yeah..I haven't read the above text but a thought came / no free will/.. suppose you just came to a library..biggest in town,lots of shelves,milions of books.. what kind of mind twist does it take to go for this kind of stuff..I mean, so many choces and you pick this very one! anybody who falls for this, remember,fairy tales can't be a basis for establishing social norms..and some people just go out of their way to make it look true..
Lucifer & Ahriman April 22, 2020 Lucifer & Ahriman In continuing our exploration into the integration of conflicting influences let us look into the work of the great mystic Rudolf Steiner and his ideas on the Incarnations of Lucifer and Ahriman. According to Steiner, in order to to achieve Christ Consciousness we must hold in balance the energies of Lucifer and Ahriman, which are opposing forces that work towards destruction symbolized by Sorat or The Antichrist. It’s a renewal of the ancient teachings of “The Golden Mean” or The Middle Way between opposing extremes. The diagram below is an illustration of the diamond/cross pattern of these influences. Supposedly, Lucifer was a powerful spiritual entity that incarnated into human form 3000 years Before Christ. Lucifer is known as the Light Bringer. He is responsible for teaching humanity meditation and the power of plant medicine. His incarnation lead to a revolution of consciousness. It brought about the wisdom of Pagan culture that saw the human being as part of the flow of nature and inspired individuals toward Gnosis. Although he is not evil, Lucifer’s goal is to take man out of his body into the ethereal, into the realm of Spirit. This was an essential teaching for mankind at the time but only spread through the Mystery Schools and was largely hidden from the majority of the people. Then, as a correction to Lucifer’s tendency toward strictly mystical experiences, Christ was introduced on the physical plane through the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. This was seen as a balance but it would not have been understood without the Luciferic principle. At present, humanity is being prepared for the incarnation of Ahriman. A swing towards the opposing pole. In contrast to Lucifer, Ahriman is only interested in the physical plane of existence. Whereas Lucifer draws human beings away from earthly embodiment, Ahriman drives the spirit out of the vessel, hardening the human organism into material existence. We see this in the modern Materialist Scientific paradigm, where only what can be measured with the five senses is considered and anything “spiritual” or “metaphysical”, for lack of better terms, is ignored. Of course, it’s not necessary to believe that these are actual Spiritual Entities that are taking human form. I am of the opinion that no belief in anything should be taken on until a direct experience can prove it as a personal truth and even then we may realize that even greater levels of understanding are possible that challenge or expand upon our previously held beliefs. The importance should always be placed on ascertaining spiritual truths on the experiential level and never through belief in what someone else says. We may glean truths in someone’s words or philosophy but we should always strive towards direct experience and away from blind faith. In terms of Lucifer and Ahriman, we can look at these energies as metaphor that point us towards specific epochs of human spiritual evolution and cognitive development. It’s possible that these “ages” maybe programmed physical manifestations that are beyond our control and are in place as a test. Almost as if existence is part of a much grander scheme of spiritual unfoldment through its interaction with the world of form. So while Lucifer is flighty and warm, it’s an unstable influence that inspires human fanaticism and false mysticism. We can see this in the egoic spirituality that is all too pervasive in this day and age. It’s apparent in the tendency to want to leave the material realm in search of hallucinatory pleasures. There are many spiritual seekers who become addicted to the experience of the astral realms that are possible through many of the plant medicines out there. This is not a condemnation of these teacher plants because great healing can occur in communion with them, but stepping into those realms too often and without proper protection and guidance is not without peril and can drain you. People who have journeyed into this territory often find that the plants themselves will tell you that you must stop coming to them for answers. That’s why meditation is such a key component to spiritual development and wisdom. It’s the slow and methodical way to gain discernment. By focused, disciplined concentration one can experience what the Buddhists refer to as the jhanas, or The Formless Dimensions. Without proper insight, these dimensions can be confusing, potentially hazardous, and a hindrance