The Movement of Jupiter During the Three Years In the last chapter we spoke about Saturn. Today we shall go one step further, to Jupiter. What is Jupiter’s work, or task in the human organism? It lays the foundation in the prenatal time for building up the entire nervous system. It also has some connection with the muscles. In our conscious realization it becomes the power of Logism, philosophically speaking. (Saturn is connected with Gnosis, in a philosophical sense.)  Thus Jupiter can become the capacity of thinking. This is also associated with the future of our universe. On the present Jupiter the place already exists — one could even say the laboratory — for the preparation of “Future Jupiter” (see Occult Science). There are beings dwelling on Jupiter who prepare that future and that future universe, which will come into being after the present one will have vanished. However, that future Jupiter will no longer consist of the kind of matter that we find here on the Earth. That will have gone and the future cosmos will be composed of thought. Rudolf Steiner once pointed out that just as we now find geological layers on the Earth that tell us of the past of the Earth — of past stages of evolution — so will we find on Future Jupiter “layers” of thought. What we are thinking now, during the Earth evolution, will become the strata of that future universe. For instance, the materialism in which humanity is involved at present will be something like a hard-core thought layer on Future Jupiter. Therefore the present planet, Jupiter, is connected with the future, whereas Saturn carries the memory of the past. We are now going to work this out with regard to the hierarchies. The Hierarchy of the Seraphim, the Cherubim, and the Thrones (Fig. 2.1) is the Hierarchy of the Divine Father. Above them is the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Father Forces would especially work with this hierarchy; then follows the Hierarchy of the Kyriotetes, the Dynamis, and the Spirits of Form, or Exusiai. This is the Hierarchy of the Son. Closer to humanity stand the Archai, the Archangeloi, and the Angeloi, the hierarchy through which the Holy Spirit works. These hierarchies work into the spheres of the planets. Thus the Thrones work into the sphere of Saturn — the total sphere, not only the planet. This concerns all the implications contained in the astronomical elements of the sphere, for instance, the lines of the nodes and perihelion-aphelion. The Kyriotetes work through the sphere of Jupiter, the Dynamis through Mars. The Exusiai have their workplace, so to speak, in the Sun sphere, the Archai in astronomical Mercury, the Archangeloi in astronomical Venus, and the Angeloi in the sphere of the Moon. Figure 2.1     Seraphim FATHER Cherubim                                                                                                        Thrones                                             Kyriotetes                                                         SON                                      Dynamis                 Exusiai                Archai                                                         HOLY SPIRIT                     Archangeloi                 Angeloi     We are concerned at the moment with Saturn, about which we talked yesterday, and Jupiter. We see there the transition from the Father Forces to the Son Forces, from the Thrones, or Spirits of Will, to the Kyriotetes, or Spirits of Wisdom. Of course, we do not identify the hierarchies with the spheres, which are the workplaces of the hierarchies. The hierarchies have, in a sense, their domiciles outside the solar system, in the sidereal world beyond the limits of our solar system. Beyond the solar system are the spheres of the fixed stars, and these are the dwelling places, so to speak, of the hierarchies. From there they work into the spheres of the planets, right down to the Earth. We can imagine how their hands, metaphorically speaking, reach down into the spheres of the planets and use them in order to bring about the developments that have to happen in our solar system. They remain with their being in the fixed-star world. The offspring of the hierarchies are actually the beings of the elemental world. They are the descendants of the hierarchies. Of course, the “good” ones, who have not fallen in with the adversaries, assist the hierarchies in their work. For instance, the Moon is connected with the weather. This has now been officially established by scientific statistics. However, it is elemental beings, working from the Moon, who assist in this work of bringing about the weather conditions on the Earth: precipitation, and so forth — the decisions, the inauguration, and so forth that are inspired by the hierarchies. When the Cosmic Christ entered the corporeality of Jesus of Nazareth, He came down as a being of seven principles, similar to the human being who also carries seven principles, the lowest being the physical body. The highest principle of the human being is Spirit-Man. Likewise we can speak of a highest principle of the Christ in which He is the head of the Kyriotetes. Let us imagine that there are seven Kyriotetes who are working through evolution — this is, in a sense, a generalization. They were already working on Ancient Sun, and at that time they endowed the created world with life. The head of this entire hierarchy is the highest principle of the Christ. Therefore we can speak of the Kyriotetes especially as the Hierarchy of the Son.                                     