The Rudolf Steiner Archive

5. The Apocalypse and Theosophical Cosmology II

[ 1 ] Last time, I attempted to provide an overview of the processes within the earthly system that are closest to us. I included this digression on cosmic processes because we need it to better understand the Apocalypse. Last time, I pointed out that before the beings who now inhabit our Earth—above all, human beings and the other three kingdoms of nature associated with them: the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the mineral kingdom—had evolved, before these beings were on Earth, they were on other planets.

[ 2 ] Now I ask you in particular to understand what I am going to say today in the same spirit as I indicated for the last lecture—indeed, to take it today in an even deeper sense. For we are entering particularly lofty realms of supersensible perception—realms about which we can only make allusions. Realms that are not only difficult to understand, but in which the perception itself and what we can know about it are so subtle that it becomes quite difficult for those whose thoughts—and especially whose emotional life—are still firmly rooted in the materialistic views of our time to move beyond even the word “fantastic” when they hear people speaking of the things we are to discuss today. It is not so easy for people living in a materialistic age to break free from materialistic conceptions. The mind frees itself more easily, but the feelings—they still say too much: “This is something I cannot grasp; this is something that lies so far beyond everything we call reality.” Precisely because our feelings tend to lag behind what our thoughts can grasp, I would like to point out that we are dealing with times that lie very far behind us and that are very different from what we are accustomed to calling reality today.

[ 3 ] To give you an idea of what I mean, I must start at the beginning. I must begin with a planet from which, so to speak, humankind first evolved—a planet from which it actually originated. Humanity passed through three such planets before being drawn into this Earth. The last planet we experienced as human beings is called the “Moon” in esoteric terminology. This is not today’s Moon; today’s Moon is merely a remnant. The Moon referred to here is the predecessor of our Earth, on which—in primitive states—that which humanity possesses today first developed. This was preceded by yet another planet, which we call the “Sun” in esoteric terminology. This ancient Sun is therefore also to be counted among the planets. Today, and again next time, I will be able to speak about this in greater detail. Then we will return to the times when humanity leaves the Moon once more to undergo stages of development on Earth that we have yet to learn about.

[ 4 ] But now we must return to the third—or the last, or even the first—planet on which human beings first appeared, so that we have three planets that come into consideration for us humans, which were truly our homes before we came to this Earth. I would like to give you, as far as possible, a description of this first planet. This first planet differs fundamentally—not only in terms of its physical nature but in every respect—from anything modern humans are accustomed to imagining. What we are accustomed to seeing today—even what we are accustomed to thinking—did not yet exist back then. All of that developed only later. Therefore, I will only be able to provide an allegorical and approximate description of this first planetary state in which humankind existed.

[ 5 ] Let us consider human beings themselves during this first state. During the first state, human beings had a consciousness that was entirely different from the consciousness they have on Earth. The consciousness they had back then was dull. It was roughly the same consciousness that a stone has today. But you must not compare it with what lives consciously in a stone today. Although the consciousness that existed back then—like that in a stone—was dull, it was at the same time all-encompassing. The entire sphere of development that human beings recognized as their home, as well as everything in the stars around them that was in contact with this sphere of development—all of that could be surveyed by this consciousness. This consciousness can still be evoked in human beings today under certain conditions—albeit in quite abnormal states—when the other states of consciousness, such as dream consciousness and deep trance, are no longer present, but rather when entirely abnormal conditions arise. Medicine is also already familiar with these states. A particularly deep trance then sets in, and this deep trance is associated with these people beginning to record entire planetary systems in a chaotic and disorderly manner. For example, you can observe that in sanatoriums where people with such pathological conditions are housed, these patients map out entire planetary systems. However, these maps only vaguely resemble what we speak of in Theosophy. But one thing emerges from this state: People have a dull consciousness, and this consciousness extends not only around the planet on which they live but also across neighboring regions of the universe. One might well call it universal consciousness. And the people who lived on the first planet possessed such a universal consciousness.

