The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Fifth Lecture

[ 1 ] It is actually quite difficult to speak about the so-called eighth sphere—about which Mr. Sinnett was, in fact, the first to, one might not say, “report,” since those reports were, in fact, marred by error, but rather to which he made mention—it is actually quite difficult to speak about this eighth sphere. And you can easily see the reasons why it is difficult to speak about it; for here, too, it must be said once again: Our language is, of course, designed for the external sensory world, and in this external sensory world, this eighth sphere was regarded as a mystery until Mr. Sinnett mentioned it.

[ 2 ] Therefore, it goes without saying that there are not many words that could easily be used to describe this eighth sphere. From this, too, it will be clear to you what it means to speak about the eighth sphere, since people have long avoided speaking about it. You will therefore have to regard what I have to say today in aphoristic form as a kind of preliminary exploration—as the offering of a few characteristics that, for the time being, can reveal only a little about the matter. Hopefully, however, opportunities will arise to discuss this further. I will attempt, on the basis of what I discussed yesterday and, in part, earlier, to provide a characterization of this eighth sphere, so that we may build upon it and be able to say something about the development of the spiritual movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

[ 3 ] You will have already seen from yesterday’s discussions that the eighth sphere cannot be something that exists within the sensory world, for I have just pointed out that the most erroneous aspect of Sinnett’s assertion is that the external physical moon is supposed to have anything direct to do with the eighth sphere—that it is supposed to have a direct connection to it. And I have tried to make it clear that it is precisely this materialistic aspect—precisely the fact that it points to something material and physical—that actually forms the basis of the error.

[ 4 ] From this you will, if not deduce, then at least be able to surmise that what is called the eighth sphere cannot, in and of itself, have anything to do with anything that lies within the sensory world: that is to say, excluded from the eighth sphere is precisely everything that can be perceived by the human senses and everything that can be conceived on the basis of sensory perception. So you will not be able to find the eighth sphere anywhere in the sensory world at first.

[ 5 ] Now, in a certain sense, you will also have a kind of path along which one can, in conceptual terms, approach a mental image of the eighth sphere. I have said that this eighth sphere has something to do with what remains—albeit as a remnant—of the ancient Moon and its evolution. You can already infer from the various discussions we have had over time that the eighth sphere must have something to do with what has been left behind from the Moon and its evolution, as the Earth’s predecessor. Yesterday I tried to make it clear that on the Moon, the correct human perception was the visionary-imaginative one, so that everything substantial that one might seek in the eighth sphere will have to be found where one can discover something through visionary imagination; that is to say, one can therefore assume that the eighth sphere is to be discovered through the path of visionary imagination.

[ 6 ] Why is the term “eighth sphere” used at all? We speak of the eighth sphere because there are seven spheres that you have long been familiar with: Saturn, the Sun, the Moon, Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan. Within these seven spheres, human evolution continues to progress in the manner I have often indicated. If there is something beyond these seven spheres—and let us assume for the moment that there is—and if this something stands in some relationship to the Earth, then one can, with some justification, call it the eighth sphere. It is necessary to conceive of this as lying outside the seven spheres and standing in a relationship to the Earth. Let me illustrate this. We would thus have to postulate here—depicted graphically and schematically—a cosmic structure that can be perceived only through imagination and vision, and which stands as an eighth cosmic structure alongside the seven cosmic structures that we must designate as the realm of regular human evolution. However, any such depiction is, of course, schematic: one separates, so to speak, what can only be observed as intertwined. For you will have long since surmised from the various discussions that have taken place that within the sensory realm—within sensory observation—when one thinks with the intellect and observes with the senses, one stands within the fourth sphere. But when, through the development of the soul, one reaches the point of seeing the third sphere—the lunar sphere—one does not, in terms of space, fly far away in the world. One observes, but not from another place; rather, physically speaking, spatially speaking, one observes from the same place. So one would have to draw these seven spheres nested within one another. They are successive stages of development; and, strictly speaking, the diagram drawn in this way has no greater value than if one were to say: human beings develop from birth to the age of seven in a first stage, from the age of seven to fourteen in a second stage, and so on. Nor is it the case that a person who has developed from the first to the seventh year can be placed side by side with a person who has developed from the seventh to the fourteenth year. Just as this is not the case with human beings, it is also not the case when one considers the seven successive stages of Earth’s development placed side by side.

