The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Seventh Lecture

[ 1 ] As you have seen in these lectures, we are approaching our goal step by step, while at the same time striving to delve deeper into the subject with each step we take. We last spoke about the nature of pain associated with the course of a disease; however, we also pointed out how, in other cases, the course of a disease—at least in a certain sense—can unfold without being accompanied by experiences of pain.

[ 2 ] Now we must examine the nature of pain in greater detail. We must once again bear in mind that pain can occur as a phenomenon accompanying the illness. For we have already seen from our previous consideration that we must not regard illness and pain as belonging together. We must keep in mind that when pain is associated with an illness, something else must be at play besides the mere fact of being ill. Now we have already pointed out that in that process which takes place during the transition from one incarnation to another—where experiences from earlier incarnations are transformed into causes of illness—the Luciferic principle on the one hand and the Ahrimanic principle on the other are at work.

[ 3 ] What actually causes a person to lay the groundwork for disease processes? Why does a person develop within themselves a tendency toward illness? What leads them, between death and new birth—we have, after all, described how this is the time that brings together the forces causing illness—to prepare such forces that will manifest as illness in the next life? —What leads human beings to do this is that, on the one hand, they can succumb to the temptation of the Luciferic power, and on the other hand, to the temptation of the Ahrimanic power. We already know, of course, what it means to succumb to the Luciferic power. — Everything that works within us as desire, as a trait of selfishness, ambition, pride, vanity—all traits connected with a kind of expansion of our ego to assert itself—all of this is connected with the temptation of the Luciferic powers within us. In other words, if we succumb to the forces that work in our astral body and express themselves in our having selfish desires and passions, then in the corresponding incarnation we commit acts that stem from the temptation of Lucifer. And we then see the result of such actions influenced by Lucifer in the period between death and the new birth, and there we take up within ourselves the tendency to incarnate in such a way that we undergo a process of illness which, if we overcome it, can help us free ourselves once again from the clutches of these Luciferic forces. If, then, the Luciferic forces were not there at all, we would not be able to succumb to the temptations that lead us to take up such forces within ourselves.

[ 4 ] If there were nothing else in life but solely what Lucifer brings about within us—namely, the unfolding of this or that selfish impulse and passion—then we would never actually be able to free ourselves from Luciferic temptations in life. Nor would we be able to free ourselves from them through successive incarnations, for we would fall prey to them again and again. If, for example, we had simply been left to our own devices in the course of Earth’s evolution, and the Luciferic influence had nevertheless been present, we would face the temptations of the Luciferic powers in one incarnation; after death, we would realize what they had led us to, and this would bring about a process of illness; but if nothing else were to come into play, this process of illness in the life in which it plays out would not lead to any particular improvement. It leads us to an improvement only because the forces whose adversary is Lucifer now add something to the whole process. So when we succumb to the Luciferic forces on the one hand, the forces whose adversaries the Luciferic forces are immediately step in as a counteraction, and these now attempt to develop a counterforce through which the Luciferic influence can truly be driven out of us. And these forces, whose adversaries are thus the Luciferic forces, add pain to the process caused by the influence of Lucifer. Thus we must regard pain as something that—if we call the Luciferic powers the evil powers—is inflicted upon us by the good powers, so that through pain we may tear ourselves free from the clutches of the evil powers and no longer fall prey to them. If pain did not occur in the disease process that arises as a consequence of having fallen prey to the Luciferic forces, we would experience within ourselves the thought: It is not so bad after all to fall prey to the Luciferic forces! — And we would have nothing within us that would lead us to use our powers to tear ourselves away from the Luciferic forces. The pain that arises from becoming aware of the astral body’s improper awakening is at the same time what can prevent us from succumbing ever further to the Luciferic forces in this realm where we have already fallen prey to them. Thus, pain becomes our teacher in relation to the temptations of the Luciferic forces.

