Nature and Spirit Beings
Their Effects in Our Visible World
GA 98
15 January 1908, Munich
IV. Supersensible Beings and their Influence on Humans
Last time1Refer to the lecture dated 4 December 1907—The Elemental Kingdoms of Nature we explored a theme that led us from our physical world to the higher worlds by means of what we call the elemental kingdoms. At that time we had the opportunity to look into the complicated nature of the human being and everything that is connected with it, how multiple threads lead upwards from the human being into the higher worlds. It is advisable to somewhat extend this topic today. This makes it necessary to make a brief comment beforehand.
If we would solely focus on the elemental facts, then we would not progress well in our theosophical contemplations. Many of the members would then have to refer back repeatedly to the same facts. Elemental things do not have to be understood solely in the way one hears about them when first encountering the theosophical world view. They can also be understood in a way that differs to a small extent from what a rational man nowadays would be able to accept. That is to say, a rational modern man would at most acknowledge a small amount of what rises above the physical world. There might be some people who would accept such things. But they say, “There can be no certainty about such things, although they are not completely inane.” However, this last remark will be thrown at what corresponds to “the higher planes” of theosophical illumination. This does not only mean that a higher grade of understanding is required to hear about and understand the higher regions, but all the feelings one can muster, after searching for knowledge for a long time during a life focussed on Theosophy, belong to it. In a way, more might be expected of people who have had Theosophy in their lives for a longer time. Those who are recent participants are asked to keep in mind that today’s topic is somewhat far from what is ordinarily being talked about. But it shouldn’t be too difficult to say to oneself, “Initially some of this will seem to me to be fantasy and dream-like, but after contemplating for longer along those lines, it will become less strange. It could be possible that a number of things only appear to me inane now, but once I have developed feelings about them, they will no longer appear to me to be so.
Afterwards and with objectiveness, we want to approach this topic which, for those who have advanced in their feelings, constitutes a higher chapter of the theosophical world view.
If we, with the open eyes of a clairvoyant, penetrate further and further into the higher worlds, into the astral world, the lower and higher Devachan, of which we have already talked often, we can see entities there who do not embody themselves into our physical world, who do not assume a physical body, but who are still complete entities like human beings here on our plane. If man ascends from the solid foundation of our physical world to the higher worlds, he has to distinguish between two different kinds of beings. One kind sends its revelations down into the physical plane. The other kind reveals itself either not at all on the physical plane, or so that this revelation is hardly comprehensible for ordinary observation.
Let us recall groups of animals that belong together, who are of similar shape and are related to each other. They have a group-soul—a group-Ego in the astral world. If we observe such a group-Ego on the astral plane, we will find that such a being is a self-contained entity, a personality, like the human being is a self-contained personality on the physical plane. The seer will meet the group-souls of animals there, just as he is meeting people here. They are individual, self-contained personalities on the astral plane, and only their revelations are sent down into the physical world. It is just as if I am separated from them by a wall with holes in it, so that fingers can be stuck through it. One could then say, “I see something belonging to a different entity.” This is just as if you are observing a lion, and the soul to which it belongs is as if it is behind a wall, and all lions are like fingers stretched through the wall. We meet these group-Egos as self-contained beings on the astral plane. They can be easily found in the physical world through their revelations, as one can see the organs that are stretched out into it.
But it is not the case with all astral beings that one can well observe what they reveal. If one’s senses are not heightened one would not even suspect the presence of these astral beings. Thus, man meets personalities on the astral plane, some of them he knows, but also some who appear unfamiliar to him, who he doesn’t know well from the physical plane, who, in a certain sense, are new to him. The astral plane is very populated and various entities live there that people would never have dreamed of. It is not proposed that these entities have no effect on the physical plane—on the contrary, they have a tremendous effect on human beings. We can only recognise the complexity of the inter-relationships when we look at all that impacts on these. We encounter beings who partly seem to be extraordinarily gentle, mild beings, who also live very peacefully amongst themselves. But we also meet others, who cannot really be characterised in this fashion, who have all sorts of mean characteristics and especially pose a danger when they are coming near humans.
The peculiar thing with these beings is that all our conceptions about spatial relationships that we have derived from the physical world, are being dismantled. If we do not want to live in a fantasy, we have to gradually immerse ourselves into concepts that are quite different from those that we usually have. What we encounter with these not very pleasant beings is, that they are not really present where we perceive them to be but are somewhere completely different. Their effects are in the astral world, but their home isn’t there.
A rough comparison would be like this; imagine a worker who lives in a suburb and every morning goes to work in the city. There he has his field of work, but he lives outside the city. This is a rough comparison. A better one would be the following, but this is also already quite fantasy-like; imagine the worker lives very far away from Munich, but has elastic arms, so that he can be hours away from his work and still can perform it. You will have to attain quite different spatial imaginations than those that you are familiar with from the physical plane. Any being of astral nature is able to live on another planet, and yet exert influence here on the astral plane. This is because the separation of spatial conditions no longer exists. The effects that it instigates, for example on other world bodies, are transmitted and appear on the Earth. We do not want to examine the spiritual world only with concepts that we have formed in the physical world, but we must force ourselves to form new concepts as well.
Those entities, about which I have said that they belong to the unappealing beings, are lunar beings. There they have their actual home. Clairvoyantly, you could observe the outstretched fingers here in Munich, but to observe the being itself you would have to travel for hours. You will find that such beings manipulate things here on Earth. But if you follow the ‘lines of force’ you will arrive at the Moon. That is where their homeland is. In fact, the Moon is populated in this way. Although these beings do not possess a dense corporeality such as our Earth beings have, they have a physicality, but it is so diluted, that on Earth it expresses itself as astral. They could be compared to dwarfish beings that will not grow taller than a six- to seven-year-old child. These beings have one characteristic that will appear to you as being very strange, but it is contingent upon the conditions of the Moon. However, if all worlds were alike, then there would be no need that so many of them should exist. This characteristic is that they can roar with infinite power. Their yelling instruments are extraordinarily well developed. At first, these beings make themselves known on the earthly astral plane. They are not always and everywhere present but are attracted by certain circumstances of our lives. The deeds of such beings can be found at certain locations, especially where mediums, somnambulists are, and where very specific things are present. There they penetrate with their effects and deeds and express themselves to the human being in a very unpleasant way. They can also be found where lower passions are unfolding.
On the other hand, the good-natured beings of the astral plane can be found where particularly humanitarian passions run free. In any charitable organisation, where real charity lives in the souls, there is stimulated that which draws such beings into the circle of humanity. In this way man really attracts certain beings by way of his deeds, and due to the characteristics that radiate out from him. Thus, he creates a connection to far away celestial bodies, that comes about through the manifestation of the deeds of the beings from other worlds and human souls.
The beings about whom I have talked last, which are gentle and mild, also have their home on a different planet, namely on Mars. From there they exert their influence onto the Earth. These beings work thus, so to speak, by striding across the vastness of space with their deeds. All real effects, except physical ones, from one planet to another, are based on the relationships between the inhabitants of those world bodies. So you can see that we will find very odd comrades when we are rising up in to the higher worlds. It doesn’t help to say, “Spiritual worlds exist ...” and so on, instead man must learn to know those beings.