[ 6 ] All life on this first planet was such that it can only be compared to what you would have if you were able to imagine the lifeless Earth, as it is today, not merely as being composed of rock, permeated with rocks, but also if you were to imagine the Earth itself as animated, as a living sphere—and, beyond that, this entire living sphere permeated with sensation; so that you would have felt a sensation from any impression someone might have made on the planet at that time—such as, for example, if someone had kicked the ground with their foot.

[ 7 ] The planet at that time also exhibited the most diverse forms of growth and life. Here a mountain arose, there a valley, and everything was pulsating with life and was pure sensation. The forms on it can only be compared to successive ocean waves, to elements that surge forth and recede again in the most varied forms. The whole is a wondrous surging and life. The whole grows and passes away within itself. The planet was in this state during its middle stages. It is difficult to characterize it using terms derived from present-day concepts. Yet the planet was not like this even in its earliest states. If you had transported yourself into outer space with eyes—with physical sensory organs—you would not have been able to see this planet’s earliest state. In its earliest state, this planet existed in the Arupa state. It exists in a material form that could not be perceived by the senses, even if such senses had been present. It was, therefore, in a highly subtle state. In this state, only a highly developed clairaudient could perceive it. A highly developed clairvoyant would see nothing; even the psychic eyes—the clairvoyant ones—cannot see anything in these early stages. There, you can only hear the planet. Only a finely attuned sense of clairaudience is capable of perceiving it. And the entirety of what you hear there is a single fundamental tone, which, however, manifests itself in the most manifold ways. But a single fundamental tone is present; it varies and becomes manifold within itself.

[ 8 ] When the planet then enters its second state, you still cannot see it, not even with clairvoyant eyes. But then it enters the third state, the astral state, and there you can already see it. However, it is not the astral matter of the Earth; it is a higher state, though I can call it that for the sake of comparison. In any case, you can already see a process of formation taking place here. Everything I described earlier as swirling and surging—you can visualize that here with the psychic eye. You can see undulating and swirling formations, but you cannot see them in a form of matter you could grasp; rather, you see them only with the psychic eye as masses of color and plays of color of extraordinary subtlety—and in a formation characterized by colors that cannot be compared to any of these earthly colors. This is a picture of colors.

[ 9 ] Then we come to the fourth state. Here we have a state that we can roughly call the physical state. If there were an eye present, it would already be able to see this physical state.

[ 10 ] This is the state I have described as sentient and living—but at the same time also in a mineral form, though not yet level, not yet flat. There are shell-like formations there, and everything is in a state of constant, chaotic formation, as I have described it. This is the fourth state. It is here, for the first time, that we find what we might call the very earliest foreshadowing of the human being. Such is the human being. He is an indefinite being who takes on a different form every moment, who undergoes metamorphosis at every moment. Then the whole process reverses or moves back up through the same states, similar to how I described it last time: through the astral, the rupic, up to the arupic. Thus we have seen the development from the arupic through the physical back to the arupic. Down there in the fourth state, the human being became physical for the first time.

[ 11 ] We call this process the very first cycle of our human evolution. It is this first round that is the most important one to consider. It brings humanity on this planet as far as humanity can possibly go on this first planet. The subsequent rounds have no further significance for humanity’s continued development toward its completion. Now, after passing through a sort of dormant state, the whole process begins anew. These stages are repeated two, three, four, five, and six times. But during these six subsequent rounds or cycles, the actual human being—that which we now call a human—does not advance very far. For whatever further progress he makes is later shed and has no significance for his further development. In contrast, higher beings, more exalted beings who have come over from earlier stages of development, evolve and reach their perfection. In these subsequent six rounds, they achieve their significance.

[ 12 ] When a human being is here, they are in what is called the elemental realm. And by being there, they become physical for the first time as a human being. The first elemental realm becomes physical there. It is important to note that we call this the “first elemental realm.” And the state of consciousness in which they possessed a kind of omniscience, albeit in a dulled form, is referred to as “Tamas.” This is one of the so-called gunas. Here, the human being is at the first stage of evolution.