[ 5 ] Do not say: How can pain be our teacher if we merely feel the pain within ourselves and are completely unaware of its beneficial power? That we are unaware of its beneficial power is merely a consequence of our ego-consciousness. In the consciousness that I have described as lying beneath the ego-consciousness, the process is already taking place, even if the person with their everyday consciousness knows nothing of it: Now I experience pain, and this is the consequence of the compensation given to me by the good powers for my transgressions! — In the subconscious, this is a force that acts as a karmic fulfillment, as an impulse to no longer succumb to the actions, drives, and desires that have just caused this illness.

[ 6 ] Thus we see how karma works, how we fall prey to the Luciferic forces, and how the Luciferic forces bring upon us a disease that manifests in a subsequent incarnation; and we see how benevolent forces add pain to the mere damage to our organs, so that we may have in the pain a means of education lying beneath the surface of our consciousness. Therefore, we can say: wherever pain occurs in connection with an illness, it is a Luciferic power that has caused that illness. Pain is, in fact, a hallmark of the underlying influence of a Luciferic power. — People who like to categorize will feel a need to distinguish between illnesses that are based purely on Luciferic influence and those that are attributable purely to Ahrimanic influence; for in all theoretical pursuits, categorization and the creation of schemas are the most convenient methods, and one believes that through them one has grasped a great deal. But in reality, things do not behave in such a way that they can be grasped by these convenient means. They constantly intersect and merge into one another. And we will also be able to easily understand, when a real disease process is present, that one part can be attributed to Luciferic influence—that is, to things to be found more in the properties of our astral body—and another part, at the same time, to things to be found in the Ahrimanic influence. Thus, no one should believe, when something hurts them, that it is due solely to Luciferic influence. The fact that they are in pain indicates the part of the illness that is attributable to Luciferic influence. But we will understand this even more easily if we ask ourselves: Where does the Ahrimanic influence come from?

[ 7 ] Human beings would not have fallen prey to the Ahrimanic influence at all if they had not first fallen prey to the Luciferic influence. Because human beings took the Luciferic influence into themselves, a certain connection came about between the four human members—the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the I—which would not have come about if Lucifer had not acted and if only the forces had acted of which Lucifer is the opponent. Then human beings would have developed differently. Thus, with regard to the human inner being, the Luciferic principle has caused a disturbance. But it depends on the human inner being how a person allows the outer world to approach them. And just as you cannot see the outer world correctly with an eye in which something is damaged due to an internal defect, so too, through the Luciferic influence, a person is unable to perceive the outer world at all as it truly is. And because there was a reason for human beings not to see the external world as it is, the Ahrimanic influence was able to intrude into this distorted image of the external world, so that Ahriman’s approach to human beings could only have taken place because the Luciferic influence had first been at work. The Ahrimanic influence caused human beings not only to succumb to selfish passions, drives, desires, vanity, pride, and so on, but also to develop organs within the human organism—where egoism was active in this way—that were bound to perceive the external world in a distorted and incorrect manner. Through this, Ahriman was able to intermingle with the distorted images of the external world. Ahriman approached, and as a result, human beings were exposed to this other influence, so that they are not only capable of succumbing to inner temptations, but also of falling into error and—in their assessment of the external world and in their statements about it—into falsehood. Thus, while Ahriman acts from the outside, it is we who have first given him the opportunity to approach us.

[ 8 ] Thus, Ahrimanic and Luciferic influences never actually stand alone. They always interact with one another, maintaining a certain balance. Lucifer pushes outward from within, while Ahriman works inward from without, and in between, the worldview takes shape. If, in any given incarnation, the inner life of the human being becomes stronger—if they are more exposed to inner influences—then, in matters where the inner life acts in such a way that the person is more overcome by pride, vanity, and so on, they will surrender more readily to the Luciferic influence. In an incarnation where a person is less predisposed by their overall karma to yield to inner influences, they will be more easily susceptible to the errors and temptations of Ahriman. This is indeed the case in our lives. As we go through life day by day, we fall prey now to the temptations of Lucifer, now to the temptations of Ahriman. And we oscillate back and forth between these two, who lead us, on the one hand, to become inflated within ourselves, and on the other, to delude ourselves about the outer world.

