The European Mysteries and

Their Initiates
By RUDOLF STEINER
A lecture by
Rudolf Steiner
Berlin, May 6, 1909
GA 57
In ancient times a kind of natura cair!oyance "as a common herita#e of the European peopes$
Indeed man%s consciousness as it is to&day has e!o!ed from that earier state of cair!oyant
consciousness$ 'ith these ancient cair!oyant facuties( man "as a)e to percei!e certain
connections of his ife( and "hat he so percei!ed "as then e*pressed in the e#ends and myths
"hich speak of #o)ins( efin&)ein#s( d"arfs and the ike$ No" these e#ends and myths are !ery
different in character$ They "ere )ased on "hat man "as a)e to see "ith his cair!oyant facuties(
)ut "hen "e study them "e find on the one hand certain resem)ances and on the other outstandin#
differences( simpy )ecause the cair!oyant po"ers of men "ere )y no means the same$ There is a
much #reater simiarity in the more important mythoo#ica fi#ures + the fi#ures of ,ods and
-eroes in the sa#as$ These sa#as( too( "ere the outcome of cair!oyance( )ut in a different sense$
The #reat mythoo#ica fi#ures ead us )ack to the e*periences of those "ho "ere Initiates in the
ancient Mysteries$ It is not easy for our present consciousness to form a true conception of these
ancient Mysteries and their Initiates( for the nature of our education and the kno"ed#e resutin#
therefrom does not conduce to an understandin# of the nature of Initiation + far from it. If "e "ere
to speak of the nature of the Mysteries and their Initiates in the an#ua#e of current thou#ht( "e
shoud say that the Mysteries are schoos for the trainin# of those facuties "hich ena)e the sou of
man to ha!e actua !ision of the spiritua "ords$ They are schoos( "here in a methodica and
systematic "ay( man%s sou is so #uided and trained that he can finay percei!e the hi#her "ords
"ith spiritua eyes and ears$ /thou#h modern schoarship kno"s itte of the Mysteries( they are
ne!ertheess sti in e*istence to&day and are the means "here)y man can )e ed consciousy to the
spiritua "ords$ + /nd the "hoe content of Spiritua Science( e!erythin# that is communicated in
Spiritua Science( is( in its essence( Mystery&"isdom$
The man "ho so trains his sou that he can percei!e in hi#her "ords( is an Initiate$ Throu#h a
the a#es there ha!e )een centres for de!eopin# the facuty of fuy conscious cair!oyance and the
aim of the present ecture is to #i!e a cursory sur!ey of the European Mysteries$
For this purpose "e must #o )ack to ancient pre&0hristian times and try to !isuaise "hat "ent
on in the occut schoos of Initiation and ho" they infuenced ci!iisation and cuture in #enera$
1ou ha!e often heard ho" man to&day can )e ed to the Initiates( ho" his thinkin#( feein# and
"iin# can )e so trained that he can set out on the path eadin# to the 2Mothers$3 This is the path
"hich the pupis of a the Mysteries ha!e had to tread in 4uest of fuy conscious cair!oyance$
There "ere Mysteries of #reat si#nificance( deepy infuencin# ancient European ci!iisation( in
!arious re#ions of France( ,ermany and Britain$ In a these re#ions the Mysteries "ere of a definite
and uni4ue kind( and "ere instituted on the )asis of kno"ed#e such as I indicated in my ecture
2Isis and Madonna(3 namey( that man has a spiritua ori#in( that his home "as once in spiritua
"ords "hence his spirit and sou ha!e come forth$ 'hen a man penetrates more deepy into his
sou and rises to a e!e hi#her than that of ordinary sense&perception( he sti fees( e!en to&day( that
there is "ithin him somethin# that is a ast remnant of his )ein# as it "as in the spiritua "ord$ To&
day( this ast remnant + the human sou + is encosed "ithin the physica )ody( "hich in its turn is
a densification of the primordia spiritua )ein#$ 'hen he has conscious reaisation of the spirit and
sou "ithin him( man says5 6No" I kno" "hat I once "as in my "hoe )ein#7 no" I kno" that I