[ 7 ] From this, however, you will surmise that the eighth sphere is observed within the earthly sphere. One cannot, therefore, depict it above or below, but rather one would have to depict it within the earth. I have often used this rough example: Just as the physical air surrounds us, so too does everything spiritual surround us. We must seek everything spiritual in our surroundings right down into our physical being. It would therefore follow that, just as everything else spiritual surrounds us, we must also seek the eighth sphere in our surroundings; that is, a sense organ would have to develop in human beings that is as suited to the eighth sphere as the physical senses are to the Earth. Then he would be able to be clearly conscious in the eighth sphere. But in reality, he is always unconsciously within it. Just as one is always in the air, even if one knows nothing about it, so too is the eighth sphere always there, and when one develops a sense for it, then it is consciously present around us. So that, if we wish to characterize it, we naturally have to describe something in which we continually live, in which we continually exist.

[ 8 ] As I said, at this stage—with these preliminary observations—I can only offer something like a brief statement. The rest will become clear during our discussions. What exists in the eighth sphere consists of the following. First of all, you can know—or at least sense—that what surrounds us there as the eighth sphere is accessible through imaginative-visionary clairvoyance. It is therefore impossible to develop imaginative clairvoyance without knowing something about the eighth sphere. Because so few people currently possess truly clear clairvoyance capable of making distinctions, it is so difficult to speak about such things as the eighth sphere. So we have imaginations there, and what constitutes the very essence of Earth’s evolution—that is, the fourth sphere—is not present in this eighth sphere. As I already indicated yesterday, the essence of the fourth sphere consists of the mineral impregnation of the world picture. The fact that we live on Earth is made possible by the fact that this fourth world body is mineral-impregnated, that we are always surrounded by the mineral realm—that is, by what is perceived through the senses—and that what is sensually perceived can be synthesized by the intellect. However, you must mentally remove this mineral element from the eighth sphere. This mineral element is completely absent from the eighth sphere.

[ 9 ] So if we set that aside, we are of course left with nothing other than a later stage of development of the old Moon—for where else could something else come from? But things continue to evolve, and something that is substantially perceptible through imaginative-visionary clairvoyance—yet would be nothing more than a remnant of the old Moon—would not yet constitute an eighth sphere. In that case, one could only say that the third sphere has left something behind.

[ 10 ] To gain a basic understanding of the nature of the eighth sphere, let us note the following. As the Moon, the third sphere, has developed in a regular manner, this third sphere has become the fourth sphere; that is to say, a transition has taken place from the third elemental kingdom—as we must call it—to the mineral kingdom. Thus, the mineral has been added. Otherwise, we would have to conceive of the ancient Moon as a sum of substantiality that can be imagined. We must therefore assume that the regular progression from the Moon to the Earth, from the third sphere to the fourth sphere, consists in what was previously perceptible only through the imagination becoming perceptible through the senses—that is, undergoing a mineral transformation. The Moon-like nature remains as the eighth sphere for the time being, but this Moon-like nature becomes something else through a specific process. We know what happens so that the fourth sphere can arise from the third. This is clearly described in *An Outline of Esoteric Science*, where the spirits of form join the spirits of movement and bring about the entire transformation. Thus, we can say that the fourth sphere arises from the third through the addition of the spirits of form to the spirits of movement.

[ 11 ] If the spirits of form were to desire—and were able—to attain everything that lives within their own nature, then naturally, at the moment when Sphere Three has fulfilled its task in the universe, nothing other than Sphere Four would emerge from it. That goes without saying. We know that Luciferic and Ahrimanic spirits exist. They retain for themselves a portion of the lunar substance. In this we must see their essential nature: that they retain a portion of the lunar substance. They snatch this away, as it were, from the spirits of form. Thus, as Sphere Three progresses, something is snatched away from the spirits of form by Lucifer and Ahriman. Into this part that is snatched away from the spirits of form, Lucifer and Ahriman now enter in place of the spirits of form. They join the spirits of movement, and through this, Eight arises from Three.

