The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Details from the Field of Occult Science

The Etheric Body of Man

[ 1 ] When man's higher limbs are observed through supersensible perception, this perception is never completely equal to that which is made through the external senses. When a person touches an object and has a perception of warmth, a distinction must be made between what comes from the object, what emanates from it as it were, and what is experienced in the soul. The inner soul experience of the sensation of warmth is something different from the warmth emanating from the object. Now imagine this soul experience all by itself, without the external object. Imagine the experience - but a spiritual one - of a sensation of warmth in the soul without an external physical object being the cause of it. If such an experience were simply there without a cause, it would be an imagination. The spiritual disciple experiences such inner perceptions without a physical cause, especially without the cause of his own body. For a certain stage of development, however, they present themselves in such a way that he can know (as has been shown, can know through the experience itself) that the inner perception is not imagination, but that it is caused by a spiritual-soul entity of a supersensible external world, just as the ordinary sensation of warmth, for example, is caused by an external physical-sensible object. It is the same when we speak of color perception. A distinction must be made between the color on the external object and the inner perception of color in the soul. Imagine the inner sensation that the soul has when it perceives a red object in the physical-sensory external world. Imagine that one retains a quite vivid memory of the impression; but one turns the eye away from the object. What you still have as a memory of the color, you visualize as an inner experience. You will then distinguish between what is an inner experience of the color and the outer color. These inner experiences are quite different in content from the outer sensory impressions. They are much more characterized by what is felt as pain and joy than normal sensory perception. Now imagine such an inner experience arising in the soul without the cause being given by an external physical-sensory object or the memory of such an object. The supersensible cognizer can have such an experience. And he can also know in the corresponding case that it is not imagination, but the expression of a soul-spiritual entity. If this soul-spiritual entity evokes the same impression as a red object of the sensory-physical world, then it may be called red. With the sensory-physical object, however, the outer impression will always be there first and then the inner experience of color; with the true supersensible vision of the man of our age it must be the other way around: first the inner experience, which is shadowy like a mere memory of color, and then an ever more vivid image. The less attention one pays to the fact that the process must be like this, the less one can distinguish between real spiritual perception and imaginary deception (illusion, hallucination, etc.). Now how vivid the image becomes in such a soul-spiritual perception, whether it remains entirely shadowy, like a dark imagination, or whether it has an intense effect, like an external object, depends entirely on how the supersensible cognizer has developed. - One can now describe the general impression that the observer has of the human etheric body by saying that if a supersensible cognizer has reached such a strength of will that he can divert his attention from what the physical eye sees, even though a physical person is standing in front of him, then he is able to look into the space that the physical person occupies through supersensible consciousness. Of course, it takes a strong increase of will to not only turn one's attention away from something one is thinking about, but from something that is in front of one, so that the physical impression is completely obliterated. But this increase is possible and it occurs through the exercises of supersensible knowledge. The person thus cognizing can then first have the general impression of the etheric body. The same inner sensation arises in his soul that he has at the sight of, say, the color of a peach blossom; and this then becomes vivid, so that he can say: the etheric body has the color of the peach blossom. Then he also perceives the individual organs and currents of the etheric body. But the etheric body can also be described further by indicating the experiences of the soul, which correspond to sensations of warmth, impressions of sound and so on. For it is not merely a color phenomenon. The astral body and the other members of the human being can also be described in the same sense. Whoever takes this into consideration will realize how descriptions made in the sense of spiritual science are to be taken. (See Chapter II of this book.)

The Astral World

[ 2 ] As long as one only observes the physical world, the earth as the dwelling place of man presents itself as a separate world body. But when supersensible knowledge ascends to other worlds, this separation ceases. Therefore it could be said that the imagination perceives the state of the moon, which has developed into the present, at the same time as the earth. The world which one enters in this way is now such that not only the supersensible of the earth belongs to it, but that other world bodies are also embedded in it, which are physically separated from the earth. The cognizer of supersensible worlds then not only observes the supersensible of the earth, but first of all also the supersensible of other world bodies. (The fact that it is first an observation of the supersensible of other world bodies should be noted by those who are urged to ask why those who see supersensibly do not say what it looks like on Mars and so on. The questioner then has the physical-sensory conditions in mind). Therefore in the presentation of this book it was also possible to speak of certain relationships between the development of the earth and the simultaneous development of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, etc. - If the human astral body is now accepted by sleep, then it belongs not only to the earth states, but to worlds in which other world regions (star worlds) are also involved. Indeed, these worlds also have an effect on the human astral body in the waking state. Therefore, the name "astral body" may seem justified.

