The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Popular Occultism VII

[ 1 ] Yesterday I spoke about the path the core of the human being takes after death, and about the return to a new earthly life. First, after death, the tableau of images of the etheric body appears, followed by a sort of brief state of sleep. In this state of sleep, the images of the memory tableau are processed into the causal body. This body manifests itself as rays that radiate from the remaining flame-like formations toward the blue and indigo colors. When the astral body remains behind as the third corpse, it continues to exist on its own for a time. It is then absorbed by the astral world. Such “astral spectres”—ghosts—are often summoned by mediums during spiritualist séances. (See Appendix.) After a lengthy period of preparation, the human being enters Devachan to transform their experiences into abilities. After passing through the first two regions of Devachan, the person enters its atmospheric—third—region. There, they experience everything that can manifest in terms of pleasure and suffering, passions, and instincts; this is the “air” of Devachan. For the spiritual being, it is just as vital an element as oxygen is here for the physical human being. Once a person has thus alchemically transformed his entire life, his causal body and his “I” return to the earthly sphere. The spiritual human embryos take shape—those described as bell-shaped formations—which arise when astral matter, as it were, coalesces along the inner lines of force corresponding to the abilities of this spiritual human embryo. No two of these formations are alike in color or shape; this is where the diverse individualities are expressed. The entire character is preformed within them and is expressed in color and form. The formation of the new etheric body, as we have seen, does not take place through the attachment of etheric matter, but solely through the work of the so-called Mahadevas. This drawing of the new etheric body occurs once the bell-shaped formation has already found its way to the embryo. However, a complete union of the etheric body with the physical human embryo does not take place until the seventh week after conception. Until then, the bodies are indeed linked, but the connection has not yet penetrated to the embryo. (See Appendix.) Beings known as the Lipikas guide the human being to the parental couple and into the family circumstances in which karma can best be lived out.

[ 2 ] Now let us discuss how karma works in detail. When we consider human actions, we see that behind every action there is always a certain character disposition. What appears outwardly as an action can, depending on different motives, be one and the same thing. (See Appendix.) In one’s outwardly favorable or unfavorable fate, the action and its consequences are first played out. Character, inclinations, and habits are also imprinted in karma. These human qualities remain imprinted on the etheric body and are processed in the physical body in the next life. They are transformed into forces that manifest as organ-forming forces in the physical body of the next life. Since the qualities of the etheric body thus influence the physical body of the next life, a person’s healthy or weak constitution in one life depends on their inclinations and habits in the previous life. In this way, a person can influence the nature of their next life by cultivating noble inclinations and feelings within themselves, thereby making the body of their next incarnation strong and healthy. The causes of illness are, in fact, moral.

[ 3 ] This process of transformation of moral forces, however, often takes a very long time. Declining peoples and races undergo a kind of process of decay in their astral bodies. The invading Huns and Mongols brought fear and terror to the European peoples through the nature of their decadent astral matter. Fear and terror, however, are a very suitable breeding ground for such decaying astral substances. These declining forces spread to the etheric bodies of the European population, and the result was the terrible disease of leprosy in the Middle Ages. Those who are courageous and fearless are immune to such decaying astral substances as those carried by the Huns and Mongols.

[ 4 ] Since moral qualities are physically manifested in future generations, when one lives a moral life, one acts not only for one’s own sake, but also for the very health of future generations.