The Rudolf Steiner Archive

11. The Coming of Etheric Vision

[ 1 ] In this day and age, the question is often raised as to why the teachings of the humanities must be disseminated precisely now, and why nothing was heard of them in the past—for example, 120 years ago. But this has always been the case, only in a different form than today. In the 17th and 18th centuries, teachings emerged from small societies, but for well-considered reasons, they were not written down by their originators but by other people. Only sparse information found its way out of the secret schools of that time. For example, one can still find books today whose yellowed pages—yellowed on the outside—contain quite marvelous things. One such book is the “Aurea Catena Homeri” mentioned by Goethe. What is written within is regarded by people today—most of all, of course, by the most enlightened—as fantasy and nonsense. But if one approaches this “nonsense” with the tools of spiritual science, something quite different is revealed. There, the greatest secrets are unveiled to those who delve into it. In the past, only a few, only individuals, were able to penetrate this secret science; now there is an unlimited opportunity for all who are led there by the longing of their hearts. Where does this come from, and why may these secrets be brought to the public’s attention precisely now?

[ 2 ] There is probably no era about which it has not been claimed that it is a transitional era. Such claims are made with varying degrees of justification. But especially regarding our present time, in which fundamental events are unfolding, one can rightly claim that it is a transitional age. To understand the deep foundations of the age, it is necessary to build upon known facts. We are heading toward times when the ascent to the higher worlds must take place with clear, clairvoyant consciousness. In 3101 B.C., the ancient clairvoyance of the Atlanteans passed away, and the time came when human beings perceived all things around them through the intellect, which is bound to the brain. This date, of course, should not be taken as an absolute figure, but only as an average. Humanity’s clairvoyant consciousness had to be clouded for a time so that it could fully master the physical plane. Thus began the Minor Kali Yuga, or the Dark Age, which lasted 5,000 years and ended in 1899. Now a time is approaching in which it will be possible for people to once again develop subtle clairvoyant abilities, even without special training. As early as the years 1930 to 1950, there will be people who will say: “I see something like a bright streak of light around the person.” — There will be others who will see something like a dream image rising before them with a strange content. If these people have committed an act, something will appear to them that rises like an image in their soul. This image shows them what action they must take sooner or later to make amends for that act. Now it may happen that a person in whom these abilities arise tells a friend about them, and this friend may then say to him: “Yes, there have always been people who knew something of what you are seeing there. They call it the ‘etheric body of the human being,’ and what appears before people as a dream image, rising up, they call ‘karma.’”

[ 3 ] Spiritual science therefore had to emerge so that this age of etheric clairvoyance—which is replacing the era of the intellect’s dominance, bound as it is to the brain—would not pass unnoticed. And just as Christ had to have a forerunner, so spiritual science had to appear to prepare for this clairvoyant age. Now, however, something may occur that nips these delicate soul faculties in the bud. This danger exists if people do not want to listen to the teachings of spiritual science, if they close themselves off from them. Then people in whom these abilities arise will be scolded as fantasists or fools, and will be locked up in the madhouse. Some people will themselves believe they have had hallucinations; others will be afraid to speak of it, lest they be laughed at and mocked. This can lead to these emerging soul abilities being trampled underfoot. The wise and enlightened people of that time—the word “enlightened” must always be thought of in quotation marks, but truly in quotation marks, not in single quotes—will then say: Look, there once lived people who claimed that in this age, in this period, there would be people with special soul abilities. Where, then, are these people now? We see nothing of the sort. — But that is precisely why the prophecy of spiritual science has nevertheless come true. It is simply that everything can be stifled by rampant materialism. From the souls of today, one will expect an understanding of that nascent, freer, and lighter age.

[ 4 ] Everything that happens in the world is interconnected. The microcosm corresponds to the macrocosm. Let us therefore take a look at the events in the world that are related to us. People are so easily satisfied when they can claim that something is true. For spiritual science, however, it is less important to always emphasize that something is true, but rather that this truth is also significant. For example, so much is said and written about the similarity of the skeletal structure between humans and animals. That is a truth, certainly; there is no objection to it. But there are truths that are far, far more important. This is, for example, a truth that anyone can observe, one that simply presents itself before us, yet is connected to a great cosmic event. It is the truth that the human being is the only creature that walks upright, that has raised itself up. Despite the often-mentioned similarity of human bones to those of the ape, the ape’s upright gait is, after all, a failure. The ape tried to raise itself up, but it did not succeed. Its upright gait is, in fact, a failure. For the upright gait of the human being is connected with the sun and the earth, with their spiritual interaction. The sun and the earth had to separate from one another so that the human being could raise himself up. The animal is earthbound, but the human being has raised himself up; his face is turned upward. He presents himself in a vertical line; with his upright gait, he is a continuation of the earth’s radius. We must feel—and learn to feel—that this truth is of importance.

