Green Snake and Gold King
What happens then, when one gives oneself over to meditation? A stream flows upwards to the higher "I" and to the angel, and a connection arises -- consciousness is linked with superconsciousness.
From superconsciousness a stream of light begins to flow downward and it strengthens the downward current that flows into the subconscious. This stream of light that has become highly conscious illuminates now the subconscious, purifying it. What does purification of the subconscious mean, what does catharsis mean? It means, firstly, that the Luciferic angel is gradually freed by the angel that stands above -- that the Luciferic double becomes increasingly freer: it means that the subjective Prometheus bound to our astral body, to the cliffs of our being, is freed of his fetters. This freeing takes place through the growing inner love of truthfulness. When we radiate light into our unconscious with our consciousness, we discover our own untruthfulness; that is to say, everyone has an inclination toward lying -- lying not so much in the word, but lying in the deed. This inclination toward lying is inwardly destroyed and is replaced by a yearning for truth. This is the loosening of the bonds of the Luciferic angel. The Luciferic angel frees itself from our astral body, becoming a being that can freely move around us, so to speak, in our destiny. Thereby it becomes a servant of the angel.
A second effect of the purification of our subconsciousness through meditation is that the stream penetrates deeper into this human subconscious realm -- which is both Luciferic and Ahrimanic. This realm consists, moreover, not only of these influences, but also of our own Luciferic and Ahrimanic elements -- elements that we ourselves have taken up into our own being. As we progress in our meditations, and the bright stream of spiritual light penetrates increasingly into our subconsciousness, this element is increasingly expelled from the subconscious.
As this element is expelled from the subconscious, it becomes conscious; it becomes, as it were, revealed. Just as a snake discards its skin and the skin lies before it and can be seen by it, so a person sheds the lower I, the astral subconscious, which then becomes a sort of perceptible "double." The more perceptible it is, the better; for one learns in this way to keep it in hand and control it. Thereby one learns, too, to become conscious of the sources from which one's mistakes arise, conscious of how one can commit actions that do not correspond to one's intentions. Indeed, in the case of individuals whose I is weak, this double can become a being who not only accompanies them everywhere, but also acts and speaks with them. A person can utter seven sentences of which one has oneself formed only four, while three derive from the double. In learning to be mindful of this "companion," who would like to slip into every utterance, into every inner judgement, and into the happenings of the outer world, one acquires self-knowledge; one learns to have exact knowledge of one's own being.
Again a rising from the purifying effect of meditationn, a third aspect -- beyond the redemption of the Luciferic double and the exposing of the human double -- is the driving out of the Ahrimanic double. This double cannot be transformed within us, but must be driven out, so that the human being loses all connection with it. We must give this double no food -- thereby it is forced to retreat before the descending light of meditation, to retreat in the literal sense of the word, as far as out feet. There it clings, as it were, and is dragged in the horizontal dimension through life. Then there come a moment when it breaks off like a brittle twig, and thereafter the individual is free of the Ahrimanic double. One can feel what has happened in that one's gait becomes lighter: from one day to the next a person's gait is changed. The effect comes from the fact that one is freed from an inner burden that had been bound to one's feet. The falling away of the burden causes the experience of becoming lighter.
Thus, you see, the practice of meditation is not cultivated simply in order to experience the breath of the spirit (Geisteshauch) or to acquire any special knowledge. It is cultivated to bring about a profound change in our whole being. -Valentin Tomberg
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Conversing, as Goethe conceived it, is the art of arts. The very place in his works where the subject finds mention lets us glimpse its singular rank in his esteem. This is in a key scene of his fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily. There, the four kings enthroned in the subterranean mystery temple are roused to the dawning of a new Age of Man when the serpent, made luminous by the gold she had swallowed, penetrates with her light into their dark sanctuary, and the following dialogue takes place:
“Whence came you hither?” asked the golden king.
“Out of the clefts where gold dwells,” replied the serpent.
“What is more glorious than gold?”
“Light!”
“What is more quickening than Light?”
