THE WORKING OF THE STARS ON THE SUBSTANCES OF THE EARTH

Four Lectures and drawings given by WILLI SUCHER to the Bio Dynamic Experimental Circle

Given at Peredur, East Grinstead, Sussex, 9-12 January 1956

LECTURE TWO - 10 January, 1956

Tonight I should like to speak about the Zodiac, and perhaps you will permit me to recall very briefly what we did last night in order to find the thread again. Yesterday we spoke about the Sun as a “hole” in space and about the fact that the Sun—this kind of super-vacuum in the cosmos—is drawing in cosmic substance, some kind of sidereal substance from the periphery. We have to imagine that out there at the periphery of the universe is, so to speak, a storehouse, a background, where all the building stones are to be found for what has been and still is being built up within the solar universe. I also indicated last night that the solar universe must not be regarded as a sphere but rather as a flat disc. All the planets move on this disc with very slight deviations. So what we have to find out tonight is something about the nature of the background from which our solar universe takes its building stones. That background is obviously the Zodiac.

Now here we find ourselves in a certain dilemma. Let me briefly refer to the methods used by modern astronomy to investigate the cosmos. What is being done? Modern astronomy has been doing quite well! Magnificent discoveries have been made since the invention of the telescope. We have penetrated ever more deeply into the universe, and, as you are aware, the number of known stars, especially fixed stars, has increased enormously since telescopes have become more and more powerful. For example, we have attempted to weigh stars and naturally to measure them. We have striven to discover their nature, their supposed nature, chiefly by means of the telescope. However, this grand building of modern astronomy is only a very one-sided aspect. Let us imagine for a moment that we are deaf and dumb, have no sense of smell, no sense of touch, and that only the sense of sight is left to us. You would agree if this were the case we would get a highly distorted picture of the world. Yet in astronomy, we have been using almost exclusively the sense of sight. That is all we have been able to do. We have been enlarging the power of our telescopes. One of the latest, as you may know, is the 200inch telescope at Mount Palomar. Great hopes were set on that telescope. It was hoped that it would be possible to penetrate further into space and discover something about either the infinity of space or its limits. But all that has been found, and in fact has been found even with less powerful telescopes, is more stars. Stars not previously seen have been discovered in the depths of space. Furthermore, something strange has been happening which you can take, if you like, in a symbolic sense. It has been discovered that the whole of the great universe is actually flying apart far beyond the solar system in which we live, where distances are measured in millions of light years.

The distances alone are simply unimaginable. Can we imagine a light second, the distance through which a beam of light moves in one second? That is in the order of 190,000 miles per second. Can we imagine that? No human being can! Now we multiply this by 60, giving a light hour, etc., and now we have millions of light years. We realize that it is simply beyond human imagination. I believe it is true to say that if we speak of dimensions beyond the sphere of imaginable space, then we are already getting outside space.

We cannot know whether those distances are really correct, because they are all based on the conditions we meet here on Earth. These earth-like conditions have simply been transferred or superimposed, as it were, onto the cosmos. It is simply assumed that light in the cosmos has the same velocity as it is supposed to have here on Earth, and that is the basis of the calculations. So the whole thing, this whole building based on exact computation, may yet be an illusion.

Apart from that conception of space and distance, something else has also been discovered. We are inclined to imagine that all those distant stars and galaxies are moving more or less peacefully on their paths, keeping well together. But the opposite has been discovered. The whole great universe is flying apart at a tremendous velocity. The individual galaxies have not yet reached the velocity of light, but they are not very far off it. We are faced with a universe that looks like an atomic explosion; its particles are simply flying apart! I would not like to build too much upon this conception, but the whole idea is quite revealing in a symbolic sense. In our attempt to penetrate cosmic space, all that we have achieved is a cosmos that is apparently moving away from us. We see that the use of the sense of sight alone has led to a terrifying picture of the cosmos. When we learn about astronomy from radio, if we are told that it means “hearing” the stars, that is just not true. We still only see them, for we observe them on a screen, and that is sight, nothing else, all is based on the sense of sight.

