This page comprises one section of

"Steiner Static".

Do not confuse Old Moon 

with the Moon.

Old Moon was a period in time;

the Moon is an object in the sky.

[See "Planets".]

As you may recall, our first stage of evolution occurred on/during Old Saturn, and our second stage unfolded during/on Old Sun. Here's a recap. Our solar system emerged into physical existence (manvantara) as "Saturn" or "Old Saturn" (the first incarnation of the solar system), and then it subsided into physical nothingness again (pralaya); then, in rhythmic fashion, the solar system reemerged as "Sun" or "Old Sun," and then it sank from physical existence again.* During the manvantara phases — which we might call periods of manifestation — our ancient predecessors (us, in our earliest incarnations) began their crawl upward toward becoming the fine specimens of humanity we are today.

During Old Saturn, we were little more than eggs of warmth, but we began developing our physical bodies, although our consciousness was no higher than utter dullness. We existed at an essentially mineral level (on an evolutionary scale that extends from mineral to plant to animal to human). After Old Saturn sank back out of existence, there was a period of physical nonexistence, then the solar system eventually reincarnated as Old Sun. During Old Sun, we became airy creatures and we began developing our etheric bodies (the first of three types of invisible bodies we would develop). Our consciousness rose to the equivalent of deep slumber, and we were, in effect, plants or plant-men. Another pralaya followed Old Sun, and then in due course the next incarnation of the solar system occurred in the form of Old Moon, which I will now describe.

During our Old Moon phase, we gained the first primordial version of our astral bodies (the second of our invisible bodies), our consciousness rose to the level of dreaming sleep, and we became animal-men. Our chief assistants on/during Old Moon were the Sons of Life, aka Spirits of Twilight, aka Angels (gods one level more advanced than ourselves). But, as during the previous manvantaras, other gods also pitched in.

* Manvantara and pralaya are sanskrit terms used in Theosophy. Steiner used them early in his occult career, but later he tended to drop them. Manvantara means coming into existence or activity, and pralaya means subsiding or melting away. More or less. Bear in mind that the "physical" conditions that prevailed during all phases prior to the present were quite different from what we know now. "Saturn," in the sense meant here, is not the planet Saturn we see in the sky today. It is Old Saturn, the first incarnation of the solar system, the first mega-stage of our evolution. "Sun" is Old Sun, the second incarnation of the solar system, the second mega-stage of our evolution.

67) [Bodying Up]

“[T]he Fire Spirits [i.e., gods two levels above us] are active [i.e., were active] in the astral body [i.e., during Old Moon, the Fire Spirits were active in the formation of our astral bodies] ... [W]hat the Fire Spirits produce in the astral body are vivid emotions, love and hate, rage, fear, horror, stormy passions, instincts, impulses and so forth. Because the Spirits of Personality [gods three levels above us]...have previously inoculated this astral body with their nature, these emotions now appear with the character of selfhood, of separateness [i.e., these gods helped us to start developing individual spiritual identities]. One must now represent to oneself how at that time the ancestor of man [i.e., ourselves as we were then] is constituted on the Moon [i.e., during Old Moon]. He has [i.e., had] a physical body through which in dullness he develops a ‘spirit self’ (Manas [i.e., a reincarnating self]). He has an ether body, through which the Twilight Spirits [gods one level above us] feel joy and pain; and finally he possesses an astral body which, through the Fire Spirits [gods two levels above us], is moved by impulses, emotions, and passions.

“...[The] animal man [i.e., us, having risen from the plant level to the animal level]...is on a higher level than the present-day animals of earth. It possesses the qualities of animality in a more complete way. In a certain respect these are more savage and unbridled than present-day animal qualities.

“...The animal man of the Moon does not yet have firm bones. His skeleton is still cartilaginous. His whole nature is soft, compared to that of today. Hence his mobility too is different. His locomotion is not a walking, but rather a leaping, even a floating. This could be the case because the Moon of that time did not have a thin, airy atmosphere like that of present-day earth, but its envelope was considerably thicker, even denser than the water of today. He moved forward and backward, up and down in this viscous element ... At that time man was not yet developed in the form of two sexes, but only in one. He was made out of this water air. But as everything in the world [i.e., in the solar system] exists in transitional stages, in the last Moon periods [i.e., the last of seven developmental periods during Old Moon], two-sexedness was already developing in a few animal man beings as a preparation for the later condition of the earth [i.e., preparation for life on/during Present Earth: our next period of manavantara].”* — Rudolf Steiner, COSMIC MEMORY, chapter 16 (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1959), pp. 192-195.

