{"corpus":"steiner","locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p018-p029","extent":"range","passage_number":18,"through":29,"paragraph_count":12,"first_locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p018","last_locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p029","lang":"en","edition":"English","edition_basis":null,"is_original":false,"is_default_edition":true,"title":"Lecture VIII","date":"1916-12-21","location":null,"alignment_confidence":"low","alignment_reason":"count_diverges","two_voice_volume":false,"translation_credit":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"edition_coverage":{"de":["original"],"en":["English"]},"record":{"record_type":"stenogram","scope":"volume","note":"Shorthand transcript taken during the lecture — the strongest kind of lecture record in this corpus.","evidence":"Diese dreibändige Ausgabe wurde auf der Grundlage der stenografischen Nachschriften vollständig neu bearbeitet.","evidence_translation":"This three-volume edition was completely re-edited on the basis of the shorthand transcripts.","evidence_source":"The publisher's description of GA 173a-c, as mirrored on AnthroWiki (GA 173a-c). The translation is the maintainer's, not a published one."},"other_renderings":{"loci":[{"locus":"GA 246/1916-12-21_02","ga":"246","lecture":"1916-12-21_02","kind":"reprint","relation":"the same text served under another volume (a reprint or another edition)"},{"locus":"GA 246/1916-12-21","ga":"246","lecture":"1916-12-21","kind":"reprint","relation":"the same text served under another volume (a reprint or another edition)"}],"note":"The same lecture is also served at the loci listed, each with how it relates to this one. They are ONE witness, not independent attestations: quote the rendering you fetched, and do not cite another as corroborating it. Wording differs between translations, so a quotation found in one need not occur in the other."},"witness_completeness":{"ratio":1.19,"band":"comparable","note":null,"word_count":6650,"original_word_count":5594,"may_be_abridged":false},"site_heading":"Christ's Descent and the Northern Mystery Impulse","site_heading_note":"A heading the site wrote for this unit from a summary of it; not in the edition, and not the words of Rudolf Steiner or of the translator. Cite the unit by its title and locus, never by this heading, and do not quote it.","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p018-p029","json_url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p018-p029.json","lecture_url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21#p018","word_count":1645,"quote_safe":true,"passages":[{"passage_number":18,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p018","text":"These northern Mysteries were founded on something utterly different from the foundation of the Mysteries of Asia Minor, the Mysteries of the South. These Mysteries of the North were founded on something that was more intimately bound up with the life of the stars, with nature, with the earth's growth forces, rather than that which was shown in the symbols of a temple. Mystery-truths are not the trifles certain mystic sects play around with today. Mystery-truths are grand and powerful impulses within human evolution. Just as we cannot find our way back today through Anthroposophy to Gnosis, to the ancient Gnostics, neither can mankind return to what the ancient Mysteries of the North once meant for human evolution. It would be a foolish misunderstanding to believe that such Mystery-truths are being revealed now because of a desire to return in some way to what lived in them. For the sake of self-knowledge it is necessary for mankind today to know what lived in such Mysteries. For what in the northern Mysteries involved the whole evolution of the universe was connected with what came from the earth, whereas the Gnostic wisdom inspired by the cosmos was connected with what took place in the far reaches of the universe. The mystery of mankind in its connection to all the mysteries of the cosmos, how it works when man enters on the physical earth into his physical existence, all this, at a certain period of earthly evolution, lay more deeply than anywhere else at the basis of these ancient northern Mysteries.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":258,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p018","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p019","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p019"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p019"],"length_check":{"de_words":240,"en_words":258,"ratio":1.07,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p019"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":19,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p019","text":"But it is necessary to go a very long way back, approximately to the third millennium BC or perhaps even further, in order to understand what lived in those souls who later took into themselves the feeling for Jesus. Just about where the peninsula of Jutland is part of Denmark today, there existed a centre from which emanated in those ancient times very important Mystery-impulses. However people may judge this with their modern understanding, I can tell you that these Mystery-impulses were connected with the fact that, in the third millennium BC in this northern region, there lived certain tribes who only considered those people to be proper residents of the earth who were born during certain weeks in winter time. This came about because the temple priests of this secret Mystery Centre on the Jutland peninsula decreed that in certain tribes, the Ingaevones[^3] as