If we now ascend to even higher worlds with clairvoyant ability, we will reach the lower Devachan plane, the lower spiritual world. This too penetrates our physical and astral world. There we will find the group-Egos of the plants. You already know that the plants that cover the Earth, are combined in large groups, that correspond to one group-Ego. These group-Egos can only be found on the Devachan plane, but they are at first located in the middle of the Earth, where all of the plant group-Egos have their centre. If you imagine in this way the whole Earth, where the different plant group-Egos permeate each other, you will see it as one vast organism. Like the human organism the sum of the plant group-Egos experiences joy and sadness, pleasure and pain. We can say exactly how pleasure and pain are present in this Earth-organism. We know that picking plants creates pleasure, yes sensuality, a feeling of well-being, of comfort—a comfort that can be compared to what a cow feels when the calf is suckling the milk. On the other hand, ripping out roots hurts the Earth-organism, causes it discomfort. You can see now, how one can tell in detail, how the beings in the Devachan world feel. Whatever we are doing here on Earth, these are not sober facts, but whenever we are doing this or that, we are causing pleasure or pain, joy or suffering, to some being. When the reaper cuts through the stalks, a whiff of pleasure drifts across the fields that the plant-soul feels. In this way, one who has a feel for these things walks across the Earth and learns to empathise with the spiritual beings, who live in the higher worlds, and who once again only send their organs into the physical world.
But once one reaches the Devachan regions, one will encounter other beings, who do not so openly affect the physical world, but who express themselves much more covertly. Once again one has to differentiate between two kinds of beings. On one side there are extraordinarily gentle, mild, harmony-emanating beings, and on the other one there are predatory-like beings, who are constantly fighting with each other. These too have their homeland on a different planet and only express their effects on the Devachan plane. They are rooted on Venus—they can be found there as inhabitants of this planet if one visits it with spiritual sight. Thus, one can make new acquaintances in each world, if one begins on the physical plane with what one perceives as dense matter, and then rises up to the origin of those beings. If you start from whole groups of plants, and groups of animals, you will arrive at the plant- and animal-souls—but then you will also be able to find other beings who do not express themselves in a dense sensory way on the physical plane.
Instead of starting with plants or animals, one could also begin with minerals or stones, and there one finds the beings in the higher Devachan. They also experience pleasure and pain, joy and suffering. If the clairvoyant observes a quarry, where workers crumble and chip away at the stones, then he can see how the mineral-soul experiences something. One must not come to conclusions by applying analogies and allegories. Smashing with hammers doesn’t cause hurt. A whiff of well-being emanates whilst the stones are smashed up. A feeling of pain exists, if you want to reassemble the separated rock masses to stones again. It will inflict pain if you want to crystallise a new whole from the scattered masses. One can learn to empathise with and share in the experience of the mineral kingdom together with the Ego of the minerals.
Once again, we learn to know entities, that in the physical world do not express themselves in such a rough and gross way. Again, we want to observe two different ‘species’ that appear to be the most noticeable ones. They are the ones who have a strange spiritual constitution. They are difficult to describe, but you will get an idea of them if you imagine an extraordinarily talented being who, to make an invention, wouldn’t have to think a lot but would simply through its perceptions be prompted to redesign an object in some ingenious way. These are beings who live, in a certain way, in percipience, without thinking as such playing a major role for them. They are very odd beings of extraordinary ingenuity, which is entirely based on perception, not on thinking. Opposite them are other beings, who are as unlikeable, as the former are likeable. These other beings can be characterised as also living in the world of percipience, also do not think a lot, but the especially seek out perceptions that are appalling and abhorrent for us humans. They derive enjoyment from rummaging around in such perceptions. These entities have their home on Saturn, just as the others, previously mentioned ones, are at home on Moon, Mars and Venus.
Here now we have a perspective of the higher beings. We could ask, what do we have to do with all those beings? It could seem like idle curiosity to concern ourselves with them. But they concern us a great deal. Because although in the physical world they do not announce themselves in an obvious way, they are expressing themselves through their work, in a way that is extremely important for man. These beings guide us as if automatically to one of their influences that is quite normal for us human beings. In a way what has been said about somnambulists etc., is an exception. However, these beings have also very normal effects on humans, on some more than on others. What type of effects they have, steps before our soul when we look, in a particular way, at a person’s constitution, on the juices streaming through him. Different kinds of juices are streaming through the human being.
Let us first look at the nutritive juice—the “chyle”. Food will be absorbed out of a variety of ingredients, gets digested, passes through the intestines and is forced through the intestinal walls by the organs located there, to then be used appropriately for the reconstruction of the body. This is one current permeating the human being. It has its source in the nutritional intake. Another type of juice is the lymph, a liquid that runs through those vessels that partly run together with the blood vessels collecting in the abdomen, but that also streams through the whole organism in a particular way. The lymphatic vessels have a characteristic at which we will look in detail another time, namely that all those lymphatic vessels that run from the left side of the trunk to the head, join together and pour into the left collarbone cavity. Only the streams coming from the right part of the body are separated from them. There is an underlying occult significance to this.
A third juice is the blood, that in turn streams through the human organism in the most diverse way. Someone who only looks at the human being with materialistic senses will see in these substances, blood and so on, bodies that can be chemically analysed and that consist of various chemical parts. But whoever looks with seeing eyes at the issue, knows that spirit is everywhere, and that all matter is based on spirit. Whatever you might see—gold that streams through the Earth in veins; mercury that settles itself in drops—is an expression of something spiritual. And so, one who looks at the three juices with spiritual eyes, knows that little can be said by examining the chemistry, and so on, of those juices. Spiritual entities stream through the organism with those juices. With the blood spiritual entities stream through the human body, likewise with lymph and chyle. Only someone who recognises these as an expression of spiritual entities, truly knows these juices. From all sides, from above and below, and so on, spirits that exist in the world and in the environment stream through us—only someone who knows this is able to correctly place the human being on this Earth organism, in this earthly setting.
Only one of the three juices mentioned is a more or less independent expression of the human I/self. This is the blood. The blood is the physical expression of the I, so that one can say; with the blood pulsating through the body, the human I streams through the body. But only to a certain extent, and this varies from one human to the other, is the human being master of his organism in relation to his blood.
This is not so with the lymph. Our own I does not live in the lymph, but other beings do, astral beings, who have their home on Moon and Mars. Whilst the lymph is being composed and decomposes, those beings penetrate into the human being, and when the lymph flows through him, the lines of force, the deeds of these beings, flow through him. Just imagine that the I has a purifying influence on the astral body. To the same extent to which the human being becomes master of the astral body, he also becomes master over the spirits or their effects, that flow with the lymph through the body. Thus, by reformation, by purification of his astral body, man increasingly restricts the arbitrariness of these beings. You see, what you are spiritually doing by ensuring that the intellectuality is developed, and that the ethic becomes purer and nobler, and the aesthetic feelings become purified—this changes the effects that emanate from those above-mentioned beings of the astral plane. They are losing the terrain within you. The higher development consists in man becoming progressively an expression of his own being.
Similarly to how astral beings pervade us and stream through us with the lymph, Venus beings penetrate the nutritional juices. These are not controlled by lower entities, but by higher beings. A higher power is necessary to make even the composition of the chyle an expression of one’s own personality. If you remember that these beings are the comrades of the plant-souls, the plant-Egos, then you will see that these beings essentially have their point of attack in the kind of food people are eating. Thus, people differ in regard to races and nations in the various areas of the globe, for the reason that they eat different kinds of food. And if the human being gradually learns to emancipate himself from the arbitrariness of nutrition, when he chooses the food based on the principles of spiritual knowledge, then he slowly gains control over the nutritional juice and thus emancipates himself from these beings that influence him from the outside. Therefore, so much importance is attached to the food products that affect the human being in various ways. What you are eating contains the power of certain beings, and by gaining influence over them, one will become the master of his own organism. Indeed, one expels spirits by whom one was possessed before, by consciously choosing what one eats.
In fact, the human being is in a certain way only master over his blood. But he could also reign over other juices. Try to recognise how man through this or other food attracts these beings, bad entities, then you will understand the importance of this for education, medicine and other sciences. To make progress it does not suffice to merely say, “The human being needs to perfect himself.” One also has to go into the details of how this perfection can be achieved.
