Cosmic fractal

The Cosmic fractal is a term or label to denote and describe the evolutionary dynamic of continuous development of spiritual hierarchies in a coordinated interplay in which nothing is static, all spiritual entities are evolving and developing, and the whole takes place along a certain plan and with certain laws or patterns which characterize the whole, and through which we can gain an appreciation, understanding, insight into creation and the true nature of the cosmos.

With our contemporary Waking consciousness, Man perceives with his senses an emanation of a physical reality, which is but an illusionary view of the macroscopic manifestation of a 'cosmic fractal' underneath which is generating this reality. This is sometimes also referred to by the term 'maya'.

It is not that the 'cosmic fractal' is 'rendering' this illusionary view, rather - as illustrated by Schema FMC00.305 - it is Man's sensory perception and limited 'mineral' consciousness that causes him only to see part of the whole, and not the 'full story' of the spiritual realities, the way these can be perceived by the various stages of clairvoyance. Our waking consciousness is like a 'bandpass' filter limiting our view of the whole. Wisdom lies not in seeing things, but in seeing through things when reading the book of nature.

The buildup or make up of it all consists of spiritual hierarchies in various stages of development, with different structures across the various Planes or worlds of consciousness.

From our human perspective we perceive only part (of this macroscopic nature) of all we experience in reality. We label the qualitative aspects that we can distinguish as the Spectrum of elements and ethers. These concepts are like a stronghold foundation of building blocks by which we delineate a certain effect of the interplay of various spiritual beings, in other words: we describe 'the effects of their working together' in what we sense are the fundamental building blocks of nature. In a spiritual scientific worldview this logically fits into the evolutionary framework, see eg FMC00.149 on Four elements.

Alchemy is an example of a language to describe the interplay between these building blocks, elements and ethers. Modern spiritual science, as in theosophy and anthroposophy, is another language - more fitted to the soul qualities of the current age - to describe the world (the kingdoms of nature, including the nature of Man's bodily structure and functioning) in terms of these building blocks, as depicted in Schema FMC00.305.

Rhythm in Man and nature is a display of the structures underlying (see oa 25920, Spiritual hierarchies and their eigenperiods, and Lemniscatory timespace), and shows how Man (as a microcosmos) is an integral part of the (macro)cosmos, embedded in this complex whole of Cosmic breathing.

The deeper one studies the qualities and dynamics of the substance of reality in the language of spiritual science, the closer it brings Man to the spiritual hierarchies. This is how Man can get to know them, not individually, but as the concerted interplay - like the manifold instruments that are individually lost but still make up the global sound effect on the soul in a performance of a complex classical symphony.

This topic page 'Cosmic fractal' is about this specific appreciation, of 'seeing, or knowing' the gnats in and through the swarm, to use Rudolf Steiner's example (eg 1923-05-02-GA224 or 1908-09-03-GA106 below).

This topic is currently developed on this site in the Discussion area, see Note [3] - 'Cosmic fractal nature' reasoning

Aspects

• terminology
  • The terms chosen may be considered unfortunate, but the above describes a spiritual scientific integrative description to cosmogony and teleology (see Meaning of life#Note 1 - Relevant concepts and terminology), in a way that one can develop a mystical feeling in one's soul for being part of this, Man as a microcosm in the whole of the macrocosmos (as elucidated from 25920).

• reality and realities
  • reality experience with waking consciousness is 'constructed' based on the sensory input from Man's five physical senses (which can be distorted, and is always incomplete), that then gets interpreted into meaning by the human brain (again this being an interpretation makes it necessarily imperfect). That framework of meaning is based on the foundational block by which we program it as part of our culture and worldview (eg compare cultures per continent, or with indigenous tribes). What is called reality is what a majority of human beings can agree upon to be 'consensus reality', however this will shift as the human nervous system, senses, and brain evolve in time. Also what is regarded reality is not absolute but only valid based on these assumptions for a group of people, not necessarily all segments of the population.
  • as the human being can develop higher senses and the different stages of clairvoyance through initiation, the bandwidth widens as Man becomes conscious in the higher planes or worlds of consciousness, and ultimately can experience a reality which is not dependant on the physical senses and brain with all its imperfections and distractions. This state of consciousness and absolute reality is also called the experience of unity or God experience.
• for further introduction, see below in the Discussion area: Note [1] - 'On the term Cosmic Fractal'
• four types of external maya in the sense-world as perceived by the senses and waking consciousness (1912-04-04-GA136)
  • 1/ world as perceived by the senses - what the etheric body the earth, the substance of the nature-spirits, drives out of itself.
  • 2/ forces of nature - effect of the nature-spirits
  • 3/ laws of nature, - effects from the Spirits of the Rotation of Time (SoRT)
  • 4/ the soul feeling in man about feeling whole with the planet and what gives meaning to the planet and its whole existenace - direct imprint of the Planetary Spirit
• some entries into imagining the cosmic fractal, though study of how the current mineral physical material relates to the underlying spiritual:
  • Approach A
    • "mineral physical matter arises when spiritual form comes to a kind of boundary or limit and there breaks and scatters like a wave, and this pulverised spiritual form then shows itself as matter" - see Blood is a special fluid#1911-12-31-GA134 (but read lecture in full)
    • as an extension, the various subtopics under Luciferic influence on Man#Consequences of Luciferic infection for Man
    • the ahrimanic material side of matter, see The nature of atoms but together with it's foundational The two etheric streams (and as an intro, Schema FMC00.172 on Force substance representation)
    • last, as an example of where a description is give in terms of the spiritual hierarchies (see Schema FMC00.305), is lecture 1923-05-02-GA224. With the above foundation, one can then start to read lectures like this (there are many more, it is not unique but given here as an example) where realities are described not only in mundane terms, but through the dynamics of the underlying spiritual entities.
  • Approach B
    • is through the concept or topic of the Golden Chain, see Overview Golden Chain. Once this is understood, one can start approaching the subschemas of Schema FMC00.142 through study of the various entities involved. That is: the nature of The elementary kingdoms, followed by or combined with Elementals of nature and the Third Hierarchy.

