“Getting beyond the Saturn sphere, we enter into what was named the Zodiac, in ancient world-conceptions.
Our Physical Body was created and designed by God and the Hierarchies (Part 3 of a series on the origin of the physical body)
“Today we refer to the physical body as our own — with no notion of how unjustified this is — whereas as an earthly creation it belongs in reality to the Gods.
Hence, when anyone today talks of “my body”,
when he speaks of the healthy functioning of his body as due to himself,
it is just an instance of the prodigious arrogance of modern man — a subconscious pride, certainly, expressed with no awareness of it, but none the less deplorable.
It shows how in speaking of their bodies as their own, people are really laying claim to the property of the Gods, and this pride is embodied in their very speech.”
Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 227 – The Evolution of Consciousness: Lecture X: Man’s Life after Death in the Spiritual Cosmos – Penmaenmawr, 28th August 1923
Translated by Violet E. Watkin & Charles Davy
Related Posts (Part 1 and 2)
“MAN RECEIVED THE FIRST OUTLINE OF HIS PHYSICAL BODY PROJECTED FROM OUT [OF] UNIVERSAL SPACE…” ANTHROPOSOPHY EXPLAINS THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE IMAGE CALLED ZODIAC MAN. ZODIAC MAN PART 1
YOU CAN SEE IN THE ZODIACAL CIRCLE THE CREATIVE FORCES FOR EACH OF THE HUMAN ORGANS. ANTHROPOSOPHY EXPLAINS THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE IMAGE CALLED ZODIAC MAN PART 2
Image: Zodiac Man, Medical Astrology, 1609
THE REAL ARIES / The Work of the Divine Beings who have their physical reflection in the Constellation of Aries — forming the head of the descending human being
Before you as human spirit descend to Earth , still in spiritual form –
“When for example you are living in and with those spiritual Beings who have their physical reflection in the constellation of Aries, the Ram, you will work with the Hierarchies of Aries in forming your future head, which is indeed a Universe in itself.
No matter how contracted here in the physical body, in your head you carry the entire Cosmos — the Cosmos seen from the aspect of Aries.”
by Rudolf Steiner, in London, November 19, 1922
The Human Soul’s Experience During Sleep And After Death
Lecture 3 .
Online link to quote above: https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/PlanSphere/19221119p02.html
Lecture 3 .
Online link to quote above: https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/PlanSphere/19221119p02.html
“This region of the cosmos is indeed the field from which emanate those forces which enable man to build up the ethereal foundations of his head and brain long before birth.
Therefore the spiritual science of all ages regarded the Ram as the archetypal region of the head and brain, as we already indicated earlier.”
p. 43 Isis Sophia, Outline of a New Star Wisdom ” by Willie Sucher; link to book: https://astrosophycenter.com/books#isis-2
Related posts:
“Man received the first outline of his physical body projected from out of universal space…”
“You can see in the zodiacal circle the creative forces for each of the human organs.”
Link:
Image of Aries: from a 17th century book: Firmamentum sobiescianum, by Johannes Hevelius, 1690.
THIS POST ON ARIES IS PART OF A SERIES
The Physical Reflection of Divine Spiritual Beings gathered in Aries / or Constellation Aries
“Aries is a relatively dim constellation, possessing only four bright stars:
(1) Hamal (Alpha Arietis, second magnitude),
(The traditional name Hamal (also written Hemal, Hamul, Ras Hammel) derives from the Arabic راس الحمل rās al-ħamal “head of the ram”, in turn from the name for the constellation as a whole, Al Ħamal “the ram”.[15]
(Hamal’s orientation with relation to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun gives it a certain importance not apparent from its modest brightness.
Between 2000 and 100 BCE, the apparent path of the Sun through the Earth’s sky placed it in Aries at the northern vernal equinox, the point in time marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.[24]
This is why most astrology columns in modern newspapers begin with Aries.[25]
While the vernal equinox has moved to Pisces since then due to precession of the equinoxes,[24] Hamal has remained in mind as a bright star near what was apparently an important place when people first studied the night sky.[12]
Currently (epoch J2000) its declination is almost exactly equal to the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer, meaning it can be used to find the position of that imaginary line when the Sun is not nearby.”
