[3] Yes, the Greeks used their senses. But so did everyone else, of course. And yes, the Greeks created some wonderful sculptures and structures — but so did many other cultures around the globe. When Steiner makes distinctions like these, it is well to pause and reflect. He said, for instance, that no one really had conscious, rational thoughts until about 600-800 BC, and then it was the Greeks (Aryans, whites) who learned to think. Other races didn’t think and, to some degree, still do not think, according to Steiner. “[T]hinking itself — the abstract intellect — dawned only between 600 and 800 B.C.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY (Anthroposophic Press,  1998), p. 117. Steiner taught that the best thinking is done by people with very little pigmentation. The whiter the better, according to Steiner. “If the blonds and blue-eyed people die out, the human race will become increasingly dense.... Blond hair actually bestows intelligence. In the case of fair people, less nourishment is driven into the eyes and hair; it remains instead in the brain and endows it with intelligence. Brown- and dark-haired people drive the substances into their eyes and hair that the fair people retain in their brains.” — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 1 (Anthroposophic Press, 1981), pp. 85-86. People who know anything about ancient China, for instance, may question whether the ancient Chinese did not know how to use their intellects.

[4] This is astrology. Steiner is referring to the dawning of a new age when one sign of the zodiac gives way to another. The newer edition of these lectures puts the matter this way: “Even at the time when, especially under the influence of the new planetary constellation, the cooperation of the Jupiter or Zeus forces with the universal Elohim forces took place, they felt themselves to be the people of Zeus.” — THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS (2005), p. 107.

[Paragraph 27]

[Steiner's words]  "All the peoples of Asia Minor and especially the European peoples [1], are on the whole modifications of this Jupiter influence, and you may now divine that, as man has many senses, many modifications can come about, and that in the formation of the several peoples within this basic race which were formed by the senses working upon the nervous system, one or other of the senses may have the mastery. Through this the various peoples may assume different forms. [2] According as the eye or the ear or one of the other senses has the upper hand, so will the different peoples be determined in this or that direction for the special national tendency within the racial character. Through this they get quite definite tasks. One task, which specially devolves upon the Caucasian race is, that it is to tread the path to the spiritual through the senses, for it is built especially upon the senses. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  All people in Asia Minor and Europe [1] are under the influence of Jupiter. There are divisions within this race based on which senses are predominant among a particular people or nation. [2] This causes differences in physical form and it affects the task or mission of each people. Caucasians in general have the task of finding the spiritual through the senses. [3]

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[1] I.e., Aryans or Caucasians, and especially white Europeans. (For Steiner, all Europeans are essentially, racially white.)

[2] Within each major racial form, there are various sub-races or peoples, according to Steiner. Here, he speaks of subtypes within the Aryan or Caucasian race.

[3] Here Steiner again speaks of the Aryans or Caucasians in general, not specific subtypes. Aryans in general are "built especially upon the senses" in general. Specific subtypes or peoples are "built upon" specific senses (that is, specific senses predominate), which leads them to have specific "national tendencies" and "tasks" (or missions).

[Paragraph 28]

[Steiner's words]  "Herein lies something that leads one into the deeper starting-points of occultism [1] and it will show you that in those peoples whose sign, so to speak, lies in the Venus-character [2], the principal starting-point, even in occult training, must be made where the breathing is the most important thing. [3] On the other hand in the peoples living more to the West, the starting-point of their deepening and spiritualizing must be taken from what is in the sense world. This is possessed by peoples who occupy countries more towards the West, in their stages of higher cognition, in imagination, inspiration and intuition, in accordance with the way in which the Jupiter-spirit originally modified their character. [4]"

[My paraphrase]  This subject takes us to the heart of occultism. [1] Peoples primarily under the influence of Venus [2] live in the part of the Earth where breathing has the highest importance — this is what will lead them to occult training and wisdom. [3] But people in the West must approach the spirit realm through use of their senses. They do this through higher forms of thought than mere intellect: They learn to employ imagination, inspiration, and intuition. [4]

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[1] Steiner identified himself as an occultist — that is, one who delves into mysterious or hidden (occult) knowledge, especially knowledge of spiritual matters. [See "Occultism".]

