The Rudolf Steiner Archive

2. The Earth's Interior and Volcanic Eruptions

[ 1 ] As we announced, today’s lecture will address a shocking event that has taken place in recent days: the eruption of Vesuvius. Of course, the aim is not to discuss the specific details of this natural event, but rather to awaken an esoteric understanding of such natural phenomena in general. I would therefore like to bring together a few building blocks to facilitate such an understanding. In doing so, I would like to note in advance that even among occultists, speaking about the mysterious structure and composition of our Earth is considered one of the most difficult tasks. It is a well-known “fact”—and anyone even slightly familiar with occult matters will have heard of it—that it is easier to experience something of the astral and mental worlds, of Kamaloka and Devachan, and to bring it into ordinary daily consciousness, than it is to penetrate the mysteries of our own Earth. In fact, these mysteries belong to the so-called inner mysteries, which are reserved for a higher, second degree of initiation. The interior of the Earth has not yet been discussed publicly at all—indeed, not even within the Theosophical Movement to date. Therefore, I would like to emphasize from the outset that today’s lecture is absolutely not intended for newcomers to the field of Theosophy. Not because of any difficulties in purely conceptual understanding—for its content may be easier to grasp than many other topics—but because someone who is not sufficiently familiar with the research methods of theosophy will immediately ask: “How do you know all this?” — I will merely provide a rough outline of the facts and, at the same time, point out the paths that lead to the exploration of these connections. Certainly, there will be listeners who are not accustomed to hearing about extraordinary things and to whom today’s remarks might therefore seem fantastical. But I ask you to bear in mind that one can never comprehend everything. These are, after all, matters that belong to the most advanced branches of the occult.

[ 2 ] I will therefore be compelled to speak about the interior of our Earth from an occult perspective. As is well known, physical science provides very little information about the interior of our Earth. Over the course of the last few decades—almost once every five years—it has repeatedly put forward new theories about the origin of volcanoes, the causes of earthquakes, and volcanic activity in general. What is to be said today, physical science would dismiss with a casual wave of the hand as something that has no place in science at all. However, by way of introduction, I would like to briefly describe how this objection from physical science would appear to the occultist.

[ 3 ] External science sets itself the task of understanding, in purely mechanical terms, these devastating outpourings of an internal Earthly substance onto the surface—these terrible upheavals that from time to time destroy thousands upon thousands of human lives. Either one imagines a molten interior of the Earth, much like a superheated furnace, or the origin of volcanic phenomena is attributed to surface-level sources that do not extend deep into the Earth’s interior. The latter view is particularly advocated in more recent theories. Everything that conventional science has to say on the matter can be heard in popular science lectures or gleaned from a wide range of literature of varying quality. As for what might be raised from the standpoint of geophysics against an approach such as the one to be applied here, it can be compared to a very commonplace occurrence. Let us suppose, for example, that someone owes a set of room furnishings to a person who wanted to bring them joy. A third party might then describe the love and care with which that person selected the individual pieces of furniture, how this selection stemmed from certain ideas, and so on. Another observer, however, might object: Why should ideas be decisive here? The furniture was, after all, made by the carpenter, and thus attributable to him. — Both are right: both the observer who describes how the furniture was made by the carpenter and the other who knows what was going on in the mind of the giver, who commissioned the carpenter to make the furniture. Thus, natural science is certainly correct in its own way; it should, however, rise to the level of admitting that two entirely different points of view are possible. This is certainly not a rejection of the scientific understanding of cabinetmaking, but rather an effort to make vivid the ideas according to which everything was formed and brought about—that is, the spiritual aspect.

[ 4 ] Now, without further ado, I would like to speak about the Earth’s interior. Of course, this can only be done schematically. You can well imagine that the Earth’s interior, when viewed from different points on the Earth’s surface, will look slightly different in each case. Therefore, only a schematic representation is possible. For the spiritual researcher, a planet is by no means the lifeless product that natural science portrays it to be. It is animated and permeated by soul and spirit, just as the human body is not merely what anatomy reveals to us. Just as the human body is imbued with soul and spirit, so too is the entire body of the Earth imbued with soul and spirit. And just as blood is not merely what the chemist can determine about it, so too are certain substances and layers of material in our Earth by no means merely what the metallurgist, the crystallographer, or the chemist can determine about them. Just as the nerves are not merely what can be recognized anatomically, but rather what can be anatomically observed possesses a very special significance as an expression of the soul, so too does everything that constitutes our Earth correspond to something soulful and spiritual.

