The Rudolf Steiner Archive

The Karma of the Anthroposophical Society and the Essence of the Anthroposophical Movement III

[ 1 ] From what I discussed yesterday regarding Michael’s reign in the spiritual, cosmic context, you could see that Michael occupies a special position among those spiritual beings whom we—following the designation that arose within Christian communities even in ancient times—count among the Archangeloi. And indeed, it must seem significant to us—especially in light of what is important to us these days—that in the centuries before the founding of Christianity, Michael was still sending his impulses to Earth from the Sun, from the solar realm—his, if I may put it that way, cosmopolitan impulses; that these cosmopolitan impulses were then lost, that the cosmic intelligence, so to speak, descended from Michael and arrived in the earthly region in the 8th century A.D. So that we then find people within Earth’s evolution who possess independent thought, and that this independent thought was cultivated and fought for—as I mentioned yesterday—to sustain Michael’s reign, through the harmonious collaboration of the sages of the School of Chartres with those who were directly descended from the old Michaelic reign and were predestined to continue nurturing the principle of what was once cosmic, now earthly, intelligence, until, in the 19th century, the possibility arose that—initially within the spiritual world, through that cult of imaginations I have described to you—the groundwork would be laid for what was once intended to be realized through the anthroposophical movement. Since the last third of the 19th century, but especially in our own time, we have been at the beginning of the new Michaelic era; through this Michael reign, the groundwork is being laid for what must still come to pass in this century, namely that a greater number of people—precisely those who come to a true understanding of anthroposophy—will, before the end of the century, pass through the time between death and a new birth at an accelerated pace and will now be reunited on Earth under the guidance, so to speak, of the two kinds of spiritual beings, the Teacher of Chartres and those who have remained directly united with the Michael reign—so that, under the guidance of these two kinds of spiritual beings, they may then give the final, if I may put it that way, sanctified impulse for the further development of spiritual life on Earth.

[ 2 ] Anthroposophy will only be able to take on real significance for those who wish to participate in it if, with a certain inner, sacred zeal, they become aware that they can indeed stand within such a context, one that can be characterized as it was yesterday. This will inspire inner enthusiasm, but it will also provide strength. It will make it clear that one should strive to become, more and more, a successor to what once lived in the ancient mysteries.

[ 3 ] Such an awareness, however, must be deepened in every respect. And it can be deepened. For in the spirit of what was discussed yesterday, we look back to that time when Michael was united in the spiritual solar realm with a number of superterrestrial beings, when he sent down such signs to Earth from this spiritual solar realm that they could inspire, on the one hand, the deeds of Alexander and, on the other hand, Aristotelian philosophy; that they were able, so to speak, to bring about the final phase of inspired, spiritual intelligence on Earth; that Michael, together with those human souls who, so to speak, carried out such work on Earth on his behalf—together with his spiritual hosts and the hosts of those human souls who surrounded such leading human souls—observed the Mystery of Golgotha from the Sun. And one can already be deeply moved by something that works within the soul when one pictures the moment when Michael, together with a host of angels, archangels, and human souls, sees Christ departing from the sun to enter the physical body of a human being and, through what he can experience in the human body on Earth, to connect with the further development of humanity on Earth. But at the same time, this was a sign for Michael that the heavenly intelligence he had preserved until then must now, as it were, stream down to Earth like a holy rain, gradually descending from the Sun. And in the 8th century A.D., those around Michael saw how the substantial essence that Michael had preserved until then was now down here on Earth.

[ 4 ] The point is that, in full harmony with the Michael Kingdom, everything that came into the world through the Masters of Chartres—as well as everything that came through those chosen from the Dominican Order—took place: so that, in short, the development of humanity was brought about that, beginning in the early 15th century, was able to inaugurate the development of the consciousness-soul in humanity—the very development in which we now find ourselves. For roughly in the first third of the preceding phase of development—that is, in the first third of the age of the development of the intellectual or emotional soul—we see the spread of superterrestrial intelligence across Asia, Africa, and part of Europe through Alexandrianism. Now, however, a special time is dawning—a time in which Michael, the most outstanding Archangel Spirit of the Sun, reveals himself to us within this Sun in such a way that he knows his administration of cosmic intelligence has departed from the Sun; that he knows: the affairs necessary to continue the further development of this intelligence on Earth are also in order. This time begins around the 16th and 17th centuries A.D. At that point, Michael is, so to speak, free from his former duties in the cosmos. Earthly developments are administered by Gabriel, in the manner I described yesterday.