Inspirational quotes

Gaius Sallustius Crispus

a.k.a Sallust (86 BC - 34 BC)

The universe itself can be called a myth, since bodies and material objects are apparent in it, while souls and intellects are concealed.

Nicholas of Cusa

Divinity is in all things in such a way that all things are in divinity.

Franz Bardon (source tbc)

The entire universe can be compared to a clockwork with wheels that engage with each other and which are interdependent with each other.

1923-05-02-GA224

... the words physical body, etheric body, astral body and I are only an indication. The reality is living activity, inwardly full and rich; and in this activity the beings of the cosmos, in realm's of body, soul, and spirit, are revealed. In the end one comes always to spiritual beings.

To beings one must come at last in all understanding of the world. For beings alone are real.

Anything comes into existence only through the co-operation of beings — presenting then an unreal appearance to unclear vision. Just as in the unreal grey cloud the gnats are the real, particular beings — everywhere in the world it is particular beings that are at work, and the rest is illusion, arising from the co-existence of beings.

1912-05-07-GA143 (SWCC)

What Man sees in the kingdoms of nature around him on the physical plane, he takes to be reality. .. But in truth it is not so, for what is actually present as a reality is the spiritual world, that and that alone. Everything that is revealed to us in nature is only a symbol for the spiritual world behind it.

William Blake in 'Auguries of Innocence' (1863)

To see a world in a grain of sand .. and a heaven in a wild flower

1907-06-16-GA100

Every form of life is spiritual. Even as ice is condensed water, so matter is condensed spirit. Mineral, plant, animal, or Man - each is a condensed form of the spirit.

1909-06-30-GA112

behind all physical occurrences and all human physical conditions there are in truth spiritual processes.

1910-03-30-GA119

everything external and physical can only be understood if it is regarded as a symbol, an emblem of a super-sensible reality, a spiritual reality

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)

‘Being’ means ‘appearing.’

Appearing is not something subsequent that sometimes happens to being.

Being presences as appearing.

1906 - William Walker Atkinson

... all created things are 'Thoughts of God'. ... Life is but One .. tthe Universe is a living Unity, throbbing, thrilling, and pulsating with the Will-to-Live of the Absolute. Back of all apparent shapes, forms, names, forces, elements, principles, and substances, there is but One Life, present everywhere, and manifesting in an infinitude of shapes, forms, and forces. All individual lives are but centers of consciousness in the One Life underlying, depending upon it for degree of unfoldment, expression, and manifestation.

1932 - Henri Bergson

in 'The Two Sources of Morality and Religion' (original In FR 'Les Deux Sources de la Morale et de la Religion'), published in 1932

and quoted by o.a. Jean Dubuis in 'The experience of eternity'

the Universe is a machine to manufacture gods

paraphrased: evolution is not just mineral-physical or biological but also creative and spiritual .. the universe's complexity and progression can be seen as a force driving beings toward higher states of awareness or even divinity .. life is not a static phenomenon but a dynamic process continually evolving and refining itself. Itzhak Bentov

We are all part of a gigantic hologram called Creation, that is everybody’s Self… a cosmic game where nothing exists apart from you.

note regarding the use of the word 'hologram' .. any part of the hologram contains the whole image. The term was also used by Michael Talbot for his book title 'The Holographic Universe' (1996)

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.093 gives an overview of the different dimensions that roll off in one another in the great cosmic evolution

Schema FMC00.305 gives a very simple 'four level view' for studying anything we know in the world or cosmos. Starting at the highest level of experiential observation, we can study the structural components of a kingdom of nature, be it Man, Plant, Animal or Mineral. These bodily principles and subsystems are the result of the wise collaborative weaving of the spiritual hierarchies throughout the evolutionary process, using the available building materials or substance available at each stage.

Schema FMC00.403 depicts swarms of gnats (upper two rows) and of birds (lowest row), showing how apparent macroscopic densification takes place due to the perspective and 'type of perception' of the observer. With 'type of perception' is meant here the human eye or camera, but just as well the type of consciousness that is able to discern which of the various Planes or worlds of consciousness, see Stages of clairvoyance.

The swarm can look as a dense black or white cloud, but can also look as dots, or quickly moving particles. The lower left flock of birds is an example: the upper smaller image has been slighly diffused, showing an 'object', the larger picture below has sufficient resolution to show the dot pattern. Notice the beautiful cloud forms on display of the workings of the animal group soul of the birds working from the astral world.

Similarly in astronomy beautiful complex forms of deep sky nebulae also represent astral forms and not always an object of physical mineral nature.

Schema FMC00.536: illustrates a spiritual scientific cosmogony with various representations dating from the middle ages. The various spheres represent the planes or worlds of consciousness with the seven planetary spheres and the fixed stars, the spiritual hierarchies and the Logos or 'god'.

This representation takes the human kingdom perspective on Earth as the center, and shows how creation is made up of these spiritual hierarchies and their influences from the various worlds. It is therefore a graphical way to depict, in a single picture, a worldview and understanding of the make up of the cosmos and what underlies the Cosmic fractal. All images position creation: Man and humanity (with the kingdoms of nature and Earth), in a frame (with God the creator and) main elements: (1) the planetary spheres modulating (2) zodiacal spiritual influences, as linked to (3) the spiritual hierarchies. This puts Man at the center of divine creation, solar system and cosmos, being the crown of creation rather than just another speck in the wide empty universe, as is the case in the contemporary materialistic worldview of mineral science.

Sources and commentary on the full-sized versions will be added on the Schema variants and topic page (to be added).