[ 5 ] Moreover, physical research can penetrate only to a very shallow depth into the Earth’s interior. How insignificant are the few thousand meters to which we can descend! Natural science can only study the outermost shell of the Earth. Clairvoyant research, on the other hand, is not subject to any specific limits when it explores our Earth. In fact, it is capable of penetrating the Earth all the way to its center. For clairvoyant research as well, the Earth consists of layers, and it turns out that these layers become perceptible in stages.

[ 6 ] Those who have heard the lectures on the Gospel of John will recall that there are seven stages of Christian initiation. These consist, first, of the washing of the feet; second, of the scourging; third, of the crowning with thorns; fourth, of the bearing of the cross; fifth, of the mystical death; sixth, of the burial; and seventh, of the resurrection. In fact, something particularly remarkable comes to light for each of these stages of initiation in relation to the exploration of the Earth: namely, for each of these stages of initiation, a layer of our Earth that lies one degree deeper reveals itself to be transparent, so that the one who has reached the first stage of initiation can initially see through the first layer of the Earth. Those who have reached the second stage see through a second layer, which looks entirely different. Those who have experienced the crowning with thorns see a third layer. Then comes the stage of carrying the cross, which reveals the fourth layer. The fifth stage, the mystical death, opens up yet another layer. Then comes the sixth stage, the stage of the burial. The seventh layer corresponds to the Resurrection, so that you have seven successive layers. Beyond these seven layers—for those stages to which a person ascends after completing these seven stages of initiation—lie two further layers of the Earth, an eighth and a ninth layer of the Earth’s interior, so that we have constructed our Earth’s interior from nine superimposed layers. I have drawn these layers essentially the same width (see drawing); in reality, they are not, but vary in width. However, the width of the layers will be of less interest to us today.

[ 7 ] Let us try to describe these nine successive layers briefly. The uppermost layer is the one that contains everything known to the natural sciences, everything that exists as solid rock or material that forms solid rock. Everything mineral is contained in this uppermost layer—everything that, as matter, forms the solid earth’s crust.

[ 8 ] Then comes the second layer. Externally, this layer differs from the one above it primarily in that it is in a relatively soft, liquid state. Everything it contains is such that, in occultism, it is called the layer of liquid or soft earth. The outer layer is called solid or mineral earth. Everything contained in this second layer of the Earth consists of substances of which ordinary physics can have no conception, for it is not possible, at least not on the surface of our Earth, to create conditions in which the substances present within this layer could even exist. It cannot possibly exist on the Earth’s surface, for it requires the immense pressure exerted by the uppermost layer to hold together what is contained within the second layer. If you were to remove the upper layer, what lies beneath would be scattered throughout the entire universe at an incredible speed. This is the second layer.

[ 9 ] The third layer is called the earth’s vapor. It is a layer that is even harder to characterize than the second. You can imagine water in the form of vapor. In addition to its vaporous state, it is also permeated and animated. We thus have a layer that is essentially animated, whereas the other two layers of the Earth—that is, the first and second layers—do not, as such, possess actual life. However, the second layer has an immense capacity for expansion, a tendency toward fragmentation. The third layer, on the other hand, possesses life present at every point.

[ 10 ] The fourth layer is now such that all those things which exist in the three higher layers—and which, after all, share more or less some characteristics with our ordinary materials—no longer possess any materiality as it is found on Earth. In this layer, therefore, the substances are such that they cannot be perceived by any external sense. They are in an astral state. Everything that exists in the three uppermost layers of the Earth and is yet, in a certain way, related to what is found on the Earth’s surface is present here in the astral state. We can say, in the sense described in the Bible: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Let us call this layer “water-earth,” as it is also designated in occultism. This water-earth is at the same time the origin, the primal source of all matter found on Earth—all external matter—regardless of whether it is contained in minerals, plants, animals, or human beings. This material substance, which every earthly being carries within itself, is present in this “water-earth,” having been sublimated into the astral realm. You must imagine that, corresponding to all our physical forces, there are also astral primal forces; that these astral primal forces condense into the physical; and that these primal forces are contained in the fourth layer, the “water-earth.”