[2] This returns to the topic of astrology. By "sign," Steiner means astrological sign; by "Venus-character," he means the human type chiefly influenced by the forces of Venus.

[3] Specifically, Steiner is referring here to the Malay race, which he has said is formed — under the influence of Venus — through the effects of respiration on the lower nervous system. (See paragraph 20.) By contrast, the people to the West — Aryans, Caucasians — are formed under the influence of Jupiter working through the senses.

[4] These are the forms of thought emphasized in Waldorf schools. According to Steiner, they are steps toward the attainment of exact clairvoyant powers. [See the entries for such terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]

[Paragraph 29]

[Steiner's words]  "Hence there were always these two centers in the evolution of humanity, the one ruled more by the Spirits of Venus, and the other ruled more by the Spirits of Jupiter. [1] The Spirits of Jupiter were specially observed in those Mysteries [2] in which — as those of you will know who took part in my course of lectures at Munich last year [3] — the three Individualities met together, the three spiritual Beings, Buddha, Zarathustra or Zarathas in his later incarnation, and that great leader of humanity whom we describe by the name of Skythianos. [4] That is the Council which, under the guidance of One still greater [5], set itself the task of investigating into the mysterious forces which must be developed for the evolution of humanity, whose starting-point was taken from that part which is originally connected with the Jupiter forces and which was preordained in the map of the Earth already mentioned."

[My paraphrase]  There are two primary centers on the Earth deeply involved in the evolution of humanity. One is in the East, where the influence of Venus is greatest, and one is in the West, where the influence of Jupiter is greatest. [1] The one in the West is more closely connected to our future evolution: It was there that a secret council of initiates was held to investigate the powers humanity must develop to evolve properly. [2] In attendance were Buddha, Zarathustra, and Skythianos. [4] They worked under the guidance of a still higher Being. [5]

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[1] Here Steiner posits a polarity between the Malay race (under Venus) and the Aryan race (under Jupiter). The former race is distinguished by the lower nervous system and low forms of mental activity; the later is distinguished by the higher nervous system (including the brain) and high forms of mental activity.

[2] "Mysteries" are esoteric rites or knowledge possessed only by initiates: They are hidden or occult rites and knowledge. The Aryan or Caucasian race is especially equipped to investigate the mystery wisdom humanity needs to evolve properly. (Such wisdom, Steiner indicated, is contained in his own teachings: Anthroposophy.)

[3] These lectures are available in THE EAST IN THE LIGHT OF THE WEST (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1940.)

[4] Steiner is describing another of the lodges or councils of high spiritual beings and/or initiates who, he taught, direct human life from behind the scenes. Buddha is Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism; Zoroaster is the Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism; Skythianos is a high initiate who preserved the wisdom of Atlantis: “Among the great initiates who had founded mystery places in the West for the preservation of the old Atlantean wisdom, a wisdom that entered deeply into all the secrets of the physical body was the great Skythianos, as he was called in the Middle Ages. And anyone who knows the nature of the European mysteries knows that Skythianos is the name given to one of the greatest initiates of the earth.” — THE EAST IN THE LIGHT OF THE WEST, lecture 9, GA 113.

[5] “There is a fourth individuality named in history behind whom for those who have the proper comprehension, much lies hidden — an individuality still higher and more powerful than Skythianos, than Buddha or than Zarathustra. This individuality is Manes, and those who see more in Manichaeism than is usually the case know him to be a very high messenger of Christ.” — Ibid. Manes or Mani founded the dualistic religion called Manichaeism. Some Christian heretics have embraced parts of the Manichean creed.