Schema FMC00.516 describes how the different spiritual hierarchies are in or make up the world we know, but are not always perceptible (in our physical world) or 'understandeable' by current 'mineral' waking consciousness.

Schema FMC00.474 depicts the fact that contemporary waking consciousness is related to our physical senses and bodily constitution, and acts as a bandpass filter only showing part of the complete (spiritual) reality. This results in a limited worldview (of mineral science), and waking consciousness triggers the feeling of separate-ness as we feel our self is enclosed and corresponding to our physical body.

However at the same time Man's structure includes higher components part of the astral world, lower and higher spirit worlds (see green or blue lines). Although Man is not aware, he is really part of a group soul and monad, and all actions towards another person are therefore in a way to one's self. See also FMC00.479

Schema FMC00.532 is a draft pencil scribble or sketch transferred to a digital format for readability, but it should be read as a thought sketch and not as something exact. The Schema expresses how things, patterns of order, structures we find in the physical world 'below' are the result of the higher worlds of consciousness and the Golden Chain.

On the left, the different worlds are shown so as to illustrate our physical world is encapsulated, embedded, as the emanation of the spiritual influences of those higher worlds. The central axis symbolizes this path of the 'golden chain'.

Above, the higher spirit world with spiritual seeds (from the monad, 'atma') is an environment beyond time and space, before form. This is where Man's higher triad and spiritual core has to be positioned. From there on downwards, the Golden Chain pushes down the breath of creation into a sequential realm of time and form in space. It is in the lower spirit world one finds the archetypes with form, that will then be clothed with astral and physical matter. Descending down the astral and etheric the 'illusion' of time gets generated in the physical world, as everything gets clothed in the world of mineral 'substance' through the so-called tetrapolar magnet of the four elements.

It is due to this descent that in the physical world one finds symbols, the multiplicity in nature of number (see Book of Ten Pages), and recurrent rhythms (see Cosmic breathing). On the left of the Schema are shown the formative forces of the Elementary Kingdoms that, combined with the Group souls, generate the four kingdoms of nature. This is what gives rise to forms, symmetry, platonic solids, spirals .. and special patterns and ratio's such as Pi, the golden ratio, fibonacci series, etc.

Now it is because of all this also that certain texts can be read and contemplated in a multidimensional way, they are of a nature that could be called fractal or holographic, as they are like symbolic entry gates to 'folded' higher realities. Rudolf Steiner explains this for the Book of Revelation and the Lord's Prayer, but the same is valid for many ancient spiritual texts (eg Sepher Yetzirah, Vedas). Such texts are basically constructed from pointers connected to ideas in the spirit world and astral world, the sequence of words are just labels or sigils that connect to this higher spiritual reality which is not just sequential or uni-dimensional (and human intellectual rational thought). Hence these texts and words gain higher value with higher stages of clairvoyance such as imagination.

Finally on the right are shown the three dimensions of evolution that 'above' relate to qualities of the three Logoi or Trinity, and find their equivalences - in the manvantara outgoing cosmic breath in the solar system - in Conditions of Consciousness, Life and Form. Mapping form to the lower spirit world, and life to the higher spirit world, then consciousness takes a step change with every planetary stage of evolution at the levels above the higher spirit world (for details, see pralaya, the right of Schema FMC00.389, and coverage of the 1904-11-GA089 lectures on Christ Module 7 - Cosmic dimension). Contemplate the schemas on three dimensions of evolution with this Schema below, to imagine how this lies at the basis of structural threefoldedness in the physical world.

The schema also explains why the Book of Ten Pages, symbols, etc .. and the study of these 'pointers below' have been an essential part of ancient Mysteries through the millenia, even across various stages of human consciousness in its evolution.

Schema FMC00.551 illustrates what was taught through the ages as the mystery or secret of numbers, the esoteric or spiritual scientific significance of how the number relates to fundamental characteristics of the macrocosm and microcosm. See Book of Ten Pages.

In the lectures of 1906-09-GA091, Rudolf Steiner starts with Pi and develops the numbers 1 to 10, showing how 5 is a result of 3 (triangle, see Man's higher triad) and 4 (see Man's bodily principles) - see also Schema FMC00.095 on Lord's prayer - that combine into 5 and the pentagram as symbol of Man.

Five (5) represents the number of revelation as an expression of seven spiritual influences that worked during the descent. On Earth, Man is halfway in its development. Ten (10) represents the number of completion and will be the result of 14 forces, as Man will make the seven spiritual influences his own during his ascent.

During the evolution during the seven planetary stages of the solar system evolution, Man will go through seven stages or Conditions of Consciousness (CoC, see also Three dimensions of evolution), later Man will develop further as the Tenth hierarchy to five further stages and become part of active creation of the cosmos, and ultimately the Logos, see IAO. The Twelve Conditions of Consciousness can be related to manvatara and pralaya stages as seven and five (see also Twelve as seven and five). Twelve (12) relates to the spirit world, the Sun forces, the zodiac signs; as seven (7) relates to the Human 'I'; and five (5) with the pentagram the symbol of incarnated physical Man.

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Schema FMC00.511 combines a number of drawings whereby the workings of the spiritual forces is explained as underlying the rendering of nature's kingdoms in the physical world, see also Cosmic fractal. On the left, the 1905-08-07-GA091 lecture uses the Elementary Kingdoms as a basis, see Schemas FMC00.143 and FMC00.175. On the right, from the Astronomy course GA323, with the etheric and counterspace as a basis, see Mathematics of the etheric.