“Conversation!” -Goethe
Green Snake and Gold King -ly
Green Snake and Gold King
What happens then, when one gives oneself over to meditation? A stream flows upwards to the higher "I" and to the angel, and a connection arises -- consciousness is linked with superconsciousness.
From superconsciousness a stream of light begins to flow downward and it strengthens the downward current that flows into the subconscious. This stream of light that has become highly conscious illuminates now the subconscious, purifying it. What does purification of the subconscious mean, what does catharsis mean? It means, firstly, that the Luciferic angel is gradually freed by the angel that stands above -- that the Luciferic double becomes increasingly freer: it means that the subjective Prometheus bound to our astral body, to the cliffs of our being, is freed of his fetters. This freeing takes place through the growing inner love of truthfulness. When we radiate light into our unconscious with our consciousness, we discover our own untruthfulness; that is to say, everyone has an inclination toward lying -- lying not so much in the word, but lying in the deed. This inclination toward lying is inwardly destroyed and is replaced by a yearning for truth. This is the loosening of the bonds of the Luciferic angel. The Luciferic angel frees itself from our astral body, becoming a being that can freely move around us, so to speak, in our destiny. Thereby it becomes a servant of the angel.
A second effect of the purification of our subconsciousness through meditation is that the stream penetrates deeper into this human subconscious realm -- which is both Luciferic and Ahrimanic. This realm consists, moreover, not only of these influences, but also of our own Luciferic and Ahrimanic elements -- elements that we ourselves have taken up into our own being. As we progress in our meditations, and the bright stream of spiritual light penetrates increasingly into our subconsciousness, this element is increasingly expelled from the subconscious.
As this element is expelled from the subconscious, it becomes conscious; it becomes, as it were, revealed. Just as a snake discards its skin and the skin lies before it and can be seen by it, so a person sheds the lower I, the astral subconscious, which then becomes a sort of perceptible "double." The more perceptible it is, the better; for one learns in this way to keep it in hand and control it. Thereby one learns, too, to become conscious of the sources from which one's mistakes arise, conscious of how one can commit actions that do not correspond to one's intentions. Indeed, in the case of individuals whose I is weak, this double can become a being who not only accompanies them everywhere, but also acts and speaks with them. A person can utter seven sentences of which one has oneself formed only four, while three derive from the double. In learning to be mindful of this "companion," who would like to slip into every utterance, into every inner judgement, and into the happenings of the outer world, one acquires self-knowledge; one learns to have exact knowledge of one's own being.
Again a rising from the purifying effect of meditationn, a third aspect -- beyond the redemption of the Luciferic double and the exposing of the human double -- is the driving out of the Ahrimanic double. This double cannot be transformed within us, but must be driven out, so that the human being loses all connection with it. We must give this double no food -- thereby it is forced to retreat before the descending light of meditation, to retreat in the literal sense of the word, as far as out feet. There it clings, as it were, and is dragged in the horizontal dimension through life. Then there come a moment when it breaks off like a brittle twig, and thereafter the individual is free of the Ahrimanic double. One can feel what has happened in that one's gait becomes lighter: from one day to the next a person's gait is changed. The effect comes from the fact that one is freed from an inner burden that had been bound to one's feet. The falling away of the burden causes the experience of becoming lighter.
Thus, you see, the practice of meditation is not cultivated simply in order to experience the breath of the spirit (Geisteshauch) or to acquire any special knowledge. It is cultivated to bring about a profound change in our whole being. -Valentin Tomberg
-------------------------------------
Conversing, as Goethe conceived it, is the art of arts. The very place in his works where the subject finds mention lets us glimpse its singular rank in his esteem. This is in a key scene of his fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily. There, the four kings enthroned in the subterranean mystery temple are roused to the dawning of a new Age of Man when the serpent, made luminous by the gold she had swallowed, penetrates with her light into their dark sanctuary, and the following dialogue takes place:
“Whence came you hither?” asked the golden king.
“Out of the clefts where gold dwells,” replied the serpent.
“What is more glorious than gold?”
“Light!”
“What is more quickening than Light?”
“Conversation!” -Goethe
Green Snake and Gold King -ly