Understanding the Christ-being and His Significance for the Future of Humanity

[AshvinP]

For 99% of the folks that hear Christ's message and decide to follow it - the main attraction is the '11th hour redemption'.
Jesus shows up and says 'I forgive you' and vast majority of Christians respond with 'You are our guy.'
Essentially, people can be mean spirited, greedy, lustful and even murderous; and in the 11th hour have that moment of redemption, and everything is fine (off to heavan).
Granted, the above is a distortion of Christ's message, and some here have a more exalted take, but the fact remains, the '11 hour redemption' has dominated the West, and frankly, has contributed to to demise of the civilization.

Heja Lorenzo welcome back!
Listen that's a false question, and by the way it took me 2 seconds on YT to find a video called Redemption from Unthinkable Crimes | Thich Nhat Hanh. Do you mean you would forbid the possibility of forgiveness/redemption? How to move forward on any path without redemption? This is the path opener, because it's good for both sides: the one who forgives and redeems, and the one who is redeemed by that same forgiveness. Through redemption, harmful action is turned inside out, and both sides move forward. Redemption is key when we see life, and life events (especially the 'unjust') beyond the boundaries of the present incarnation. Then the inexplicability and unfairness of life starts to find its meaningful context, and one can start to focus less on injustice, and how to revenge, and more on the healing repayment of karmic debt by those who suffer, and how to forgive.

Well said. It's very interesting how living knowledge of our trans-incarnational individuality adds profound depth to precepts such as, 'turn the other cheek'. On the one hand, we learn that if a person 'randomly' strikes us, it's not actually random and likely traced to how we treated someone in a previous incarnation (but not necessarily that same individuality). It was the lawful administration of our Karma. And, at the same time, we know that this individuality has now had to incur negative karma in order to repay our past karma, which will lead to further acts of violence. But if we truly forgive them in our hearts, we are helping to put an end to this particular karmic knot. If enough people grew in such living knowledge which inspires forgiveness, then it's easy to see how the evolution of humanity and the Earth can progress much more smoothly.

But if these things remain ignored or only flattened conceptual models which barely scratch the surface of our hardened hearts, then it's equally easy to see how humanity will persist in the selfish, myopic ways of the idolized personality.

[Federica]

So, the weaving of destiny forces into the etheric body generally takes place within the sphere of the Moon which is accessible to imaginative cognition, i.e. higher up the structured Time-potential.

I’m confused about the above sentence: “higher up” compared to what?

Here I was referring to the Time-consciousness spectrum. Our fourfolded Earthly convolution has a certain 'time-signature', i.e. a sluggish rhythm by which our states of being transform. But in the emrbyo we are actually still residing mostly within the Moon sphere, which is a gateway from Earth to the Cosmos, with a less sluggish time-signature. That fact should also help us discern why stellar configurations at conception-birth are reflecting to us the archetypal 'frames' by which our incarnate life will unfold. These are all superimposed spheres of activity which we tease apart in our conceptual thinking for convenience.

The concepts reflect a certain intuitive orientation we have towards the lawful transformation of different aspects of our be-ing. So the lawfulness by which the sensory spectrum transforms, we call the physical plane or Earthly sphere, which is lucidly accessible to normal intellectual cognition. The lawfulness by which our etheric life transforms - which generally relates to our deeper imagination, life functions, memories, habits, temperament, sympathies-antipathies - is more related to what we call the Moon sphere, lucidly accessible to imaginative and higher cognition (Powell refers to it as 'lunar consciousness' in the book). These factors play a large role in the structuring of our incarnate destiny at the archetypal level (not necessarily in the particular details, which is where we initially find our degrees of freedom).

The outer conception-perception of the Sun, Moon, planets, Zodiac, are the dim ways we represent these superimposed spheres of intuitive lawfulness during our incarnate life, at our current stage of evolution. Everything we conceive-perceive in the so-called 'present' is actually already accomplished intents. Through imaginative cognition, we come to inwardly awaken to this fact. Previously there were epochs when the outer Cosmos was perceived much more imaginatively, for ex. in the ancient Egyptian civilization, where there could be no doubt that spiritual activity had been at work. Soon we will arrive once again a stage where the imaginative life of the Cosmos becomes impossible to ignore at the cognitive level, although still possible to reject in one's heart if the Christ impulse is neglected.