Thus we have a universe, or rather an aspect of the universe, which is highly one-sided and at the same time a universe on the way to escaping the sense of sight. In other words, we come to a point—and this is admitted by reasonable astronomers—where modern astronomy cannot say very much more about the universe. We have come to a dead end. We cannot go out and touch the stars. We cannot use our sense of touch, nor can we attempt to listen to them. The sense of sight is the only faculty we can use in this sphere. Astronomers are naturally obliged to maintain this, but for us, the question is whether it may not be possible to employ other senses. I believe this is possible, but we may have to develop special inner senses. I am sure that it will be possible in the future to employ the sense of hearing in astronomy just as we now use sight. This hearing will have to be developed. It may be something of the nature of Inspiration in the sense of anthroposophical terminology.

We now have to consider what practical approach we can take at this moment. How can we investigate the nature of the Zodiac? We want to find out about the working of the Zodiac so as to understand what is constantly streaming into our solar system. We will obviously have to build different instruments and find other means from what we have used hitherto in astronomy. How can we do that? The solution is quite simple. There is one very fine and excellent instrument available which can be used for the observation of the stars, and that is the human being. The human being is the very best instrument as far as our bodily nature, our organization, is concerned. How can that be?

We spoke yesterday of the substance or essence that comes in from the periphery of our solar universe. We said that it is of a twelvefold nature because it originates in the Zodiac, which itself consists of the twelve familiar constellations. We also said that we find traces of that substance, of those energies coming from beyond our solar universe, in the kingdoms of nature. We find them there because all these kingdoms have been built up by cosmic forces drawn in by the super suction of the Sun, by that “hole” in the space of our solar universe. Apart from the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, there is another being who unites that twelvefoldness within itself, and that is the human being! In the human being there is no separation of the twelve different groups. In our bodily constitution we are a manifestation of the totality of the twelve, of all twelve constellations. What is found dispersed in the kingdoms of nature is collected and gathered together, forming one integrated organism in the human being. It is about this we have to speak. For in studying the integrated twelve-foldness of the human organization, we find that, as far as its form is concerned, it is simply the humanized Zodiac. I do not think I need to elaborate at this moment why this is so. We all know that the human being, the soul of man, descends from cosmic heights into earthly incarnation. Long before birth, indeed most of the time between two incarnations, the human being is concerned chiefly with building up the spiritual foundation of its physical body, of its future physical organization. We receive that foundation from the world which appears to us externally in the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. The human being brings its spiritual form down to the Earth, or near to the Earth, and at the moment of conception that form, which is of a cosmic nature (built of cosmic substance or energy), is imprinted into the element of earthly matter. Every human organism bears the imprint of the majestic background of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac.

The task we have before us is, therefore, to study the human organism. We have to read in it the dynamic impact of the constellations of the Zodiac. It is quite a formidable task, and I do not believe we can do more than touch the fringes of it tonight. However, I hope to be able to give you an indication of the direction in which we have to search in order to grasp these facts.

There is a way of expressing the nature of the Zodiac’s constellations in a style of abbreviated language. It is contained in the symbols of the Zodiac. These have come down to us from very ancient times, and they have been modified in the course of the history of modern humanity. In the dynamic forces of these symbols we can still recognize the nature of the working of the constellations in matter. I should like to add that we will have to consider the human being from two aspects; one of these is the head alone. The head is something like a cosmos in itself. Apart from that, the totality of the human organism is also a cosmos, but one which has been modified, which has been, as it were, drawn into uprightness. The whole human organism betrays the impact of the dynamic forces of the Zodiac.

Let us see how we can find the very first constellation of Ram in the head. Where in the head can we find the Ram? Where is it working? It is imprinted in the human head (Fig. 1a), and this is the symbol we use for the constellation of Ram. What does this symbol mean? It simply signifies that there is one great cosmos, still undifferentiated. Into that great cosmos enters an impulse to do something (Fig. 1b), to bring about movement and evolution. Something appears that is like an inner lightening-up of action, something wanting to go in a certain direction. You can also see this in the old sign of the Tao. Up here on the horizontal line something is at rest. The vertical line goes down; it has the tendency to step out of the condition of rest. This tendency is certainly also present in the resting skull (Fig. 1a). The skull is, in a sense, a universe in itself, quite content within itself. But then in the lower part of the head you have limbs, as it were. The jaws are like limbs, they serve movement. The upper jaw is still bound fast, but the lower jaw has achieved at least a certain amount of freedom of movement.

