Category Archives: Esoteric History

Spiritual Warfare in the 21st Century: Donald Trump vs The New World Order

The following article is the “Introduction” to my most recent publication (October 2018), which bears the same title as this excerpt. Since the “Introduction” was intended to provide a synopsis of the book’s more detailed, comprehensive and convincing content, it should also give the reader of this website article a reasonable idea of what the book is about. Similarly, the illustration that is used here is a smaller detail of the larger image that was used on the front cover of the book (please refer to the description in “MY Books”). It is currently available from Amazon.com.

A RATHER STRANGE and disturbing social upheaval has been covertly and pervasively occurring throughout the Western world―particularly in America―since the early 1990s. A creeping form of radical-socialism has been gradually infecting Western political parties, academic institutions, medical professions, mainstream news agencies, television and film industries, literary publishing and everyday social interaction for the past three decades.

Perplexingly ironic, as the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc States were finally divesting themselves of the failed and oppressive socialist/communist ideology of the past, intellectuals and ideologues throughout the Western world began to eagerly embrace and apply the fundamental tenets of radical-socialism.

This “Westernized” form of socialist ideology is unabashedly atheistic and openly hostile to religion, particularly Christianity, in all its denominational forms. Hypocritically, however, this same “atheistic-socialism” openly supports and defends Muslim believers, who are considered members of a “victimized minority.”

The philosophical underpinning of atheistic-socialism is the classic Marxist belief that the social interaction of humanity throughout the ages has entirely and exclusively been a perpetual class struggle between the have-nots and the haves; the poor and the wealthy; the oppressed and the oppressors; the victims and the victimizers. In more Marxist terminology, historical class conflict has been between the “proletariat”―the peasants, labourers and workers; and the “bourgeoisie”―the nobility, landowners, and capitalists.

However, in recent times various activist groups―each one claiming “victimized” status―have adapted basic Marxist ideology to suit their own particular causes and agendas. For example, radical-feminists contend that it is men who are the real historic victimizers and that women are their primary victims. Alternatively, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous activists each claim that they are the continued victims of White, European-based culture. Homosexual activists assert that they are the victims of heterosexual, Judeo-Christian society. All these activists, therefore, blame a common oppressor for their perceived victimized condition―wealthy, White, conservative Christian men.

Moreover, in keeping with classic Marxist ideology, each of these socialist-inspired activist groups fervently believes that the solution to their perceived oppression is not gradual social change and reform; but the revolutionary overthrow of prosperous, White, Christian, male-influenced culture and society.

In essence, then, what is currently taking place throughout Western society is a fierce cultural war being waged by numerous left-leaning activist groups whose primary goal is the destruction of European-based Christian culture. In addition, their ultimate goal is to replace democratic governance through majority rule with an exclusively-atheistic, secular society where political, economic and cultural power is autocratically determined and enforced by centralized State-control that is driven by uncompromising, totalitarian-style minority activism.

In Western nations, this radical atheistic-socialism―recently termed the “alt-left”―has been opportunistically embraced by “left-wing” and “neo-liberal” political parties; but rejected by “right-wing” and “neo-conservative” political parties. Consequently, in America it is the Democratic Party (in general) that espouses and promotes alt-leftist atheistic-socialism; while the Republican Party (in general) rejects and opposes this ideology.

The radical alt-left agenda was enormously accelerated in America during the eight years (2009 to 2017) of Democratic Party President, Barack Hussein Obama. Primarily through executive order and veto power, Obama enacted and enforced radical-socialist national and international policy on climate change, economic regulation, religion, abortion, de-militarization, same-sex marriage, gun control, immigration, taxation, free-trade and deficit spending.

Moreover, through presidential appointment, Obama politicized and “weaponized” the US intelligence community (FBI, CIA and NSA), the Justice department, the IRS, the Supreme Court and district court systems with radical-socialists and alt-left loyalists. Radical-socialist ideologues within the Democratic Party and their wealthy financial backers (such as George Soros) were totally confident that these “deep-state” operatives in government―together with the predominantly left-leaning communications media in radio, television and newspapers―would guarantee another presidential election victory in 2017.

Moreover, Soros and his billionaire cohorts in the Democratic Alliance had decided that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the next American president; and had set up a “dirty-tricks” Democratic Party campaign organization (headed by Soros-lackey John Podesta) to further continue and advance their accelerating alt-left cultural revolution.

Despite pre-election propaganda by major leftist-media (such as ABC, CNN, MSNBC, the NY Times and Washington Post) that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election by a “landslide victory”; despite the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and the Clinton election organizers conducting a corrupt, “shady-tactics” campaign in order to guarantee victory; and despite the Clinton campaign spending a record-breaking $1.2 billion to securely win the presidency―political newcomer and New York businessman, Donald J. Trump, derailed the entire alt-left revolutionary momentum by explosively winning the 2016 presidential election.