[ 12 ] So we said that there must be something other than just the old Moon. And this other thing that is now present—that which arises apart from the fourth sphere—is that the mineral realm, as it comes into being, is snatched away at the very moment of its emergence, in the *status nascendi*, from the fourth sphere. So as the mineral realm arises from the imaginative, at the very moment of its emergence, the mineral realm is snatched away by Lucifer and Ahriman and brought into the imagination. Instead of an Earth arising from the remaining lunar substance, a celestial body is formed through the incorporation into what has come over from the Moon of that which has been substantially snatched away from the Earth.

[ 13 ] Now imagine how I described the conditions of the ancient Moon in *The Secret Science*. These aspects of the ancient Moon arise because there is still nothing mineral present. If that were present, it would be an Earth and not a Moon. As the mineral realm comes into being, the fourth sphere arises. When Lucifer and Ahriman come and tear the mineral substance out of Sphere Four and imprint it into Sphere Three, the Moon is repeated once more—but with material that actually belongs to the Earth. So please note: instead of there being mere imaginations, the imaginations are condensed with what is torn from the Earth’s mineral substance. They are thus condensed, and imaginations condensed in this way are created. We are therefore immersed in a world of condensed imaginations, which are not lunar imaginations precisely because they are condensed by the material of the Earth. But these are the ghosts; that is to say, behind our world lies a world of ghosts, created by Lucifer and Ahriman.

[ 14 ] I could illustrate it to you schematically as follows: There were certain images on the ancient Moon. These were supposed to pass over to Earth as something that could be perceived everywhere on Earth. But Lucifer and Ahriman kept them for themselves. They snatch earthly elements from the Earth and fill them with imaginations, so that these earthly substances do not become earthly formations but rather lunar formations. We have thus enclosed within our fourth sphere a sphere that is actually the lunar sphere, but which is entirely filled with earthly material—in other words, a completely false entity in the cosmos. To the seven spheres we have added an eighth sphere, which is designed to counter the advancing spirits. From this, however, arises the necessity that the spirits of form on Earth must fight for every substantial particle that can become mineral, so that it is not snatched away from them by Lucifer and Ahriman and carried into the eighth sphere.

[ 15 ] So, in truth, the matter is this: our Earth, the fourth sphere, is not at all what it appears to be on the outside. If it were truly composed of atoms, all these atoms would still be imbued with the forms of the eighth sphere, which are perceptible only through visionary clairvoyance. These formations are embedded everywhere within it, and the content of the eighth sphere is present everywhere in a ghostly manner; it can therefore be perceived just as real ghosts are perceived. Thus, in essence, all earthly existence is contained within it. Lucifer and Ahriman are constantly striving to extract from the substance of the Earth whatever they can lay their hands on in order to form their eighth sphere, which, once it has progressed far enough, will detach itself from the Earth and, together with Lucifer and Ahriman, will set out on its own cosmic path. Of course, the Earth would then develop, as it were, into nothing more than a torso facing Jupiter. But as you can see, the human being is fully immersed in this entire process of Earth’s development, for the mineral realm permeates him completely; he stands continually within it. The mineral process passes through us everywhere, and the mineral process is drawn into this struggle everywhere, so that particles of this substance can continually be wrested from it. Thus, we ourselves are permeated by it. Lucifer and Ahriman are fighting against the spirits of form, and mineral substance is to be wrested from us everywhere.

[ 16 ] However, this varies in intensity in the different parts of our organism. We are developed differently; we have organs that are more perfect and others that are less perfect. Our most perfect organ is our thinking organ—our brain and our skull—and it is precisely within this organ that the struggle I just alluded to is strongest. And it is strongest there precisely because the human skull and the human brain are formed as they are; and they are formed as they are because it was in this part of our body that Lucifer—and also Ahriman—were most successful in wresting mineral substance from us. It is there that the physical substance is most deeply imbued with spirit. The structure of our skull arose because the most was wrested from us there. This is precisely why we can free ourselves most from our organism through our head. We can rise in thought; we can distinguish between good and evil. And it is precisely through this that Lucifer and Ahriman have been most successful in wresting away substance, because they were able to tear away the most from the mineralized substance precisely in what is called the noblest organ of the human being. It is indeed the case that mineral substance has been extracted most extensively there. This alchemy—the transfer of mineral substance into the eighth sphere—is constantly taking place behind the scenes of our existence. I am offering these insights for now; the evidence for them will become increasingly apparent.