(2) Sheratan (Beta Arietis, third magnitude);
The traditional name, Sheratan (or Sharatan, Sheratim),[10] in full Al Sharatan,
is from the Arabic الشراطان aš-šarāţān “the two signs”,
a reference to the star having marked the northern vernal equinox together with Gamma Arietis several thousand years ago.[citation needed]”
“Beta (β) Aries, Sheratan, is a pearly white star in the left horn of the Ram.” ♦
“Sharatan and Sheratan are from Arabic Al Sharatain, the dual form of Al Sharat, a Sign,
referring to this and gamma (γ Mesarthim),
the third star in the head, as a sign of the opening year;
Sheratan (β) having marked the vernal equinox in the days of {p.82} Hipparchos (c.190 – c.125 BC), about the time when these stars were named. The 17th century German astronomer Bayer’s Sartai is from this dual word.” ♦
(3) Mesarthim (Gamma Arietis, fourth magnitude);
Gamma Arietis (γ Arietis, abbreviated Gamma Ari, γ Ari) is a binary star in the northern constellation of Aries.
The two components are designated γ¹ Arietis or Gamma Arietis B and γ² Arietis or Gamma Arietis A (also named Mesarthim[10]).
The double star nature of this system was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1664.
Gamma Arietis bore the traditional name Mesarthim, of obscure origin, and has been called “the First Star in Aries” as having been at one time the nearest visible star to the equinoctial point. The name Mesarthim may be from the Hebrew word mᵋshārᵋtīm, meaning “the minister”,[14] or the Arabic word ألمثرتم Al Muthartim, meaning “the ram”.[15] The meaning “servants” has also been suggested.[16] In Sanskrit, Aries is known as Mesha ‘The ram’ and the First point of Aries (the [former -ed] location of the vernal equinox) is Meshadi. The name could have very well originated from this and transformed to Mesarthim.
“MESARTHIM (Gamma Arietis). Shining third among the stars of the flat triangle that make the classical figure of Aries, the Ram (for that reason gaining the Gamma designation), Mesarthim actually takes fourth place in the constellation after non-named 41 Arietis, which glows softly off to the northeast.
The name (derived from Arabic) originally came from the same root as that for the Beta star, Sheratan (meaning “the two”), but was corrupted by mistranslations into its current form. Famed from history, Mesarthim is also called “the first star of Aries,” as during the ancient times when the stars were being systematically organized, it was the closest of the Ram’s stars to the vernal equinox. (Precession, the 26,000 year wobble of the Earth’s axis, has since shifted the equinox westward to Pisces.)
Shining at us from a distance of 204 light years, Mesarthim is one of the classic double stars of the sky, its two components, of nearly equal brightness, an easily separable 8 seconds of arc apart and known since 1664. Both actually white, the (just slightly) fainter one (Gamma-1, since it is the more westerly) has been called “pale grey,” which is a visual contrast effect. Both fifth magnitude (Gamma-1 4.83, Gamma-2 4.75), they combine to make a mid fourth magnitude (3.9) star. ” ♥
(4) 41 Arietis (also fourth magnitude);
“41 Arietis (abbreviated 41 Ari) is a triple star system in the northern constellation of Aries. With an apparent visual magnitude of 3.63,[2] this system is readily visible to the naked eye.”
From: http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/41ari.html:
“Poor 41. In spite of it being the third brightest star (just over the line into fourth magnitude, 3.63) in its famous Zodiacal constellation, Aries (the Ram), not only has it no proper name, it even carries no Bayer Greek letter, the “41” a Flamsteed number.
The most likely reason is the odd position of the star, which lies far to the east of the little triangle that represents the horns of the fabled Ram.
41 Ari, however, does have the distinction of being the brightest star within a small set of four that outline an even smaller triangle that hovers over the back of Aries and that represents the obsolete constellation of Musca Borealis, the “Northern Fly.”