[ 5 ] Another important instance of correspondence between the macrocosm and the microcosm should be noted. In their outward form, human beings appear either male or female. But it is important to note: We are speaking now only of the human being’s outward appearance, not of their inner being; only of their external characteristics in an incarnation. What contrast in the outer macrocosm corresponds to what appears to us as male and female? — To explain this, we must look out into the cosmos. For there are material substances that have remained behind, that have not adopted the laws of the Sun and Earth, but have remained at the lunar stage. The opposite is the case with the present-day Moon, which is a body that has rushed ahead in its development. As a result, it hardened too much. It had to dry up and freeze over by exceeding its stage of formation. It is a failed future state of Jupiter. This is as if, in life, a child wanted to have the form of an old man. Thus, the Moon has leaped over its own power; it has gone too far; it has killed itself. In general, people swear by a truth that they accept as an abstract proposition; but in concrete terms, this truth appears to them as an illusion. In all theosophical books one finds the statement that the world is an illusion, Maya. Every theosophist recognizes this as truth and has often uttered it. That both the male and the female body are merely an illusion is something that relates to the abstract as the concrete does. It is a fact: neither the male nor the female body is real, with the exception of the head. The female form is not fully developed; the male has passed the stage of development. There is no middle ground. The lagging behind of the female and the overshooting of the male body from the middle ground of development—this is what produces the unreal form. True artists have always sensed this deficiency. Clothing arose from a sublime sense of this fact. The ancient priestly vestments were intended to represent how the human body ought to be. Only sensual beings could turn to the cult of nudity, because they know no higher expression than the body they see before them.

[ 6 ] So there is a lunar body, the Moon, which has gone beyond its evolutionary goal, and there are bodies that have remained at an earlier stage. Such bodies do indeed exist. These are the comets.

[ 7 ] Now you may ask: What does this have to do with man and woman? The moon and the comet are the cosmic expressions of man and woman. The comet brought with it the laws of the moon from earlier times. Comets thus renew the ancient laws of the moon. That is why they also carry hydrocyanic acid, as was only recently established by conventional science but has long been known to esoteric science. For just as carbon and oxygen compounds are necessary on Earth, so were cyanide compounds necessary on the ancient Moon. I explained this as early as 1906 at the Congress in Paris, in the presence of our then-President Olcott and various other witnesses.

[ 8 ] Because women have lagged behind in evolution, their physical nature has remained softer and more pliable; it has not become as materialistic. The brain can be more easily governed by the spirit, whereas men, who have raced ahead in evolution, have difficulty overcoming the rigid matter and the denser brain forces. That is why women are more receptive to all new ideas; the soul takes hold of them, and they can more easily direct their thoughts through the brain, whereas men do not easily set their tough brain particles into motion. Hence, for example, it is entirely justified that there are more women than men in the Theosophical Society, a fact that has often been lamented as a shortcoming by some quarters. But for those men who fear so much the prospect of reappearing as a woman in a later incarnation, this thought may become somewhat more bearable from this perspective.

[ 9 ] Now let us apply the law of correspondence between the macrocosm and the microcosm—the small world and the great world—to another important fact. Just as we follow the daily routine in ordinary life—going to sleep, waking up again, and going about our usual tasks—so it is in the cosmos. There, too, everything follows its usual course; sunrise and sunset repeat themselves at regular intervals. Just as this daily routine is interrupted in a family when a child is born—just as a completely new impulse arises when a new spiritual being enters earthly existence—so does the appearance of a new celestial body, such as a comet, have an effect in the cosmos. All material things are the expression of a spiritual reality, and esoteric science can reveal what lies behind them. The way in which conventional science deals with comets can be compared to a fly’s view of the Sistine Madonna. This fly, as it crawls over the Madonna, sees the colors; it sees that there is red in one place and blue in another, but beyond that it sees nothing. This “fly science”—the term is, of course, to be applied only in relation to what has just been said—knows nothing of the inner laws of which comets are an outward sign. Halley’s Comet has a particular tendency to drive people even further into materialism. Without Halley’s Comet, the encyclopedists’ books would not have been published, and there would have been no writings by Moleschott and Büchner after 1835. Now this fateful sign is appearing again, and if people do not heed the teachings of spiritual science and do not make use of what is offered through them, the spiritual will be trampled underfoot.

[ 10 ] However, there is another significant sign that enables humanity to avoid succumbing to the destructive influence of comets, and whose powers are stronger than those of the comets. This is the spring sign of Pisces, in which we have been for several centuries, whereas at the time of Christ the vernal equinox was in the constellation of Aries. Thus we have entered this sign of spiritual forces that will lift us up, so that through our understanding of them we may develop the abilities we can attain in this Age of Pisces.

[ 11 ] Human beings attain true human dignity only when they grasp, from the depths of their being, the interconnections of spiritual foundations. People should not blindly ignore what the signs in the heavens have to tell them. Wisdom should permeate and illuminate their coexistence in both small and large matters. They can take a cue from the wise system of an anthill. There, the whole has a purpose. Every ant feels itself to be a part of a whole, while humans organize their coexistence according to what is useful to them alone, or what appears useful. They run about in confusion without sense or reason. Human life is truly, in many ways, nonsense. When a person attunes themselves to an inner order, they become ready for what is to be presented as the third fact. The opportunity is given to look out into the etheric realm with newly awakened faculties. There the soul will see what Paul once saw: it will behold the Christ in the etheric body. Without books or documents, this great event—the reappearance of the Christ—stands ready for those who prepare themselves worthily for it. And it is the duty of anthroposophy to proclaim this. There are people who sense that we have overcome the dark age and are moving toward a brighter age. Anthroposophists must consciously tread this path. Anthroposophy must bear its fruits into humanity to enable souls to unite with the Christ, and it makes no difference whether they are still incarnated in the physical body or have shed it, for He has descended to the dead just as much as to the living, and thus the great, momentous event—the appearance of the Christ in the etheric—will have significance for all worlds.