[ 13 ] The whole process is repeated seven times. Thus, all these planets have taken on seven different forms seven times. One could therefore say that we are dealing with 7×7 states, or 49 states. These 49 states are referred to as the system of the first planet. These seven states are usually called a “planetary chain”—but that is a poor term. The planet I have described in this way is called “Saturn” in esoteric terminology—and for a very specific reason.

[ 14 ] Anyone who wants to reach this planet at all must be capable of the following. The average person at the present stage of development possesses clear daytime consciousness. Their consciousness is on the physical plane; they are in sensory consciousness. They cease to be conscious when they sleep. They either dream or sleep without dreaming.

[ 15 ] The person who dreams may remember their dreams. However, they are generally not conscious while dreaming. However, there is a way for a person to be just as conscious during a dream as they are during their daily physical life. This is a different state of consciousness. In this state, they are not merely dreaming; they are consciously present in a world where they would otherwise only have dreamed, and this is the so-called astral world.

[ 16 ] This world enables him to transport himself back to the time we call the Lunar Epoch. There, a person can once again experience what took place during that Lunar Epoch.

[ 17 ] An even deeper state is when a person is conscious during dreamless sleep. This is when what is known as “continuity of consciousness” occurs. The person remains conscious while sleeping. Consciousness never ceases; only the body sleeps, while the mind remains awake.

[ 18 ] This state of consciousness, once attained—that is, when a person, even while falling asleep, remains conscious, and when waking up, re-enters bright daytime consciousness just as consciously—enables him to transport himself back to the preceding period. Then the person is able to achieve a true union with what is today the Sun. He lives on the present-day Sun. For those who have no real understanding of the nature of clairvoyance, it is difficult to grasp what I am saying. However, I must share some experiences here.

[ 19 ] Now there is an even higher state that elevates consciousness to yet another level. This is the state that extends even beyond what is called the continuity of consciousness. It is a state of special enlightenment of consciousness itself—even this deep, dreamless sleep consciousness. This makes it possible to have experiences on the first planet during this lifetime, and at the same time, when the clairvoyant concentrates on the first planet, he becomes united with what is currently the physical planet Saturn. However, this has nothing to do with Saturn as it was back then. In this way, we have retraced the 49 states through which humanity has developed.

[ 20 ] Now I would like to continue showing you how the development unfolds. I can continue to use the same diagram and simply say that a somewhat longer interim period—a kind of unconscious state, a state of sleep—now sets in for all beings who were in this planetary state, and then the whole cycle begins anew.

[ 21 ] Once again, we have these seven consecutive states—that is, we have another cycle. This cycle now has a very specific task: it must repeat everything that took place during the preceding 49 states, so that during the first of the seven states—in short, at seven times the speed—what occurred during the first 49 states is repeated, meaning that although the person changes only slightly, but now appears here again in physical form. Only in the second cycle does a new formation take place. And this second round is what matters now.

[ 22 ] In this second cycle, after passing through the Rupa and Arupa spheres and entering the physical state, we no longer have a living, growing Earth; rather, we have separated one realm and built a second one upon it, and it is in this second realm that human beings are embodied. We now have a realm that is not entirely unlike our mineral realm; we have a realm that is mineral in nature, but within it we have growing minerals, just as we have plants. These are living minerals. However, this process also gives rise to something lifeless. Humanity has no use for this. It could not continue to develop if it did not excrete this. And what is excreted is left behind as a distinct mineral realm. Human beings then evolved into a realm that rises above the mineral kingdom, whose beings could be described as “plant-animals.” Such beings do not exist today. But we can compare them, for example, to animals that are like today’s jellyfish. These are animals of a very low order, and even they are already quite different. The beings that lived here had a much greater density, and they had a completely different kind of substance that cannot even be compared to that

[ 23 ] what human substance is. You must imagine these as refined, etherealized—not less noble, but more noble than human substance. All these beings take on the most diverse forms of stars. They were polyform stars, multifaceted and polygonal figures. All of this is interconnected in a dynamic manner, structured according to numbers.

