The Moon’s Zodiac ~ Rudolf Steiner
Studies with Watercolor Studio Editions 1
The Moon’s Zodiac ~ Rudolf Steiner Studies with Watercolor After the Original 1911 Images By Rudolf Steiner & Imma von Eckardstein
Martha Keltz
Martha Keltz Š Studio Editions, 2020
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Introduction In the spring of 1911 the artist Imma von Eckardstein (1871-1930), (German: Imme von Eckhardtstein, Baroness) was invited by Marie von Sivers (Marie Steiner) to join her and Rudolf Steiner on a vacation in Portorose, near Trieste, Italy. During that time Rudolf Steiner and Imma worked on the designs for the dome (Kuppel) ceiling of the Stuttgart branch of the Esoteric School in Germany. She had previously done the artistic design for the new Berlin branch space. The 1911 designs depicted new concepts of the Moon’s Zodiac (Mondentierkreises). The source for the artworks in this PDF is the publication by Adrian Anderson of The Lost Zodiac of Rudolf Steiner, and this is recommended for further study. The building in Stuttgart was destroyed in 1937, although the images, with some photographs of the dome, were discovered in a book found by researcher Adrian Anderson. The Moon Zodiac was painted in yellow/gold on dark blue/violet, and the original design includes the Four Winged Beasts (Cherubim) of Revelation, John 4:6. Above each of the Beasts are three Zodiac images. Above the Bull is Aries, Taurus and Gemini; above the Lion is Cancer, Leo and Virgo; above the Eagle is Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius; and above the image of Man (represented by a single five-pointed star) is Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. In addition, there is the symbol of a Caduceus above the Aquarius design. 3
Thus, aspects of evolutionary development in time and space are revealed in the Zodiac images: great epochs of the past, the spiritual developments of the present time, and very distant future times. The Bull can be equated with willing, the Lion with feeling and the Eagle with thinking. All three are forces within Man, the human being. The Gateway of the Moon, by Willi Sucher ~ “The soul must wait until the moment when the Moon is at a particular place in the Zodiac, answering to the inner requirements of the soul itself. Only then can it enter upon its way into the Earth-sphere, gathering to itself the etheric body which it needs … Thence there unfolds the whole course of the prenatal event among the stars, dominated by ten Moon circles through the Zodiac … “ References ~ page 31
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Contents ~ The Moon’s Zodiac Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo, Moon & Sun Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Caduceus & Aquarius Pisces The Breathing of the Macrocosm References
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6~7 8~9 10 ~ 11 12 ~ 13 14 ~ 15 16 ~ 17 18 ~ 19 20 ~ 21 22 ~ 23 24 ~ 25 26 ~ 27 28 ~ 29
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Aries
The Aries Zodiac points to a future time when thinking will include forces from the spiritual point of view (today referred to as clairvoyance) presently in development. The smaller face below represents a fading away of old forms of thinking that cannot lead to a depth of new understanding, awareness and self-awareness. Thus, Aries here signifies past, present and future. The appearance of the face is given to us by the forces of the Moon, prior to the time of birth.
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Taurus
Illustrated in Taurus is the 16-petalled lotus flower of the throat chakra of the astral body. Eight are active and eight are in development – present and future. It would appear that those in development are shown here as white, with background formations in gold and yellow. The sphere of the planet Mars rules the gift of speech. “It is difficult to find appropriate expressions for these things, but Mars may be called the great ‘talker’ in the planetary system.” “Humanity only learns something about the effects of the zodiac with inner activation of the planets.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
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Gemini
According to The Lost Zodiac research, there will be a future age when human beings will experience complete harmony with one another, similar to the way in which children get along today at the wonderful age of eleven.
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Cancer
Cancer begins the domain of the Lion, feeling. Elisabeth Vreede (References) identifies the Four “Beasts� of Revelation as the Cherubim. According to The Lost Zodiac, the viewer should visualize this Zodiac as though looking down on the inner chest, where changes in evolutionary development within the Etheric or formative forces body are occurring.
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Leo, Moon and Sun
The twelve-petalled lotus flower of the heart chakra of the Moon’s Zodiac is here illustrated, with the Sun’s Zodiac on page 15. The figure in violet distinguishes the five petals from the seven petals, while the Sun Zodiac places the twelve petals harmoniously together. It appears that all of the petals are in developmental and healing processes.