Tacitus called them, the sexual union of human beings must only take place during the first quarter of the year. Every sexual union outside this period decreed by the Mystery centre was taboo; and anyone not born during the season of the darkest nights, in the coldest season towards the new year, was considered by these tribes of the Ingaevones to be an inferior human being. The impulse was sent out by the Mystery centre at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox. This was the only time when those who felt truly connected with the spiritual worlds were allowed to practise sexual union. The forces which are used up in sexual union were saved for the whole remainder of each year and thus contributed to the growing strength of the people. Therefore, they were able to develop that remarkable power of which even the dying echo so astonished Tacitus—writing a century after the Mystery of Golgotha.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":306,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p019","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p020","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p020"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p020"],"length_check":{"de_words":308,"en_words":306,"ratio":0.99,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p020"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":20,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p020","text":"In this way the tribes of the Ingaevones, and the other Germanic tribes to a lesser extent, underwent at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox a particularly strong experience of the process of conception, not in a state of waking consciousness but through a kind of dream annunciation. They knew what this meant with regard to the connection between the mystery of man and the mysteries of heaven. A spiritual being appeared to the one who was conceiving and announced to her, as through a vision, the human being who was to come to the earth through her. There was no consciousness, only a semiconsciousness in that sphere which human souls experienced during the process of entering into physical, earthly reality. Subconsciously the people knew themselves to be ruled by gods, the Vanir.[^4] They were not fully conscious in their intellect but lived in a ‘knowing dream-consciousness’.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":152,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p020","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p021","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p021"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p021"],"length_check":{"de_words":138,"en_words":152,"ratio":1.1,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p021"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":21,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p021","text":"Practices which exist at a certain time, and are fitting for that time, often survive into later times in external symbols. In olden times the holy mystery of birth was shrouded in the subconscious, which in turn meant that all births were crowded together in a certain part of the winter season, and it was regarded as sinful if human beings were born at other times. Later on this was partly preserved, but only fragments passed over into later consciousness, fragments of which the meaning has so far remained undiscovered by any learning. Indeed, it is openly admitted that no scholar has succeeded in discovering any meaning. Fragments remain in the so-called Ertha saga. Except for a few notes, everything now known externally about the Ertha, or Nerthus saga is contained in the writings of Tacitus, who reports about it as follows:[^5]","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":142,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p021","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p022","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p022"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p022"],"length_check":{"de_words":153,"en_words":142,"ratio":0.93,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p022"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":22,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p022","text":"> ‘The Reudigni, the Aviones, the Anglii, the Varini, the Eudoses, the Suardones, and Nuithones, Germanic tribes who are fenced in by rivers or forests’—these are more or less those tribes who together constitute the Ingaevones—‘venerate Nerthus, Ertha, or Mother Earth and believe that she interposes in human affairs, and visits the nations in her chariot.’","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":56,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p022","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":2627,"en_words":3279,"ratio":1.25,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":23,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","text":"In olden times every woman who was to give the earth a new citizen knew in her dream consciousness, through the religious worship of the Vanir, that the goddess later worshipped as Ertha or Nerthus would appear to her. This godly being was perceived as male-female rather than purely female. Only later did a corruption lead to Nerthus becoming a wholly female principle. Just as the Angel Gabriel came to Mary so, in ancient times, did Nerthus come in her chariot to those who were to give the earth a new citizen. The women who were going to give birth saw this in spirit. Later, when the Mystery-impulse in this form had long faded away, the people still celebrated the dying echo of this event in