[ 9 ] It is worth mentioning here—because it is of the utmost importance—that the temptations from both sides must be resisted, especially by those who seek higher development and strive to penetrate the spiritual world, whether by looking beyond the phenomena of the external world into the spiritual realm or by descending mystically into their own inner being. When penetrating the spiritual outer world that lies beyond the physical world, one always encounters the deceptive images conjured up by Ahriman; when a person seeks to descend mystically into their own soul, the temptations of Lucifer are particularly likely to arise. When a person becomes a mystic and strives downward with success, without having previously taken care to develop the character necessary to counteract pride, vanity, and the like, if they succeed in living as a mystic but without particular moral cultivation, then they are all the more likely to succumb to the temptations of Lucifer, who works upward from within into the soul. If, therefore, the mystic has not paid close attention to his moral cultivation, then, if he succeeds in penetrating a little into his inner self, he may run the great risk of invoking the counterproductive force of the Luciferic influence even more strongly than was previously the case, and of becoming even more vain and arrogant than before. That is why it is so necessary to ensure beforehand, through character building, that we have an antidote against the temptations of vanity, delusions of grandeur, and arrogance that approach us in all cases. And we cannot do enough to acquire precisely those qualities that lead to modesty and humility. This is eminently necessary for that aspect of our higher development which we call the mystical. On the other hand, it is necessary for a person to protect themselves against the delusions of Ahriman when they attempt, through a development that leads beyond the phenomena of the external world, to reach the spiritual foundations of things. If they do not strive to develop a character that makes them strong and resilient within, that allows them to stand firmly grounded in their inner being, then it can very easily happen that the person in question—especially if they are fortunate enough to venture into the spiritual world—falls prey to Ahriman, that Ahriman deceives them with illusion upon illusion, hallucination upon hallucination.

[ 10 ] It often happens that people, in a certain sense, “take you at your word.” Because it is so often emphasized that higher development—which seeks to go beyond the appearances of the external world—must be linked to full consciousness, people repeatedly bring you individuals in a semi-somnambulistic state who assure you: “Yes, I perceive the spiritual world, and I do so with full consciousness!” — To this one can only say: If only you didn’t want to be conscious; that would be much wiser! — For people are mistaken about this “consciousness.” It is merely a visual consciousness, an astral consciousness; for if these people were not conscious to some subconscious degree, they would not perceive it. But the point is that when one enters the spiritual world, one must hold one’s ego-consciousness together. But judgment and a clear power of discrimination are bound up with the ego-consciousness! People then lack these for the beings they see in the spiritual world. That they have a consciousness is not particularly remarkable; but that consciousness which is linked to the development of our ego—that is what we must have. Therefore, in the development of vision into the higher worlds, the emphasis is not on people entering a higher world as quickly as possible to see all manner of beings or perhaps hear all manner of voices; rather, the emphasis is on the fact that entering the spiritual world can only be a blessing and a benefit if one sharpens one’s consciousness, discernment, and power of judgment. And this cannot be achieved better than through the study of spiritual scientific truths. Therefore, it is emphasized that engaging with spiritual scientific truths serves as a safeguard against the supposed vision of all manner of figures, over which no power of judgment can be exercised. Anyone who is truly trained in this way will not mistake just any phenomenon for this or that, but will above all be able to distinguish between reality and a phantom image, and above all, they will also be clear that one must be particularly cautious, especially with things that appear as auditory perceptions, because no auditory perception can ever be accurate unless the person in question has passed through the sphere of absolute stillness. And whoever has not first experienced the absolute stillness and silence of the spiritual world can be quite certain that what they perceive are illusions, no matter how sensible they may seem. Only those who have made an effort to sharpen their powers of judgment precisely by attempting to comprehend the truths of the higher worlds—only they can protect themselves against illusions. The methods of external science are not sufficient for this. External science does not provide the kind of sharp, strengthening power of judgment that is necessary to truly discern in a spiritual world. Therefore, one can truly say: When people communicate something from higher worlds without having first taken care to sharpen their powers of judgment—which is possible especially through the study of spiritual science—then such communications are always highly questionable, and they must at the very least always first be verified by those methods acquired through genuine training.