The Life of Man after Death

[ 3 ] In the explanations of this book, we have spoken of the time through which the astral body remains united with the etheric body after the death of the human being. During this time there is a gradually fading memory of the whole life that has just passed (see Chapter III). This time is different for different people. It depends on how strong the power is with which the astral body holds the etheric body in a person, how much control the former has over the latter. Supersensible knowledge can gain an impression of this power when it observes a person who should actually be asleep according to the degree of his soul-body constitution, but who keeps himself awake through inner strength. And now it can be seen that different people can stay awake for different lengths of time without being overwhelmed by sleep in between. Approximately as long as a person can stay awake in extreme cases, if need be, as long lasts the memory of the life just passed after death, that is, the cohesion with the etheric body. Although the etheric body is detached from the human being after death (see Chapter III), something remains of it for all later development of the human being, which can be described as an extract or essence of it. This extract contains the fruits of the life that has passed. And it is the carrier of everything that unfolds during the spiritual development of the human being between death and a new birth like a seed for the following life. (Compare chapter III.)

[ 4 ] The time between death and a new birth (see Chapter III) is determined in its duration by the fact that the "I" generally only returns to the physical-sensual world when this has in the meantime been transformed in such a way that new things can be experienced by the "I". While it is in the spiritual realms, the earthly dwelling place changes. This change is connected in one direction with the great changes in the universe; with changes in the position of the earth in relation to the sun and so on. But these are certainly changes in which certain repetitions occur in connection with new conditions. They find their external expression in the fact that, for example, the point in the celestial vault where the sun rises at the beginning of spring rotates in a complete circle over the course of about 26,000 years. During this time, this vernal equinox moves from one area of the sky to another. In the course of the twelfth part of that time, which is approximately 2100 years, the conditions on earth have changed to such an extent that the human soul can experience new things on earth after a previous embodiment. However, since the experiences of the human being are different depending on whether he embodies himself as a woman or as a man, two embodiments, one as a man and one as a woman, usually take place within the characterized period of time. However, these things also depend on the forces that a person takes with them from their earthly existence through death. Therefore, all statements such as those given here are only to be understood in such a way that they are essentially valid, but can be seen to vary in the most diverse ways in individual cases. It only depends in one respect on the above-mentioned conditions in the universe how long the human ego remains in the spiritual world between death and a new birth. In another respect it depends on the states of development which the human being undergoes during this time. After a certain period of time, these states lead the "I" to a spiritual state that no longer finds satisfaction in its inner spiritual life, which develops the desire for that change of consciousness that is satisfied in the reflection through physical experience. The human being's entry into earthly life results from the interaction of this inner thirst for embodiment and the possibility given in the universe to find the corresponding corporeality. It takes place - because two things must work together - the one time, even if the "thirst" has not yet reached its height, because an approximately adapted embodiment can be achieved; the other time, even if the "thirst" has progressed beyond its normal height, because at the corresponding time there was not yet any possibility of embodiment. The general mood of life in which a person finds himself due to the nature of his physical being is related to these conditions.