We must also find this in the totality of the human organism. How do we find it there? Well, here we have the head and here the limbs (Fig. 1c). Here we can see clearly the tendency to go downward, to reach out as it were, to leave the sphere [of the head] which is the image of the cosmos. For example, the human brain adjusts itself to the sphere of the skull, but the spinal cord goes down into the body. This is one of the manifestations of the Ram in the body. Thus we have a fundamental impulse entering a universe which is inclined to remain at rest.

The next step leads us to the constellation of Bull. This is the symbol we use for it (Fig. 2a). We see that a certain development has taken place. The upper world, that majestic, wonderful, cosmic world, is still resting in its perfection. But through the impulse to enter into motion something else has been developed. The symbol expresses its progress. An indication of a sphere is given by the addition of something like horns to a circle. We may connect it with the brain, but the horns reach out above the head. The smaller circle stands for the brain (Fig. 2b). Thus we have two entities: a bigger sphere above the head which is an image of the realm of cosmic thought, and a smaller sphere, the brain, which appears like a mirror of the greater one. The world of human brain-bound thought is still closely connected with cosmic thought but is no more than a reflection. Human thought has its origin in divine cosmic thought, but it dies into a shadowy existence as soon as it touches the human brain. Here we see the realization of the impact of Bull in the head.

What about Bull in the whole human being? There it is realized in the larynx (Fig. 2c). The larynx is connected with the Bull. From the heights we have received the capacity of speech—it has become human. Where did it originate? It originates in the Cosmic Word that created the universe and which has brought to birth all that we see around us as the world of objects. In the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John we hear the words “In the beginning was the Word” and “All things were made by It and without It was not anything made that was made.”

We can see the symbol for Bull almost literally in the human organism. Think of the larynx as a sphere which we need in order to produce speech. From this larynx, as you know, two tubes reach up into the middle ear. This is the imprint of Bull in the human organism.

Now we can describe the principle of the constellation of Bull. Surely it is an element which has descended a step deeper than that of Ram. Ram represents an original impulse and no more; nothing has been achieved yet, only the tendency toward doing something. In Bull, something has been achieved, but it is still closely connected with its cosmic origin, with cosmic thought. This cosmic origin is, so to speak, our great home in the spirit, from which we have descended into the world of matter.

This principle is carried over into the constellation of Twins. In the head (Fig. 3a), we have a manifold manifestation of this constellation. For instance, there are twins in the two hemispheres of the brain (Fig. 3a), but we also have twins in the polarity between the sphere of the skull and the lower part of the head. These twins go hand in hand, as it were, but are unequal (Fig. 3a).

This is the symbol we use for Twins (Fig. 3b). We see two worlds actually moving apart. This is a tendency we can see anywhere in the head. An example is the differentiation between right and left. You know that the right side of the face is quite different from the left side. They are twins and bound together, but each has a different formation. Then we have the differentiation in the vertical and between front and back.

And what about the human being as a whole? There, too, we have twins in many directions. For instance, you have them if you take the whole head and the lower organism (Fig. 3c). Those, twins are connected; they are also unequal but they are twins closely united by the spinal cord. Each needs the other, each must take the hand of the other. You also have twins in this direction, right and left, especially as far as the arms are concerned. And if we take the whole human being and simply look at its organization, we have twins again in a different

direction, the vertical and horizontal which is expressed in the features of the human body (Fig. 3d).

What is the archetypal nature of the cosmic-dynamic function that we encounter here? It is the tendency toward separation. The two worlds have come far apart but they are still connected. This is the dynamic impact of the constellation of Twins. It is to be found in innumerable manifestations in the world. These originate in Twins, becoming variegated as they move through the planetary world before finally coming down to Earth and appearing in matter. The symbols are indeed a kind of archetypal language which can help us to grasp the fundamental activities of the constellations.