[ 17 ] If everything were to go smoothly for Lucifer and Ahriman, if everything worked out, if Lucifer and Ahriman could always snatch away as much as they snatch away from the organ of the head, then Earth’s evolution would soon reach a point where Lucifer and Ahriman would succeed in destroying our Earth and transferring the entire evolution of the worlds into the eighth sphere, so that the entire course of Earth’s evolution would take a different turn. That is why Lucifer strives to unleash his greatest power at the most vulnerable point of the human being—the head. That is the stronghold that is easiest for him to capture: the human head. And everything in the human head that is similar to the distribution of the mineral realm—such that it can be absorbed—is likewise exposed to the danger of being drawn into the eighth sphere. According to the intention of Lucifer and Ahriman, nothing less is in store than to cause the entire development of humanity to vanish into the eighth sphere, so that it would take a different course.

[ 18 ] We see that it is a fact that, from the beginning of Earth’s evolution, it has been the intention of Lucifer and Ahriman to cause the entire evolution of the Earth to vanish into the eighth sphere. In response, the spirits belonging to the spirits of form had to create a counterbalance. The external counterbalance they created consists in their having, as it were, placed something within the space of the eighth sphere that counteracts this.

[ 19 ] Now, if we want to draw this correctly, we must depict it in such a way that, since we have the Earth here, we must draw the eighth sphere here. It is shown here as that which belongs to our physical Earth. We are, in essence, surrounded everywhere by the imaginations into which mineral and material elements are constantly to be drawn. That is precisely why the sacrifice took place—the separation of the lunar forces by Yahweh or Jehovah—which occurred through a substance much denser than the usual mineralized physical substance, and which Yahweh placed there as the Moon, as a counterforce. This was a very coarse substance—and Sinnett described this coarseness in particular—a much more physical, more mineral substance than exists anywhere on Earth, so that Lucifer and Ahriman could not dissolve it into their imaginative world.

[ 20 ] So this moon orbits as a coarse substance—glassy, coarse, dense, unbreakable. You will find that even the physical descriptions of the moon are consistent with this if you read them carefully enough. Everything that was available on Earth was taken and placed there so that there would be enough physical matter that cannot be absorbed. When we look at the Moon, we see that there is a much more mineral-rich, denser, physically much denser material in outer space than anywhere on Earth. So we must address Yahweh or Jehovah as the Being who has already ensured, in the physical realm, that not all material matter can be absorbed by Lucifer and Ahriman. Then, at the right time, the same Spirit will ensure that the Moon re-enters the Earth when the Earth is strong enough to receive it again, once the danger has been eliminated through the corresponding evolution.

[ 21 ] This pertains to the outer, physical-mineral realm. In the human realm, however, a counterbalance also had to be created to the intention directed against the human head. Just as matter had to be condensed in the outer world so that Lucifer and Ahriman could not dissolve it through their alchemy, so too in the human being something had to be set in opposition to the organ that is most vulnerable to attack by Lucifer and Ahriman. Jehovah therefore also had to ensure—just as he had ensured in the outer mineral realm—that not everything could fall prey to the attacks of Lucifer and Ahriman.

[ 22 ] It was necessary to ensure that not everything in human beings that originates in the head could fall prey to Lucifer and Ahriman. It was necessary to ensure that not everything was based on intellectual activity and external sensory perception, for then Lucifer and Ahriman would have the upper hand. A counterbalance had to be created in the realm of earthly life. There had to be something within the human being that was truly independent of the head. And this was achieved by the work of the good spirits of form, who implanted the principle of love into the Earth’s principle of heredity; that is to say, there now lives within the human race something that is independent of the head, that is passed down from generation to generation, and that has its deepest foundation in the physical nature of the human being.

[ 23 ] Everything connected with procreation and heredity, everything that is independent of the human being in such a way that he cannot penetrate it with his thinking, everything that the Moon represents in the vault of heaven—this is what exists within the human being as the principle of love, permeating procreation and heredity. Hence this furious struggle between Lucifer and Ahriman, which runs through history, against everything that comes from this realm. Lucifer and Ahriman always seek to impose the exclusive dominion of the head upon human beings and direct their attacks, via the head, against everything that constitutes an external, purely natural kinship. For everything that constitutes hereditary substance on Earth cannot be taken away by Lucifer and Ahriman. What the Moon is in the heavens, heredity is on Earth among human beings. Everything based on heredity, everything that human beings do not think through, everything connected with physical nature—that is the Yahweh principle. The Yahweh principle is most active where, so to speak, natural nature is at work; there he has poured out his natural love most abundantly to create a counterbalance to lovelessness, to the tendency toward mere wisdom of Lucifer and Ahriman.