[ 11 ] There is only one power before which Lucifer retreats: that is morality. This is something that burns Lucifer like the most terrible fire. And there is no other means of counteracting Ahriman than the power of judgment and discernment trained through spiritual science. For what we acquire on Earth as sound judgment is something from which Ahriman flees in terror. He has, in fact, no greater aversion to anything than to what we attain through the healthy training of our sense of self. For we shall see that Ahriman belongs to an entirely different realm, far removed from what we develop as our healthy power of judgment. The moment Ahriman encounters what we have attained in our earthly existence as sound judgment, he is seized by a terrible fright, for this is something entirely unknown to him; he has a great fear of it. The more we therefore strive to develop what can be given as healthy power of judgment in the life between birth and death, the more we work against Ahriman. This is particularly evident in all sorts of personalities who are brought to us and who then tell “tall tales” about all the spiritual worlds they have seen there. And if one then makes the slightest attempt to make something clear to these individuals, to teach them understanding and discernment, Ahriman usually has such a strong hold on them that they can hardly respond; and this becomes all the stronger the more Ahriman’s temptations express themselves on the auditory side. There are even more remedies against what manifests in visionary images than against what manifests aurally, such as voices heard and so on. Such people have a great aversion to learning what must be attained for the ego-consciousness between birth and death. They do not like it. But it is not they themselves who dislike this; it is the Ahrimanic forces that drag them away from it. However, if one then brings such a person to the point of developing sound judgment, and they are open to receiving instruction, the following soon becomes apparent. Then the voices and hallucinations cease, because they were previously only Ahrimanic phantoms, and because Ahriman is seized by a terrible fear as soon as he senses: “There, from the human being, comes a healthy power of judgment!”

[ 12 ] Indeed, the best remedy for these particularly harmful conditions—caused by Ahriman—of visual and auditory hallucinations is this: to use every means at our disposal to help people develop a healthy and sound power of judgment. This is extraordinarily difficult for some individuals. For they are in a situation where, if the other power makes things very comfortable for them, that other power guides them. But whoever wishes to drive out this power cannot make things so comfortable for themselves. It is quite difficult to reach such individuals, for they claim that one has taken away from them what once led them up into the spiritual world, whereas in truth one has made them healthy and protected them from these powers gaining ever more and more control over them!

[ 13 ] So we see what the Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces have a strong aversion to. Humility, modesty in human beings—not considering oneself to be more than what sound judgment warrants—that is something Lucifer does not like at all. On the other hand, he is there like flies in a dirty room whenever the qualities of ambition and vanity try to break through. All of this—and especially those things based on false notions about oneself—in turn lead us to prepare ourselves for Ahriman as well. Yet nothing protects us from Ahriman more than truly striving in life to think soundly, as life between birth and death teaches us. And precisely those who stand on the ground of spiritual science have every reason to emphasize, as intensely as possible and time and again, that it does not befit us as earthly human beings to overlook what is meant to be given to us precisely through earthly life. Those who spurn the acquisition of sound judgment and reasonable discernment, and who wish to ascend into a spiritual world without these, essentially wish to withdraw from earthly life. They wish to float above earthly life; they feel that it is actually far too trivial a pursuit for them to concern themselves with all manner of things that might lead to an understanding of earthly life. They consider themselves superior. Yet precisely such a feeling is a new cause for arrogance. That is why we see time and again that personalities who are prone to enthusiasm, who wish to remain untouched by earthly matters and earthly life, refuse to learn “because they are already fully immersed in everything” and do not wish to associate with a movement such as ours. Such people say: Humanity must surely enter the spiritual world!