symbols. This is what Tacitus saw, and described as follows:","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":136,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":2627,"en_words":3279,"ratio":1.25,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":24,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p024","text":"> ‘In an island of the ocean there is a sacred grove, and within it her consecrated chariot, covered over with a garment. Only one priest is permitted to touch it.’","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":31,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p024","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[],"bead_confidence":"high","correspondence":"no_counterpart","pairing_state":"no_counterpart","evidence":["reader"],"no_counterpart_reason":"absent_from_german","german_after":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","note":"A reader compared this paragraph with the German unit and found no German counterpart: it is a passage the served German does not print; german_after names the German paragraph after which it would stand. No German text is given."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":25,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p025","text":"This priest was thought of as the initiate of the Ertha Mystery.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":12,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p025","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":2627,"en_words":3279,"ratio":1.25,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"not_checkable","note":"This passage or its German counterpart is too short to compare (a heading or a fragment)."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":26,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p026","text":"> ‘He can perceive the presence of the goddess in this sacred recess, and walks by her side with the utmost reverence as she is drawn along by heifers. It is a season of rejoicing, and festivity reigns wherever she deigns to go and be received. They do not go to battle or wear arms; every weapon is under lock; only peace and quiet are known and welcomed at these times, till the goddess, weary of human intercourse, is at length restored by the same priest to her temple.’","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":89,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p026","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[],"bead_confidence":"high","correspondence":"no_counterpart","pairing_state":"no_counterpart","evidence":["reader"],"no_counterpart_reason":"absent_from_german","german_after":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","note":"A reader compared this paragraph with the German unit and found no German counterpart: it is a passage the served German does not print; german_after names the German paragraph after which it would stand. No German text is given."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":27,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p027","text":"This was exactly what the vision was like. Such ancient documents describe things really quite exactly, only people no longer understand them. ‘It is a season of rejoicing and festivity. They do not go to battle or wear arms; every weapon is under lock.’ Thus it was indeed at the season which is now our Easter time. Out of their inner soul life people believed the season of the earth's fruitfulness to have come for them too, and those souls were conceived who were later born in the season which is now our Christmas time. The season of Easter was the time for conception. This was seen as a holy mystery of the cosmos and later it was symbolized in the worship of Nerthus. All of it was shrouded in the subconscious and was not allowed to break through into consciousness. This shimmers through in what Tacitus says about this worship:","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":151,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p027","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":2627,"en_words":3279,"ratio":1.25,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":28,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p028","text":"> ‘Only peace and quiet are known and welcomed at these times, till the goddess, weary of human intercourse, is at length restored by the same priest to her temple. Afterwards the chariot, the vestments and the divinity herself are purified in a secret lake. Slaves perform the rite, who are instantly swallowed up by its waters.’ A penalty to ensure that all who know about these matters are submerged in the night of the unconscious. ‘Thus reigns a mysterious terror and a pious ignorance concerning the nature of that which is seen only by men doomed to die.’","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":99,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p028","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[],"bead_confidence":"high","correspondence":"no_counterpart","pairing_state":"no_counterpart","evidence":["reader"],"no_counterpart_reason":"absent_from_german","german_after":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","note":"A reader compared this paragraph with the German unit and found no German counterpart: it is a passage the served German does not print; german_after names the German paragraph after which it would stand. No German text is given."