Next the constellation of Crab, which also manifests itself in many ways in the human being. Let us look first at the head. We know that in a baby the fontanels are still open. This is an indication that there is still something like a cord of communication with the whole universe. Not until some time after birth is that portal closed (Fig. 4a). If we look at it from above we see the oval of the human skull (Fig. 4b). At first it is still open but later closes. In this we can recognize the symbol of Crab. At first there is still a connection with the cosmic world but as soon as the fontanels are closed that is severed and the human being falls away from the cosmos. This is expressed in the symbol of Crab. In Fig. 4c you see two curves, one being an expression of a long development in the past, i.e., the whole previous evolution of the cosmos that the individual human being recapitulates before being born and which ends at birth. Now something new must be inaugurated. The incarnating soul is sent forth in order to develop certain capacities in isolation on the Earth. Only on Earth can those forces be developed. We know they are chiefly connected with the development of the I or self. So the human being is sent forth, severed from the cosmic world, and in that separation takes up a new evolution and participates in the creation of a new cosmos. The new evolution is indicated by the second curve of the symbol (Fig. 4c).

The question is whether the gap between the two curves can be bridged over? This is important to us today. I would like to give you an indication of how significant these things are. At the moment when the Mystery of Golgotha took place, the planet Saturn was in the constellation of Crab. Christ brought all the spirit-forces of the cosmos down to the Earth. He imbued the Earth with the forces which permeate and move the stars. Every human being who unites with the Christ Impulse can participate in those celestial forces which Christ united with the Earth. What we read in such an event—where Saturn is in the constellation of the Crab—is the fact that the Earth and humanity have been imbued with spiritual cosmic gifts which enable us to bridge over the abyss, the gap, between “involution” and “evolution”. The past of the Earth and the cosmos we see as a process of “involution”, and the development of a new cosmos toward the future we regard as “evolution”. Thus we realize that such forces were working into the Earth at the moment of Golgotha. Without their incorporation the Earth could not survive.

When we look at the totality of the human being, we find the forces of Crab in the formation of the chest (Fig. 4d). They have been somewhat modified, but in a sense it is the same principle—an enclosing activity. In the chest we are at home with ourselves; it is the house in which we can live, also where our heart beats, and also where we are isolated, in a sense, from the great house of the universe.

Let us now pass on to the constellation of Lion. We have already noted that the human being is at home but cut off from the great cosmos in the chest. Now where do we find the impulse of Lion? The skull has already experienced the impact of Crab; thereafter, a new evolution must be brought about through the resources of the self, which can only be developed in the gap between the two curves of the Crab symbol. This self, indicated by a circle in Fig. 5a, is something which has been enclosed and left to itself. The self is called upon to help build up a new cosmos, which can be described by a curve moving downward and outward. Thus we arrive at the symbol of Lion

in Fig. 5a.

There are two ways of drawing the symbol of Lion. One from the periphery to arrive at the point (Fig. 5b). That is the Lion of involution, a movement which contracted and densified the spiritual cosmos, finally “breaking it up” into matter. It is enacted whenever a human being incarnates, coming from the periphery of the spiritual cosmos, incarnating step by step and finally arriving at the waiting seed on Earth. Once incarnated, we are called upon to help build up a new cosmos. This we can do by

developing those faculties of which Rudolf Steiner has spoken: Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. They will become the foundation of a new cosmos.

We also find the principle of Lion in the totality of the human organism, particularly within the chest. First we have the enclosing space, the “house”. Within it beats the heart (Fig. 5c). There we have two actions, an outward movement of the circulation and the return movement from the periphery into the body. How can we describe the impact of Lion? Is there a simple concept which can help us understand, in a universal sense, the nature of the forces working from the direction of Lion? Obviously the principle is one of contest between the periphery and the center, and the question is whether the center is activated from the outside or whether it has acquired the capacity of developing its own activity. It can take on an endless variety of forms and manifestations. It may happen, for instance, that a person cannot find the center and will then be inclined to live on the periphery. One may appear to be estranged from the Earth, not properly incarnated, not fully participating in the life of the Earth. The opposite can also take place; one can be too much enclosed within the cell of oneself and cannot get out toward the periphery, the surrounding environment, etc.

A considerable amount of research has verified that such tendencies are present in human nature, but we can also find them everywhere in the kingdoms of nature if we search diligently enough. It is our task, of course, to transform them, and we have the capacity to do so, perhaps even to withstand them. We can do this by developing those faculties about which we have been speaking.

