Wisdom from Ancient Cultural Epochs

Free adaptations and translations

Indian proverb

yasmâjjâtam jagatsarvam
yasminneva praliyate
yenedam dhâryate caiva
tasmai gñânâtmane namah

Original Self, from whom we originated,
Original Self, who lives in all things,
To you, our higher Self, we return.

from April 13, 1906

Original Self,
From whom everything originated,
Original Self,
To whom everything returns,
Original Self,
Who lives within me
To you I strive.

From whom the whole world originates,
to whom it returns,
by whom it is securely supported,
hm the Self that knows,
be all honor.—

from December 30, 1923

Words of the Egyptian Mysteries

I went to the border of death
I crossed Proserpina's threshold

And after passing through all the elements,
I returned again.

At midnight I saw the sun
shining with bright white light.

I stood before the lower and upper gods,
face to face, and worshipped
them from close up.

after Apuleius, for from June 22, 1909

Whoever passes through the gate of death
Dissolves himself into the elements
Sees sunlight in the dark midnight
And stands before the upper and lower gods.

after Apuleius, Notizblatt

Perception in the Egyptian cultural period

O dark is the face of the earth
When the sun blinds with darkness
But my day becomes bright
When the soul illuminates it
With starry wisdom.

from Dornach, January 8, 1922

Mystery teachings in ancient Greece

The secret of plants

I look at the flowers;
they reveal their kinship with the moon;
they are now bound to the earth,
for they are born of water.

The secret of metals

I think about metals;
they reveal their kinship
with the planets; they are
conquered by the earth,
for they are born of the air.

Human mystery

I experience the mysteries of the zodiac in
the diversity of human beings;
the relationship of this diversity
of human beings to the fixed stars
stands before my soul; for human beings live
with this diversity, bound to the earth;
they are born of warmth.

from Dornach, December 15, 1923

From the Mysteries of Ephesus

Human, speak, and you
reveal through yourself
the becoming of the world.

The becoming of the world
reveals itself through you,
O human being, when you speak.

from Dornach, December 2, 1923

From the Cabiri Mysteries on Samothrace

Feeling of the disciple at the gate:

I enter into that which
Encloses me in a mighty spirit,
Encloses me in the great gods,
Those great gods who on earth
Through the sacrificial acts of human beings
Reveal the mysteries of the universe.

Inner experience of the student, conveyed by the celebrating initiator at the sacrificial altar:

Thus the Cabiri,
The great gods:
Mercury in the limbs,
Sun in the heart,
Mars in speech.

The secret of the Samothracian world, to impart consciousness to the disciple:

Nature is spirit,
spirit is nature.

from Dornach, December 21, 1923

For the “Sacred Drama of Eleusis” by Edouard Schuré

Prologue, Hermes to the audience:

Sensing God's creative power in his soul,
Man lifts his mind in thought
to Demeter, the great Earth Mother.
Through two of the gifts of the gods,
She has placed his being well in the universe:
She lets him reap the fruits of the earth,
So that he may become the conqueror of the animal kingdom,
She radiates the power of knowledge and consecration
In the deepest depths of his soul,
So that he may feel the seeds of God's eternity
in his soul's powers.

As the fruits of her gifts ripen,
respect this in the words and things
that you are yet to hear and see.

Epilogue, Hermes to the audience:

You seekers of life's secrets,
It is now up to you to attain consciousness,
How you can escape the darkness.
Recognize the powers of existence,
The miraculous powers of the heart and spirit
In the mirror of life that stood before your eyes.
Remember the words of the seers of old:

Creation in the course of time
Is dying for eternity.
From the heights of the gods, man fell
Into earthly error and earthly delusion,
But the memory of his origin
Can give him the essence of all truth,
Form him into the son of God
In the earthly body, in the existence of time.

Pentecost 1907

From the Mysteries of Hybernia Words of the two statues

I am the image of the world.
See how I lack being.
I live in your knowledge,
I will now become confession in you.

I am knowledge
But what I am is not being.

I am the image of the world.
See how I lack truth.
If you dare to live with me,
Then I will become your comfort.

I am imagination
But what I am has no truth.

Words of admonition from the initiator, pointing to the image of Christ:

Take the word and the power of this being
Into your heart.

And receive from him
What the two figures wanted to give you:
Science and art.

from Dornach, December 7, 1923

From the Mysteries of Hybernia Transformations of Consciousness

State of soul numbness in which the student feels absorbed by the universe:

In the vastness you shall learn
How in the blue of the distant ether
First the worldly being disappears
And is found again within you.

State in which he feels absorbed by the universe:

In the depths you shall detach yourself
From the feverish evil,
As truth ignites
And is fathomed through you in being.

The mental image of the pre-earthly and the experience of the post-earthly:

Learn to see spiritually the winter being —
And you will see the pre-earthly.

Learn to dream spiritually the summer being —
And you will experience the post-earthly.

from Dornach, December 8, 1923

Before the Mystery of Golgotha

The Father sends you to earth;
he gives you the power
of his Sun-Son (Chr.)
and thus the Spirit reigns within you,
revealing to you the light of the world.

After the Mystery of Golgotha

The Father sends you to earth;
he has sent his Son
to earth —
Confess him: in you
the “healing” through
the Spirit will be accomplished.

