The Earth As Being with Life, Soul, and Spirit

By Rudolf Steiner
GA 181
Translated from shorthand reports unrevised by the lecturer. Lectures 8 and 9 of 21 from
the volume: Dying Earth and Living World/Cosmos. The volume of the Complete Edition
of the wors of !udolf "teiner containin# the ori#inal $erman te%t of the this lecture&
amon# twenty'one others& is entitled: Erdensterben und Weltleben. Anthroposophische
Lebensgaben. Bewustseins-otwendig!eiten "uer #egenwart und $u!un%t. ()o. 181 in
the Bibliographical &urvey& 19*1+.
This En#lish edition of the followin# lectures is published by permission of the 'udol%
&teiner achlassverwaltung& ,ornach& "wit-erland.
Copyri#ht . 198*
This e.Te%t edition is provided throu#h the wonderful wor of:
The Golden Blade
The Earth As Being with Life, Soul, and Spirit: Lecture 1
Rudolf Steiner
(assages %rom two lectures given in Berlin) *+th ,arch and -st April -.-/
/rom notes unrevised by the lecturer.
0ublished by ind permission of the 'udol% &teiner achlassverwaltung& ,ornach& "wit-erland&
and in a#reement with the !udolf "teiner 0ress.
Berlin) *+th ,arch
1nyone who has ri#htly understood what was brou#ht forward in recent lectures&
describin# how the human soul can determine its own relationship to the super'sensible
worlds& and how it can wor freely at this relationship& need not be disturbed because it is
also true that man is dependent upon the universe& upon the entire environment. 2uman
life really swin#s to and fro between these two thin#s 3 the free establishment of a
relationship to the super'sensible world& and the dependence on the environment& the
entire universe 3 notably because man is bound between birth and death to a particular
physical body. 4ne part of this dependence upon the universe we shall consider in these
days in a special connection 3 a connection that can be near to the human soul at the
present time.
/rom much that you have made your own of spiritual science it will have become clear to
you that our entire earth& which we as whole humanity inhabit& is a ind of #reat livin#
bein#& and that we ourselves are included as members within this #reat livin# bein#. 5n
various lectures 5 have spoen about particular livin# phenomena of this bein#& our earth.
5n the most manifold ways is the life of the earth e%pressed. 5n this way& amon# others:
that certain relationships e%ist between particular re#ions of the earth and man& as dweller
on the earth. 6ust as it is a truth& thou#h a very superficial one& that humanity is a sin#le
whole& it is also a truth that the parts of humanity spread out over the re#ions of the earth
are differentiated 3 not only throu#h the many influences investi#ated by e%ternal
science and #eo#raphy& but throu#h much more mysterious influences comin# from
particular re#ions of the earth7s surface. There do e%ist certain inner relationships& not
lyin# entirely on that surface of thin#s which is scientifically investi#ated& between man
and the soil he inhabits& the part of the earth from which he sprin#s. This can be best seen
from the fact that such relationships develop 3 not in shorter& but in lon#er historic
periods. This could be seen in the alteration under#one by European people who mi#rate
to 1merica and settle there. 4f course the time since 1merica was settled by Europeans is
still so short that this appears at present only in indications 3 but it is stron#ly and
definitely indicated. The outer form of European people chan#es& throu#h life in 1merica
not at once& but in the course of #enerations. 5n the formation of arms and hands& for
instance& and in the face& Europeans #radually come to resemble the old 1merican
5ndians. 8ut you should not picture this crudely& but in sli#ht indications.
"uch thin#s in a broad way call our attention to the connections between the mi#hty
or#anism of the earth and its separate members& its particular inhabitants. 9e now that
man as he lives on the earth is connected with super'sensible bein#s& with the bein#s of
the hi#her 2ierarchies. 9e now that what is called the :nation'soul7 is not the empty
abstraction of which materialistic people spea& but a ind of 1rchan#el'bein#. 9e need
only read the Christiania cycle on the /ol'"ouls ;0ublished in En#lish by the !udolf "teiner
0ress. ()ew edition& winter 19<=+> and we shall find that the nation'soul is a real bein#& in
which a man is as it were imbedded. 1lto#ether& man is continually connected with the
hi#her and lower bein#s of the 2ierarchies. Today& and in the followin# days& we shall
consider this connection from one particular point of view 3 as is always necessary with
such thin#s.