Beings from Saturn are influencing another area of our existence. Because they live entirely within the outer perception, they have an influence on our outer perception. It is not irrelevant if a person focusses passionately with his eyes and senses onto something disgusting, something lowly, or if he, with a certain attraction, focusses his eyes on the beautiful and noble in this world. Depending on this, either good or evil Saturn beings win influence over this person.
As it is the case with the nutritional juice and the lymph, likewise beings sneak into him with the passions with which a human being soaks up sensory impressions. It is never without side-effects when you direct your gaze to sensory impressions. You are taking in deeds of spiritual beings with every glance. If you look at a beautiful, noble picture, then not only that which is visible streams into you, but also spiritual beings enter together with what you see. If you listen to sensual music, the spiritual power of saturnine beings also streams into you. This gives you a measure of how complicated life is, as soon as you are penetrating into the spiritual foundations.
Especially strong is the influence of those sense impressions that we call smell. With smells people absorb a vast number of effects of spiritual entities. You can consciously affect a human being by using odours to convey the workings of abominable beings. Many a perfume would not be used if one would be aware of the effect it has on one’s fellow human beings.
In the intrigues of some princely houses2Presented in more detail in GA102-01, The influence of Spiritual Beings Upon Man. It concerns Draga Maschin, Queen of Serbia, who was killed together with her husband, Alexander I, in 1903. not only words have played a part, but there have been times when personalities understood it well to beguile their fellow human beings through perfume and aromatic effects.
The most important things in life elude the senses, and man lives unconsciously, without suspecting the influence of spiritual beings to whom he is exposed at all times.
Von den Wirkungen Einiger Übersinnlicher Wesenheiten auf den Menschen
[ 1 ] Das letzte Mal haben wir ein Thema behandelt, welches uns von unserer physischen Welt aus hinaufführte in höhere Welten an der Hand dessen, was man die Elementarreiche nennt, und dazumal haben wir Gelegenheit nehmen können, hineinzublicken in die komplizierte Natur der menschlichen Wesenheit, mit was allem sie zusammenhängt, wie vielerlei Fäden hinaufführen vom Menschen in die höheren Welten. Es wird sich empfehlen, diesen Gegenstand heute etwas auszubauen. Dabei wird es nötig sein, eine kurze Bemerkung vorauszuschicken.
[ 2 ] Wir würden in den theosophischen Betrachtungen nicht gut vorwärtskommen können, wenn nur die elementaren Tatsachen behandelt würden. Dabei würden viele der Mitglieder immer wieder auf dieselben Sachen zurückkommen müssen. Unter elementaren Dingen braucht man aber nicht nur das zu verstehen, was man im Anfange der theosophischen Weltanschauung hört, sondern auch das, was in geringem Maße sich entfernt von dem, was ein vernünftiger Mensch heutigen Schlages einsehen kann. Das heißt, ein vernünftiger Mensch heutigen Schlages wird allenfalls ein klein wenig von dem gelten lassen, was sich über die physische Welt erhebt. Es mag einige Leute geben, die solches annehmen. Aber sie sagen, Sicheres könne man darüber nicht wissen, wenn es auch nicht ganz hirnverbrannt sei. Dies letztere aber wird entgegengeworfen dem, was den höheren Gebieten in theosophischer Beleuchtung entspricht. Diese höheren Gebiete sind dabei nicht nur so gemeint, daß ein höherer Grad von Verständnis nötig ist, um sie anzuhören und zu verstehen, sondern es gehört alles das an Gefühlen dazu, was man nur haben kann, wenn man lange im theosophischen Leben Erkenntnis gesucht hat. Man darf in gewisser Beziehung jemandem, der längere Zeit dieses Leben mitgemacht hat, mehr zumuten. Diejenigen, die erst kurze Zeit mitmachen, dürfen gebeten werden, sich zu sagen, daß das heutige Thema dem, was man gewöhnlich sagt, etwas ferne liegen wird. Aber es ist doch nicht so schwer sich zu sagen: Es mag mir vielleicht im Anfang manches etwas phantastisch und träumerisch erscheinen, aber wenn ich erst längere Zeit in der Richtung gedacht habe, so wird es mir doch nicht mehr so merkwürdig vorkommen. Es könnte doch sein, daß manches mir nur Jetzt hirnverbrannt erscheint; wenn ich aber mir Gefühle dafür angeeignet habe, so wird es mir nicht mehr in dem Lichte erscheinen.
[ 3 ] Danach wollen wir mit Unbefangenheit an das Thema herantreten, das für solche, die in ihren Gefühlen vorgerückt sind, ein höheres Kapitel der theosophischen Weltanschauung ausmacht.
[ 4 ] Wenn wir mit dem geöffneten Auge des Sehers immer weiter eindringen in die höheren Welten, von denen wir ja schon öfters gesprochen haben, in die astralische Welt, das niedere und höhere Devachan, so sieht man, daß es dort Wesenheiten gibt, die nicht bis in unsere physische Welt hinunter sich verkörpern, die keinen physischen Körper annehmen, die aber doch abgeschlossene Wesenheiten sind wie die Menschen hier auf unserem Plan. Wenn sich der Mensch vom festen Grunde der physischen Welt hinaufbegibt in die höheren Welten, muß er zwei verschiedene Arten von Wesenheiten unterscheiden: Die eine Sorte schickt ihre Offenbarungen hinab bis auf den physischen Plan; die andere Sorte offenbart sich entweder gar nicht oder doch auf solche Art auf dem physischen Plan, daß diese Offenbarung: kaum für die gewöhnliche Anschauung zu erfassen ist.
[ 5 ] Erinnern wir uns an zusammengehörige Tiergruppen, die gleichgeformt und miteinander verwandt sind. Sie haben eine Gruppenseele, ein Gruppen-Ich in der astralischen Welt. Wenn wir ein solches Gruppen-Ich auf dem Astralplan beobachten, so ist ein solches Wesen dort eine ebenso abgeschlossene Wesenheit, eine Persönlichkeit, wie der Mensch auf dem physischen Plan eine abgeschlossene Persönlichkeit ist. Der Seher begegnet dort den Gruppenseelen der Tiere, genau wie man hier dem Menschen begegnet. Es sind einzelne, in sich abgeschlossene Persönlichkeiten auf dem Astralplan, und nur ihre Offenbarungen werden bis in die physische Welt geschickt. Es ist geradeso, wie wenn ich durch eine Wand von Ihnen getrennt bin, die aber Löcher hat, so daß die Finger hindurchgesteckt werden können. Man könnte dann auch sagen: Ich sehe etwas, was zu einer anderen Wesenheit gehört. So ungefähr ist es, wenn Sie einen Löwen betrachten. Die Seele, zu der er gehört, ist auch wie hinter einer Wand, und alle Löwen sind wie vorgestreckte Finger. Diese Gruppen-Iche treffen wir also als abgeschlossene Wesenheiten auf dem astralischen Plane. Sie sind also auf leichte Art in ihren Offenbarungen in der physischen Welt zu finden. Man sieht die Organe, die hereingestreckt werden.
[ 6 ] Das ist aber nicht bei allen astralischen Wesenheiten so, daß man ihre Offenbarungen gut beobachten kann; der Mensch ahnt die Gegenwart dieser astralischen Wesenheiten gar nicht, wenn seine Sinne nicht geschärft sind. Der Mensch trifft also Persönlichkeiten auf dem Astralplane, die ihm zum Teil bekannt sind, und auch andere Wesenheiten, die den Eindruck der Unbekanntheit auf ihn machen, die er nicht so gut kennt von dem physischen Plane aus; sie sind ihm in gewisser Beziehung neu. Der astralische Plan ist sehr bevölkert, und es lebt dort mancherlei, wovon die Menschen sich nichts träumen lassen. Es soll nicht behauptet werden, daß diese Wesenheiten gar keine Wirkung hätten auf dem physischen Plan, sondern sie haben im Gegenteil eine gewaltige Wirkung auf den Menschen. Erst dann sehen wir ein, wie kompliziert die Zusammenhänge sind, wenn wir schauen, was da alles einwirkt. Diese Wesenheiten begegnen uns und machen zum Teil den Eindruck von außerordentlich sanften, milden Wesen, die auch untereinander sehr friedlich leben. Aber auch andere treffen wir, die nicht gerade in solcher Art charakterisiert werden können, die allerlei boshafte Eigenschaften haben und die vor allen Dingen, wenn sie in die Nähe des Menschen kommen, eine Gefahr darstellen.
