Seventh cultural age

The next cultural age after the sixth 'russian' cultural age (timed approx from 1413 to 3570) , is called the seventh or 'american' cultural age and is timed approx. to the period between the years 5070 and 7200. It will be a lagging culture and an age of chaos, with humanity near its collapse, and it will end the current epoch through the 'War of all against all'. Humanity will be divided according to differences in intellect and morals; on this basis a spiritualized caste system will again appear (1908-08-16-GA105). At the end of the epoch, only about a third of humanity will have attained its goal, a second third is lagging behind and will only attain this later, and one third will completely fall away from evolution (1904-10-24-GA092).

The Earth will be changing dramatically, similar to what happened at the end of the Atlantean epoch, see Earthquakes and emergence continent sixth epoch. Furthermore, this is the time of the anticipated reunion of Earth with the Moon, after the Separation of Moon in the Lemurian epoch. (eg 1921-05-13-GA204 below)

Aspects

evil

the seventh cultural age will be the culture of egoism, establishing the evil race (1905-10-31-GA093); it "will evolve into a kingdom of evil and will become slag. That is the straw that is thrown into the fire" (1906-02-12-GA266)
the seventh sub-race [cultural age] becomes the kingdom of evil (1906-02-12-GA266)

morality

in the seventh cultural age will be characterised by an active moral life: moral life will be still further deepened: whereas in the sixth age Man will take pleasure in good and noble actions, in the seventh the natural outcome of such pleasure will be a moral impulse, that is to say there will be a firm resolve to do what is moral. There is a great difference between taking pleasure in a moral action and the doing of it. (1911-09-21-GA130)
"cleverness without morality will be non-existent" (1911-09-21-GA130) .. it will be an age of morality (1912-01-14-GA143)

various

in the seventh cultural age
- Christ appears as a great cosmic I which is like a group soul of humanity (1911-09-21)
- represents a downwards development as the summit of the Postatlantean epoch has been reached (1915-06-15-GA159)
- procreation will be guided by impulse from the cast-down angels (1917-10-28-GA177)
- if Man continues with dead intellectual thoughts as is currently the case, and does not develop imagination, then in the sixth cultural age, the air atmosphere will be poisened through the intellect that does not develop imagination, and in the seventh cultural age the water will become contaminated. (1923-03-23-GA222)

Evolutionary

in the seventh cultural age, the changed circumstances in their surroundings will provide little opportunity for the souls that have not developed in the decisive fifth and sixth cultural ages. The next opportunity will present itself only in the distant future.
This cultural age will conclude the current Postatlantean epoch with the 'War of all against all'
In the Book of Revelation, the seventh cultural age maps to the church of Laodicea ref. 3,14-22 ((1908-06-20-GA104)
gospel that maps to cultural age: (Matthew to fourth, Mark to current fifth, Luke sixth,) John's gospel to the seventh (1905-08-14-GA091, 1911-03-07-GA124)
may be the time of the reunion of the Moon with the Earth

Man

The developmental target for humanity in this evolutionary period will be to have developed the Spirit-Self, and a special relationship with the lower spirit world, see eg Schemas FMC00.047.
The soul will only be able to develop in the physical body upto the age of 21 (at the start) and 14 years (at the end) of this cultural age (Schema FMC00.232).
the Kundalini fire will acquire great influence and act as a force on what lives in the human heart (1904-10-28-GA092, see also Mystery of the Heart)

Location

Geographically the center of cultural development will lie in America, See FMC00.211 and the according lectures for background on how this center moves across earth's geography along with the developmental stage of humanity.

Culture, science, and spirituality

this will be a lagging culture, compared to the Sixth cultural age; similar to the sixth and seventh ages or subraces in the Atlantean epoch
castes
- following the principle of remembrance: the seventh cultural age will repeat that which arose in the first, and humanity will be divided according to differences in intellect and morals; on this basis a spiritualized caste system will again appear (1908-08-16-GA105)
- castes or communities will be formed voluntarily by those who have grasped spiritual life (1908-08-16-GA105, 1909-06-12-GA109)
will be an age of chaos, with humanity near its collapse (1904-10-28-GA092)
major discoveries about the forces of nature, and the fact that the atom is coagulated electricity, will bring Man to control unseen forces - which will also play a role in the destruction of Earth through the War of all against all (1904-12-23-GA093). See also Discussion Note 1 on that topic page: War of all against all#Note 1 - About humanity turning the whole earth into 'a self functioning live electric mass or apparatus'

Inspirational quotes

1908-06-25-GA104

[the seventh cultural age] .. will be what is lukewarm, neither warm nor cold; the seventh age is something like an overripe fruit, which outlasts the War of All against All, but contains no principle of progress.