Once again, thanks - it took me a few readings, but now it's kind of coming together. Another small detail: I thought that temperament, likes and dislikes were residing in the astral body, more than in the etheric?


With reference to the soon-to-come heightened sense of living Cosmos that humanity is about to gain, an interesting exercise (for those who have created enough leeway for it) could be to try to imagine or forsee what form, domain, or event will manifest and lead the development of the new imaginative awareness you speak of. For my part, I am really wondering, but I wouldn't know where to start. Like, I have no clue about continuity of consciousness, but hey I do have pretty solid continuity of wondering

[Federica]

So, after some further searching, I came across the following from Robert Powell's articles on the Sophia Foundation website.

https://sophiafoundation.org/wp-content ... r-2018.pdf

The precessional clock is the “hour hand,” allowing only the broadest of correlations between the pictures of the Apocalypse and historical events since John first recorded his visions. A “minute hand” is needed before these pictures can serve as guides for the present and future. Since we are deciphering Christian prophecy, it is not surprising that we can find the “minute hand” by following the chronology of the life of Christ in order to understand the present moment in history. The life of Christ, especially from the baptism in the River Jordan until his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection—the death and resurrection together comprising the bookends of what is referred to as the Mystery of Golgotha—can be thought of as an embryonic period, a seed from which the future course of world history grows and bears fruit. Accordingly, every deed performed by Christ has eternal significance, so that the rhythm of his life does not end, but perennially repeats in new cycles of Time.3

We can liken the period between the Baptism and the Mystery of Golgotha to the period between conception and birth. Accordingly, the conception took place at the Baptism in the River Jordan, on September 23, AD 29, when Christ incarnated into the physical body of Jesus and took on the task during his ministry of transforming the physical body into the resurrection body. The birth was the resurrection itself some three-and-a-half years later—that date being the original Easter Sunday on April 5, AD 33. The exact period from the Baptism to the Resurrection is1290 days—slightly more than three-and-a-half years. 1290 days is also the period mentioned in the last chapter in the book of Daniel. Each of these 1290 days was a preparation for unfolding the future history of humanity. The key—the Apocalypse Code—to this unfolding of the Christ impulse is that one day in the life of Christ corresponds to twenty-nine and a half years of history.5

Readers familiar with astronomy will know that twenty-nine and a half years is the period taken by Saturn to make one orbit of the zodiac. And those readers conversant with astrosophy—“star wisdom”—will know that Saturn is the planet of cosmic memory, and it is on this account that the correspondence “one day in the life of Christ corresponds to twenty-nine and a half years of history” holds true.

Yes, it fully confirms your idea. And the complete article is breath-taking... Thanks!
I'm following the thread to Steiners The Work of the Angels in Mans Astral Body. Too ambitious for tonight, but I look forward to reading it tomorrow, in a "translation by D. S. Osmond with the help of Owen Barfield".

[AshvinP]

I’m confused about the above sentence: “higher up” compared to what?

Here I was referring to the Time-consciousness spectrum. Our fourfolded Earthly convolution has a certain 'time-signature', i.e. a sluggish rhythm by which our states of being transform. But in the emrbyo we are actually still residing mostly within the Moon sphere, which is a gateway from Earth to the Cosmos, with a less sluggish time-signature. That fact should also help us discern why stellar configurations at conception-birth are reflecting to us the archetypal 'frames' by which our incarnate life will unfold. These are all superimposed spheres of activity which we tease apart in our conceptual thinking for convenience.

The concepts reflect a certain intuitive orientation we have towards the lawful transformation of different aspects of our be-ing. So the lawfulness by which the sensory spectrum transforms, we call the physical plane or Earthly sphere, which is lucidly accessible to normal intellectual cognition. The lawfulness by which our etheric life transforms - which generally relates to our deeper imagination, life functions, memories, habits, temperament, sympathies-antipathies - is more related to what we call the Moon sphere, lucidly accessible to imaginative and higher cognition (Powell refers to it as 'lunar consciousness' in the book). These factors play a large role in the structuring of our incarnate destiny at the archetypal level (not necessarily in the particular details, which is where we initially find our degrees of freedom).