[ 7 ] Das eigentümliche bei diesen Wesen ist, daß alle unsere Vorstellungen über Raumverhältnisse, die wir von der physischen Welt her haben, zuschanden werden. Wir müssen uns, wenn wir nicht phantastisch sein wollen, allmählich einleben in Vorstellungen, die ganz verschieden sind von denen, die wir gewöhnlich haben. Bei diesen wenig sympathischen Wesenheiten tritt uns entgegen, daß sie im Grunde nicht dort sind, wo wir sie wahrnehmen, sondern ganz woanders. Ihre Wirkungen sind in der astralischen Welt, aber ihre Heimat ist nicht dort.
[ 8 ] Ein grober Vergleich würde folgendes sein. Denken Sie sich einen Arbeiter, der draußen vor der Stadt wohnt und jeden Morgen zur Arbeit in die Stadt geht. Dort hat er sein Arbeitsfeld, aber draußen wohnt er. Das ist ein grober Vergleich. Etwas besser stimmt schon folgender Vergleich, aber der ist auch schon sehr phantastisch. Denken Sie sich, der Arbeiter wohnt weit weg von München, aber hat elastische Arme, so daß er stundenweit weg seine Arbeit verrichten kann. Sie müssen sich Vorstellungen von ganz anderen Raumverhältnissen aneignen, als die, welche vom physischen Plan Ihnen geläufig sind. Irgendein Wesen, das astralischer Natur ist, kann auf einem anderen Planeten wohnen und doch seine Wirkungen hier auf dem astralischen Plane ausüben, denn die Trennung der Raumverhältnisse besteht nicht mehr. Vermittelt werden diese Wirkungen, die es zum Beispiel anregt auf anderen Weltenkörpern, und die erscheinen auf der Erde. Wir müssen nicht nur mit den Vorstellungen, die in der physischen Welt gebildet sind, die geistige Welt untersuchen wollen, sondern wir müssen uns bequemen, neue Vorstellungen zu bilden.
[ 9 ] Diejenigen Wesenheiten, von denen ich Ihnen da gesprochen habe, daß sie zu den unsympathischen Wesen gehören, sind Mondwesen. Da haben sie ihre eigentliche Heimat. Sie können mit seherischen Augen die Beobachtung so anstellen, als wenn Sie die langausgestreckten Finger hier in München sähen und müßten nun stundenweit hinausgehen, um das Wesen selbst beobachten zu können. Sie finden, daß solche Wesenheiten hier auf der Erde ihre Hand im Spiele haben. Gehen Sie aber den Kraftlinien nach, so kommen Sie zum Monde. Da haben sie ihre Heimat. Der Mond ist wirklich in dieser Weise bevölkert. Diese Wesenheiten haben nicht die dichte Körperlichkeit wie unsere Erdenwesen, obwohl sie auch eine Körperlichkeit haben. Aber diese ist so verdünnt, daß sie auf Erden astralisch sich ausdrückt. Man könnte sie vergleichen mit zwerghaften Wesenheiten, die nicht größer werden als ein sechsbis siebenjähriges Kind. Eine Eigentümlichkeit haben diese Wesenheiten, die durch die Verhältnisse des Mondes bedingt ist, und die Ihnen ganz sonderbar vorkommen wird; aber wenn alle Welten gleich wären, dann würde es ja nicht nötig sein, daß so viele bestehen. Diese Eigentümlichkeit besteht darin, daß sie unendlich stark brüllen können. Ihre Schreiwerkzeuge sind außerordentlich stark entwickelt. Diese Wesenheiten äußern sich zuerst auf dem irdischen Astralplan, sie sind nicht immer und überall da, sondern werden angezogen durch gewisse Verhältnisse unseres Lebens. Die Taten solcher Wesenheiten sind an gewissen Orten zu finden, besonders da, wo Medien, Somnambule sind; wo ganz bestimmte Dinge vorhanden sind. Da dringen sie ein mit ihren Wirkungen und Taten und äußern sich dem Menschen in sehr unsympathischer Weise. Auch wo niedere Leidenschaften sich entfalten, sind sie zu finden. Dagegen können Sie die gutartigen Wesenheiten des astralischen Planes da finden, wo außerordentlich menschenfreundliche Leidenschaften sich ausleben. In irgendeiner Wohltätigkeitsgesellschaft, wo wirkliche Wobltätigkeit in den Seelen lebt, da wird angeregt dasjenige, was solche Wesenheiten in den Umkreis der Menschen zieht; so daß tatsächlich der Mensch durch das, was er tut, was vermöge seiner Eigenschaften von ihm ausströmt, eine Anziehung ausübt auf gewisse Wesenheiten und so eine Verbindung herstellt mit weitentfernten Weltenkörpern, die herbeigeführt wird durch die Äußerung der Taten der Weltenwesen und Menschenseelen. Die Wesenheiten, von denen ich Ihnen zuletzt gesprochen habe, die sanft und milde sind, haben auch ihre Heimat auf einem anderen Planeten, und zwar auf dem Mars. Von da aus äußern sie ihre Wirkungen auf die Erde hinein. Diese Wesenheiten wirken also, indem sie, man möchte sagen, die Weiten des Raumes mit ihren Taten durchmessen. Alles, was wirklich Wirkungen, außer den physischen, von einem Planeten zum anderen sind, dem liegen solche Verhältnisse zwischen den Bewohnern der Weltenkörper zugrunde. Sie sehen also, daß wir, wenn wir hinaufkommen in die höheren Welten, gar sonderbare Genossen finden. Es nützt nichts, wenn wir sagen: Es gibt geistige Welten - und so weiter, sondern der Mensch muß diese Wesenheiten kennenlernen.
[ 10 ] Wenn wir nun zu noch höheren Welten mit dem seherischen Vermögen aufsteigen, so kommen wir zum niederen Devachanplan, zur niederen geistigen Welt. Auch sie durchdringt unsere physische und astralische Welt. Dort finden wir die Gruppen-Iche der Pflanzen. Sie wissen schon, daß die Pflanzen, die die Erde bedecken, zu großen Gruppen zu vereinigen sind, denen dann ein Gruppen-Ich entspricht. Nur sind diese Gruppen-Iche auf dem Devachanplan zu finden, doch sind sie zunächst lokalisiert im Mittelpunkt der Erde. Dort haben alle Gruppen-Iche der Pflanzen ihr Zentrum. Und wenn Sie sich die ganze Erde so vorstellen, so sehen Sie sie als einen großen Organismus, in dem sich auch die verschiedenen GruppenIche der Pflanzen durchdringen. Diese Summe von Gruppen-Ichen der Pflanzen empfindet ebenso Leid und Freude, Lust und Schmerz, wie der menschliche Organismus. Wir können ganz genau angeben, wie Lust und Leid vorhanden sind in diesem Erdenorganismus. Wir wissen, daß das Abpflücken der Pflanzen Lust, ja Wollust, Wohlgefühl bereitet, ein Wohlbehagen, ähnlich dem Wohlbehagen, das die Kuh empfindet, wenn das Kalb die Milch saugt. Das Ausreißen der Wurzel dagegen tut dem Erdenorganismus weh, bereitet ihm Unlust. So sehen Sie, wie man im Speziellen angeben kann, wie die Wesen der devachanischen Welt empfinden. Was wir auch tun auf der Erde, es sind nicht nüchterne Tatsachen, sondern, wenn wir dieses oder jenes vornehmen, so bereiten wir irgendeinem Wesen Lust oder Schmerz, Freude oder Leid. Schneidet der Schnitter durch die Halme, so geht ein Hauch von Wohlgefühl, welches die Pflanzenseele empfindet, über die Äcker. So geht der, der für diese Dinge Empfindung hat, über die Erde, indem er mitfühlen lernt mit den geistigen Wesen, die in den höheren Welten leben und die wieder nur ihre Organe hineinschicken in die physische Welt.
