The Rudolf Steiner Archive

The Division into Sexes

[ 1 ] As different as the human form was in ancient times from what it is today—as described in the previous excerpts from The Akashic Records—if one goes even further back in human history, one encounters states that are even more diverse. For even the forms of man and woman emerged only over the course of time from an older fundamental form, in which human beings were neither one nor the other, but both at the same time. Anyone who wishes to form a conception of these very distant times in the past must, however, completely free themselves from habitual notions derived from what human beings see around them. — The times to which we now look back lie somewhat before the middle of the epoch referred to in the preceding sections as the Lemurian epoch. The human body still consisted of soft, malleable substances. The other formations of the Earth were also still soft and malleable; compared to its later solidified state, the Earth was still in a swelling, more fluid condition. Since the human soul incarnated in matter at that time, it was able to adapt this matter to itself to a much greater degree than later. For the fact that the soul assumes a male or female body stems from the fact that the development of external earthly nature imposes one or the other upon it. As long as the materials had not yet solidified, the soul could subject these materials to its own laws. It made the body an imprint of its own being. But once matter had become dense, the soul had to submit to the laws imposed upon this matter by external earthly nature. As long as the soul could still rule over matter, it shaped its body as neither male nor female, but endowed it with qualities that were both at the same time. For the soul is both male and female. It bears within itself these two natures. Its male element is akin to what is called will, its female element to what is designated as imagination. — External earthly formation has led to the body assuming a one-sided form. The male body has taken on a form determined by the element of will, while the female body, on the other hand, bears more of the stamp of imagination. Thus it comes to pass that the bisexual, male-female soul dwells in a unisex body—either a male or a female one. In the course of its development, the body had thus taken on a form determined by the external forces of the Earth, such that it was no longer possible for the soul to pour its entire inner power into this body. It had to retain some of this power within itself and could allow only a portion of it to flow into the body.

[ 2 ] If we trace the Akashic Records, the following becomes apparent. In ancient times, human forms appear before us—soft, malleable, and quite different from those of later times. They still embody both the masculine and feminine natures in equal measure. As time went on, the physical elements became more condensed; the human body took on two forms, one of which came to resemble the later male form, and the other the later female form. Before this distinction had emerged, every human being was capable of giving rise to another from within themselves. Conception was not an external process, but something that took place within the human body itself. As the body became male or female, it lost this capacity for self-conception. It had to interact with another body in order to bring forth a new human being.

[ 3 ] The division into sexes occurs when the Earth reaches a certain state of densification. The density of matter inhibits part of the reproductive force. And that part of this force which is still active requires supplementation from outside, through the opposing force of another human being. The soul, however, must retain within itself a portion of its former power, both in the man and in the woman. It cannot utilize this portion in the physical external world. — This portion of power is now directed toward the inner being of the human being. It cannot manifest outwardly; therefore, it becomes available for the inner organs. — And here an important point in human development arises. Previously, what is called the spirit—the faculty of thought—could not find a place within the human being. For this faculty would have found no organ through which to act. The soul had directed all its energy outward to build up the body. Now, however, the soul’s energy—which finds no use outwardly—can connect with the power of the spirit; and through this connection, the organs within the body develop that later make the human being a thinking being. Thus, the human being was able to use a portion of the energy that he had previously employed to produce his own kind to perfect his own being. The power through which humanity forms a thinking brain is the same power through which humans fertilized one another in ancient times. Thinking has been purchased through sexual reproduction. By no longer fertilizing themselves but rather fertilizing one another, humans can turn a portion of their productive energy inward and become thinking beings. Thus, the male and female bodies each represent an imperfect outward manifestation of the soul; but through this, they become more perfect beings within.

[ 4 ] This transformation takes place very slowly and gradually in humans. Little by little, the newer unisex forms emerge alongside the older bisexual forms.

[ 5 ] It is once again a kind of fertilization that takes place within the human being when he becomes a spiritual being. The inner organs, which can be built up through the excess soul force, are fertilized by the spirit. The soul is twofold in itself: male and female. In ancient times, it shaped its body in this way. Later, it can shape its body only in such a way that it interacts with another body on the outside; through this, the soul itself gains the ability to interact with the spirit. From then on, outwardly, the human being is fertilized from the outside; inwardly, from the inside, by the Spirit. One can now say that the male body has a female soul, and the female body has a male soul. This inner one-sidedness in the human being is now balanced by fertilization with the Spirit. The one-sidedness is abolished. The male soul in the female body and the female soul in the male body both become bisexual again through fertilization by the Spirit. Thus, man and woman differ in outward form; inwardly, however, the one-sidedness of the soul in both unites to form a harmonious whole. Inwardly, Spirit and soul merge into a unity. The Spirit acts upon the male soul within the woman in a feminine way, thus making her both male and female; the Spirit acts upon the female soul within the man in a masculine way, thus making her, likewise, both male and female. The dual-gendered nature of the human being has withdrawn from the external world—where it existed in the pre-Lemurian era—into the inner being of the human being.