5t is necessary to be clear that for the spiritual'scientific observer of the world what is
called in a materialistic sense :matter7 does not e%ist? this too is resolved into spirit& if it is
observed in a really thorou#h'#oin# way. 5 have often used a comparison to mae clear
how these thin#s are. Tae water? when it free-es& it is ice& and loos @uite different. 5ce is
ice& water is water? but ice is also water& only in a different form. 5t is much the same with
what is called :matter7? it is spirit in another form& spirit that has passed into another form
as water does in ice. 9hen we spea in spiritual science of material processes& we are
looin# at somethin# spiritual then too. 1ctive spirit is everywhere. That active spirit
comes to e%pression in material processes as well belon#s to one particular form in which
spirit becomes manifest. 8ut it is active spirit everywhere. 9hen we are considerin# more
material phenomena& we are still describin# ways in which the spirit wors& where these
appear in some realm as e%ternal processes& more or less materially.
5n man there are continually material processes #oin# on& which are really spiritual
processes. Aan eats. 2e taes up into his own or#anism substances from the e%ternal
world. "olid materials& which are transformed into li@uids& are taen into the human
or#anism and thereby altered. Aan7s or#anism consists indeed of all possible substances&
which he taes from outside? but he does not only tae them into himself& as he does so
they #o throu#h a certain process. 2is own warmth is conditioned by the warmth he
receives and by the processes throu#h which the substances he consumes pass. 9e
breathe& and thereby tae in o%y#en? but not only this& for since we are involved by the
process of breathin# with what happens in the e%ternal world& in the atmosphere& we
participate too in the rhythm of the outer world. (5 have even once e%pressed this in
fi#ures.+ Thus with the rhythmic processes which #o on in our own or#anism we stand in
a definite relationship with the environment. Throu#h these processes& which are such
that e%ternal processes of nature play into our bein# and wor on in it& it comes about that
the influences become effective& which are e%ercised on individual men for instance by
the nation'spirit. 9e do not only breathe in o%y#en. "omethin# spiritual lives in the
breathin# of o%y#en& and in it the nation'spirit. 9e do not only eat? substances are
transformed in us& and this material process is also a spiritual one. 1s we tae in and
transform substances& the nation'spirit can live in this process. The life of the nation'spirit
with us is not merely somethin# abstract& but is e%pressed in our daily activity and the life
of our or#anism. The material processes are at the same time an e%pression of the ways in
which spirit wors. The nation'spirit has to mae this detour& enterin# us throu#h
breathin#& nourishment and so on.
The particular nation'spirits& which have been described in 0he ,ission o% the "ol!-&ouls
and differentiated from other points of view& wor on men in different ways& which
concern the processes 5 have Bust indicated. 5n this way the nations of the north ac@uire
their particular character. This depends on the nation'spirits. 5f we try to observe by
means of spiritual science alon# what paths the particular nation'spirits wor& the
followin# results& amon# others& are obtained.
Aan breathes. Throu#h this he stands in a continuous connection with the surroundin#
air? he breathes it in and breathes it out. 1nd when in a particular case the nation'spirit&
throu#h the confi#uration of the earth and throu#h the most varied relationships& chooses
out the path of the breathin# 3 and calls forth the special form and character of the
nation in @uestion throu#h the breathin# 3 then it can be said :the nation'spirit wors
through the air upon this nation7. This is actually the case& in an outstandin# de#ree& with
those peoples who at one time or another have inhabited the 5talian peninsula. Cpon the
5talian peninsula the air is the medium for the effects of the nation'spirit upon men. 5t can
be said: the air of 5taly is the means throu#h which the nation'spirit impresses his
influence on the human bein#s who inhabit the 5talian peninsula& to #ive that particular
confi#uration& throu#h which they are :the 5talian people7 or were :the !oman people7
and so on. 9hat are apparently material effects can be studied in their spiritual
foundations& on the ways of spiritual science.