[ 11 ] Wenn man aber einmal in diese devachanischen Gebiete kommt, dann begegnet man wiederum anderen Wesen, die nicht in so offener Weise ihre Wirkung hineinsenden in die physische Welt, sondern die viel verborgener sich äußern. Es sind hier wieder zwei Arten von Wesenheiten zu unterscheiden; auf der einen Seite außerordentlich sanfte, milde, Harmonie ausströmende Wesenheiten, und auf der anderen Seite raubtierartige Wesenheiten, die fortwährend miteinander im Kampf liegen. Diese haben ebenso ihre Heimat auf einem anderen Planeten und äußern nur im Devachanplan ihre Wirkungen. Auf der Venus wurzeln sie; dort findet man sie als Bewohner dieses Planeten, wenn man ihn aufsucht mit geistigem Sehvermögen. So gibt es für jede der Welten neue Bekanntschaften, wenn man erst ausgeht vom physischen Plan, von dem, was man grobstofflich sieht, und sich dann erhebt zu dem Ursprung der Wesenheiten. Gehen Sie von ganzen Gruppen von Pflanzen, von Gruppen von Tieren aus, so finden Sie die Pflanzen-, die Tierseele, aber dann werden Sie auch imstande sein, andere Wesen zu finden, die nicht in so grob sinnlicher Weise sich auf dem physischen Plan äußern.
[ 12 ] Statt von Pflanzen oder 'Tieren kann man auch von Mineralien oder Steinen ausgehen, und da findet man die Wesen im höheren Devachan. Auch diese empfinden Lust und Leid, Freude und Schmerz. Wenn der Seher sich einen Steinbruch ansieht, wo die Arbeiter die Steine abbröckeln und absplittern, da sieht er, wie die mineralische Seele etwas erlebt. Man darf hier nicht nach Analogien und Gleichnissen schließen. Das Zerschlagen mit dem Hammer schmerzt nicht. Ein Hauch von Wohlgefühl strömt aus, indem die Steine heruntergeschlagen werden. Ein Schmerzgefühl ist vorhanden, wenn Sie aus getrennten Gesteinsmassen die Steine wieder vereinigen wollen; wenn Sie aus zerstreuten Massen wieder ein Ganzes herauskristallisieren wollen, dann wird Schmerz zugefügt. So kann man auch mitfühlen und miterleben lernen mit der mineralischen Welt, mit dem Ich der Mineralien.
[ 13 ] Wieder lernt man aber hier erkennen Wesenheiten, die nicht in so grober, derber Weise sich äußern in der physischen Welt. Wieder wollen wir zweierlei Arten als die auffälligsten hier betrachten. Es sind solche, die eine merkwürdige geistige Konstitution haben. Sie sind schwer zu schildern, aber einen Begriff davon werden Sie bekommen, wenn Sie sich vorstellen würden ein außerordentlich begabtes Wesen, das aber, um Erfindungen zu machen, gar nicht viel nachzudenken braucht, sondern durch die Wahrnehmungen schon veranlaßt wird, den Gegenstand umzugestalten in irgendeiner genialen Weise. Es sind Wesenheiten, die in einer gewissen Art leben im Wahrnehmen, ohne daß bei ihnen das Denken als solches eine so große Rolle spielt. Es sind sehr merkwürdige Wesenheiten von außerordentlicher Erfindungsgabe, die aber nur auf Wahrnehmung, nicht auf Denken beruht. Diesen stehen andere Wesenheiten gegenüber, welche ebenso unsympathisch sind, wie diese sympathisch. Diese anderen Wesenheiten sind dadurch zu charakterisieren, daß sie auch so in der Wahrnehmungswelt leben, auch nicht besonders denken, aber besonders die Wahrnehmungen aufsuchen, die für uns Menschen scheußliche, greuliche Wahrnehmungen sind. Das ist für sie Genuß, in dem wühlen sie. Diese Wesenheiten nun haben ihre Heimat auf dem Saturn, geradeso wie die anderen, die geschildert worden sind, auf dem Mond, auf Mars und Venus wohnen.
[ 14 ] Da haben wir also eine Perspektive auf die höheren Wesenheiten. Wir könnten fragen: Was gehen uns aber diese Wesenheiten alle an? — Es könnte wie müßige Neugier scheinen, sich mit ihnen zu befassen. Aber sie gehen uns sehr viel an. Denn wenn sie sich auch nicht so offenbar ankündigen in der physischen Welt, so äußern sie sich doch in ihren Wirkungen in einer für den Menschen außerordentlich wichtigen Art. Und da werden wir von den Wesen wie von selbst geleitet zu einer für uns Menschen normalen Wirkung dieser Wesenheiten. Was von Somnambulen und so weiter gesagt worden ist, bildet in gewisser Weise einen Ausnahmefall. Aber sie haben auch ganz normale Wirkungen für den Menschen, für den einen mehr, für den anderen weniger. Welche Wirkungen sie für uns haben, tritt vor unsere Seele, wenn wir den Menschen in gewisser Beziehung auf seine Konstitution hin betrachten, auf seine ihn durchströmenden Säfte. Säfte verschiedener Art durchströmen den Menschen.
[ 15 ] Zuerst betrachten wir den Nahrungssaft, den Chylus. Die Nahrung wird aus den verschiedensten Bestandteilen aufgenommen, wird verdaut, geht über in den Darm und wird durch die dort befindlichen Organe durch die Darmwände durchgedrängt, um in entsprechender Weise zum Neuaufbau des Körpers benutzt zu werden. Das ist die eine Strömung, die den Menschen durchdringt. Sie hat ihre Quelle in der aufgenommenen Nahrung. Eine andere Saftgattung ist die Lymphe, eine in Gefäßen verlaufende Flüssigkeit, die zum Teil mit den Blutgefäßen zusammen verlaufen, welche sich in der Bauchhöhle sammeln, die aber auch in einer gewissen Weise den ganzen Organismus durchströmt. Diese haben eine Eigentümlichkeit, die wir ein anderes Mal betrachten werden: daß nämlich alle diese Lymphgefäße, die von der linken Seite des Rumpfes und des Kopfes kommen, sich sammeln und ergießen in die linke Schlüsselbeinhöhle. Nur die von dem rechten Teil des Körpers kommenden Ströme sind davon getrennt. Dem liegt eine okkulte Bedeutung zugrunde.
[ 16 ] Ein dritter Saft ist das Blut, das wiederum in der verschiedensten Art den menschlichen Organismus durchströmt. Wer nur mit materialistischem Sinne den Menschen betrachtet, der sieht in diesen Stoffen — Blut und so weiter — Körper, die man chemisch analysieren kann, die aus den und den chemischen Teilen bestehen. Wer aber mit sehenden Augen die Sache betrachtet, der weiß, daß überall Geist ist, daß aller Materie Geist zugrunde liegt. Was Sie auch sehen mögen, Gold, das in Adern die Erde durchzieht, Quecksilber, das in Tropfen sich absetzt, es ist der Ausdruck eines Seelischen. Und so weiß der, der mit geistigen Augen die drei Säfte betrachtet, daß wenig damit gesagt ist, wenn man die Säfte chemisch und so weiter untersucht. Mit den Säften durchziehen geistige Wesenheiten den Organismus. Mit dem Blute strömen geistige Wesenheiten durch den menschlichen Körper, ebenso mit Lymphe und Chylus. Nur der erkennt diese Säfte wahrhaft, der sie erkennt als Ausdruck geistiger Wesenheiten. Nur der kann den Menschen richtig hinstellen in den Erdenorganismus, auf den Erdenschauplatz, der weiß, daß von allen Seiten, von oben nach unten und so weiter, Geister uns durchströmen, die in der Welt und in unserer Umgebung vorhanden sind.