The outer conception-perception of the Sun, Moon, planets, Zodiac, are the dim ways we represent these superimposed spheres of intuitive lawfulness during our incarnate life, at our current stage of evolution. Everything we conceive-perceive in the so-called 'present' is actually already accomplished intents. Through imaginative cognition, we come to inwardly awaken to this fact. Previously there were epochs when the outer Cosmos was perceived much more imaginatively, for ex. in the ancient Egyptian civilization, where there could be no doubt that spiritual activity had been at work. Soon we will arrive once again a stage where the imaginative life of the Cosmos becomes impossible to ignore at the cognitive level, although still possible to reject in one's heart if the Christ impulse is neglected.

Federica,

Once again, thanks - it took me a few readings, but now it's kind of coming together. Another small detail: I thought that temperament, likes and dislikes were residing in the astral body, more than in the etheric?

The etheric body is where the principle of repetition holds. When we look at the growing plant, it produces leaf after leaf in orderly succession. Then it drops the seed and produces copies of itself with the same form. So any WFT ways of being which become habitual in us get woven into our etheric memory, mostly before birth or a little bit during life. When they are only in the astral body during life, we can call them likes and dislikes which are more pliable (we should also remember, though, that we normally only know of the soul-life in so far as it is reflected by the physical-etheric bodies, the latter acting as mirrors). It is easier for us to apply torque to these likes or dislikes and adjust them. But if they become habitual in the etheric body, we are dealing with sympathies and antipathies which are much less pliable and require more torque. I would make a similar distinction between character (more pliable) and temperament (less pliable), the former being our constellation of opinions, beliefs, emotions, qualities, virtues, etc. and the latter being our inner disposition towards the World (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic).

To be clear, this doesn't mean the etheric body causes all of these habitual tendencies and dispositions. The ego-astral complex is what allows for us to lucidly experience the World and react to it. It impresses the habitual tendencies we develop into the etheric body, which also impresses it into the physical body to some extent. The physical-etheric serves as a sort of contextual limit on what capacities we can bring to expression during an incarnation unless we are able to also work on them through higher cognitive development. At death, the memories/experiences impressed into the etheric body are imprinted back into the astral body and then back to the ego, where it all continues in seed-form. Then, on our return to incarnation, the ego fashions the new lower vehicles in correspondence with that imprint. A similar cycle occurs each night with sleep, but to a lesser extent. All of this occurs with feedback from the higher hierarchies on what needs to be further perfected to become proper citizens of the Cosmos.

With reference to the soon-to-come heightened sense of living Cosmos that humanity is about to gain, an interesting exercise (for those who have created enough leeway for it) could be to try to imagine or forsee what form, domain, or event will manifest and lead the development of the new imaginative awareness you speak of. For my part, I am really wondering, but I wouldn't know where to start. Like, I have no clue about continuity of consciousness, but hey I do have pretty solid continuity of wondering

I would say it's basically what we are doing here, through a spiritual scientific consciousness and diligent exploration of the living details to build a gradient to the 6th epoch. It will be the elaboration of what Steiner and other streams have already inaugurated. For ex. Powell (and his teacher before him, Willi Sucher) is building off of Steiner's 'Cosmosophy' to more precisely develop 'Astrosophy'. Endeavors like that can shepherd the imaginative inflow into constructive channels for the benefit of all. That's the positive side of it, but as you know there is also the negative side of heightened imaginative awareness without a corresponding moral development through the Christ impulse. The contours between these two sides will become sharper and sharper as this epoch continues to unfold. 

[AshvinP]

As it seems, there are plenty of possible directions to explore this topic. One question I have is: I’m reading of a precise correspondence between the seven stages of initiation as in Steiner - Washing of the feet, Scourging, Crowning with thorns,...) and the stations of the calvary (if that’s the correct name) and I wonder what the connection is between the Christ events and the cognitive stages we often discuss: Imaginative, Inspirative, Intuitive. Does anyone have thoughts about that, or references? Thank you!

Federica,

My understanding is that these are two quite different paths of initiation - the Christian mystical path and the Rosicrucian path. The former is rooted in the life of devotional feeling towards God, which generally needs to prepared through events of previous incarnations, while the latter is rooted in the modern reasoning capacity which most people who incarnate into the civilized world will possess after a natural course of development. Of course the latter only finds its higher fulfillment when it is also integrated with the life of devotional feeling and love for God and our neighbors (including the lower kingdoms). The head must become united with the heart. Hendel discusses these stages some below. I am not if there are any exact correspondences with the higher cognitive stages.