[Paragraph 30]

[Steiner's words]  "Finally, what we may describe as the abnormal Spirits of Form who have their centre in Saturn, act upon the glandular system, but in a roundabout way through all the other systems. [1] Therefore in all that we must describe as the Saturn-race, in everything to which we must attribute the Saturn-character, we must look for something which draws together and embraces that which leads again to the evening twilight of humanity, whose development brings humanity in a certain way to a real conclusion, to a dying away. The expression of this action on the glandular system is seen in the American-Indian race. From that action comes its mortality, its disappearance. [2] The Saturn influence acts through all the other systems finally upon the glandular system. It separates out the hardest parts of man, and we may therefore say that this dying-out consists in a sort of ossification, and this may also clearly be seen in the outer form. [3]"

[My paraphrase]  Finally, the abnormal Spirits of Form who are centered in Saturn influence human glands in a roundabout way, and through the glands their influence spreads to all parts of the body. [1] For this reason, in the Red Indian or the Saturn race we find the forces that lead to death. This is why the American Indian has disappeared. [2] The influence of Saturn works on all the systems in the body, and preeminently on the glandular system, which secretes the hardest parts of the body. The result is death through ossification — that is, flesh turns to bone. We see this in the outer form of the American Indian. [3]

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[1] Steiner previously identified black Africans as "the glandular type of man." Here he emphasizes the glandular system in Native Americans. This is consistent with his overall racial schema. Black Africans are essentially childlike, according to Steiner, and Native Americans stand at the other end of life, in what is sometimes called a second childhood.

[2] Steiner spoke of Native Americans as if they have been exterminated, and thus they represent "the evening twilight of humanity," "a dying away," "morality", "disappearance." According to Steiner, native Americans embody mankind at the end of life. (In reality, Native Americans suffered a terrible toll at the hands of European settlers — it may be correct to say that they were the victims of genocide — but they were not exterminated.)

[3] Steiner had evidently seen photographs that accentuated the bony structures (perhaps high cheekbones) of some Native Americans. From this, he deduced that Native Americans are peculiarly bony or ossified. (See paragraph 31.)

[Paragraph 31]

[Steiner's words]  "If you look at the pictures of the old American Indians, the process above described is palpable in the decline of this race. In a race such as this, everything which existed in the Saturn-evolution [1] is now present in them, and that in a special manner; it has withdrawn into itself and left man alone with his hard bone system, and brought him into decline. One feels something of this truly occult activity, if one observes how, even in the nineteenth century, a representative of these old Indians speaks of how in him there dwells what formerly was great and mighty for man, but which could not possibly go along with further evolution. There is in existence a description of a beautiful scene, in which a leader of these Indians who are dying out, confronts a European invader. [2]"

[My paraphrase]  Pictures of the old American Indians show this process. American Indians are peculiarly bony, because the Saturn influence [1] is so strong among them. We find the occult truth behind this in the remarks of an old Indian who said that he carries inside something that was once great and mighty, but he cannot evolve further. We have a description of a beautiful scene in which an Indian leader speaks of this to a European invader. [2]

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[1] According to Steiner, the planet Saturn — and it resident god — affect Native Americans. Moreover, Native Americans are throwbacks to the first stage of human evolution, called Old Saturn. [See "Old Saturn".]

[2] Steiner will describe this imagined scene in the next paragraph.

[Paragraph 32a]

[Steiner's words]  "Imagine what is felt in the heart when two such men confront each other, men who came across from Europe, and men who in the earliest ages, when the races were divided, went over to the West. The Indians then took over with them to the West all that was great in the Atlantean culture. [1] What was the greatest thing of all to the Indian? It was that he was still able dimly to sense something of the ancient greatness and majesty of a period which existed in the old Atlantean epoch, in which the division of the races had hardly begun, in which men could look up to the Sun and perceive the Spirits of Form penetrating through a sea of mist. [2] Through an ocean of mist the Atlantean gazed up at that which to him was not divided into six or seven, but which acted together. This co-operative activity of the seven Spirits of Form was called by the Atlanteans the Great Spirit who revealed himself to man in ancient Atlantis. [3] The Atlantean had not taken into himself all that the Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter Spirits brought about in the East, through which were developed all the civilizations which reached their zenith in Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century. [4] In all this the son of the brown race did not participate. [5] He clung firmly to the Great Spirit of the primeval past. That which the others had done, those who in a primeval past had also received the Great Spirit, passed before his eyes when a paper was laid before him on which were many little signs, letters, of which he understood nothing." [As I did with another long paragraph above, I will cut this paragraph in two. — R.R.]