[ 24 ] One would now have to thoroughly examine certain chapters that have recently been discussed from entirely different perspectives in order to show how, in the Moon and in human heredity, the spirits of form have erected barriers against Lucifer and Ahriman. If you reflect more deeply on these matters, you will find that these hints convey something extraordinarily important.

[ 25 ] Now, in order to understand at least some of this, one must consider the matter from a slightly different perspective. If you consider human evolution according to our “esoteric science”—as it has progressed through Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon—you will see that there can be no question of freedom on Saturn, the Sun, or the Moon. There, the human being is woven into a fabric of necessity. Everything there is necessary. The human being had to be integrated into the mineral realm; he had to become a being permeated by the mineral in order to ripen for freedom, so that the human being can only be educated toward freedom within the earthly, sensory world.

[ 26 ] This is indeed an immensely important aspect of the earthly, sensory world: what humanity is meant to attain—the freedom of the will—can only be attained during Earth’s evolution. On Jupiter, on Venus, and on Vulcan, human beings will need this freedom. So when one considers freedom, one enters a very significant realm, for one recognizes that the Earth is the source of freedom, precisely because it imbues human beings with the physical and mineral realms.

[ 27 ] From this, however, you will recognize that what originates from free will must be preserved precisely within the earthly realm. As one develops one’s clairvoyant abilities, one can carry it upward from the earthly realm into later stages of development, but one must not carry it into Spheres Three, Two, and One. In those spheres, that which stems from the principle of freedom is not possible. By their very nature, they are incompatible with freedom. Yet Lucifer and Ahriman strive precisely to drag human free will into their eighth sphere; specifically, they seek not to allow anything that stems from human free will to originate from it, but rather to drag it into their eighth sphere. This means that human beings are constantly exposed to the danger that their free will will be snatched away from them and dragged into the eighth sphere.

[ 28 ] This happens, for example, when the element of free will is transformed into visionary clairvoyance. At that point, the person is already within the eighth sphere. And this is something occultists are so reluctant to say, because it is actually a terrible truth: the moment free will is transformed into visionary clairvoyance, what develops within the human being becomes a prize for Lucifer and Ahriman. It is immediately captured by Lucifer and Ahriman and is thereby caused to vanish from the Earth. From this you can see how, through the binding of free will, the ghosts of the eighth sphere are, as it were, created. Lucifer and Ahriman are constantly busy binding human free will and deceiving people with all manner of illusions, only to then snatch away what has been deceived from them and cause it to vanish into the eighth sphere. And what such naively trusting, yet superstitious people develop in all manner of clairvoyance is often such that their free will is imprinted upon it. Then Lucifer immediately takes it away, and while people believe they are attaining a measure of immortality, in truth they are witnessing in their visions how a part or a product of their soul being is torn away and prepared for the eighth sphere.

[ 29 ] You can therefore imagine how deeply affected those people must have been who, through compromise, had agreed to use mediumship to convey all manner of truths about the spiritual world to people, and then witnessed how the mediums believed that the dead were speaking to them. The occultists, however, knew that what takes place between mediums and living people is that the current of free will flows into the eighth sphere. Instead of connecting with the eternal, they brought to light precisely what was constantly disappearing into the eighth sphere.

[ 30 ] From this you can also see that Lucifer and Ahriman are eager to bring as much as possible into the eighth sphere. Although Goethe may have conflated Lucifer and Ahriman, he nevertheless aptly described how a soul is snatched away from Mephistopheles-Ahriman! For that would be the greatest prize if Lucifer and Ahriman could ever succeed in winning over an entire soul for themselves, in snatching away an entire soul; for thereby such a soul would have vanished into the eighth sphere, away from Earth’s evolution. The greatest victory, then, would be for Lucifer and Ahriman if they could one day say that as many dead people as possible had entered their realm. That would be their greatest victory. And there is a way to achieve this. Namely, Lucifer and Ahriman can say: People actually want to know something about life between death and a new birth. So let us tell them that they will learn something from the dead; then they will be satisfied, and then they will turn their feelings toward the realm from which something is proclaimed to them as coming from the dead. So if we want people’s minds to be directed toward the eighth sphere, then we tell them: “We will tell you something about the dead.”—We ensnare people by pretending that the dead are with us.