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Lucifer","Ahriman","Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":29,"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p029","text":"Everything that takes place in the world comes to have a luciferic and an ahrimanic counter-image. The practices of the Ingaevones, which fitted properly into human evolution, related to the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox. But owing to the precession of the equinox, what remained in ancient times of what had once been a dream experience took place later and later, and thus became ahrimanic. When the events of true, ancient Ertha worship had gradually moved to a time approximately four weeks later, they had become ahrimanic. It was ahrimanic because the union of the human woman with the spiritual world was sought in an unlawful way, that is, at an unlawful time. This then came to be caught and held in ‘Walpurgis Night’[^6] which falls on the night of 30 April to 1 May. This is purely the consequence of an ahrimanic time-shift. You know that a luciferic time-shift goes backwards; an ahrimanic one is the opposite, so here the equinox is shifted forwards so that the remnant from earlier times manifests later. Thus the ahrimanic, Mephistophelean reverse side of ancient Ertha worship, its reversal into something devilish, later became ‘Walpurgis Night’, which is connected with the most ancient Mysteries of which only this weak echo remains.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":213,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p029","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1916-12-21","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":2627,"en_words":3279,"ratio":1.25,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"not_established","translator":null,"identified_edition":"Singles","book_title":"The Karma of Untruthfulness I","publisher":null,"publisher_inferred":false,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173/English/Singles/19161221p02.html","evidence":null,"reason":"no_translator_named","note":"Neither the lecture's own page nor rsarchive's lecture list names a translator for it. No translator is established for this lecture: nothing at the level of the lecture names one. Do not attribute this English to a translator, and do not borrow a credit from another lecture of the volume. Cite the German for anything load-bearing.","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"discrepancy","checked_against":["GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023"],"missing_from_translation":["Christ","Jesus"],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","bead_length_ratio":1.25,"likely_cause":"unresolved","note":"NAME MISMATCH between this English passage and its German counterpart. A name the German carries is absent here (or a name appears here that the German does not carry). Two things cause this and they need telling apart: the translation really drops or reassigns what the original distinguishes, OR the paragraph alignment paired the wrong passages. `bead_confidence` does NOT settle which: this corpus's embedding aligner pairs topically-related paragraphs at full confidence, and a sampled high-confidence mismatch proved to be a wrong pairing. Read the German passages listed and confirm they are counterparts BEFORE drawing any conclusion about the translation."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}}],"witnesses":[{"lang":"de","edition":"original","is_original":true,"is_default_edition":true,"first_passage":1,"last_passage":23,"passage_count":23,"word_count":5594},{"lang":"en","edition":"English","is_original":false,"is_default_edition":true,"first_passage":1,"last_passage":65,"passage_count":65,"word_count":6650,"completeness":{"ratio":1.19,"band":"comparable","note":null}}],"aligned_witness":{"status":"aligned","lang":"de","edition":"original","confidence":"high","passages":[{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p019","passage_number":19,"text":"Es lag diesen nordischen Mysterien etwas ganz anderes zugrunde als den Mysterien Vorderasiens, als jenen des Südens. Es lag diesen Mysterien des Nordens etwas zugrunde, was mit dem unmittelbaren Dasein der Sterne, mit der Natur, mit dem Erdenwachstum inniger zusammenhing als dasjenige, was in einer Tempelumfassung in Symbolen gezeigt wurde. Die Mysterienwahrheiten sind nicht jene Spielereien, zu denen sie gewisse mystische Sekten heute machen wollen; die Mysterienwahrheiten sind große, gewaltige Impulse innerhalb der Menschheitsevolution. Ebensowenig wie wir zur Gnosis, zu den alten Gnostikern zurückgehen können mit der heutigen Anthroposophie, ebensowenig kann die Menschheit zu dem zurückkehren, was zum Beispiel die alten Mysterien des Nordens für die Menschheitsevolution einst waren. Und es würde ein törichtes Mißverstehen sein, wollte man glauben, daß solche Mysterienwahrheiten enthüllt werden aus dem Grunde, weil man irgendwie da zurückgehen will auf das, was in ihnen lebte. Der Selbstbesinnung wegen muß die Menschheit heute wissen, was in solchen Mysterien lebte. Denn das, was in den nordischen Mysterien im Zusammenhang mit der ganzen Weltenentwickelung stand, hing zusammen mit dem, was sich von der Erde aus ergab, so wie das vom Kosmos inspirierte gnostische Wissen mit dem zusammenhing, was in Weltenweiten und Weltenfernen sich abspielte. Das Menschengeheimnis in seinem Zusammenhang mit allen Geheimnissen des Kosmos, wie es sich abspielt, wenn der Mensch hier auf der physischen Erde in sein physisches Dasein tritt, das liegt in einer gewissen Zeit der Erdenentwickelung so tief, wie sonst nirgends diesen alten nordischen Mysterien, zugrunde.