Notebook, May 1923

Naassenic Hymn

Therefore send me forth, my Father —
I will descend with the seals
I will penetrate all world ages (eons)
I will reveal all secrets
I will reveal the forms of the deities
And the mysteries of the holy path
Called Gnosis, I will deliver.

Draft

Saying of the Gnostics

Jesus said:

Behold, O Father,
How this being on earth,
The target and victim of all evil,
Errs far from your breath.
Behold, it flees the bitter chaos,
Clueless as to how to find its way through.
Therefore send me, O Father!
Seal-bearing, I descend,
I traverse the number of eons,
I interpret every sacred message,
Then I show the image of the gods.
And so I give you
The deeply hidden message
Of the sacred path:
It is now called “Gnosis” for you.

from Dornach, December 26, 1914

The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi, 13th century

Most High, all-powerful and good Lord!
Yours is the praise, the glory, the honor and all blessing.
They are yours alone;
No human being is worthy to mention you.

Praised be God, the Lord, and all creatures,
Above all, our noble brother, the sun,
Which brings forth the day and shines upon us with its light.
It is beautiful and resplendent in its great splendor;
It is a symbol of You, O Lord.

Praised be God, the Lord,
For our sister, the moon,
And also for all the stars;
Which he has formed in the heavens
And made to appear in beauty and brightness.

Praised be God, the Lord,
For our brothers,
For the wind, the air, and the clouds,
For the fair weather and all seasons,
Through which he will sustain all creatures.

Praised be God, the Lord,
For our sister, water,
Which is so useful and humble
And also delicious and chaste.

Praised be God, the Lord,
For our brother, fire,
Through which he illuminates the night,
And which is so beautiful and cheerful
And so strong and powerful.

Praised be God, the Lord,
For our mother, the earth;
Through which we receive nourishment and strength
And many kinds of fruit
And all the colors of flowers and herbs.

from Kristiania (Oslo), June 6, 1912

Mystery teachings of the medieval Rosicrucians

Tragic mood of the Rosicrucian natural scientists.

O will, will is in me —
How do I guide it out to the paths,
That lead to the cosmic intelligences:

What was repeatedly impressed upon the student in the Rosicrucian era:

O human, you are not what you are.
Christ had to come,
To take your task from you,
To perform your task for you.

— the awakener of man in spirit, the being who connects man with the world of the gods.

December/January 1923/24

Reinterpretations of a late medieval saying

O Sun, king of the world of life — center of life
Luna, you cultivate your domain — periphery of life
Venus, power keeps you fresh — meaning of life
Mars chooses man — vitality
Mercury copulates you quickly — bearer of life
Without Jupiter's power, everything is nothing — stimulator of life
But Saturn, as an ancient spirit, reveals itself through many colors — illuminator of life

Notebook, ca. 1921

O Sun, you give strength to the plant
O planets, you give shape to the plant
Mercury connects strength and shape
Venus gives the seed its power
Mars gives life to the seed's power
Jupiter lends wisdom
And Saturn, through metals
Gives the colors that ripen with the seasons.

Undated

I hold the sun within me
It leads me into the world as a king.

I hold the moon within me.
It preserves my form.¹

I hold Mercury within me.
He holds the sun and moon together

I hold Venus within me
Without her love, everything is nothing

She unites with Mars
Who speaks my essence in words

That Jupiter illuminates everything
With wise light

And Saturn, the mature one
Shines the colors of my being within me

These are the Seven of Wet I
I am the Seven 4
I am the world, & the earth far and wide
I am the sun

And Chr. with cross and roses stands beside you as spirit
I receive / The world / In the Seven.

Notepad, ca. 1923/24

The I is the center of all being
In the I, all beings' effects meet
All past existence moves in the Self
All future becoming rests in the Self
Saturn's will strengthens the inner nature of the Self
The life of the sun moves the inner image of change
The soul of the moon shapes the waves of life
Mars hardens the power of the will
Mercury dives into the sea of being
Jupiter brings number, measure, weight
Then Venus may bestow love.

Notepad, undatable

The Dream Song of Olaf Ästeson

Old Norse poetry

Initiation experiences of Olaf Åsteson during the 13 holy nights

So hear my song!
I will sing to you
Of a nimble young man:

It was Olaf Åsteson,
Who once slept so long.
Of him I will sing to you.

II.

He went to rest on Christmas Eve.
A deep sleep soon enveloped him,
And he could not wake up,
Before on the thirteenth day
The people went to church.

It was Olaf Åsteson,
Who once slept so long.
I will sing to you about him.

He went to sleep on Christmas Eve.
He slept for a very long time!
He could not wake up,
Before on the thirteenth day The bird spreads its wings!

It was Olaf Åsteson, Who once slept so long.

Olaf could not wake up,
Before on the thirteenth day
The sun shone over the mountains.
Then he saddled his swift horse,
And hurriedly rode to the church.

It was Olaf Åsteson,
Who once slept so long.
I will sing to you about him.

The priest was already standing
At the altar reading the mass,
When Olaf sat down at the church door
To proclaim
The content of many dreams,
Which filled his soul
During his long sleep.

It was Olaf Åsteson,
Who once slept for so long.
I want to sing to you about him.

And young and old alike,
They listened attentively to the words,
Which Olaf spoke of his dreams.

It was Olaf Åsteson,
Who once slept so long.
Of him I will sing to you.

III.

"I went to rest on Christmas Eve.
A deep sleep soon enveloped me;
And I could not wake up,
Before on the thirteenth day
The people went to church.