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.375 depicts the principle of remembrance connecting symmetrically the cultural ages of the Current Postatlantean epoch.

Lecture coverage and references

1904-10-24-GA092

Not all reach the goal. A third part (of humanity) falls away completely from evolution. We have therefore one third which will attain the goal, one third which lags behind, and one third which does not reach the goal and falls completely away. One third attains its goal, a second third will only later attain its goal, making together two thirds; and at the end of the Fifth Root Race, only one third of those who began evolution will have reached the necessary stage of development.

1904-10-28-GA092

(SWCC) - see also quote from same lecture in Sixth cultural age

In the seventh cultural age of the fifth epoch the whole of mankind will be in a real chaos, for the root-race will then be near to its collapse. But a small number of people will become the true sons of the Kundalini fire, and will be permeated with its full power. They will provide the material, they will pass it on to the leaders of those who will develop man further. Thus is the fifth root-race directed to the heights which kindle the divine fire; thus is kindled out of inmost depths with holy fervour the divine principle which no longer separates man from man, but evokes brotherliness as far as the human understanding reaches. And thus far shall brotherliness be quickened in our own epoch and root-race and in the next. This fire will live in single individuals; and in those who are initiated in the course of the fifth epoch there already lives a spark of this divine fire which is the capacity for brotherliness and will put an end to separation.

1906-02-12-GA266

... those who have brought their I only as far as egotism will not experience a true resurrection, they will have the seed of death within them and will become the seventh sub-race (cultural age), which will evolve into a kingdom of evil and will become slag. That is the straw that is thrown into the fire; the sixth sub-race (cultural age) is the wheat, from which something new can sprout. This separation is now being prepared.

1906-06-14-GA094

This seventh cultural age will be the end of the Postatlantean civilisations and conditions of earthly life will be entirely different from those we know. At the end of the seventh age there will be a revolution of the elements analogous to that which put an end to Atlantis, and the subsequent eras will know a spirituality prepared by the two preceding Postatlantean cultural ages.

1908-08-16-GA105

caste system remembrance

1908-06-25-GA104

We have said repeatedly that our epoch will end, when the seventh age has passed away, by the War of All against All, but this war must really be pictured quite differently from the way we have been accustomed to think of war.
[Human I as a two-edged sword]
We must bear in mind the foundation, the real cause of this war. This foundation or cause is the increase of egoism, of self-seeking and selfishness on the part of Man. And we have now progressed so far in our considerations that we have seen what a sharp two-edged sword this “I” of man is. He who does not fully realize that this “I” is a two-edged sword will scarcely be able to grasp the entire meaning of the evolution of humanity and the world.

On the one hand this “I” is the cause that man hardens within himself, and that he desires to draw into the service of his “I” his inner capacities and all the other objects at his disposal. This “I” is the cause of man's directing all his wishes to the satisfaction of this “I” as such. Its striving to draw to itself as its own possession a part of the earth which belongs to all, to drive away all the other I from its realm, to fight them, to be at war with them, is one side of the “I.”

But on the other hand the must not forget that the “I” is at the same time that which gives man his independence and his inner freedom, which in the truest sense of the word elevates him. His dignity is founded in this “I,” it is the basis of the Divine in man.