[ 24 ] It is very important—and you must keep this in mind—that human consciousness has evolved to a higher level, to a state of consciousness that is no longer all-seeing but has instead become brighter. The entire second planet, which we call the Sun, no longer knows everything, but has become clearer as a result. This state of consciousness is called Rajas. It is a consciousness that permeates all the higher realms. This consciousness is not limited to individual beings, for the beings are not yet so strictly separated from one another; they still continually merge into one another. However, beings are constantly coming into being, and beings are constantly passing away. They dissolve and reform anew. In the first state, we were dealing only with the arising and passing away of dull forms; here, we were dealing only with beings in this dull state of consciousness.

[ 25 ] Although human beings continue to develop in subsequent cycles, this does not play a significant role in their upward evolution. What has lasting value for their development is the state they had attained during the second round.

[ 26 ] The whole thing now begins anew after going through the same thing seven times—that is, a second time after a sort of sleep-like state.

[ 27 ] In the first cycle, we are dealing with a brief repetition of what took place on Saturn. Humanity appears once again as a kind of mineral, sentient being—only now the sentience is no longer expressed in the same way. The sentience is gone; only growth and life remain. In the second cycle, humanity then repeats what took place on the Sun. And in the third cycle, a further development of humanity takes place. There, the human being first goes through the old states once more and then, in this third cycle, appears in a physical state. This is the lunar state, which we know as the predecessor of our present earthly state. As a result, three kingdoms have now formed, which differ from one another in a certain way.

[ 28 ] These three kingdoms are not similar to our three kingdoms—the animal, plant, and mineral kingdoms—but are something else entirely. The mineral kingdom is one that still bears traces of growth and life—of minerals that are mobile and growing. The plants are those that still contain traces of animality within themselves. And above that is a third kingdom, a kingdom that stands higher even than our current highest animal kingdom, but not yet as high as the current human kingdom. But all of this existed at the same time.

[ 29 ] When I say that this Third Reich was not so advanced, I am referring to consciousness and spiritual qualities. The matter is considerably finer than that of humans today. Humans exist in an ethereal state that bears a certain resemblance to jellyfish. The form that humans take there is not very similar to the human form of today, especially in these states. If one were to describe them, one might say they were a kind of quadruped, but of a special kind. They do indeed have four feet, and all of them are used for a kind of locomotion. Although they are not used in the same way as the feet of modern apes, all four do serve the purpose of locomotion. The use of the hands was not yet necessary.

[ 30 ] These are the three realms that exist here. The consciousness that human beings have attained here is dream consciousness. Human beings have lost the ability to take in the entire Earth at a glance, but they still have the ability to perceive astral states. They possess a psychic consciousness during the Lunar Epoch. They see the people living there at the same time as them, not only in their physical form, but also in their passions and in their emotional lives. Human beings can empathize with this and perceive it. This occurs during the third cycle. Now, however, human beings continue to develop through the states they experience in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh cycles. These are not of particular significance for their further progress. They do change, but these changes are not of great importance for human progress.

[ 31 ] Thus, we have added another 49 states to the previous ones and have arrived at the final state that a human being enters after passing through the Lunar Epoch. Now there is another period of dormancy, and then we move on to the development of the Earth. There, the beginning takes place in the same way. We have another cycle in which seven states are traversed. In this first cycle, the human being repeats what was experienced on the first planet. The human being is now in the mineral state. The mineral kingdom has now become lifeless, and in this state the Earth appears in the first cycle. In the second cycle, we are dealing with the repetition of the solar existence; in the third cycle, with the repetition of the lunar existence; and only in the fourth cycle does the actual new formation occur, to which our Earth’s evolution belongs.

[ 32 ] This new formation is characterized by the fact that, when physical development begins, a fourth kingdom is added to the three earlier kingdoms. The physical human being appears. Now the human being becomes physical on Earth, and we have the present mineral kingdom, the present plant kingdom, the present animal kingdom, and the human kingdom. This is in the middle of physical development.