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":240,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p019"},{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p020","passage_number":20,"text":"Aber man muß weit zurückgehen, ungefähr bis in das 3. Jahrtausend, vielleicht noch weiter zurück, um das zu verstehen, was in den Gemütern lebte, welche später die Jesus-Empfindung aufnahmen. Dort ungefähr, wo die jütische Halbinsel mit dem heutigen Dänemark ist, da war das Zentrum, von dem in jenen alten Zeiten bedeutende Mysterienimpulse ausgingen. Und diese Mysterienimpulse hingen damit zusammen — das mag der heutige Verstand beurteilen, wie er will -, daß noch im 3. Jahrtausend vor unserer christlichen Zeitrechnung in diesem Norden bei bestimmten Stämmen nur derjenige als ein wirklich erdenwürdiger Mensch angesehen wurde, der in gewissen Wochen der Winterszeit geboren war. Das kam daher, daß von jener geheimnisvollen Mysterienstätte auf der jütischen Halbinsel unter den Stämmen, die sich damals die Ingävonen nannten, oder von den Römern wenigstens, von Tacitus, die Ingävonen genannt wurden, der Tempelpriester den Impuls gab, daß nur zu einer bestimmten Zeit — im ersten Viertel des Jahres - die geschlechtliche Verbindung der Menschen stattfinden sollte. Jede geschlechtliche Verbindung der Menschen außer der Zeit, die von dieser Mysterienstätte aus verfügt wurde, war verpönt; und derjenige war ein minderwertiger Mensch innerhalb dieses Stammes der Ingävonen, der nicht in der Zeit der finstersten Nächte, in der kältesten Zeit, gegen unser Neujahr hin geboren wurde. Denn der Impuls von jener Mysterienstätte ging aus in der Zeit, in welcher der erste Vollmond nach der Frühlingssonnenwende war. Da nur durfte unter jenen Menschen, die sich wirklich verbunden glauben sollten mit den geistigen Welten, so wie es des Menschen würdig war, in dieser Zeit allein durfte eine geschlechtliche Verbindung stattfinden. Dadurch, daß die Kräfte, die in eine solche geschlechtliche Verbindung hineingehen, in der ganzen übrigen Zeit für die Kraftentwickelung des Menschen aufgespart wurden, wurde jene eigentümliche Stärke entwickelt, welche — wenigstens noch in den Nachklängen — Tacitus zu bewundern hatte, der ein Jahrhundert nach dem Stattfinden des Mysteriums von Golgatha schrieb.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":308,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p020"},{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p021","passage_number":21,"text":"So erlebten jene, die dem Stamme der Ingävonen angehörten, in besonders intensiver Weise — die andern germanischen Stämme in abgeschwächter Art - in der ersten Vollmondzeit nach der Frühlingssonnenwende den Vorgang der Empfängnis: nicht im Wachbewußtsein, sondern in einer Art von Traumverkündung. Sie wußten jedoch, was das zu bedeuten hat im Zusammenhange des Menschengeheimnisses mit den Himmelsgeheimnissen. Ein geistiges Wesen erschien der Empfangenden und verkündete ihr wie in einem Gesichte den Menschen, der durch sie auf die Erde kommen sollte. Kein Bewußtsein gab es, sondern nur ein Halbbewußtsein in der Sphäre, welche die Menschenseelen erlebten, wenn das Hereintreten des Menschen in die physisch-irdische Welt sich vollzieht. Unterbewußt wußte man sich regiert von Göttern, die dann den Namen der «Wanen» erhielten, was zusammenhängt mit «wähnen», mit demjenigen, was nicht bei äußerem vollen intellektuellen Bewußtsein verläuft, sondern in «wissendem Traumesbewußtsein».","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":138,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p021"},{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p022","passage_number":22,"text":"Dasjenige, was zu einer Zeit da war, und was für diese Zeit angemessen war, das erhält sich oftmals in späteren Zeiten in äußeren Symbolen. Und so hat die Tatsache, daß in diesen alten Zeiten das heilige Geheimnis der Menschwerdung ins Unterbewußte gehüllt war und dazu geführt hat, daß alle Geburten zusammengedrängt waren in einen bestimmten Teil der Winterszeit, so daß es wie sündhaft angesehen wurde, wenn auch zu einer andern Zeit ein Mensch geboren wurde, sich gewissermaßen erhalten in dem, wovon im Grunde genommen nur Splitter in das spätere Bewußtsein übergegangen sind, Splitter, deren Sinn bisher keine Gelehrsamkeit enthüllt hat. Ja, diese gesteht offen ihre Ohnmacht ein, sie zu enthüllen. Splitter haben sich erhalten in der sogenannten Herta- oder Erda- oder Nertus-Sage. Denn im Grunde genommen ist alles, was man in äußerer Beziehung über die Nertus-Sage weiß, mit Ausnahme einiger Notizen, im Tacitus enthalten, der über den Nertus- oder Herta-Dienst das Folgende berichtet:","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":153,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p022"},{"locus":"GA 173a/1916-12-21/p023","passage_number":23,"text":"> «Die Reudigner, Avionen, Angeln, Variner, Eudosen, Suardonen, Nuithonen - deutsche Völker zwischen Flüssen und Wäldern wohnend» — das sind ungefähr die einzelnen Stämme, die zu den Ingävonen gehören — «verehren insbesondere die Nertus, das ist: die Mutter Erde, und glauben, daß sie sich in die menschlichen Dinge mischt und zu den Völkern gefahren kommt.»\n> In alten Zeiten wußte aus dem religiösen Dienst der Wanen heraus jede Frau, die der Erde einen Erdenbürger geben sollte, in ihrem Traumbewußtsein, daß ihr die Göttin, die später als Nertus verehrt wurde, erscheinen würde. Die Gottheit wurde aber nicht eigentlich weiblich, sondern mann-weiblich vorgestellt, Nertus ist nur später durch eine Korruption vollständig zum weiblichen Prinzip geworden. Gerade so, wie der Maria der Erzengel Gabriel sich näherte, so näherte sich in den alten Zeiten die Nertus auf ihrem Wagen derjenigen, die der Erde einen Erdenbürger geben sollte. Das sahen im Geiste die betreffenden Frauen. Später, als der Mysterienimpuls in dieser Art längst verglommen war, feierte man dieses Ereignis im Nachklang, im Symbolum, und das sah noch Tacitus und beschreibt es wie folgt:\n> Diesen Priester dachte man sich eben als den Eingeweihten des Herta-Mysteriums.