[ 31 ] This diabolical plan—for we are now speaking of the Devil—was put into action by Lucifer and Ahriman when occultism had fallen into the trap of wanting to achieve something through mediumship. They inspired all the mediums through whom they had orchestrated the entire affair, so that people would be drawn toward the realm from which the dead are supposed to speak, and so that Lucifer and Ahriman could now snatch the souls. This alarmed the occultists when they saw the direction the matter had taken, and they resolved to turn away from this path. Even those on the left recognized this, and so they said: Let’s do something else! — An opportunity for this then arose with the arrival of such a truly remarkable personality as H.P. Blavatsky. For Lucifer and Ahriman, now that the plan had been seen through—and since, so to speak, the occultists on Earth were no longer lending a hand to carry it out—it was a matter of finding another way to achieve their ends.

[ 32 ] Thus, materialism had emerged as a natural part of the Earth’s development. Therefore, in order to consider mineral development as such, one had to focus one’s attention solely on the material. But that is materialism! The occultists, who had specific agendas, said to themselves: So let’s make use of materialism. If one takes mere earthly materialism, then human beings must eventually realize through their thinking that atoms do not exist. One cannot plant much greenery if one remains solely within the realm of earthly materialism. But one can certainly corrupt human thinking by making materialism occult. And the best way to do this is to present the Moon—which had to be created as a counterpoint to the eighth sphere—as the eighth sphere itself! For if people believe that matter, which had to be created as a counterweight to the eighth sphere, is in fact the eighth sphere, then one surpasses every earthly and conceivable form of materialism. — And every earthly form of materialism is surpassed by this assertion of Sinnett’s. Here, materialism is carried into the occult realm; here, occultism becomes materialism. But sooner or later, people would have had to figure this out. H.P. Blavatsky, who looked deeply into this process of becoming earthly, sensed something of this after she had uncovered the secrets of that remarkable individuality I have already spoken of in the last few hours. She told herself: This cannot go on like this; it must be done differently. — But she said this under the influence of the Indian occultists of the Left-Hand Path: “It must be done differently, but something must still be created—something that cannot be easily discovered.”

[ 33 ] In order to create something of her own that went beyond Sinnett’s ideas, she had taken up the suggestions of the Indian occultists who inspired her. As followers of the Left-Hand Path, these occultists had nothing else in mind but their own specific Indian interests. Their aim was to establish a system of wisdom across the earth from which Christ was excluded, and from which Yahweh, Jehovah, was also excluded. Something therefore had to be incorporated into the theory that would gradually eliminate Christ and Yahweh.

[ 34 ] The following was decided. They said: “Look at Lucifer.” — No one spoke of Ahriman; they recognized him so little that they used the same name for both. — This Lucifer is actually the great benefactor of humanity. He brings people everything they possess through their head: science, art—in short, all progress. He is the true spirit of light; he is the one to whom one must cling. And Yahweh—what has he actually done? He has poured sensual heredity upon humanity! He is a moon god who has introduced the lunar principle. - Hence the assertion in the “Secret Doctrine”: one must not follow Yahweh, for he is merely the lord of sensuality and all that is base and earthly; the true benefactor of humanity is Lucifer. - The entire “Secret Doctrine” is structured in such a way that this shines through, and it is also clearly stated therein. That is why H.P. Blavatsky had to be groomed into a hater of Christ and Yahweh for occult reasons. For in the occult realm, that statement means exactly the same thing as the statement means in the realm of Sinnett: the moon is the eighth sphere.

[ 35 ] One can only come to terms with such things through knowledge; indeed, it is only through knowledge that one can truly come to terms with them. That is why, when we launched our journal *Luzifer-Gnosis*, the very first article had to be about Lucifer—so that people might truly grasp him, so that they might see that, through what he does, he is a benefactor of humanity by providing the work of the mind. But there must also be a counterbalance: love had to be there as a counterbalance. This was already written in the very first article in “Luzifer,” because this was the point where we had to begin.