[ 5 ] Michael is now in a special situation. Even when an archangel is not the ruling prince of earthly affairs, he nevertheless allows his impulses to flow into what the others are doing. For impulses flow continuously from all seven successive archangelic reigns; only one is always the foremost. So, for example, when Gabriel was the leading spirit in earlier epochs of human development, what he was charged with governing flowed primarily from him into earthly development; but the other archangels also played a part. Now, however, since Gabriel was exercising his dominion, Michael found himself in the unique position of being unable to participate in earthly affairs from the Sun. This is a very special situation for a leading archangel: to see that his activity, which had been carried out over long periods of time, has, so to speak, ceased. And so it came to pass that Michael said to his own: It is necessary that, for the time during which we cannot send impulses to the Earth—for the time that ends around the year 1879—we seek a special task for ourselves, a task within the solar region. — There should be an opportunity for those souls whose karma has led them into the anthroposophical movement to look back within the solar region upon what Michael and his companions did during the time that corresponded on Earth to the era of Gabriel’s reign.

[ 6 ] This was something that, so to speak, stood out from all the other, regularly recurring events among gods and humans. The souls connected with Michael—the leading human souls of the Alexandrian era, those of the great Dominican era, and those who had gathered around them in a less prominent capacity, along with a large number of striving, evolving human beings in union with leading spirits—felt as if they had been torn away from their traditional connection with the spiritual world. Then, the human souls who were predestined to become anthroposophists experienced something in the supersensible realm that had never before been experienced by human souls in the superterrestrial regions between death and rebirth. Previously, it was simply experienced that, in the time between death and rebirth, human souls, in union with leading spiritual beings, worked out the karma for their future earthly existence. But karma was not worked out in the past in the same way as it is now for those who, through the aforementioned events, were predestined to become anthroposophists. Never before was work carried out in the solar region between death and rebirth in the same way as it can now be done under the rule of Michael, who has been freed from earthly concerns,

[ 7 ] Then something happened that was a significant event in the supersensible realms at that time—something that today lies dormant, dreamlike, and unconscious in the deepest recesses of the hearts of most anthroposophists. And the anthroposophist does well to lay his hand on his heart and say to himself: “There, within me, lies a mystery—perhaps unconscious to me today—that is a reflection of Michael’s deeds from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries in the supermundane regions, where I worked under Michael before my present descent into the earthly realm; Michael was able to carry out something special because he had, so to speak, been freed from his ongoing tasks.” And Michael gathered his hosts, gathering those who, as supersensible beings, belonged to him from the region of the Angeloi and Archangeloi; but he also gathered the human souls who had come into some connection with him. And thus something like a vast, expanding supersensible school came into being. Just as at the beginning of the 13th century a sort of heavenly council took place, so to speak, among those who were able to collaborate as Platonists and Aristotelians, so now, from the 15th through the 18th century, a supersensible training took place directly under Michael’s leadership, with Michael himself chosen by the world order as its great teacher. Thus, what I have told you about the first half of the 19th century—that supersensible cult flowing into powerful imaginations—was preceded by a supersensible training for numerous human souls, a training whose results these human souls now carry within themselves, unconsciously. The result of this training comes to light only through these human souls’ feeling an urge toward anthroposophy. This urge toward anthroposophy is the result of this training. And one can say: Once, at the end of the 15th century, Michael gathered his hosts of gods and human beings in the solar region and spoke to them in a discourse that spanned long periods of time, something like this:

[ 8 ] Ever since the human race has inhabited the Earth in human form, there have been mysteries on Earth: mysteries of the Sun, mysteries of Mercury, mysteries of Venus, mysteries of Mars, mysteries of Jupiter, and mysteries of Saturn. The gods have imparted their secrets into these mysteries; there, suitable individuals have been initiated. Thus, it has been possible to know on Earth what is taking place on Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and so on, and how these events influence the development of humanity on Earth. There have always been initiates who communed with the gods within the Mysteries. In an instinctive, ancient, clairvoyant way, the initiates absorbed what came to them through impulses within the Mysteries. This—as Michael said to his own—has disappeared from the Earth, save for a few traditions; it is no longer there. The impulses can no longer flow into the Earth. Only in the lowest region—the reproductive region—does Gabriel still have the power to allow the lunar influences to enter into the development of humanity. To a greater or lesser extent, the ancient traditions have vanished from the Earth, and with them the possibility of nurturing the impulses that enter the subconscious and thus into the various physical bodies of human beings. But we now look back on all that was once brought to people in the mysteries as a gift from heaven; we survey this wondrous tableau; we look down through the course of time: there we find the mystery sites, we see how heavenly wisdom flowed into these mysteries, how people were initiated into it, how—precisely from our consecrated solar sanctuary—cosmic intelligence descended upon humanity in such a way that the great teachers of humanity possessed ideas, thoughts, and concepts that were spiritual, yet were inspired within them from our consecrated solar sanctuary. This has vanished from the Earth. We see this as we look back on ancient epochs of the Earth; we see it gradually disappearing from Earth’s development during the time of Alexander and its aftermath, and below, among human beings, we see the intelligence that has become earthly gradually spreading. But we do have this vision that has remained with us: we look upon the mysteries into which the initiates of the Mysteries were once initiated. Let us bring them to our consciousness! Let us bring them to the consciousness of those spiritual beings who never appear in an earthly body around me, but live only in an ethereal form. But let us also bring it to the awareness of those souls who have often been on Earth in physical bodies, but are here now and belong to the Michael Community; let us bring it to the awareness of these human souls. Let us unfold the great teaching of the Initiates, which once flowed down to Earth in the ancient way through the Mysteries; let us unfold it before the souls of those who were intelligently connected to Michael.

[ 9 ] And there, the ancient wisdom of initiation was “worked through”—if I may use an earthly expression that sounds almost trivial in such a context—it was worked through. There was a great, all-encompassing heavenly school. In it, Michael taught what he could no longer administer himself. It was something monstrous, something that deeply unsettled the Ahrimanic demons on Earth—particularly during the 15th, 16th, 17th, and into the 18th centuries—and threw them into a terrible agitation, so that something strange took place. What took place gave rise to a polar opposition between heavenly deeds of that time and earthly deeds of that time: Above, in the spiritual world, a high school that synthesized the ancient wisdom of the initiates in a new way within the supersensible realm, lifting it up into the intelligent consciousness—into the soul of consciousness—of those human souls initially predestined for it between death and new birth, which in ancient times had been the wisdom possessed by human beings in the intellectual or emotional soul, in the feeling soul, and so on. In the manner in which the inner Word—which is, in many respects, harsh—can be spoken, Michael expounded to his own the interrelationships of the worlds, the cosmic interrelationships, and the anthroposophical interrelationships. These souls received a teaching that unveiled the mysteries of the worlds. Down on Earth, the Ahrimanic spirits were at work. And it is necessary at this point to point out quite openly a mystery of truth that, appears somewhat out of place, viewed from the outside, in relation to present-day civilization—but which is nonetheless a divine mystery that anthroposophists must know in order to guide civilization in the right way, as I have indicated, toward the end of the 20th century.

[ 10 ] While Michael was training his hosts above, a kind of Ahrimanic school was established underground, lying immediately beneath the Earth’s surface. Therefore, one can say that the Michael School exists in the supersensible realm; immediately in the region where we stand—for spiritual forces are also active and at work in the subterranean realm—the Ahrimanic counter-school was established. And if, at this very time, no impulses were flowing down from Michael to inspire human intelligence from above—if human intelligence on Earth was initially left to its own devices—then the Ahrimanic hosts strove all the more to send impulses upward from below into the intelligent development of humanity. It is a powerful image that can come to mind here. Imagine: the Earth’s surface, with Michael above, instructing his hosts, revealing to them with great and mighty cosmic words what the ancient wisdom of the initiates was; opposite him, the Ahrimanic school in the depths of the Earth. On Earth, the intelligence that has fallen from heaven is developing; Michael, at first in heavenly solitude, teaching in contrast to the earthly realm—no currents flow from above to below—while the Ahrimanic powers send their impulses upward all the more intensely.