Steiner's language is often obscure almost to the point of incomprehensibility. Steiner's followers attribute this to the great profundity of the subjects Steiner discussed, subjects veiled in the ancient past or in the high spirit realm. Other people who read Steiner may form a different opinion: They may think Steiner intentionally sought to sound Delphic and mystical, so that he would appear to a great spiritual sage. He wanted to inspire, awe, and bamboozle.

* For a list of types of gods, see "Polytheism". For a discussion of our invisible bodies, see "Incarnation". For an overview of other portions of the human constitution, such as spirit self, see "Our Parts".

68) [The Sun Splits]

“[A] kind of severance took place at a certain point during the Old Moon embodiment. The Sun, progressing as it was within the cosmic expanse [the Sun, Moon, and planets were all intermingled in a single undifferentiated mass], separated from the planetary body [i.e., it split off from the unified mass] together with the finest substances and higher beings. The less progressed part of the planetary body, namely, Old Moon itself, still containing all that constitutes our present earth and present moon, remained as a kind of cloud-body. Certain conditions brought about a densification or hardening on Old Moon and the same happened to the beings inhabiting it ... The subsequent human-animal-plant kingdom that came into existence on Old Moon now received the forces of the Sun from outside ... The Old Moon was like a great organism, living and mobile, on which the beings living might have felt like parasites of today.” — Rudolf Steiner, ROSICRUCIAN ESOTERICISM (Anthroposophic Press, 1978), lecture 7, GA 109.

In brief, the Sun split off from the unified mass and took with it various higher beings. Left on the unified mass were lower beings and substances, including you and me as we existed then, as animal-men. We were all together in a nebulous cloud that was the unified mass, containing what would become our present Earth and Moon and so on. On the Moon/Earth/planetary mass, after the Sun left, everything got denser and harder — that is, more physical: This was preparation for becoming even more physical and descending to our very, very physical earthly existence now. Following the departure of the Sun, we could receive the Sun's influence only externally, no longer internally. We moved over the face of the Moon like lice.

69) [The Sun Returns]  The departure of the Sun was reversed, as it were, when everything collapsed in the post-Old Moon pralaya. But the split would recur: The Sun would leave again in the future, followed by other separations. 

"[The] animal-man form was quite different from that of man today because the astral body did not sink into the physical body as deeply as it did later on the earth. Man is the figure he is today because the astral body eventually sank right down into him ... During the period of earth evolution [i.e., Present Earth], he [i.e., man] succeeded, with the help of the spirit, in acquiring for himself the noble, godlike form that is now his ... The essential achievement of Old Moon evolution was that time was left for the evolution of the physical body, and on the earth [i.e., during Present Earth] man was to be permeated by the astral body after having evolved physically on Old Moon at a lower stage. Then again [i.e., then, after a while] there took place a certain recession of the Moon into the Sun [i.e., Moon and Sun were reunited] ..., the Old Moon globe was again absorbed by the Sun and everything passed into a cosmic sleep, a pralaya. This began at the time when the Moon returned again into the Sun." — Rudolf Steiner, ROSICRUCIAN ESOTERICISM (Anthroposophic Press, 1978), lecture 7, GA 109.

[Sidebar: The Whole Design, in Part]  It might be helpful if, at this point, we step far back and try to conceptualize the big picture, the overall contours of our evolution as Steiner was describing it. A chart on p. 357 of THE TEMPLE LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1997) attempts to give this picture (albeit some of the terminology on the chart is Theosophical; Steiner changed to different terms for some things later). Here's the chart:

[THE TEMPLE LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1997), p. 357.]