First (left) is explained how the mineral physical world and gravitational forces are just a weakening of the spiritual whereby the radiation from the ever larger circles below gets ever weaker. See also Schema FMC00.172 on Force substance representation. In 1921-01-09-GA323 this is explained starting from a mathematical perspective with lemniscate cassini curves, showing by logical reasoning that "in the transition from circle to straight line we are thrown out of space". This is followed by a reasoning by analogy of how these forces of the kingdoms of nature are also working within Man: "the human organisation is of such a nature that it cannot be embraced by the anatomical approach alone. Just as we are driven out of space in the Cassini curve, so in the study of Man we are driven out of the body, by the method of study itself. ... In this way ... we describe what is within the human being in comparison with what takes place in nature outside him. ... We say: ... I must place myself within Man and say that the curvature is facing this way. I then consider what is inside, without taking into account that I have reversed the curvature. I will make the interior of the human being into an outer nature.  I simply imagine outer nature to continue through the skin into the interior."

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Lecture coverage and references

1904-08-13-GA090A

is the lecture (together with1903-11-16-GA090A) that most beautifully describes the fractal nature of the three Logoi or Godhead as being

for Mahat, see Logoic principle#Mahat

Logoic principle#1904-08-13-GA090A

1906 - William Walker Atkinson

in 'A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga' (1906), by Yogi Ramacharaka, pseudonym (like Theron Q. Dumont) of William Walker Atkinson (1862-1932)

Created Things, according to the Occult teachings, are "Thoughts of God."

Do not let this idea disturb you, and cause you to feel that you are nothing because you have been called into being by a Thought of the Infinite One. Even a Thought of that One would be intensely real in the relative world—actually Real to all except the Absolute itself—and even the Absolute knows that the Real part of its Creations must be a part of itself manifested through its thought, for the Thought of the Infinite must be Real, and a part of Itself, for it cannot be anything else, and to call it Nothing is merely to juggle with words. The faintest Thought of the Infinite One would be far more real than anything man could create—as solid as the mountain—as hard as steel—as durable as the diamond—for, verily, even these are emanations of the Mind of the Infinite, and are things of but a day, while the higher Thoughts—the soul of Man—contains within itself a spark from the Divine Flame itself—the Spirit of the Infinite. But these things will appear in their own place, as we proceed with this series. We have merely given you a little food for thought at this point, in connection with the Mind of the Absolute.

So you see, that the Intellect in its highest efforts informs us that it finds itself compelled to report that the One—the Absolute—That which it is compelled to admit really exists—must be a One possessed of a nature so far transcending human experience that the human mind finds itself without the proper concepts, symbols, and words with which to think of It. But nonetheless, the Intellect finds itself bound by its own laws to postulate the existence of such a One.

It is the veriest folly to try to think of the One as It is "in Itself"—for we have nothing but human attributes with which to measure it, and It so far transcends such measurements that the mental yard-sticks run out into infinity and are lost sight of. The highest minds of the race inform us that the most exalted efforts of their reason compel them to report that the One—in Itself—cannot be spoken of as possessing attributes or qualities capable of being expressed in human words employed to describe the Things of the relative world—and all of our words are such. All of our words originate from such ideas, and all of our ideas arise from our experience, directly or indirectly. So we are not equipped with words with which to think of or speak of that which transcends experience, although our Intellect informs us that Reality lies back of our experience.

Philosophy finds itself unable to do anything better than to bring us face to face with high paradoxes. Science, in its pursuit of Truth, finds it cunningly avoiding it, and ever escaping its net. And we believe that the Absolute purposely causes this to be, that in the end, Man may be compelled to look for the Spirit within himself—the only place where he can come in touch with it. This, we think, is the answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx—"Look Within for that which Thou needest."

But while the Spirit may be discerned only by looking within ourselves, we find that once the mind realizes that the Absolute Is, it will be able to see countless evidences of its action and presence by observing manifested Life without. All Life is filled with the Life Power and Will of the Absolute.

To us, Life is but One—the Universe is a living Unity, throbbing, thrilling, and pulsating with the Will-to-Live of the Absolute.

Back of all apparent shapes, forms, names, forces, elements, principles, and substances, there is but One—One Life, present everywhere, and manifesting in an infinitude of shapes, forms, and forces. All individual lives are but centers of consciousness in the One Life underlying, depending upon it for degree of unfoldment, expression, and manifestation.

1908-09-03-GA106

for the full extract and context of this description, the fine etheric 'mist' in an early stage of Earth evolution, see Evolution Module 2 - Earth#1908-09-03-GA106

When we see a swarm of gnats from a distance, it looks to us like a single cloud; close-up, however, we see the single insects.

1910-06-11-GA121

We have already begun to describe in our preceding studies what we might call the tissue, the network of love; and this web of love must be so woven, that the principal threads are woven into it by the normal Spirits of Form, that being their fundamental mission. Then the abnormal Spirits of Form, who are in reality Spirits of Motion, weave into it that which produces the races. Then the normal and abnormal Spirits of the Age weave into it the historical evolution, and the Archangels, both of normal and abnormal evolution, the several peoples and languages; and lastly those Beings who put man into his right place on the earth, the Angels, also co-operate in the weaving. In this way is spun this mighty fabric of Love.

The fabric of Love which is woven as the real mission of the earth, is only visible on Earth as a reflection, a maya. The nearest domain above the physical world in which this fabric can be seen, is the astral world. But we can see the working of the hierarchies more and more clearly in the truths underlying our external maya, when we rise from the astral world into the worlds of lower and higher spirit world. Then we see how this web is spun.