[My paraphrase]  Imagine what the the European and the Indian felt in their hearts when they met. One had come to American from Europe, the other was descended from the people who migrated to America from Atlantis, carrying with them all that was greatest from the culture of Atlantis. [1] Most important, for the Indian, was the memory of the time when in ancient Atlantis men could look up to the Sun and perceive the normal Spirits of Form there. [2] In those days, humanity had not yet been divided into races, and all seven of the normal Spirits of Form were still united. The people of Atlantis called these seven united Spirits of Form the “Great Spirit.” [3] The abnormal Spirits of Form had not yet set humanity on the path leading to the evolution of human civilizations, the greatest of which arose ultimately in Europe in the nineteenth century. [4] The American Indian did not participate in this human advancement. [5] He remained stuck in the past, clinging to the ancient “Great Spirit.” The European showed him a written account of human history, but the Indian could not read it.

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[1] As we saw earlier, Steiner taught that humanity dispersed after the destruction of Atlantis. The people who became Native Americans went to the west, to America.

Here Steiner describes a meeting between a recent European settler (a man "who came across [recently] from Europe") and a Native American (a descendant of those who traveled from Atlantis to America).

[2] I.e., the people of Atlantis had a direct (if dim) knowledge of the gods above them. Native Americans have preserved this memory, Steiner says.

[3] The people of Atlantis saw all of the Spirits of Form acting together, as a unified divine company. None of these gods had yet split away. Native Americans preserve this memory in the form of the "Great Spirit." (Steiner accepts the myth, common in Europe, that Native Americans worshipped a single God or divine presence whom they call the Great Spirit. In reality, there were many disparate Native American religions. See, e.g., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American-religion.)

[4] Steiner lists, here, the gods who oversaw the development of the other major races, aside from the Native American. The people of Atlantis, Steiner says, had not yet been dispersed and worked upon by these gods in order to create separate races. The development of these races led to the development of human civilizations, culminating in the civilization of Europe. (Steiner, a European born the nineteenth century, was giving this lecture to Europeans born in the nineteenth century. The date of the lecture was June 12, 1910 — early in the twentieth century. No doubt the white European audience liked what it heard.)

[5] Native Americans did not participate in the great evolution of human civilizations, Steiner says. They remained essentially static, preserving their ancient memories.

[Paragraph 32b]

[Steiner's words]  "All that was foreign to him [i.e., the Indian], but in his soul he still had the Great Spirit. [1] His speech has been preserved to us; it is worthy of note because it points to what we have explained [2], and it runs somewhat as follows: ‘There, in the ground upon which walk the conquerors of our country, the bones of my brothers are buried. Why are the feet of our conquerors allowed to walk over the graves of my brothers? Because they are in possession of that which makes the white man great. The brown man is made great by something else; he is made great by the Great Spirit, Who speaks to him in the sighing of the wind, in the rustling of the forest, in the surging of the waves, in the gurgling of the spring, in thunder and lightning! That is the Spirit Who to us speaks truth. Oh, the Great Spirit speaks truth! Your Spirits, whom you have here on paper, and who express what to you is great, they do not speak truth.’ Thus spoke the Indian Chief, from his point of view. [3] The brown man belongs to the Great Spirit; the pale man belongs to the spirits who, in black shapes, as little dwarf-like beings — he meant the letters — hop about on the paper and who do not speak the truth. That is a world-historic dialogue, which was carried on between the conquerors and the last of the great Chiefs of the brown men. Here we see what belongs to Saturn and his activity, and what originates on the earth from his co-operation with other Spirits, at such a moment as this, when two different directions meet."