[ 14 ] Certainly, but there is only one healthy way to enter there, and that is the morality—in the higher sense—achieved on earth, which does not allow us to overestimate ourselves, which does not lead us to a false judgment of ourselves, nor does it allow us to be dependent on our instincts, desires, and passions; and on the other hand, it is a diligent, healthy engagement with the conditions of earthly life, not a desire to float above the conditions of earthly life.

[ 15 ] In this way, we have drawn from the depths of karma something that is connected to the depths of spiritual life. This can be of great value. But nothing drawn from the spiritual world without sound reason is of value for the development of the human being and his or her individuality; nor is anything of value that is drawn from it without morality. This can be seen from the facts that were presented last time and today. And when we see this, we can ask ourselves: Why should the Luciferic influence—precisely because it has been at work since ancient times and has transformed itself into illness and is balanced by pain—why should it not, so to speak, draw the Ahrimanic influence after itself in human beings? And why should not the Ahrimanic influence play a part in what causes us pain and indicates to us the Luciferic course of an illness, precisely as a consequence of the Luciferic influence? But how does the Ahrimanic influence work? And how do the temptations of Ahriman transform into causes of illness? How does this occur in a later incarnation?

[ 16 ] Whatever can be attributed to Ahrimanic influence can ultimately be traced back to Lucifer; but if the Luciferic influence was so strong that it provoked the Ahrimanic influence, then the Ahrimanic influence is the more insidious one. It lies deeper, not only in the transgressions of the astral body, but in those of the etheric body. In a state of consciousness that lies below the consciousness of pain, the Ahrimanic influence manifests itself through a form of damage that need not be accompanied by pain—a damage that, in the organ where it manifests, leads to the organ becoming useless. — Let us suppose that in an incarnation an Ahrimanic influence had been at work and had brought about what an Ahrimanic influence can bring about. The human being now passes through the time between death and new birth—and reappears in a new incarnation. Then it becomes apparent that some organ is affected by the Ahrimanic influence; in other words: In this organ, the etheric body is situated much deeper within than it ought to be; the organ is much more deeply permeated by the etheric body than it should be. In such a case, because of the defective organ, the human being is led to become even more entangled in error—that which Ahriman brings about in the world. With the organ that has been damaged by the Ahrimanic influence—into which the etheric body has penetrated so deeply—the human being, if they were to live out this entire process, would become more deeply entangled in what Ahriman can bring about: in Maya. But since everything that the outer world produces as Maya cannot be taken into the spiritual world, the spiritual world eludes us more and more. For there is only truth there, not illusion! The more we become entangled in the illusion brought about by Ahriman, the more we are driven to immerse ourselves even more deeply in the sensory-outer world, in the illusion of the physical-sensory, than we would do without such a harmful organ.

[ 17 ] But here the opposite effect occurs just as the opposite effect occurs in pain under the influence of Lucifer. The opposite effect now manifests itself in such a way that, at the very moment when there is a danger that we might become too attached to the physical-sensory world and thereby deprive ourselves of too much of what could lead us up into the spiritual world, at that very moment the organ is destroyed, so that it is either paralyzed or rendered too weak to function. A process of destruction thus sets in. So when we see that an organ is being destroyed, we must realize that we actually have benevolent forces to thank for this: the organ is taken from us so that we may find our way back into the spiritual world. It is indeed the case that—when there is no other way—certain forces destroy our organs or endow us with diseased organs so that we are not thrust too deeply into the illusion.

[ 18 ] So, for example, if someone has a liver disease that is not in itself accompanied by painful experiences, we are dealing with the effect of a prior Ahrimanic influence that led to the liver sustaining the damage in question, because otherwise, through the forces associated with the deeper penetration of the etheric body, we would be led too far into Maya if this organ were not taken from us.

