Our Sojourn in the Spiritual World and the Stars

Reincarnation - 21 July 1966

   

This is the last lecture in this series, and here we present an amazing fact in connection with the asterogram of death. At the moment of going out into the spiritual world, we can find the projection into the future incarnation. Although not all is fixed for the future, the soul takes a possible perspective of the future incarnation out of the results of the past life. Birth configurations can be seen as an imagination of what our soul has received of the ingredients that are to make up our future life. At death we find in the heavens a corresponding sum total of the past incarnation.

We will demonstrate this first with the death asterogram of Raphael (inner circle). His death took place on 6 April 1520. Uranus was in Ram, Jupiter was in the constellation of Scales, Saturn was in Goat, the Earth at the feet of Virgin, Venus in Archer, Mercury was in Goat, with Neptune and Mars (heliocentric) in Waterman. What we have to search for is the moment when Saturn was again in the same position after death as the Earth was at death. Saturn starts in Goat and travels around to rest in Virgo in 1541. This would be the time of Kamaloka — if any, in this particular case. Now we proceed:

   

            1520.27           Death of Raphael

            1541.45          Saturn in Virgin — where the Earth was at death (heliocentric)

                21.18   x 12.37 = transposition into Moon cycles — lunations

      262 lunations went into the time Saturn took to go from Goat to Virgin =    1520

Novalis was born in 1772, but 1782 seems to have been a particularly important time. We know that Novalis must have been retarded in some way as a child, until he was about 9 or 10 years old. It was only then that he broke through to become the wonderful human being he then was. He really only incarnated properly in 1782, in his waking up on Earth, so to speak. I gave you this because I wished to show you how these events return and how even definite configurations return.

When Raphael died, Uranus was in Ram. When Novalis incarnated, Uranus had returned to Ram (see above outer broken line), thus Novalis picked up where Raphael left off. This is a wonderful background to this individuality. We know that in a much earlier incarnation he was John the Baptist — the greatest of humans; that he then had an unknown incarnation, which was probably concerned with the Grail; that his next incarnation was Raphael, and finally the incarnation as Novalis. All these are associated with Ram. It refers to the background of John the Baptist, who recognized the Ram (or Lamb) of God. Christ was Head of the Kyriotetes and known in the Mysteries as the Ram of God. This same motif constantly returns. At the time of the Epoch, in August 1771, the Venus of Novalis stood opposite that of Raphael (indicated in above drawing), which was in Archer.

Earlier we studied the Novalis embryo image — the cosmic counterpart. You will remember that we started from the birth and went back to find Saturn in the same place where the Earth had been at that time. This was in Scales, and the date 1749.

      Novalis’ Birth                    1772

      Saturn in Libra                  -1749

      Sun years                             23.4

Transposed to Moon cycles: 23.4 x 12.37 = 289.4 lunations

      Birth of Novalis                 1772

            Subtract                       - 289

      Birth of Raphael                1483

We can also check how Novalis can be traced right back to the incarnation of John the Baptist:

      Novalis’ Birth                   1772

      Saturn in same place       - 1631

            Moon cycles:                 141 x 12.37 = 1746 lunations

      Birth of Novalis                1772   

            Subtract                    - 1746

AD

Saturn traveled around the zodiac several times before settling in the same place where the Earth was at the birth of Novalis in 1772. Thus we reach the year 26 AD, referring back to John the Baptist. This can be further corroborated by the Saturn transposition of time.

Now we will investigate Haroun al Raschid, who died on 24 March 809 (inner circle). His Jupiter and Saturn were conjunct in Scorpio. His Sun was, naturally, in Pisces, with Venus and Mercury close by, while Mars stood further back in Aquarius. We now search once again for the moment when Saturn returned to Fishes (taking 2½ cycles) in the year 879. This was in the same place as the Sun was at death, from the geocentric viewpoint.

   

      From Saturn’s return to Pisces                  879

      Subtract Haroun al Raschid’s death       - 809.23

      Transposed into Moon cycles                     69.77 x 12.37 = 863 lunations

Now we have a strange thing, which is that these 863 years comprise the period from Haroun al Raschid’s birth to the death of Bacon in 1626 — line on top left. At either end, the life time of both Raschid and Bacon are contained in the whole picture.

As the individuality could not escape the last incarnation, it became the more deeply involved in the next. Therefore the asterogram of the death of Bacon has a correspondence with the birth asterogram of Haroun al Raschid. When Bacon was born, Saturn was in Taurus (line on top right), which opposed the Saturn in Scorpio at the death of Haroun al Raschid.

This is a remarkable coincidence, as it refers to Taurus and Scorpio, and we have already spoken about the background in connection with the Egyptian civilization and the necessity then to arrive down to Earth and the physical plane, keeping the soul as close as possible to Earth. This is like an echo from that past. In 763 we have the birth of Raschid, and it becomes apparent that at death he was involved in an ever-deepening process. There is an affinity to Mohammedanism in history revealed by his Saturn in Scorpio at death: If we now take these 863 lunation years + 763 (birth of Raschid) = 1626, the death of Bacon!

Thus Arabism precipitated the modern scientific age too soon, so that it has gone too deep and has become too deeply materialized. Bacon at birth still had to struggle with the same problem, as in the previous incarnation — that of Saturn in Taurus. This was a memory picture that reflected spiritually what had lived in that other soul in the past. Bacon also became too involved in materialistic natural science.