to spiritual growth. In the plant medicine experience, we are often launched naked into the jhanas and encounter many fantastic and otherworldly fascinations without the proper context or wisdom. Learned shamans can help to guide the experience but without a daily spiritual practice these experiences can leave one scrambled or worse. Their spirituality can become part of their ego and used to strengthen their sense of self, which is a phenomenon that we’re seeing today where anyone who takes Ayahuasca is suddenly a “light worker” or healer. There’s nothing wrong with being called in that direction but if the ego has not been properly transcended the Luciferic energy can become unbalanced and lead to destructive impulses. In contrast, Ahriman is cold hard and mechanical. He’s rigid and materialistic. The effect is to reject Spirit in place of the physical, to silence the living principle within in favor of the world of fixed forms. Ahriman promotes the illusory concept that matter is the basic reality. The only reality in fact. It’s Ahriman’s wish that humanity stay asleep and he works on the unconscious population in many ways, one of which is through technological innovation on the material plane. He’s in direct opposition to increased consciousness but vigorously promotes hard intelligence and science. Much of the scientific thought of today is generated toward crushing anything that questions the idea that consciousness is a by product of human evolution instead of the other way around. Ahriman also works in the political sphere as fervent nationalism and identity politics, hardening everyone into boxes that only strengthen the ego’s sense of self and look at any challenge to it as an affront to their survival. I don’t think we need any examples of how this is playing out in today’s culture and political landscape. Ahriman is also interested in promoting the blind acceptance of statistical analysis and this is evident in the explosion of algorithms and reduction of human behavior to the realm of cold data and numbers. The destruction of the Earth as a result of the compulsion towards growth in capitalist dogma is an Ahrimanic impulse as well. In essence, it’s the reduction of human beings to a mechanical cog and the control of all life through microchips and technological manipulation. This is a danger that should be taken seriously because at its core is a fundamental error, which suggests that matter is the ultimate reality devoid of the Creative Principle that animates it. We are entering this New Ahrimanic Age now and it is coincident with the coming Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on December 21st 2020, also known as a Great Conjunction. It occurs at 0 Degrees of Aquarius, which is highly significant and I believe signals the true beginning of the Age of Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign of the collective but it is also the sign of the future and technology. While Saturn’s passage through here is evident in the social distancing protocols we’re seeing currently, it will be joined by Jupiter, and this combination will expand technological innovation and initiate the Age of the Robots. Mechanical beings, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality will explode during this time and we must stay vigilant so as not to get sucked into the false mysticism of digital transcendence or the hardening of the human vessel into a cyborg. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. We can calculate these epochs of human spiritual evolution through the approximately 2160 year transitions through the signs of the Zodiac. For instance, in the Age of Taurus there were cults that worshiped the bull deity Apis, and when Moses came down with the 10 Commandments he witnessed some of his followers worshipping a golden bull. He instructed his people that these worshippers should be executed and in doing so sacrificed the Bull. This act effectively ended the Age of Taurus and ushered in the Age of Aries, which is why Moses is often depicted as blowing the Rams horn and many other references to this symbolism. Next was the sacrifice of Jesus, the “Fisher of Men”, signaling the change from Aries into Pisces, the two fish. A deeper understanding of the crucifixion and it’s symbolism is needed in order to uncover it’s greater meaning through the context of Astrology and Pagan symbolism, especially as we’re set to enter the Age of Aquarius. The Water Bearer can be the pouring of spiritual waters into every human being for a great Awakening or the Great Flood that sends all the fish out onto the land without the ability to breathe. It could be Chaos and Collapse or Transcendence and Evolution or quite possibly both. Salvador Dali In the Christ impulse we are being shown the Middle Way. The path towards spiritual transcendence lies in holding these conflicting energies of Lucifer and Ahriman in balance, in awakening