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Virgo
“The inner parts of the human being that physically have no connection at all with the outside world and point to the threefold character of the human being’s nature, themselves typifying complete isolation from the outside world, are called Virgin (Virgo).” ~ Rudolf Steiner
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Libra
Libra is the fulcrum (The Lost Zodiac). The image suggests great secrets occurring within this Zodiac, especially from the time of Christ onward. The classic scales of Libra suggest acts of balance and judgment, now within the domain of Christ. Libra, in ancient spiritual evolution, was once part of the five descending forces, but is now within the seven ascending forces. The five descending forces of the lower body are Scorpio (reproduction), Sagittarius (thighs), Capricorn (knees), Aquarius (lower legs), and Pisces (feet). In the past, six forces were in descent and six were in ascent, with the boundary in Virgo.
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Scorpio
From Scorpio to Pisces, the past evolution of the human being is depicted from Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual knowledge and visualizations of the prior great epochs of human development. The Scorpio illustration points to the separation of the sexes. As a result of this separation, the powers of thinking and thought, symbolized by the crown, were developed in humanity.
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Sagittarius
This strange human being in early evolutionary development appears to be pressing down obtrusively into the lower body, where the forming thighs are illustrated. Sagittarius, the archer, is closely related to the monad and the ego, with consequent aggressiveness.
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Capricorn
Capricorn begins the domain of man, indicated by a single star, and Capricorn is struggling with form. Two of the Zodiac images in this domain depict water, indicating that human evolution originated from water and not from the animal world. According to Rudolf Steiner, during early human formation the animals, by way of sacrifice, took onto themselves undesirable elements and aspects that would otherwise have greatly hindered the human being’s evolvement.
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In the original design for the Stuttgart dome, according to The Lost Zodiac, the Caduceus, a symbol of healing, would appear to the viewer to be over Aquarius as seen on the left side above. Directly opposite Aquarius at the top of the Zodiac circle and over Leo, the Caduceus would be seen as on the right side above. The Aquarius floral form has seven petals above and five petals below.
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Pisces
This illustration of Pisces, depicting the development of the feet with what appear to be waves extending out from below and above, resemble astrophotography cosmic images that identify similar waves as gravitational forces.
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The Breathing of the Macrocosm By Rudolf Steiner
“The nutation points to nothing more than the passage of the Moon through the sky. The nutation is only the projection of this movement of the Moon … We are able therefore actually to observe the breathing of the macrocosm. We only have to watch the course of the Moon during eighteen years, and respectively, the nutation of the Earth. The Earth dances … This dancing reflects the breathing of the macrocosm, so that we can say: we look right into the breathing of the macrocosm … Thus, it is impossible that we have only one world in our environment. We have the world that we can pursue as the world of the senses. But there is also another world that is based upon a different set of laws, that is related to our world as our breath is related to our consciousness, and that betrays its presence to us when we understand rightly how to contemplate the movement of the Moon – or its expression – the nutation of the Earth … To each of the two worlds must be ascribed its own set of laws.” Quoted by Elisabeth Vreede in Astronomy and Spiritual Science, The Astronomical Letters of Elisabeth Vreede. 30
References
The Lost Zodiac of Rudolf Steiner (with the original illustrations on the cover and throughout the book), by Adrian Anderson, available on Amazon Research Center for Cultural Impulses, Biographical Documentation, Imme von Eckhardtstein, by Linda Blumenthal, Dornach, Switzerland The Gateway of the Moon, by Willi Sucher, The Modern Mystic and Science Review, December 1937 Astronomy and Astrology, Finding a Relationship to the Cosmos, by Rudolf Steiner Astronomy and Spiritual Science, The Astronomical Letters of Elisabeth Vreede An Outline of Occult Science, Rudolf Steiner, available on the Rudolf Steiner Archive The Shaping of the Human Form Out of Cosmic and Earthly Forces, Rudolf Steiner, available on the Rudolf Steiner Archive The Redemption of the Animals, Lindisfarne Press. 31
Douglas
Sloan,
A Studio Editions Publication December, 2020
https://www.studioeditions.com
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