XVIII. Occultism and Esotericism

On the old sun, human beings had a kind of plant-like existence. Now, as with every evolution, there were also beings on the old planetary sun that had not progressed far enough in their evolution to receive an etheric body. Thus, a kind of mineral kingdom formed alongside the plant-like existence of the human beings. We can think of the human forms on the old sun as a mirage in our atmosphere. From the warmth, images were formed and expressed in forms of air. Then, after a state of pralaya, we come to the old moon state. Here the astral body is added to the human being. Matter condenses to such an extent that it enters a watery state. Thus, in truth, we are born in fire, guided through air and pass through water, in which latter we have received the astral body. What we call our 'ego' is then still contained in the spiritual atmosphere of the moon.