Figure 2.2            We turn now to Fig. 2.2. Jupiter moved during the Three Years from Aries into Gemini. It is connected with the workings of the Kyriotetes, the Spirits of Wisdom. Apart from this, Aries too is associated with the Kyriotetes. Here we are considering the fact, mentioned before, that the sidereal world is actually the world of the dwelling places of the hierarchies. Thus the constellations of the Zodiac are in a sense the “houses” of the hierarchies. They step forth from these “houses” into the solar system and work there. In this sense Aries is associated with the Kyriotetes, Taurus with the Dynamis, and Gemini with the Exusiai. We do not identify, of course, the constellations of the Zodiac with the hierarchies. They can only be considered as domiciles, or gates, through which the hierarchies work. Jupiter in Aries would then indicate that at the moment of the Baptism the head of the Kyriotetes descended into the body of Jesus. The time following the Baptism, actually the major part of the Three Years, is devoted to the manifestation of Jupiter in Taurus. Taurus is connected with speech, with the larynx, and also with hearing. It is a manifestation of the Word, the Logos Who then spoke to humanity in the words of Christ, the curative and healing Word. Then, at a certain moment, Jupiter stepped into Gemini. Yesterday we found that Saturn started in Gemini. That was a different proposition. That was, so to speak, an expression of the “Great Reproach” of the divine cosmic world. Humanity, in the course of its descent into Earth matter, had torn asunder heaven and Earth and lost the kingdoms of heaven. That was the “cosmic accusation,” if one can express it like that, which spoke through Saturn, the representative, or workplace, of the Thrones, the Spirits of Will. But when Jupiter stepped into the constellation of Gemini, it meant something else. We must apply a different perspective. Gemini stands for the Two (Fig. 2.3), the heavens above and the Earth below, from the viewpoint of Saturn. There exists, however, another “twin” proposition: a horizontal side by side, the principle of the “brother”. This no longer falls in with the hierarchy principles. In the sense of hierarchical order, one was placed above the other — one was giving commandments to the lower one. The brother principle was made manifest during the Three Years by Christ at the moment of the washing of the feet. After that He said to the disciples: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants;... but I have called you friends” (John, XV: 14-15). In that moment Gemini-Jupiter was given a new meaning by Christ. The perspective of a new order, in the place of the old hierarchical order, was introduced by Christ. It is the beginning of a new cosmos, which can be created if human beings will fall in with this deed.                                            Figure 2.3 We are now faced with a new aspect. Yesterday we said that at the moment of the Baptism (Jan. 6, 31) Saturn was in the ascending node of Jupiter in Gemini (Fig. 2.4), close to the transition from Gemini to Cancer. Jupiter stepped into its own node in 33 AD. At the beginning, that is, at the Baptism, the Father Forces let the Son descend with the words: “This is my beloved Son in whom I realize myself as Self.” This is expressed in the heavens by the position of Saturn in the node of Jupiter — the Father speaks of the Son, the Head of the Kyriotetes, working in the sphere of Jupiter. At the moment of Golgotha, Jupiter steps into that place. Now the Son is revealed, the Kyriotetes, He who had already enlivened the created beings on Ancient Sun and who prepares the Future Jupiter. He is revealed in that moment, during the three days from Good Friday to Easter Sunday morning, the time of the Resurrection. Figure 2.4     At this point it might be a good idea to study the history, or “biographies,” of the two spheres involved here, those of Saturn and Jupiter. We might, thereby, get a glimpse of that which worked then into the solar system from the heights of the hierarchies. We take now the movements of the elements of the spheres, first that of the perihelion of Jupiter, which is in Pisces at present. It entered Pisces very long ago, in about 5600 BC, coming from Aquarius. This transition was obviously connected with an important moment in the evolution of humanity. How can we gauge this point in history? In order to answer this we employ the precession of the vernal point. In 747 BC, the foundation of Rome took place. The vernal point (position of the Sun on March 21-22) was then in the constellation of Aries. At present it is in the constellation of Pisces, and some time in the future it will move into Aquarius. In 747 BC it was in Aries; 2,160 years earlier it was in Taurus. That was the age of Egypt and Chaldea. Another 2,160 years brings us back to Ancient Persia. Now we have arrived at 5067 BC. In order to move further back, to 5600 BC, we must enter the preceding age. That is Ancient India. Thus the crossing over of the perihelion of Jupiter happened 600 years prior to the commencement of Ancient Persia. Ancient India was a civilization that was still closely connected with the awareness of the spiritual world. Many stories exist which confirm this. For instance, the Holy Rishis then still spoke at certain times directly out of the presence of the planetary genii. Thus they stepped forth and taught the people. The Ancient Indian civilization was still very much aware of the reality of the spiritual world. In such a world situation it happened, toward the end of that civilization, that the perihelion of Jupiter moved into Pisces, where it is now. It will move into Aries in 7900 AD. This brings us to the end of the Fifth Epoch:                                                         1413 AD                       Beginning of Piscean Age                                                         2160                             Present                                                         3573                             Aquarian Age 2160                                                         5733                             Capricorn Age 2160                                                         7893 AD                      End of Fifth post-Atlantean Epoch We start out from 1413 AD, which is the commencement of the Piscean Age. We add another 2,160 years, bringing us to the end of the Waterman Age. From there we move forward another 2,160 years to the end of the Capricorn