In the hours, days, weeks and months after Donald Trump’s huge presidential victory (304 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 228), the alt-left―worldwide―went into complete emotional meltdown which quickly developed into a collective psychological malaise characterized by acute fear, paranoia, anxiety, depression, anger and hatred: labeled by conservative observers as “TDS―Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

From Trump’s powerful campaign speeches delineating his vision to “Make America Great Again (MAGA),” alt-leftist leaders and those supporting atheistic-socialism soon realized that their secular revolution was now in serious jeopardy. In the White House was everything they professed to hate―a wealthy, conservative, White, Christian male!

Moreover, Trump’s vision for America was entirely contrary to atheistic-socialism: (1) instead of global homogeneity, this new president favours strong national sovereignty, legal immigration, enforced border control and a strong military; (2) instead of an entirely secularist society, this new president is intent on defending religious freedom and Judeo-Christian values and culture (such as pro-life, pro-marriage and pro-family); (3) instead of continuing to centralize authoritarian State control in Washington D.C., this new president has promised the American voter to “drain the swamp” of federal government corruption, to wrest economic power from the corporate and media elites, and to wrest political control from the self-serving Democratic and Republican establishments―thereby returning democratic power back to the American people.

Not surprisingly, then, the alt-left and their pervasive zealots in government, business, media communications, academia, psychiatry, intelligence agencies and movie industries have collectively declared war on Donald J. Trump. While radical-socialism publicly professes to promote tolerance, inclusion, diversity, political-correctness, minority rights and respect for others, the alt-left revolutionaries are hypocritically intent on destroying President Trump by whatever means available: Soros-funded riots, fake news reports, FBI surveillance, kangaroo-court challenges, drummed-up impeachment―even public outcries of assassination!

Since atheistic-socialism ideologically rejects divine moral-inspiration, divine good-counsel and divine wise-direction, it instead zealously strives to replace the ultimate moral authority of the one true God with the authoritarian and despotic control of a centralized State bureaucracy. In consequence, alt-left activist groups and political parties (either knowingly or unknowingly) play into the hands of unscrupulous billionaire globalists, such as George Soros, whose corrupt political agenda is to weaken America in order to covertly establish an elitist-controlled, one-world government―historically termed the “New World Order.”

President Trump, then, as the peoples’ representative of “middle America” (not the leftist corporate, intellectual and media elites in New York, Washington and California) has deliberately, knowingly and sacrificially taken on the stupendous task of resisting, opposing, undoing and defeating the domestic and international forces of the New World Order.

Moreover, on an even deeper and more universal level, since the atheistic alt-left has declared war on Christian persons, groups, beliefs, history, institutions and traditional values it is not just a cultural war that has been sweeping somnolent Western society during recent times; it is obviously a fierce spiritual battle as well. As such, the alt-left revolutionary “movement” unconsciously plays into the diabolical hands of dark spiritual beings, particularly the Antichrist, who are also intent on destroying Christianity and establishing their own evil world-domination and global-control in the near future.

Donald Trump, then, as the presidential defender of religious freedom and Judeo-Christian culture (in America and abroad) at this critical time in world history is clearly a “warrior of light,” pre-destined by advanced spiritual forces to help bring America (and by extension, the rest of the world) back to the one true God of love. And while Donald Trump, as American president, clearly occupies a central role in this spiritual struggle, true victory over time will only be achieved when the vast majority of decent, honest, ethical, caring, religious, truthful and peace-loving citizens around the world rise up in unison to actively resist atheistic-socialism and the evil architects of the New World Order.

Anthropo-Sophia and the Blessed Virgin Mary

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The following article is an excerpt from a publication of mine entitled: Mary and the Divine Sophia: The Salvation of Universal Wisdom (2016), and available from Amazon.com.

It is very unfortunate that in the present day there are a great many authors who write with such “esoteric” authority and conviction, but who have had little or no direct spiritual experience about what they write. Predictably, the information they convey with such weight and command is rife with error and falsehood.

Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than when they emphatically expound on the “being” of anthropo-sophia. If these pseudo-authorities had actually experienced the “lesser guardian of the threshold” for themselves, they would have a much clearer understanding of what Rudolf Steiner means by the “being” of anthropo-sophia.

For those who may be unfamiliar, the lesser guardian is a fearful astral figure that is objectively materialized out of an individual’s collective karma; that is, out of the accumulated effects of good and bad deeds that were performed throughout an individual’s incarnational history. The lesser guardian is invisible to ordinary sight; and only becomes visible to supersensible sight when an individual attempts to consciously cross the threshold into the spiritual world. The lesser guardian, then, is a spectral apparition, a personal astral creation. As figuratively described by Rudolf Steiner in Chapter 10 of Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment ( 1986):

But now all the good and evil sides of thy bygone lives shall be revealed to thee. Hitherto they were interwoven with thine own being; they were in thee and thou couldst not see them, even as thou canst not behold thine own brain with physical eyes. But now they become released from thee; they detach themselves from thy personality. They assume an independent form which thou canst see even as thou beholdest the stones and plants of the outer world. And . . . I am that very being who shaped my body out of thy good and evil achievements. My spectral form is woven out of thine own life’s record.