\n> So war auch wirklich die Vision. In solchen alten Urkunden werden die Dinge recht genau geschildert, die Menschen verstehen sie nur nicht. «Da ist froher Tag und Hochzeit. Da war kein Krieg gestritten, keine Waffe ergriffen, das Eisen verschlossen.» So war es in der Tat in der Zeit, die jetzt unsere Österzeit ist, wenn die Menschen aus dem inneren Seelenleben heraus die Zeit der Erdenfruchtbarkeit auch für sich gekommen glauben mußten und jene Seelen empfangen wurden, die dann in der Zeit geboren wurden, die jetzt unsere Weihnachtszeit ist. Zur Osterzeit war die Empfängniszeit. Und hierauf bezog sich, weil man das Ganze als kosmisch-heiliges Mysterium ansah, dasjenige, was später sein Symbolum in dem Nertus-Dienst gefunden hat. Das Ganze aber war gehüllt in das Unterbewußte, hat nicht herauf gedurft in das Bewußtsein. Das klingt durch, indem Tacitus jenen Dienst schildert:\n> Von allem, was in der Welt eintritt, bildet sich auch ein luziferisches und ein ahrimanisches Gegenbild. Dasjenige, was im Ingävonen-Sinne das in der geregelten Menschheitsevolution Liegende war, das bezog sich auf die Zeit des ersten Vollmonds nach der Frühlingssonnenwende. Aber was in alten Zeiten durch das Vorrücken der Tagundnachtgleiche als traumhaftes Erleben aus alten Zeiten zurückgeblieben war, wurde immer mehr in eine spätere Zeit verlegt und war dadurch ahrimanisch geworden. Wenn also das, was im echten Herta-Dienste in alten Zeiten gedacht worden ist, um ungefähr vier Wochen später verlegt wurde, so war es ahrimanisch geworden. Dieses Ahrimanischgewordensein bedeutete also, daß auf unrechtmäßige Weise — zur unrechtmäßigen Zeit — der Zusammenhang, die Verbindung der Menschenfrau mit der geistigen Welt gesucht worden war. Das blieb dann festgehalten in der Walpurgisnacht vom 30. April auf den 1.Mai! Nur eine ahrimanische Zeitversetzung haben wir da zu sehen. Sie wissen, luziferische Zeitversetzung geht zurück; das Ahrimanische erscheint umgekehrt, weil es mit dem Vorrücken der Tagundnachtgleiche zusammenhängt: das Zurückgebliebene erscheint in diesem Fall später. Dasjenige also, was die ahrimanische, die mephistophelische Kehrseite des Herta-Dienstes war, die Verkehrung ins Teuflische, ist später zur «Walpurgisnacht» geworden, die mit dem urältesten Mysterienwesen zusammenhängt, von der sich nur eben der schwache Nachklang dann erhalten hat.\n> Vieles von diesem Mysterienwesen lebte, wenn man die Sache richtig versteht, gerade in den skandinavischen Mysterien weiter. Dort gibt es statt der Nerta einen Gott Friggo, der seiner Symbolik nach - aber man muß es zuerst aus der Geisteswissenschaft wissen — geradezu zum Verräter wird dessen, was da eigentlich zugrunde lag.\n> Und noch eines war da, das erwähnt sein soll in bezug auf diese Mysterienbräuche. Sie können sich denken: Wenn seit der Zeit des Frühlingsvollmondes bis in die Winterszeit hinein also die Menschenfrucht herangereift war, gab es in der Regel ein solches Menschenwesen, das als erstes in der Heiligen Nacht geboren wurde. Dieses Menschenwesen, das als erstes in der Heiligen Nacht geboren wurde unter den Stämmen der Ingävonen - in ältesten Zeiten war dies in jedem dritten Jahre der Fall -, das wurde zum Führer auserkoren, wenn es dreißig Jahre alt geworden war, und es sollte drei Jahre Führer bleiben, nur drei Jahre. Was dann mit ihm geschah, darf ich vielleicht in späterer Zeit einmal mitteilen.\n> Forscht man ganz genau nach, so ist nicht nur Frigg, Frei, Freia gewissermaßen bloß eine Art Nebenbedeutung für die Nertus, ebenso wie der nordische Nört, sondern es ist auch der Name Ing selber, von dem her die Ingävonen sich nennen, ein Nebenname für die Nertus. Die mit diesem Mysterium Verbundenen, sie nannten sich die zum Gotte oder zur Göttin Ing Gehörigen: Ingävonen. In der äußeren Welt sind eben nur Splitter geblieben von dem, was da eigentlich lebte. Einer der Splitter sind die Worte des Tacitus, die ich Ihnen mitgeteilt habe. Ein anderer Splitter ist das berühmte angelsächsische Runenlied, welches nur wenige Zeilen enthält. Diese berühmten Zeilen, die heute jeder Phi:lologe der Germanistik studiert, kennt, deren Sinn aber keiner versteht, lauten etwa so:\n> In diesem angelsächsischen Runenlied ist ein Nachklang dessen enthalten, was geschehen war: was man in dem alten Mysterienbrauch hatte von der Österempfängnis im Hinblick auf die Weihnachtsgeburtszeit. Was da geschah in der geistigen Welt, man wußte es vor allen Dingen auf der dänischen Halbinsel. Daher sagt das Runenlied mit Recht: «Ing wurde zuerst bei den Männern der Ostdänen gesehen.» Dann kamen immer mehr und mehr die Zeiten, wo dieses alte Wissen in die Korruption verfiel, wo nur Nachklänge, Symbolik vorhanden war, wo überhaupt innerhalb der Menschheitsentwickelung mehr das aus den warmen Ländern Stammende sich verbreitete. Und aus den warmen Ländern stammt dasjenige, was nicht, wie in den kalten Ländern, damit zusammenhängt, daß die Jahreszeit eine innige Beziehung hat zu dem, was der Mensch in seinem Innern erlebt. Es kam die Ausstreuung der Menschenfrucht über das ganze Jahr hin, die selbstverständlich in diesen Gegenden auch schon da war im alten atavistischen Hellsehen, wenn auch noch von den alten Prinzipien durchdrungen, als in der kalten Gegend die Wanengötter herrschten und in den südlichen Gegenden die Tempelmysterien schon längst an die Stelle der Naturmysterien getreten waren. Es kam das schon nach Norden, noch vermischt mit dem Alten, als die Wanengötter ersetzt wurden durch die Asengötter. Wie die Wanengötter zusammenhängen mit dem «wähnen», so die Asengötter mit dem Sein, das heißt mit dem Sein in der äußeren, der materiellen Welt, das der äußere Verstand ergreifen will. Und als die nordischen Menschen eingetreten waren in ein Zeitalter, in welchem der Verstand des einzelnen anfing, sich geltend zu machen, als die Asen an die Stelle der Wänen, der Wanen getreten waren, da korrumpierte sich die alte Mysteriensitte. Sie zog hinüber in einzelne verstreute Mysteriengemeinschaften des Ostens. Und nur einer noch — derjenige, in dem erneuert werden sollte der ganze Sinn der Erde -, nur einer, in dem der Christus wohnen sollte, der sollte das in sich vereinigen, was einstmals Inhalt der nordischen Mysterien war.