As we said in the beginning of this series of articles, the Christian Mystic Initiation differs radically from the Occult Initiation undertaken by those who approach the Path from the intellectual side. But all paths converge at Gethsemane, where the candidate for Initiation is saturated with sorrow which flowers into compassion, a yearning mother love which has only one all-absorbing desire; to pour itself out for the alleviation of the sorrow of the world to save and to succor all that are weak and heavy-laden, to comfort them and give them rest. At that point the eyes of the Christian Mystic are opened to a full realization of the world's woe and his mission as a Savior; and the occultist also finds here the heart of love which alone can give zest and zeal in the quest. By the union of the mind and the heart both are ready for the next step, which involved the development of the STIGMATA, a necessary preparation for the mystic death and resurrection. The Gospel narrative tells the story of the STIGMATA in the following words, the opening scene being in the Garden of Gethsemane:

[Gospel account]

We have here the account of how the STIGMATA or punctures were produced in the Hero of the Gospels, though the location is not quite correctly described, and the process is represented in a narrative form differing widely from the manner in which these things really happen. But we stand here before one of the Mysteries which must remain sealed for the profane, though the underlying mystical facts are as plain as daylight to those who know. The physical body is not by any means the real man. Tangible, solid, and pulsating with life as we find it, it is really the most dead part of the human being, crystallized into a matrix of finer vehicles which are invisible to our ordinary physical sight. If we place a basin of water in a freezing temperature, the water soon congeals into ice, and when we examine this ice, we find that it is made up of innumerable little crystals having various geometrical forms and lines of demarcation. There are etheric lines of forces which were present in the water before it congealed. As the water was hardened and molded along these lines, so our physical bodies have congealed and solidified along the etheric lines of force of our invisible vital body, which is thus in the ordinary course of life inextricably bound to the physical body, waking or sleeping, until death brings dissolution of the tie. But as Initiation involves the liberation of the REAL MAN from the body of sin and death that he may soar into the subtler spheres at will and return to the body at his pleasure, it is obvious that before that can be accomplished, before the object of Initiation can be attained, the interlocking grip of the physical body and the etheric vehicle which is so strong and rigid in ordinary humanity, must be dissolved. As they are most closely bound together in the palms of the hands, the arches of the feet, and the head, the occult schools concentrate their efforts upon severing the connection at these points, and produce the STIGMATA invisibly.

The Christian Mystic lacks knowledge of how to perform the act without producing an exterior manifestation. The STIGMATA develop in him spontaneously by constant contemplation of Christ and unceasing efforts to imitate Him in all things. These exterior STIGMATA comprise not only the wounds in the hands and feet and that in the side but also those impressed by the crown of thorns and by the scourging. The most remarkable example of stigmatization is that said to have occurred in 1224 to Francis of Assisi on the mountain of Alverno. Being absorbed in contemplation of the Passion he saw a seraph approaching, blazing with fire and having between its wings the figure of the Crucified. St. Francis became aware that in hands, feet, and side he had received externally the marks of crucifixion. These marks continued during the two years until his death, and are claimed to have been seen by many eyewitnesses, including Pope Alexander the Fourth.
...
But whether the STIGMATA are visible or invisible the effect is the same. The spiritual currents generated in the vital body of such a person are so powerful that the body is scourged by them as it were, particularly in the region of the head, where they produce a feeling akin to that of the crown of thorns. Thus there finally dawns upon the person a full realization that the physical body is a cross which he is bearing, a prison and not the real man. This brings him to the next step in his Initiation, viz., the crucifixion, which is experienced by the development of the other centers in his hands and feet where the vital body is thus being severed from the dense vehicle.
...
This stage of the Christian Mystic's spiritual development therefore involves a reversal of the creative force from its ordinary downward course where it is wasted in generation to satisfy the passions, to an upward course through the tripartite spinal cord, whose three segments are ruled by the moon, Mars, and Mercury respectively, and where the rays of Neptune then lights THE REGENERATIVE SPINAL SPIRIT FIRE. This mounting upward sets the pituitary body and the pineal gland into vibration, opening up the spiritual sight; and striking the frontal sinus it starts the CROWN OF THORNS throbbing with pain as the bond with the physical body is burned by the sacred Spirit Fire, which wakes this center from its age-long sleep to a throbbing, pulsating life sweeping onward to the other centers in the FIVE-POINTED STIGMATIC STAR. They are also vitalized, an the whole vehicle becomes aglow with a golden glory. Then with a final wrench the great vortex of the desire body located in the liver is liberated, and the martial energy contained in that vehicle propels upward the SIDEREAL VEHICLE (so- called because the STIGMATA in the head, hands, and feet are located in the same positions relative to one another as the points in a five-pointed star), which ascends through THE SKULL (Golgotha), while the CRUCIFIED CHRISTIAN utters his triumphant cry, "Consummatum est" (it has been accomplished), and soars into the subtler spheres to seek Jesus whose life he has imitated with such success and from whom he is thenceforth inseparable. Jesus is his Teacher and his guide to the kingdom of Christ, where all shall be united in one body to learn and to practice the RELIGION OF THE FATHER, to whom the kingdom will eventually revert that He may be All in All.