It will be gathered from the above that the Guardian of the Threshold is an (astral) figure, revealing itself to the student’s awakened higher sight …

So, if the lesser guardian is simply an astral materialization of accumulated karma, why does Steiner refer to it as “that very being” in the above quotation (and elsewhere)? The reason is to disclose and emphasize the supersensible fact that objective materializations in the astral world which issue from human activity are more than just ephemeral, inanimate creations that quickly disappear without effect.

Instead, these astral materializations will often assume a distinct human-like form; and being composed of astral substance, they possess a certain vitality as well as a degree of elemental mentation and sentience. Moreover, these humanly-generated astral formations will very often detach themselves from their human creator, and lead an independent existence in astral space; thereby affecting other astral formations in the superphysical environment.

While it’s important to recognize that astral materializations such as the lesser guardian exhibit a “being-like” quality of existence, it’s equally important to understand that these being-like astral formations are not “beings” in the usually-understood sense of existing as spirit-filled “persons,” such as human beings and celestial beings. An astral materialization such as the lesser guardian does not possess an organized assemblage of interpenetrating body and soul vehicles, such as an etheric body or an intellectual soul. Nor is the divine nature reflected in these astral materializations as an individualized spiritual-self. Moreover, a being-like astral creation does not have an extensive evolutionary history belonging to a particular life-wave, such as the angels, or the archangels, or the thrones or the seraphim.

From what has been described, then, it is clear that anthropo-sophia is a “being-like” astral materialization, and not a “being” in the same sense as a “human being,” as an ego-indwelt human “person.” Even though cosmic wisdom-sophia is as old as the universe, anthropo-sophia is only a recent manifestation.

Anthropo-sophia is essentially an objective materialization of spiritual-truth (cosmic wisdom-sophia) that has been consciously acquired by the human intellect through spiritual scientific means. As such, she only came into existence with the establishment of anthroposophical spiritual science by Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s. Anthropo-sophia began as a personal materialization of the spiritual-truth acquired by Steiner himself; somewhat similar to the personal generation of the lesser guardian. But as more and more of his pupils began to apply the techniques of spiritual science to intellectually acquire spiritual truth as well, anthropo-sophia very quickly transformed from being a personal astral materialization, into becoming a collective one.

Since cosmic wisdom-sophia is a universal feminine-principle, the human-like form assumed by anthropo-sophia is predictably a feminine one. Moreover, even though she only recently came into materialized existence, she assumes the form of a “mature” woman due to the tremendous outpouring of spiritual truth that was acquired and conveyed by Steiner himself. As more and more individuals intellectually acquire cosmic wisdom-truth through spiritual science, anthropo-sophia naturally increases in astral stature, beauty, strength and influence. Moreover, as an astral “being-like” manifestation, anthropo-sophia is imbued with a degree of vitality, sentience and mentation.

Given that anthropo-sophia has only recently come into astral existence, it is somewhat perplexing why some anthroposophical writers have erroneously suggested that the Blessed Virgin Mary (of St. Luke’s gospel) and anthropo-sophia are one and the same being. As recognized by spiritual science, the Blessed Virgin Mary was the first and only physical incarnation of the heavenly-Eve. Since the heavenly-Eve has been a part of human evolution since its very inception, she is a human “being” in the fullest sense of the term, and is not a “being-like” astral materialization like anthropo-sophia..

What is equally perplexing is the assertion by some anthroposophical writers that the heavenly-Eve is not an actual human being but simply a pristine aspect of the earthly-Eve’s etheric body that was preserved from Luciferic corruption (and the resultant “fall” into physical incarnation) during ancient Lemurian times. If this were true, then the incarnation of the heavenly-Eve as St. Luke’s Mary is nothing but the physical embodiment of an uncorrupted etheric body-fragment.

According to this ill-conceived notion, then, the immaculate mother of St. Luke’s Jesus-child would have had no individualized soul or indwelling spirit. As such, she would have been a plant and not a human being! On strictly logical grounds, then, the idea that the heavenly-Eve is simply preserved etheric forces is obviously absurd. If these pseudo-esoteric authorities had taken the time to combine all that Rudolf Steiner revealed concerning the heavenly-Adam, they would have a correct understanding of the heavenly-Eve.

