Michael's Reign and the Battle Against Sensuality

GA 266I — 23 October 1907, Berlin

Esoteric Lesson

Michael draws his power from the sun
Oriphiel from the present Saturn
Anael from Venus
Zachariel from Jupiter
Raphael from Mercury
Samael from Mars
Gabriel from the moon
Michael from the sun

In November 1879, Michael's reign replaced that of Gabriel.

It is a sin against the Holy Spirit to resist spiritual wisdom.

Gabriel has prepared, developed, and transformed the brains of human beings so that they can now receive this higher science, which must come into the world under Michael. If Gabriel had remained in power, the brains would have continued to develop in this direction and degenerate into arabesques.

If no spiritual content were to flow into these brains that have been so altered and prepared—all brains, even those of the simplest farmers, are no longer as they used to be—then this part of the brain prepared by Gabriel would wither away. This would give rise to contagious diseases—epidemics (consequences of materialism).

Gabriel, angel of secrets; Michael carries the light out. The brains are already being worked on in the womb.

When we look at an object, the object is outside our head. It shines into our eye and creates a mental image in the brain by creating a mirror image in the brain. Only through this process can we consciously perceive the object.

In meditation, this external object is missing; it should be missing. We must therefore create the thoughts, the image, the mental image ourselves.

If we only speculate about one thing, that is the work of the mind. Through the images we create for ourselves, the power of that from which we have created the image can flow into us (“In the pure rays of light ...”).

Through the power we absorb within ourselves during esoteric lessons, we can more easily create such images (imaginations). We should not only absorb the teachings we receive during such lessons with our minds, but also with the feelings of our hearts; we should feel them.

Under Gabriel, spiritual science was kept secret; he is the angel of secrets. Under Michael, this science is to flow out into the public domain. He is the angel of revelation.

The earth is now (periodically) under the influence of the Saturn forces of the earth, that is, the forces that the earth has retained from the old Saturn, on which the first beginnings of our organs were formed. (The task of Saturn was to develop the first germs of our physical sense organs.)

The earth is periodically under the influence of the forces of the planets whose state we have passed through. And so we are now under the influence of the Saturn forces of the earth. The Saturn forces act on the sense organs, which have been developed to a previously unattained level. This explains why the striving and aspirations of humanity are so highly directed toward the senses.

Oriphiel derives his powers from today's Saturn. After four hundred years, he will resume his reign. When the earthly forces of Saturn unite with the forces of today's Saturn, things will become even worse on Earth. The terrible degenerations that we already see today in sexual matters will reach a much higher level; they could not exist at all if Saturn did not rule the Earth.

The sensual will come more and more to the fore. In order to fight against this when the time comes, it is necessary to train skilled fighters. We are called upon to train ourselves so that we can fight the battle. Michael needs hosts of helpers who will fight out on the physical plane what he has already overcome on the astral plane.

This is the great task we have to fulfill.