[ 6 ] It is clear that the higher inner nature of human beings has nothing to do with male and female. Yet inner equality arises from a masculine soul in a woman, and correspondingly from a feminine soul in a man. Union with the Spirit ultimately brings about this equality; but the fact that a difference exists before this equality is achieved: this encompasses a mystery of human nature. The understanding of this mystery is of great importance for all esoteric science. For it is the key to important riddles of life. For the time being, it is not permitted to lift the veil that is spread over this mystery ...

[ 7 ] Thus, physical humanity evolved from a state of dual gender to a state of single gender, leading to the division into man and woman. And through this, humanity has become the spiritual being it is today. But one must not assume that sentient beings had not already been in contact with the Earth before that time. If one follows the Akashic Records, it becomes clear, however, that during the early Lemurian period, the later physical human—due to his dual gender—was a completely different being from what we today call a human. He could not combine sensory perceptions with thought: he did not think. His life was driven by instincts. His soul expressed itself solely through instincts, cravings, animalistic desires, and so on. His consciousness was dreamlike; he lived in dullness. — But there were other beings among this humanity. These were, of course, also of dual gender. For at that stage of Earth’s development, no male or female human body could be produced. The external conditions for this were still lacking. But there were other beings who, despite their dual gender, were able to acquire knowledge and wisdom. This was possible because these beings had undergone a completely different evolution in an even more distant past. Their souls had become capable of being enriched by the spirit without first having to wait for the inner organ development of the physical body of humanity. The soul of present-day humans can think only of what it receives from the outside through the physical senses, with the aid of the physical brain. This is what human soul development has entailed. The human soul had to wait until a brain existed that could serve as a mediator with the spirit. Without this detour, this soul would have remained spiritless. It would have remained at the level of dream-like consciousness. The situation was different for the superhuman beings described. Their souls had developed spiritual organs at earlier stages that required nothing physical to connect with the Spirit. Their knowledge and wisdom were acquired super-sensibly. Such knowledge is called intuitive. Modern human beings only attain such intuition at a later stage of their development, which enables them to come into contact with the Spirit without sensory mediation. He must take the detour through sensory materiality. This detour is called the descent of the human soul into matter or, in popular terms, the “Fall.”—Due to a different kind of earlier development, the superhuman beings did not need to undergo this descent. Because their souls had already attained a higher stage, their consciousness was not dreamlike but inwardly lucid. And their perception of knowledge and wisdom was a clairvoyance, which required neither senses nor a thinking faculty. The wisdom upon which the world is built shone directly into their souls. This enabled them to be the guides of young humanity, which was still mired in darkness. They were the bearers of an “ancient wisdom,” which humanity is only now striving to comprehend through the circuitous path described. They differed from what is called a “human being” in that wisdom shone upon them—just as sunlight shines upon us—as a free gift “from above.” “Man” was in a different situation. He had to acquire wisdom through the work of the senses and the faculty of thought. At first, it did not come to him as a free gift. He had to desire it. Only when the desire for wisdom lived within a person did he work to attain it through the senses and the faculty of thought. Thus a new impulse had to awaken in the soul: the desire for knowledge. The human soul could not have possessed this desire in its earlier stages. Its impulses were directed solely toward shaping what took on external form—what unfolded within it as a dreamlike life—but not toward the recognition of an external world, not toward knowledge. With the separation of the sexes, the drive for knowledge first emerges.