Spirit through the body, through the world of form. If we look at the symbolism of Christianity, it is clear that most of the mythology has been lifted from previous incarnations of Solar Deities. The Virgin Birth, 12 disciples, and Crucifixion are all in line with nearly 13 previous World Teachers throughout the ages including Zoroaster, Ra, and Buddha. Much of this mythology was appropriated and attributed to Jesus by the Roman Empire in an attempt to fold the remaining Pagan’s into the Roman Catholic doctrine as a way of increasing hegemonic control of the population. In doing so, the true meaning of much of this Pagan Wisdom was lost and a good portion of knowledge pertaining to astrological cycles and the rhythm of nature along with it. If looked at through a different lens, the entire mythology is ripe with astrological significance. It’s been well documented that the historical Jesus was born in April. The reason Christmas is celebrated on December 25th is because that is the day that the Sun “rises again” after being “dead for three days” to move towards ever increasingly light when the days get longer as Spring approaches. The 12 disciples that the Sun travels around with represent the signs of the zodiac. The Three Kings following the Northern Star towards Bethlehem can be seen every year at this time as the stars that make up Orion’s belt, also known as the Three Kings, form a line with Sirius and point to the exact area on the Earth where the Sun will rise on December 25th after it’s descent into darkness. This is not to say that there isn’t Spiritual Wisdom encoded in the mythology but they are shrouded and we shouldn’t confuse it by worshipping human sacrifice. The cross of the crucifixion can be viewed as the zodiac through which every human being must pass on it’s journey into the physical plane. The image of the tortured Christ is symbolic of the suffering that one must endure by incarnating into the world of form but it also represents the spiritual transcendence that’s possible for every human being through the recognition of the Vertical dimension of Spirit through the Horizontal portal of Time. The Transfiguration of Spirit through the vessel of the Body. This is part of the key to unlocking the Mystery of Golgotha. Salvador Dali The path towards this goal is the destiny of each and every human being and in order to achieve this objective we must learn to hold the energies of Lucifer and Ahriman in equipoise. These influences can be viewed in simpler terms, where Christ Consciousness is simply Awakening to Spirit, and the mishandling and imbalance of Lucifer and Ahriman lead to Sorat, or egoic unconsciousness. In the face of the coming incarnation of Ahriman on the physical plane we must adopt a more objective stance concerning our impulses and a far more subjective one where the external world is concerned. It’s about gaining an understanding of the world of Spirit through the lens of Science. Not giving ourselves up completely to mystical experiences but instead noticing the unfolding of the mystical through the physical. This is essential to our survival as a species on this Earth. It is the pathway toward Gnosis. It’s the doorway into true Spiritual Transcendence. Lucifer & Ahriman — The Star Science
According to Steiner Lucifer brought the knowledge of Paganism to humanity but what is Paganism ? Paganism is an extremely vast subject with many offshoots and appears to have dominated cultures and civilizations for about 3 thousand years culminating in the Roman and Greek empires . "What is Paganism? The Basics Pagans may be trained in particular traditions or they may follow their own inspiration. Paganism is not dogmatic. Pagans pursue their own vision of the Divine as a direct and personal experience. The Pagan Federation recognizes the rich diversity of traditions that form the body of modern Paganism. In a brief introductory booklet, it is not possible to describe each and every one. Rather than attempt this, the pages in this section – links are on the left hand side of this page contain an introduction to six examples of major Pagan traditions. This is not an exhaustive list, but these six traditions provide a good overview of modern Pagan practice. A suggested reading list is also available. Some authors see the emergence of Paganism in the twentieth century as a revival of an older Pagan religion and describe all the above traditions as Neo-Pagan. This term is also used to describe all those who are recognisably Pagan, but who do not adhere to any of the above traditions per se. A definition of a Pagan: A follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion. A definition of Paganism: A polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion. What Paganism Is Paganism is the ancestral religion of the whole of humanity. This ancient religious outlook remains active throughout much of the world today, both in