Most significantly, Pentecost marks the entry of the Christ Being into the sphere of the earth. “For instead of passing, as does a human being, into Devachan, a realm of Spirit after death, the sacrifice offered up by the Christ Being was that he made the Earth his heaven … It is a saying of immeasurable greatness if we express this mystery in the following words: since the event of Pentecost the Christ Being has abided with human souls on the Earth; before then He did not abide with the souls of people on the Earth!” (Rudolf Steiner, The Fifth Gospel pp 46-47).

After the Risen Christ presented himself to the disciples in his “resurrection body” he spent forty days with them, teaching and inspiring them. As a result of these experiences the disciples were awakened to clairvoyant consciousness. In this state of newly awakened imaginative consciousness they witnessed Christ’s Ascension into the spiritual world.

Rudolf Steiner further indicates that the resurrection of Christ points towards the redeeming of the physical body of mankind (through the rescuing of the phantom body, see From Jesus to Christ, by Rudolf Steiner, GA131, 1911) while the act of Ascension saved for mankind his etheric body. In Occult Science (also known as Esoteric Science) it is described how the natural tendency of the etheric body is to aspire to the Sun and away from the Earth. At his Ascension Christ held back this tendency as he had born the forces of the Sun into the Earth existence. Hence it is a deed performed for all of mankind, for Christ remains in union with the earth.

In very specific ways the Ascension points also to Christ’s participation in man’s life after death. “Since the Mystery of Golgotha there has stood before the soul of every human being who passes through death the Ascension picture which the disciples were able to behold that day, on account of their particular soul condition.” (see The Festivals and their Meaning, by Rudolf Steiner, lecture of 7 May, 1923)

Furthermore, it is described how the Christ relates to the souls of the dead on their sojourn through the Moon, Sun and starry realms so that they can work again on their karma in subsequent incarnation(s). “Thus in the scene of the Ascension we have an indication of the all-encompassing influence of the Christ-Being, after the Mystery of Golgotha, upon the sphere of the life of the human soul after death.” (See The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation, p. 183, by Sergei O. Prokofieff.)

If one has opportunity this coming Thursday, here are references for further study:

• The Festivals and their Meaning: Ascension and Pentecost, Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophical Publishing Co, 1958. Read at rsarchive.org
• The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation, Sections VII, VIII, IX, Sergei O. Prokofieff, Temple Lodge Press, 1991
• The New Testament, Luke 24:50, a rendering by Jon Madsen, Christian Community , Floris Books, 1994

Dear Members and Friends,

In the interest of sound and prudent judgment based on our current environment, we will temporarily suspend all Anthroposophical Society sponsored gatherings in our area through the month of April. This includes all study groups and the School of Spiritual Science First Class. We will, however, continue to assess the facts and keep you updated.

With this unexpected change to our habits, we are presented with an opportunity to take stock of ourselves as we continue on our path of spiritual development.

In Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment, (GA 10, 1904) Rudolf Steiner describes the soul strength which is required for this process:

“… The would-be initiate must bring with him a certain measure of courage and fearlessness. He must positively go out of his way to find opportunities for developing these virtues. His training should provide for their systematic cultivation. In this respect, life itself is a good school — possibly the best school. The student must learn to look danger calmly in the face and try to overcome difficulties unswervingly. For instance, when in the presence of some peril, he must swiftly come to the conviction that fear is of no possible use; I must not feel afraid; I must only think of what is to be done …”

“… It is pre-eminently a question of cultivating this courage and this fearlessness in the inmost depths of thought-life. The student must learn never to despair over failure. He must be equal to the thought: I shall forget that I have failed in this matter, and I shall try once more as though this had not happened. Thus he will struggle through to the firm conviction that the fountain-head of strength from which he may draw is inexhaustible. He struggles ever onward to the spirit which will uplift him and support him, however weak and impotent his earthly self may have proved …”

He also said to doctors in Arnheim on July 24 1924,

“If we could not become ill, we could also not become spiritual beings … If we could not become ill, we would remain fools for our entire lifetime. The possibility of illness is due to the possibility of becoming human beings who think, feel and will … Spiritual insight into both health and illness enriches our entire view of nature.” As Richard Leviton said in his introduction to The Healing Process, a collection of Steiner’s 1923-1924 lectures, “It reminds us that as humans we are embedded in a world of natural processes and dynamic interactions that span the micro level of cells and the macro level of galaxies. We are not estranged from the environment; we are the environment in human form. Illness is not an irrelevancy in our lives; it is a clue to the core of our life.”

Article from the Goetheanum

There have been many references to Rudolf Steiner’s comments about the nature of viruses and we republish this article from the Goetheanum as one of them:

How can we understand the five etheric streams as architect and strengthener of the Human Being? How do these streams relate to the paintings of Madonna’s by Raphael?

In 1922 Rudolf Steiner approached Dr. Felix Piper, an anthroposophical physician, to work with him in treating children and adults with the healing pictures of the Raphael Madonna series. Known as “THE MADONNA TREATMENT”, it is used as a therapy in Camphill Special Schools and in many healing practices. The 15 pictures have a regenerative force, enlivening the human being through the streaming movement of the five etheric streams.