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A glance at the spiritual background of human development alone can throw clarifying light on the riddle of the eighth sphere. Man has developed through the successive planetary world spheres of Saturn, the Sun and the Moon and is at present on Earth in his 4th stage of evolution. However, these spheres must not be thought of as merely successive, but their modes of evolution and their fruits of development interpenetrate each other at the present time. There are beings who are now on the Saturn stage, there are those who are now undergoing solar evolution, and so on. Even man himself is still standing with parts of his being in these spheres today, we carry a Saturn man, a Sun man and a Moon man within us. The spiritual Hierarchies, which project beyond man but are connected with him, are now already working in higher spheres, which man will only attain in the future through his expansion of abilities. Nevertheless, it can be said that man, in accordance with his overall disposition, already has a germinal share in these spheres: | A glance at the spiritual background of human development alone can throw clarifying light on the riddle of the eighth sphere. Man has developed through the successive planetary world spheres of Saturn, the Sun and the Moon and is at present on Earth in his 4th stage of evolution. However, these spheres must not be thought of as merely successive, but their modes of evolution and their fruits of development interpenetrate each other at the present time. There are beings who are now on the Saturn stage, there are those who are now undergoing solar evolution, and so on. Even man himself is still standing with parts of his being in these spheres today, we carry a Saturn man, a Sun man and a Moon man within us. The spiritual Hierarchies, which project beyond man but are connected with him, are now already working in higher spheres, which man will only attain in the future through his expansion of abilities. Nevertheless, it can be said that man, in accordance with his overall disposition, already has a germinal share in these spheres: | ||
{|align="center" width="300px" | | |||
|- | |||
|[[Angeloi]] || 5. Sphere || [[New Jupiter|Jupiter]] | |||
|- | |||
|[[Archangeloi]] || 6. Sphere || [[New Venus|Venus]] | |||
|- | |||
|[[Archai]] || 7. Sphere || [[Vulcan]] | |||
|- | |||
|[[Exusiai]] || 8. Sphere || | |||
|} | |||
Each of these stages of development is connected with a certain [[condition of consciousness]]. In the 4th sphere, man lives on the mineral solid earth, which he perceives with his [[sense]]s and encompasses with his outer [[thinking]]. And only this sphere of the world can be perceived sensually at all - all other spheres are only accessible to a higher cognition. The objective sensual perception and the intellect associated with it are the basis for man's [[self-consciousness]] and [[freedom]]. | |||
In the [[sensual world]], man actually lives only through his [[head]]. And only the head originates from the straight line of development through which man now stands on the 4th stage of development. The senses themselves were already predisposed on [[Old Saturn]]. The head refers us to the past. This is true on a small scale, in that the head in its form refers to the [[previous incarnation]], and it is true on a large scale, in that it has passed through the planetary stages of [[world evolution]]. If one speaks, as has become customary today, of man's descent from the [[animal]], then this is valid - though only in a very limited sense - for our head, not for the rest of our [[organism]]. [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] does not have anything directly to do with this sphere at first; the head is the domain of [[Lucifer]]. Lucifer opened our senses, he brought us freedom and the [[knowledge of good and evil]]. | |||
It is different with the rest of the human being, with the development of the chest and limbs. The limbs, in particular, were only newly added with the earth's evolution. The [[Spirits of Form]] ([[Exusiai]], [[Elohim]]), the actual Creator Gods of our Earth, who for their part already work in the 8th sphere, work in them. And so we actually only live with our head in the 4th sphere, with the rest of our organism we live in the 8th sphere. We actually wade, figuratively speaking, with our whole lower organism in the 8th sphere as in a sea from which only the head protrudes. | |||
That Lucifer rules in our heads is an act of Michael. He has freed the spiritual world from the Luciferic powers and cast the [[dragon]] down to Earth - into our heads. This is the fall of the spirits of light, of the Luciferic dragon. | |||
In the 4th sphere, that is, in our actual earth world, we live together with Lucifer. He brings us wisdom and all our sensual daily knowledge has a Luciferian character and cannot give us any information about the actual divine world. Lucifer wants to spiritualise us as we are now - with all our imperfections. He wants to lift us above our head from the Earth into his sphere of [[wisdom]], which, however, lacks [[love]]. | |||
The lower human being should be an image of the higher hierarchies. He was to live on Earth in order to follow his path of evolution here, but in a very fine etheric corporeality. As a result of the Luciferic impact, the body was condensed to the point of sensual visibility - and this for the salvation of man. For this purpose the Moon was drawn out of the Earth, and the eighth sphere supplies those forces of attraction which hold the Moon in a certain proximity to the Earth. At the same time, however, these are the forces which protect man from being spiritualised too early by Lucifer. In this sense, the eighth sphere is the counterweight to Lucifer. It gives man more gravity and earthiness, it binds him to his lower organism, to flesh and blood - namely through the reproductive forces, through sensual-earthly love. And so the commandment of Yahweh is: Be fruitful and multiply! Up to the [[Mystery of Golgotha]], it is about the incarnation of the [[spirit]]: | |||