Heindel, Max. Ancient and Modern Initiation by Max Heindel illustrated (p. 97). Kindle Edition.

[Federica]

As it seems, there are plenty of possible directions to explore this topic. One question I have is: I’m reading of a precise correspondence between the seven stages of initiation as in Steiner - Washing of the feet, Scourging, Crowning with thorns,...) and the stations of the calvary (if that’s the correct name) and I wonder what the connection is between the Christ events and the cognitive stages we often discuss: Imaginative, Inspirative, Intuitive. Does anyone have thoughts about that, or references? Thank you!

Federica,

My understanding is that these are two quite different paths of initiation - the Christian mystical path and the Rosicrucian path. The former is rooted in the life of devotional feeling towards God, which generally needs to prepared through events of previous incarnations, while the latter is rooted in the modern reasoning capacity which most people who incarnate into the civilized world will possess after a natural course of development. Of course the latter only finds its higher fulfillment when it is also integrated with the life of devotional feeling and love for God and our neighbors (including the lower kingdoms). The head must become united with the heart. Hendel discusses these stages some below. I am not if there are any exact correspondences with the higher cognitive stages.

As we said in the beginning of this series of articles, the Christian Mystic Initiation differs radically from the Occult Initiation undertaken by those who approach the Path from the intellectual side. But all paths converge at Gethsemane, where the candidate for Initiation is saturated with sorrow which flowers into compassion, a yearning mother love which has only one all-absorbing desire; to pour itself out for the alleviation of the sorrow of the world to save and to succor all that are weak and heavy-laden, to comfort them and give them rest. At that point the eyes of the Christian Mystic are opened to a full realization of the world's woe and his mission as a Savior; and the occultist also finds here the heart of love which alone can give zest and zeal in the quest. By the union of the mind and the heart both are ready for the next step, which involved the development of the STIGMATA, a necessary preparation for the mystic death and resurrection. The Gospel narrative tells the story of the STIGMATA in the following words, the opening scene being in the Garden of Gethsemane:

[Gospel account]

We have here the account of how the STIGMATA or punctures were produced in the Hero of the Gospels, though the location is not quite correctly described, and the process is represented in a narrative form differing widely from the manner in which these things really happen. But we stand here before one of the Mysteries which must remain sealed for the profane, though the underlying mystical facts are as plain as daylight to those who know. The physical body is not by any means the real man. Tangible, solid, and pulsating with life as we find it, it is really the most dead part of the human being, crystallized into a matrix of finer vehicles which are invisible to our ordinary physical sight. If we place a basin of water in a freezing temperature, the water soon congeals into ice, and when we examine this ice, we find that it is made up of innumerable little crystals having various geometrical forms and lines of demarcation. There are etheric lines of forces which were present in the water before it congealed. As the water was hardened and molded along these lines, so our physical bodies have congealed and solidified along the etheric lines of force of our invisible vital body, which is thus in the ordinary course of life inextricably bound to the physical body, waking or sleeping, until death brings dissolution of the tie. But as Initiation involves the liberation of the REAL MAN from the body of sin and death that he may soar into the subtler spheres at will and return to the body at his pleasure, it is obvious that before that can be accomplished, before the object of Initiation can be attained, the interlocking grip of the physical body and the etheric vehicle which is so strong and rigid in ordinary humanity, must be dissolved. As they are most closely bound together in the palms of the hands, the arches of the feet, and the head, the occult schools concentrate their efforts upon severing the connection at these points, and produce the STIGMATA invisibly.