[ 17 ] Nur einer von den drei genannten Säften ist ein mehr oder weniger selbständiger Ausdruck des menschlichen Ich. Das ist das Blut. Das Blut ist der physische Ausdruck des Ich, so daß man sagen kann: indem das Blut durch den Körper pulst, strömt das menschliche Ich durch den Leib. Aber auch nur in gewissem Grade, der bei einem Menschen größer, bei einem anderen kleiner ist, ist der Mensch Herr in seinem Organismus in bezug auf sein Blut.
[ 18 ] Nicht so ist es mit der Lymphe. In ihr lebt nicht unser eigenes Ich, sondern andere Wesenheiten, astralische Wesenheiten, die ihre Heimat auf Mond und Mars haben. Indem sich die Lymphe bildet und entbildet, dringen diese Wesenheiten in den Menschen ein, und wie die Lymphe ihn durchströmt, durchströmen ihn die Kraftlinien, die Taten dieser Wesenheiten. Bedenken Sie nun einmal, daß das Ich läuternd einwirkt auf den astralischen Leib. In demselben Maße, wie der Mensch Herr wird über den astralischen Leib, in demselben Maße wird er auch Herr über die Geister oder deren Wirkungen, die durch die Lymphe durch den Körper fließen, so daß der Mensch durch Läuterung, durch Reinigung seines astralischen Leibes immer mehr die Willkür dieser Wesenheiten einengt. Sie sehen, was Sie geistig tun, indem Sie dafür sorgen, daß die Intellektualität ausgebildet wird, daß die Ethik reiner und edler, das ästhetische Empfinden geläutert wird. Damit ändern Sie die Wirkungen, die ausgehen von den genannten Wesenheiten des astraliischen Planes. Diese Wesenheiten verlieren das Terrain in Ihnen. Darin besteht die Höherentwickelung, daß der Mensch immer mehr und mehr ein Ausdruck seiner eigenen Wesenheit wird.
[ 19 ] Ebenso wie in der Lymphe die astralischen Wesenheiten uns durchziehen und durchströmen, so durchziehen den Nahrungssaft die Venuswesenheiten. Nicht durch niedrigere Wesen wird er beherrscht, sondern durch höhere Wesenheiten. Eine höhere Kraft gehört dazu, auch die Zusammensetzung des Chylus zum Ausdruck der eigenen Persönlichkeit zu machen. Wenn Sie sich erinnern, daß diese Wesen die Genossen der Pflanzenseelen sind, der Pflanzen-Iche, so werden Sie sehen, daß diese Wesenheiten im wesentlichen ihren Angriffspunkt auf die Art von Nahrung nehmen, die der Mensch zu sich nimmt. Deshalb sind die Menschen nach Rassen und Nationen verschieden auf den verschiedenen Gebieten unseres Erdballes, weil sie verschiedene Nahrung zu sich nehmen. Und wenn der Mensch allmählich lernt, sich zu emanzipieren von den Zufälligkeiten der Nahrung, wenn er die Nahrung wählt nach den Grundsätzen der geistigen Erkenntnis, dann erlangt er allmählich Gewalt über diesen Nahrungssaft, er emanzipiert sich von diesen Wesenheiten, die von außen wirken. Deshalb wird auf die so oder so auf den Menschen wirkenden Nahrungsmittel ein so großer Wert gelegt. Was man ißt, in dem liegt die Kraft gewisser Wesen, und wie man Einfluß auf diese gewinnt, so macht man sich selbst zum Herrscher seines Organismus. Tatsächlich treibt man Geister aus, von denen man vorher besessen ist, indem man mit Bewußtsein seine Nahrung wählt.
[ 20 ] Tatsächlich ist nur in gewisser Weise der Mensch Herr über sein Blut. Er kann aber auch die Herrschaft erlangen über andere Säfte. Versuchen Sie einmal zu erkennen, wie der Mensch durch diese oder jene Nahrung diese Wesen anzieht, schlechte Wesen, so begreifen Sie, welche Bedeutung dies für die Erziehung, die Medizin und andere Wissenschaften hat. Man genügt dem Fortschritte nicht, wenn man nur sagt: Der Mensch muß sich vervollkommnen. — Man muß auf die Einzelheiten eingehen, wie man sich vervollkommnen kann.
[ 21 ] Auf ein anderes Gebiet unseres Daseins haben die Saturnwesen einen Einfluß. Diese haben, weil sie ganz in der äußeren Wahrnehmung leben, auf unsere äußere Wahrnehmung einen Einfluß. Es ist nicht gleichgültig, ob der Mensch mit Leidenschaft seine Augen und Sinne auf Ekelhaftes, Niedriges richtet, oder ob er mit einer gewissen Anziehung seine Augen hinrichtet auf das Schöne und Edle in der Welt. Je nachdem gewinnen gute oder böse Saturnwesen auf den Menschen ihren Einfluß.
[ 22 ] Mit der Leidenschaftlichkeit, mit der der Mensch hier irgendeinen Sinneseindruck einsaugt, schleichen sich in ihn Wesenheiten ein, wie mit dem Nahrungssaft und mit der Lymphe. Es ist nie ohne Nebenwirkung, wenn Sie Ihren Blick richten auf Sinneseindrücke. Sie nehmen die Taten von geistigen Wesenheiten mit jedem Blick auf. Sehen Sie ein schönes, Edles darstellendes Bild, so strömt nicht nur auf Sie ein, was Ihnen sichtbar ist, sondern mit dem, was Sie sehen, strömen ein geistige Wesenheiten. Hören Sie wollüstige Musik an, so strömt ebenso die geistige Kraft von saturnischen Wesenheiten ein. Danach können Sie ermessen, wie kompliziert das Leben ist, sobald man in die geistigen Grundlagen eindringt.
[ 23 ] Besonders stark ist die Wirkung der Sinneseindrücke, die wir als Geruch bezeichnen. Mit Gerüchen saugt der Mensch eine Unsumme von Wirkungen geistiger Wesenheiten ein. Sie können bewußt auf einen Menschen wirken dadurch, daß Sie mit Gerüchen die Wirkung scheußlicher Wesenheiten vermitteln. Manches Parfüm würde nicht benutzt werden, wenn man wüßte, welche Wirkungen man damit auf seine Mitmenschen ausübt. In den Intrigen mancher Fürstenhäuser haben nicht nur Worte gespielt, sondern es gab Zeiten, wo Persönlichkeiten es wohl verstanden, ihre Mitmenschen zu betören durch Parfüm- und Aromawirkungen.
[ 24 ] Das Wichtigste im Leben entzieht sich den Sinnen, und der Mensch lebt unbewußt dahin, ohne zu ahnen, welchen Wirkungen geistiger Wesenheiten er stets ausgesetzt ist.
The Effects of Certain Supernatural Beings on Human Beings
[ 1 ] Last time, we dealt with a topic that led us from our physical world up into higher worlds by means of what are called the elemental realms, and at that time we had the opportunity to to look into the complex nature of the human being, with all its connections, and the many threads that lead from the human being to the higher worlds. It would be advisable to expand on this subject a little today. In doing so, it will be necessary to make a brief preliminary remark.