<center>And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us ({{B|John|1:14}})</center> | |||
{{GZ|The eighth sphere consists in this, in one of its aspects, that man gets such a pull and inclination towards his lower nature that Lucifer cannot bring the higher nature out of this lower nature. Every time Lucifer made his efforts in ancient times to spiritualise men, they were too accustomed to the flesh to follow Lucifer. If they had not been inclined to the flesh, to the physical nature, they would have followed Lucifer. You see, this is one of the great mysteries of the existence of the world, that a divine element has actually been implanted in human nature, so that this human nature has, as it were, greater gravity than it would have had if this divine element, the divine necessity, had not been implanted. If it had not been implanted, the human souls would have followed Lucifer. If we go back to ancient times, we find everywhere that the religions set out to make men worship that which is earthly, that which gives earthly connection, that which lives in flesh and blood, so that man is hard enough not to be led out into the universe. And since for such things, where the human and the cosmic are already involved together, there is not only an earthly institution, but the cosmic institution must also be present everywhere, that happened which you will also find described in my "Occult Science - An Outline"; it happened that at a certain time, as you know, not only was the Earth formed and the Earth moved in its orbit around the Sun, but that the Earth got the Moon as its satellite. What does that mean: the Earth gets the Moon as its satellite? The Earth gets the Moon as its satellite means nothing else than: the Earth got a force through which it can keep the Moon close to it, can attract it. If the Earth did not have this power to attract the Moon, then the spiritual correlate of this power would also not bind man to his lower nature; for from the spiritual point of view the same power that binds man to his lower nature is the power with which the Earth attracts the Moon. So that one can say: The Moon is placed in the universe as an adversary of Lucifer, in order to prevent the Luciferic.|172|207f}} | |||
This positive significance of the [[lunar forces]] under the direction of Yahweh and their relationship to the eighth sphere was often misjudged and distorted into the opposite in theosophical circles as a result of the erroneous presentation by A. P. Sinnett, which led to a rejection of Yahweh and consequently also to a tendency towards a non-Christian attitude, which [[Rudolf Steiner]] pointed out very clearly. {{GZ||254}} | |||
The divine world reveals itself only from our lower organism. This was at first a night-recognition, for only the head has the [[waking day-consciousness]]. Yahweh spoke to men in dreams and dream-like visions, to which men were led by Michael - the Face of Yahweh. So with Moses, so with the prophets. This is the first Michael revelation, which includes the fall of the dragon. | |||
Today, however, we must learn to combine the knowledge of the divine world with day-waking [[self-consciousness]]. The guide to this new spirit consciousness is again Michael. The right cultivation of the power of [[memory]] can be helpful in this. The words of [[Christ]] at the [[Last Supper]] point to this: "Do this in remembrance of me". Through memory we carry the sensual experiences we have with our head down into the depths of the rest of our organism, where they are revived by the divine-spiritual forces, and thus, transformed in memory, bring them up again into the bright [[daytime consciousness]]. Thus strengthened by the Michael-Christ power, man may go towards his spiritualisation: | |||
{{GZ|The incarnation of the Word is the first Michael-revelation, the spiritualisation of the flesh must be the second Michael-revelation.|194|44}} | |||
==Literature== | ==Literature== | ||
* [[a:A.P. Sinnett|A.P. Sinnett]]: ''Esoteric Buddhism'',London, Chapman and Hall Ltd (1885) | * [[a:A.P. Sinnett|A.P. Sinnett]]: ''Esoteric Buddhism'',London, Chapman and Hall Ltd (1885) | ||
* Arfst Wagner: ''Das Geheimnis der achten | * Arfst Wagner: ''Das Geheimnis der achten Sphere''. In: Flensburger Hefte Nr. 61 (Die Hintergründe von 666), Flensburg 1998, S. 169 - 192 | ||
* Hans Bonneval: ''Die Offenbarung der Engel und die achte | * Hans Bonneval: ''Die Offenbarung der Engel und die achte Sphere'', Vlg. Ch. Möllmann, Borchen 2002 | ||
* [[Rudolf Steiner]]: ''Bewußtsein – Leben – Form '', [[GA 89]] (2001) {{Lectures|089}} | * [[Rudolf Steiner]]: ''Bewußtsein – Leben – Form '', [[GA 89]] (2001) {{Lectures|089}} | ||
* [[Rudolf Steiner]]: ''Grundelemente der Esoterik'', [[GA 93a]] (1976) {{Lectures|089}}{{Lectures|93a}} | * [[Rudolf Steiner]]: ''Grundelemente der Esoterik'', [[GA 93a]] (1976) {{Lectures|089}}{{Lectures|93a}} | ||
Revision as of 06:36, 29 May 2021
The eighth sphere, about which Rudolf Steiner has spoken in various contexts, is of decisive importance for the development of the Earth and humanity. It is not easy to grasp conceptually, for on the one hand it designates the sphere of the earthly activity of the creator gods, the Elohim, but on the other hand it is virtually identical with what is called "hell" par excellence in the various religious traditions.