5t can be ased: how is it with the other nation'spiritsD 9hat means are chosen by the
nation'spirits& in order to brin# to e%pression national characteristics& if we loo at other
re#ions of the earthD 1mon# the peoples who have inhabited presently /rance& or who
inhabit it today& the nation'spirit taes a path throu#h the fluid element& throu#h all that
does not only enter our bodies as fluid& but wors as fluid within them. Throu#h the
nature of what comes into contact with& and wors upon& the human or#anism& the nation'
spirit vibrates and hovers& determinin# in this way the national character in @uestion. This
is the case amon# the peoples who have inhibited present'day /rance or inhabit it today.
2owever& we do not #rasp the matter fully& if we loo at this relationship of man to his
environment only from one side? to do so would produce a very one'sided picture. Eou
must remember what 5 have often said? man is twofold& the head and the rest of the
or#anism have their distinct activities. The influence which 5 have Bust described& upon
the 5talian and /rench peoples& wors only upon the remainder of the or#anism& outside
the head? and from the head there proceeds another influence. 4nly throu#h the co'
operation of the influence from the head& and that from the rest of the or#anism& there
arises what is e%pressed in the national character in its completeness. The influence from
the head is neutralised& so to spea& by the influence from the rest of the or#anism. Thus
what the inhabitant of 5taly breathes in throu#h the air 3 what throu#h the breathin#
#ives a special character to the rest of the or#anism& outside the head 3 with this& for
him& there wors from the head the confi#uration of the nervous system of the head& in its
spiritual differentiation& in so far as man is :nerve'man of the head7. 3 5n /rance this is
different. 9hat lives in the or#anism as rhythm is a particular rhythm for the or#anism as
a whole& and a special one for the head? the head has its own rhythm. 9hile in 5taly it is
the nerve activity of the head which wors to#ether with the influence of the air upon
man& in /rance it is the rhythmic movement of the head& the vibration of rhythm in the
head& which wors to#ether with the influence of the fluid element in the or#anism. Thus
the national character is built up 3 throu#h the particular way in which the activity of the
individual& in the head& Boins forces with what is effected by the nation'spirit& worin#
from the environment.
1s the nation'spirit of 5taly throu#h the air& that of /rance throu#h the watery element& so
the nation'spirit of 8ritain #oes throu#h all that is earthy& above all throu#h salt and its
compounds in the or#anism. 9hat is solid is the chief thin#. 9hile the fluid element is at
wor in the /rench national character& we have in 8ritain the effects of the solidifyin#&
saltin# element& passin# throu#h everythin# which comes into the or#anism throu#h air
and nourishment. This produces the special character of the 8ritish people. 8ut here too
somethin# wors from the head neutralisin# what comes from the environment. 6ust as
there is rhythm both in the rest of the or#anism and in the head& so too there is di#estion&
metabolism& both in the rest of the or#anism and in the head. The way in which the head
performs its metabolism& the particular character of this e%chan#e of substances& Boins
forces with the saltin# element in the or#anism& and this brin#s about the 8ritish national
character. 1s the nation'soul wors throu#h the saltin# element& there comes to meet it&
from the head& the head7s peculiar metabolism. Eou will be able to study all the special
traits of a national character& if you tae into consideration these particular
metamorphoses in the way in which the nation'souls wor.
9ith 1merica it is different a#ain? there a sub'earthly element is at wor. 9hile with
8ritain we have to do with the earthy& the salty& in the 1merican national character a sub'
earthly element has its effect& somethin# vibratin# under the earth? this has there an
especial influence upon the or#anism. The nation'spirit brin#s about the national
character of the 1merican people by worin# upwards throu#h the sub'earthly ma#netic
and electric currents. 1nd a#ain& somethin# comes from the head to meet this influence&
to neutralise the effect of the sub'earthly ma#netic and electric currents? there rays out to
meet it& real human 9ill. That is the peculiarity of the 1merican national character. 9hile
with the 8ritish national character we must say: it depends essentially upon the earthy
element& in so far as man taes this into his or#anism& which then enters into mutual
relationship with the metabolism of the head 3 in the same way& the will that comes to
e%pression in this people& amon# the 1mericans& wors with what comes up from the sub'
earthly& shapin# thus the 1merican national character.
