Hydrogen the
carrier of the Ego
As any reader of Rudolf
Steiners work will appreciate there are many statements throughout
his literature which appear to be contradictory to one another.
The `struggle' or process of being his student has for me been
to harmonise as many of these contradictions as needed to form
a cohesive workable model which can be applied to everyday Agricultural
and Human experiences.
In expressing my approach
to his indications I wish to identify myself in the context of
Bernard Lievegoeds last book "The Battle of the Soul"
as standing firmly in the Rosicrucian stream of practical alchemy,
as opposed to the stream of the Anthroposophists, who approach
Steiners work from a more intellectual and some would say pedantic,
literal interpretation. The Anthroposophists approach has been
of little value to me, due to the degree of contradictions one
is confronted with and the apparent lack of any possible consensus
between their commentators. After seventy years there is still
many unanswered questions and unsolved problems within their
circles as can be seen by the level of `Biodynamic creativity'
exhibited in their commercial and educational practice.
I have needed to work
directly from my own experience and intellectual striving to
find practical functioning solutions which can enabled me to
work towards an agricultural practice, based on the preparations
as mediators and harmonises of the spiritual bodies activity
in creation. This is what I believe Rudolf Steiner was indicating
for agriculture as he did for medicine. My approach has been
to strive for big unifying pictures in an attempt to simplify
the endless details.
Instead of contradictions,
rather I see we are only given small parts of the whole picture
at one time. It is through cross reference of many statements
that a cohesive picture can be developed. The contradictions
become further learning experiences. My study has lead me through
Steiners medical lectures, his basic texts and the Biodynamic
literature. My interest in Astrology and Astronomy has also been
a major help.
So my `belief' that Hydrogen
is the carrier of the Ego into physical manifestation comes after
twenty years of research and imagining rather than any single
book quote. I do not wish to bore you with endless book quotations,
so I include some relevant quotes as well as references for your
further investigations.
The Contradictions
The reason this question
needs to be asked and dealt with in such as a minute manner is
that in lecture three of Agriculture on Page 44 ( blue edition
) we find the following statements.
"It is on the paths
of this carbon- moistened with sulphur- that that spiritual Being
which we call the Ego of man moves through the blood so in a
manner of speaking the Ego of the Universe lives as the spirit
of the Universe- lives via the sulphur in the carbon as it forms
itself and ever again dissolves the form"
" So you can have
the following idea. Underlying all living things is a carbon
-like scaffolding or framework. And along these paths of this
framework the spiritual moves through the world"
"on the one hand
the carbon framework, wherein are manifested the workings of
the highest spiritual essence which is accessible to us on Earth:
the Human Ego, or the cosmic spiritual Being which is working
in plants" Pg 46
Later on page 50 Hydrogen
is described as the element which carries all that is "formed
and alive and astral" out again to the universe.
I do not dispute these
statements. I do however feel we do not have all the picture
if we take from them only that Carbon is the carrier of the Ego,
as is suggested in BD circles.
In the medical literature
we are confronted with two very definite and different statements.
In Fundamentals of Anthroposophical
Medicine, Lecture 2 Pg 39
"You will see that
the Ego organisation is connected with the Hydrogen in the same
way that the physical organisation is connected with Carbon,
the etheric organisation with oxygen and the Astral organisation
with Nitrogen"
A week earlier on page
30 of "Spiritual Relationships in the Human Organism."
We find "Thus our ego organism also takes part through the
liver - which in essence has hydrogen as its physical representative
- in the whole construction of the human organism"
In Agriculture 3rd lect.
There is another very interesting line early on page 44 which
says " Carbon, in effect, is the bearer of all the creatively
formative processes in nature" From later in the lecture
it is possible RS includes Etheric and Astral formative processes
as well.
So we definitely have
contradictions. I like to believe that all of these statements
are right. So how can this be so?
As above , So below
On page 70 of the 1938
edition of Agriculture there is a suggestion that " when
we want to understand the plant, we must bring into question
not only the plant, animal and human life, but the whole universe
He who can keep his mind open to the manifest workings of these
forces will understand her." Here is RS suggestion we keep
referring to the big picture to solve the details of life.
There are a couple of
big pictures which have been useful in establishing models or
patterns for forming my thinking. Astronomy offers many clues.
The first comes from the theory of galactic, solar and planetary
formation. A basic form arises in all these systems. Essentially
there are two vortexes working on the vertical planes sucking
in cosmic dusts and hydrogen into a central `black hole'. This
`matter' is then squirted out along a horizontal plane. (8) Initially
it is possible to see the vertical plane by it central gas streams
, however as the system ages, it is the horizontal plane which
physically dominates. Hence the galactic plane and solar systems'
`matter' both appear along horizontal planes. All the planets
other than Pluto line out across a 5 degree arc of the sky. RS
presents this same picture when discussing the formative processes
in the human body. ( 2,4 ) This is a significant picture we in
Biodynamics can ( must ) also use. He outlines how the Ego working
from the Head or nerve sense pole moves inwards from the top,
while the physical forces move from the metabolic system upwards.