• If we rise to the astral world, certainly we do not at first perceive that which spins chiefly from within, viz., the Spirits of Will, the Cherubim and Seraphim. If we wish to find these spirits at work, we must raise our vision to still higher worlds. But we find even in the astral world, what we call the abnormal Spirits of Form, who, if they had attained their normal evolution, would be weaving from without. We have seen that the spirits of the second hierarchy ought to weave from without, but here we see that they are weaving from within. We may therefore say, that
  • in this tissue, in which the Spirits of Motion, the Spirits of Form and the Spirits of Wisdom are weaving from without, and
  • the Spirits of Will, the Seraphim and Cherubim from within,
  • there are still other Spirits weaving from within, who should really be weaving from without. They weave under the surface, however, in somewhat the same way as the silkworm weaves its cocoon. What is seen first of all in the astral world is something within. These remarkable Spirits of Motion, who are not in their right place, and are fallen spirits, are the first spiritual beings to become visible — even before the normal angels among those who surge and weave in the spiritual atmosphere of the earth. These beings who are the first to become visible on the astral plane, are the spirits who in a sense lead astray the clairvoyant vision, — although they are in the deepest sense of the word necessary for the procreation of the races. These spirits, each of whom has many under him, because each one produces many spiritually subordinate beings, are enveloped in the spiritual world in a number of spiritual beings who are always inferior to the hierarchies in question.
• The higher Spirits also have their inferior beings;
  • the Spirits of Will have the Undines,
  • the Cherubim the Sylphs,
  • the Seraphim the Salamanders.

The abnormal Spirits of Form who are really Spirits of Motion, and who appear on the astral plane as hideous, these too, have their subordinate Spirits. They are the Spirits who live or move in that which is connected with the production of the human races, which is therefore connected in man with, and so to say depends upon, that element which we have described as earth-bound, connected with propagation and such-like. These beings, this whole domain in fact, is one of the most highly-colored and most dangerous parts of the astral world, and it is unfortunately — as had better be said in this connection — the one most easily discovered by those who attain to vision by the wrong methods. The host of those spirits who are connected with the propagation of the race, who serve that purpose, are the most easily seen. Many a man who prematurely and in the wrong way entered the occult domain, has had to pay dearly for having met with the host of these spiritual beings without the harmonizing through other spiritual beings.

1912-04-04-GA136

If you wish to compare what is known to the normal consciousness concerning the structure of the cosmos, with the structure of the cosmos itself, you may make that clear in the following way. We will take it that the most external veil is this world of the senses, behind that is the world of the nature-spirits, and behind that the Spirits of the Rotation of Time and behind that the Planetary Spirit. Now we must say that the Planetary Spirit in its activity, in a certain respect penetrates through to the sense-world; so that in a certain way we can perceive its image in the sense-world; this also applies to the Spirits of the Rotation of Time, as well as to the nature-spirits. So that if we observe the sense-world itself with normal consciousness, we can see in the background as it were, the impression, the traces, of those worlds which lie behind; as if we drew aside the sense-world as the outermost skin, and behind this we had different degrees of active spiritual beings.

The normal consciousness realizes the sense-world by means of its perceptions; the world of nature-spirits expresses itself from behind these perceptions as what we call the Forces of Nature. When science speaks of the forces of nature, we have there nothing actually real; to the occultist the forces of nature are not realities but Maya, they are the imprints of the nature-spirits working behind the world of sense. Again the imprint of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time is what is usually known to ordinary consciousness as the Laws of Nature. Fundamentally all the laws of nature are in existence because the Spirits of the Rotation of Time work as the directing powers. To the occultist the laws of nature are not realities. When the ordinary natural scientist speaks of the laws of nature and combines them externally, the occultist knows that these laws are revealed in their reality when, in his awakened astral body, he listens to what the Spirits of the Rotation of Time say, and hears how they order and direct the nature-spirits.

That is expressed in Maya, in external semblance, as the laws of nature, and the normal consciousness, as a rule, does not go beyond this. (See Figure 1) It does not usually reach the imprint of the Planetary Spirit in the external world.

The normal consciousness of present-day humanity speaks of the external world of perception, of the facts that can be perceived; speaks of the forces of nature, light, warmth, magnetism, electricity, and so on; of the forces of attraction and repulsion, of gravity, etc. These are the beings of Maya, behind which, in reality, lies the world of the nature-spirits — the etheric body of the earth.

External science also speaks of the Laws of Nature; that again is a Maya. Underlying these laws is what we have to-day described as the world of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time. Only when we penetrate still further do we come to the stamp or imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself in the external sense-world. Science to-day does not do this. Those who still do so are no longer quite believed. The poets, the artists do; they seek for a meaning behind things. Why does the plant-world blossom? Why do the different species of animals arise and disappear? Why does man inhabit the earth? If we thus inquire into the phenomena of nature, and wish to analyze the meaning, and to combine the external facts as even a deeper philosophy still sometimes tries to do, we then approach the imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself in the external world. To-day, however, nobody really believes any longer in this seeking after the meaning of existence. Through feeling, one still believes a little, but science no longer wishes to know of what could be discovered about the laws of nature by studying the passage of the phenomena.

If we still seek a meaning as to the laws of nature in the things of the world perceptible to our senses, we should be able to interpret this meaning as the imprint of the Planetary Spirit in the sense-world. That would be the external Maya.

• In the first place the sense-world itself is an external Maya, for it is what the etheric body the earth, the substance of the nature-spirits, drives out of itself.
• A second Maya is what appears to man of the nature-spirits in the forces of nature.
• A third Maya is that which appears as the laws of nature, coming from the Spirits of the Rotation of Time.
• A fourth Maya is something which, in spite of its Maya-nature, speaks to the soul of man because, in the perception of the purpose of nature, man at any rate feels himself united with the Spirit of the whole planet, with the Spirit which leads the planet through cosmic space, and gives meaning in fact to the whole planet. In this Maya lies the direct imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself.

1912-05-07-GA143

What man sees in the kingdoms of Nature around him on the physical plane, he takes to be reality. He looks at an animal or a plant, and pictures to himself that these are realities in the forms in which they appear.

But in truth it is not so, for what is actually present as a reality is the spiritual world, that and that alone. And not until we have recognised the spiritual in the things around us do we truly know reality.