[ 8 ] Wisdom was revealed to the superhuman beings through clairvoyance precisely because they did not harbor a desire for it. They waited until wisdom radiated into them, just as we wait for sunlight, which we cannot produce at night but which must come to us of its own accord in the morning. — The desire for knowledge arises precisely because the soul develops inner organs (the brain and so on) through which it acquires knowledge. This is a consequence of the fact that a portion of the soul’s power no longer works outwardly but inwardly. The superhuman beings, however, who have not accomplished this separation of their soul powers, direct their entire soul energy outward. They therefore have at their disposal, outwardly for fertilization by the Spirit, even that very force which “human beings” turn inward to build the organs of knowledge. — Now, the force through which human beings turn outward to interact with a other is love. The superhuman beings directed their entire love outward in order to allow world wisdom to flow into their souls. “Human beings,” however, can direct only a part of it outward. “Human beings” became sensual; and with that, their love became sensual. They withdraw from the external world that part of their being which they devote to their inner development. And thus arises what is called selfishness. When “man” became a man or a woman in a physical body, he could devote himself with only one part of his being; with the other, he separated himself from his surroundings. He became selfish. And his outward influence became selfish, as did his striving for inner development. He loved because he desired, and he thought because he likewise desired—namely, knowledge. — As selfless, all-loving beings, the Guides—the superhuman beings—stood opposite humankind, which was still childishly selfish. — The soul that does not dwell in a male or female body among them is itself both male and female. It loves without desire. Thus did the innocent soul of humankind love before the separation of the sexes; yet at that time, because it was still at a lower stage—in dream consciousness—it could not recognize. But the soul of the superhuman beings loves in the same way; yet, because of its advanced development, it can recognize. “Man” must pass through selfishness in order to return to selflessness on a higher level, but then with completely clear consciousness. This was the task of the superhuman beings, the great leaders: to impress upon young people their own character, that of love. They could do this only with that part of the soul’s power that was directed outward. This gave rise to sensual love. This is therefore the accompanying phenomenon of the soul’s activity in a male or female body. Sensual love became the driving force of physical human development. This love brings man and woman together, insofar as they are physical beings. The progress of physical humanity is based on this love. — Only over this love did the aforementioned superhuman beings have power. The part of the human soul’s power that turns inward and is meant to bring about knowledge by the roundabout path through sensuality eludes the power of those superhuman beings. For they themselves had never descended to the point of developing corresponding inner organs. They were able to clothe the outward impulse in love because they possessed outward-acting love as their own essence. This created a gulf between them and young humanity. They were able to instill love—initially in a sensual form—in human beings; but they could not impart knowledge, for their own knowledge had never taken the detour through the inner organs that human beings were now developing within themselves. They could not speak a language that a brain-possessing being could have understood.

[ 9 ] Although the human internal organs mentioned above did not become ready for contact with the spirit until the stage of earthly existence—which lies in the middle of the Lemurian period—they had already been formed in an imperfect state at a much earlier stage of development. For even in earlier times, the soul had passed through physical incarnations. Although it had not lived on Earth, it had lived in condensed matter on other celestial bodies. The details of this can only be explained later. For now, it suffices to say that earthly beings previously lived on another planet and, in accordance with the conditions there, had developed to the extent that they had when they arrived on Earth. They shed the matter of this previous planet like a garment and, at the stage of development thus attained, became pure soul seeds, with the ability to perceive, to feel, and so on—in short, to lead that dreamlike life which remained characteristic of them even during the earliest stages of their earthly existence. — The aforementioned superhuman beings, the guides in the realm of love, were, however, already so perfect on the previous planet that they no longer needed to descend to the level of developing the faculties of those inner organs. — But there were other beings who were not as advanced as these Guides of Love; on the previous planet, they still counted among the “human beings,” yet they were already ahead of humanity at that time. Thus, at the beginning of Earth’s formation, they were indeed more advanced than human beings, but still at the stage where knowledge must be acquired through inner organs. These beings were in a special situation. They were too advanced to pass through the physical human body—whether male or female—but not yet advanced enough to act through full clairvoyance, just as the Guides of Love did. Beings of Love they could not yet be, nor could they remain “humans.” Thus, it was only possible for them to continue their own development as half-superhumans, but with the help of humans. They were able to speak to beings of the mind in a language comprehensible to them. This stimulated the inward-turned power of the human soul, enabling it to unite with knowledge and wisdom. It was through this that wisdom of a human kind first came to Earth. The aforementioned “half-superhumans” were able to draw upon this human wisdom to attain for themselves what they still lacked in perfection. Thus they became the catalysts of human wisdom. That is why they are called Bringer of Light (Lucifer). Infant humanity thus had two kinds of guides: beings of love and beings of wisdom. Human nature was caught between love and wisdom when it took on its present form on this Earth. The beings of love stimulated its physical development, while the beings of wisdom fostered the perfection of the inner being. As a result of physical development, humanity progresses from generation to generation, forming new tribes and races; through inner development, individuals grow toward inner perfection, becoming scholars, sages, artists, technicians, and so on. Physical humanity progresses from race to race; each race passes on its physically perceptible characteristics to the next through physical development. Here the law of heredity prevails. Children carry within themselves the physical characteristics of their fathers. Beyond this lies a spiritual and psychological perfection that can only take place through the development of the soul itself—and thus we are faced with the law of the soul’s development within earthly existence. It is connected to the law and mystery of birth and death.