These meet in the rhythmic system and create a `horizontal plane'
supported by the Etheric and Astral body polarity. In doing so
the lung and circulatory systems are created.
In many other BD studies
we come across this picture as the vertical Silica plane and
the horizontal Calcium plane, most observable in the plant through
the vertical Siliceous stem and the horizontal `netted' - calcium
- leaf formations. This picture is very similar to many creation
myths. Consider the Maori Rangi and Papa or the Greek Oranus
and Rhea. Both have the sky god joining with the Earth mother
before their children force them apart so life can exist. We
will come back to this form later.
We are attempting here
to find the manifest paths of the spiritual bodies into physical
forms. From the ancient `law' as above, so below, we can conclude
the macrocosmic relationships of Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen and
Hydrogen can provide indications for how they will function micro-cosmically
in life.
To gain the big picture
of the spiritual bodies macrocosmic homes, I refer readers to
B Lievegeods " The working of the Planets and the Life Processes
in Man and Earth". Here on page 1 he points out the formative
processes within the physical form of an organism functions in
the 3 foldness, the etheric through a four foldness, the Astral
in the sevenfoldness of the planets, while the spiritual works
through the twelvefoldness of the zodiac. Here he states clearly
the connection between the stars and the spirit\Ego, and how
the Cosmic Astral body resides in the planetary realm.
It is easy to see physical
forms manifest on the earth, so naturally the Earths surface
is the home of the physical. We can also note science has revealed
the basis of physical matter and organic chemistry is Carbon.
It is predominantly carbon which is lifted from the Earth into
life forms and then returned again to the Earth, upon death.
There is no real debate
that oxygen is the physical carrier of the etheric body. Steiner
states this in many places. Similarly nitrogen carrying the Astral
body can also be taken for granted for the same reason. (Agriculture
, lect 3 )
So for the etheric bodies
macrocosmic home we can look at the home of oxygen. Free oxygen
is most plentiful within our atmosphere. In fact, it is only
through the freeing of oxygen from water and Co2 by life processes
- initially blue green algae - that our atmosphere has formed
to the state where it can support further life. The evolution
of life is in direct relationship to the amount of free oxygen
in our atmosphere. Reported to be between 11 and 22 %, before
the industrial revolution. ( refer 4) This has lead me to conclude
the macrocosmic home of the etheric is the Earth's atmosphere.
Regarding hydrogen, Astronomy
tells us space is made up of 99% Hydrogen and that the Stars
and Suns - the sustaining sources of life - are generators fuelled
by the burning of this Hydrogen. Lievegeod has already told us
the Ego/spirit is housed Macro cosmically in this same galactic
or star region. It is the spirit when incarnated into physical
form which is responsible for the development of the Ego activity
in life.
So we can easily come
to see the value of the `Fundamentals of Anthroposophical Medicine',
Lecture 2 Pg 39, quote.
"You will see that
the Ego organisation is connected with the Hydrogen in the same
way that the physical organisation is connected with Carbon,
the etheric organisation with oxygen and the Astral organisation
with Nitrogen"
So how is RS statement
that `carbon is the carrier of the ego into the physical'
right.
One suggestion
Let us now remember the
picture RS paints how life is sustained through a series of two
polarities as suggested in diagram 1. Simply put the Ego and
Physical bodies work together on the vertical plane to create
the horizontal plane, which allows for and is maintained by the
interaction of the polarity of the Astral and Etheric bodies.
Through the medical lectures
RS often presents the concept that health is a result of these
two sets of polarities working in harmony. Disharmony comes when
either part of one polarity is imbalanced. Hence we have to deal
with either the Etheric \ Astral polarity or the Physical \ Ego
polarity. Where one part of a polarity moves the other follows,
to fill the gap as it where. In plant growth as in human health
it is often an imbalance in the Etheric Astral relationship which
creates problems. As a general rule, too much Etheric and we
have fungal diseases, too much Astral and pest attack occurs.
The `science' of these relationships provides a fascinating and
rewarding study.
The reality of these
relationships were first shown to me in another way. I have outlined
in some detail in "Biodynamics Decoded" how the Astrological
formula can be combined with Biodynamics in the form of a Vortex
to provide valuable insights into RS work. This picture was presented
to the 1991 AGM field Days and in earlier Harvest issues. As
the thesis presented there has gone unchallenged since its presentation
in 1989, it seems appropriate for it to be used more freely in
this forum.