"as )orn out of the "om) of "ords( out of the #reat uni!erse$8 To&day the uni!erse is re!eaed to
human intei#ence in e!erythin# that is spread out )efore the senses$ But )ehind a that can )e
percei!ed )y the senses and #rasped )y the inteect there is the spiritua uni!erse + the 9rimordia
Father and Mother from "hom the sou is )orn$ The )ody too is )orn from them )ut at first in
spiritua form$ This true form of man is no" hidden$
It "as kno"n in the ancient European Mysteries that the true )ein# of man is hidden and must
)e sou#ht in its conceament$ The sayin# "ent5 2Isis is seekin# for the Bein# from "hom she
proceeded$3 To )e initiated "as to i!e throu#h a those processes "hich ena)e the sou of man
once a#ain to )ehod its true ori#in and to unfod the facuty "hich "i unite it a#ain "ith its
spiritua ori#in$ 'hether in the depths of the sacred oak&#ro!es( or in paces adapted for the
Mysteries( it "as a"ays the same$ + The candidate "as su):ected to certain processes "here)y he
mi#ht )e united "ith his spiritua ori#in$
/ that ies hidden )ehind the sense&"ord( as the sun )ehind the couds( the hidden spirit( "as
kno"n in these Mysteries )y the name of 2-u$3 20erid"en3 "as the seekin# sou$ /nd a the rites
of Initiation "ere a means of re!eain# to the pupi that death is ony one of the many processes in
ife$ Death chan#es nothin# at a in the innermost kerne of man%s )ein#$ + In the Druidic
Mysteries ;Druid denotes an Initiate of the third de#ree<( the neophyte "as put into a condition
resem)in# death7 his senses coud not function as or#ans of perception$ / man "hose ony
instrument of perception is the physica )ody or the physica )rain has no consciousness in a
condition "here his senses cease to function$ But in Initiation( the senses + feein#( hearin# and so
on + cease to function( and yet the neophyte is a)e to e*perience and o)ser!e$ The principe "hich
o)ser!es "as caed 20erid"en3 + the sou$ /nd that "hich comes to meet the sou( as i#ht and
sound come to our outer eyes and ears( "as caed 2-u3 + the spiritua "ord$ The Initiate
e*perienced the union )et"een 0erid"en and -u$ Such e*periences are descri)ed in the myths$
'hen "e are tod to&day that the ancients paid homa#e to a ,od -u and a ,oddess 0erid"en( this
is simpy another "ay of descri)in# Initiation$ The true myths are a"ays concerned "ith Initiation$
It is empty chatter to say that these myths ha!e an astronomica meanin#( that 0erid"en is the moon
and -u the sun( and so on$ These myths ori#inated )ecause their creators "ere conscious of an inner
union )et"een the aspirin# sou and the spirit of the sun( not the physica sun$ The Mysteries of -u
and 0erid"en( then( "ere those into "hich men "ere initiated in the re#ions of "hich "e are
speakin#$
More to the North( in Scandina!ia and Northern Russia( "e find the Trottic Mysteries( founded
)y the Initiate "ho is kno"n as Sie#( or Sie#fried5 Sikke$ / the Sie#fried myths are to )e traced
)ack to this )ein#$ These Northern Mysteries are characterised )y a principe that is reay common
to a the Mysteries( )ut "hich here for the first time is ceary emphasised$ Let me e*pain this
principe )y means of a comparison$ + Think of the human )ein# as he stands )efore us in ife(
"ith his head( hands( feet and other mem)ers$ /nd no"( if "e ima#ine him "ithout one of these
mem)ers( he is no on#er a "hoe man$ Think of the most important or#ans( the heart( the stomach
and others$ Each one of these or#ans contri)utes to human ife and ser!es its needs$ The fact that
these or#ans "ork to#ether makes it possi)e for a sou to i!e and de!eop in the )ody of man$ The
sou i!es in a physica )ody "hich is a unit composed of many mem)ers$ This su##ests that
"here!er a d"ein# pace has to )e found for a human sou( or for a hi#her )ein#( sin#e mem)ers
must )e "orkin# to#ether( each one of them carryin# out their particuar functions$ /nd so e!en in