[ 2 ] We would not be able to make much progress in our theosophical considerations if we only dealt with elementary facts. Many members would have to keep coming back to the same things. However, by elementary things we do not mean only what one hears at the beginning of the theosophical worldview, but also what is slightly removed from what a reasonable person of today's mindset can understand. This means that a reasonable person of today will at best accept a little of what rises above the physical world. There may be some people who accept this. But they say that one cannot know anything for certain about it, even if it is not completely crazy. The latter, however, is opposed to what corresponds to the higher realms in theosophical illumination. These higher realms are not only meant in the sense that a higher degree of understanding is necessary to hear and understand them, but they also include all the feelings that one can only have if one has long sought knowledge in theosophical life. In a certain sense, one can expect more from someone who has lived this life for a long time. Those who have only been participating for a short time may be asked to tell themselves that today's topic will be somewhat distant from what is commonly said. But it is not so difficult to say to oneself: Perhaps some things may seem a little fantastic and dreamy to me at first, but once I have thought about them for a longer period of time, they will no longer seem so strange to me. It could be that some things only seem crazy to me now, but once I have acquired the feelings for them, they will no longer appear that way to me.
[ 3 ] After that, let us approach the subject with an open mind, which for those who are advanced in their feelings constitutes a higher chapter of the theosophical worldview.
[ 4 ] When we penetrate ever deeper into the higher worlds with the open eye of the seer, of which we have already spoken frequently, into the astral world, the lower and higher Devachan, we see that there are beings who do not incarnate down into our physical world, who do not take on physical bodies, but who are nevertheless complete beings like the people here on our plane. When human beings ascend from the solid ground of the physical world to the higher worlds, they must distinguish between two different kinds of beings: one kind sends its revelations down to the physical plane; the other kind either does not reveal itself at all or reveals itself on the physical plane in such a way that this revelation is hardly perceptible to ordinary perception.
[ 5 ] Let us remember groups of animals that belong together, that are similar in form and related to one another. They have a group soul, a group ego in the astral world. When we observe such a group ego on the astral plane, such a being is just as much a complete entity, a personality, as the human being is a complete personality on the physical plane. The seer encounters the group souls of animals there, just as one encounters human beings here. They are individual, self-contained personalities on the astral plane, and only their manifestations are sent into the physical world. It is just as if I were separated from you by a wall that has holes in it so that fingers can be stuck through. One could then also say: I see something that belongs to another being. That is roughly what it is like when you look at a lion. The soul to which it belongs is also like behind a wall, and all lions are like outstretched fingers. We therefore encounter these group egos as separate beings on the astral plane. They are therefore easy to find in their manifestations in the physical world. One sees the organs that are stretched out.
[ 6 ] However, it is not the case with all astral beings that their manifestations can be easily observed; human beings have no inkling of the presence of these astral beings unless their senses are sharpened. Humans therefore encounter personalities on the astral plane who are partly familiar to them, as well as other beings who seem unfamiliar to them, whom they do not know very well from the physical plane; in a certain sense, they are new to them. The astral plane is very populated, and many things live there that humans cannot even dream of. It is not to be claimed that these beings have no effect whatsoever on the physical plane; on the contrary, they have a tremendous effect on human beings. Only then do we realize how complicated the connections are when we look at everything that is at work there. We encounter these beings, and some of them give the impression of being extraordinarily gentle, mild creatures that live very peacefully among themselves. But we also encounter others that cannot be characterized in this way, that have all kinds of malicious qualities and that, above all, pose a danger when they come close to humans.
[ 7 ] The peculiar thing about these beings is that all our ideas about spatial relationships that we have from the physical world are shattered. If we do not want to be fantastical, we must gradually accustom ourselves to ideas that are completely different from those we are accustomed to. What strikes us about these unsympathetic beings is that they are not really where we perceive them to be, but somewhere else entirely. Their effects are in the astral world, but their home is not there.
[ 8 ] A rough comparison would be as follows. Imagine a worker who lives outside the city and goes to work in the city every morning. That is where he works, but he lives outside the city. That is a rough comparison. The following comparison is somewhat better, but it is also very fantastical. Imagine that the worker lives far away from Munich, but has elastic arms so that he can do his work hours away. You have to imagine completely different spatial relationships than those you are familiar with on the physical plane. Any being of an astral nature can live on another planet and still exert its influence here on the astral plane, because the separation of spatial relationships no longer exists. These influences, which stimulate other world bodies, for example, are transmitted and appear on Earth. We must not only try to investigate the spiritual world with the ideas formed in the physical world, but we must also be willing to form new ideas.
[ 9 ] The beings I have told you about, which belong to the unsympathetic beings, are moon beings. That is where they have their actual home. With clairvoyant eyes, you can observe them as if you saw your fingers stretched out here in Munich and had to walk for hours to be able to observe the beings themselves. You will find that such beings are at work here on Earth. But if you follow the lines of force, you will come to the moon. That is where they have their home. The moon is truly populated in this way. These beings do not have the dense physicality of our earthly beings, although they do have a physicality. But this is so diluted that it expresses itself astral on earth. They could be compared to dwarf beings that do not grow larger than a six- or seven-year-old child. These beings have a peculiarity that is caused by the conditions on the moon and will seem very strange to you; but if all worlds were the same, then it would not be necessary for so many to exist. This peculiarity consists in the fact that they can roar with infinite strength. Their vocal organs are extremely well developed. These beings first manifest themselves on the earthly astral plane; they are not always and everywhere present, but are attracted by certain conditions in our lives. The deeds of such beings can be found in certain places, especially where there are mediums and somnambulists, where very specific things are present. There they penetrate with their effects and deeds and express themselves to humans in a very unpleasant way. They can also be found where base passions unfold. In contrast, you can find the benevolent beings of the astral plane where extraordinarily philanthropic passions are lived out. In any charitable society where real charity lives in the souls, that which draws such beings into the sphere of human beings is stimulated, so that human beings actually exert an attraction on certain beings through what they do, through what flows out of them by virtue of their qualities, and thus establish a connection with distant world bodies, which is brought about by the expression of the deeds of the world beings and human souls. The beings I spoke to you about last, who are gentle and mild, also have their home on another planet, namely Mars. From there they exert their influence on the earth. These beings work, so to speak, by traversing the vastness of space with their deeds. Everything that really has an effect, except for physical effects, from one planet to another, is based on such relationships between the inhabitants of the world bodies. You see, then, that when we ascend to the higher worlds, we find very strange companions. It is of no use to say, “There are spiritual worlds,” and so on; rather, human beings must get to know these beings.
[ 10 ] When we ascend with our clairvoyant faculties to even higher worlds, we come to the lower Devachan plane, the lower spiritual world. It also permeates our physical and astral worlds. There we find the group egos of plants. You already know that the plants that cover the earth are united into large groups, which then correspond to a group ego. These group egos are only to be found on the Devachan plane, but they are initially located at the center of the earth. All the group egos of plants have their center there. And if you imagine the whole earth in this way, you see it as a large organism in which the various group egos of plants also interpenetrate. This sum of group egos of plants feels suffering and joy, pleasure and pain just as the human organism does. We can specify quite precisely how pleasure and suffering are present in this Earth organism. We know that picking plants gives pleasure, even sensual pleasure, a feeling of well-being similar to the well-being a cow feels when her calf suckles her milk. Pulling out the roots, on the other hand, hurts the earth organism and causes it discomfort. So you see how it is possible to specify in detail how the beings of the devachanic world feel. Whatever we do on earth is not a matter of dry facts; when we do this or that, we cause pleasure or pain, joy or suffering to some being or other. When the reaper cuts through the stalks, a breath of well-being, which the plant soul feels, passes over the fields. Thus, those who have sensitivity for these things pass over the earth, learning to empathize with the spiritual beings who live in the higher worlds and who send only their organs into the physical world.