[ 36 ] As you can see, things are quite complicated. Essentially, what they sought to achieve through H.P. Blavatsky was this: to lead people to believe in the eighth sphere. The easiest way to lead them to believe in the eighth sphere was to present them with something false as the eighth sphere in the “Esoteric Doctrine.”—Of course, people were guided toward the spiritual world. This is the great merit of H.P. Blavatsky’s “Esoteric Doctrine”: that through it, people were guided toward the spiritual world. But the path taken was one that pursued special interests, not the interests of humanity’s general development. We must urgently take all these things into account if we want to gain a clear understanding of which path is the salutary one. We must not accept empty words without evidence if we want to have true occultism. We must be willing to see things clearly. Especially at this present stage of our development, I felt compelled to make a few remarks specifically about these matters—remarks that may be supplemented at a later time with even more significant insights. I had to make these remarks to you for the following reason: if you consider these matters properly, you will see how our ship has been steered from the very beginning of our Spiritual Science movement—steered in such a way as to take into account all the wrong turns that could be taken and all that, in a sense, threatened the spiritual development of humanity.

[ 37 ] A path into the spiritual world must not be suggested blindly or out of mere enthusiasm. Therefore, the admonition had to be repeated time and again to you, my dear friends, that it is necessary—urgently necessary—not to allow yourselves to be beguiled by that which leads people to the eighth sphere. And whenever it has been said time and again that one should be more cautious in the realm of visionary clairvoyance, that one should regard as valid only that clairvoyance which excludes Lucifer and Ahriman and leads upward into the higher worlds, then it becomes clear that whatever is capable of bringing the soul into communion with the eighth sphere must be eradicated. Whenever the tendency arises to bind and fetter free will to the realm of visionary clairvoyance, this is a sign that, fundamentally, resistance has been offered to the clear aspirations within our movement out of a love for binding free will to visionary clairvoyance.

[ 38 ] How happy some people would have been if only they could have restricted this free will! This was evident in how many of the movements I have described were introduced into our movement from outside. It was not Blavatsky, nor was it an outside influence, but our own members who constantly undermined what was supposed to be achieved. And this happened—and continues to happen—because people repeatedly admire what is brought forth by visionary clairvoyants! When people admired what was brought forth by visionary clairvoyants, that was a breach being opened, and that was an expression of a perverse love for the eighth sphere. And when this or that person said, “The doctor said it should be done”—that means that such a person wanted to surrender their free will to external influences, that they did not want to determine it through themselves but through something else; they wanted the other person to bring into the physical world a disposition to allow their free will to be bound. Likewise, every time people rely on fatalism instead of deciding through their own power of judgment, they reveal their inclination toward the eighth sphere; and everything we experience as belonging to the eighth sphere disappears from Earth’s evolution and does not advance in the proper way alongside Earth’s evolution.

[ 39 ] We have reached a point where we must pay attention to all these things. That is why these things have been said. We have reached a point where we must be mindful of the tipping point that constantly hovers between the exoteric and the esoteric. The practice observed among us in the esoteric realm shows how, fundamentally, what must exist as the true occult life cannot be expressed in words. One speaks of it sometimes in esoteric terms, sometimes in exoteric terms; and when one speaks exoterically and esoterically, these are, as it were, two different dialects of an ineffable language. And when a person, in his arrogance, wants to replace the exoteric with the esoteric, he simply forgets that the esoteric and the exoteric are two dialects of an ineffable language, and that it matters greatly how one is able to maintain a balance between the esoteric and the exoteric. But what lies between the exoteric and the esoteric must be regarded by us as an ineffable language; it is always something that cannot be expressed so directly.