the ancient Northern Mysteries it "as reaised that somethin# can )e accompished if a num)er of
men are #athered to#ether and each indi!idua is aotted a specia and definite task$ One man( for
instance( may reso!e to de!eop principay the thinkin# facuty( another the po"er of feein#( a
third the po"er of "i$ Su)&di!isions are of course aso possi)e$
The Northern Mysteries "ere )ased upon the idea that "hen a num)er of men( each of "hom
has his particuar task( are #athered to#ether into a "hoe( an in!isi)e infuence "i "ork in them(
:ust as the sou "orks in a human )ody$ 'hen men come to#ether in this "ay( each payin# his o"n
part( they form a kind of hi#her or#anism or )ody( and thus make it possi)e for a hi#her spiritua
)ein# to d"e amon# them$ Thus Sie# #athered to#ether a circe of t"e!e men( each of "hom set
out to de!eop the po"ers of his sou in a particuar direction$ /nd then( "hen they #athered
to#ether in their hoy sanctuaries( they kne" that a hi#her spiritua )ein# "as i!in# amon# them as
the sou i!es in a human )ody( that their sous "ere mem)ers of a hi#her )ody$ This "as the sense
in "hich the 2Thirteenth3 i!ed and mo!ed amon# the T"e!e "ho kne"5 'e are t"e!e and the
Thirteenth i!es amon# us$ Or ese they chose out a Thirteenth "hose function "as then( "ithin the
circe of the T"e!e( to )e the connectin# ink ena)in# the hi#her infuence to descend$ /nd so the
Thirteenth "as reco#nised to )e the representati!e of the ,odhead in the sanctuaries of Initiation$
E!erythin# "as reated to the sacred num)er three( and for this reason the one "ho united in
himsef a the kno"ed#e "as kno"n as the representati!e of the 6hoy Three8 and around him "ere
the t"e!e( each one "ith his definite functions( ike mem)ers of an or#anism$
/nd so it "as reaised that "hen t"e!e men united to#ether to de!eop a po"er "hich ena)ed
a hi#her )ein# to d"e amon# them( they "ere risin# out of the physica into the spiritua "ord(
risin# to their ,od$ They re#arded themse!es as the t"e!e attri)utes( the t"e!e 4uaities of the
,od$ This "as a refected in the fi#ures of the t"e!e ,ermanic ,ods in the Northern sa#as$ -e
"ho desired to )ecome a mem)er of this no)e circe "as tod that he must seek Badur + in other
"ords( he must seek Initiation$ /nd "ho is Badur= Badur is the Spiritual in man( the principe for
"hich the sou is seekin# and "hich is found in Initiation$ 'ho se" Badur= Those "ho kied out
the cair!oyant facuties in man( "ho or#anised his physica nature( "ho endo"ed him "ith materia
si#ht and "ho coud prematurey misuse the forces of physica matter + Loki( the po"er of Fire(
and -odur the Bind( representin# the principe in man%s )ein# that is incapa)e of )ehodin# the
spiritua "ord$ This is ony a "ay of descri)in# processes of Initiation$ Materia e*istence has made
man )ind7 throu#h Initiation he a#ain finds the path eadin# to the hi#her "ords$ The trained
cair!oyance of the od Initiates "as a hi#her facuty than the innate( natura cair!oyance possessed
)y a human )ein#s in those days$
The Druidic and Trottic Mysteries "ere the inspirin# source of European ci!iisation and cuture
in pre&0hristian times$ No" the essentia feature of European cuture( namey( the de!eopment of a
consciousness of personality( is ike"ise a dan#er + a dan#er ikey to )e far #reater here than in
other re#ions of the earth$ 0onsciousness of personaity is a keynote of a European cuture$ It "as
present in a ,ermanic ands( in a much stron#er form than in the East "here men o!ed to
surrender themse!es to Brahman$ But this consciousness of personaity )rou#ht "ith it the dan#er
that those "ho "ere initiated coud readiy misuse "hat they earnt in Initiation and turn it into
caricature$ Initiation #i!es man contro of spiritua forces and those "ho ha!e earnt to use them can
aso misuse them$ So it came a)out that the Mysteries of ancient Europe )e#an to de#enerate( the