[ 19 ] Legends and myths have always held the deepest wisdom and expressed it within themselves. The liver, in particular, is a good example of this. For it is the organ most capable of facilitating a person’s descent into the physical-illusory world. And the liver is at the same time the organ that actually chains us to the earth. Connected to this truth is the fact that in the being who, according to the legend, brought humans the power to enter earthly life and make it truly effective—namely, Prometheus—a vulture gnaws precisely at the liver. A vulture gnaws at the liver, not because this is meant to cause Prometheus particularly deep pain; for in that case, the legend would not correspond to the actual facts. But legends always correspond to physiological facts! The vulture gnaws at the liver because it does not hurt! For it should be pointed out that Prometheus brought humanity something that could entangle it more deeply in the Ahrimanic, were it not for the opposing, balancing effect. Occult records are always in harmony with the truths we proclaim in spiritual science.

[ 20 ] Today I have shown you, purely on the merits of the case, that it is the forces of good that inflict suffering upon humanity in opposition to the influence of Lucifer. Consider this in light of the Old Testament. When the influence of Lucifer took hold—as symbolized by the serpent that seduced Eve—it was precisely in the very area where Lucifer sought to lead humanity that the opponents of Lucifer had to inflict suffering. The power to which Lucifer is an adversary had to come now and declare that from this point on, pain would be brought upon humanity. This is what Yahweh or Jehovah does when he says: “In pain you shall bring forth children!”

[ 21 ] People generally do not know how to interpret these things in the occult documents until they have the spiritual-scientific explanations themselves. Only later does one realize how profound these texts are. Therefore, you cannot expect me to explain these things to you out of thin air—without the necessary background—as if it were a simple matter. In order to even begin discussing the passage, “In pain you shall bring forth children,” one must first consider the concept of karma; for it is only at that specific point that the explanation can be introduced. Therefore, it is of little use to demand an explanation of this or that from the occult texts before one has reached the relevant stage in one’s occult development. And it is always a difficult matter to ask: What does this mean? What does that mean? — One must always wait and be patient until the relevant stage has been reached; explanations alone would achieve nothing.

[ 22 ] Thus we see that, on the one hand, the Luciferic forces are at work in our lives, and on the other hand, those forces whose adversary is Lucifer. Then the Ahrimanic forces act upon our lives, and we must realize that the forces which render our organs useless when we fall prey to Ahrimanic influence are to be counted among the good forces whose adversary is precisely Ahriman.

[ 23 ] If you take as your starting point everything that has just been said, you will be able to look deeply into the complex workings of human nature, and you will come to say to yourself: The Luciferic forces are those that remained behind during the ancient Moon era; today, in the course of our Earth’s evolution, they intervene in human life with forces that are actually lunar forces—forces that, within the world plan corresponding, for example, only to those powers whose adversary is Lucifer, cannot at all play out within our Earth’s evolution. Thus, Lucifer intervenes in the plan of another being.

[ 24 ] But we can now go back to earlier periods of development.

[ 25 ] If, on the one hand, we see that certain beings remained behind on the Moon in their development in order to intervene in human life on Earth, then it may seem plausible to us that beings also remained behind on the ancient Sun, who then played a similar role on the Moon as the Luciferic beings do now on Earth. Today, within the human being, we have something that we can actually describe as a struggle: the struggle taking place between the Luciferic forces, which take up residence in our astral body, and those forces that act upon us through our ego and through our earthly achievements. For the forces whose adversary is Lucifer can, after all, only act upon us through our ego. If we are to acquire clarity and a proper understanding of ourselves, we can do so only with the help of those forces that act upon our ego. To this end, we must already apply our ego. Therefore, we can say: As our ego rebels against the Luciferic forces, Yahweh or Jehovah fights within us against Lucifer; there, that which upholds the good world plan fights against that which rebels against this world plan in its sole validity, and we stand with our innermost being in the midst of this struggle between Lucifer and other beings. We ourselves are the theater of this struggle. And the fact that we are the theater of this struggle draws us into karma—but only indirectly, through the fact that this struggle with Lucifer is taking place. When, on the other hand, we turn our gaze outward, we are drawn into the Ahrimanic forces. There something is taking place that comes from outside, and here Ahriman enters into us.