The Christian Mystic lacks knowledge of how to perform the act without producing an exterior manifestation. The STIGMATA develop in him spontaneously by constant contemplation of Christ and unceasing efforts to imitate Him in all things. These exterior STIGMATA comprise not only the wounds in the hands and feet and that in the side but also those impressed by the crown of thorns and by the scourging. The most remarkable example of stigmatization is that said to have occurred in 1224 to Francis of Assisi on the mountain of Alverno. Being absorbed in contemplation of the Passion he saw a seraph approaching, blazing with fire and having between its wings the figure of the Crucified. St. Francis became aware that in hands, feet, and side he had received externally the marks of crucifixion. These marks continued during the two years until his death, and are claimed to have been seen by many eyewitnesses, including Pope Alexander the Fourth.
...
But whether the STIGMATA are visible or invisible the effect is the same. The spiritual currents generated in the vital body of such a person are so powerful that the body is scourged by them as it were, particularly in the region of the head, where they produce a feeling akin to that of the crown of thorns. Thus there finally dawns upon the person a full realization that the physical body is a cross which he is bearing, a prison and not the real man. This brings him to the next step in his Initiation, viz., the crucifixion, which is experienced by the development of the other centers in his hands and feet where the vital body is thus being severed from the dense vehicle.
...
This stage of the Christian Mystic's spiritual development therefore involves a reversal of the creative force from its ordinary downward course where it is wasted in generation to satisfy the passions, to an upward course through the tripartite spinal cord, whose three segments are ruled by the moon, Mars, and Mercury respectively, and where the rays of Neptune then lights THE REGENERATIVE SPINAL SPIRIT FIRE. This mounting upward sets the pituitary body and the pineal gland into vibration, opening up the spiritual sight; and striking the frontal sinus it starts the CROWN OF THORNS throbbing with pain as the bond with the physical body is burned by the sacred Spirit Fire, which wakes this center from its age-long sleep to a throbbing, pulsating life sweeping onward to the other centers in the FIVE-POINTED STIGMATIC STAR. They are also vitalized, an the whole vehicle becomes aglow with a golden glory. Then with a final wrench the great vortex of the desire body located in the liver is liberated, and the martial energy contained in that vehicle propels upward the SIDEREAL VEHICLE (so- called because the STIGMATA in the head, hands, and feet are located in the same positions relative to one another as the points in a five-pointed star), which ascends through THE SKULL (Golgotha), while the CRUCIFIED CHRISTIAN utters his triumphant cry, "Consummatum est" (it has been accomplished), and soars into the subtler spheres to seek Jesus whose life he has imitated with such success and from whom he is thenceforth inseparable. Jesus is his Teacher and his guide to the kingdom of Christ, where all shall be united in one body to learn and to practice the RELIGION OF THE FATHER, to whom the kingdom will eventually revert that He may be All in All.

Heindel, Max. Ancient and Modern Initiation by Max Heindel illustrated (p. 97). Kindle Edition.

Ashvin,
Thank you for going back to my initial question. I actually don't know anything about the Rosicrucian path (apart from the occasional references you have done here and there) and I didn't intend to ask about it. My question was about possible connections between the modes of cognition of Steiner's SS and Steiner's seven stages of initiation. I should definitely read more about these stages, I see there's a series of lectures called From Jesus to Christ. But maybe this topic can be paused, I have more pressing questions right now (in a separate post).

[Federica]

So, after some further searching, I came across the following from Robert Powell's articles on the Sophia Foundation website.

https://sophiafoundation.org/wp-content ... r-2018.pdf

The precessional clock is the “hour hand,” allowing only the broadest of correlations between the pictures of the Apocalypse and historical events since John first recorded his visions. A “minute hand” is needed before these pictures can serve as guides for the present and future. Since we are deciphering Christian prophecy, it is not surprising that we can find the “minute hand” by following the chronology of the life of Christ in order to understand the present moment in history. The life of Christ, especially from the baptism in the River Jordan until his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection—the death and resurrection together comprising the bookends of what is referred to as the Mystery of Golgotha—can be thought of as an embryonic period, a seed from which the future course of world history grows and bears fruit. Accordingly, every deed performed by Christ has eternal significance, so that the rhythm of his life does not end, but perennially repeats in new cycles of Time.3