Age. Now we have arrived at 7893 AD. That will be the end of the Fifth Epoch, the end of the so-called post-Atlantean Epoch. An epoch comprises seven Ages. The first post-Atlantean Age was Ancient India, followed by Ancient Persian, Egypto-Chaldean, and Greco-Roman Ages. The Fifth Age is our own. Two more are to come, the Age of Aquarius, followed by the Age of Capricorn. Almost exactly at the termination of the Fifth Epoch and the commencement of the Sixth Epoch the perihelion of Jupiter, the head part of that sphere, will move into Aries. What could this mean? It is described in the Revelation of St. John. Actually it is the beginning, the mighty opening, of that entire Sixth Epoch of seven subdivisions that is described. The writer of Revelation says: “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation VI:2). It is called the opening of the first seal, and it refers to the moment when the vernal point will be in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is part-human and part-horse who has a bow; that is how he is depicted on old star maps, half horse and half man, or the Centaur. But it is a white horse. In mythology the horse is always connected with the development of intelligence. In this case it is “white intelligence,” in which we see the intelligence of Jupiter. This white intelligence will then also be associated with the perihelion of Jupiter, which will have moved by that time into Aries. Behind Aries, we said, stand the Kyriotetes, whose head is the Christ, and all this points to that humanity which will then have accepted the Christ and will live in His Intelligence. Now let us look at the nodes of Jupiter. The nodes are the crossing-points of the orbit of the planet through the plane of the movement of the Earth, the ecliptic plane. At present, the ascending node of Jupiter is where it was at the time of Christ, in Gemini (Fig. 2.4). The ascending node of Saturn was then still in Cancer. Now it, too, is in Gemini; so the two are close together. They were then, at the time of Christ, only about 16° apart. In the meantime they have moved even closer, and there will come a time in the future when the two nodal lines will actually join. This will happen, according to the present rate of movement, in about 12000 AD. We are confronted here with truly apocalyptic time conceptions. The figure for the end of the present Fifth Epoch is 7893 AD:  7893                                                2160                  White Horse                              (1st Seal) V.P. in    10053                                                2160                  Red Horse                                 (2nd Seal) V.P. in                                                12213                    Joining of     &                                                2160                  Black Horse                               (3rd Seal) V.P. in   The following 4,320 years brings us to the era of the Red Horse (Revelation VI:2), lasting until 12213 AD. This would be just the time when the two nodes are expected to coincide. So, we have to imagine a joining up of forces, of the spheres of Jupiter and Saturn, as far as the Earth is concerned. What will happen then? The Revelation of St. John says (Chapter VI): “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” We need also to know what it said about the third seal because the cosmic event of which we are speaking will happen just on the point of crossing over into the third seal from the second. Those seals comprise complete Ages of 2,160 years each. “And when he had opened the third seal I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” The picture of the balances refers to the vernal point being then in Libra; the red horse is Scorpio, the white horse Sagittarius. It is interesting to note what is said about the vision of the red horse. This is a moment when Judgment Day seems to have arrived. They will kill one another, those who have not followed the white horse, the White Intelligence of the Christ as it should be evolved by humanity. This is associated time-wise with the coincidence of the two nodal lines of Saturn and Jupiter. Saturn is the great Judge, and from Jupiter streams forth all that which is connected with the Christ Impulse and the future of the Earth. The intelligence of the human race that will then not have become “white” will be “black.” As the black horse, it will then be bound to black and unredeemed earthly matter. And it will go down with matter. That will happen about 10,000 years from now. Thus we see how the heavens reflected the events on Earth at the time of Christ. They proclaimed that the great Judgment Day in the far future was already preordained in its first stages by the Deed of Christ. He provided humanity with the opportunity to raise itself to higher planes of existence. Finally, He demonstrates it in the act of Resurrection. And yet, He left humanity of all ages to come to an entirely free decision on its own grounds. There was nothing of a compelling or imposing nature in the Deed of Christ. It is all given to our unimpeded decision and love of the will of the divinity. Our thinking comprehension only must be the first step. However, the divinity cannot force salvation on us, nor can it preserve us from the consequences if we reject it. In the inevitable movement of the nodal lines of Jupiter and Saturn toward their coincidence is expressed the apocalyptic perspective of what will happen if humanity accepts or rejects the Christ Impulse. Those who accept will experience, at some future point, the most powerful combination of an awareness of the “Will of the Father” (Saturn) and a loving new “Creation by the Son,” the New Adam of St. Paul (Jupiter). This will become part of their being. Those who reject will experience that judgment of which the Revelation speaks, which will come in stages. Without the Christ Impulse, existence in any form will make less and less sense, until stages will be reached where these beings will destroy themselves.