The Eighth Sphere and Planetary World evolution
A glance at the spiritual background of human development alone can throw clarifying light on the riddle of the eighth sphere. Man has developed through the successive planetary world spheres of Saturn, the Sun and the Moon and is at present on Earth in his 4th stage of evolution. However, these spheres must not be thought of as merely successive, but their modes of evolution and their fruits of development interpenetrate each other at the present time. There are beings who are now on the Saturn stage, there are those who are now undergoing solar evolution, and so on. Even man himself is still standing with parts of his being in these spheres today, we carry a Saturn man, a Sun man and a Moon man within us. The spiritual Hierarchies, which project beyond man but are connected with him, are now already working in higher spheres, which man will only attain in the future through his expansion of abilities. Nevertheless, it can be said that man, in accordance with his overall disposition, already has a germinal share in these spheres:
| Angeloi | 5. Sphere | Jupiter |
| Archangeloi | 6. Sphere | Venus |
| Archai | 7. Sphere | Vulcan |
| Exusiai | 8. Sphere |
Each of these stages of development is connected with a certain condition of consciousness. In the 4th sphere, man lives on the mineral solid earth, which he perceives with his senses and encompasses with his outer thinking. And only this sphere of the world can be perceived sensually at all - all other spheres are only accessible to a higher cognition. The objective sensual perception and the intellect associated with it are the basis for man's self-consciousness and freedom.
In the sensual world, man actually lives only through his head. And only the head originates from the straight line of development through which man now stands on the 4th stage of development. The senses themselves were already predisposed on Old Saturn. The head refers us to the past. This is true on a small scale, in that the head in its form refers to the previous incarnation, and it is true on a large scale, in that it has passed through the planetary stages of world evolution. If one speaks, as has become customary today, of man's descent from the animal, then this is valid - though only in a very limited sense - for our head, not for the rest of our organism. Michael does not have anything directly to do with this sphere at first; the head is the domain of Lucifer. Lucifer opened our senses, he brought us freedom and the knowledge of good and evil.
It is different with the rest of the human being, with the development of the chest and limbs. The limbs, in particular, were only newly added with the earth's evolution. The Spirits of Form (Exusiai, Elohim), the actual Creator Gods of our Earth, who for their part already work in the 8th sphere, work in them. And so we actually only live with our head in the 4th sphere, with the rest of our organism we live in the 8th sphere. We actually wade, figuratively speaking, with our whole lower organism in the 8th sphere as in a sea from which only the head protrudes.
That Lucifer rules in our heads is an act of Michael. He has freed the spiritual world from the Luciferic powers and cast the dragon down to Earth - into our heads. This is the fall of the spirits of light, of the Luciferic dragon.
In the 4th sphere, that is, in our actual earth world, we live together with Lucifer. He brings us wisdom and all our sensual daily knowledge has a Luciferian character and cannot give us any information about the actual divine world. Lucifer wants to spiritualise us as we are now - with all our imperfections. He wants to lift us above our head from the Earth into his sphere of wisdom, which, however, lacks love.