Such defunct constellations abound, and many had good runs in various star atlases. The Fly, however, was finally swatted in the early twentieth century when the current 88 constellations were formally adopted. (Musca Australis, now known just as “Musca,” still flits.) The small figure, easily found, serves nicely to represent the large set of modern constellations that are no longer recognized.
Physically, 41 Ari is a rather hot blue-white class B (B8) dwarf star with a surface temperature estimated at around 12,000 Kelvin (no actual measures exist) that lies 160 light years away and that radiates 126 times as much energy as the Sun…” ♥
The few deep-sky objects within the (Arie ) constellation are quite faint and include several pairs of interacting galaxies.
Several meteor showers appear to radiate from Aries, including the Daytime Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids.
All quotes/excerpts from Wikipedia (except those parts with footnote marked ♦ and ♥).
“Aries the Ram is a mid-size constellation, ranking 39th in size among the 88 modern-day constellations. While it is a respectable size at 441 square degrees, it is not very luminous and has only three stars that could be called “bright.”
Above paragraph is from: https://www.space.com/17052-aries-constellation.html
FOR A FULLER LIST OF STARS IN THE CONSTELLATION ARIES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stars_in_Aries
” The neighboring constellations [of Aries -ed] are Cetus, Perseus, Pisces, Taurus, and Triangulum.” From:
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/aries-constellation/
Footnotes:
♦ http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Sheratan.html
♥http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/mesarthim.html
How Many Individuals, how many Souls are Ascending Back to God through a Ray of Sunlight? And how many are returning to Earth through Moonbeams?
“Man will not be able to free himself from the forces in his being which tend to drag him downwards until he develops in himself a certain feeling for spiritual concepts such as these.
Then only will the path leading to a true comprehension of birth and death be opened up to humanity.
And such a comprehension and understanding is sorely needed by humanity today, when men are plunged in spiritual darkness.
We must learn again what it really signifies when the sun sends its light towards us.
When the sunlight streams towards us,
the surrounding space is made free for the passage of those souls who must leave their physical bodies and make their way out into universal space.
When the sun sends its light down to earth, the earth sends human souls out into cosmic space,
where these souls undergo many metamorphoses.
painting by Joseph Mallord William Turner - Flint Castle
painting by Joseph Mallord William Turner - Flint Castle
Then, in a spiritual form, they approach the earth once more, passing in their descent through the sphere of the moon,
and taking possession once again of a physical body which has been prepared for them in the stream of physical heredity.
It will not be possible for us to enter into a right relationship with the universe until such time as we begin to feel and experience these things in a real and living way.
Today we learn astronomy, spectroscopy and so on.
We learn how the rays of the sun penetrate down to earth, and we fondly imagine that there is nothing more to be said.
We learn how the rays of the sun fall upon the moon,
and from the moon are reflected back again to earth,
and we look upon the moonlight in this way only, taking into consideration merely its physical aspect.
By such means the intellect is brought into play.
Intellectual knowledge cuts man off from the cosmos and tends to destroy inner activity of soul.
This inner life of soul can be reawakened, but man must first win back for himself his spiritual relationship with the cosmos.
This he will be able to do only when he is once more to say to himself:
‘A man has died.
His soul is radiating out towards the sun.
It streams out into the cosmos, traveling the path made for it by the rays of sunlight, until it comes into a region where space has an end,
where one can no longer speak in terms of three dimensions, but where the three dimensions are merged into unity.
In this region, beyond space and beyond time, many and various things happen:
but later on, from the opposite direction, from the direction of the moon, of the moonlight, the soul returns once more and enters into a physical human body, is born again into earthly life.’
When man learns once more that the souls of the dead go out to meet the light rays of the sun,
that the shining beams of the moon draw the young souls back again to earth,
when he learns to feel concretely how natural processes and phenomena are everywhere permeated with spirit —
–then there will arise once more on earth a knowledge which is at the same time religion;
a truly devotional knowledge.
Knowledge that is based entirely upon materialism can never become religion.
And religion that is founded on faith alone, that does not spring from the fountain of knowledge,
can never be made to harmonise with all that man sees and observes in the universe around him.