[ 11 ] The fifth layer is called the “fruit soil.” It is called this for a very specific reason. Natural scientists—and people in general—ask: How did life originate? —This is a topic discussed time and again, not only in popular lectures but also in scientific writings. But only those who are complete amateurs in the field of spiritual research ask this question. For spiritual research, the question of how life arose cannot even be posed; rather, the only question is: How did the inanimate arise? — I have already tried to make this clear to you once before using an analogy. Take a look at coal: it is now nothing more than stone, and yet, if you could trace back millions of years in the Earth’s evolution, you would discover that what is contained in coal originated from vast fern forests that have been carbonized. So what is coal? It arose from entire forests; the coal that is dead today was once completely alive.

[ 12 ] If you could look at the ocean floor, you would find all kinds of calcareous structures. If you were to observe marine animals, you would see that these animals constantly secrete calcium carbonate. This calcareous shell is what remains as solid material. Here, once again, you have the dead as a product of the living. If you had developed the supersensory organs of perception to go back far enough in the Earth’s evolution, you would find that everything inanimate comes from the living—that even rock crystal and diamonds, indeed everything inanimate, originate from the living. In the external natural world, fossilization is a process similar to the formation of the skeletal system within us. As you know, there are also fish that do not yet have a skeletal system. In humans, too, you will find that in earlier stages there are no bones yet, only cartilage. The entire skeletal system is a kind of nascent non-living substance within the human being. It is the same process of densification.

[ 13 ] This is how you should also imagine the living Earth body. The entire Earth body is a living organism. So the right question is: How did the dead, the lifeless, come into being? - It is one of the most nonsensical questions: How did the living arise from the dead? — because the living came first, and the dead separated itself as fossilization, as hardening. Thus, there was once life throughout our entire Earth, and the life that existed back then, when there was still no dead matter, was originally living matter. This is still contained within this fertile soil. It does not merely live, as earlier forms of life did, a life similar to present-day life. Here in the fertile soil, the most primordial life is present, just as it was on the Earth’s surface when there was still nothing lifeless there. This, then, is how we should conceive of the fifth layer, the fertile soil.

[ 14 ] The sixth layer is the fire earth. Just as the fruit earth contains all life, so the fire earth contains all that is instinctual. It contains, in its original sources, everything that constitutes animal life—life capable of experiencing pleasure and suffering. It may seem strange to you, but it is true that this fire earth feels as soon as it is expanded. This can be observed. It is a layer of the earth that truly feels. Everything that exists on Earth and has filled the entire Earth is present in specific layers. Just as the dead originates from the living, so does everything that is merely living originate from the soul. That which is merely living does not originate from the physical. Feeling, the soul, is the first, and from this the physical arises. Everything that is material can be traced back to the soul.

[ 15 ] The seventh layer is called the Earth’s mirror, also known as the Earth’s refractor or reflector, and for a very specific reason. Now comes something that is perhaps the most difficult to imagine. To anyone unfamiliar with what are known as the seven unspeakable mysteries of the occult, the contents of this seventh layer of the Earth’s interior will seem grotesque. It contains within itself all the forces of nature, transformed into spiritual form. Let me explain it this way: Imagine magnetism, electricity, heat, light, or any natural force—but transferred into the spiritual realm. A magnet, for example, attracts iron. That is an inorganic effect. Imagine this transposed into the spiritual realm as if the magnet were attracting the iron out of an inner spiritual affinity, and imagine electrical conduction transformed into the spiritual-moral realm as if our natural forces were not mechanical, indifferent forces, but rather had moral effects. Imagine the forces of heating, repulsion, and attraction as spiritual-moral; imagine them as if they were intended to benefit human beings and were accompanied by a spiritual feeling. In this way, imagine the whole of nature, to begin with, in moral terms.

[ 16 ] But now imagine all of nature as immoral. In other words, take everything you can conceive of as moral in human nature and imagine it reversed into its opposite. Then you have what appears in this “mirror of the Earth.” For example, there is nothing there of what is called “good” here on Earth; on the contrary, the effects that are the opposite of what people call “good” are strongest there. The material components of this layer of our Earth possess such qualities. Originally, it contained far more of them, but they are becoming increasingly better in the course of moral development, so that the moral development of our Earth signifies a complete transformation of the forces in this Earthly Mirror from the immoral to the moral. The moral process in human society is significant not only for that society itself but also for the entire planet. This is expressed in the fact that the forces of this layer are transformed into moral forces of nature. When the human race has progressed to the point where it has produced the highest morality, then everything immoral in this layer of the Earth will have been overcome and transformed into something moral. That is the meaning of this seventh layer.