The lower human being should be an image of the higher hierarchies. He was to live on Earth in order to follow his path of evolution here, but in a very fine etheric corporeality. As a result of the Luciferic impact, the body was condensed to the point of sensual visibility - and this for the salvation of man. For this purpose the Moon was drawn out of the Earth, and the eighth sphere supplies those forces of attraction which hold the Moon in a certain proximity to the Earth. At the same time, however, these are the forces which protect man from being spiritualised too early by Lucifer. In this sense, the eighth sphere is the counterweight to Lucifer. It gives man more gravity and earthiness, it binds him to his lower organism, to flesh and blood - namely through the reproductive forces, through sensual-earthly love. And so the commandment of Yahweh is: Be fruitful and multiply! Up to the Mystery of Golgotha, it is about the incarnation of the spirit:
„The eighth sphere consists in this, in one of its aspects, that man gets such a pull and inclination towards his lower nature that Lucifer cannot bring the higher nature out of this lower nature. Every time Lucifer made his efforts in ancient times to spiritualise men, they were too accustomed to the flesh to follow Lucifer. If they had not been inclined to the flesh, to the physical nature, they would have followed Lucifer. You see, this is one of the great mysteries of the existence of the world, that a divine element has actually been implanted in human nature, so that this human nature has, as it were, greater gravity than it would have had if this divine element, the divine necessity, had not been implanted. If it had not been implanted, the human souls would have followed Lucifer. If we go back to ancient times, we find everywhere that the religions set out to make men worship that which is earthly, that which gives earthly connection, that which lives in flesh and blood, so that man is hard enough not to be led out into the universe. And since for such things, where the human and the cosmic are already involved together, there is not only an earthly institution, but the cosmic institution must also be present everywhere, that happened which you will also find described in my "Occult Science - An Outline"; it happened that at a certain time, as you know, not only was the Earth formed and the Earth moved in its orbit around the Sun, but that the Earth got the Moon as its satellite. What does that mean: the Earth gets the Moon as its satellite? The Earth gets the Moon as its satellite means nothing else than: the Earth got a force through which it can keep the Moon close to it, can attract it. If the Earth did not have this power to attract the Moon, then the spiritual correlate of this power would also not bind man to his lower nature; for from the spiritual point of view the same power that binds man to his lower nature is the power with which the Earth attracts the Moon. So that one can say: The Moon is placed in the universe as an adversary of Lucifer, in order to prevent the Luciferic.“ (Lit.:GA 172, p. 207f)
This positive significance of the lunar forces under the direction of Yahweh and their relationship to the eighth sphere was often misjudged and distorted into the opposite in theosophical circles as a result of the erroneous presentation by A. P. Sinnett, which led to a rejection of Yahweh and consequently also to a tendency towards a non-Christian attitude, which Rudolf Steiner pointed out very clearly. (Lit.:GA 254)
The divine world reveals itself only from our lower organism. This was at first a night-recognition, for only the head has the waking day-consciousness. Yahweh spoke to men in dreams and dream-like visions, to which men were led by Michael - the Face of Yahweh. So with Moses, so with the prophets. This is the first Michael revelation, which includes the fall of the dragon.
Today, however, we must learn to combine the knowledge of the divine world with day-waking self-consciousness. The guide to this new spirit consciousness is again Michael. The right cultivation of the power of memory can be helpful in this. The words of Christ at the Last Supper point to this: "Do this in remembrance of me". Through memory we carry the sensual experiences we have with our head down into the depths of the rest of our organism, where they are revived by the divine-spiritual forces, and thus, transformed in memory, bring them up again into the bright daytime consciousness. Thus strengthened by the Michael-Christ power, man may go towards his spiritualisation:
„The incarnation of the Word is the first Michael-revelation, the spiritualisation of the flesh must be the second Michael-revelation.“ (Lit.:GA 194, p. 44)
Literature
- A.P. Sinnett: Esoteric Buddhism,London, Chapman and Hall Ltd (1885)
- Arfst Wagner: Das Geheimnis der achten Sphere. In: Flensburger Hefte Nr. 61 (Die Hintergründe von 666), Flensburg 1998, S. 169 - 192
- Hans Bonneval: Die Offenbarung der Engel und die achte Sphere, Vlg. Ch. Möllmann, Borchen 2002
- Rudolf Steiner: Bewußtsein – Leben – Form , GA 89 (2001) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
- Rudolf Steiner: Grundelemente der Esoterik, GA 93a (1976) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.orgEnglish: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
- Rudolf Steiner: Das Karma des Berufes des Menschen in Anknüpfung an Goethes Leben, GA 172 (1980) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
- Rudolf Steiner: Die Sendung Michaels, GA 194 (1983) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
- Rudolf Steiner: Die okkulte Bewegung im neunzehnten Jahrhundert und ihre Beziehung zur Weltkultur, GA 254 (1986) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
- Rudolf Steiner: Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden, Band I: 1904 – 1909, GA 266/1 (1995) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
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References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF. |