unripeness of the Initiates )e#an to #i!e rise to a kinds of atrocities and in many re#ions they "ere
dreaded )y the peope$ Much that "e hear of the Mysteries to&day( athou#h not e!erythin#( refers to
the period of their decine$ In this a#e "e need not( after a( )e so !ery astonished that the Mysteries
are so often misunderstood$ For if Spiritua Science does not hep a man to reaise "hat "ent on in
the Mysteries and he has to rey merey on the titte&tatte of history "ritten do"n much ater on( his
ideas on the su):ect "i )e uttery )arren$ >ust think "hat happens "hen peope are content to dra"
their information a)out Spiritua Science from "hat the outside "ord has to say a)out it$ They #et a
fine picture. /nd if "hat is )ein# said a)out Spiritua Science to&day "ere to i!e on( it "oud do far
more harm than the fra#mentary kno"ed#e of the Mysteries has done$
It "oud )e an attracti!e study to trace )ack many thin#s in the sa#as and e#ends of Europe to
the Mysteries$ 'e shoud find a #reat dea in the Nie)eun# and Sie#fried e#ends that points )ack
to the ancient Mysteries$ But it is difficut to discriminate in such study$ The ony thin# that can
re!ea "hether a certain feature in the e#ends is simpy an impro!isation of fancy or eads )ack to
the Mysteries( is actua kno"ed#e and the capacity to trace it )ack to its rea source$
In a these Mysteries( no matter "here "e ook( "e find an eement of tra#edy$ Let me put it
thus5 The Initiate in the ancient Druidic or Trottic Mysteries mi#ht indeed )e united "ith -u or
Badur( )ut there "as somethin# ackin# in the spiritua "ord into "hich he entered$ In more
popuar parance( the Initiates "oud ha!e said5 6Our ,ods are morta( are doomed to do"nfa$8 +
-ence the myth "hich tes of the T"ii#ht of the ,ods$ But then came the ne"s of the #reat 0hrist
Impuse "hich coud "ork more stron#y in Europe than any"here ese + the ne"s that a su)ime
Spirit( the 0hrist( had i!ed in an earthy )ody amon# men$ /nd the Initiates reaised that a that
had hitherto )een e*perienced in the depths of the Mysteries had )ecome historic fact in the 0hrist
E!ent$ In the ancient Mysteries the Initiate had not fuy !an4uished death$ + But no" he earnt of
the Mystery of ,o#otha$ This historic Mystery "as recei!ed "ith understandin# in the European
Mysteries + a much deeper understandin# than ese"here$ The attitude of the Initiates may )e
descri)ed some"hat as foo"s5 In our Initiation "e rose to a di!ine&spiritua "ord( yet it "as a
"ord per!aded "ith the forces of mortaity$ But he "ho steeps himsef "ith a that is )ound up
"ith the mi#hty impuse )rou#ht )y the 0hrist&Bein#( he "ho can ink himsef "ith 0hrist( "i
reaise that :ust as the sun irradiates and 4uickens the ife of the pants( so the 0hrist Impuse can
fo" into the human sou and endo" the sou "ith kno"ed#e of eternity and immortaity( "ith
kno"ed#e of !ictory o!er death$ The sou is 4uickened )y a true understandin# of 0hrist$ + /nd it
"as aso kno"n to the Initiates that )esides such outer teachin# as can )e #i!en( there is an inner
kno"ed#e( a 4uest of the sou ;0erid"en< not ony for a -u or a Badur )ut for another 6Badur(8
for One 'ho fufied the Mystery of ,o#otha$ The Initiates kne" that the sou "ho e*perienced
this ac4uired a )i##er kind of cair!oyance than "as attained throu#h Initiation into the ancient
Mysteries$
-ere in Europe there "as a deep understandin# of these thin#s$ I ha!e often tod you of the #reat
stimuus #i!en to the e!oution of man )y the 0hrist Impuse$ To understand this( et us think once
more of ancient -e)re" consciousness$ The ancient -e)re" fet himsef one "ith his 2Fathers$3 -e
said to himsef5 6My E#o is encosed )et"een )irth and death( )ut my )ood streams into me from
my Father /)raham$ The )ood in my !eins is the e*pression of my E#o( of my indi!iduaity7 it is
the )ood&stream "hich fo"s through the generations and is the e*pression of my ,od$8 + /nd so