complex civilisations such as Japan and India, and in less complex tribal societies world-wide. It was the outlook of the European religions of classical antiquity – Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome – as well as of their “barbarian” neighbours on the northern fringes, and its European form is re-emerging into explicit awareness in the modern West as the articulation of urgent contemporary religious priorities. The Pagan outlook can be seen as threefold. Its adherents venerate Nature and worship many deities, both goddesses and gods. Nature – Veneration The spirit of place is recognised in Pagan religion, whether as a personified natural feature such as a mountain, lake or spring, or as a fully articulated guardian divinity such as, for example, Athena, the goddess of Athens. The cycle of the natural year, with the different emphasis brought by its different seasons, is seen by most Pagans as a model of spiritual growth and renewal, and as a sequence marked by festivals which offer access to different divinities according to their affinity with different times of year. Many Pagans see the Earth itself as sacred: in ancient Greece the Earth was always offered the first libation of wine, although She had no priesthood and no temple. Polytheism: Pluralism and Diversity The many deities of Paganism are a recognition of the diversity of Nature. Some Pagans see the goddesses and gods as a community of individuals much like the diverse human community in this world. Others, such as followers of Isis and Osiris from ancient times onwards, and Wiccan-based Pagans in the modern world, see all the goddesses as one Great Goddess, and all the gods as one Great God, whose harmonious interaction is the secret of the universe. Yet others think there is a supreme divine principle, that “both wants and does not want to be called Zeus”, as Heraclitus wrote in the fifth century BC. Or which the Great Goddess Mother of All Things, as Isis, was to the first century CE novelist Apuleius and the Great Goddess is to many Western Pagans nowadays. Yet others, such as the Emperor Julian, the great restorer of Paganism in Christian antiquity, and many Hindu mystics nowadays, believe in an abstract Supreme Principle, the origin and source of all things. But even these last Pagans recognise that other spiritual beings, although perhaps one in essence with a greater being, are themselves divine, and are not false or partial divinities. Pagans who worship the One are described as henotheists, believers in a supreme divine principle, rather than monotheists, believers in one true deity beside which all other deities are false. The Goddess Pagan religions all recognise the feminine face of divinity. A religion without goddesses can hardly be classified as Pagan. Some Pagan paths, such as the cult of Odin or of Mithras, offer exclusive allegiance to one male god. But they do not deny the reality of other gods and goddesses, as monotheists do. (The word ‘cult’ has always meant the specialised veneration of one particular deity or pantheon, and has only recently been extended to mean the worship of a deified or semi-divine human leader.) By contrast, non-Pagan religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, often but not always, abhor the very idea of female divinity. The (then) Anglican Bishop of London even said a few years ago that religions with goddesses were ‘degenerate’! Other Characteristics The many divinities of Pagan religion often include ancestral deities. The Anglo-Saxon royal houses of England traced their ancestry back to a god, usually Woden, and the Celtic kings of Cumbria traced their descent from the god Beli and the goddess Anna. Local and national heroes and heroines may be deified, as was Julius Caesar, and in all Pagan societies the deities of the household are venerated. These may include revered ancestors and, for a while, the newly dead, who may of may not choose to leave the world of the living for good. They may include local spirits of place, either as personified individuals such as the spirit of a spring or the house’s guardian toad or snake, or as group spirits such as Elves in England, the Little People in Ireland, Kobolds in Germany, Barstuccae in Lithuania, Lares and Penates in ancient Rome, and so on. A household shrine focuses the cult of these deities, and there is usually an annual ritual to honour them. The spirit of the hearth is often venerated, sometimes with a daily offering of food and drink, sometimes with an annual ritual of extinguishing and relighting the fire. Through ancestral and domestic ritual a spirit of continuity is preserved, and by the transmission of characteristics and purposes from the past, the future is assured of meaning. So, not all Pagan religion is public religion; much is domestic. And not all Pagan deities are humanoid super-persons; many are elemental or collective. We are looking at a religion