[ 33 ] And now, in fact, the cycles that follow begin to take on significance for the further development of humankind. They are no longer shells to be shed, but rather they begin to play a role in the subsequent cycles of humankind. In the middle of this cycle—that is, during the Lemurian era—something very special occurs in humankind. A new beginning takes place. Up to that point, we have, so to speak, viewed humanity as evolving from an imperfect state up to its present human form. Here, in the middle of the Lemurian period, humanity becomes endowed with spirit—endowed with what we call spirit, thinking—and later with even higher abilities, which we will explore. The spirit begins to guide humankind. From this point on, this spirit continues its development, so that the next cycles—the fourth and fifth—are destined to lead this spirit to higher stages. The sixth cycle then leads even higher, and the seventh even higher.

[ 34 ] You can see that from now on we are dealing with something entirely new in humanity. Something is entering into human beings that was not present in them before. We will discuss where this comes from next time. Today, let us be clear that during this fourth round, human beings have become physical. I have spoken of how human beings evolved up to this physical state. Human beings would not have been able to progress any further if they had not been endowed with the spark of the spirit in the middle of Earth’s evolution. This constitutes a new impetus, a seed, a leaven, through which human beings were spurred on to a new stage of development. Otherwise, human beings would have become nothing more than external forms. Had the spirit not reached them, there would have been no higher development of the physical human being. It was only through the spiritual influence entering into human beings that further development became possible. We shall yet see how this is connected with the entire course of development. Humanity would have become increasingly external; the soul would have been lost in the external, and humanity would gradually have become its own petrification. It would have been nothing more than a mere external form; it would have passed completely into the eighth sphere. It would have ceased to be a being capable of further development. It is said that whatever ceases to be able to evolve has passed into the eighth sphere. The impact of the Spirit was intended to prevent this.

[ 35 ] Today we have learned about the fourfold planetary evolution. We have learned about the development that took place on what we call Saturn—a state that bears a certain resemblance to what is happening on Saturn today. However, it is not the same as what took place back then.

[ 36 ] Seven times seven metamorphoses have taken place. The most important of these is the first round, or the first cycle. During this cycle, humanity evolved into a rudimentary state of consciousness and into a kind of living, growing mineral existence. The subsequent states pertain to higher beings, which are of less concern to us at present. Now the second planetary stage of development is beginning on the Sun. Once again, it passes through seven times seven stages of development. We have seven rounds and seven planets or globes—the term “globes” is rather inaccurate. The second round is the most important one to consider here. In it, human beings develop into a kind of plant-animal.

[ 37 ] On the third planet, or during the Lunar Epoch, the first two rounds are repetitions. The third round is the first to bring new states. It evolves and is permeated by a kind of dream-like consciousness. This is called the Sattva state. This is what human beings go through. The following four rounds do bring further development, but it is not significant. Then, after an intermediate state, the Earth epoch begins. In the fourth round of the Earth epoch, what surrounds us develops within the four kingdoms known to us: the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and the human kingdom.

[ 38 ] That is what I have to say about the course of development thus far. We must be clear that such things, which are so very different from what people see around them today, can only be described in approximate terms. It is not possible to describe these things with complete precision; one must resort to conceptual models. Nevertheless, I would prefer to describe them vividly rather than schematically. If you have only the names and a diagram, you will certainly derive a certain intellectual satisfaction, but it seems to me more appropriate to describe things vividly, as they actually unfolded in the various metamorphoses. I know this is difficult, but I hope I have managed to convey some sense of it.

[ 39 ] Spiritual consciousness enables one to perceive the highest tone. Hyperpsychic consciousness enables one to perceive the lowest tone, and psychic consciousness enables one to perceive the world of colors. The physical part of the Earth does not completely merge into the astral.

[ 40 ] Next time I will speak about Mars and Mercury. What I have told you is recorded in ordinary documents. You have described the seven states in the days of the week: Saturn Day, Sunday, Monday, Mardi, Mercredi, Jeudi, Vendredi. These things were given by the ancient sages. Our days of the week are modeled after the planetary system. In the days of the week, you have inscribed what the ancient sages knew. What is written in the heavens, they have written into the days of the week.

Q&A

Do you believe that the current moon preceded the physical Earth?