the ancient -e)re" fet himsef part of one #reat "hoe( secure in the )ood&stream "hich passes
do"n throu#h the #enerations$ 0hrist says5 2Before /)raham "as( I /M73 and 2I and the Father are
One$3 The E#o of man is inked to a spiritua "ord )y threads "hich e!eryone may disco!er in his
o"n indi!iduaity$ The Mystery of ,o#otha )rou#ht to man a reaisation of the E#o that is
#rounded upon itsef( a)eit the ties of )ood are not i#nored + the E#o that understands the
physica "ord$ Therefore( in the )ood "hich fo"ed from the "ounds of the Redeemer( men sa"
the e*pression of the human E#o&principe( and the sayin# "ent5 2-e "ho 4uickens this )ood
"ithin himsef "i )ecome a true seer$3 But the "ord "as not ripe enou#h to understand the true
essence of the Mystery of ,o#otha$ It "as not ripe in the centuries immediatey foo"in# the
0omin# of 0hrist( nor is it to&day$ 9au had a !ision of the Li!in# 0hrist in the spiritua "ord( )ut(
after a( "ho understands those profound Epistes of one "ho "as an Initiate or speaks "ith any
truth of 9au%s discipe( Dionysos the /reopa#ite=
In the Mysteries of 'aes and Britain the teachin#s of Dionysos were recei!ed and the infuence
of the 0hrist Mystery so permeated the Druidic and Trottic Mysteries that the Initiates reaised in
fu carity of consciousness that -e "hom they had sou#ht as -u and Badur( had come to earth as
0hrist$ But they said amon# themse!es that mankind in #enera "as not ripe to understand the
mystery of the )ood fo"in# from the Redeemer%s "ounds( that men "ere not fit to recei!e into
themse!es the )ood that runs throu#h a creation$
It "as ony in sma circes of Initiates that this sacred 0hrist Mystery "as preser!ed$ / man
"ho "as initiated into this Mystery e*perienced the o!ercomin# of the E#o that functions in the
"ord of sense$ This is ho" he e*perienced it$ + -e asked himsef5 6'hat has )een the manner of
my ife hitherto= In my 4uest for truth( I ha!e turned to the thin#s of the outer "ord$ The Initiates
of the 0hrist&Mystery( ho"e!er( demand that I sha not "ait unti outer thin#s te me "hat is true
)ut that in my soul( "ithout )ein# stimuated )y the outer "ord( I sha seek the in!isi)e$8 + This
4uest of the sou for the hi#hest "as caed )y the outer "ord in ater times5 The secret of the Holy
Grail$ /nd the 9arsifa or ,rai e#end is simpy a form of the 0hrist Mystery$ The ,rai is the hoy
0up from "hich 0hrist drank at the Last Supper and in "hich >oseph of /rimathea cau#ht the )ood
as it fo"ed on ,o#otha$ The 0up "as then taken to a hoy pace and #uarded$ So on# as a man
does not ask a)out the in!isi)e( his ot is that of 9arsifa$ Ony "hen he asks( does he )ecome an
Initiate of the 0hrist Mystery$
'ofram !on Eschen)ach speaks in his poem of the three sta#es throu#h "hich the sou of man
passes$ The first of these is the sta#e of outer( materia perception$ The sou is cau#ht up in matter
and ao"s matter to say "hat is truth$ This is the 2stupor3 ;Dumpfheit< of the sou( as 'ofram !an
Eschen)ach e*presses it$ /nd then the sou )e#ins to reco#nise that the outer "ord offers ony
iusion$ 'hen the sou percei!es that the resuts of science are not ans"ers )ut ony 4uestions(
there comes the sta#e of 2dou)t3 ;?"ife<( accordin# to 'ofram !on Eschen)ach$ But then the sou
rises to 2)essedness3 ;Saede( Sei#keit< + to ife in the spiritua "ords$ + These are the three
sta#es$
The Mysteries "hich "ere iuminated )y the 0hrist Impuse ha!e one 4uite definite feature in
common "here)y they are raised to a hi#her e!e than that of the more ancient Mysteries$ Initiation
a"ays means that a man attains to a hi#her kind of si#ht and that his sou under#oes a hi#her
de!eopment$ Before he sets out on this path( three facuties i!e "ithin his sou5 thinkin#( feein#
and "iin#$ -e has these three sou&po"ers "ithin him$ In ordinary ife in the modern "ord( these
