Awareness - Life - Form
GA 89
22 October 1904
Translated by Steiner Online Library
Planetary Development III
[ 1 ] Let’s explore three concepts. We must imagine that every being in the universe consists of three parts, just as humans do. However, we do not need to know all three parts of other beings. Yet they are present in every being:
1. Consciousness,
2. Life,
3. Form.
[ 2 ] When we consider the beings on our Earth, we find that they all take the form of what we call the mineral kingdom. Within the earthly world, there is no other form for human beings. This form of the mineral kingdom can only be elevated by being enlivened, and every being can only gain a center by becoming conscious of life.
[ 3 ] Therefore, form, life, and consciousness are the three principles of every being. Accordingly, the human being consists of body, soul, and spirit. We know that the soul extends into the body, thus forming the soul-body. This is, as it were, filled with the life of feeling. The higher principle is always integrated into the lower; the lower principle has life because the higher principle is integrated into it. The soul has consciousness because the spirit is integrated into the conscious soul. Thus, human beings are threefold in their nature—as form, life, and consciousness.
[ 4 ] If one considers the various entities in the world, one can classify them into three types according to this definition:
[ 5 ] 1. those entities in which form predominates over life and consciousness, as it does in the others;
[ 6 ] 2. Consciousness of life and form may prevail [dominate, predominate];
[ 7 ] 3. All three can be in equilibrium.
[ 8 ] For our cycle, we now define:
[ 9 ] I. Beings in whom consciousness predominates: Dhyanis. They possess a powerful consciousness.
[ 10 ] II. Beings in which consciousness, life, and form are in balance are called “substances” in esoteric terms.
[ 11 ] III. Those entities in which form prevails are elemental beings, elementals (see note).
[ 12 ] In the “Substances,” there is a certain relationship between the Dhyanis and the Elementals. Humanity was in the state of the Substances when it emerged from the state of elemental existence and united with the soul. At that time, human beings were, as it were, merely models, mere forms. At that time, human beings were something like beautifully luminous spheres, surrounded by their souls. In the middle of the Lemurian epoch, the human being was “substance.” Now the human being has moved beyond the mere stage of substance. He is on the path of Dhyanic development. In esoteric terminology, what was ripe during the Lemurian era to take possession of these bodies is called the “human being.”
[ 13 ] We now ask: What are these three types of beings capable of? First: Let us consider those in whom consciousness predominates. They possess a comprehensive consciousness, more comprehensive than their own life and form. This enables them to exercise power over other life and other forms. In Christian esotericism, such beings are called “angels of the orbital periods.” How is a planet able to move around the sun? Because it is driven by an angel of the orbital period: these are the planetary Dhyanis or planetary spirits. Thus, our Earth also has its own angel of the orbital period, its Earth Dhyani. I am reminded here of the Earth Spirit in Goethe’s *Faust*; his body is the entire astral matter of the Earth.
[ 14 ] Humanity is on the path to becoming a planetary spirit. At present, however, it is only the mineral image of the Deity, for it must still develop its astral, rupamental, and arupamental natures. Then, at the end of the seventh round, it can become an angel of the orbital period. Then the highest Dhyan-Chohan says to him: “All animals and plants are entrusted to you.” — This occurs on the seventh day of creation. Then man has become a Dhyan-Chohan, a Dhyanic world spirit (Chohan = world spirit).
[ 15 ] Second: Beings in whom form, life, and consciousness are in balance exercise power over form and are themselves guided by their consciousness. The beings of this kind that we know are human beings, up to a certain level. They are evolving toward freeing themselves more and more from being dominated by their form, by their lower nature. They strive upward toward the higher, toward consciousness.
[ 16 ] Third: Elemental spirits are beings in whom form is more powerful than life and consciousness; their form must therefore be governed by consciousness and life. They are the exact opposite of the Dhyanic beings. The latter are capable of controlling more than just their form and life. In the case of elemental spirits, form is more all-encompassing than life and consciousness. They therefore require other forms of life and consciousness to control their own form. This means that the elemental spirit must establish itself within other forms of life and consciousness in order to utilize them for its own purposes. Hence, it is the retarder that holds back other forms of life and consciousness. Thus, the elemental spirits are the beings that actually hinder evolution. All parasitic entities are dominated by such elemental spirits. For us humans, they are the entities that were already perfected in their kind during the Lunar Epoch; therefore, form prevails in them. They are now in decline, undergoing a downward development.
[ 17 ] Animals that have an external skeleton—that are encased in their skeleton—have, for example, moved beyond the stage of internal development. Their internal development has dissolved, and they surround themselves externally with a horny layer (beetles, crustaceans). They are preparing to flow into the eighth sphere. The ancient Moon also had an eighth sphere, a satellite. These beings reached completion back then; they have gone beyond their development and are now like an overripe fruit. The eighth sphere includes, for example, spiders, and among plants, mistletoe. Goethe therefore attributes the realm of spiders and flies to Mephisto. Everything parasitic is an outward expression of the elemental beings living on the astral plane.
[ 18 ] Previously, human beings themselves were elemental beings. Not everything physical in a human being is destined to be redeemed. A residue remains from human beings. This residue is constantly present within them; therefore, they are under the influence of astral elemental beings, and the corresponding elemental being clings to them. Human beings are thus in constant connection with that which acts as a hindering enemy, a disruptor of their development. In German mythology, the beings that attach themselves to human beings were called “Alben.” They appear in an indeterminate form in what are known as nightmares. These dreams manifest themselves in such a way that one feels as though a being is sitting on one’s chest. When one develops astral vision, one first sees these beings (The Dweller on the Threshold in Bulwer’s *Zanoni*). It is the reflection of a person’s astral encounter with their Alb, a defense against their enemy. The being is the projection of an astral entity within ourselves. It is the [little] guardian of the threshold. The person who cannot overcome the fear of the inner enemy usually turns back at the gate of initiation.
[ 19 ] In the higher realms of the astral plane, it is [the image] of the sphinx that must be cast into the abyss before one can proceed further. The human being who must evolve is moving toward this moment. But not every human being must go through this stage of development in the same way. It is possible that they will be guided through it as if blindfolded. By developing our moral nature, we can overcome this. If one can elevate one’s moral nature beforehand, before gaining sight in the astral world, the appearance of the Keeper of the Threshold becomes less terrifying.
[ 20 ] Among the Atlantic race, it is primarily the Turanians who have devoted themselves to black magic and have become intimately acquainted with the elemental world.
[ 21 ] In order to better equip people for the struggle, occult schools now place a primary emphasis on the practice of the virtues of devotion and selflessness, as well as on moral education. All occultists who remain ambitious, vain, and selfish come to know these forces that retard evolution in a terrible way, and these forces have an all the more powerful effect on them. One must love the teaching, be modest, humble, and devoted in order to be certain of prevailing in this struggle. Evolution is retarded and held back by the elemental beings, while it is accelerated and hastened by the Dhyanic beings.