[Development of the I and mission of the Earth and humanity: freedom and love]
This conception of the “I” offers difficulty to many people. It has become clear to us that this “I” of man has developed from a group-soul nature, from a kind of all-inclusive universal “I” out of which it has been differentiated. It would be wrong if man were to crave to go down again with his “I” into some sort of universal consciousness, into some sort of common consciousness. Everything which causes a man to strive to lose his “I” and dissolve it into a universal consciousness, is the result of weakness. He alone understands the “I” who knows that after he has gained it in the course of cosmic evolution it cannot be lost; and above all Man must strive for the strength (if he understands the mission of the world) to make this “I” more and more inward, more and more divine. True anthroposophists possess nothing of the empty talk which continually emphasizes the dissolution of the “I” in a universal self, the melting into some sort of primeval sea. True anthroposophy can only put forward as ..
.. the final goal, the community of free and independent I's, of I's which have become individualized.
It is just this that is the mission of the earth, which is expressed in love, that the I's learn to confront one another freely.
Love is not perfect if it proceeds from coercion, from people being chained together, but only when each “I” is so free and independent that it need not love, is its love an entirely free gift. It is the divine plan to make this “I” so independent that as an individual being in all freedom it can offer love even to God. It would amount to Man being led by strings of dependence if he could in any way be forced to love, even if only in the slightest degree.
[War of All against All]
Thus the “I” will be the pledge for the highest goal of man. But at the same time, if it does not discover love, if it hardens within itself, it is the tempter that plunges him into the abyss. For it is that which separates men from one another which brings them to the great War of All against All, not only to the war of nation against nation (for the conception of a nation will then no longer have the significance it possesses today) but to the war of each single person against every other person in every branch of life; to the war of class against class, of caste against caste and sex against sex.
Thus in every field of life the “I” will become the apple of discord; and hence we may say that it can lead on the one hand to the highest and on the other hand to the lowest. For this reason it is a sharp two-edged sword. And he who brought the full I-consciousness to man, Christ Jesus, is, as we have seen, symbolically and correctly represented in the Apocalypse as one who has the sharp two-edged sword in his mouth.
We have represented it as a high achievement of man that just through Christianity he has been able to ascend to this concept of the free “I.” Christ Jesus brought the “I” in all its fullness. Hence this “I” must be expressed by the sharp two-edged sword which you already know from one of our seals. [editor: see first apocalyptic seal Schema FMC00.367]
And the fact that this sharp two-edged sword proceeds from the mouth of the Son of Man is also comprehensible, for when man has learnt to utter the “I” with full consciousness it is in his power to rise to the highest or sink to the lowest. The sharp two-edged sword is one of the most important symbols met with in the Apocalypse.
Now if we understand what was said at the close of our last lecture, that after our present civilization will follow that which is characterized in our last lecture through the community of Philadelphia, we must particularly notice that from the sixth age will be taken those human souls who have to pass over into the following epoch.
For, after the War of All against All — as we have already said — there will be expressed in the features all that is in our age being prepared in men's souls. The so-called seventh age will be of very little importance. We are now living in the fifth cultural age; then follows the sixth, from which will proceed a number of people full of understanding for the spiritual world, filled with the spirit of brotherly love, which results from spiritual knowledge. The ripest fruit of our present civilization will appear in the sixth age. And that which follows it will be what is lukewarm, neither warm nor cold; the seventh age is something like an overripe fruit, which outlasts the War of All against All, but contains no principle of progress.

1909-06-12-GA109

Reincarnation and karma first began to have meaning during the Lemurian epoch and in time will cease to have significance. Man will then enter permanently into a spiritual world in which he will continue to be active.
When, for example, Man has developed the impulse of brotherliness in himself, the growth of races will cease, will be overcome.
In the sixth cultural age, human beings will already understand better how to arrange their lives; concepts of race will no longer have validity. Men will no longer order their lives according to external, physical considerations but rather on a spiritual basis.
In the seventh cultural age, which will reflect that of ancient India, there will once again be distribution into castes, but a voluntary distribution.
Changes in the process of evolution constantly take place, yet continual progress is certain. In the Atlantean epoch, the middle epoch of our Earth's evolution, the significant point occurred that is designated by the now complete penetration of the I into Man's physical body. The process began in the middle of the Lemurian epoch after the exit of the moon from the earth. Humanity has continued to evolve and when the concept of brotherliness finds practical fulfilment on the Earth, races will be superseded. Karma will also then be overcome.

1910-GA013 (OES)

When the seventh cultural period has run its course .. the Earth will be struck by an upheaval comparable to the one that took place between the Atlantean and Postatlantean ages.
After this, evolution will continue under transformed earthly circumstances through seven more time periods.
...
However, only human beings embodying souls that have become all that they could under the influence of the Greco-Latin cultural period and the subsequent fifth, sixth, and seventh periods of Postatlantean evolution will be able to cope with these reconfigured earthly circumstances.
...
Other souls will have to remain behind at this stage, although earlier they could still have chosen to create the prerequisites for participation in it. The souls mature enough to face the conditions that will exist after the next great upheaval will be the ones who succeeded in imbuing supersensible knowledge with their own forces of intellect and feeling at the transition from the fifth to the sixth Postatlantean period.
The fifth and sixth periods are the decisive ones.
In the seventh period, although the souls who have achieved the goal of the sixth will continue to develop accordingly, the changed circumstances in their surroundings will provide little opportunity for the others to make up for lost time. The next opportunity will present itself only in the distant future.