three sou&po"ers are intimatey )ound to#ether$ The E#o of man is inter"o!en "ith thinkin#
feein# and "iin# )ecause )efore he attains Initiation he has not "orked "ith the po"ers of the
E#o at the de!eopment of his hi#her mem)ers$ The first step is to purify the feein#s( impuses and
instincts in the astra )ody$ Out of the purified astra )ody there rises the 2Spirit&Sef3 or 2Manas$3
Then man )e#ins to permeate e!ery thou#ht "ith a definite eement of feein# so that each thou#ht
may )e said to ha!e somethin# 6cod8 or 6"arm8 a)out it$ + -e is transformin# his 2ether&)ody3 or
2ife&)ody$3 Out of the transformed ether&)ody ;it is a transformation of feein#<( arises 2Budhi3 or
2Life&Spirit$3 /nd finay( he transforms his "iin# and there"ith the physica )ody itsef( into
2/tma3 or 2Spirit&Man$3 Thus )y transformin# his thinkin#( feein# and "iin#( man chan#es his
astra )ody into Spirit&Sef or Manas( his ether&)ody into Life&Spirit or Budhi and finay his
physica )ody into Spirit&Man or /tma$ This transformation is the resut of the Initiates systematic
"ork upon his sou( "here)y he rises to the spiritua "ords$ But somethin# !ery definite happens
"hen the path to Initiation is trodden in fu earnest and not i#ht&heartedy$ In true Initiation it is us
if a man%s or#anisation "ere di!ided into three parts( and the E#o rei#ns as kin# o!er the three$
'hereas in ordinary circumstances the spheres of thinkin#( feein# and "iin# are not ceary
separated( "hen a man sets out on the path of hi#her de!eopment thou#hts )e#in to arise in him
"hich are not immediatey tin#ed "ith feein# )ut are permeated "ith the eement of sympathy or
antipathy accordin# to the free choice of the E#o$ Feein# does not immediatey attach itsef to a
thou#ht( )ut the man di!ides( as it "ere( into three5 he is a man of feein#( a man of thinkin#( a man
of "i( and the E#o( as kin#( rues o!er the three$ /t a definite sta#e of Initiation he )ecomes( in this
sense( three men$ -e fees that )y "ay of his astra )ody he e*periences a those thou#hts "hich are
reated to the spiritua "ord7 throu#h his ether&)ody he e*periences e!erythin# that per!ades the
spiritua "ord as the eement of feein#7 throu#h his physica )ody he e*periences a the "i&
impuses "hich fo" throu#h the spiritua "ord$ /nd he reaises himsef as kin# "ithin the sacred
Three$ / man "ho is not a)e or ripe enou#h to )ear this separation of his )ein#( "i not attain the
fruits of Initiation$ The sufferin#s that cro"d upon him in his immature state "i keep him )ack$ /
man "ho approaches the -oy ,rai )ut is not "orthy( "i suffer as /mfortas suffered$ -e can ony
)e redeemed )y one "ho )rin#s the forces of #ood$ + -e is freed from his sufferin#s )y 9arsifa$
/nd no" et us return once more to "hat Initiation )rin#s in its train$ The seekin# sou finds the
spiritua "ord7 the sou finds the -oy ,rai "hich has no" )ecome the sym)o of the spiritua
"ord$ Indi!idua Initiates ha!e e*perienced "hat is here descri)ed$ They ha!e #one the "ay of
9arsifa( ha!e )ecome as kin#s ookin# do"n on the three )odies$ The Initiate says to himsef5 6I am
kin# o!er my purified astra )ody "hich can ony )e purified "hen I stri!e to emuate Christ$8 -e
must not hod to any outer ink( to anythin# in the e*terna "ord( )ut unite himsef in the innermost
depths of his sou "ith the 0hrist 9rincipe$ E!erythin# that )inds him "ith the "ord of sense must
fa a"ay in that supreme moment$ Lohen#rin is the representati!e of an Initiate$ It is not permitted
to ask his name or rank( in other "ords( "hat connects him "ith the "ord of sense$ -e "ho has
neither name nor rank( is caed a 2homeess3 man$ Such a man is permeated throu#h and throu#h
"ith the 0hrist 9rincipe$ -e too ooks do"n on the ether&)ody "hich has )ecome Life&Spirit( as
upon somethin# that is no" separate from the astra )ody$ By this ether&)ody he is )orne up"ards to