F F F
5f we observe the East& which will #radually arise out of chaos ;Aarch 1918 (Tr.+> and shine
out in its own true form 3 there one encounters somethin# peculiar. 1s the nation'spirit
wors throu#h the air for the 5talian character& for the /rench people throu#h the water&
for the En#lishman throu#h the earthy element and for the 1merican from the sub'earthly&
so for the !ussian& the "lav element& the nation'spirit wors throu#h light. 5n the
vibratin# li#ht the nation'spirit si#nificant in the East is in fact at wor. 9hen at last what
will #row in the future in the East has freed itself from its embryonic wrappin#s& it will
become evident that the nation'spirit in the East wors @uite differently from the nation'
spirit in the 9est. Thou#h 5 must say :the nation'spirit wors throu#h the li#ht7 3 the
curious thin# is that he does not wor directly throu#h the li#ht vibratin# to'wards us? he
wors throu#h the li#ht shinin# down into the #round& and reflected bac by it. 5t is this
li#ht arisin# bac from the earth which is used by the nation'spirit with the !ussian& in
order to wor upon him. 8ut this does not wor on the or#anism in #eneral& but upon the
head itself& on the mood of thou#ht& on the way in which mental pictures and impressions
are formed& and so on. The way in which the nation'spirit wors is here Bust the opposite
of that in the 9est& where he wors from the rest of the or#anism& and somethin#
encounters him from the head. 5n the East he wors throu#h the li#ht. The li#ht that
streams bac from the #round is medium for the nation'spirit& and this wors principally
upon the head. 1nd what here wors bac& comes from the rest of the or#anism&
particularly from the or#anism of the heart. 5t comes in the opposite direction& towards
the head& and alters the influence which comes from there. (Today it is still in chaos& in
embryonic wrappin#s.+ 5t is the rhythm of the breathin#& which beats up towards the
head& and neutralises what comes from the nation'spirit on the detour throu#h li#ht.
9hat comes out in this way& in the East that is nearest to us& is present in a still #reater
de#ree when we #o further eastwards. That is the special @uality of the 1siatic East? that
the nation'spirit partly still wors throu#h the li#ht taen up by the #round and thrown
bac by it& worin# on the head. 4r the nation'spirit wors as well throu#h somethin#
that is no lon#er li#ht& that is indeed not visible at all? the harmony of the spheres& which
vibrates throu#h everythin#& and which for a spiritual humanity of the 1siatic East is
e@uivalent to the effect of a nation'spirit 3 when the nation'spirit wors directly throu#h
the harmony of the spheres& which however is reflected by the earth and wors upon the
head. 1#ainst this there wors the rhythm of the breath? in this lies the mystery of the fact
that the seeers for the spirit in the East have always sou#ht throu#h a special trainin# of
the breathin# their connection with the spirit. 5f you study Eo#a& you will see that it
claims to develop the breathin# in a special way. This depends upon the fact that the
individual as a member of humanity 3 not as separate individual 3 sees to find
spirituality throu#h the nation'spirit? he sees it in the way which is really founded in his
national character. Thus the further we #o to the East& the more we find this. )aturally it
could be shown how somethin# of this sort is e%pressed in fine variations of such
nationally characteristic effects& and also in distortions of these effects& deviations from
them& in which entire peoples and races share& when there are disharmonies& for e%ample&
in the accord between the effect of the head and the effect of the rest of the or#anism ...