1911-12-03-GA130

Then will come the last cultural age, during which human souls will receive the reflection of what we call hope; when, strengthened through the force flowing from the Mystery of Golgotha and from the age of morality, men will take into themselves forces of hope. This is the most important gift they need in order to face the next catastrophe and to begin a new life, just as was done in this present Postatlantean age.
When in the final Postatlantean age our external culture, with its tendency to calculation, will have come to a climax, bringing no feeling of satisfaction but leaving those who have not developed the spiritual within them to confront their culture in utter desolation - then out of spirituality the seed of hope will be sown, and in the next period of human evolution this will grow to maturity. If the spirit is denied all possibility of imparting to men's souls what it can give, and what the Anthroposophical Movement has the will to convey, this external culture might for a short while be able to hold its own. Ultimately, however, people would ask themselves what they had gained and say:
“We have wireless installations - undreamt of by our ancestors - to transmit our thoughts all over the earth, and what good does it do us?
The most trivial, unproductive thoughts are sent hither and thither, and human ingenuity has to be strained to the utmost to enable us to transport from some far distant region, by means of all kinds of perfected appliances, something for us to eat; or to travel at high speeds round the globe.
But in our heads there is nothing worth sending from place to place, for our thoughts are cheerless; moreover, since we have had our present means of communication, they have become even more cheerless than when they were conveyed in the old snail-like fashion.”
In short, despair and desolation are all that our civilisation can spread over the earth. But, in the last cultural age, souls who have accepted the spiritual in life will have become enriched, as if on the ruins of the external life of culture. Their surety that this acceptance of the spiritual has not been in vain will be the strong force of hope within them - hope that after a great catastrophe a new age will come for human beings, when there will appear in external life, in a new culture, what has already been prepared spiritually within the soul.
Thus, if we permeate our whole being with Spiritual Science, we advance step by step, in full consciousness, from our age of Faith, through the age of Love and that of Hope [editor: fifth, sixth and seventh cultural ages] to what we can see approaching us as the highest, truest, most beautiful, of all human souls

1912-08-26-GA138

We have often spoken reverently of all that in the first Postatlantean epoch, the great and holy teachers of mankind brought to that part of the earth, where later the Indian civilisation was developed. We have remarked how the soul cannot but look up from below to the lofty spiritual teachings that came into the world at that time, through certain human individualities who still bore within them all the inward greatness of those men who in Atlantean times had direct communion, which was no longer possible in later epochs of mankind, with the divine spiritual worlds. We have pointed out how the heritage of Atlantean wisdom, now accessible to the occultist alone .. So, if Man looks up to the old wisdom and remembers above all what has often been mentioned here, namely, that only in the seventh and last age of the Postatlantean age will mankind again reach the point of drawing up out of the darkness of life the understanding of what once lived at the beginning of Postatlantean times and gave the impulse for human evolution — if we consider that mankind must mature to the last epoch before it can feel and experience in itself what at that time was felt and experienced, then only shall we get a sense of how exalted must have been the initiation principle that gave the impulse to the ancient, holy, spiritual culture of mankind.

1915-02-13-GA174B

see also Sixth cultural age, points to why the fifth cultural age is so important

Denn was dann nachkommt als sechste, als siebente Kulturepoche, das muß geistig von den Schöpfungen der fünften leben, das muß die Schöpfungen der fünften Kulturepoche in sich aufnehmen. Die fünfte Kulturepoche hat die Aufgabe, das äußere idealistische Leben zum spirituellen Leben zu vertiefen. Das aber, was so als spirituelles Leben vom Idealismus erobert wird, das muß später angenommen werden, das muß weiterleben. Denn im Osten wird man nicht die Kräfte haben, ein eigenes Geistesleben produktiv hervorzubringen, sondern nur dasjenige, was hervorgebracht ist, in sich aufzunehmen.
So muß sich die Geschichte abspielen, daß von der gegenwärtigen, die eigentlichen Kulturimpulse in sich tragenden Menschheit eine spirituelle Kultur geschaffen wird, welche die eigentliche geschichtliche Nachfolge der fünften Kultur ist, und daß diese Kultur verarbeitet wird von dem, was nachfolgt.

internet translation

For what follows as the sixth or seventh cultural age must live spiritually on the creations of the fifth, must absorb the creations of the fifth cultural age. The fifth cultural age has the task of deepening the external idealistic life into spiritual life. But that which is conquered by idealism as a spiritual life must be accepted later, must live on. For in the East one will not have the strength to produce one's own spiritual life productively, but only to take in what has been produced. This is how the story has to play out that the present humanity, which carries the actual cultural impulses within itself, creates a spiritual culture that is the actual historical successor to the fifth culture, and that this culture is processed by what follows.