Everything else that is revealed to us in surrounding nature is tantamount only to a symbol for the spiritual world behind it. Everything to be seen in the kingdoms of mineral, plant, animal, and also in the physical human kingdom, everything that makes an impression upon the sense-organs, upon intellect and intelligence, all these things are nothing but symbols of the spirit; and only one who learns how to interpret these symbols reaches the reality, the spirit.

1918-10-04-GA184

describes how

• irregular or backwards luciferic SoW create time 'illusion' (whereas regular SoW are in duration)
• irregular or backwards ahrimanic SoF create space 'illusion' (whereas regular SoF are spaceless)

See also: Lemniscatory time and space

1921-01-29-GA203

It is essential, however, for man to find his inner orientation and to acquire an inner impulse so that the view may be unimpeded of what links him to his planet and through his planet to the whole cosmos. Men must feel again that Geology is not knowledge of the Earth. A colossal mineral mass on which are watery oceans and which is surrounded by air is not the Earth, and what surrounds us as Milky Way and suns, that is not the universe. The universe consists of Ahrimanic beings beneath and Luciferic beings above, which appear through the outer sense-illusion, and Beings of the normal Hierarchies to whom Man raises himself when through both sense-illusions he comes to the truth; for the actual Beings do not appear in the external sense-illusion, they only manifest themselves through it

1921-10-22-GA208

I have often drawn your attention to the following: It is out of the question that behind the sensory impressions there should be that fantastic world of atoms dreamed of by the physicists; behind the sensory world there is instead a spiritual world.

The spiritual thus exists also in the physical world, but, to begin with, it cannot be perceived by our ordinary consciousness.

The ordinary consciousness has before it this web of sensory impressions.

But what does it contain?

In reality, it contains beings described in my “Occult Science” as the Spirits of Form. Everything that appears to us in space has a certain form, an object even obtains form through the colour-surface. The Spirits of Form live in everything which we experience through the senses in space. In it live the same Beings named “Elohim” in the Old Testament. For the Elohim are the Spirits of Form.

We rightly call this world of physical manifestations a world which manifests itself, a world of phenomena.

But this is correct only because with our ordinary consciousness we human beings at first perceive in this world nothing but phenomena, manifestations, the external appearance and semblance, or—as Orientals say—Maya.

But when our consciousness awakens and becomes imaginative this whole world of semblance becomes filled with images, or rather transforms itself into a world of weaving images.

This world of weaving images immediately reveals that the world of the Angeloi or Angels is woven into it.

And when we reach the stage of inspiration, we obtain inspirations which come to us from everywhere in this world, for it has changed into a world of inspiration. Into this inspiration are interwoven the Beings of the Archangeloi or Archangels.

The world which we experience afterwards is that of intuitions. There we advance to the world of the Archai, whereas ordinarily we only have before us the physical world.

… We may therefore say: By looking out into the world through our senses we really look into the world of the Spirits of Form, into the physical world.

1923-05-02-GA224

.. in this way, through the art that seeks out the reality in words, the Being of Man can be described once again. We get nearer and nearer to a real picture of this Being. Just as one might indicate on the blackboard the distribution of the figures in a picture by Raphael, say the Sistine Madonna, with a few characteristic strokes — the words physical body, etheric body, astral body and I are only an indication. The reality is living activity, inwardly full and rich; and in this activity the Beings of the Cosmos, in realm's of body, soul, and spirit, are revealed. In the end one comes always to Beings.

If anything is described as if it were vaguely extended in Space or swimming in Time, or as a physical world, etheric world, and so on — it is the manifestation which is being described. It is like describing a swarm of gnats seen in the distance, so that the particular gnats cannot be distinguished, only a grey patch in the air. In the real world, what are at first called etheric body, astral body, are such grey patches. If one looks closely at these grey patches in the physical air, one discovers the particular existing gnats. If one looks closely at these spiritual grey patches, “etheric body”, “astral body”, one always discovers Beings.

To Beings one must come at last in all understanding of the world. For Beings alone are real.

Anything comes into existence only through the co-operation of Beings — presenting then an unreal appearance to unclear vision. Just as in the unreal grey cloud the gnats are the real, particular beings — everywhere in the world it is particular Beings that are at work, and the rest is illusion, arising from the co-existence of Beings.

Physical matter, too, is an illusion of this kind, something of the nature of a Being underlies everything. Men must understand this again, in order not to speak of something that is not really there: of Matter - or (which is no better) of Spirit in general - in order to learn to speak about beings, individual Beings of the universe.

Once, in the old Mysteries, they knew how to speak about the Beings of the universe. They knew that realities could not be described by talking either of Matter or of what is called Spirit in the ordinary consciousness — a grey spirituality, conceived pantheistically as present in all things. They knew that if one wants realities, one must have particular Beings. But consciousness of these Beings has gradually been lost — to the same degree that in Man himself the equality of individual being has developed more and more. Man has become more and more intellectual ever since the first third of the fifteenth century. What he knows about himself becomes more and more abstract. But behind this abstract life there is a being living more and more within itself; increasingly rich in inner spirituality. Man lost the dreamy consciousness he once possessed of the Beings of the universe, in becoming a self-apprehending being himself. He must realize again that only when we can point to individual Beings in the universe do we grasp realities.

It was the necessary course of human evolution to see Being everywhere in ancient times, but in a dreamy consciousness. Then the time came, when things were felt in the following way.

The realities consist of all these Beings, living in the cosmos: SoW, SoM, SoF, archai, archangels, angels, human I's, animal group-souls, the cosmic souls of the plants and so on.

Not even the animals, as they live on earth, are realities; they too are illusion; the realities are the group-souls.

The whole plant world on Earth is no reality; the earth-soul is the reality. Plants are only as hair upon the earth organism, like the hair upon our own organism.