[ 11 ] But once you enter these devachanic regions, you encounter other beings who do not send their influence into the physical world in such an open manner, but who express themselves in a much more hidden way. Here again, two types of beings can be distinguished: on the one hand, extraordinarily gentle, mild beings who radiate harmony, and on the other hand, predatory beings who are constantly fighting each other. These also have their home on another planet and only express their effects on the Devachan plane. They have their roots on Venus; there you will find them as inhabitants of that planet if you visit it with spiritual vision. Thus, there are new acquaintances for each of the worlds when you first leave the physical plane, what you see in gross matter, and then rise to the origin of the beings. If you start from whole groups of plants or groups of animals, you will find the plant soul and the animal soul, but then you will also be able to find other beings that do not express themselves in such a grossly sensual way on the physical plane.
[ 12 ] Instead of plants or animals, one can also start with minerals or stones, and there one finds beings in the higher Devachan. These too feel pleasure and suffering, joy and pain. When the seer looks at a quarry where workers are chipping away at stones, he sees how the mineral soul experiences something. One must not draw analogies or parallels here. Being smashed with a hammer does not hurt. A feeling of well-being flows out as the stones are knocked down. A feeling of pain is present when you want to reunite the stones from separate masses of rock; when you want to crystallize a whole out of scattered masses, then pain is inflicted. In this way, one can also learn to empathize and experience the mineral world, the self of minerals.
[ 13 ] Here again, however, we learn to recognize beings that do not express themselves in such a coarse, crude manner in the physical world. Once again, we will consider two types as the most striking here. There are those that have a strange spiritual constitution. They are difficult to describe, but you will get an idea of them if you imagine an extraordinarily gifted being who, in order to make inventions, does not need to think much at all, but is prompted by his perceptions to transform objects in some ingenious way. These are beings who live in a certain way in perception, without thinking as such playing a major role. They are very strange beings with extraordinary inventiveness, but this is based only on perception, not on thinking. Opposite them are other beings who are as unsympathetic as these are sympathetic. These other beings can be characterized by the fact that they also live in the world of perception, do not think particularly, but seek out perceptions that are horrible and gruesome to us humans. This is their pleasure, they revel in it. These beings have their home on Saturn, just as the others described above live on the Moon, Mars, and Venus.
[ 14 ] So here we have a perspective on the higher beings. We might ask: But what do all these beings have to do with us? It might seem like idle curiosity to concern ourselves with them. But they concern us very much. For even if they do not manifest themselves so obviously in the physical world, they nevertheless express themselves in their effects in a way that is extremely important for human beings. And there we are guided by the beings themselves to a normal effect of these beings on us humans. What has been said about somnambulists and so on is, in a sense, an exceptional case. But they also have quite normal effects on human beings, more on some than on others. What effects they have on us becomes apparent to our soul when we consider human beings in a certain relationship to their constitution, to the juices flowing through them. Juices of various kinds flow through human beings.
[ 15 ] First, let us consider the nutrient fluid, the chyle. Food is absorbed from a wide variety of components, digested, passes into the intestines, and is pushed through the intestinal walls by the organs located there in order to be used in the appropriate way for rebuilding the body. This is the one flow that permeates the human being. It has its source in the food that is ingested. Another type of fluid is the lymph, a liquid that flows in vessels, some of which run together with the blood vessels, which collect in the abdominal cavity, but which also flows through the entire organism in a certain way. These have a peculiarity that we will consider another time: namely, that all these lymph vessels, which come from the left side of the trunk and head, collect and pour into the left clavicular cavity. Only the streams coming from the right side of the body are separated from this. There is an occult meaning behind this.
[ 16 ] A third fluid is blood, which in turn flows through the human organism in various ways. Anyone who views the human being with a purely materialistic sense sees in these substances — blood and so on — bodies that can be chemically analyzed, consisting of chemical parts. But those who look at things with seeing eyes know that spirit is everywhere, that spirit is the basis of all matter. Whatever you may see, gold flowing through the veins of the earth, mercury settling in drops, it is the expression of something spiritual. And so, those who look at the three fluids with spiritual eyes know that little is said when one examines the fluids chemically and so on. Spiritual beings permeate the organism with the fluids. Spiritual beings flow through the human body with the blood, as well as with the lymph and chyle. Only those who recognize these fluids as expressions of spiritual beings truly understand them. Only those who know that spirits flow through us from all sides, from above to below and so on, who know that spirits exist in the world and in our environment, can place human beings correctly in the earthly organism, on the earthly stage.
[ 17 ] Only one of the three fluids mentioned is a more or less independent expression of the human I. That is blood. Blood is the physical expression of the I, so that one can say: as blood pulses through the body, the human I flows through the body. But only to a certain degree, which is greater in one person and less in another, is the human being master of his organism in relation to his blood.
[ 18 ] This is not the case with the lymph. It is not our own ego that lives in it, but other beings, astral beings that have their home on the Moon and Mars. As the lymph forms and dissolves, these beings enter into the human being, and as the lymph flows through him, the lines of force, the actions of these beings, flow through him. Now consider that the ego has a purifying effect on the astral body. To the same extent that the human being gains control over the astral body, to the same extent he also gains control over the spirits or their effects, which flow through the body via the lymph, so that through purification, through cleansing of his astral body, the human being increasingly restricts the arbitrariness of these beings. You see what you do spiritually by ensuring that intellectuality is developed, that ethics become purer and nobler, and that aesthetic sensibility is purified. In this way, you change the effects that emanate from the aforementioned beings of the astral plane. These beings lose their hold on you. This is what higher development consists of: that human beings become more and more an expression of their own being.
[ 19 ] Just as the astral beings pass through and flow through us in the lymph, so the Venus beings pass through and flow through the food juice. It is not controlled by lower beings, but by higher beings. A higher power is needed to make the composition of the chyle an expression of one's own personality. If you remember that these beings are the companions of the plant souls, the plant egos, you will see that these entities essentially attack the type of food that humans consume. This is why humans differ according to race and nation in different areas of our globe, because they consume different foods. And when humans gradually learn to emancipate themselves from the randomness of food, when they choose food according to the principles of spiritual knowledge, then they gradually gain power over this food juice, they emancipate themselves from these beings that work from outside. That is why such great importance is attached to the food that affects humans in one way or another. What you eat contains the power of certain beings, and how you gain influence over them makes you the ruler of your own organism. In fact, by consciously choosing your food, you drive out the spirits that previously possessed you.
[ 20 ] In fact, humans are only masters of their blood in a certain sense. But they can also gain control over other fluids. Try to recognize how humans attract certain beings through certain foods, and you will understand the significance this has for education, medicine, and other sciences. It is not enough to say that man must perfect himself. One must go into the details of how one can perfect oneself.
[ 21 ] Because they live entirely in external perception, they have an influence on our external perception. It is not irrelevant whether a person passionately directs their eyes and senses toward the disgusting and base, or whether they direct their eyes with a certain attraction toward the beautiful and noble in the world. Depending on this, good or evil Saturn beings gain influence over people.
[ 22 ] With the passion with which a person absorbs any sensory impression, beings creep into him like food juices and lymph. It is never without side effects when you focus your gaze on sensory impressions. With every glance, you take in the deeds of spiritual beings. When you see a beautiful, noble picture, not only does what is visible to you flow into you, but spiritual beings also flow in with what you see. When you listen to sensual music, the spiritual power of Saturnian beings also flows into you. You can then appreciate how complicated life is once you penetrate its spiritual foundations.
[ 23 ] The effect of sensory impressions that we call smell is particularly strong. Through smells, human beings absorb a vast amount of influences from spiritual beings. They can consciously affect a person by conveying the influence of evil beings through smells. Many perfumes would not be used if people knew what effects they had on those around them. In the intrigues of some royal houses, it was not only words that played a role; there were times when personalities knew how to beguile their fellow human beings through the effects of perfume and aromas.
[ 24 ] The most important things in life are beyond the senses, and people live unconsciously, unaware of the effects of spiritual beings to which they are constantly exposed.