Next to Lion is the constellation of Virgin. In the human head we find the impact chiefly as indicated in Fig. 6a. Hitherto, the contrast between periphery and center has only been a tendency, but in Virgin, the real work begins. The constellation of Virgin is, in fact, like the laboratory of the gods, the womb of the divine cosmic world. There the great transformations are enacted. How do we read this symbol? It speaks of a very mysterious region, where the secrets of life and of becoming are kept. They are carefully guarded against profanation as in a sanctuary behind three veils. If we prepare ourselves appropriately we will be able to pass through the three curtains and finally enter the inmost part of the temple where the mysteries of life and becoming are preserved. The three curtains are expressed in the three strokes of the symbol (Fig. 6b). Having passed through them we find the supreme divine wisdom which is also life. This is indicated in that kind of serpent at the end of the symbol, the serpent of wisdom. It is there that these mysterious activities take place in the “mirror” of the brain, which translates perception into conception and lets them stream into the whole body (Fig. 6a). Nobody yet knows or understands how a human being is able to perform a movement. We have in our mind a picture of the movement—“I want to do this”, but no one has yet discovered how it is executed in our organism. Here we are confronted with great mysteries.

In the totality of the human being we have similar mysteries, because the constellation of

Virgin is connected with the mysterious region of the solar plexus and digestion, where the inner

organs are located in the sphere below the diaphragm. This mysterious region is also not fully understood; for instance, it is known that food substances are broken down there, but how it happens we do not know. Again, it is a region which is thrice veiled (Fig. 6c) and deeply connected with the mysteries of life and becoming, having many more aspects than just that of digestion.

Next to Virgin is the constellation of Scales. In the human head, we find it incarnate in the complex organization of the ear. Within the inner ear is the mysterious organ of balance. The symbol indicates a balance, something which is suspended and must be kept horizontal in order to be balanced (Fig. 7a). In the totality of the human being, it is connected with the hips (Fig. 7b), also a region of balance—the balance between the upper human being and the lower organism. We can only fully fathom that balance and the symbol used for it when we understand the constellation of Scorpion, which succeeds Scales.

In Scorpion we are again faced with forces coming from the universe which are thrice veiled. But these mysteries are connected with the cosmic stages of evolution which have led toward the realization of the self. They are mysteries of the deed, ultimately the deed which arises out of emancipated selfhood. Again we have one portal, a second and a third portal (Fig. 8b) in the three strokes of the symbol. Only after we have gone through them can we enter that realm where we seek the basis for doing something, or at least for aiming at some deed. This is indicated in the arrow at the end of the symbol. In the head we find Scorpion in the region of the larynx (Fig. 8a); indeed, it relates to the whole region serving the process of speech formation. We know that the constellation of Scorpion is actually opposite that of Bull, which we have heard is connected with speech, with the larynx and the tubes going up into the middle ear (Eustachian tubes). However, in Bull we still have a strong affinity with the Cosmic Word, the Divine Word, out of which the human word was born. In Scorpion the Word has become the human word, emancipated from the cosmos. It must be carried by the inner activity of the human being. In the lecture, from The World of Senses, Lecture VI, 1 January, 1912, Rudolf Steiner speaks of the fact that hearing will gradually fade away. This is connected with Bull and with the old creation which has come to an end. The organ of the larynx and speech, everything that is connected with Scorpion is on the ascent. In human beings of the future, the purified Scorpion will become the foundation of the new Creative Word. In the totality of the human being, Scorpion is manifest in the whole sphere of reproduction and propagation. There, too, you have great mysteries which, in a sense, have had to be deeply veiled.

Now we can also understand why Scales stands between the constellations of Virgin and Scorpion. On the one side are the portals to the mysteries of life and becoming, and on the other the portals to the mysteries of death and the deed. In order to enter those regions in full consciousness, a high degree of inner balance must first be attained. Without the greatest possible degree of balance, the effects of Virgin and Scorpion would become destructive forces in the human being.

After Scorpion comes the constellation of Archer. In Archer everything is manifest that serves action and radiates outward. We find it, for instance, in the bones of the lower jaw (Fig. 9a). In the human organism as a whole, it appears in the upper legs and arms. In these regions we notice a tendency to go out, to step out of the enclosure which we find in the region of Virgin. The latter is still apparently guarded, closed off, and veiled. But now, having crossed the threshold of Scales, we re-enter the external world, and individual action can now be realized. This is expressed in the symbol of the arrow. In the limbs, action is directed toward the Earth. That is the task of modern humanity, to work on the Earth (Fig. 9b) out of the impulse of inner freedom and love.