The Course of Human Life

[ 5 ] The life of man, as it manifests itself in the succession of states between birth and death, can only be fully understood by considering not only the sensory-physical body, but also those changes which take place with the supersensible members of man's nature. - These changes can be seen in the following way. The physical birth presents itself as a detachment of the human being from the physical mother shell. Forces which the human germ had in common with the mother's body before birth are only present in it as independent forces after birth. In later life, however, similar supersensible events take place for the supersensible perception as the sensible ones at physical birth. The human being is surrounded by an etheric sheath in relation to his etheric body until approximately the change of teeth (in the sixth or seventh year). This falls away during this period of life. A "birth" of the etheric body takes place. However, the human being still remains surrounded by an astral sheath, which falls off in the period from the twelfth to the sixteenth year (at the time of sexual maturity). This is when the "birth" of the astral body takes place. And still later the actual "I" is born. (The fruitful points of view which result from these supersensible facts for the handling of education are presented in my short paper: "The Education of the Child from the Point of View of Spiritual Science". There you will also find further explanations of what can only be hinted at here). After the birth of the "I", the human being now lives in such a way that he integrates himself into the world and life conditions and operates within them according to the members that are active through the "I": the soul of feeling, the soul of understanding and the soul of consciousness. Then a time occurs in which the etheric body regresses again, in which it undergoes the reverse formation of its unfolding from the seventh year onwards. Whereas previously the astral body developed in such a way that it first unfolded within itself what was present in it as a disposition at birth, and then, after the birth of the "I", enriched itself through the experiences of the outer world, from a certain point in time it begins to nourish itself spiritually from its own etheric body. He feeds on the etheric body. And in the further course of life the etheric body then also begins to feed on the physical body. The decay of the latter in old age is connected with this. - Thus the course of man's life is divided into three parts, into a time in which the physical body and the etheric body unfold, then into a time in which the astral body and the "I" come to development, and finally into a time in which the etheric body and the physical body transform back again. Now the astral body is involved in all processes between birth and death. But because it is not actually born spiritually until the twelfth to sixteenth year and has to draw on the forces of the etheric body and physical body in the last epoch of life, what it can do through its own forces will develop more slowly than if it were not in a physical and etheric body. After death, when the physical and etheric bodies have fallen away, the development in the purification period (see Chapter III) is therefore approximately one third of the time that life takes between birth and death.

The Higher Realms of the Spiritual World

[ 6 ] Through imagination, inspiration and intuition, supersensible knowledge gradually ascends into those areas of the spiritual world in which it can reach the beings who are involved in the development of the world and humanity. This also enables it to follow the development of the human being between death and a new birth in such a way that it becomes comprehensible. Now there are still higher realms of existence, which can only be briefly alluded to here. When supersensible knowledge has risen to the level of intuition, then it lives in a world of spiritual beings. These, too, undergo developments. What is a matter of present humanity extends, so to speak, up into the world of intuition. However, man also receives influences from still higher worlds in the course of his development between death and a new birth; but he does not experience these influences directly; the beings of the spiritual world bring them to him. And when these are considered, everything that happens to the human being results. But these beings' own affairs, that which they need for themselves in order to guide human development, can only be observed through a knowledge that goes beyond intuition. This results in a reference to worlds which are to be imagined in such a way that spiritual matters, which are the highest on earth, belong to the lower ones there. Rational decisions, for example, belong to the highest within the earth realm; the effects of the mineral realm to the lowest. In those higher regions, rational decisions are approximately what the mineral effects are on earth. Above the realm of intuition lies the region in which the world plan is spun out of spiritual causes.

The Essential Elements of the Human Being

[ 7 ] If it has been said (compare page 69 and the following) that the "I" works on the human essential members, the physical body, the etheric body and the astral body, and transforms these in reverse order into spirit self, life spirit and spirit man, then this refers to the work of the I on the human entity through the highest faculties, the development of which has only begun in the course of the earthly states. This transformation, however, is preceded by another at a lower level, and this gives rise to the sentient soul, the intellectual soul and the consciousness soul. For while the intuitive soul is being formed in the course of man's development, changes take place in the astral body, the formation of the intellectual soul expresses itself in transformations of the etheric body, and that of the consciousness soul in those of the physical body. In the course of the description of the development on earth, which has been given in this book, more details have been given. Thus one can say in a certain respect that the intuitive soul is based on a transformed astral body; the intellectual soul on a transformed etheric body; the consciousness soul on a transformed physical body. But one can also say that these three soul members are parts of the astral body, because only through this is it possible, for example, for the consciousness soul to be an astral entity in a physical body adapted to it. It lives an astral life in a physical body adapted to its dwelling place.