1921-05-13-GA204

At the time of the death of Christ, of the Event of Golgotha, human beings in general were capable of development in body and in soul until the 33rd year of life. Today this development is possible until the 27th year. In the fourth millennium a time will come when men will be capable of development only until the 21st year.
In the seventh millennium the bodily nature will be capable of development only until the 14th year of life. Women will then become barren. An entirely different form of earthly life will ensue. This is the epoch when the moon will again approach the earth and become part of it.
He must know what it means to say that the moon once left the earth and will enter the earth again. Just as the separation of the moon was a decisive event, so too will be its re-entry. It is true that as human beings we shall still be inhabiting the earth, although birth will no longer take place in the ordinary way.
We shall be connected with the earth by other means than through birth. We shall, however, have evolved in a certain respect by that time. And we must learn to connect what is happening today - I mean the fact that the intellect is becoming more and more shadowy - with what will one day be a great event in earthly evolution: the re-entry of the Moon into the substance of the Earth.

1923-03-23-GA222

see: Sixth cultural age#1923-03-23-GA222

Discussion

Note 1 - Imagery

The section below was expanded to group some references to movies on this site:

Mad Max
The Road
Invasion of the body snatchers
The Matrix
Ballard novels
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Introduction

It is difficult to imagine how humanity will be be millenia from now, and we cannot expect realistic imagery today. However we can see that in art in the middle ages, human beings were depicted to not symbolically represent situations. Human characters were depicted, but the actual contents of the imagery was not to be taken as a concrete picture snapshot, rather it was representing deeper meaning in a symbolic way. And so in a way similarly, in modern media and art we may find pictures, books, movies with similar characteristics of metaphorically representing a deeper meaning through the archetypes that are represented.

One element or characteristic of the seventh cultural age is 'societal breakdown'. As Steiner describes .. "an age of chaos, with humanity near its collapse (1904-10-28-GA092 above)". And "humanity divided according to differences in intellect and morals, like a spiritualized caste system" (1908-08-16-GA105 above). See also Schema FMC00.607

And as during the sixth cultural age a division will take place in an age where the spiritual can flourish, so afterwards there will be a lagging culture will take the overhaul and be dominating ( 1908-06-25-GA104). Egoism will ultimately lead to destruction with the War of all against all, and afterwards (see Sixth epoch#1908-06-21-GA104), here SWCC

After the great War of All against All there will be two kinds of human beings.
those who previously tried to follow the call to the spiritual life, cultivated the spiritual and ennobled their inner spiritual life,

those who turned away from the spiritual life, who were lukewarm, neither warm nor cold, will pass into the following epoch as those who retard human evolution, who preserve the backward forces of evolution which have been left behind. They will show the evil passions, impulses and instincts hostile to the spiritual in an ugly, unintelligent, evil-looking countenance.
Just as humanity has separated into races and communities, in the future it will divide into two great streams, the good and the evil.

Image One: Seventh cultural age

During discussions on the seventh cultural age, someone characterized the seventh cultural age as 'Mad Max' situations.

Mad Max is a franchise of popular media films which became world famous, consisting of three movies. Mad Max (1979) .. "tells a story of societal breakdown, murder, and revenge" and a "post-apocalyptic" setting (wikipedia). Mad Max 2 (1981), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) are sequels, because the first movie was a huge commercial success (and seemingly for decades the most profitable film ever made).

Image Two: transition between fifth and sixth cultural age

Rudolf Steiner descibes that terrible times are ahead in this transition, and see also the similar note on imagery with a contemporary novel and movie 'The Road':

Sixth cultural age#Imagery

Image Three: I-less human beings

A remarkable example of metaphoric-symbolic imagery with a contemporary novel and movie, given the storyline is so far-fetched for our contemporary worldview (but no so for the spiritual scientific worldview), see: I-less human beings#Imagery in popular media

Image Four

In 2006, Seth Miller wrote an essay with an anthroposophical interpretation of the movie trilogy 'The Matrix'.

paper on academia.edu: The Spiritual Matrix – An Anthroposophical Reading
2007 lecture on youtube: The Matrix and Anthroposophy

The matrix movie depicts the fact that the world and reality are not what people believe. Rather, everyone functions in an artificially 'rendered', generated world whereas there is in truth another world underneath or above (say: the spiritual 'real' world, see also Cosmic fractal). The main character of the movie awakens to this reality, and has to face the agents that defend the virtual world. The main character goes on a 'hero journey' and undergoes a deep transformation. The movie can be seen as depicting two related worlds that are symbolically representing the physical world and the spiritual world.