[ 11 ] After all, there have been souls incarnated on Earth who, during the centuries in question, sensed the eeriness of this situation. Anyone familiar with the intellectual history of this period—particularly in Europe—will find everywhere the curious fact that here and there, sometimes quite simple people live who sense the uncanniness of this situation: this abandonment of humanity by Michael’s rule and these impulses rising from below with demonic spiritual mists, which seek to conquer the intellect.

[ 12 ] It is remarkable how closely the revelations of the life of wisdom must be connected to human beings if everything that springs from them is to be good. That is precisely the mystery of truth that must be touched upon here. For the one who is to proclaim Michael’s wisdom feels, in a certain sense, that he is in the right place when he struggles to find the expression, the right wording, for what Michael’s wisdom is. He even feels that he is in the right place when, through his hands, he writes down this Michael wisdom; for there, what is connected to the human being from the spiritual realm flows, so to speak, into the form of the written word, into what he is doing. But even though it must be endured, even though it is a part of our time, there is an eerie feeling associated with seeing what Michael’s wisdom is—what one still likes to write down and share with people as something to be read—reproduced mechanically in printed books. This eerie feeling toward the printed book is certainly present in those who are deeply immersed in spiritual life with what they have to proclaim.

[ 13 ] Following yesterday’s lecture, someone asked me whether—as Swedenborg had already hinted at—the letter is not the ultimate expression of spiritual life. It is! It is so as long as it flows continuously from the spiritual realm through a human being. It becomes an Ahrimanic spiritual power when it is fixed by the mechanical—fixed, as it were, from the other side of the world—when it appears before people’s eyes as a printed letter. For that is indeed the peculiar thing: it is that Ahrimanic school which was founded as a counter-school to the Michael School and was active in the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, that brought about the art of printing in Europe, with all that the art of printing entails. From the art of printing can spring the demonic forces that are particularly suited to combating Michael’s dominion.

[ 14 ] If one is an anthroposophist, one must see through to the true meaning of what is real in life. One must indeed see a spiritual power in the art of printing, but precisely the spiritual power that Ahriman has set against Michael. Hence Michael’s constant admonition to those he taught in his school back then—the constant admonition: When you return to Earth to carry out what has been laid out here, gather people around you, proclaim the most important things from mouth to ear, and do not regard it as most important that a “literary” impact be made in the world solely through the printed book. — Therefore, the more intimate way of working from person to person is the one that is most in line with Michael’s way of working. And if, instead of working merely through books, we unite and take in the most important impulses on a human and personal level—and, because it must be so, for otherwise Ahriman would once again gain immense dominion if we did not also master his art—we then use the other only, so to speak, “memory aids,” to have what is needed to counter the Ahrimanic spirit of the age: if we cultivate this in such a way that we do not, for example, eliminate the printed book, but give it the proper relationship to what acts directly upon the human being, then we will inaugurate what is to flow, at first imperceptibly, as a Michaelic current through the Anthroposophical Society. For it would not be right, based on what I have just described, to say, for example: “So let’s do away with anthroposophical books!” By doing so, we would be handing the art of printing over to the strongest enemies of Michaelic wisdom; we would be making the continuation of our anthroposophical work—which is, after all, meant to flourish right up to the end of the century—impossible. But we must ennoble the art of printing through a sacred attitude toward what lives in Michael Wisdom! For what does Ahriman seek to achieve against Michael through the art of printing? He seeks—as you see sprouting up everywhere today—the conquest of the intellect, that conquest of the intellect which seeks to intervene particularly wherever conditions are favorable for it. In what, then, does the primary activity of the Ahrimanic spirits consist in their struggle against the coming Michaelic Age? Their activity consists in the fact that, in times when human consciousness is subdued, these Ahrimanic spirits, so to speak, “possess” people, intervening in human consciousness. Thus, many people whose consciousness had become dulled in 1914 were entangled in the outbreak of the terrible World War. And in their dulled states of consciousness, the hosts of Ahriman brought about the World War—through human beings. And the causes of this war will never be revealed in an external, documentary manner from the archives; rather, one must look deeply into history and see: there was one influential figure, then another, and yet another, whose consciousness had been dulled. That was the opportunity for Ahriman to take possession of these people. And if one wants to know how easily people in our age can become possessed by Ahriman, one need only think of what happened when the Europeans came to America with the printed works they had brought with them, at a time when there were still Native Americans in the eastern part of North America. When the Native Americans saw these strange written symbols among the Europeans, they regarded them as little demons. They had the right insight into this; they were extremely afraid of all these little demons—a, b, and so on—as they appear in the printed letters. For in these letters, reproduced in the most varied ways, there lies something fascinating for people today; and only a good Michaelic disposition—one that can see the human element in the proclamation of wisdom—can lead us beyond this fascination.