The Dream State

[ 8 ] The dream state has been characterized in a certain respect in Chapter III of this writing. It is to be understood on the one hand as a remnant of the old picture-consciousness as it was characteristic of man during the moon evolution and also during a large part of the earth evolution. Development progresses in such a way that earlier states play into later ones. And so, during dreaming, what was once a normal state now appears in the human being as a remnant. At the same time, however, this state is different again from the old image consciousness. For since the formation of the ego it has also played a part in the processes of the astral body which take place in sleep during dreaming. Thus, in a dream, a consciousness of images appears that is altered by the presence of the ego. But because the ego does not consciously exert its activity on the astral body during dreaming, nothing that belongs to the realm of dream life may be counted as something that can in truth lead to knowledge of the supersensible worlds in the sense of spiritual science. The same applies to what is often referred to as vision, premonition or "second sight" (deuteroscopy). These come about when the "I" switches off and remnants of old states of consciousness arise. They have no direct use in spiritual science; what is observed in them cannot be regarded as the result of the same in the true sense.

On the Attainment of Supersensible Knowledge

[ 9 ] The path to the attainment of knowledge of the supersensible worlds, which has been described in more detail in this book, can also be called the "direct path of knowledge". In addition to this, there is another path which can be called the "emotional path". However, it would be quite wrong to believe that the former has nothing to do with the development of feeling. Rather, it leads to the greatest possible deepening of the emotional life. However, the "path of feeling" addresses itself directly to mere feeling and seeks to ascend from this to knowledge. It is based on the fact that a feeling, if the soul devotes itself completely to it for a certain period of time, transforms itself into an insight, into a pictorial view. If, for example, the soul fills itself completely with the feeling of humility for weeks, months, even longer, the content of the feeling is transformed into a visualization. One can now also find a way into the supersensible realms by going through such feelings step by step. However, it is not easy for the present person to do so within the ordinary conditions of life. Solitude, seclusion from the life of the present is almost indispensable. For the impressions of everyday life, especially at the beginning of development, interfere with what the soul achieves through immersion in certain feelings. In contrast, the path of knowledge described in this book is to be followed in every present situation in life.

Observation of Special Events and Beings of the Spiritual World

[ 10 ] The question can be raised as to whether inner contemplation and the other means described for attaining supersensible knowledge only permit the observation of the human being between death and a new birth or other spiritual processes in general, or whether they also make it possible to observe very specific individual processes and beings, for example a specific dead person. This must be answered: Whoever acquires the ability to observe the spiritual world through the means described can also come to observe details that take place in it. He makes himself capable of making contact with people who live in the spiritual world between death and a new birth. However, it must be noted that this should only be done in the sense of spiritual science after one has undergone the proper training for supersensible knowledge. For only then can one distinguish between illusion and reality in relation to particular events and entities. Anyone who wants to observe individual things without proper training will fall victim to many deceptions. Even the most basic thing: understanding the way in which such impressions of special facts of the supersensible world are to be interpreted, is not possible without advanced spiritual training. That training which leads to the observation of what is described in this book in the higher worlds also leads to being able to follow the life of an individual person after death, and no less to being able to observe and understand all the special spiritual-soul beings which work from the hidden worlds into the open ones. But safe observation of the individual is only possible on the basis of knowledge of the general, great world and humanity facts of the spiritual world that concern every human being. Whoever desires the one without wanting the other is going astray. It is one of the experiences that one has to make with regard to observing the spiritual world that entry into those areas of supersensible existence that one desires first and foremost is only granted to one when one has endeavored on serious and difficult paths that are devoted only to general questions of knowledge to find out what provides information about the meaning of life. Once one has traveled these paths in a pure, non-egoistic urge for knowledge, then one is only ripe to observe details, the contemplation of which would previously only be the satisfaction of an egoistic need, even if the desiring person convinced himself that he was only striving for insight into the spiritual world out of love - for example, for a dead person. Insight into the particular can only be gained by those who, through a serious interest in spiritual scientific generalities, have gained the ability to accept the particular as an objective scientific truth without any egoistic desires.