Today men still repeat certain prayers from ancient times. And if anyone maintains — as I have done in the booklet entitled “The Lord’s Prayer” —
–that deep spiritual truths are concealed in these ancient prayers, the clever modern people say:
That is mere visionary dreaming, mere fantasy.
But it is not fantasy; it is based on knowledge of the fact that these prayers, which can be traced back to ancient times,
and which tradition has preserved for humanity, have been conceived out of a profound understanding of cosmic processes.
We must win back for ourselves once more a knowledge and an understanding that will enable us to call up in our souls a feeling akin to religion whenever we are confronted by great cosmic events.
We must be able to say, with the men of old:
‘O sun, thou sendest towards me the rays of thy light.
These rays form a pathway to me upon earth —
—and along this pathway, but moving in the other direction,
the souls of human beings, the souls of the (so-called *) dead (true being of our loved ones who died)*
stream out into cosmic space.’
And again:
‘O moon,
thou shinest down with gentle radiance upon the earth from thy place in the heavens.
And borne on the waves of thy gentle light from far cosmic spaces, are those souls who are on their way once more into earthly existence.”
That is how we can find again the connection between the light and radiance of the outer world
and all that lives and weaves in the inner being of man himself.
We shall then no longer say thoughtlessly:
“Man is surrounded by the physical universe and he can form no conception of what will become of his soul,
when, separated from the body, it passes out into this purely material universe.’
On the contrary,
we shall know that while the piercing rays of the sun make their way through space,
they are all the time working towards the forces streaming out from the human will, and preparing a pathway for them.
We shall recognise also that the moon does not shed its gently undulating light over the earth without aim or purpose,
but that a spiritual element surges and streams through space, borne on the waves of the moon-beams.”
by Rudolf Steiner, from his Lecture Series entitled:
Human Questions and Cosmic Answers, Lecture 1
[Sunlight and Moonlight, Eclipses and Man’s Life of the Soul]
25th June, 1922
link to lecture: :
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA213/English/APC1960/19220625p01.html
“...It is always the lunar forces which bring us back to the Earth…. ” (from the spiritual world)*
also from Rudolf Steiner, from a lecture delivered: Nov. 5, 1922 –
The Concealed Aspects of Human Existence and the Christ Impulse
link to lecture:
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA218/English/RSPC1941/19221105p01.html
* (words added by the one who posted this according to context of original words by Rudolf Steiner. )
Posted by M.A. from Manila, Philippines, March 17, 2018,
The 12 Signs of the Zodiac….as the twelve World-Initiators…from them resounds THE ORIGINAL BEING OF THE UNSPOKEN WORD OF WORLDS THAT COULD TAKE FORM IN THE 12 VOICES…..THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRIST TO THIS WORD OF WORLDS/ 12 WORLD INITIATORS
“If we were to transport ourselves in these days to the present Sun, then,
looking outwards in all directions as from the centre of a circle,
we should perceive in the first place the twelve Signs of the Zodiac.
These were not then externally visible;
but instead,
their words ring forth from the depths of the darkness, —
outer space being of course not then filled with light.
What kind of words were these?
They were words — the word “word” is again only a makeshift, to indicate what is here meant — they were words that told of primeval times, of times that even then were in a remote and ancient past.
The twelve were twelve World-Initiators.
Today we behold standing in the directions of these twelve World-Initiators the twelve Signs of the Zodiac,
but from them resounds,
for the soul that is open to the whole world,
the original being of the Unspoken Word of Worlds, that could take form in the twelve Voices.
And whilst Lucifer alone — I must now begin to speak more in pictures; human words do not in the least suffice —
whilst Lucifer had the impulse to let stream out upon all things the light that was present in him and therewith come to a knowledge of all things,
the Christ on the other hand, gave Himself up to the Impression of this Word of the Worlds, received It in its fulness and entirety into Himself,
so that this Christ Soul was now the Being that united in Himself all the great Secrets of the World that sounded into Him through the inexpressible Word.
Such is the contrast that presents itself, —
the Christ Who receives the Word of the Worlds,
and the proud Lucifer, the Spirit of Venus, who rejects the Word of the Worlds and wants to found and establish everything with his own light.