\n> Daher müssen wir, wenn uns im Lukas-Evangelium die Erzählung von dem Erscheinen des Erzengels Gabriel bei der Maria entgegentritt, deren Ursprung in den wahren Visionen suchen, die auftraten in dem, was sich einst in dem Nertus-Symbol der alten Nertus-Mysterien spiegelte. Hinübergezogen war dies nach dem Osten. Die Geisteswissenschaft enthüllt es uns heute, und sie allein gibt dem angelsächsischen Runenlied einen Sinn. Denn Nertus und Ing sind dasselbe. Und von Ing wird ja gesagt: «Ing wurde zuerst bei den Männern der Ostdänen gesehen, später ging er nach dem Osten. Über die Wogen schritt er, und der Wagen rollte ihm nach.» Über die Wogen der Wolken selbstverständlich, so wie die Nerta über die Wogen der Wolken schritt. Was allgemein gewesen war in den Gegenden der kälteren Zone, das wurde singulär, wurde ein Einzelnes. Das trat als ein Singuläres, als ein Einzelnes auf und tritt uns wieder entgegen in der Schilderung des Lukas-Evangeliums.\n> Was aber einmal da ist und sich eingelebt hat, sich verankert hat in der Auffassung des Gemüts, das bleibt dann im Gemüte, sitzt in der Seele. Und als man im Norden vom alten römischen Süden her die Kunde des Christentums erhielt, empfing man damit etwas, was zusammenhing mit einem nicht mehr im vollen Bewußtsein, sondern im Unterbewußtsein lebenden und deshalb nur gefühlten alten Mysterienbrauch. Daher konnte sich dort die Empfindung für den Jesus besonders stark entwickeln. Ins Unterbewußtsein war schon hinuntergezogen, was im alten Nertus-Mysterium lebte; doch im Unterbewußtsein war es vorhanden, wurde gefühlt und empfunden.\n> Wenn einst in alter Zeit die Familien zusammenkamen im hohen Norden, als die Erde noch von Wäldern bedeckt war, in denen noch der Auerochs und das Elentier hausten, wenn sie sich in ihren eingeschneiten Hütten bei brennenden Lichtern um das neugeborene Kind versammelten und davon sprachen, daß ihnen mit diesem neuen Leben jenes neue Licht gebracht sei, welches der Himmel ihnen verkündet hatte in der Vorfrühlingszeit, so war dies das alte Weihnachten. Da wurde denen, zu welchen die Kunde vom Christentum einstmals kommen sollte, erzählt, es sei einer in der besonders heiligen Stunde geboren, der zu Großem ausersehen sei. Das war derjenige, der als der erste nach der zwölften Stunde in der als heilig bezeichneten Nacht geboren wurde. Darüber besaß man nicht mehr das alte Wissen, aber das alte Fühlen regte sich noch, als die Kunde kam, daß so einer im fernen Asien geboren sei, in welchem der Christus lebte, der von der Sternenwelt zur Erde heruntergekommen war.\n> Solches immer mehr und mehr zu verstehen und dadurch den Sinn der Entwickelung der Erdenmenschheit wirklich konkret zu fassen, das obliegt der Gegenwart. Denn Großes und Ungeheures ist in den heiligen Schriften enthalten; nicht jene Trivialitäten, von denen heute in den religiösen Kundgebungen so oft gesprochen wird, sondern jene markdurchzuckenden, herzdurchtränkenden heiligen Wahrheiten, die durch alle Menschheitsentwickelung gehen. Das vibriert in demjenigen, was in den Evangelien enthalten ist. Und indem Geisteswissenschaft enthüllt, auf welch tiefen Hintergründen dasjenige ruht, was in den Evangelien lebt, werden diese Evangelien der Menschheit einmal erst teuer und wert werden. Und wissen wird die Menschheit einmal, warum im Lukas-Evangelium erzählt wird:\n> Für ihn als für den Erstgeborenen unter denen, die sich in der Seele finden sollen, war von der dänischen Halbinsel nach dem entfernten Osten jene alte heilige Mysterienkraft hinübergezogen.\n> So verkündete auch Nerta, die für das alte Wanenbewußtsein, das heißt für das Unterbewußtsein im atavistischen Hellsehen, durch die Gefilde zog, die Ankunft der Menschen auf der Erde.\n> und sie sprachen jetzt, was der Nerta-Priester zu der empfangenden Frau im alten nordischen Mysteriendienst gesprochen hat:\n> Wie Tacitus erzählt: «Da ist froher Tag und Hochzeit, da wird kein Krieg gestritten, keine Waffe ergriffen, das Eisen verschlossen.»\n> Das ist gerade das Große, zu dem sich der Mensch erheben muß: hineinzuschauen in den Gang der Menschheitsentwickelung. Denn auch das Mysterium von Golgatha, durch welches die ganze Erdenentwickelung ihren tieferen Sinn bekommen hat, wird voll verständlich, wenn gezeigt wird, wie es innerhalb der ganzen Menschheitsentwickelung darinnensteht. Wenn einmal der Materialismus verschwunden sein wird und der Mensch nicht nur in abstracto, sondern in concreto wissen wird, wie er göttlichen Ursprungs ist, dann wird wiederum ein Verständnis sein für die heiligen Mysterienwahrheiten des Altertums; dann wird die Zwischenzeit vorüber sein, in der zwar der Christus auf der Erde lebt, aber nur zum geringen Teil mit dem erwachten Bewußtsein verstanden werden kann. Denn das Christus-Verständnis der Gnosis verglomm; das Jesus-Verständnis entwickelte sich im Zusammenhange mit dem alten Nertus-Dienst nur unbewußt. In der Zukunft aber wird die Menschheit die beiden unbewußten Strömungen sich zum Bewußtsein bringen und sie verbinden müssen. Dann wird immer mehr und mehr ein Christus-Verständnis auf der Erde Platz greifen können, das die Verbindung sein wird der Mysterienerkenntnis mit einer erneuerten großen Gnosis.