The Rudolf Steiner Archive

24. The Rosicrucian Esoteric Doctrine of the Evolution of the Cosmos

[ 1 ] After Dr. Steiner had given an overview of how to gain consciousness in higher realms the previous afternoon, this time he spoke in detail about the results of clairvoyant research into cosmic development. Dr. Steiner outlined the following very briefly:

[ 2 ] First of all, the esoteric teachings of the Rosicrucians should not be seen as different from other teachings. They present only one particular aspect of the truth that meets the demands of certain individuals. They are one side of a mountain that has a summit where all the mountain slopes come together.

[ 3 ] The Rosicrucian teaching is, however, best suited to the man of the modern world, in which industry and the struggle for material things come to the fore and the intellect rules. Since the year 1400, human brains have been changed by the transformation of the astral and etheric bodies, and the teachings of the Messenger of the White Lodge, known as Christian Rosenkreutz, also date from this time. The main idea is the intimate connection between man and the world, microcosm and macrocosm, both forming an inseparable whole. Through the conscious “I am,” man distinguishes himself from all lower beings in creation.

[ 4 ] The material body of man is the oldest and therefore the most perfect. The higher bodies do not yet have such a perfect organization, but one day the whole four-membered human being - consisting of I, the astral, the etheric and the coarse material body - must become just as perfect as the perfectly organized coarse material body. The development of the physical body begins on our planet in the state of Saturn, that is, on the first planetary chain. The etheric body begins its development on the second chain, when our planet was in the state of the sun. The astral body was born on the third chain, when our planet was in the state of the moon; and finally the I, which was only formed on this earth in the human being and is therefore the youngest link.

[ 5 ] The four successive states of Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth correspond to the four elements of fire, air, water and earth.

[ 6 ] The first sphere could be compared to a mirror of warmth that reflected everything it received, in which the spirits of will, wisdom, movement and form were mirrored, and the resulting mirror images were the germs of the future human being. In the Saturn state, the human body was nothing but a particle in a conglomeration. The first state of consciousness was very dull, but all-encompassing, like a stone in the material realm.

[ 7 ] After the pralaya came the solar condition, here the gaseous formation occurs. The fire spirits then went through the human condition, and the future human being received his ethereal body. The human bodies looked like mirages, the consciousness was that of the plant, that is, the dreamless consciousness of sleep.

[ 8 ] In the moon state, the astral bodies were added, and the liquid formation arose. Consciousness reached the third state, image consciousness, the imaginative.

[ 9 ] Something special about this third period is that at a certain moment a part of the planet split off, taking with it the rapidly developing beings. This part became a sun; the old moon remained behind with the slower developing beings, the people of today. The moon also became denser, but there was no mineral kingdom yet. The moon can best be compared to a mass of spinach. Mountains and valleys were plant-like. On each following chain, a lower realm was created by those who were left behind, so that starting with man, the fourth realm or mineral realm did not arise until the earth period.

[ 10 ] In this state of the earth, man finally received the ego, and a slower pace of development was adopted. The sun, the area of much faster development, emerged from our earth during the second root race; the moon, the area of crystallization of all development, emerged during the period of the third root race. In the first three rounds of the earth chain, the earth, sun and moon were connected.

[ 11 ] On Earth, development progressed at a moderate pace, and in the period of the third root race, conditions had become such that man could receive the I.

[ 12 ] Now the speaker briefly outlined the higher states of our planet, that is, the three later chains, which correspond to the Venus, Mercury and Vulcan states. In the Venus state, the higher manas is developed, in the Mercury state, budhi, while atma is unfolded in the Vulcan state. From the planets that had already reached this higher stage of development, guides and teachers came to our Earth to help humanity.

[ 13 ] By considering the organs of the material body, the speaker pointed out that they were not all the same age. The heart, for example, is very old; the foundation for it was laid first. The reproductive organs, on the other hand, are younger and were only developed in a plant state.

[ 14 ] In summary, the Rosicrucian esoteric doctrine regards the human being as a microcosm, a product of the macrocosm; everything that is revealed in the macrocosm must be able to be found in it.

[ 15 ] At the end of the lecture, some questions were asked, in response to which Dr. Steiner gave his view of the composition and development of life in the planetary chains, whereby a very different view was given of the theory of the chains, rounds and races than we had been accustomed to until now, so that a great deal of adaptability was needed to think one's way into this way of thinking.