Thus, from the direction of Archer, we find forces streaming into the Earth which have a tendency to go through the world as impulses to action, impulses which fly like arrows through space. As human beings, it may even be our task to check and contain them so that they do not exhaust themselves in aimlessness. It is possible to do this if one has the knowledge. Our task of regulating them in this way should also be possible in agriculture. Of course, in order to handle these forces we must know them, know how and when they enter the Earth. If you know, for instance, that next year or a few years hence, Saturn will be in the constellation of Archer, then you can gauge the impacts striking the Earth. They will be Archer forces modified by Saturn. They will manifest everywhere in nature. If one has this knowledge one will be able to use or curb these forces as required.

The next constellation is that of Capricorn, Goat or Goat Fish. First, I should like to explain the symbol. This is the sign for figure 10a - g) we use for the Goat in. On the continent they use this symbol (Fig. 10b), which is similar. In both cases, something which looks like the crescent Moon (Fig. 10c), which can be extended to a sphere, is being held up or carried. The lower part of the symbol reminds us of Crab, which actually stands opposite to Goat in the Zodiac. What did we find in Crab? We observed a movement toward separation, toward total emancipation. We could say that in the Goat is the opposite. There is a tendency to re-establish contact between an element that is above and one that is below. One part of Crab, the lower spiral, has developed to such an extent that it can carry that sphere into the heights. In a sense, the arrow of Archer, which would go out into the infinite if it were not retained, is here actually checked. It is transformed and directed toward a definite aim. It carries the cosmos by means of those faculties acquired in previous crises, for instance, in the crisis of independence which was indicated in the constellation of Scorpion.

In the human form this is manifested as carrying capacities. I shall draw the symbol upside down (Fig. 10d). Physiologically, the head is carried by the body. But metaphorically, we can think of the head as carrying the body. The head is an old world, virtually the residue of the last incarnation. The body, apart from the head, is the beginning of the future. In the first, place the body is the seed of a future incarnation, but ultimately, a very first germ or contribution toward a future universe. The head that descended from an old world and which has gone through stages of emancipation and materialization must now serve a final purpose and carry the body, the seed of the future. Into that indication of a new cosmos it must work to transmit its last attained faculty of self-conscious thinking.

Within the totality of the human being, we find Capricorn here in the knees (Fig. 10e). Here it also checks the Archer activity. Can we imagine the human being without knees, with legs like stilts? One’s whole life would be different. It would be extremely difficult to achieve flexibility and grace in our movements. We would be incapable of incarnating fully into the Earth or of developing a sense of responsibility toward it in our daily work. Besides its connection with the knees, Capricorn is associated with all the joints in the human body.

So what kind of forces are streaming in from the direction of Capricorn? They obviously have a potential which can be used for the reunification of what has become separated in Crab, the heavens and Earth. These forces can be employed in the establishment and appreciation of new knowledge of cosmic energies working in earthly matter. I am convinced that if we knew how to do it, we would perform wonders with them. Very probably, more could be done with these cosmic forces than with all the energies released by atomic physics.

Let us continue to the constellation of Waterman. Again we face a whole new world described in a simple sign. Here something is moving and flowing. A certain process has been developed a stage further. It started with the activity of Archer, was checked and modified by Capricorn, and now in Waterman it has become harmonious movement. In Capricorn a whole new world was discovered, a new cosmos in seed form, one of the seeds being the body of the human being. In Waterman we have the ups and downs of the movement and

development toward the future. But the most important point expressed by the symbol is that the evolution of the new born freedom in the depths adjusts itself, through free decision, to movement and evolution in the heights. In other words, Waterman radiates forces which want to harmonize with the practical applications of a cosmology or astrosophy in earthly affairs. The germination and growth of a single plant are manifestations of the cooperation between the heavens and Earth. However, it is the task of our free choice to establish the cooperation consciously. Otherwise, Earth existence will dry out spiritually and become barren.