What is strangely ironic in this instance is the fact that it is usually the same self-styled esoteric authorities who claim that the heavenly-Eve―a real human being―is nothing but an etheric materialization, who also assert that anthropo-sophia―an astral materialization―is a real human being! As previously mentioned, this confusion on their part is a clear indication that they “know not of what they speak”; and should therefore keep esoterically silent.

Divine Love and the Transmutation of Evil

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The following article is the Conclusion from my most recent book publication entitled From Darkness to Light: Divine Love and the Transmutation of Evil (2016). For anyone interested in delving more deeply into this important (though little understood) subject, the book is now available from Amazon.com.

1. Salvation From Supernatural Evil is a Free-Will Choice

IT SHOULD BE esoterically obvious from all that has been written thus far, that without the benevolent assistance of many highly-advanced celestial beings mankind would become easy prey for supernatural evil. The perpetrators of supernatural evil are far too powerful, and far too clever, for unassisted human beings to overcome on our own.

Furthermore, even though Christ-Jesus has successfully triumphed over Lucifer, Ahriman and Sorath, he does not impose his own success on the rest of humanity. Instead, he freely offers his power, capacity and assistance to overcome evil for anyone who sincerely chooses. Unfortunately, many in our day have not chosen to do so. Far too many people continue to happily endorse the atheistic and materialistic world-view of empirical science. Far too many people continue to be mesmerized by the hedonistic technology of secular society. Far too many people continue to evade spiritual reality with escapist movies, books, games, drugs, sports and music. The discerning observer of modern life cannot help but painfully conclude that supernatural evil will continue to plague somnolent humanity for the foreseeable future.

2. The Tragic Irony of Evil: Opposing God is Opposing Our Own True Self

It is still somewhat of a cosmic mystery to understand why otherwise highly-advanced beings such as Lucifer, Ahriman and Sorath willingly choose to engage in evil; that is, freely choose to act contrary to God. The undeniable spiritual fact is that all sentient beings are children of God; and therefore the divine spirit is mirrored in every self-conscious being. Furthermore, the highest self of all self-conscious beings―holy and evil―is their God-self, their true eternal life and reality.

Moreover, according to logical reasoning, the triune God is perfectly free and infinitely happy. So it also logically follows that for all created beings―including the supernatural perpetrators of evil―the highest freedom and happiness can only come from spiritual union with God.

So, when Lucifer, Ahriman or Sorath flee from the divine light of truth and the divine warmth of love, they are truly and tragically fleeing from their own highest spiritual selves. Separating from God through sin is in fact separating from who they are in reality. Moreover, running from this spiritual fact does in no way change it. Only by embracing the truth of their ultimate being, in sincere humility and gratitude, is there lasting salvation from a sorrowful life of evil.

3. Divine Love is the Best Way of Dealing with Evil

I John 4:18 states in part that “perfect love casts out fear.” What is also implied with this spiritual truth is that “perfect (divine) love casts out evil.” After examining in some detail the nature, genesis and supernatural perpetration of evil, as well as the celestial beings who benefit humanity and oppose evil, what comes into clear intellectual focus is the convincing conclusion that the best way of dealing with evil is through divine love.

The foremost exemplar of divine love in all of human history is, of course, our saviour Christ-Jesus. Through his life on earth, his gospel teachings and his resurrected presence in the Church, Christ-Jesus has provided mankind with a sure path of holiness that will overcome evil and lead directly to God. Our Saviour has taught and demonstrated that we are not to hate, revile or despise the evil enemies of mankind; but instead, to love them. This, of course, does not mean that we are to befriend our supernatural enemies and overlook their evil ways; but rather, to remind ourselves that they too are children of God, albeit lost and mistaken. Hopefully, one day, they will realize the error of their evil ways, and turn back to their true home in God.

Furthermore, regarding the supernatural perpetrators of evil with infinite compassion does not mean that the forces of holiness do nothing about evil in their midst. Since all persons under unwarranted attack have a right to appropriate self-defense, the benevolent celestial beings have every right to resist, repel, disable, disarm, deactivate, neutralize, subdue, contain, incarcerate and imprison the perpetrators of evil who intend to do others (and themselves) harm. Self-defense, in this case however, is not undertaken in a spirit of revenge or retaliation; but in the spirit of Michael―the spirit of divine justice, fairness and doing what is morally right in the eyes of God.

Since all sentient beings possess the divine gift of free-will, perpetrators of evil cannot be forced against their will to be holy. The free-will decision to turn from evil to holiness is what is understood as “redemption.” The will to do evil can only be overcome and reversed through a personal act of redemption. The material or superphysical manifestations of evil, however, can be transformed or transmuted. For example, by raising the vibratory level of etheric debasements, such as electricity and magnetism, these manifestations of evil can be transmuted back into light and chemical ether, for the positive benefit of earthly evolution.