[ 17 ] The eighth part of the Earth’s interior is referred to by various names. In the Pythagorean school of antiquity, this eighth level was called the “Number-Generator.” In the Rosicrucian school, it is called the “Fragmenter.” This eighth layer, which in turn is composed of a number of forces, possesses a most remarkable property that can only be discovered in a peculiar way. When the spiritual student has reached a level—such as that attained in Christian initiation only after the Resurrection—he must do the following in order to gain even the slightest conception of what is taking place here. For example, he must take a flower and visualize it precisely in his mind, then concentrate on this place within the Earth’s interior—as if he were looking into this place through the flower. Then, through the flower, everything appears multiplied a hundredfold and a thousandfold. Hence the name “The Fragmenter.” If you take something formless, such as a piece of wood, this is not the case. If, on the other hand, you take a plant, an animal, or even a human being, they will then appear to you in countless copies. In a similar way, a work of art will also appear to you multiplied in this manner. So not merely a piece of unformed matter, but a work of art—no matter what kind it may be—as long as it is material: it appears multiplied in countless copies. This is a distinctive feature of this layer; that is why it is called the “Fragmenter” or, in the Pythagorean school, the “Number-Generator”—the latter because it displays in multiple instances what exists on Earth as a single instance.

[ 18 ] Then comes the ninth layer, which immediately surrounds the center of the Earth. This is extremely difficult for people today—even for the advanced spiritual student—to comprehend. One can only say that one can become aware of how certain parts of the Earth’s interior have a specific relationship to individual organs of the human and animal bodies. Above all, you will find forces there that are located in the outer region. These are forces whose mode of action is difficult to describe. They are in a living connection with the human brain and, further inward, with human brain functions. Even deeper within this sphere lie forces that are connected to the reproductive forces of humans and animals.

[ 19 ] In this way, we have described the structure of our Earth as it appears through clairvoyant observation and as it has been taught in all occult schools since such schools have existed. What you find recorded here is a mystery that is truly taught in all occult schools.

[ 20 ] However, there are a wide variety of connections between the individual layers, just as in the human body the individual organs are connected in countless ways through the blood and the nerves. Connections radiate from the center in a wide variety of directions. In particular, two lines of force that are clearly perpendicular to one another pass exactly through the center of the Earth. These are not strands, but lines of force. In addition, there are many other directions to note. The following facts are important for our consideration. When we examine the outermost layer, we find it pierced by a cavity within this outermost layer. This cavity is connected via a kind of channel to the fifth layer, which is called the “fruit earth.”

[ 21 ] When it comes to a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption, the deeper layers of the Earth that I have described here are involved. This applies to both volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The material in the uppermost layers is set in motion by the forces emanating from the fruit earth toward the aforementioned cavity. We are dealing with effects that have their essential origin in the fifth layer of the Earth’s interior. However, what we call the “fire earth” is also involved, as it becomes agitated. It is, in fact, in a state of constant agitation, but becomes particularly agitated during times when such abnormal phenomena as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions occur. Now, this fruitful earth—which is the very source from which all life has emerged—is connected to all living things. The fiery earth, however, is connected to that which feels, to that which experiences pleasure and suffering, to the lower soul, its passions, and its drives.

[ 22 ] Within this vast field, I can offer only a few glimmers of insight—some things that may shed light on the connection between what is happening on Earth and the upheavals of the Fire and Fruit Earth. When modern humans on our Earth were first imbued with a higher spiritual essence and began to be human, powerful instincts were still at work under the influence of the Fruit and Fire Earths. All of this raged and stormed in a completely different way than is possible today. The people of the Lemurian race were engaged in powerful activity. This entire Lemurian continent, which stretched across the region between present-day Australia, Asia, and South Africa, was destroyed by volcanic eruptions—by a violent outburst of the Earth’s fruit and fire elements. This was connected to what was taking place within human beings, who at that time still lived entirely through drives and instincts. At that time, there was still an intimate connection between the drives, desires, and passions and the forces of volcanic activity. The end of the Lemurian continent was brought about by the immense selfishness of the last Lemurian races, who practiced a form of black magic that we can no longer even imagine today.

