Public opinion

In European Mythology – and in other mythologies too – we find the germination of human freedom and the twilight of the Gods. In our time we are free from the conscious influence of God. We don’t recognize Him, for we don’t see Him – maybe we believe that He is there in another world, […]

The Valkyries

In reflecting on the theme of the origin of evil, one finds the great sagas of Gods and Heroes. If we have texts, we have to have a vivid imagination to perceive the meaning of the saga. For instance the figures of Hera and Zeus. They easily remain just names, if we don’t try to […]

Modern spiritual self-knowledge

In the medieval poem, Dante’s ‘Divina Commedia’, we find a form of self-knowledge that is based on a certain clairvoyance. The teacher of Dante was Brunetto Latini. Dante meets him in Inferno… It is not clear, why he is burning in Inferno. Rudolf Steiner has spoken about Latini in several lectures. According to his occult […]

The Purgatorio in Dantes Divina Commedia

Then there is the sin that is founded on a lack of love, too little love. This is called Acedia, slowness or apathy. In the course of centuries this sin was seen more and more as the main sin, from which actually all sins derive. It is a kind of indifference, an inner passivity. Literally […]

Evil and the ancient doctrine of the origin of the sins by Dante

Selfknowledge takes incredible shape, when we go into the ancient doctrine about the sins. This is expressed in Dantes Divina Commedia (13th century) in a visual way. Dante has, lead by the poet Vergilius, first gone through hell. After that, he climbs the mountain of purification, where people must suffer for their sins, before they […]

About the Evil

Directly after the 6. of January the Light was darkened by the events in Paris. These generate questions about the nature of evil. I quote from the Mystery Plays of Rudolf Steiner, the second play, ninth scene. The woodland meadow,  Joseph Keane, Dame Keane, their daughter Bertha Bertha:Dear mother, I so long to hear the […]

Good will

Reflecting on peace and human good will I got some reactions from people who doubt that there still are people with a good will, an intention that is directed to be good. In the Bible it is said by Christ that the disciples shouldn’t call Him ‘good’; only the Father is good. It is clear, […]

…And on earth peace to those who are of good will

‘And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will […]

Goethe’s Fairy Tale

Last Saturday we presented in Amsterdam a new Dutch translation of Goethe’s Fairy Tale of the green snake and the beautiful Lily. Goethe gives in imaginations the riddle of the development of the human being. Here I quote ome of the images. ‘This cheerfulness, these graceful sports were interrupted by the entrance of the woeful […]

Finding without searching

In the Parsival-saga it is the leading character Parsival, who is the personification of the task of modern man. He is a sound person, but his mind is not fully awake, his consciousness is dull, he is not fully aware yet. At first he makes many mistakes because he does not have a clear awareness. […]