the hi#her "ords( "here the a"s of space and time do not hod s"ay$ The sym)o of this ether&
)ody and its or#ans( is the S"an "ho )ears Lohen#rin o!er the sea in a )oat ;the physica )ody<(
o!er the materia "ord$ The physica )ody is fet to )e an instrument$
The sou on earth "ho e*periences a ne" impuse throu#h Initiation is sym)oised in the fi#ure
of Esa !on Bra)ant$ This sho"s us the sense in "hich the Lohen#rin e#end + "hich has many
other meanin#s as "e + is a portraya of Initiation in the Mysteries associated "ith the -oy
,rai$ Thus in the ee!enth to the thirteenth century( these secrets of the -oy ,rai "ere tau#ht in
connection "ith the 0hrist Mystery$ The @ni#hts of the ,rai "ere the ater Initiates$ They "ere
confronted in the "ord "ith an e*oteric 0hristianity( "hereas esoteric 0hristianity "as cuti!ated in
the Mysteries$ /nd in the Mysteries( men sou#ht to find that reation to 0hristianity "here)y(
throu#h the outer 0hrist in the sou( the inner 0hrist( 'ho is sym)oised )y the Do!e( "as
a"akened to ife$
The "hoe de!eopment of the European Mysteries is e*pressed in yet another cyce of e#ends
and sa#as( )ut it is difficut to speak of them no"$ 'e must "ait for another occasion$ To&day "e
"i consider ho" this kno"ed#e found its "ay into the outer "ord and made its appearance in a
remarka)e )ody of e#ends$ 0omparati!ey itte notice has )een taken of a e#end "hich "as #i!en
poetic form )y 0onrad Feck in ABCD$ It is one of the e#ends of 9ro!ence and deas "ith the
Initiation of the @ni#hts of the ,rai or the Tempars$ It speaks of an ancient pair( 2For3 and
2Banchefor$3 In modern parance5 the fo"er "ith red petas ;the rose< and the fo"er "ith "hite
petas ;the iy<$ In earier times it "as kno"n that a #reat many mysteries "ere contained in this
e#end( of "hich it is ony possi)e to&day to speak )riefy$ It "as said5 For and Banchefor are
sous incarnated in human )ein#s "ho ha!e i!ed on earth$ /ccordin# to the e#end( these t"o "ere
the #randparents of 0hares the ,reat$ But those "ho studied the e#end more deepy( sa" in
0hares the ,reat the fi#ure "ho( in a certain sense( united esoteric and e*oteric 0hristianity$ This is
e*pressed in the coronation of the Emperor$ But in the #randparents of 0hares the ,reat( For and
Banchefor( i!ed the rose and the iy + typifyin# sous "ho "ere to preser!e in its purity the
esoteric 0hristianity "hich had )een tau#ht )y Dionysos the /reopa#ite and others$ The rose +
For or Fos + sym)oised the human sou "ho has recei!ed the impuse of the E#o( of personaity(
"ho ets the Spiritua "ork out of his indi!iduaity( "ho has )rou#ht the E#o&force do"n into the
red )ood$ But the iy "as the sym)o of the sou "ho can ony remain spiritua "hen the E#o
remains outside$ Thus there is a contrast )et"een the rose and the iy$ The principe of sef&
consciousness has entered "hoy into the rose( "hereas it remains outside the iy$ But there "as a
union )et"een the sou that is "ithin and the sou that as the 'ord&Spirit per!ades the uni!erse
outside$ For and Banchefor sym)oise the findin# of the 'ord&Sou( the 'ord&E#o( )y the
human sou or the human E#o$ The e!ent recorded in the e#end of the -oy ,rai is aso descri)ed
in the e#end of For and Banchefor$ For and Banchefor must not )e thou#ht of as outer fi#ures
+ the iy sym)oises the sou "hich finds its hi#her E#ohood$ The union of the iy&sou "ith the
rose&sou "as taken to e*press that principe in man "hich can ink him "ith the Mystery of
,o#otha$ Therefore it "as said5 O!er a#ainst the forces of European Initiation inau#urated )y
0hares the ,reat "hich "ere to fuse e*oteric and esoteric 0hristianity( pure esoteric 0hristianity
must )e kept ai!e and continued$ But amon# the Initiates it "as said5 The same sou "ho i!ed in
Fos or For and of "hom the e#end tes( "as reincarnated in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries as the founder of Rosicrucianism( a Mystery&Schoo ha!in# as its aim the cuti!ation of an