[ 40 ] When something esoteric is published, for example, such as my *Secret Science*, care must be taken during publication to ensure that everything in such a book is expressed in a way that can be understood by the current state of consciousness prevailing in the non-occult world. If anything is to remain esoteric, it simply means that it should remain among those people who participate in everything that is required in the esoteric realm. If things do not proceed properly, the esoteric is carried over into the exoteric, and then one always faces a danger. But this happens every time the opportunity arises for that which is meant to remain within a narrow circle to be carried out into the world, so that one loses the ability to continue to monitor what has been carried out into the world. This happens when people who have our lecture cycles in their possession separate from our Society and do whatever they want with our cycles outside of it; when we no longer have control over what we ought to have control over. It also happens every time—as can be demonstrated within our circle—when one considers, for example, matters such as the following. You see, in the years that we have been pursuing our Spiritual Science, I have endeavored to develop things in such a way that anyone who engages with the material can see how these things can be understood, even if they have not yet attained clairvoyance. I have tried not to publish anything that cannot be understood within the relevant field. It follows, however, that the only people who might object to this movement of Spiritual Science are those who wish to hinder humanity’s transition into the eighth sphere. When I published the most sensitive material—namely, the story of the two Jesus boys—objections arose from a camp that still understood nothing, from a camp that is willing to accept only mediumship—I can read the relevant essay to you—while anyone who is willing to study the Bible can already understand today what the story of the two Jesus boys is all about. Therefore, we must stand firm in examining the things presented to us, but not claim that they are accepted among us on the basis of blind faith in authority. The phrase “truths are accepted simply because I say so” should never be uttered! We would be sinning against the truth if we said such a thing. It may be based in part on trust; but that can never be made a principle, because it should be a foundation that each person keeps to themselves—since another might be better able to follow the path: not to accept on trust, but to examine.

[ 41 ] It is precisely by examining things that we will discover how they really are. As often as the word “trust” has come up among us, it has also been dangerous—a sign that we have entered a time when dangers threaten us. The way we have behaved up to now must come to an end, for Spiritual Science is not based on authority but on knowledge of the subject. The time when we could comfortably advocate for Spiritual Science is over. Enemies will be lurking everywhere, and we will have much to contend with; we will have to prepare ourselves for the struggle. And if there are confused minds anywhere who feel compelled to make use of their confusion, this will provide a particular opportunity for the forces opposing our Spiritual Science movement to develop.

[ 42 ] We must regard these things as arising from the very nature of the matter itself. We will have to resolve to take all these things into account. For one-sided movements gain traction here and there, find followers here and there, because there are always groups of people here and there who have an interest in one-sidedness. Consider, after all, that humanity consists entirely of groups of people, and when you take all these groups together, you have all of humanity. Now, when an occultist takes on a group, he already finds support within that group, and he can proceed from there because that group helps him. Therefore, anyone who proceeds from a one-sided viewpoint can expect a measure of approval and affection. But if one proceeds from the truth, one initially has all of humanity against one. The truth must conquer its domain even without any interest in it. That is why, in reality, nothing is hated more than the truth—the unvarnished truth. And that is why there are many a follower here and there who, deep down in their innermost being, actually harbors hatred in their soul. It is no wonder that once this hatred shatters the opposing force that acts as a barrier against it—and is in turn shattered by some being—what actually exists is hatred that has long since accumulated. This being does not always have to give a hint in its very name that it “shatters” the force opposed to hatred. But it can certainly be understood in this way. Such hatred is, in fact, much more widespread than one might think; one must reckon with this hatred. For the truth is, in fact, always hated, and therefore, whenever the truth seeks to assert itself anywhere, there is always, in some way, an effort to transform or reinterpret what is asserting itself as truth so that it can somehow serve the opposing forces. And in the various attempts currently arising among us, we must recognize precisely the attempt to reverse what appears among us as truth and to use it in a different way. The most subtle way to do this is to say: “The teaching is good, but the teacher is no good.”—One robs it, as it were, from the teacher and then seeks to use it for something else. Indeed, Lucifer and Ahriman would most like to take the entire wisdom of the gods and carry it into the eighth sphere.

[ 43 ] The aim here is to transform a society in which freedom can exist into a society of slavery. This is the method that can serve Ahriman, who seeks to exploit such machinations to make them work for him. This is the more esoteric side of the matter, but we must now also examine it exoterically—in other words—with the necessary seriousness.

[ 44 ] I ask you not to lose sight of the fact that we are at a crucial juncture in the development of our Spiritual Science. I have said some of what I intended to say today, particularly in the last part. If it turns out to be necessary to discuss other matters, I would be willing to spend another half hour on them tomorrow. Since I do not wish the topics discussed here in the last quarter of an hour to give rise to all sorts of misunderstandings, it would be better if I continued speaking about these matters tomorrow.