Furthermore, much of modern technology―such as computers, robotics, genetic modification and automation―is a “double-edged sword”; it can be used for the benefit of mankind, or for earthly destruction. Modern technology, then, must be increasingly wrested from the control of Ahrimanic spirits and put into the hands of Michael and other Christ-imbued beings. Similarly, the various forms of artistic expression―such as filmmaking, theatre, painting, sculpture, computer graphics and music―must increasingly be directed away from Luciferic fantasy and illusion; and instead, directed towards the uplifting expression of true spiritual beauty.

In summary, by assisting our planetary-spirit, Christ-Jesus, with the transmutation and transformation of the “old” universe into the “new heaven and the new earth,” the supernatural perpetrators of evil will be increasingly surrounded by the light of divine truth and the warmth of divine love. Consequently, this will increasingly limit the dark places they can hide; and more importantly, it will increasingly limit their ability to debase matter, energy and mind to use as weapons in their arsenal of evil. In time, by increasingly protecting ourselves, and them, in a cosmic cocoon of holiness, this will incite the larvae of evil to metamorphose into the prodigal butterflies of spiritual redemption.

No doubt, transforming the universe to this supernal degree of divine love will take many aeons to accomplish; but after all, this is the divine plan of creation―the destiny of the Logos-Word as the image and likeness of God.

The Slow Befriending of Anthroposophy and Catholicism in Our Time

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The following article has been taken from my book publication entitled The Greater and Lesser Mysteries of Christianity: The Complementary Paths of Anthroposophy and Catholicism (2015); and is in fact the concluding chapter. For anyone interested in pursuing this topic more thoroughly, the book is available on Amazon.com.

EVEN THOUGH FEW present-day anthroposophists and few current Catholics recognize and understand the two-millennial division of Christian teaching into exoteric mystery-wisdom and esoteric mystery-wisdom, there are still noteworthy examples in recent years which show that each side is beginning to amicably learn more about the other.

Even though the anthroposophical leadership in Dornach, Switzerland does not officially converse with the Catholic Church, and even though the Vatican Curia in Rome does not officially converse with the General Anthroposophical Society, individual anthroposophists and Catholics have begun to slowly befriend each other.

It will probably come as a complete shock and surprise, to both anthroposophists and Catholics alike, to discover that Karol Josef Wojtyla (1920‒2005)―before he became Pope John Paul II―was involved with an anthroposophical group in Poland that was studying the art of speech and working with Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas. Moreover, before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (b.1927) was the head (or “prefect”) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005. In this capacity (where he was nicknamed, “God’s Rottweiler”), Cardinal Ratzinger’s primary function was to defend and reaffirm traditional Catholic doctrine. During that time, he was friends with Dr. Martin Kriele (b.1931), a well-respected German constitutional lawyer who was both Catholic and anthroposophist. In an interview given in 1988, Kriele stated:

I don’t withhold [from the Catholic Church] that I’m an anthroposophist and I must say that it’s caused me not the slightest difficulty and even the ultimate arbiter [of the Church], so to speak, Cardinal Ratzinger, knows me to be an anthroposophist. He is today the ultimate defender of the faith and he took no offense from that.

Moreover, in Kriele’s experience, Catholics were much more accepting of him being an anthroposophist, than anthroposophists were of him being a Catholic. As he indicated in the same interview quoted above:

Catholicism, meanwhile, has become much more open. It’s often happened to me that my coreligionists respond not with hostility but with interest when I say that I am an anthroposophist. When, among anthroposophists, I mention that I am a Catholic, however, they act like they are about to cross themselves [as protection from the devil].

In Kriele’s opinion, this fearful and widespread anti-Catholic reaction among anthroposophists is misplaced and anachronistic. As he explained:

It seems to me that those who behave thus are seeing the reality around them not through their own eyes but through those of Rudolf Steiner seventy years hence. Not quite of course―Steiner himself had positive relations with Catholics. He even on January 30^th, 1924―after the Christmas meeting!―went as far as to say that the Catholic church is the only important institution that truly presents to the world the mystery of the spirit that has veiled itself with sensory impressions (Mystery Centres of the Middle Ages; GA 233a); awareness of its role, however, usually being absent … Anthroposophists who orient themselves only by Steiner’s explanations of forms of Catholicism of his own time and ignore his favorable expressions mistake the present reality; for example, that the church today recognizes religious freedom as an inalienable right, for other religions as much as itself. Further, supremacy of the conscience over dogma is now officially taught and also that departure from the church need not rank one among unbelievers. (Ibid.)

While John Paul II and Benedict XVI are certainly two examples of celebrated Catholics who have had an arm’s-length brush with anthroposophy, many other ordinary Catholics have also had similar favourable associations. For example, many Catholic parents have positively enrolled their children in anthroposophically-inspired Waldorf schools, or Camphill communities. Other Catholics have been pleasantly involved with anthroposophically-inspired Biodynamic farming; while others have enjoyably attended anthroposophically-inspired eurythmy performances or Mystery plays.