[ 41 ] The present [visible] Moon is matter from the early Earth. The Moon [of the Lunar Epoch] ascends into the eighth sphere. Anyone who observes the Moon with the “Eye of Dangma” can see that the condition of that time has crystallized and solidified within the lunar mountains.

Was the sun already there back then?

[ 42 ] It was not as it is today. It was indeed already luminous in itself, but at the same time in such a way that the light resonated back then. Goethe describes the state of the heavens at that time in the “Prologue in Heaven,” *Faust*, Part One, where he has the state of the sun—which corresponds to the lower mental plane—resound: “The sun resounds in the ancient manner with a song of competition in the spheres of brotherhood...” and so on. Our present-day sun was part of the solar body of that time.

What is the difference between astral vision and mental vision?

[ 43 ] The astral seer can extend his consciousness to the entire race, to the root race. The mental seer, however, can extend his consciousness over seven races, that is, back to the beginning of the first, the Polar race. All secret schools initially have 49 degrees.

How do these theosophical insights relate to modern geology?

[ 44 ] The periods relevant to us here would be the Alluvium, then the Diluvium, and then we would come to the Tertiary period, which corresponds roughly to the age of the Atlantic era, so that, essentially, the Earth’s surface during this Tertiary period forms the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. If one were to search for humans from that time, they would have to be sought on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. This Tertiary period is preceded by the Secondary period; this corresponds roughly to the Lemurian era. In the middle of this era, the modern form of humankind emerged. Even earlier, we are dealing with beings of such “thin” matter that it is impossible to obtain any imprints of them. The animals that had evolved at the same time during the Lemurian era were reptiles, dinosaurs, and similar creatures. Mammals then evolved in parallel with the Atlanteans. This would roughly correspond to the geological periods. You must also draw parallels with the relevant fossil remains. You will then be able to see that paleontology also aligns in certain respects. However, many of the areas relevant to us are now covered by the sea. That is one reason why we cannot have accurate images of them. In that fiery state lived the Sons of the Fire Nebula—the oldest beings. If we go back to the Tertiary period, we still have reptiles; in the Primary period, we still have fish. These beings already existed as such back then; they were simply in a different material state. They were such that they bore the same imprints. The essential was present. The fiery state gave them plasticity. Further compression gave rise to the folding—that is the state of compression.

[ 45 ] Anyone who studies these matters from an occult perspective should be careful not to base their understanding on external phenomena. In a second volume of my book *Theosophy*, I will offer hints and pointers regarding the relevant parallels with science. There must be no contradiction between modern science and theosophy. Science has emerged through a necessary evolution and must, in all matters that are established as facts, be brought into absolute harmony with what Theosophy is.

How should one imagine the condensation and solidification of matter?

[ 46 ] A good illustration of this is pieces of ice floating in water. However, it is better not to say that water has the ability to turn into ice—but rather to content ourselves with the expression “ice floating in water.” The situation is similar with the matter in outer space. They are solidified, finer forms of matter. We must understand the fascinating formation of cosmic nebulae as the manifestation of the lowest astral states. A human’s astral body looks somewhat like the Orion Nebula, like a cosmic nebula, like a vortex. An elemental astral body can only be found in the vicinity of a human, but the more developed ones can move farther away from him.

Wouldn't you like to tell us a little more about the chakrams?

[ 47 ] Chakrams are also sometimes referred to as lotus blossoms. There are sixteen-, twelve-, ten-, six-, four-, and two-petaled chakrams or lotus flowers. The two-petaled lotus flower cannot perceive itself, but the sixteen-, twelve-, ten-, and six-petaled ones can, just as the eye can perceive the tip of the nose.

[ 48 ] The astral body resembles that of a human only in the case of highly evolved individuals; otherwise, it is quite different.

[ 49 ] [The two-petaled lotus flower in the underdeveloped human:

[ 50 ] The inner part is the twelve-petaled lotus flower in more highly developed human beings. This inner tube is like the fingers of both hands interlocked.

[ 51 ] “Lotus flower is a term similar to how, in reference to the physical body, one speaks of the lungs.”