Now let us do some research into Emerson’s background, which we know to have been that of Mathilda of Tuscany, who was born in 1046 and died in July 1115 (inner circle). Saturn was in the constellation of Ram, Earth was in Goat, Venus was close by the Earth, Mars was in Scorpion, Mercury was in Scales, and Jupiter was in Virgin. We must once more look for the time when Saturn was in some relationship to the Earth. This was in 1182, when Saturn was opposite the Earth as it had been at birth.

Saturn opposite the Earth’s birth position           1182

Subtract death of Mathilda                                -1115

                                                                                66.45 x 12.37 = 822 lunations

Plus Mathilda’s birth                                                                   + 1046

A point during Emerson’s life time (1803-1882)                           1868

   

We do not actually know what happened unless we study his biography, but you might be able to find this for yourselves as an important date in his life. However, this once more gives some indication of the relationship of the death asterogram to the future incarnation. In this there is already the realization of future possibilities. The whole life of Mathilda seems to have been a working toward the incarnation of Emerson as a possibility. We do many things in life, and know that these have a bearing on our future incarnation. But whenever that will be is decided with the Divine Hierarchies after death.

In this death-gram, Saturn went twice around and a bit further, to where the Sun was at Mathilda’s death, and opposite the Earth, and in the same place as Saturn at the incarnation of Emerson. There are obviously other possibilities, but this one has been chosen for a reason. Emerson waited for 800 years for a good purpose. One can point the way, in this manner, to intricate spiritual ‘mechanics’ relating to future incarnations.

Bacon’s Saturn is heavy with the past, but Emerson’s Jupiter corresponds to an earlier Jupiter, though this time also conjunct with Uranus in Virgo. Emerson had a tremendous range of comprehension, as seen in his Representative Man, and a deep understanding of humanity. Jupiter in Virgo represents a higher octave of wisdom, for Virgo is a symbol for the Sophia, and Jupiter is also connected with wisdom.

We can see by these methods, how deeply we are connected with the stars and with the most sublime connections that are not so easily observed. We have already spoken of the horoscope and its meaning, which is thoroughly mundane; but hidden behind any chart we can now discover great spiritual perspectives. Rudolf Steiner had to reject modern astrology as a betrayal, in that most people only wanted forecasts and trivialities from it that were purely personal. This, he felt, was a kind of betrayal of the ancient mysteries. He wrote articles, in the very early days of his career, on astrology in the magazine Lucifer Gnosis, where he indicated his insights about it in somewhat derogatory terms. He also said that astrology was a reality in regard to the spiritual signs, but that it needed the highest faculties of cognition to interpret it, and that even the teaching of karma was elementary compared with this study of associating our karmic life with the life of the stars.

In his last writings on the Michael Mystery, Dr. Steiner deals with the reality of our connection with the stars. Objectively, we need to study the stars in the present age, but this is the work of Michael, who insists that we establish a harmony between the planets and karma between birth and death. He demands that we incarnate at a certain time when both karma and the stars are in harmony. If one would wish to incarnate, say, when Jupiter is in a position associated with the time of death and a new birth, our soul looks out for the right moment to find Jupiter as it was in the past, but with divine help.

The saying that Jupiter in Virgin makes a person wise, for instance, is a wrong premise. In the heavens, Jupiter could indicate that Emerson was wise, but it did not necessarily make him so; it was arranged that Jupiter would accompany him in the heavens as a wise man. Here we see clearly the need for a Grail Astrology. Here, in this sphere, we have the opportunity to build the vessel in harmony with cosmic rhythms. Emerson incarnated when he was able to incorporate Jupiter into his organism. Thus he built his vessel, compiled of such planets, and including such things as his spiritual nativity; all these he took into his being.

Thus one incorporates the planetary and fixed-star rhythms. They are present in us, but we do it out of a free decision, at the instigation of the Archangel Michael, in order to fill that vessel. The Jupiter of Emerson, in the constellation of Virgo, may be different to the one that Emerson built on Earth. No astrologer could have found Representative Man in his Jupiter and Uranus position in the heavens. No one could forecast that he would write this. However, Emerson did so as an original element, to be given as substance into the vessel. This individuality can fill it with the spiritual content of both earthly deeds and feelings.

More and more we will become both Grail Vessel and the content. It is our mission to fill this vessel of the Grail with the Holy Spirit of humanity, which is why we felt it justified to take this whole course from the aspect of the Holy Grail. You see, we are called upon to follow Christ in this respect — the Archetypal Grail of Jesus. Millions of years were necessary for the fashioning of that Grail — the Body of Jesus. One can even study the so-called chart of Jesus, and this is most illuminating, for one sees how He took all the planets into His Being, and then offered it up to Christ at the Baptism.

This was a fulfillment that should be the archetypal pattern for the future, as we try to penetrate ever further into this wisdom, and as we are called upon to follow the Christ pattern for the rest of future evolution.

I know from personal experience how difficult this is and what great exertions of one’s capacities of consciousness are needed, so that one can concentrate on such work. Adverse forces try to impel a deviation, especially toward decadent astrology — that we are made or determined by the stars. It needs a daily renewal of effort to measure up to this Grail astrology, and these perspectives that we have been studying are necessary to carry it forward to the future.

These days have been but a feeble attempt to look up to the stars and forward toward the course we must take through future ages towards self-realization in the divine. However, the great Christ pattern is inscribed into the Earth for all time, as well as into humanity since the Deed of Palestine.