[ 26 ] We now know that beings lived on the ancient Moon who went through their human stage in a similar way to how we are going through it in the course of Earth’s evolution. In the *Akasha Chronicle* and *Esoteric Science*, you will find these beings referred to as angels, angeloi, or dhyanis; the name is not important. Within these beings, however, a struggle took place at that time similar to the Luciferic struggle within our own being. These beings on the ancient Moon were the scene of a struggle waged by those beings who had remained behind on the Sun. This struggle on the Moon has nothing to do with our inner Self, for on the Moon we did not yet possess our Self. It lies outside the realm in which our I can be involved; it took place on the ancient Moon “in the bosom of the angels.” As a result, these beings became something at that time that they could only become under the influence of other beings who had remained behind in relation to the normal solar evolution and who played the same role for the angels then as the Luciferic beings play for us today. And these were the Ahrimanic beings who lagged behind during the solar evolution just as the Luciferic beings did during the lunar evolution. Therefore, we can only approach these beings indirectly. But it was Ahriman who was, so to speak, the tempter in the bosom of the Angeloi, and he worked within them. Through him, the Angeloi became what they subsequently became, and they brought over what they had become through Ahriman just as they brought over what they had achieved in goodness.

[ 27 ] The gift we have received from Lucifer is the ability to distinguish between good and evil, to develop the capacity for free decision-making, and to attain free will. This can only be achieved through Lucifer. These beings, however, have attained something and brought it with them into earthly existence, about which we can say: Just as the Angeloi now surround us as spiritual beings, so they prepared themselves for their present existence through the Ahrimanic struggle in their souls during the time of the ancient lunar evolution. What these beings have gone through and what effects they carry within themselves from what they have gone through—this is none of our business in our innermost self; we are not involved in it with our self. — We shall see how we come to this indirectly, for the Ahrimanic influence does indeed work within us once more. — What these beings have attained under the influence of Ahriman are certain effects for which they absorbed the causes during their Lunar existence. During their lunar existence, these beings absorbed something through the Ahrimanic influence, which they carried into our earthly existence. Let us try to find in our earthly existence what may appear to us as such an effect of the Ahrimanic struggle of that time.

[ 28 ] If this Ahrimanic struggle had not taken place on the ancient Moon, these beings would not be able to carry into our earthly existence what belonged to the ancient lunar existence. For that would have ceased after the old Moon had perished. By taking in the Ahrimanic influence, the Angeloi became entangled in the lunar existence, just as we are entangled in earthly existence through the Luciferic influence. They have taken what is of the lunar element into their innermost being and have carried it over into our earthly existence. Through this, they have become capable of bringing about precisely that which must be brought about in our earthly existence so that our Earth does not fall entirely under the influence of Lucifer. Our Earth would have to fall entirely under the influence of Lucifer if this fact—which corresponds to the angels’ struggle with Ahriman on the Moon—had not been brought into our earthly existence.

[ 29 ] What, then, are the processes in earthly existence that we call normal? When our present solar system was organized in accordance with the Earth’s purpose, what we see as the regular movements of the Sun, the Earth, and the other planets came into being—movements that bring us day and night, cause the seasons to follow one another in a regular pattern, give us sunshine and rain, allow our crops to thrive in the fields, and so on. These are orders that repeat themselves again and again according to the rhythm of the cosmos that has developed for the present Earth existence, after the Lunar existence has descended into twilight. But within Earth existence, Lucifer is at work. And we shall see that he is active in far more ways than just in the realm where we have already been able to trace him—in human beings themselves, where he has indeed chosen his most important arena. But even if Lucifer were present only within earthly existence, and merely through all the orders that arise from the regular course of the planets around the sun, through the alternation of summer and winter, rain and sunshine, and so on, human beings would fall into what we might call “Luciferic temptation.” If human beings were to receive everything that can come to them from the ordered cosmos—what the regular, rhythmic movements of the solar system bring forth—if only the laws appropriate to our present cosmos were to prevail, then human beings would fall prey to the Luciferic influence, would prefer the good life to what they ought to attain for their cosmic salvation, would prefer the regular course to what they ought to strive for.

