43. Consciousness – Life – Form

When the solar cycle begins, the physical body is ready to take on its own form. Whereas the soul used to be the regulator of this form, it now has its own form within it. This is called the etheric body. The soul is no longer in direct contact with the physical body; the etheric body stands between them as a mediator. Its experiences are transferred to this etheric body, as they were previously transferred to the physical body. Now, the seven formative states must first be passed through again by this etheric body, from formlessness to creative activity. As the etheric body has a formative effect on the physical body, it loses its tension progressively. And this is repeatedly regulated by the soul. In a similar way, the development of the sun also passes through seven physical stages. And in each of these, the soul appears at a higher level; in the seventh, it presents a new state of consciousness. While it is still witnessing how the etheric body becomes the creator of new forms that replicate the entire solar world, it already senses within itself a world of images that undulates within it.