[ 23 ] Similarly, the downfall of Atlantis—what is described as the Great Flood—is linked to the morality of the Atlantean peoples. However, only traces of all this remain. Nevertheless, we can, to a certain extent, demonstrate a genuine connection between human life and such phenomena in nature. Of course, one must be extremely cautious when establishing such connections, for fantasies can easily creep in here. Therefore, one must rely solely on facts derived from occult research. Occultists seek to determine what occurred during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, the earthquake in Calabria, the earthquake during the time of Christ, or the earthquake in Lisbon in 1755. A large number of people perished in these natural disasters. The people who lost their lives in these events may not have been at fault in their previous lives. However, it is part of the karma of the individuals concerned that they suffer this demise. That is one reason why we examine the karma of those who perished. The other reason is as follows: In theosophical handbooks, you will often find Kamaloka and Devachan described in such a way that they appear merely as a consequence, as an effect of the preceding earthly life. In fact, however, the dead continue to influence this earthly life. The dead play a role in changes on Earth, as well as in cultural and natural phenomena. Just imagine that you had been born in the early years of Christianity and then again in the present day. Since then, the flora and fauna in Europe have changed dramatically. Many animal and plant species have become extinct and been replaced by others. From the perspective of spiritual research, none of this is explained by the supernatural; rather, the forces that a person possesses when not in the body actually interact with the forces of nature, so that human beings, through the forces residing in Devachan or Kamaloka, influence their future lives. When you encounter animals today that are different from those of millennia ago, they have thus come into being through human influence. In a certain sense, therefore, human beings are involved in what we call the forces of nature. The dead are constantly contributing to the transformation of nature, so that in many natural phenomena we see the expression of what the dead are working into this world.

[ 24 ] The matter of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes is not quite that simple. Nevertheless, they are connected to human beings who have not yet been reincarnated. They are very clearly related to the souls who are to be incarnated during the time when such earthquakes occur. As an occultist, one must therefore address two questions: first, what happens to the people who perish in the earthquakes, and second, what kind of people are those born at the time of the earthquake to descend into this visible world. Both lines of inquiry provide a picture of the connection between these cataclysms and what we observe in terms of morality and intellect within humanity. It turns out that the people who perish in such a devastating event—apart from all their other karmic predispositions—are brought together, through karmic factors, with souls at the very location where an earthquake occurs. All souls who perish in such upheavals thereby find the opportunity to overcome a final obstacle still standing in the way of their karma, so that they may transform from materialists into idealists and attain an understanding of the spiritual.

[ 25 ] Those born under such circumstances, on the other hand, are, strangely enough, souls who are drawn to drives, instincts, and passions and who are born as true materialists. Those born under the influence of such an event develop into materialists—mostly practical ones, that is, those who are practical in their moral conduct in life. This natural force is connected to what people develop as their power in Devachan, and the forces that arise as a reaction of fire and fertile earth during such catastrophes have an inner connection to those souls who are destined to have a practical, materialistic outlook in their next life. Thus, it is the souls born under the auspices of volcanic eruptions who are truly materialistic—the unbelievers, those who want nothing to do with a spiritual life.

[ 26 ] These are the two facts that can truly be established, so you can easily deduce from them what progress in the Earth’s development will look like in this regard: The more true materialism is pushed back, the less frequently such catastrophes will actually occur on our Earth. For there is this attraction between materialism and what exists in the fire and fruit earth, so that our Earth will become calmer and more harmonious to the same extent that humanity frees itself from materialism.

[ 27 ] However, there has been a curious development regarding materialism over the past few centuries. You know that I have repeatedly emphasized that the Middle Ages were more spiritual than our own age. The majority of people, at least within Europe, felt more spiritual. Modern times, with the rise of materialism, have brought numerous volcanic eruptions. Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland that is still active. Consider the number of Vesuvius eruptions: particularly severe eruptions were recorded in the years 79, 203, 472, 512, 652, 982, 1036, 1139 … 1872, 1885, 1891 … 1906.

[ 28 ] Let everyone draw from these figures whatever conclusions they may wish. I can only emphasize that the popularization of occult teachings arose for reasons far deeper than people generally believe. Those who initiated it knew full well what was to happen—namely, an intensive spiritual development of humanity in harmony with the great cosmic processes. To the layperson, all of this—the grand, comprehensive ideas formulated within the spiritual science movement, not only regarding human history but also the history of the world—may seem insignificant. On the surface, it appears to be a doctrine, but in reality, it is something of immense depth and significance for the entire cosmos.