In other instances, some Catholics in recent years have deliberately delved much deeper into the anthroposophical material of Rudolf Steiner. During the early 1990s, for instance, Vatican scholars at the Institute for Philosophy in Liechtenstein (a Catholic research centre) studied Rudolf Steiner as an eminent spiritual philosopher, and concluded that anthroposophy was reasonably harmonious with accepted Catholic doctrine.

So, has there been a reciprocal interest on the part of anthroposophical groups to study Catholic doctrine and teaching? There doesn’t appear so―but in fairness, it is much more difficult to study a religion than it is to study a science (including a spiritual one). Religion requires emotional commitment, dedicated devotion, communal activity and repeated practice. A science, on the other hand, can be more easily understood in an objective, intellectual way. So for anthroposophists to truly understand Catholicism, they would actually have to practice or apply it for a certain length of time. Nevertheless, present-day anthroposophists can still achieve a much deeper understanding and appreciation of today’s Catholicism just by having Catholic speakers and experts attend anthroposophical group meetings; or by personally attending and observing a Christmas or Easter Mass.

Since the very beginning of anthroposophy, there has always been a small percentage of Catholics involved. One of the founding teachers of the first Waldorf school, for example, was Dr. Karl Schubert (1889‒1949), a Catholic anthroposophist that Rudolf Steiner held in high esteem. Even at the Christmas Conference in 1923, when the General Anthroposophical Society was officially established, Rudolf Steiner was accompanied by a Catholic priest named Father Trinquero.

Throughout the history of anthroposophy, most Catholic members have preferred to quietly practice their religious faith without widespread Society attention or notice. Moreover, they have generally preferred to keep these two areas of their lives separate, without making public efforts to unite or integrate them. There have been, of course, a few exceptions by some present-day anthroposophists who are favorably disposed to Catholicism. Prominent anthroposophical writers, Robert A. Powell (b.1947) and Christopher Bamford, for instance, have attempted to imitate the Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary by instituting the “Hermetic” celebration of the “Virgin Sophia”―the Holy Spirit of Wisdom.

Unfortunately, Powell, Bamford and other like-minded Catholic supporters within anthroposophy have been vocal champions of Valentin Tomberg, the controversial anthroposophical convert to Catholicism (please refer to Chapter 5 for more detail). Not surprisingly, then, those anthroposophists who regard Valentin Tomberg with suspicion and derision very often regard the Catholic-friendly “Tombergians” within anthroposophy with equal suspicion and wariness. Many members have also mistakenly concluded that all Catholic anthroposophists are Tomberg supporters; and this quite naturally raises questions about Catholic inclusion.

Clearly the lesson to be learned from the continuing Tombergian divisiveness is that efforts to interfuse and amalgamate anthroposophy and Catholicism (even well-intentioned efforts) are unhealthy, unproductive and mutually ruinous. Not just institutionally, but even within the sanctity of our own souls, it is vitally important to maintain a healthy autonomy between the religion of Catholicism and the (spiritual) science of anthroposophy. By doing so, these two crucial streams of Christian mystery-teaching will truly complement and elevate each other, now and into the future.

The Riddle of the Knights Templar

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Over the centuries, so much frivolous fantasy and fabrication has grown up around the Knights Templar which disregards the obvious fact that they were a Christian militaristic order—established and sanctioned by the Catholic Church—that was instituted in medieval times to protect pilgrims journeying to the Holy Lands. They were not a secret occult brotherhood that later morphed into Freemasonry in Scotland and elsewhere.

In an effort to provide some historical clarity on the Templars from an esoteric Christian perspective, the following article has been excerpted from my previously published book, The Son of Love and the Birth of the New Mysteries (2015), which is available from Amazon.com.

[“The Discovery of the True Cross” by Gustave Dore (1877)]

The Riddle of the Knights Templar

It is worth clarifying, at this point, the ever-popular misconception that the Knights Templar also functioned as an important esoteric conduit into medieval Europe for the vanishing mysteries of the ancient Middle East. As a Christian, monastic, military order officially endorsed by the Catholic Church at the Council of Troyes in 1129, the Templar mission was to provide protection to European pilgrims travelling at that time to Jerusalem and to the Holy Land. Templar knights were required to take the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, piety and obedience, and to strictly adhere to a detailed code of conduct known as the “Latin Rule” which was established by advocate St. Bernard of Clairvaux and founder Hugues de Payens.

Though the Templars certainly came into armed contact with militant Moslem brotherhoods such as the Order of Assassins, as a fervent and dedicated Christian order, they had no interest in becoming a secret repository for old pagan mystery knowledge. However, since the Order’s headquarters in Jerusalem was the captured Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount, which was believed to be the ancient site of King Solomon’s temple, it was later rumoured that the Templars may have unearthed long-forgotten secrets of Solomon, or the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant or the sacred chalice of Christ-Jesus’ Passover meal.