understandin# of the 0hrist Mystery in a "ay suited to the ne" era$ Thus esoteric 0hristianity found
refu#e in Rosicrucianism$ Since the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Rosicrucian Schoos
ha!e trained the Initiates "ho are the successors of the ancient European Mysteries and of the
Schoo of the -oy ,rai$ Many thin#s ha!e tricked throu#h into outer ife in re#ard to the
Rosicrucian Mysteries( )ut much that is tod is a caricature of the truth$ 9rofound achie!ements of
spiritua ife "ere infuenced )y the mysterious threads of Rosicrucianism "hich found their "ay
into ci!iisation$ + So( for instance( there is a connection )et"een Bacon of Eeruam%s New Atlantis
and Rosicrucianism$ This "ork is more than a Utopia$ Bacon there tries to ead those "ho "oud
re!i!e the dim cair!oyant facuties of the od /tanteans( to hi#her e!es$ But associated "ith the
outer Brotherhood of the Rosicrucians is a the charatanism( 4uackery and caricature that is
una!oida)e in our a#e since the disco!ery in the art of printin#$ Since printin# "as disco!ered it
has )een no on#er possi)e( as it "as in oden times( to et secrets remain secret$ E!erythin# comes
out( caricatured and distorted. /nd the same terri)e thin# happens to the teachin#s #i!en in the
/nthroposophica Mo!ement$ If the /nthroposophica Mo!ement "ere "hat it is said to )e in
entirey i#norant circes( it "oud )e somethin# to )e a!oided at a costs$ But in reaity(
anthroposophica teachin#s are nourished to a #reater e*tent than has yet e!er )een the case( from
the "esprin#s of the Mysteries$ ,oethe%s #reatest poetic achie!ements "ere nourished from
Rosicrucian sources$ It is not "ithout si#nificance that in his poem Die Geheimnisse he speaks of a
man "ho "as ed to a house and found on its door the si#n of the Rose 0ross$ 2'ho )rou#ht the
roses to the 0ross=3 + 'ho "ere these Initiates of the European Mysteries "ho inked the
mysteries of the rose to the mystery of the 0ross= -o" deepy ,oethe had penetrated these thin#s is
apparent( for instance "hen he speaks of the twelve #athered around the ta)e + t"e!e as in the
ancient Trottic Mysteries$ Oh. ,oethe kne" a these thin#s$ But those "ho study him to&day( study
ony the ,oethe they are capa)e of understandin#$ But athou#h he "as ony a)e to speak a
mysterious an#ua#e( the time has no" come to speak openy a)out Initiation$ More and more it "i
)ecome apparent that Spiritua Science does not produce dreamers "ho are remote from the affairs
of the "ord( )ut men "ho are practica and acti!e in ife$ It )rin#s a ne" hope and confidence$ To
modern thinkin# "e sha more and more )e a)e to appy the "ords spoken )y Faust of 'a#ner( the
representati!e of materiaistic thinkin#5 2-o" ardenty )e #ru)s for treasures( and is happy "hen he
finds rain&"orms.3 Truy( materiaism is happy "hen it finds rain&"orms and can pro!e that in a
certain sense they are necessary to the re&or#anisation of e!erythin# that i!es and mo!es upon the
earth$ But the spirit that fo"s from the Mysteries makes human thinkin# so suppe and fe*i)e that
it can reay cope "ith ife$ It coud not )e other"ise( for the meanin# of "ord&e!oution itsef is
contained in the mystery&teachin#s of Spiritua Science$
The "ord and 2a that therein is3 is )orn out of the spirit7 man is )orn and caed to rise to the
spirit$ Spiritua Science sho"s us more and more that the spirit ies e*hausted in matter( that
physica su)stance is the ma#ic ro)e of the Spiritua$ It is for man i!in# in the materia "ord( to
charm the spirit out of this ma#ic ro)e$ The Spiritua finds its resurrection in man( in the human sou
that rises a)o!e itsef$ + To ena)e the sou to find this path is the task of Spiritua Science$ Thus
does spirit find spirit$ /nd man "i reaise and understand the spirit more and more as he fashions
himsef in its ima#e$