We can liken the period between the Baptism and the Mystery of Golgotha to the period between conception and birth. Accordingly, the conception took place at the Baptism in the River Jordan, on September 23, AD 29, when Christ incarnated into the physical body of Jesus and took on the task during his ministry of transforming the physical body into the resurrection body. The birth was the resurrection itself some three-and-a-half years later—that date being the original Easter Sunday on April 5, AD 33. The exact period from the Baptism to the Resurrection is1290 days—slightly more than three-and-a-half years. 1290 days is also the period mentioned in the last chapter in the book of Daniel. Each of these 1290 days was a preparation for unfolding the future history of humanity. The key—the Apocalypse Code—to this unfolding of the Christ impulse is that one day in the life of Christ corresponds to twenty-nine and a half years of history.5

Readers familiar with astronomy will know that twenty-nine and a half years is the period taken by Saturn to make one orbit of the zodiac. And those readers conversant with astrosophy—“star wisdom”—will know that Saturn is the planet of cosmic memory, and it is on this account that the correspondence “one day in the life of Christ corresponds to twenty-nine and a half years of history” holds true.

Yes, it fully confirms your idea. And the complete article is breath-taking... Thanks!
I'm following the thread to Steiners The Work of the Angels in Mans Astral Body. Too ambitious for tonight, but I look forward to reading it tomorrow, in a "translation by D. S. Osmond with the help of Owen Barfield".

I have now read the lecture referenced in Powell's article.

So the crucial point lies ahead when either the path to the right can be taken — but that demands wakefulness — or the path to the left, which permits of sleep. But in that case instincts come on the scene — instincts of a fearful kind.

(...)

This, my friends, is a fragment of concrete knowledge of the evolution of existence, a fragment of a conception of life which can be truly assessed only by those who realise that an unspiritual view of life can never grow clear about these things. If a form of medicine injurious to humanity were ever to take root, if a terrible aberration of the sexual instincts were to arise, if there were baleful doings in the sphere of the purely mechanistic forces of the world, in the application of the forces of nature by means of spiritual powers, an unspiritual conception of life would see through none of these things, would not perceive how they deviate from the true path ... The sleeper, as long as sleep lasts, does not see the approach of a thief who is about to rob him; he is unaware of it and at most he finds out later on, when he wakes, what has been done to him. But it would be a bad awakening for humanity! Man would pride himself upon the growth of his instinctive knowledge of certain processes and substances and would experience such satisfaction in obeying certain aberrations of the sexual impulses that he would regard them as evidence of a particularly high development of superhumanity, of freedom from convention, of broad-mindedness! In a certain respect, ugliness would be beauty and beauty, ugliness. Nothing of this would be perceived because it would all be regarded as natural necessity. But it would denote an aberration from the path which, in the nature of humanity itself, is prescribed for man's essential being.

If a feeling has been acquired of how Spiritual Science penetrates into and affects our whole attitude of mind, I believe that there can also arise the earnestness required for receiving such truths as have been presented today. From this earnestness there can stem what ought indeed to stem from all Spiritual Science: the acknowledgment of definite obligations, of definite responsibilities in life. Whatever our position may be, whatever we have to do in the world, the essential thing is to foster the thought that our conduct must be permeated and illumined by our anthroposophical consciousness. Then we contribute something towards the true progress of humanity.

I would like to ask everyone who is familiar with this lecture: do you think humanity has passed the fork Steiner speaks of?

[AshvinP]

Ashvin,
Thank you for going back to my initial question. I actually don't know anything about the Rosicrucian path (apart from the occasional references you have done here and there) and I didn't intend to ask about it. My question was about possible connections between the modes of cognition of Steiner's SS and Steiner's seven stages of initiation. I should definitely read more about these stages, I see there's a series of lectures called From Jesus to Christ. But maybe this topic can be paused, I have more pressing questions right now (in a separate post).

The Rosicrucian path is Anthroposhy/SS, basically.

The 7 stages are the Christian mystical path, which Steiner also references and discusses to some extent. I have not come across any lectures which explicitly relate them to the steps outlined in Knowledge of Higher Worlds for ex., that I remember, but perhaps it is in the archive somewhere.