All subsequent evolution is a direct outcome of what Lucifer and Christ were at that time.
The Christ Being, as we saw, received into Himself the great and all-embracing secrets of the Worlds.
The Lucifer Being, having what I can only describe as a “proud figure of Light,” lost thereby his kingdom, lost his Venus kingdom.
On other grounds, to enter into which would take us too far afield, the other Spirits of the Planets lost also their kingdoms, or rather changed their natures.
But they need not concern us here.
What is important for us here is the contrast between Christ and Lucifer.
It came about that Lucifer lost more and more of his rulership; the kingdom of Venus gradually fell away from him.
Lucifer with his light became a dethroned ruler, and the planet Venus had thenceforward to do without a proper ruler and was consequently obliged to undergo a backward evolution.
The Christ, however, had during the old Sun time received the Word of the Worlds,
and this Word of the Worlds has the quality of kindling itself to new light in the soul by which It is received;
so that from that time forward the Word of the Worlds became in the Christ Light,
and the planet of which the Christ was ruler, the Sun, became the centre of the whole planetary system, the other planets being brought into subjection to It.
The same is true also of their spiritual Rulers.”
by Rudolf Steiner
from his lecture in Christiania (Oslo), on 12th June, 1912:
Man in the Light of Occultism, Theosophy and Philosophy, Lecture X.
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA137/English/RSP1964/19120612p01.html
Image: Mosaic ceiling inside Baptistry of St. John, Florence, Italy.
When the Sun, the Moon and the Earth were One, “the plants directed their blossoms toward the center of the globe”; when they separated one after another, the three kingdoms plant, animal, human came
“At the time when the Sun was still united both with the Earth and the Moon,
neither plants nor animals nor human beings existed as we know them today.
In fact, only a plant kingdom existed then
but under totally different conditions from our own.
This (plant) kingdom preserved a particular connection with the forces of the sun similar
to that of the animal with the Moon and of man with the Earth.
As long as the Sun was united with the earth-moon,
the plants directed their blossoms toward the center of the globe;
when the Sun separated off they oriented themselves in accordance with it and directed their flowers heavenward.
We have seen in an earlier lecture (XI) that the plants have thus adopted an inverted position in relation to man;
both manifest themselves in the vertical whereas the animal is found to be half way between the human orientation and that of the plant world
.The spinal column of the animal is in the horizontal.
It is by means of the gradual separation of the three heavenly bodies that the different kingdoms on earth have become as we now know them:
the plant kingdom at the time of the separation of the Sun,
the animal when the separation of the Moon occurred.
The pristine composition of these forces contained in germ what was later to take on physical manifestation.”
by Rudolf Steiner, in his Lecture:
An Esoteric Cosmology, lecture XVI : EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES, AND HUMAN WILL
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA094/English/SGP1978/19060612p01.html
posted by M. A., Jan. 17, 2018
When one truly discovers spiritual reality or the spiritual world, one becomes aware how little s/he knows about it….and then arrogance and stubbornness cannot ensue…
“It is just as one begins to discover the spiritual world, that he becomes aware of
how little he actually knows about it.
We have no reason to fear those with deep spiritual knowledge becoming arrogant.
Pride may only overcome those
who speak in phrases about the spiritual world,
who talk about the spirit without having any knowledge of it, and refer to it in purely philosophical terms.
But those who penetrate into the spiritual world,
become certain that neither arrogance nor stubbornness will ever touch them, because they realize how insignificant they are compared to that world.”
Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 329 – Die Befreiung des Menschenwesens als Grundlage für eine soziale Neugestaltung – Bern, 6 November 1919 (page 278-279)
Thanks to
for this sharing.
Posted by M. A. Dec. 29, 2017
“The spiritual self matures in the physical self as a child in the mother’s womb.” The laws of sound reason and morality of the physical world as a basis for higher self development.
Fuller Quote:
“Just as nature must provide for a child being born into the world with suitable eyes and ears, too,
the laws of self-development must provide for the necessary capacities with which the higher self can enter existence.
