The Rudolf Steiner Archive

The Spiritual Tasks Ahead for Norway and Sweden I

[ 1 ] Now that I am once again able to be here among you, I greet you most warmly, in a way that comes from the very depths of my heart. It will be understandable that my welcome today must take on a special tone, given that, unfortunately, we have not been able to be together here for so long. But I believe that even though we were physically separated during this time, our hearts—which have come together in our aspiration toward the higher worlds—felt a deep sense of unity throughout this difficult period, and it is out of this sense of unity that I would like to extend a very special welcome to you. It was indeed a difficult time that we have gone through, yet at the same time a time of trial—a time from which something beneficial can emerge only if it is understood as a time of trial by the widest possible circle of people. Today, I, too, must recall the lectures I was privileged to deliver here in this very same place years ago, before the catastrophe, before you. Those of you who reflect more deeply on some of the points scattered here and there throughout those lectures will find in those remarks just how strongly those lectures foreshadowed the terrible times we were facing at that time, and in which we today—I am not saying, after careful consideration, that we have overcome it—are in fact currently living. I gave lectures here before you on the souls of the European peoples, and in remembrance of that—so that you may perhaps feel even more deeply what these lectures are meant to convey—I would like to recount a brief anecdote by way of introduction.

[ 2 ] It was in January 1918. At that time, I had a conversation in Central Europe with a prominent figure who, when the catastrophe in Central Europe began to take on a dangerous form, played a brief but significant role amid the catastrophic events of that fall. Those who were able to follow the events, however, already knew in January that, once the decisive moment arrived, this very figure would play a certain role. So as early as January, I had a conversation with this individual. This conversation also led to this individual remarking on how necessary it actually was to have a psychology—an understanding of the souls—of the European peoples; for the great chaos into which we were sailing would demand that those who wished to be leaders to any degree be well-versed in the workings and the forces of the European national souls. And this person deeply regretted that there was, in fact, no way to base the handling of public affairs on something like a study of the souls of the peoples. I replied that I had given a series of lectures here in Kristiania on this study of the souls of the European peoples, and I then sent this series of lectures to this individual with a preface written in light of the situation at that time—January 1918. Indeed, I can only draw attention to how this lecture series was intended at the time by recounting this episode. It was truly meant to provide direction in the face of the forces driving society into confusion. That is why I also had to use it in 1918 in the manner I have just described. It was of no use, however. It was of no use—despite the preface written in response to the situation—for the simple reason that the maturity necessary to truly grasp how powerful the forces of decline are—a maturity that already exists in a great number of souls—is not something these very souls consciously strive for. Even today, people still have a great fear of bringing before their souls, in its true form, what is actually present in the forces steering us toward chaos. Instead of looking at the true nature of these forces of decline, people prefer to conjure up all sorts of nebulous images in their mind’s eye, and they believe that if they surrender to these nebulous images, they can simply go on living in peace. Of course, this is not possible for those who reject such nebulous images and confront the true reality.

[ 3 ] In fact, it was precisely here in Norway that there was a certain inevitability of fate in speaking about the relationships between the souls of the European peoples. You will recall that I, too, have made a certain remark—in various forms and with varying degrees of detail—over the years. I have, in fact, pointed out that a time will come in Europe when it will be very necessary for this corner of Europe—this Norwegian corner in particular—to have among its inhabitants people who, in the fullest sense of the word, sympathize with the true progress of humanity and who should devote their energies—to the extent that it is both necessary and possible in such a remote corner—to this progress of humanity. Much can mature here due to our isolation from other European circumstances. But what can mature here must also gradually bear real fruit. Above all, a truly vibrant spiritual life must bear fruit. After all, that is also the reason why this anthroposophical branch bears its name here—a name we discussed here years ago.

[ 4 ] Many things have surely flashed before your mind’s eye as well during the years we haven’t seen each other—the years of the great European catastrophe. But there is something quite special about being in the midst of this catastrophe. The full significance of this catastrophe could really only be fully imprinted on the mind of someone who, one might say, was at least at times right in the thick of it. It is actually difficult to find a word in human language that could characterize this catastrophe in a completely adequate way. One might be tempted to use the word “senseless,” because it is indeed almost as if what European humanity had produced in the realm of public life up to the beginning of the 20th century had petered out into a kind of senselessness. For the turmoil of the years 1914 to 1918 was a kind of senselessness, and since then things have not changed much. The only thing that has changed is that this senseless turmoil of the outer, materialistic world no longer presents itself to the outward eye in such a striking manner as it did during the actual war years. It should be more obvious today—than Europeans realize—that Europe is bound to decline more and more unless it returns to the spiritual foundation of human life, unless it stops setting aside, out of sheer convenience, that which is ultimately intended to bring help by leading us out of anti-spiritual turmoil.