Men knew that all these Beings I have named existed in the universe, and shine out, manifesting themselves, revealing themselves in speech. They knew that this expression in speech proceeded from their essential being. And that universal resounding, which arises from the confluence of what is spoken by the particular Beings in self-revelation, this is the Logos. But to begin with, the Logos was also only an Appearance. Only because Christ united this appearance, and made it concrete in His own Being, was through the Mystery of Golgotha the apparent Logos born upon Earth as real Logos.

Discussion

Note 1 - On the term Cosmic Fractal

A fractal is a term from modern mineral science and mathematics, to denote similar patterns arising at various levels. Mandelbrot series are graphical representation. Another image could be the 'russian dolls': the same figure at a different size, contained in a larger one.

From wikipedia page for fractal:

In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. ... The term 'fractal' was coined by the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975. Mandelbrot based it on the Latin frāctus, meaning 'broken' or 'fractured', and used it to extend the concept of theoretical fractional dimensions to geometric patterns in nature.

The term Cosmic Fractal has been chosen because - although it clearly has the disadvantage to come with precast meaning from another context - it does 'coin' characteristics that appear in the study of spiritual science. And, because no other 'top level term' was already in use or available, to provide the approach or ingoing perspective as described below.

Of course God, Logos, Brahma, Trinity, etc .. are all 'top level terms'. Cosmic fractal describes the same, but now with just a zeitgeist twist to it that may make it sound more modern or intriguing. Offering a new 'brand' or flavour of spiritual science. All this may sound apologetic, as one could challenge the need to introduce yet another term.

However there are also advantages. The below will expand on what is 'in scope' and by outline of its contents describes what is meant with cosmic fractal. Using this term however stays clear from the discussion around the God and Creation theme that has caused so much misunderstandings and pain in humanity. Of course the cosmic fractal describes creation, Spinoza's God in nature, etc, but it is - in a way - also more.

It binds together the multitude of aspects offered by anthroposophy and spiritual science, such as 'not I but Christ in me', and EDN - ICM - PSSR, and the macrocosm-microcosm coupling described by Rudolf Steiner in his 'arc' of nine lecture cycles and 124 lectures between April 1920 to Dec 1921 (GA201 to GA209, starting with the famous GA201 cycle that was initially published as 'Man, hieroglyph of the universe'). And more: it includes a continuous extension from the worldview of mineral science, all scientific developments of materialistic science, graciously into a meta-representation that extends to spiritual science, with the Spectrum of elements and ethers, and the laws of the etheric (see Mathematics of the etheric and Formative forces) and the appreciation of the astral (see Lemniscatory timespace).

Introducing the cosmic fractal

Below is an outline that could be followed in a lesson or lecture, illustrated by the many FMC schemas on this site.

• The highest level of scope is given by the level of The three Logoi and Creation by the three Logoi, and:
  • what they create, see Creation of solar system and Overview of solar system evolution
  • and how this constitutes and serves the divine principle of IAO through the dynamic Cosmic breath of Brahma
• Underlying are the characteristics of the dynamic, how this evolves
  • Three dimensions of evolution with CoC, CoL, CoF, epochs, cultural ages is the most obvious entry point, showing an 'embedded' structure with multiple levels.
  • from there 25920 is a second one that illustrates the 'fractal' attribute in that rhythms come back at various level of creation between macrocosm and microcosm
  • then there is the zodiac clock. if one combines with the above, one can plot the aspects such as recapitulation (phase correspondence and repetition of phases), remembrance
• the beauty comes when considering the principle of cosmic breathing as the characteristic of the cosmic fractal. The fact all hierarchies have this in and out breathing cycle, starting with the Cosmic breath of Brahma, but further explained in Cosmic breathing and Spiritual hierarchies and their eigenperiods.

The above is a high level introduction. To bring it to live it needs to be filled with contents and an appreciation and contemplation of the wealth of concrete and specific illustrations.

Notes

Another term from modern mineral science is 'holographic', based on the fact that a hologram contains the characteristics of the whole in every point. This has led to the term being used by people trying to evolve their mineral science perspective to a more holistic. Eg Michael Talbot's 'The holographic universe: the revolutionary theory of reality (2011)

Note 2 - Using the zodiac clock for a view across epochs

The zodiac clock provides a calibration for the evolutionary time axis of epochs and cultural ages. This concept is used in practice by Rudolf Steiner in sketching evolutionary developments, and depicted in various Schemas. Three main ones are:

• FMC00.020 - Apostles and Last Supper
  • linked to Schema FMC00.169 and variants, which illustrates the reasons why in various contexts, the evolution of humanity is counted in cultural ages or sub-races counting only the ones that take part in progressive evolution. See Holy Supper symbolism - apostles.
• FMC00.092 - Development of human faculties
  • linked to the development of Man's physiology and astral senses (chakras), see Man past and future and Development of the chakras
• FMC00.373A - Christ across epochs
  • against which one has to 'imagine' (merge what one knows in one's mind by contemplation) FMC00.190 and FMC00.373, see also Christ in the future cultural ages and next epochs.

These different schemas are grouped in a meta study schema for an easy overview, see Schema FMC00.401 on D00.004 - Book of Revelation, the discussion page for aspects of the Book of Revelation

Note 3 - 'Cosmic fractal nature' reasoning

Not limited to this, source obviously, but certainly (and maybe especially) the Book of Revelation lectures by Rudolf Steiner (can) awaken(s) the realization in one's soul that what is to be read into the esoteric meaning of numbers contains a multiplicity of meaning, that can is multi-dimensional and does not map 1-1 to a single level in the various levels of evolution (see Schema FMC00.093 above and on more on Three dimensions of evolution).