[My paraphrase]  Knowledge of the kind possessed by the European was foreign to the Indian; he remained devoted to the “Great Spirit.” [1] Here is the speech given by an Indian leader to a European (it confirms what I have told you [2]): “White men have conquered our land and now they walk above the bones of our people, buried in this land. They have conquered us because they possess the power that makes the white man great. We brown men are made great by something else, by the Great Spirit who speaks to us through the forces of nature. He speaks the truth to us. The spirits guiding the white man are black marks on paper, and they do not speak truth.” This is the point of view expressed by that Indian chief. [3] We see in this meeting of white and brown men the contrast between the influence of Saturn, on one side, and the cooperation of Saturn with other Spirits, on the other side.

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[1] Note that the “Great Spirit,” honored by the people of Atlantis, was a sort of illusion: the seven Elohim seen as one god instead of seven. Seeing them as a single being was correct for that period of human evolution, but later humanity moved on, Steiner says. Human initiates came to understand that the seven Elohim were separate, and that one of them had transferred to the Moon. The Indian, stuck in the past, knew nothing of this, Steiner says. (Bear in mind that Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".])

[2] Steiner ascribes to the Native American a speech that, reflecting immemorial tradition from ancient Atlantis, miraculously confirms Steiner's occult teachings (very approximately).

[3] The "Indian" presents an ancient point of view that is, in some ways, preferable and even "truer" than the modern point of view. Yet it is also outdated; it has not kept abreast of human evolution, which is the great path forward, according to Steiner. Steiner often expressed nostalgia for the (imagined) past, and he often deplored modern culture and science. But he also taught that evolution upward from ancient times to a glorious future time is the divine plan laid out for us by the gods.

[Paragraph 33]

[Steiner's words]  "Thus we have seen how humanity in general was brought to the surface of our Earth by the Elohim or the normal Spirits of Form, how then the five principal races of human evolution lift themselves out of the collective mass of mankind, out of the ocean of humanity, and how these five races are connected with the guiding Spirits belonging to the ranks of the abnormal Spirits of Form whom we must call by the names which we take from the five planets, whereas the normal Spirits of Form are to be sought for in the Sun and in the Moon. From this point we shall proceed further, and pass on to something that will be easier to us, because we shall be connecting onto something familiar to us, namely, to tribes and peoples."

[My paraphrase]  So we see how the human being was brought to Earthly life by the normal Spirits of Form. But then mankind was divided into five races, as the result of actions taken by the abnormal Spirits of Form. (They are are centered in five planets, whereas the normal Spirits of Form are centered in the Sun and the Moon.) In my next lecture, we will proceed to a topic that is more familiar to us. I will speak about smaller divisions of humanity: tribes and peoples.

• End of the Lecture •

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I invite you to read the next lecture in the same book — or any and all other lectures by Steiner. You'll find it to be more of the same. Sometimes racism appears; usually it does not; but in all cases, Steiner presses insupportable, occultist bunk.

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P.S. How do you know I haven't cheated? Maybe lecture 6 in THE MISSION OF THE FOLK-SOULS is not at all typical of Steiner's lectures in general. Maybe every single one of Steiner's other lectures is much, much better than this one. You won't know unless you read more Steiner lectures, will you? So, please, read. Especially if you are thinking of sending a child to a Waldorf school, please read many more Steiner lectures. Make sure you understand what sort of philosophy lies behind the school you may entrust your child to. Please.

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P.P.S. I didn't cheat. Steiner's racism crops up in many lectures, and virtually all his lectures exhibit occultism, obscurity, wearisome repetitions, illogic, hollow words, dreadful syntax, a disregard for facts, and a heavy reliance on sheer fantasy. Please check me on this.

— Roger Rawlings

 ◊

Here is a tabular summary

of some of Steiner's racial doctrines,

emphasizing those found

in the lecture we have been reviewing:

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To see Steiner at his "best,"

see "Best".

To examine another Steiner lecture in its entirety

— both German and English texts —

see "Forbidden"

and "Also Forbidden".

[R.R.]