[ 5 ] For me, the fact that one of the leading figures during that senseless period pushed my course on Nordic ethnic psychology aside was deeply symbolic. In essence, even today, those who set the tone push everything else aside. In Europe, however, we should reflect on the fact that, ultimately, the words spoken unwittingly by an Anglo-African statesman are, after all, the most significant words for public affairs. They were not spoken from some particular depth of insight, but at least from a certain sense of how the affairs of humanity are unfolding in the present. This statesman said: The focal point of the world-historical perspective has shifted away from the North Sea—from Europe in general—and has moved to the Pacific Ocean. — One could also say: What had previously served as a kind of center in Europe has, in essence, ceased to exist. We live today amidst its remnants. What has taken its place are major global affairs unfolding between the East and the West. And what is being negotiated today in Washington without a clue is, after all, merely the clueless babbling that is being driven to the surface from those very depths where, unnoticed by so many today, the great affairs of humanity are still unfolding.

[ 6 ] There will be no peace on earth until a certain harmonization of major Western and Eastern affairs has taken place. But there is still no understanding today that this harmonization must first take place in the spiritual realm. No matter how much people may discuss disarmament issues and similar “luxury” matters in light of today’s difficult times, these will remain, for the time being, mere luxury matters and pleasant conversations as long as the Western world does not rediscover that spirituality which has been present—though not sought—in our entire cultural development since the mid-15th century. It is indeed a treasure contained within this cultural development.

[ 7 ] We have gained a magnificent scientific worldview; we have gained magnificent technology. We are surrounded by all of this today. All of this is, in essence, magnificent, but dead—dead in the face of the great currents of human development. Yet within this lifelessness lies something living—a living spirituality—which can unfold in the world more brilliantly than anything that has ever been presented to humanity in Eastern wisdom, which, to be sure, should not be belittled. Yes, for the unbiased observer, there is this feeling that I would now like to describe to you.

[ 8 ] One can look to the great treasures of wisdom from the Orient, which are, after all, present only as a reflection in the Vedas, in the wonderful philosophy of Vedanta, and so on. One can be full of enthusiasm for that which was revealed to humanity as if from the heights of heaven—a revelation that has, admittedly, gradually fallen into decadence, yet even in the decadent state in which it exists today in the East, it can still inspire a certain admiration in those who have a taste for such things.

[ 9 ] In contrast stands the purely material culture of the West: that of Europe and America. Nor should this purely material culture and this purely material way of thinking be disparaged. But it must be said that, at first glance, the material culture we encounter there appears like a hard nut shell, like a withering nut shell. Yet within it lies the nut. And if this nut can be found, then what comes to light will outshine all that once came to humanity in the form of Eastern wisdom. But make no mistake about this: as long as Europeans and Americans engage with Asians solely on the basis of economic interests, trust will never take root among Asians, and people will be able to talk at length about disarmament issues and how wonderful it would be if there were no wars. A great war will be waged between Asia and the West, despite all the disarmament conferences, unless something happens—unless the Asians, looking toward the West, see something that embodies the spirit of the West, a spirit that can therefore shine upon them and in which they can place their trust, because they understand it from their own spirituality, even though it has fallen into decadence. World peace depends on an understanding of this situation, not on the conversations that humanity’s outward leaders engage in today.

[ 10 ] Everything today hinges on the realization that what matters is the spirit hidden within European-American culture—the spirit from which people flee, the spirit they refuse to embrace out of convenience, but which alone can lead humanity to the forces of renewal. People simply want to cloud their vision by telling themselves over and over again: Things will get better on their own. — No, the hour of the great decision has come. Either people will resolve to elevate the spirituality I have just spoken of, or the downfall of the West is certain. No hope, no fatalistic longing for a better future that will come of its own accord, can help. Humanity has now entered the era of the free use of its powers, and humanity must truly wield these free powers. That is to say, humanity must decide for itself whether it wants this spirituality or whether it does not want it. If it chooses to have it, then progress for humanity will be possible. If it chooses not to have it, then the downfall of the West is sealed; then, amid the most terrible catastrophes, humanity’s future development will have to take a course quite different from what many can even imagine today, But if one wishes to gain such insight, one must not overlook a consideration of the inner life of human beings in general, nor a consideration of the inner life of the various peoples, namely the inner life of the Eastern and Western peoples.