We are evolving left to right along each of these scales. We have lived "on" (which is to say, during) Old Saturn, Old Sun, and Old Moon, and now we are "on" (during) Present Earth. Here and now, during Present Earth, we live in the Mineral Kingdom. (That is, we have not yet become fully human — we are still very densely physical or mineral. We will evolve upward to the Human Kingdom.) Within the Mineral Kingdom, we are presently incarnated in the Physical-Etheric State. (That is, at present we are largely defined by our physical and etheric bodies. This state is often called simply the Physical State or the Physical State of Form. We will evolve upward to the second Arupa State or Condition of Form.) Within the Physical-Etheric State, we currently live in the Present Great Epoch. (During the previous Great Epoch, we lived on the continent of Atlantis. This Present Great Epoch is often called the Post-Atlantean Epoch.) Within the Present Great Epoch, we are currently in the Present Cultural Epoch. (Cultural Epochs are far shorter than Great Epochs; there are seven Cultural Epochs in one Great Epoch. Our present Cultural Epoch is sometimes called the Anglo-Germanic Age; the coming Sixth Cultural Epoch is sometimes called the Russian Age; the Seventh Cultural Epoch — the last one in our Great Epoch, which will culminate in the cataclysmic War of All Against All — is sometimes called the American Age. A different "Sub-Race" is predominant in each Cultural Epoch.) Survivors of the War of All Against All will evolve to the Sixth Great Epoch. Later, as they continue evolving, they will move beyond the need for physical incarnation. After that, they will evolve to the Seventh Great Epoch.

All right. That's the overall plan.

Let's return now to events that occurred during Old Moon.

69a) [Lucifer Rises]  During Old Moon, certain rebellious spirits separated themselves from the good spirits of the Sun. (When the Sun separated from the rest of the unified mass of Old Moon, the rebellious spirits stayed on Old Moon rather than accompanying the better spirits to the Sun.) The rebels were Lucifer and his cohorts. Their rebellion benefited humanity, because it created a distinct differentiation between good and evil. This would enable humans to become free (we would have the power to choose between good and evil). But Lucifer and his minions also represented a great danger to us (they might lure us into evil), and their efforts to tempt and mislead us would continue long after Old Moon ended. (Lucifer and his compatriots "rebelled" during Old Moon. This rebellion may be called the Fall of Lucifer. A long time later, Lucifer would attempt to lure human beings to rebel. The results of his efforts then may be called the Fall of Man.) Here is how Lucifer rebelled during Old Moon:

“...Certain spiritual beings took an active part in the evolution of mankind just at the time of the moon separation, beings who had retained so much of their Moon nature that they could not participate in the separation of the sun from the earth [i.e., they were too backward or evil to go with the good Sun beings] ... In their Moon nature lay the cause of their rebellion during the ancient Moon evolution [i.e., during Old Moon] against the sun spirits, a rebellion that was at that time beneficial to the human being by its having led him [the human being] to an independent state of consciousness [the Luciferic Moon beings rebelled, separating the good from the bad, after which the human being became consciously independent or potentially free] ... If we say [that] the beings endowed with the ancient Moon nature approached the human being in order to ‘seduce’ him for their own ends, we employ a symbolic expression that is good as long as we remain conscious of its symbolical character and are at the same time clear in our own minds that behind the symbol stands a spiritual fact, a spiritual reality [the rebellious Moon beings tried to seduce us into choosing the path of evil; this is only a symbolic way to describe what happened, but it conveys a spiritual truth].

“...These moon beings...may be called Luciferic spirits [i.e., minions of Lucifer or, in a sense, Lucifer himself conceived as a compound entity]. These spirits brought to the human being the possibility of unfolding a free activity in his consciousness, but at the same time also the possibility of error, of evil.”* — Rudolf Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), chapter 4, Part 6, GA 13.

* For more on Lucifer, see "Lucifer". Concerning the Anthroposophical conception of freedom, see "Freedom". For more on the white and black paths, see "White/Black". Concerning Concerning the Anthroposophical conception of evil, see the entry for "evil" in the Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.

70) [Good Ol' Lucifer]  Because Lucifer gave us the gift of potential freedom, Anthroposophists often speak of him as a good god. But note that Steiner says Lucifer also brought us "the possibility of error, of evil.” Heeding Lucifer is dangerous. We may be led into evil, in which case we may descend into states of being that are almost too awful to contemplate. 