Diagram 2 - The Astrological model and Biodynamics
The above picture is
an unfolding spiral. At 2 fold we have a primary polarity established
between `Sun' & `Moon'. This polarity activity is carried
forward to 3 fold with the development of a middle ground. This
we can see imaged in Steiner picture in Agriculture and Medicine
with the working of the three physical systems, which work from
either pole to create the middle space -Rhythmic system as outlined
earlier.
The 4 fold level is developed
when this middle ground breaks into two. So we have the outside
elements Fire and Earth maintaining the primary polarity initiated
at the 2 fold level (working on the vertical plane) with the
inside elements Air and Water forming another polarity ( and
working on the horizontal plane) actually sustaining life. These
polaric relationships have been widely accepted in Astrological
circles for some three thousand years. They are not presented
in the terms RS uses however the theory fits perfectly. It was
therefore possible to conclude the Ego and the Physical body
must have a significant relationship. RS has since broadened
this assumption.
In plants, the Etheric
and Astral sphere work relatively directly. The Etheric internally
with the Astral body from the outside and carried into or closer
to the plant during flowering and the development of proteins
and poisons. Light plays an important part in the Astrals working
too.
For plants, due to this
`evolutionary make up' - only incarnating the etheric body into
the physical with the Astral `hovering over it' from the outside.
I imagine that the Ego stands `further away' from the plant than
the Astrality and rather than working directly, as it can in
the Human, it has to be `carried' into the plant through its
polarity partner the physical or Carbon element.
Organic chemistry shows
us that carbohydrates and sugars make up the earliest elements
of life processes. These are made up of Carbon, Hydrogen and
Oxygen atoms. Nitrogen is added later when proteins and amino
acids begin to form. So early in life the Hydrogen combines with
Carbon. As RS says in (1) - moistened by Sulphur, followed by
Oxygen. We can translate this to say the formative impulse (H)
combines with carbon before binding with the etheric forces to
create life. RS continues and indicates Nitrogen acts as a mediator
between the Carbon (CH) and Oxygen. In fact dragging the oxygen
along the carbon framework. In carbohydrates this astral activity
must still play in externally.
Steiner provides us with
a similar picture when discussing cow manure. Here he outlines
how the ego forces, present in most food, are not used by the
cows and are passed out in the manure. They are then incorporated
into the soil and passed to the plants so they can work upwards
again through the plant towards seed formation. In doing so these
`free' ego forces also become available to Humans, through our
food, who will use them. I also draw your attention to the passages
(1, lect 2) where we are told the `Cosmic Silica' is drawn into
the Earth and crystallised around the winter equinox, so it can
radiate upwards in the following season. The Astrological model
suggests the Cosmic Silica is related to the Ego forces carried
to the Earth through the cow manure. Both paths are active as
plants will seed without cow manure. How did they get into the
grass in the first place otherwise?
While the Ego (H) can
work through the warmth, it appears from Steiners statements
this most cosmic of elements needs to carried into plant growth
along the pathways of Carbon, its creative polarity - moistened
by Sulphur. For Humans the Ego can work directly drawn in through
the liver and Hydrogen.
Hydrogen becomes `the
remover of the form' in the same manner that the Ego is a death
force, which when functioning too strongly will kill anything
it touches. Just as we meet incarnating and excarnating processes
of the planets (7), so with hydrogen we will find it has an incarnating
and excarnating activity too. From the Astrological model as
described in (6) it is apparent the Hydrogen \ Ego \ Fire \ Cosmic
Silica pole has a close `affinity' to the Saturn processes. In
its incarnating mode therefore Hydrogen will `support' the Cosmic
Silica \ Saturnian form crystallising function as a carrier of
the spiritual archetype. This process is creative and maintained
while in active balance with the other bodies and other elements.
Once the Ego processes begin to dominate maturity occurs followed
by seed formation ( secondary Terrestrial Silica process) and
death. Here hydrogen's secondary function as remover of form
becomes evident.
So I suggest when reading
lecture 3 of Agriculture we bear in mind that the spirit ( working
as through primary Hydrogen process ) has been bound to the Carbon
with the help of Sulphur, remembering his statement that "
Carbon, in effect, is the bearer of all the creatively
formative processes in nature". It is the basis of organic
chemistry.
Please accept the above
as my imaginings upon Steiners stimulus and therefore appreciate
they are not an end statement, just offered as part of `our'
discussion.
1 Agriculture R Steiner
2 Fundamentals of Anthroposophical
Medicine
3 Spiritual relationship
in the Human organism
4 Spiritual Science and
Medicine
5 Astrology, BD and Greenhouse
gases G Atkinson
6 Biodynamics Decoded
7 The working of the
Planets and Life Processes in Man and Earth B Lievegeod
8 Amber Lotus, Black
Hole calendar of 1996. ( www. Amber lotus)