As a way of example: There is a famous scene whereby the main character - at least his lower physical self - dies in the physical world, murdered by evil, but - through an act of love at the higher self level (so in the higher spirit world) - then 'resurrects' again in the physical world. He is reborn clairvoyantly with mastery of the material world, no longer afreed to face evil, but with supernatural magic powers in the physical world as he 'sees through it', and knows the spiritual reality. When evil faces him, he faces it by literally 'diving in' and thereby transforms the evil agent Smith 'from within'. This evil agent Smith will no longer be the same again in all that follows. (see symbolically Manicheism: how the pure good will transform and redeem the pure evil. All this happens in a scene of just four minutes, link to scene here.

Image Five: the War of all against all

Contribution from a reader (RH, May-2023)

Lemuria perished by fire (that's why in the initiation the 1st test in the initiation is also the fire test), Atlantis perished by water (water test) and our world is going to perish by the war all against all in the air-atmosphere (air-test).
.
There is a 1961 science fiction novel by James Ballard (1930-2009): 'The wind from nowhere', where a "end of the world" is caused by a storm, which destroys everything on the Earth. The scenario is set in the 1960s, but the idea of civilization being destroyed by a global storm is remarkable. In the Anglo-American culture one can find many such visions of the future.

On a side note: James Ballard also wrote 'The Drowned World', a 1962 science fiction novel that depicts a post-apocalyptic future in which global warming caused by heightened solar radiation has rendered much of the Earth's surface uninhabitable. The story follows a team of scientists researching environmental developments in a flooded, abandoned London. From wikipedia:

In the mid 22nd Century, sudden violent and prolonged solar storms enlarge the Van Allen belts, leading to a deterioration of the Earth's ionosphere. Solar radiation bombards the planet, increasing temperatures, raising sea levels and imposing a tropical climate worldwide. With most of the planet no longer habitable for humans, the survivors migrate to the newly-hospitable poles.

See also: Sixth cultural age#1923-03-23-GA222 for an elemental description of the effect of the human materialistic culture (thinking, morality, the use of sub-material forces of electricity, magnetism, nuclear force) .. described in an ever greater effect on - in sequence: warmth, air, water and earth. See also Bardon's tetrapolar magnet as an explanation for how physical matter as constituted from a mixture or blend of the elements (with underlying elementals of nature, the Elementary Kingdoms and spiritual hierarchies - see eg Schema FMC00.142).

Image Six

'Everything Everywhere All at Once'(2022) by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, has multiple layers of symbolism intervowen in an entertaining and modern 2h20' fairy tale produced with modern movie techniques and brought with humour.

One may recognize, discern, interpret:

Personality and Individuality .. people can switch between various lives, and there is the nothing of the Individuality or master in the cockpit of the alphaverse, and the Personalities in the different lives
the theme of good and evil, and Manicheism to fight evil with good in the final; whereas in a first phase there is a fight with forces of opposition, in a second phase the weak anti-hero rises with love to fight and overcome evil
and also
- characters have karmic connections across lives, and search for redemption or closure (mother daughter)
- the donut represents the escape from this world, the daughter is possessed by the spirit of evil and will be lost to the world (maybe re eight sphere), and there is a fight by the mother to save her soul and not just believe she is possessed and evil in herself

More hints about movies with spiritual symbolism

The following suggestions from chapgpt and additional:

Spirituality in film can take many forms, from deeply philosophical explorations of existence and the soul to more personal and emotional stories of faith, transcendence, and enlightenment. Here are some of the most spiritual movies across different cultures and genres. These films span different traditions and genres but share a common thread of exploring the human quest for meaning, purpose, and transcendence. Whether through religious faith, philosophical reflection, or the mysteries of existence, these films invite viewers on a spiritual journey.

Interstellar (2014)

science-fiction epic that addresses existential and metaphysical themes, exploring humanity's place in the cosmos, the nature of time and space, and the deep emotional and spiritual connections between individuals, particularly love. It engages with many themes such as transcendence, love, sacrifice, and humanity's place in the grander scheme of existence. The film invites viewers to reflect on their connection to the universe, the nature of time, and the power of emotional and spiritual bonds, making it resonate on a deeply spiritual level for many.