[ 30 ] Therefore, counterforces had to be created. Counterforces had to come into play, arising from the fact that processes which were highly beneficial and normal for the ancient Moon became intertwined with the regular cosmic processes of our earthly life; yet today, when they act upon earthly existence, they are abnormal and endanger the regular course of the Earth. These influences manifest in such a way that they, so to speak, correct what, if the mere rhythm were present, would arise as a tendency toward a life of ease, as comfort and opulence; and such forces reveal themselves to us, for example, in what storms forth as violent hail. And when that which would otherwise be created under the regular forces of the Earth is destroyed, a correction is brought about in such a case that has a beneficial effect on the whole, even if human beings do not initially recognize it, because there is a higher rationality than that which human beings comprehend. When the hail storms into the fields, we can say: On the old Moon, these forces that storm in as hail were beneficent forces, just as today those forces that work beneficently in rain and sunshine. Today they storm in so that a correction may be created for what the Luciferic influence would otherwise bring about. And as the regular course continues, they storm in with ever greater intensity to bring about even more correction. Everything that leads to regular further development belongs to the forces of the Earth itself. When the volcano spews out its lava, forces are at work within it that were brought over from the old Moon as delayed forces, so that they might bring about correction in Earth life. So it is with earthquakes and with elemental events in general. And we can see that much of what comes from outside finds its reasonable justification in the overall course of development. How this relates to human ego-consciousness, we shall yet see; whatever appears unsatisfactory in today’s lecture will be balanced out by this tomorrow.

[ 31 ] But we must make it clear to ourselves that all these things represent only one aspect of human existence, of earthly existence, and of cosmic existence in general. And if, on the one hand, we say that when an organ is destroyed, it is due to the beneficial effects of spiritual forces, and if we have now discovered that even the entire course of Earth’s development must be corrected again by forces from the old lunar existence, then we must now ask: What, then, of the fact that we, as Earth beings, must strive to bring about a correction on the other side for the harmful influences of the old lunar forces? — We can already surmise that, as Earth beings, we must not exactly long for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, that we must not destroy our own organs ourselves in order to support the beneficial effect of the spiritual forces. But we can also say to ourselves—and this is certainly justified—that when an epidemic breaks out somewhere, it brings about something that humanity is actually seeking, so that a balance may be restored within it. And we can assume that humanity is driven into certain circumstances to experience harm, through the overcoming of which it approaches perfection.

[ 32 ] But what about hygiene and sanitation measures? Couldn’t someone say: So epidemics might actually have a very positive effect? Is it not wrong, then, to reduce the likelihood of such influences occurring through all kinds of health-promoting facilities and disease-preventive measures? Someone might conclude that we should do nothing to mitigate natural events, and might justify this by saying that it is entirely in line with the arguments presented today and yesterday.

[ 33 ] We will see that this is not the case, but again, only under certain conditions. For it is only now that we will be properly prepared to understand, when we next examine the circumstances, how beneficial influences can actually cause damage to an organ—so that we do not fall prey to the effects of Maya— and, on the other hand, to become aware of the effect we bring about when we shield ourselves from the impact of such beneficial influences by taking sanitary and hygienic measures against disease. — We shall see that we are here at a point where human beings so often find themselves: when an apparent contradiction arises and the full force of that contradiction drives them, they are close to reaching a point where the Ahrimanic forces can exert a great influence upon them. Nowhere is the possibility of succumbing to delusions so close at hand as now, when we have entered such a bottleneck. And it is good that we have now entered it; for now we can say: It is benevolent forces that render an organ unusable, for this is a counteraction against Ahriman; thus it must now be the pests of humanity that do not demand what one might call “benevolent counteractions against the Ahrimanic forces.” For hygienic measures and the like would restrict this benevolent counteraction.

[ 34 ] We are at an impasse. And it is good that we have been led into this contradiction, so that we may reflect on the fact that such contradictions are possible and can even serve as a valuable training for our minds. For once we have seen how we can extricate ourselves from this contradiction, we will have accomplished something of our own accord that can give us the strength to resist the deceptions of Ahriman.