2ow is it with the peoples of Aiddle EuropeD 9e are speain# more of #eo#raphical
relationships& and are not considerin# :Aiddle Europe7 from a social or political point of
view. 1 central Europe is meant to which /rance and 5taly do not belon#. 5t is the
peculiarity of the nation'soul bein# that is at wor in Aiddle Europe that its effects come
3 as 5 have described for other re#ions that these come throu#h air& water& what is of the
nature of salt& and so on 3 immediately throu#h warmth. The nation'spirit chooses in
Aiddle Europe the path throu#h warmth. )ow this is not entirely fi%ed& but can have
individual variations. There can be human bein#s in Aiddle Europe amon# whom this
effect of the nation'spirit can be different? sometimes upon the rest of the or#anism&
sometimes upon the head. 1nd accordin# to whether the warmth comes directly from the
air outside& or throu#h food or throu#h the breathin#. This is all a medium for the nation'
spirit. 9hat comes to meet this influence is a#ain warmth. Thus in Aiddle Europe
warmth as an e%ternal influence is a medium for the nation'spirit& and what comes to
meet it is a#ain individual warmth& comin# from within. 9hat wors in the or#anism as
warmth& throu#h the nation'spirit& is encountered by the head7s own warmth. 5f the
nation'spirit7s warmth wors throu#h the head& the warmth of the rest of the or#anism
streams to meet it. 9armth wors towards warmth 3 and wors especially in such a way
that it depends mainly upon the #reater or sli#hter activity of the senses& the capacity of
perception. 1 man of livelier spirit& who loos at the thin#s around him lovin#ly& develops
more warmth of his own? a man who is hasty and superficial& who does not feel much
when he perceives& but passes everythin# by& develops less warmth of his own. This life
with the environment& when a human bein# has a heart& or an open eye& for what is
around him 3 this is what comes to meet the warmth which wors throu#h the nation'
spirit& so that warmth encounters warmth. That is the peculiarity of the way in which the
nation'spirit wors in Aiddle Europe& and much in the character of its people depends on
this. /or warmth is so intimately related to warmth. The other ways of worin# are not so
closely related. 9ill is not in the same way related to electricity& the salt'process is not so
closely related to the metabolism of the head& or the other influences which have been
described. 9armth produces the European character which is also e%pressed in the
capacity to be absorbed into all sorts of thin#s. (This is not a matter of value Bud#ments
3 anyone can re#ard it as he lies& as virtue or fault.+ 9armth meetin# warmth? this
produces malleability& plasticity& which can find its way into everythin#& includin# other
national characters. 5f we study history& it shows how the particular $erman tribes have
been absorbed in other peoples& have adopted another element.
/rom what has been said today the #reat contrast between the 1siatic East and 1merica
becomes most evident. Li#ht& and even what lies beyond li#ht in the ethereal& is what the
nation'spirit uses in the East to approach man& althou#h this li#ht shines bac from the
earth? while in the 9est it is the sub'earthly element. This can lead us deeply into the
or#anic and psychic life of the earth'or#anism in its association with man.
F F F
The Earth As Seen y the !ead
!udolf "teiner
(assages %rom two lectures given in Berlin) *+th ,arch and -st April -.-/
Berlin) -st April -.-/
#olden Blade -./1
/rom notes unrevised by the lecturer.
0ublished by ind permission of the 'udol% &teiner achlassverwaltung& ,ornach& "wit-erland&
and in a#reement with the !udolf "teiner 0ress.
... 0icture what the universe is& apart from the earth& if re#arded by the Copernican world'
conception alone: a set of calculationsG 5t cannot be this for spiritual science& but must be
somethin# which is presented to spiritual nowled#e. 9hy do we have a #eolo#y which
believes that the earth has only developed throu#h the purely mineral worldD 8ecause the
Copernican world'conception had& as a matter of course& to produce the present'day
materialistic #eolo#y. 5t has nothin# in it that could show how the earth is to be thou#ht
of& from the cosmos& or from the spiritual& as a bein# with soul and spirit. 1 world thou#ht
of in Copernican terms could only be a dead earthG 1 livin#& ensouled& spiritually
permeated earth has to be conceived from another cosmos 3 really from another cosmos
3 than that of the Copernican view. )aturally& each time only a few characteristics of the
bein# of the earth can be #iven& as it appears when it is looed at from the universe.
5s that an entirely unreal conception? to picture the earth as seen from the universeD 5t is
not unreal& but very real. 5t occurred once to 2erman $rimm& but he immediately
apolo#ised& when he had written about it. 5n an essay written in 18H8 he said that one
could ima#ine 3 but he remars at once :5 do not want to put forward an article of faith&
but a fantasy7 3 that the human soul& when it is freed from the body& could move freely
in the cosmos about the earth& and would then in this free movement observe the earth.