Moreover, the lurid accounts of Templar knights worshiping a heathen idol called “Baphomet” (a mistranslation of “Mahomet” = Muhammad), or engaging in acts of sexual depravity, or conducting ceremonial blasphemy against the crucifix was entirely fallacious information obtained from knights under horrific duress by King Philip IV of France. The sinister king of France was heavily indebted to the Templar Order to help finance a protracted war for control of the English monarchy; so to avoid repayment and to seize their communal wealth, Philip arrested, tortured and executed innocent Templar knights, including the grand master of the order, Jacques de Molay. Philip also falsely arrested and expelled Jewish citizens from French territories in order to seize their assets as well.

When King Philip began to levy unfair taxes against the French clergy in order to continue financing his costly war, he was soundly condemned by Pope Boniface VIII. Whereupon, Philip abducted the pope by surprise retaliation in Italy and installed his own puppet pope, Clement V, in Poitiers, France. Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement ordered all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest the Templars and to seize their assets. Further military threats by Philip forced Clement to officially dissolve the order in 1312 and to turn over most of their remaining assets to the Knights of St. John (also known as the Knights of Malta or the Knights Hospitallers).

While some Templars certainly found safe haven in Scotland and Switzerland, which were outside the sphere of papal influence at this time since both territories had been previously excommunicated, many knights simply joined other orders, particularly the equally powerful Order of St. John. The Templar Order in Portugal continued to survive with the assistance of King Denis by simply changing its name and re-instituting as the Military Order of Christ. Some Templars in other countries were arrested and tried, but never convicted. Some knights were even pensioned off and left to retire peacefully. Remarkably, a misplaced document was found in the Vatican Secret Archives in 2002 that records the trial of the Templars and the fact that before dissolving the order in 1312, Pope Clement in 1308 actually absolved the accused Templars of all heresies against them. Unfortunately, that did not prevent the corrupt Philip IV from burning alive at the stake Grand Master de Molay and Normandy Master de Charney in Paris on March 19, 1314.

Templars and Freemasonry

So any modern-day orders, particularly Masonic, claiming to have a Templar connection are clearly spurious. The Templars were a Catholic monastic order established in the Middle Ages to provide military protection for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Lands. This once-essential service is no longer required, and since the Order has been officially dissolved in its original form by the Church, there are no recognized Templar knights remaining today. Without official Catholic approval, any group or individual claiming to be Templar is simply bogus. Moreover, it would be interesting to know if any of these Masonic would-be Templars take strict monastic vows of poverty, chastity, piety and obedience; or faithfully abide by the 72 instructions of the Latin Rule.

Though some Masonic legends claim that Freemasonry was actually started by exiled Templars or that persecuted Templars took safety within certain Masonic orders (in Scotland, for example), such conjecture makes no logical sense whatsoever. Firstly, feudal brotherhoods of stonemasons were in existence long before the Order of Templars was endorsed by the Church in 1129; so the Templars certainly didn’t establish Freemasonry. Secondly, while it is possible that desperate Templars could have temporarily hidden out in the guarded lodges of stonemasons, it is more likely that as Christian warrior-monks they would have sought refuge in any number of sympathetic monastic orders in Europe at the time.

The idea, however, that there was close contact between Templars and stonemasons is certainly logical. Since the Templars established a network of stone temples, castles and fortifications stretching from Britain to Jerusalem, they obviously would have employed an army of talented stonemasons to do the necessary construction. But since one was a military monastic order and the other was a practicing guild of tradesmen, their only commonality was their Christian faith and loyalty to the Holy Church.

The only reason that de-Christianized Freemasonry includes degrees and orders of pseudo-Templarism is the mistaken mystique that the Templars were not dedicated and devout Christian military monks but deceitful purveyors and practitioners of ancient pagan mysteries. Since modern Freemasonry cloaks itself in secrecy and deceit, it quite naturally looks for these qualities in other brotherhoods.

Templars and the Holy Grail

The truth is that the Templars did uncover and safeguard certain sacred treasures that had been acquired in the Middle East; but these were sacred relics associated with Christianity, not fragments of old pagan mystery knowledge. The Templars were documented to have possessed a piece of the true wooden cross of Christ. Also, the mummified head that the Templars were falsely accused of worshiping was actually a relic that the Order was known to possess, the head of St. Euphemia of Chalcedon. Also, the recorded “confessions” of the tortured knights in Paris makes mention of the Order possessing a red, monochromatic, full-length image of a man on linen or cotton cloth. This was clearly a reference to the famous Shroud of Turin, since the first known public display of the shroud in 1357 was by the family of the grandson of Geoffrey de Charney, the unfortunate Templar who was burned at the stake with Grand Master de Molay in 1314.