[ 15 ] But harm can come about in this way. I would like to say the following to you. There are, after all, certain mysteries of the worldview that can only be understood once one has reached a fairly advanced age. The different stages of life allow a person—if they possess the knowledge of initiation—to look into the various mysteries of existence. Thus, between the ages of twenty-one and forty-two, one can look into the mysteries of the Sun—not before. Similarly, between the ages of forty-two and forty-nine, one can look into the mysteries of Mars; and between the ages of forty-nine and fifty-six, into the mysteries of Jupiter. But if one wishes to view the mysteries of the worlds in their interconnected context, one must have passed the age of sixty-three. That is why I could not have spoken openly about certain things I am now expressing before I was in this very situation. For if one wishes to penetrate what pertains specifically to the Michael mysteries—which, after all, work from the spiritual region of the Sun—one must look up from the Earth into the mysteries of the worlds through the wisdom of Saturn. Then one must be able to sense that twilight in the spiritual world—and live within it—which originates from Oriphiel, the ruler of Saturn, who was the leading archangel at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha and who will once again be the leading archangel after the Michael era has come to an end.

[ 16 ] But then, truths that are shocking for our time are revealed—truly shocking truths! For it is precisely because the art of printing spread across the Earth through this Ahrimanic counter-school to the School of Michael that “writing” has emerged on Earth on a much broader scale. Who, then, were the writers in earlier times, before printing existed? They were people who could actually only circulate their writings within the narrowest of circles—circles that, incidentally, were prepared for this. For how many hands did a book actually pass through before the art of printing became widespread? One can truly appreciate how things actually stood by considering the following: A kind of surrogate for the art of printing, developed to a high degree of perfection, already existed in ancient Chinese culture. There was already a form of printing there, established even at a time when a Michaelic dominion reigned above and an Ahrimanic counter-dominion below. But nothing significant came of it; Ahriman was not yet powerful at that time. He was not yet able to make any serious attempts to wrest dominion over the intellect from Michael. This attempt was renewed in the time of Alexander, but it failed again.

[ 17 ] Ahrimanism, however, has played a major role in the art of printing in modern times. Writing has, so to speak, become popular. And one thing has become possible—something that is just as wondrous, brilliant, and dazzling as it is, on the other hand, something that must be received with the full balance of the soul’s powers, yet must still be appreciated in its true significance. The first attempts are already evident, which, from the perspective of the Michael region, can be described as follows: Ahriman has appeared as a writer! In Michael circles, this is a significant event today. Ahriman as a writer! Not only have people been possessed by him, as I hinted at in connection with the outbreak of war, but Ahriman, by manifesting himself through human souls on Earth, has himself appeared as a writer. That he is a brilliant writer need not come as a surprise; for Ahriman is a great, all-encompassing, and mighty spirit. He is simply the spirit who is not suited to the further development of humanity on Earth in the sense of the good gods, but rather to opposing it. In his own realm, he is a power that is not only thoroughly useful but also beneficial; for those beings who are beneficial at one level of world events are, at another, extraordinarily harmful. Therefore, when characterizing Ahriman’s works, one need not assume that these works are particularly worthy of condemnation. One can even admire them, provided one is aware of what is at stake. But one must recognize the Ahrimanic character!