In the human head, we find a manifestation of Waterman indicated in the lips (Fig. 11a). The lips are the organ which finally formulates what streams into the world as speech. They create a harmony between what lives within the human being and that which receives the human word in the external world. In the totality of the human form, we find it in the calves of the legs (Fig. 11b). This is a region that is not yet fully developed in

the human organism but which will play a great role in the future. Here warmth of the body meets with the outer warmth. We know that the bloodstream comes to the periphery of the human organism in the calves. There it can be checked and regulated, for instance, in the case of fever. Thus here too, we have an organ of communication between an external world of formative forces and an inner world. However, this region of the human organism is, in a certain sense, still in its infancy. It will go through many transformations before becoming an organ of active cosmic creation.

Finally, we come to the constellation of Fishes. In Fishes, we would expect a definite achievement, as it is the last constellation of the Zodiac. We started from a close connection with the cosmos. That was apparent in Ram, Bull, etc. Then we came to the tendency toward emancipation from the cosmos. We entered our own “house” and established ourselves there. After that we entered a sphere of crisis because we had divorced ourselves from cosmic support for the sake of freedom and independence. Then came the impulse to individual deed and the deed itself. But we had to make important preparation so that the deed might be controlled, and finally, we re-established a connection with the great cosmos. But we did this out of our own freedom and love of the cosmic divine aims. Now comes the final step, when we stand face to face with the cosmos from which we were once separated and which we have found again after hard labor. But now there is a fundamental difference, a difference which is actually revealed in the symbol of Fishes. This is the symbol (Fig. 12a). I should like to put the symbol of Twins (Fig. 12b) next to it. How did we experience Twins? In Twins we had a picture of hierarchical order. In the upper sphere, the great cosmos was indicated as still working strongly into the lower realm. But even then there were signs that the two would separate, which they finally did in the constellation of Crab. However, in Fishes the two spheres now stand on a basis of equality. They are connected in the horizontal. When that stage has been reached, a person is no longer a creature in the hierarchical order but has become a creator. This stage, of course, lies in the far distant future of the human race. What was still in a state of dependence in Twins will then stand side by side with the hierarchies. We are reminded of the words of Christ in the last chapters of the Gospel of St. John, where he says, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth, but I have called you friends, for all things I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (XV, 15). This is what is contained in Fishes, but a long and painful road leads to it.

The Fishes have been working in the cosmos since the beginning, and in the manifestations of the human organism and the images reflected in it they have always established that “side by side” view of evolution. For instance, in the human head (Fig. 12c), we have the two fishes of the eyes, the two fishes of the ears etc. Although left and right are different in nature (the right is more active, the left more passive and receptive), nevertheless they cooperate. The feet and hands also differ with regard to right and left, but they are “side by side” and we use them in a kind of brotherly cooperation. All these parts of the body, the hands, the feet etc., are evidence of the working of Fishes. In order to handle these forces consciously in any field, we will have to develop the attitude of brotherhood toward each other, toward the kingdoms of nature, toward the substances of the Earth, the cosmos, etc.

I admit this has been a very sketchy description of the Zodiac and its symbols. It has been no more than an indication of the direction in which we shall have to move in order to investigate the nature of the constellations and to find ways and means of handling their effects. They are manifest in nature all around us and even in our own human organism, but we should never forget that our soul life must be kept independent of the forces of the cosmos. Here we must strictly distinguish that as far as our bodily organism is concerned, we participate in the forces streaming down from the Zodiac, modified by the planets and eventually “broken up” into the objects and things we meet on the Earth. This reservation contains the precious fruit of our age-old labor for spiritual freedom. We must not lose it, otherwise we will also lose the integrity of our self.

This presentation has been an attempt to work with the symbols, not just accepting them in the traditional sense but trying to understand their inner meaning. They have come down to us through tradition and we cannot fully rely on them. Perhaps we ought, at least in part, to invent new symbols. I expect that this would happen in the future. In fact I have myself felt obliged to translate the symbols into a language more akin to our modern conceptions. Nevertheless, we have a basis on which we can stand and work toward a future that we hope will be able to understand and employ the forces streaming down through the planets into the Earth. In an age which increasingly acknowledges only the reality of earthly material forces and substances, the active integration of a spiritual knowledge of the cosmos and our work on the Earth will be of paramount importance. Otherwise, we may tumble into the abyss of unimaginable catastrophes. Without really knowing and handling the cosmic background, we cannot work efficiently on this planet, for we will be liable to leave out one half of existence and be caught up in dim and vague conceptions about the other half.

 

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