[ 11 ] This was the underlying premise of the various remarks I have made here: namely, that if, particularly in this corner of Europe, we emphasize that which the Nordic spirit is especially predisposed toward, then an insight can mature here that, in turn, can have a fruitful effect on the rest of the Western world. And one will actually be able to take a spiritual movement seriously only if one is willing to attribute to it—in the sense I have just indicated—a mission that is understood in this light.

[ 12 ] The fact is that our modern civilization views everything extraterrestrial, from a scientific standpoint, merely as a mathematical-mechanical matter. We point our telescopes at the stars. We examine the composition of the stars with a spectroscope and so on. We transform what we observe in this way into mathematical equations and, in this manner, ultimately arrive at the great machinery of the universe, in which our Earth, too, is embedded like a wheel. We entertain all sorts of fantastical ideas about the habitability of other worlds, but we do not attach much significance even to these fantasies; rather, we limit ourselves to expressing, through more or less mathematical, mechanical, and physical formulas, what fills the space beyond Earth. And humanity has gradually confined itself to feeling, within the realm of earthly affairs, much as—if it had a human soul—a mole might feel in its burrow during the winter. For humanity, the Earth has effectively become a molehole in the vastness of the universe. Today, we look back with a certain sense of superiority on those childlike times when, for example, in ancient Egypt, people spoke not of the great machinery of the world but of divine-spiritual beings who are out there in space and also beyond space, and to whom human beings are just as closely related as to the beings that inhabit the Earth in the three kingdoms of nature.

[ 13 ] The ancient Egyptians traced the spiritual and soul aspects of human beings back to the higher hierarchies, to the supersensible realms, just as they traced the physical and bodily aspects of human beings back to the three kingdoms of nature: the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms. Today, people speak of extraterrestrials at most in the form of a faint and ever-fading belief that brooks no scientific scrutiny. Scientifically, one speaks only of the vast machinery of the world, expressible through mathematical formulas. And everything that interests us as human affairs is said to be confined within the human cosmic “mole’s burrow,” which is what earthly existence has ultimately become in relation to the cosmos.

[ 14 ] But it cannot be emphasized strongly enough that this is a profound truth: When a person loses heaven, he loses himself. For it is simply the case that the most important part of human existence belongs to the otherworldly. If one loses sight of this, one also loses sight of true human existence. One then wanders aimlessly on Earth without knowing what kind of being one actually is. And this is essentially how humanity wanders on Earth today. People know only from tradition that the word “human” means that a being which walks upright—unlike four-legged animals—was once given the name “human.” But from his current scientific worldview, from his technological culture, he can no longer ascribe any real meaning to the name “human.” He would have to derive that meaning from the non-earthly realm, but that realm has become nothing more than a vast machine to him. Humanity has lost itself. It no longer has any insight into its true nature.

[ 15 ] This is essentially the painful realization that the height of civilization to which Western humanity has risen since the mid-15th century has led people to tear their own essence from within themselves and, in essence, to walk the earth as beings dehumanized in soul and spirit.

[ 16 ] Yesterday, in the lecture I gave to educators, I said that today we speak of eternal human nature in a one-sided way, and even then only out of tradition. We speak of eternal human nature only insofar as it lies beyond death, and that is why we have the single word “immortality” in modern languages. But we do not speak of the eternity of the human soul before birth, in its prenatal existence. We do not speak of how the human being has descended from divine-spiritual worlds into this physical-sensual existence, or how he has integrated himself into this physical-sensual earthly existence. We therefore do not even have a word that corresponds to the word “immortality” in this regard. We speak of “immortality,” but not of “unbornness.” And only when people come to speak of unbornness and immortality as a matter of course will they once again comprehend the true, eternal essence of the human being.