These laws governing the development of the higher spiritual organs are none other than the laws of sound reason and morality of the physical world.
The spiritual self matures in the physical self as a child in the mother’s womb.
The child’s health depends upon the normal functioning of natural laws in the maternal womb.
The constitution of the spiritual self
is similarly conditioned
by the laws of common intelligence and reason that govern physical life.
No one can give birth to a soundly constituted higher self whose life in thought and feeling, in the physical world, is not sound and healthy. Natural, rational life is the basis of all genuine spiritual development.” Rudolf Steiner
Links to quotes above/For more complete quotes go to:
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GA010/English/AP1947/GA010_c06.html
Posted by M.A. Nov. 7, 2017
As our physical body breathes air in and out, our Ether Body breathes out light, and breathes in light
“The body that is woven of light and sound and life and
is within this physical body —
— the so-called ether body —
partakes not only in the life of earth,
but in the life of the cosmos.
And when a human soul descends from the spiritual worlds to enter existence through birth, then,
already before the event, forces are directed in the cosmos in a right way for the building up of the ether organism of the human being,
even as the physical body of Man is built up from the physical forces and physical substances of earth.
……………………….. …… …
…………….This ether organism of the human being is just as much an organized entity as is the physical organism.
The physical organism —
we see how it has head, arms, hands, trunk, and all the parts that the anatomist and physiologist discover —
for spiritual vision, this physical organism is shone through and glowed by the ether organism.
The physical organism breathes in air, and breathes out air.
The ether organism breathes out light,
and this light it gives to us.
And when it breathes out light and confers the light upon us, we live by means of its light.
And it also breathes in light.
As we breathe in and out air,
so does our ether body breathe in and out.
And when it breathes in light, it uses up the light,
just as we use up air physically.
(You may read of this in a passage in my Mystery Dramas where this secret of the ether world is unfolded dramatically.)
The ether body breathes in light, uses up the light, and changes it into darkness,
and can then
receive into this darkness
the sound of the worlds that lives in the Harmony of the Spheres,
can receive into it the impulses of life.
As we receive physical nourishment,
so does the ether being that lives in us breathe light in and out.
As we use up in us the oxygen of the air and make carbonic acid gas,
so does the ether body use up the light,
shooting it through with darkness, so that it appears in colors,
so that the ether body shows itself to clairvoyant vision
in waves of color.
And while the ether body prepares the light for the darkness and thereby carries on an inner work of breathing,
it lives,
in that it receives this sound of the worlds and changes the sound of the worlds into the life of the worlds.
But what we receive in this way as our ether body comes down to us from the wide spaces of the cosmos,
and it comes at certain times, from the far spaces of the cosmos.
It is today not yet possible to show in all detail how the human ether body draws downwards on the paths of light when these paths are guided in a particular manner through the constellation of the stars at the time.
For that to be possible, human beings will have to lift themselves to a higher stage of morality.
For today, this mystery of the in-drawing of the human ether bodies on the paths of the light and on the paths of the sound of the Harmony of the Spheres would be misused by human beings in the most terrible way.
For what is contained in this mystery would, if people of lower impulses wanted to acquire it, give parents unlimited power over the whole of their descendants.
You will accordingly understand that this mystery of how the ether bodies come to the human beings who are incarnating —
of how they come on the paths of light and on the paths of sound from out of the Harmony of the Spheres — will have to remain a mystery for a long time to come.
Only under certain quite definite conditions can one learn anything of this mystery.
For the failure to comply with the conditions would mean, as I have said, that parents could acquire a hitherto unheard-of power over their offspring,
who might be completely deprived of all independence, of all personality, and of all individuality, and have the will of their parents thrust upon them.
Wisely is this mystery hidden away for mankind in the unconscious and takes its course there in a good and healthy way, working through the will of the wise world-guidance.”
From: The Templars, Lecture by Rudolf Steiner
given in Dornach 2nd October 1916 GA 171
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/19161002p01.html?hilite=light
posted Oct. 22, 2017 by M. A.
Cosmos lit by Spirit Science-Anthroposophy 