[ 29 ] These are things that must be emphasized again and again. So, once more: I have attempted, for those who are somewhat accustomed to receiving spiritual messages in a manner appropriate to the subject, to address a topic that is otherwise rarely discussed, even within our Theosophical Movement. I have tried to point out a few points related to the deepest mysteries of the occult. They are suited to helping us understand, on an inner level and from a moral perspective, events such as those we have experienced in recent days. There is, of course, one thing we must keep in mind time and again. When such far-reaching connections are under consideration, beware of any form of fantasy that might attach itself to them. Only that which is grounded in sound methods—methods that have stood the test of time not merely for millennia, but since the very origins of occultism—may be taken into account. Only what truly originates within initiation, what has access to such mysteries, and only what is based on genuine research may be considered here. What I have told you today about the significance of such events is based on genuine research: their significance both for the person who is passing away and for the person who is born at the time of these events—who is thus compelled, out of his own impulse, to incarnate. These are connections that allow us to look deeply into human nature.

[ 30 ] The occultist must not shy away from saying even the most unbelievable things. And so, in closing, I would like to share something unbelievable—though it has certainly been thoroughly researched. During the famous eruption of Vesuvius, which buried Herculaneum and Pompeii in the year 79, something remarkable occurred. As is well known, the famous Roman writer Pliny the Elder perished in that event. Tracing his fate from an occult perspective is of extraordinary significance, but in our current context we shall not delve into his individual karma, but rather into something else. You all know what is meant by the “Akashic Records.” You are aware that, with the help of the Akashic Records, one can be transported back to specific points in time, including the time of the first eruption of Vesuvius. Here, something peculiar comes to light. In the course of the lecture, I spoke about the peculiarity of the eighth layer, which is called the Fragmenter or Number Generator. This layer is also of great significance for the human physical body. What is commonly called the human body physically decays after death. It dissolves into the uppermost layers of the Earth, but not the sum of forces that holds the physical body in its form. You can find these in the seventh layer, the so-called Earth Mirror. So if you record in the Akashic Records the moment when a human being has just died on Earth, and then trace the whereabouts of the individual parts of their being, you will see how the physical corpse decays, while the physical form remains in the Earth Mirror, in the seventh layer. That is where the things that can be investigated in the Akashic Records are preserved. In fact, this is a kind of reservoir for the forms that remain. Matter perishes, but the form is preserved.

[ 31 ] If you now follow such a preserved human form, you will see that it remains in this seventh layer for a while. Then, in the eighth layer—the Fragmenter or Number Generator—it is indeed fragmented. What happens is really exactly the same as what I described to you earlier regarding the mere contemplation of the flower. This form-body of a human being will appear to you as being divided many times. It then reappears in the formation of later human beings. So, mind you, the human being, as he lives among us, does not merely possess his individuality, his innermost being; he also carries other human beings within himself in terms of form, in the center of his body. And indeed, it is possible to demonstrate the influence that Pliny’s fragmented physical form has had on the thinking of materialistic natural scientists, who have absorbed this fragmented form into themselves.

[ 32 ] The connections that reveal themselves to us when we delve into the constitution of the Earth are so mysterious. You will now understand that, in a certain sense, even the outer form—the structure of our bodies—is karmically dependent on such preceding events. An event such as the sinking of the Plinius has a lasting effect on the structure of later brains—not on the souls, but on the physical forms. These are particularly subtle processes that are very important if one wishes to understand the connections between human beings and the Earth.

[ 33 ] Among the mysteries of the Rosicrucians—whose profound wisdom I have spoken to you about before—were insights of the kind I have shared with you today. The Rosicrucians did not view the Earth as a lifeless lump, as modern natural scientists do. Goethe, too—the great poet and theosophist—knew that the Earth is not something dead and lifeless. It was not a poetic figure of speech, but an image of a spiritual reality, when he had the Earth Spirit speak:

Amidst the floods of life, in the storm of deeds
I surge back and forth,
Weaving to and fro!
Birth and grave,
An eternal sea,
A shifting weave,
A blazing life,
Thus, at the rushing loom of time,
I weave a living garment for the Divine.

[ 34 ] For Goethe, this Earth was the outer garment of divine powers. Today I wanted to describe some aspects of their workings to you.