[ 17 ] Why do people still talk about immortality today? Today, people really speak of immortality in a completely different sense than they did in those times when people also spoke of “unbornness.” Listen to the countless sermons delivered today out of a certain subjective honesty, and examine—very clearly—the underlying tone in such sermons that deal with the eternity of the human soul. They speculate very, very heavily on human selfishness. They speculate on the fact that human beings have a longing for immortality, that out of selfishness they do not wish to perish when physical death occurs. And they rely on the fact that this selfishness is present within the faithful congregations. Weigh the words that are frequently spoken, and see how heavily they rely on this selfishness. When it comes to pre-existence—to life before birth—one cannot rely on human selfishness in the same way. When someone speaks of pre-birth life today, nothing resonates in the selfish human souls, for they tell themselves—even if not always explicitly: “Pre-birth life does not interest us further, for even if it exists, we have its continuation. We are here now. Why should we talk about what came before? We are certain that we are here now.” Our selfishness only compels us to believe that we do not perish with death. — One must therefore appeal to people’s selflessness, to their lack of self-centeredness, when speaking of prenatal life, and one can appeal to the selfishness of the soul when speaking of life after death, however justified such talk may naturally be. That is the great difference. But this also shows that selfishness has indeed taken hold of humanity, penetrating even the deepest recesses of the soul. And the abhorrence of pre-existence is a consequence of the selfishness of the human soul.

[ 18 ] These things must be understood above all by those who are serious in their pursuit of spiritual insight. Human beings must rediscover their true inner nature. There must once again be interest among people in what constitutes the full, whole human being, not merely in the outer physical shell. But this can only be achieved if we once again view human beings not merely as belonging to the cosmic “mole’s burrow” that is Earth, but as belonging to the entire cosmos; if we once again realize that between death and a new birth, human beings pass through that which they here in their earthly existence can only look up to—they pass through the world of the stars, and when one also comes to recognize the world of the stars in its liveliness, its animateness, and its spirituality.

[ 19 ] When we look at a human being, what first strikes us is his or her outward physical appearance. This outward physical appearance is usually not considered in terms of what is most essential about it—namely, its form. Yet the most essential aspect of the physical human being is indeed its form. It is natural, when such a topic is broached—one that, incidentally, resonates with much of what is contained in my lecture cycles—that only a few hints can be offered at first. But from what you have already gained in terms of attitude and spiritual content through anthroposophy, you will see in what I am about to say not merely fleeting analogies, but something drawn from a deeper understanding of the world.

[ 20 ] When we consider the human form, we can essentially perceive a marvelous structure in the human being. First, we have the human head. This human head is entirely modeled after the cosmos. It bears the form of the cosmos. It initially takes on a spherical, round shape. This spherical shape undergoes a certain modification only toward the bottom, where the other aspect of the human being—the physical human—begins. To accommodate that which is not part of the human head, the spherical shape of the human head is modified toward the bottom. But in and of itself, the human head—as you can see—is actually modeled on the spherical form of the cosmos, right from the basic form of the human embryo, the human germ. Adjacent to this form of the human head, we have that part of the human being which, though entirely hidden, still bears the spherical form: the ribcage, the chest region of the human being. In the human chest structure—please try to encompass it with your mind’s eye—we find what is as if a spherical form were compressed and pushed apart by all manner of other forces, as if, in other words, a spherical form were substantially modified. And when we finally survey what is attached to the human being as limbs—as a third part of the human being—we can hardly perceive anything there of the original, still embryonic spherical form of the human being. Only true spiritual science will draw our attention to the fact that, ultimately, remnants of a spherical form are still present even in the human limbs. But in the outer form, this is scarcely apparent to us.

[ 21 ] When we study this threefold nature of the human being in relation to the cosmos, we can say to ourselves: The human being is formed out of the cosmos, but is exposed to the forces of this cosmos in various ways. Just consider how the human being is exposed to the fixed-star sky in various ways. Human beings are indeed exposed to the fixed-star sky in such a way that this varied form of exposure has, at different times, been expressed by peoples through the position of the Sun relative to the signs of the zodiac. And even today, in the age of mechanized astronomy, we speak of the Sun being in a certain sign of the zodiac in the spring, with the vernal equinox occurring there. It is then said that, over the course of the following seasons, the Sun passes through the other signs of the zodiac, and that during the day the Sun passes through certain signs, at night through others, and so on. But today people have no awareness of what the relationship between human beings and this entire extraterrestrial world actually is. For example, little is known about the fact that when the Sun shines on the Earth from Aries in the spring—that is, when the vernal equinox is in Aries—a certain portion of the Earth’s population is exposed to the Sun’s forces in such a way that the Sun’s rays are modified in a certain way by the position in the fixed-star sky which is represented precisely by the zodiacal region of Aries, so that these forces are particularly suited to acting upon the human head, enabling a person to develop, during their earthly lifetime, a certain self-observation, a certain self-knowledge, and a certain awareness of their own “I.”