Love is portrayed as a powerful, almost mystical force that transcends time and space. Dr. Brand expresses the idea that love might be something greater than we understand, possibly a force that binds the universe together, much like gravity. This elevates love to a spiritual dimension, beyond mere emotion. Cooper's relationship with his daughter, Murph, is central to the film. Their emotional bond defies even the vast distances of space and time, suggesting that love has a deeper, almost spiritual connection that bridges the physical limitations of the universe.
Sacrifice and Selflessness: characters make tremendous personal sacrifices for the greater good, embodying themes of selflessness and devotion. Cooper leaves his family behind, fully aware that he may never see them again, in a bid to save humanity. The willingness to sacrifice for a cause greater than oneself reflects spiritual values, such as selflessness, redemption, and service to a higher purpose.
Time as a Spiritual Dimension: The depiction of time in Interstellar—particularly through time dilation and the idea that time can be "felt" or "experienced" in different ways—has spiritual undertones. It challenges conventional understandings of time and points toward deeper metaphysical interpretations. In the Tesseract, Cooper is able to manipulate time, a sequence that evokes a sense of divine or otherworldly influence, where the boundaries of past, present, and future blur, hinting at a higher form of existence.
other themes: hope and survival, transcendence and the unknown, humanity’s place in the cosmos

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Spiritual Themes: Modernity, humanity's relationship with nature, imbalance
Plot: A non-narrative film that uses stunning cinematography and a haunting score by Philip Glass to depict the growing imbalance between nature and human civilization.
Why Spiritual: Without any dialogue, the film’s powerful visuals evoke a sense of the sacredness of the natural world and a critique of humanity’s detachment from it.

The Tree of Life (2011)

Spiritual Themes: Creation, existence, the afterlife, grace vs. nature
Plot: This visually stunning film is a meditation on life, love, loss, and the nature of existence. It intertwines the personal story of a Texas family with cosmic imagery of the origins of life, inviting viewers to ponder life’s deeper questions.
Why Spiritual: Its abstract narrative, awe-inspiring visuals, and poetic reflection on human existence make it a profoundly spiritual experience.

Baraka (1992)

Spiritual Themes: Human connection to nature, the divine, and the cosmos
Plot: A non-narrative documentary that showcases stunning imagery from across the globe, from religious rituals to natural landscapes. It explores the sacredness of life and the connection between humanity and the earth.
Why Spiritual: The film uses visual and musical storytelling to evoke a sense of wonder and reverence for the universe and all its inhabitants.

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Spiritual Themes: Death, the existence of God, faith and doubt
Plot: A knight returning from the Crusades confronts Death and plays a game of chess to delay his inevitable fate. The film delves into his search for meaning and God in a time of plague and suffering.
Why Spiritual: It is a profound exploration of life’s ultimate questions about death, God, and the meaning of existence.

Samsara (2011)

Spiritual Themes: Samsara (the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth), interconnectedness
Plot: Like Baraka, this non-narrative documentary travels across 25 countries to depict human life, culture, and the natural world. It explores the contrast between the spiritual and material worlds.
Why Spiritual: The film’s title, meaning “the cycle of life,” sets the tone for an exploration of existence and transcendence.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

Spiritual Themes: Buddhist teachings, the cycle of life, self-discovery, karma
Plot: Set in a floating monastery, the film follows the life of a Buddhist monk from childhood to old age, exploring the spiritual lessons learned through life's seasons and cycles.
Why Spiritual: Its quiet, meditative style mirrors Buddhist philosophy, with nature and human life beautifully intertwined.

A Man Escaped (1956)

Spiritual Themes: Faith, hope, grace, inner freedom
Plot: Based on a true story, a French Resistance fighter in a Nazi prison camp plans his escape. Bresson’s minimalist style and focus on inner life elevate this into a profound meditation on faith and freedom.
Why Spiritual: The film subtly but powerfully explores the spiritual journey of its protagonist, his faith in the face of death, and the grace that sustains him.

Life of Pi (2012)

Spiritual Themes: Faith, survival, God, the nature of reality
Plot: A young boy survives a shipwreck and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. His struggle for survival becomes a spiritual journey as he reflects on life, faith, and God.
Why Spiritual: The film is both a visual and philosophical meditation on belief, the existence of God, and how we choose to interpret the stories we live.