Then what happens on the earth would appear to man in @uite a different li#ht& thins
2erman $rimm. Aan would #et to now every event from another point of view. /or
e%ample& he would loo into human hearts :as into a #lass bee'hive7. The thou#hts arisin#
in the human heart would appear as if out of a #lass bee'hiveG That is a beautiful picture.
1nd then one could ima#ine: this human bein#& who has floated round the earth for a
time& and observed it from outside& mi#ht come to incarnate a#ain on earth. 2e would
have father and mother& a native country and everythin# that there is on earth 3 and
would then have to for#et everythin# that he had seen from another point of view. 1nd if
he was a historian& for instance& in the present'day sense (2erman $rimm at this point
writes in a subBective wayG+ he could not help for#ettin# the other 3 for with the other
way of looin# at thin#s one cannot write historyG
This is a conception which stron#ly approaches the reality. 5t is @uite ri#ht that the human
soul is as if floatin# around the earth& between death and a new birth& but 3 in a way
conditioned by armic connections& as 5 have often described 3 loos down at the earth.
Then the soul has the definite feelin# that the earth is an ensouled and spiritually
permeated or#anism 3 and the preBudiced view ceases& that it is somethin# without a
soul& only somethin# :#eolo#ical7. 1nd then the earth becomes somethin# very much
differentiated? it becomes& for observation between death and a new birth& differentiated
in such a way that for instance the 4rient appears otherwise than the 1merican 4ccident.
5t is not possible to spea with the dead about the earth& as one speas about it with
#eolo#ists? for the dead do not understand #eolo#ical conceptions. 8ut they now: when
from cosmic space the East& from 1sia until far into !ussia& is observed& then the earth
appears as if wrapped in a bluish radiance 3 bluish& blue to violet? such is the earth seen
from this side of cosmic space. 5f one comes to the 9estern hemisphere& if one loos at it
where it is 1merica 3 it appears more or less in burnin# red. Eou have there a polarity of
the earth& seen from the cosmos. The Copernican world'conception can of course not of
itself provide this 3 it is another way of seein#& from another point of view. /or him who
has this point of view it becomes comprehensible: this earth& this ensouled earth'or#anism
shows itself outwardly otherwise in its eastern half& otherwise in its western? in the east it
has its blue coverin#& in the west somethin# lie a #lowin# out of its interior& hence the
reddish& burnin# #low. There you have one of the e%amples of how man can be #uided
between death and a new birth by what he then learns. 2e #ets to now the confi#uration
of the earth& the different appearance of the earth out into the cosmos& into the spiritual?
he #ets to now 3 it is on one side bluish'violet& on the other burnin# red. 1nd accordin#
to his spiritual need& which he will develop out of his arma& this determines for him
where he will ne%t enter a#ain into incarnation. )aturally one must picture these thin#s as
much more complicated than 5 have said now. 8ut from such relationships man develops
between death and new birth the forces which brin# him to incarnate in a particular
inherited child body.
9hat 5 have #iven are only two specific colours? apart from colours& there are other
definite @ualities& many others. /or the present 5 will only mention: between East and
9est& in the middle& the earth is more #reenish as seen from outside& in our re#ions for
instance #reenish. "o that in fact a threefold memberin# is produced& which can lead to
si#nificant conclusions about the way in which the human bein# can use what he can
observe between death and a new birth to #uide him to come into incarnation in this or
that re#ion of the earth.
5f this is taen into consideration& one will #radually ac@uire the conception that between
the human bein#s incarnated here on the earth in the physical body and the human bein#s
who are out of the body certain thin#s play a part& which are #enerally not taen into
account at all. 9hen we #o into a forei#n country and want to understand the people& we
must ac@uire their lan#ua#e. 9hen we want to come to an understandin# with the dead&
we have also #radually to ac@uire the lan#ua#e of the dead. This is at the same time the
lan#ua#e of spiritual science& for this lan#ua#e is spoen by all who are called alive and
all who are called dead. 5t reaches from over there to here& and from here to over there.