[ 22 ] This particular exposure to the forces of Aries, if we may put it that way—you know, of course, that the Greco-Roman era was precisely the era in which the vernal equinox lay in the constellation of Aries, so that, so to speak, humanity—at least in the West—was essentially exposed to the forces of Aries— this exposure of humanity to the forces of Aries means that human beings can develop the organs of their head in such a way that they can attain a certain sense of self-consciousness, a certain self-reflection.

[ 23 ] Even when people today speak of the zodiac signs in a historical context, they don’t always know what really matters. Historical accounts, after all, refer to the zodiac signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on. Illustrations are also shown. Yet very few people today understand what is truly important. In old calendars, one still very often sees the zodiac sign of Aries. However, very few people today realize that what matters is that this ram is depicted with its head turned backward—and that this backward gaze is the most essential aspect. This depiction was intended to suggest how the forces of Aries work inwardly upon the human being—how Aries does not look forward, out into the wide world, but looks back, looking at itself. This “looking at itself” in the figure of Aries is of the utmost importance. We must, in turn, and with full consciousness—not through instinctive clairvoyance, as was the case in ancient times—penetrate to this cosmic wisdom. We must also know that the forces of our head are essentially shaped by the forces of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer; that the forces of our chest are shaped by the four middle zodiacal forces: Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio; that our head derives its form from the cosmos through the influence of the forces of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer—which one therefore looks to when seeking to understand a person through the shape of their head—so that these forces shine down from above, while the zodiacal influences acting on the human being’s middle organization—the chest region—are more lateral: Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio.

[ 24 ] And beneath the earth, concealed by the earth, are the four other constellations when they are active. These four other constellations act through the earth—not directly, like the constellations Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, nor merely from the side, like the other constellations—but they act from below upward. They act in such a way that they cannot maintain the spherical shape. They act upon the limbs. The forces of the limb system correspond to those constellations of which people in ancient times had an instinctive awareness—that they act upon human beings in such a way that the Earth lies between the human being and these constellations. Human beings stand upon the Earth. When the constellations are below, they act upon their limbs. And in ancient times, people were aware that what gives rise to the human limbs on Earth is connected to these constellations—that the form of the limbs derives from them. The shape of the head, the spherical form: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer; in contrast, what a person has in their limbs has a fourfold nature. Since these concepts arose in ancient times from an instinctive clairvoyance, they also have ancient names and refer to ancient conditions. In those ancient times, when human beings derived their wisdom from the heavens in this way, they were either hunters or archers—hence they named the constellation that stirred within them the motor activity through their limbs that made them hunters “the Archer”—or they were shepherds, tending to the animals. This is embedded in the constellation we now call Capricorn. It is not a capricorn, for it has a fish’s tail. It is, in fact, the herdsman as opposed to the hunter.

[ 25 ] The third is Aquarius. But take a look at the ancient constellation of the Water Man: this is not a water creature splashing about in the water or anything of the sort, but in the correct depiction of the zodiac, he is shown walking across hard ground, a meadow, or a field, fertilizing it, or pouring the life-giving water from his buckets. It is the man who represents what the farmer represented. It is the third occupation of those ancient times, when people had an instinctive knowledge of these things: the hunter, the herder, and the farmer.

[ 26 ] The fourth profession was that of the sailor. In ancient times, ships were shaped like fish. Even today, you can still see everywhere how the dolphin’s head at the bow of ships has remained. Hence the constellation of Pisces—the two ships tied together that set sail together for trade—represents the fourth profession, which can be found in the human limbs: the trade profession, the merchant’s profession.

[ 27 ] Thus we have drawn the human form from the cosmos; as an actual form, it is spherical in relation to the head, within which the human being is directly exposed to the forces of the fixed-star sky—or rather, the representative, the zodiac—or, on the side, where the human chest structure merely conceals or masks the spherical form: Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio; or, alternatively, where the human form is not brought about directly, but indirectly through earthly activity, through the influence on one’s profession. And the god—the earthly-cosmic god, the spherical god for the hunter—was Sagittarius, who is, after all, depicted as a kind of centaur: half horse, half human, half animal, half human, and so on.

[ 28 ] You see, here the human being—and we must once again arrive at this view with full awareness—is placed within the cosmos. Here, the human form, which is inherent in the physical body, is recognized as an effect of the cosmos. On the one hand, the human being is explained, looking upward, as a being that is the result of the cosmos, and looking downward, as the result of the Earth. The Earth corresponds to those constellations that are relevant to human activity. We will not be able to understand the human form—and the connection between this form and human activity on Earth—until we also recognize the connection between the human being and the entire cosmos. To begin with, the human form leads us directly to the zodiacal constellations. Just as it is significant for life here on Earth whether a person is a farmer—it is precisely the ancient occupations that are represented; as for how this relates to more recent times, we will likely be able to discuss that here in the following lectures—it is significant that a human being can say to himself: just as, with regard to his earthly life between birth and death, he belongs to the forces of the Earth, so for the life between death and a new birth he belongs to the spherical forces; These powers first form the head from within, and leave it to the earthly forces to form the limbs.