[AshvinP]

So, after some further searching, I came across the following from Robert Powell's articles on the Sophia Foundation website.

https://sophiafoundation.org/wp-content ... r-2018.pdf

Yes, it fully confirms your idea. And the complete article is breath-taking... Thanks!
I'm following the thread to Steiners The Work of the Angels in Mans Astral Body. Too ambitious for tonight, but I look forward to reading it tomorrow, in a "translation by D. S. Osmond with the help of Owen Barfield".

I have now read the lecture referenced in Powell's article.

So the crucial point lies ahead when either the path to the right can be taken — but that demands wakefulness — or the path to the left, which permits of sleep. But in that case instincts come on the scene — instincts of a fearful kind.

(...)

This, my friends, is a fragment of concrete knowledge of the evolution of existence, a fragment of a conception of life which can be truly assessed only by those who realise that an unspiritual view of life can never grow clear about these things. If a form of medicine injurious to humanity were ever to take root, if a terrible aberration of the sexual instincts were to arise, if there were baleful doings in the sphere of the purely mechanistic forces of the world, in the application of the forces of nature by means of spiritual powers, an unspiritual conception of life would see through none of these things, would not perceive how they deviate from the true path ... The sleeper, as long as sleep lasts, does not see the approach of a thief who is about to rob him; he is unaware of it and at most he finds out later on, when he wakes, what has been done to him. But it would be a bad awakening for humanity! Man would pride himself upon the growth of his instinctive knowledge of certain processes and substances and would experience such satisfaction in obeying certain aberrations of the sexual impulses that he would regard them as evidence of a particularly high development of superhumanity, of freedom from convention, of broad-mindedness! In a certain respect, ugliness would be beauty and beauty, ugliness. Nothing of this would be perceived because it would all be regarded as natural necessity. But it would denote an aberration from the path which, in the nature of humanity itself, is prescribed for man's essential being.

If a feeling has been acquired of how Spiritual Science penetrates into and affects our whole attitude of mind, I believe that there can also arise the earnestness required for receiving such truths as have been presented today. From this earnestness there can stem what ought indeed to stem from all Spiritual Science: the acknowledgment of definite obligations, of definite responsibilities in life. Whatever our position may be, whatever we have to do in the world, the essential thing is to foster the thought that our conduct must be permeated and illumined by our anthroposophical consciousness. Then we contribute something towards the true progress of humanity.

I would like to ask everyone who is familiar with this lecture: do you think humanity has passed the fork Steiner speaks of?

I think it's clear that those 'baleful doings' he references are spreading in modern culture. I can only imagine what Steiner would lecture today in the era of internet pornography which is celebrated as 'freedom' and 'broad-mindedness' and accessed by any young kid with a phone. Likewise there are plenty of injurious happenings in the sphere of modern 'sickcare'. And modern technology has progressed to the point of bots which allow people to remain completely asleep as they do our work for us. I am always coming across emails about how to use GPT for legal websites, blogs, and what not. So the momentum seems like it will take us quite a bit further into the mechanistic, aberrational, amoral depths before there is a counter-swing upwards.

Regardless, all we can do is aim towards the high ideals and give maximum effort towards the perfection of our inner capacities and virtues. Ultimately the wise and loving intents of the Cosmos will be fulfilled through us, even if we don't know exactly how.

[ScottRoberts]

I would like to ask everyone who is familiar with this lecture: do you think humanity has passed the fork Steiner speaks of?

I think it's clear that those 'baleful doings' he references are spreading in modern culture. I can only imagine what Steiner would lecture today in the era of internet pornography which is celebrated as 'freedom' and 'broad-mindedness' and accessed by any young kid with a phone. Likewise there are plenty of injurious happenings in the sphere of modern 'sickcare'. And modern technology has progressed to the point of bots which allow people to remain completely asleep as they do our work for us. I am always coming across emails about how to use GPT for legal websites, blogs, and what not. So the momentum seems like it will take us quite a bit further into the mechanistic, aberrational, amoral depths before there is a counter-swing upwards.

Well, I think that's the case with the professional and ruling classes (which control the mass media) of the US, and to some extent of Europe and the other English-speaking countries, However, I also think there is a lot of pushback within those countries, and a lot more in other countries. So perhaps the counter-swing is under way.