which pervades the whole of everyday life. One consequence of the veneration of Nature, the outlook which sees Nature as a manifestation of divinity rather than as a neutral or inanimate object, is that divination and magic are accepted parts of life. Augury, divination by interpreting the flight of birds, was widespread in the ancient world and is in modern Pagan societies, as is extispicy, divination by reading the entrails of the sacrificed animal, itself a larger scale version of divination by reading the tea-leaves left in a teacup. As well as reading the signs already given by deities, diviners may also actively ask the universe to send a sign, e.g., by casting stones to read the geomantic patterns into which they fall, by casting runes or the yarrow stalks of the I Ching. Pagans usually believe that the divine world will answer a genuine request for information. Trance seership and mediumship are also used to communicate with the Otherworld. Magic, the deliberate production of results in this world by Otherworld means, is generally accepted as a feasible activity in Pagan societies, since the two worlds are thought to be in constant communication. In ancient Rome a new bride would ceremonially anoint the doorposts of her new home with wolf’s fat to keep famine from the household, and her new-born child would be given a consecrated amulet to wear as a protection against harmful spirits. The Norse warriors of the Viking age would cast the magical ‘war fetter’ upon their enemies to paralyse them, and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts record spells to bring healing and fertility. Specialist magical technologists such as horse-whisperers and healers are common throughout Pagan societies, but often the practice of magic for unfair personal gain or for harm to another is forbidden, exactly as physical extortion and assault are forbidden everywhere. Modern Paganism With its respect for plurality, the refusal to judge other ways of life as wrong simply because they are different from one’s own, with its veneration of a natural (and supernatural) world from which Westerners in the age of technology have become increasingly isolated, and with its respect for women and the feminine principle as embodied in the many goddesses of the various pantheons, Paganism has much to offer people of European background today. Hence it is being taken up by them in large numbers. When they realise that it is in fact their ancestral heritage, its attraction grows. Democracy, for example, was pioneered by the ancient Athenians and much later reinvented by the Pagan colonisers of Iceland, home of Europe’s oldest parliament. Our modern love of the arts was fostered in Pagan antiquity, with its pageants and its temples, but had no place in iconoclastic Christianity and Islam. The development of science as we know it began in the desire of the Greeks and Babylonians to understand the hidden patterns of Nature, and the cultivation of humane urbanity, the ideal of the well-rounded, cultured personality, was imported by Renaissance thinkers from the writings of Cicero. In the Pagan cities of the Mediterranean lands the countryside was never far from people’s awareness, with parks, gardens and even zoos, all re-introduced into modern Europe, not by the religions of the Book, and not by utilitarian atheists, but by the Classically-inspired planners of the Enlightenment. In the present day, the Pagan tradition manifests both as communities reclaiming their ancient sites and ceremonies (especially in Eastern Europe), to put humankind back in harmony with the Earth, and as individuals pursuing a personal spiritual path alone or in a small group (especially in Western Europe and the European-settled countries abroad), under the tutelage of one of the Pagan divinities. To most modern Pagans in the West, the whole of life is to be affirmed joyfully and without shame, as long as other people are not harmed by one’s own tastes. Modern Pagans tend to be relaxed and at ease with themselves and others, and women in particular have a dignity which is not always found outside Pagan circles. Modern Pagans, not tied down either by the customs of an established religion or by the dogmas of a revealed one, are often creative, playful and individualistic, affirming the importance of the individual psyche as it interfaces with a greater power. There is a respect for all of life and usually a desire to participate with rather than to dominate other beings. What playwright Eugene O’Neil called “the creative Pagan acceptance of life” is at the forefront of the modern movement. This is bringing something new to religious life and to social behaviour, a way of pluralism without fragmentation, of creativity without anarchy, of wisdom without dogma. Here is an age-old current surfacing in a new form suited to the needs of the present day." What is Paganism? - Pagan Federation International