[ 29 ] Just as one can study the human form in this way, so too can one study the forms or stages of human life. If we first look at this human life, we see that we have these two poles: on the one hand, the life of the head, and on the other, the life that expresses itself in human activity, specifically through the limbs. In between lies the human being’s essence, which reveals itself through the rhythm of breathing, the rhythm of blood circulation, and so on. But at the two ends of the human being lies, on the one hand, the head organism, and on the other, the limb organism.

[ 30 ] The human head organism is, to a large extent, the dying part of the human being. The head is, in fact, constantly dying. We can live only by continually sending forces from the metabolic human—the human who acts and processes matter—to the head throughout our earthly life. If the head were to develop only its own forces, it would develop only forces of death; it would be nothing but decay. Yet it is precisely thanks to this dying process that we are able to think, that we have consciousness. The moment too much of mere life surges into the head, consciousness ceases. Life, fundamentally speaking, means obscuring consciousness; sending death into life means illuminating consciousness. You need only send a little of what is quite well localized in your stomach into your head, and then your head will become like your stomach—namely, unconscious. You owe the consciousness of the head solely to the fact that the head is not animated in the same way as the stomach. To have one’s consciousness clouded means that the forces of nourishment and growth extend too strongly into the head. As human beings, we are, on the one hand, beings in the process of dying, and on the other hand, beings in the process of continually being born. The dying part—which, however, constitutes our very consciousness—thrives best when exposed to the forces that act down upon the Earth from the outer planetary sphere: Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. What integrates the human being into the cosmos naturally refers not only to the fixed-star sky but also to our planetary sphere.

[ 31 ] These so-called outer planets—Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars—contain the forces that act primarily upon this pole of human consciousness; whereas the forces emanating from Venus, Mercury, and the Moon—the so-called inner planets—act upon the metabolic-limb aspect of the human being. The Sun itself stands at the very center and is primarily associated with our rhythmic being. But these are, of course, our seven stages of life. Through the stage that represents more of a kind of mortification, a suppression of life—so that consciousness can exist—we become more like the heavens in our earthly life and are associated with the outer, more distant planetary realm. Through that which actually thrives within us as life—the metabolic forces, the forces of limb movement—we are associated with the nearer planets, Mercury, Venus, and the Moon, which is, after all, directly connected to what thrives most within the human being as life: the reproductive forces. So, when we study life, we are led to the planetary sphere. When we study the form of the human being, we are led to the sphere of the fixed stars, or rather to the representative of this sphere, the zodiac. When we study human life—whether it is more of a thriving life or more of a dying life—we are led to the planetary sphere.

[ 32 ] Now we can also consider the human soul and the human spirit. That is what we will do here in the next few lectures. Today, through this brief reflection on the cosmic significance of the human being, I wanted first of all to suggest to you, in at least a few sentences, how the human being must once again find the path to not merely regard himself as an earthly being, his form, and his life not merely to what exists here on Earth—such as wind and weather, the forces of spring and autumn, or the forces of heredity and digestion—but that human beings must once again find the possibility of connecting their lives and forms to what they can perceive in the extraterrestrial cosmos. Humanity must rediscover the extraterrestrial; then it will find itself.

[ 33 ] It would be a great misfortune for the progress of Western humanity if the mere cosmic machinery—to which the scientific worldview has led since the mid-15th century—were to persist, and if human beings were to simply wander the earth without knowing anything about themselves. Because his true nature is, nevertheless, of a non-earthly kind, man cannot know anything about himself if he sees only the earthly and perceives the non-earthly only in mathematical and mechanical terms, as modern science does.

[ 34 ] Human beings can only find themselves on Earth if they reestablish their connection to the extraterrestrial. But for this extraterrestrial realm to flourish, it must be integrated into moral life, into moral and social life. Therefore, moral and social wisdom can truly exist only if it can be integrated into cosmic wisdom. For this reason—and I intend to speak to you about this in the following lectures—it was necessary that, with regard to social and moral matters, certain conclusions be drawn from our spiritual science of anthroposophy, conclusions that can be believed to lead from the forces of decline to the forces of ascent.