“[T]he human being must conduct himself so as not to be led into the abyss by this adversary.” — Rudolf Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), chapter 4, Part 6, GA 13.

Evil is a very real force in Steiner's cosmology, even though his followers sometimes deny it. Lucifer is an "adversary." He may lead us to "error" or "evil." Specifically, he may lead us into the "abyss." According to Steiner, the abyss is akin to hell — it is the region separating us from the spirit realm. If we fall into it, we may be forever cut off from spirituality. Bear in mind, however, the Lucifer is not our only adversary.

70a): "[T]here is also an opposing principle to the Lamb [Christ], there is also a Sun-Demon [the Antichrist], the so-called Demon of the Sun, that works with the evil forces of man, thrusting back the force of the Lamb, and it works in such a way that a certain part of the human race is trust out of the evolution that leads to the sun [i.e., evil people become subhuman; they cannot enter the realm of Christ, the Sun God] ... [They will] be thrown out of our evolution when the 666 conditions of development have passed away; they will then be finally cast into the abyss.*” — Rudolf Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN (Anthroposophic Press, 1993), p. 198.

* See the entry for "abyss" in the Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia; also see "Hell". Concerning our evil adversaries, see "Evil Ones" and "Bad, Badder, Baddest". According to Steiner, evolution always entails the process of separating the good or high from the evil or low. See, e.g., Steiner Static quotation #57.

71) [Siderbar: Another Moon in Another Time]  In contemplating Old Moon, we are thinking about events that transpired (or didn't) in a distant past. Let's end this section of "Steiner Static" by pondering events that will occur (or not) in a distant future. Following our lives during Present Earth, we will evolve to Future Jupiter, then Future Venus, and then Future Vulcan. [See "Future Stages".] Aberrant humans will be dropped off or pushed out at various stages, although often the good humans will reach back in an effort to redeem the wicked. Eventually, a more or less complete separation between the good and evil will occur during Future Venus. The good will continue evolving — they will go on to Future Vulcan. But the evil will be split off to reside in a moon created to serve as their penal colony.

“During that state [i.e., during Future Venus] a special cosmic body splits off [i.e., will split off] that contains all the beings who have resisted evolution, a so to speak ‘irredeemable moon,’ which now moves [i.e., will move] toward an evolution, for the character of which no expression can be found because it is too dissimilar to anything that man can experience on earth [i.e., the remaining bad souls will be segregated on a separate “moon” where they will undergo an unimaginable fate]. The evolved mankind, however, advances [i.e., will advance] in a completely spiritualized existence to the Vulcan evolution [i.e., Future Vulcan], the description of which does not lie within the scope of this book [i.e., all the good souls will proceed to Future Vulcan, where they will undergo a wonderful evolution — which, sad to say, Steiner declines to describe].” — Rudolf Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), chapter 6, GA 13. 

You may be asking yourself how Steiner knew all this, and — more to the point — why so many Waldorf teachers believe all this. But maybe we shouldn't ask. It can be disillusioning. (The answer is clairvoyance, dreams, astrology, and so forth. Delusion. Fantasy. Imagination.)

After Old Moon, we evolved to Present Earth. We'll pick up the story in a future installment.

SEVEN PLANETARY CONDITIONS

OR CONDITIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS:

INCARNATIONS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

These are the seven mega-stages of our evolution, according to Steiner. (He sometimes said there will be five more mega-stages after Future Vulcan, but he didn't describe them.) As the solar system evolves from one incarnation to the next, we evolve from one form of consciousness to the next. Along the way, we dwell "on" the successive "planets" (i.e., we live at the focal point of the solar system as it exists then). [See the entries for "incarnations of the solar system", "conditions of consciousness", and "planetary conditions" in the Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] Our evolution from Old Saturn to Present Earth is, in a sense, a descent, in that we become more densely physical at each stage. But, thereafter, we reascend toward greater and higher spirituality.

Use this link to go to "Steiner Static, Part I",

or use the following link to go to "Steiner Static, Part II".

[R.R.]