[ 18 ] Michael teaches us to recognize this today, if we are willing to listen to him. For the Michael training has had a lasting effect, and we can still access it today. It then teaches how Ahriman, as a writer, first made his attempts—initial attempts of a deeply unsettling, tragic nature—which naturally emerged through a human being: Nietzsche’s The Antichrist, Ecce Homo (Nietzsche’s autobiography), and all those notes in The Will to Power — the most brilliant chapters of modern literature, with their often diabolical content! Ahriman wrote them, exercising his dominion over whatever on earth can be subjected to his rule through the art of printing. Ahriman has already begun to appear in this way as a writer, and he will continue his work. And in the future on Earth, it will be necessary to remain vigilant so that one does not accept everything one encounters in literature as being of the same kind. Human works will be published, but individual people must know that one is training to become one of the most brilliant writers in the near future: Ahriman! Human hands will write the works, but Ahriman will be the writer. Just as the ancient evangelists were once inspired and wrote down the works of the supersensible beings who inspired them, so too will Ahriman’s works be written by human beings.

[ 19 ] And there will be two aspects to the future history of humanity’s development. There will be the effort to carry forward into the earthly realm what was once taught by Michael to the predestined souls in superterrestrial schools—to the extent that this is possible—to remain devoted to this knowledge within the Anthroposophical Society, and to instruct those who will come in subsequent incarnations in this knowledge until the end of the 20th century arrives. Then some of those who are experiencing these things for the first time today will descend to Earth again—which will happen soon. On Earth, however, much will appear in the meantime—numerous writings that will be authored by Ahriman. — One task of the anthroposophists will be to faithfully cultivate the wisdom of Michael, to stand by this wisdom with good-natured hearts, and to see the first penetration of earthly intelligence by the spiritual sword of Michael in the fact that this spiritual sword of Michael is now wielded by the hearts into which the wisdom of Michael has entered, so that the image of Michael appears in a new form, inspiring each individual anthroposophist: Michael standing in the hearts of human beings, with what will be Ahrimanic writings at his feet. There will be no need for that external depiction which, in the Dominican era, often fixed the image: Above, the scholastic Dominicans standing with their books; below, pagan wisdom, represented by Averroes, Avicenna, and so on, trampled under their feet—one sees these images everywhere where the struggle against paganism by Christian scholasticism was to be illustrated—but in the spirit, one must hold this image: Surrender to Michael, who is drawing into the world and seizing intelligence on earth, and vigilance—so that one may rise above it—toward the brilliant, dazzling work of Ahriman as a writer, which has been at work throughout the entire 20th century. He will write his works in the most unusual places, but they will be there—these works—and he will cultivate his disciples. Much is already appearing in our time that initially shapes the subconscious souls so that they may quickly reincarnate and become instruments for Ahriman as a writer. He will write in all fields: he will write in philosophy, he will write in poetry, he will write in the fields of drama and epic poetry; he will write in the fields of medicine, jurisprudence, and sociology! Ahriman will write in all fields!

[ 20 ] This will be the situation humanity will have to face as the century draws to a close. And those who are still young today will witness much of how Ahriman manifests himself as a writer. Vigilance will be needed in all areas, along with sacred enthusiasm for the wisdom of Michael.

[ 21 ] My dear friends, if we can take such things to heart, if we can feel so deeply immersed in spiritual life as these hints suggest, then we will take our place in today’s civilization as true anthroposophists. Then perhaps we will increasingly sense that a new impulse is indeed emanating from the Christmas Conference at the Goetheanum, that, in essence, the Anthroposophical Society is now finally being presented with that in which it can see itself as in a “mirror of the worlds,” and that the individual, too, with the karma that has led him or her into the Anthroposophical Society, can see himself or herself reflected there.

[ 22 ] This is what I first wanted to impress upon you through these lectures. For it is to the hearts that we must speak above all else. The hearts must become Michael’s helpers in the conquest of the intelligence that has fallen from heaven to earth. Just as the ancient serpent had to be crushed by Michael, so too must the intelligence that has become a serpent be conquered by Michael and spiritualized. And wherever it appears as an adversary—not spiritualized, but Ahrimanized into the spiritual realm—it must be recognized in the proper way through the vigilance of the anthroposophical spirit, nurtured by the Michaelic attitude.