In fact in Rudolf Steiner's descriptions (certainly of the Book of Revelation in the 1904-5 lectures) a certain type of ambiguity arises, if one tries to fix and freeze a description to just one perspective or dimension of meaning. This is also explicitly touched on in 1904-10-24-GA090A: there is not just one meaning.

For our rational mind educated in material timespace reasoning, this can be understood intellectually to a degree, maybe as follows.

The five levels shown in FMC00.093 (above) map to various hierarchies that 'sit' at a certain level of CoC themselves, as shown in Schema FMC00.077A. We see their effects in macrocosmic evolution ao in what is discussed on Spiritual hierarchies and their eigenperiods. However "all there is is only spiritual beings", as Rudolf Steiner puts it in 1923-05-02-GA224 (quote above).

The principle of evolution depicted in Schema FMC00.276 on Overview of solar system evolution shows indeed this ever-playing dynamic, and the various aspects of rhythms, phases and periods are clearly patterns where we can observe this, see the 'Related pages' section below.

Now just as Man goes through various phases of evolution, as we learn from Man's bodily principles and Man's transformation and spiritualization, the same is obviously the case for all other spiritual beings. Example is the way how H3 (angels, archangels, ..) work in Man's soul activities, and also in the kingdoms of nature.

The CoC-ladder in Twelve conditions of consciousness is exactly that, as explained in 1905-08-11-GA091.

And Schema FMC00.389 or FMC00.389A illustrates (on the right) an interesting key point in the transformation of beings from one level to another, with the 1904-11-10-GA089 reference about 'shedding buddhi' (covered on Christ Module 7 - Cosmic dimension)

Furthermore, we have to consider the characteristics, the nature of the various planes or worlds of consciousness, because the emanation from the higher to the lower world takes place in the process described as the Golden Chain. And our perspective is coupled to the physical material, which induces a great series of effects, see Lemniscatory timespace.

Some specific examples:

• for the rhythmic aspect of the etheric formative forces and the various planetary influences and their reversal, see eg Schema FMC00.379 on Formative forces
• in the plant growth, we also see how the astral brings to a stop the rhythmic pattern of the etheric
  

Draft quote for inspiration, temporarily added here, is what someone kindly mailed:

Zur Apokalypse oder zu Deutsch Offenbarung. Es geht um die Offenbarung, die Verwirklichung oder Entrollung der christlichen Evolution in der Zeit. Die Zeit ist 7-fach strukturiert, also wiederholen sich 7er Zyklen. Was sich in den 7 Inkarnationen unserer Erde offenbart, von Saturn bis Vulkan wiederholt sich auf allen Ebenen, bis hin zu den 7 Wochentagen. Es gibt also eine Analogie sagen wir vom Vulkan und Laodizea usw. Die Offenbarung in der Zeit geschieht durch die Sphären von den höchsten Sphären immer weiter nach unten in immer niedrigere Sphären oder Zonen. Also was sich nun im Devachan zeigt wird sich später in der Astralis, dem Ätherischen und Stofflichen offenbaren. Dies ist das ganze Prinzip der Apokalypse, der Vollzug des Christliche  Mysteriums durch alle Sphären von oben nach unten (und in der Umsetzung des Menschen von unten nach oben).  Der Christus ist das neue Gravitationszentrum, nach dem sich alles ausrichtet, also im Karmageschehen nicht mehr nur "Ausgleich", sondern Nutzen, Fortschritt in der Offenbarung Christi im Menschen und der Natur. Ich sage damit natürlich nichts Neues .. aber unter dieser Perspektive ist das Multidimensionale der Apokalypse gut zu verstehen.

machine translation

About the apocalypse or revelation. It is about the revelation, the realisation or unrolling of Christian evolution in time. Time is structured 7-fold, so 7 cycles repeat themselves. What is revealed in the 7 incarnations of our Earth, from Old Saturn to Vulcan, is repeated on all levels, right down to the 7 days of the week. So there is an analogy, let's say, between Vulcan and Laodicea etc. The revelation in time happens through the spheres from the highest spheres further and further down into lower and lower spheres or zones. So what is now revealed in the spirit world will later be revealed in the astral, the etheric and the material. This is the whole principle of the Apocalypse, the realisation of the Christian Mystery through all spheres from top to bottom (and in the realisation of Man from bottom to top). The Christ is the new centre of gravity to which everything is aligned, i.e. in the karmic event no longer just "balance", but benefit, progress in the revelation of Christ in Man and nature. Of course, I am not saying anything new ... but from this perspective, the multidimensionality of the Apocalypse is easy to understand.

Notes WIP - various further draft notes

Various topics

• seeing the 'order' of the cosmic fractal illustrated in nature
  • spirals, fibonacci and golden rule
  • chrystals, platonic solids
  • the music of the spheres
    • distances of the planets
    • eg the work of Hartmut Warm (re keplerstern)

Old notes

• reverse recapitulation - 1908-03-24-GA102
• spir hier working first half, second half free - cosmic breath
• Lemuria electromagnetism lemniscate link - 1916-10-02-GA171
• one CoL important, includes CoF globes see Revelation astral globe

Related pages

• characteristics in evolution:
  • Cosmic breathing
    • Cosmic breath of Brahma
  • rhythms
    • 25920
    • Zodiac clock
    • Spiritual hierarchies and their eigenperiods
    • Planetary hours
  • phases and periods
    • Overlapping evolutionary periods
    • The two halves of an evolutionary cycle
  • interdependencies and characteristics
    • recapitulation
    • remembrance
• Man as microcosmos in relation to macrocosmos
  • Introduction to Man as microcosmos
  • Man and the macrocosmos

References and further reading

• Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010)
  • The fractal geometry of nature' (1977)
    • revised version of 'Fractals: Form, Chance and Dimension', original in FR 1975 as 'Les Objets Fractals: Forme, Hasard et Dimension'
• John Martineau: 'A Little Book of Coincidence: In the Solar System' (2002)