\n> Wer anthroposophische Weltanschauung und die mit ihr zusammenhängende Bewegung ernst nimmt, wird in demjenigen, was sie der Menschheit zu sagen hat, kein Kinderspiel sehen, sondern ernste, große Wahrheiten. Und wir müssen uns schon in der Seele erschüttern lassen, weil das Große uns erschüttern soll,\n> Die Erde ist nicht nur ein großes Lebewesen, sie ist ein erhabenes Geistwesen. Und wie das größte Menschengenie im späteren Alter nicht da stehen könnte, wo es steht, wenn es sich nicht durch Kindheit und Jugend in entsprechender Weise entwickelt hätte, so hätte das Mysterium von Golgatha nicht stattfinden können, es hätte das Göttliche sich nicht mit der Erdenentwickelung vereinigen können, wenn nicht im Anfange der Erdentage in anderer, aber auch in göttlicher Weise Göttliches auf die Erde heruntergestiegen wäre. Anders, als sie später verstanden werden konnte, war die Offenbarung des Göttlichen aus den Höhen im alten Nertus-Dienste; aber sie war da.\n> In dieser alten Weisheit ist zwar eine atavistische Erkenntnis enthalten, aber eine unendlich höhere als in dem, was heute in so brutaler Weise als materialistische Weltanschauung die Menschheit vertiert, erkenntnismäßig vertiert.\n> Beim Christentum handelt es sich um eine Tatsache, nicht um eine Theorie. Die Theorie muß folgen, sie ist für das menschliche Bewußtsein, das sich im weiteren Verlauf der Erdenevolution ergeben soll, wichtig; aber das Christentum als solches, das Mysterium von Golgatha, ist als Tatsache vorhanden, und es handelte sich darum, daß gerade in die unterbewußten Strömungen das Christentum zunächst eintrat. Das war noch möglich in Vorderasien in der Zeit, als Christus mit der Erde sich vereinigte.\n> Hirten, ähnliche Leute wie die, unter denen der Nertus-Dienst gelebt hat, sind auch im Lukas-Evangelium geschildert. Ich kann Ihnen das alles nur skizzenhaft andeuten. Könnten wir lange darüber reden, so würde sich gerade das, was ich Ihnen heute zu sagen habe, als tief begründet ergeben. Weil der Mensch aus geistigen Höhen heruntergestiegen ist, darum vollzog sich die Offenbarung des Göttlichen aus den himmlischen Höhen. Es mußte so gesprochen werden zu denen, welche aus der alten Weisheit das Schicksal des Menschen verbunden wußten mit demjenigen, was in den Sternen von den Himmeln lebt. Dasjenige aber, was auf der Erde leben soll durch den Eintritt des Christus in einen Erdenmenschen, es wird erst nach und nach verstanden werden müssen. Die Botschaft ist zweigliedrig, zweiteilig: «Offenbarung des Göttlichen aus den Höhen» — «Friede in den Erdenseelen, die eines guten Willens sind.» Ohne diesen zweiten Teil hat Weihnachten, das Fest der Geburt des Christus, keinen Sinn!\n> Und nicht nur wurde der Christus für die Menschen geboren: die Menschen haben den Christus auch gekreuzigt! Auch dem liegt eine Notwendigkeit zugrunde, aber deshalb ist es ja nicht minder wahr, daß die Menschen den Christus gekreuzigt haben. Und es kann gewußt werden, daß die Kreuzigung, die auf dem hölzernen Kreuze zu Golgatha stattfand, nicht die einzige Kreuzigung war. Eine Zeit muß kommen, in der verstanden werden kann der zweite Teil des Weihnachtsspruchs: «Friede den Menschen auf Erden, die eines guten Willens sind!» Denn auch das Negative darf gefühlt und empfunden werden: die Menschen sind weit davon entfernt, den Christus und das Weihnachtsmysterium im richtigen Sinne zu verstehen.\n> Muß es uns doch ins Herz schneiden, daß wir selber in einer Zeit leben, wo die Friedenssehnsucht des Menschen angebrüllt wird. Fast unwahr ist es in diesen Tagen des Anbrüllens der Friedenssehnsucht der Menschen, Weihnachten zu feiern. Wollen wir heute, da das Äußerste noch nicht vor uns steht, hoffen, daß in den Seelen Umkehr eintreten kann, und daß an die Stelle des Anbrüllens der Friedenssehnsucht christliches Empfinden, Friedenswille trete. Sonst werden vielleicht nicht diejenigen, die heute in Europa streben, sondern diejenigen, die von Asien herüber das Anbrüllen der Friedenssehnsucht einmal rächen werden, auf den Trümmern des europäischen Geisteslebens das Christentum und das Mysterium von Golgatha der Menschheit zu verkündigen haben. Und unauslöschlich wird es dann bleiben: Zu Weihnachten im neunzehnhundertsechzehnten Jahre nach der Verkündigung, daß Friede auf Erden unter den Menschenseelen, die eines guten Willens sind, sein möge, im neunzehnhundertsechzehnten Jahre nach der Weihnachtsverkündigung konnte die Menschheit einmal dazu kommen, die Friedenssehnsucht zu verbrüllen!\n> Möge es nicht so sein! Davor mögen die guten Geister, die in den Weihnachtsimpulsen wirken, die unglückselige europäische Menschheit behüten!\n> .original","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":2627,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/173a/1916-12-21/p023"}],"beads":[{"from":[18],"to":[19],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[19],"to":[20],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[20],"to":[21],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[21],"to":[22],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55],"to":[23],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"}],"note":"Paired by the paragraph aligner; each language numbers its own paragraphs. A bead at either end of the span can carry text beyond it (the `from` numbers show what each bead covers)."}}