I-15 Hierarchical attainment of “human” status on the three former Conditions of Consciousness

Occult Science (OS), Chap. 4 (pp. 125-129)

Note again the discussion in I-1 of the “24 elders.” Recall that we are now in the 25th Condition of Life. The human being first attained “human” status (acquired an Ego, consciousness of self, the “I Am” [Ex 3,14]) about midway through the 25th, but all spiritual beings in the 9 Hierarchies above the human being also went through the equivalent of a “human” state during a particular Condition of Life, and thus bear the human within themselves. So there are 24 “elders” who passed this way before the human being.

However, one must conclude that there are 7 levels of “elders” within each hierarchical level. Each hierarchical being is, like the human being, a 7-fold being that moves one step higher with each Condition of Life, and thus, like the human being, attains to its self-awareness (human) level in its own 4th evolutionary Condition of Life within its own evolutionary Condition of Consciousness, which does not coincide with the human being’s except once every 7 levels, each group of which is then characterized here as a hierarchical level. Thus, there are in Steiner’s description of the hierarchical levels active on Saturn several that have as their lowest member the astral body at various descending stages of development. So, just as the human being receives its Ego in its 4th Condition of Consciousness (Earth), but more specifically in its 4th Condition of Life (Mineral Kingdom) thereof, so also during any one of the human being’s Conditions of Consciousness there would be 7 elders generally classified during that time as receiving their “human” or “Ego” or “self-awareness” state during that 7-stage Condition. All 7 of these elders would be referred to as a single hierarchical level, but at 7 different stages of development (and each stage, as in the case of the human being itself, would encompass innumerable such spiritual beings within it). Within this framework then, it can be said (see for instance, page 125 where Steiner mentions that the Spirits of Personality reach “human” status on Saturn) that one hierarchical level reaches human status during each Condition of Consciousness and specifically as follows:

Those hierarchical beings higher than Principalities thus attained human status prior to Saturn. While they continue to advance, such levels are beyond those we need here discuss.