8ut it is specially important to ac@uire not Bust abstract conceptions& but such pictures of
the universe. 9e ac@uire a picture of the earth when we ima#ine a sphere floatin# in
cosmic space& #leamin# on one side in shades of blue and violet& on the other side
burnin#& sparlin# red and yellow? and between a belt of #reen. Conceptions which have
the character of pictures #radually carry us over into the spiritual world. That is what
matters. 5t is necessary to put forward such picture'conceptions& if one is speain# in an
earnest sense about the spiritual worlds? and it is necessary too that such conceptions are
not re#arded as if they were arbitrary inventions& but that somethin# is made from them
3 on this one depends. Let us consider it once more: the eastern earth& #leamin# in blue
and violet 3 the western earth& sparlin# reddish'yellow. 8ut other differentiations come
in. 5f the soul of one who has died contemplates certain points in our present a#e& then he
perceives at the place that is desi#nated here as 0alestine& as 6erusalem& out of the bluish'
violet somethin# of a #olden form& a #olden crystal form& which comes to life. That is
6erusalem& seen from the spiritG That is what also plays a part in the 1pocalypse (in so far
as 5 spea of 5ma#inations+ as :heavenly 6erusalem7. These are not thin#s which are
thou#ht out. These are thin#s which can be seen. Contemplated from the spirit& the
Aystery of $ol#otha was as it is in physical observation when the astronomer directs his
telescope into cosmic space and then sees somethin# that ama-es him& for e%ample the
appearance of new stars. "piritually& observed from the cosmos& the event of $ol#otha
was the appearance of a #olden star in the blue earth'aura of the eastern half of the earth.
2ere you have the 5ma#ination for what 5 described in conclusion the day before
yesterday. 5t is really important that throu#h such 5ma#inations conceptions of the
universe are ac@uired& which enable the human soul to find its place in feelin# within the
spirit of this universe.
Try to thin this with someone who has died: the crystal form of the heavenly 6erusalem&
buildin# up in #olden radiance& amid the blue'violet earth'aura. This will brin# you near.
This is somethin# which belon#s to the 5ma#inations& into which the soul enters at death:
:E% ,eo nascimur& in Christo morimurG7
There is a method of shuttin# oneself off from spiritual reality& and there is a method of
approachin# it. 4ne can shut oneself off from spiritual reality by attemptin# to calculate
reality. Aathematics is certainly spirit& indeed pure spirit? but employed upon physical
reality it is the method for shuttin# oneself off from the spiritual. The more you calculate
the more you shut yourself off from the spiritual. Iant once said: there is as much science
in the world& as there is mathematics. 8ut from the other point of view& which is e@ually
Bustified& one could say: there is as much dar!ness in the world& as man has succeeded in
calculatin# about the world. 4ne approaches spiritual life the more one penetrates from
e%ternal observation& and particularly from abstract conceptions& to picture conceptions.
Copernicus brou#ht men to calculate the universe? the opposite way of seein# thin#s must
brin# men to form pictures of the universe a#ain? to thin of a universe& with which the
human soul can identify itself 3 so that the earth appears as an or#anism& shinin# out
into the cosmos: blue'violet& with the #olden& shinin# heavenly 6erusalem on the one side&
and on the other side sparlin# reddish'yellow.
/rom what does the blue'violet on one side of the earth'aura ori#inateD 5f you see this
side of the earth'sphere& what is physical of the earth disappears& seen from the outside?
rather& the li#ht'aura becomes transparent& and the dar of the earth vanishes. The blue
which shows brin#s this about. Eou can e%plain the phenomenon from $oethe7s Theory
of Colour. 8ut because the interior of the earth sparles out from the western half 3
sparles out in such a way that it is true& as 5 described the day before yesterday& that man
is determined in 1merica by the sub'earthly? because of this the interior of the earth
shines and sparles as a reddish'yellow #low& as a reddish'yellow shootin# fire out into
the universe. This is only intended as a setch& in @uite feeble outlines? but it is meant to
show you that it is possible to spea today not only in #eneral abstract ideas about the
world in which we live between death and a new birth& but in very concrete conceptions.
1ll this is capable of preparin# our souls to reach a connection with the spiritual world& a
connection with the hi#her 2ierarchies& a connection with that world in which man lives
between death and a new birth.