Andrei Rublev (1966)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Spiritual Themes: Art, faith, the divine calling
Plot: The film chronicles the life of Andrei Rublev, a 15th-century Russian icon painter, and explores his spiritual struggles in a time of political and religious turmoil.
Why Spiritual: Tarkovsky's masterpiece delves into the role of the artist in interpreting divine inspiration, blending faith, suffering, and redemption.

The Mission (1986)

Spiritual Themes: Redemption, sacrifice, faith
Plot: In 18th-century South America, a Jesuit priest and a former mercenary join forces to defend a mission in the jungle from Portuguese slave traders. The film examines themes of redemption, violence, and faith.
Why Spiritual: Its themes of forgiveness, salvation, and sacrifice are powerfully expressed through its characters' moral and spiritual struggles.

My Dinner with Andre (1981)

Spiritual Themes: Existentialism, enlightenment, self-awareness
Plot: The entire film is a conversation between two friends, discussing their philosophical and spiritual beliefs, touching on topics like art, life, and the search for meaning.
Why Spiritual: The film’s dialogue-driven structure allows for a deep exploration of life’s most profound questions, making it a spiritual experience in its own right.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Spiritual Themes: Rebirth, enlightenment, self-improvement
Plot: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again. Initially using it for selfish ends, he eventually realizes the value of self-improvement, kindness, and love.
Why Spiritual: The film’s light-hearted approach belies its deeper themes of redemption, transformation, and the possibility of spiritual awakening.

Note 2 - About the pattern from fifth to seventh cultural ages

From an email by a reader (RH, May-2023). References to the cultural ages are from the Book of Revelation (see Schema FMC00.258 left)

I would like to put the value of discernment into a larger context. Each of the seven post-Atlantean cultural ages has a main task, and from the current fifth age on, the 6th and 7th ages already play a certain role today. Today, in Sardis, the main focus is on the individual development, Faust myth, "Whoever strives eternally, we can redeem him". And this step is possible for many people today, accessible. Self-realization, meditation, etc
But the 6th age is also already making itself felt, Philadelphia, the Kitech myth; no longer a single person is to be redeemed, but a group, a community, the city of Kitech. Thus, today we find in many people the desire for "group formation" community formation", ecovillages, meditation communities, etc.. This desire is there, but the realization is nevertheless more difficult than the individual development and a reason is also to be seen in the fact that this is an anticipation of the main task of the sixth epoch.
And what about the seventh cultural age, Laodicea?
This is usually associated with something negative: according to Steiner, nothing new will come and the end will be the fight of all against all. But I would like to refer to a few other aspects.
On the one hand I believe, that in the seventh cultural age errors, short-comings of the preceding cultural ages 1 - 6 should be balanced, healed, at least as far as this is possible.
The seventh cultural age will repeat in a transformed way the first age, thus in particular a special characteristic of the first age, namely the caste system (which still exists in India today on a corrupted way). So on the basis of the single human being (fifth age) the human communities (sixth age) will be structured again, but this time not on the basis of heredity, the blood line, but from the basis of the different abilities of the people. The special talents of people must then be recognized (in the New Testament it says, "every star has its own brilliance") and so everyone will find his place in the community in a natural way. It will no longer be who has the biggest mouth, who has the most money, who comes from a "rich" family, who is the most ruthless, who is the most intelligent, will have a leading function, but whoever is able to do so because of his spiritual level, his spiritual abilities, will have a leading function. There will then (at least that is the ideal) also be no envy, but everyone should do what he can do best.
And this task of the seventh age is for us today of course the most distant, the most difficult to recognize and to realize. And in this context also belongs the ability to distinguish, as the ability to recognize different qualities. This, of course, is diametrically opposed to our democratic age, where anyone can and should speak out on any subject.

Seventh cultural age

Contents

Aspects

evil

morality

various

Evolutionary

Man

Location

Culture, science, and spirituality

Inspirational quotes

Illustrations

Lecture coverage and references

1904-10-24-GA092

1904-10-28-GA092

1906-02-12-GA266

1906-06-14-GA094

1908-08-16-GA105

1908-06-25-GA104

1909-06-12-GA109

1910-GA013 (OES)

1911-12-03-GA130

1915-02-13-GA174B

1921-05-13-GA204

1923-03-23-GA222

Discussion

Note 1 - Imagery

Introduction

Image One: Seventh cultural age

Image Two: transition between fifth and sixth cultural age

Image Three: I-less human beings

Image Four

Image Five: the War of all against all

Image Six

More hints about movies with spiritual symbolism

Note 2 - About the pattern from fifth to seventh cultural ages

Related pages

References and further reading