On a much deeper esoteric level, the Templars did indeed unknowingly stumble across an essential aspect of the mystery of the Holy Grail. Through their intense devotion and enthusiastic fervour as faithful servants of Christ-Jesus, Templar knights were to passionately feel that their entire lives had been turned over to the Risen Saviour. When they thought, it was Christ-Jesus thinking in them; when they felt, it was Christ-Jesus feeling in them; when they acted, it was Christ-Jesus acting through them. Every breath they took was intimately felt to be Christ-Jesus breathing in them; the beating of their heart and the coursing of blood through their veins was experienced as the life of Christ-Jesus in their bodies. As described by Rudolf Steiner in a lecture on 2 October 1916:

The blood of the Templars belonged to Christ Jesus―each one of them knew this. Their blood belonged to nothing else on earth than to Christ Jesus. Every moment of their life was to be filled with the perpetual consciousness of how in their own soul there dwelt―in the words of St. Paul―”not I, but Christ in me”! And in bloody and severe combat, in devoted work such as the Crusades demanded, the Templars put into practice what they had spiritually undertaken to do … to establish more firmly in earth existence the impulse which came from the Mystery of Golgotha. (Published in The Knights Templar: The Mystery of the Warrior Monks; 2011)

By mystically uniting their own blood with the spiritualized blood of the resurrected Saviour in the etheric sphere of the earth, the Knights Templar inadvertently experienced a form of Christian initiation whereby they contacted the real presence of Christ-Jesus in the supernatural realm. By uniquely experiencing the “sangréal” (Spanish for ‘royal blood’) of Christ―the “san gréal” or ‘Holy Grail’―the Templar initiates actually reflected the egohood of Christ-Jesus in their souls; thereby releasing true supernatural light into the world. Once again, as described by Rudolf Steiner:

Something quite remarkable and powerful had thus entered into the circle of the Templar Order without their having known the rules of Christian initiation other than through sacrificial service … This experience of the Templars meant that the Mystery of Golgotha was understood, and also experienced, at a higher stage than before. Something was now present in the world with regard to the Mystery of Golgotha which was previously not there … These external deeds and the enthusiasm that lived in these deeds drew out the souls of the Templars so that these souls, being separated from the body, outside the body, lived with the spiritual progress of humanity and penetrated in soul and spirit the secrets of the Mystery of Golgotha. They then underwent many and deep experiences, and not for the individual soul alone but for all humanity. (Ibid.)

Tragically, however, in spite of its grandeur and sublimity, the unintentional and spontaneously generated initiation of the Templars caused them to become anomalies in progressive human development. Their accelerated esoteric advancement placed them outside the stream of exoteric Christianity to which they properly belonged; but their connection to the medieval Roman Catholic Church excluded them from the normal stream of esoteric Christianity as well.

The Templars, then, became a religious order without a spiritual home. Moreover, since their abnormally rapid attainment prematurely expanded their consciousness beyond the safe confines of the body, the Templars also unknowingly opened themselves to Luciferic assault. Due to his diabolic lust for gold and power, Philip IV became the eager agent of Luciferic powers who sought to destroy the Templars and thereby halt the influx of Christ-light that was pouring into the world through them.

Thankfully, in the great hall of cosmic justice, the cruelly-murdered Templar knights found fair and lawful recompense. Their premature deaths flooded the supernatural world closest to the earth with radiant Christ-light that illumined and inspired the Christian souls descending to birth into Renaissance Europe. Many an enlightened intellect during that period could trace the source of their brilliance to Jacques de Molay and to the Christ-filled Templars on the other side of the veil.

Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Shadowy Occult Deception

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The following article about controversial anthroposophist-turned-Catholic, Valentin Tomberg (1900-1973), is an excerpt from my recently published book, The Greater and Lesser Mysteries of Christianity: The Complementary Paths of Anthroposophy and Catholicism (2015). For more information, the book can be ordered from Amazon.com.

Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Shadowy Occult Deception

Even though, as an anthroposophist, Tomberg was rebuffed in his efforts to be recognized as the esoteric Christian successor to Rudolf Steiner, he still fervently held on to this vainglorious, egocentric delusion throughout his Catholic conversion. His unabashed praise of St. Ignatius and his Spiritual Exercises was a subtle contrivance needed to position himself (and the Hermetic “spiritual exercises” of his Tarot book) as the Christian successor to St. Ignatius (and thereby, to Rudolf Steiner). What Tomberg had failed to accomplish as an anthroposophist, he was certain he had accomplished as a Catholic esotericist (even “from beyond the grave”).

It’s perfectly obvious to any sincere esoteric Christian (without a hidden agenda) that Valentin Tomberg cannot hold a candle-flame to the sun-burst of supersensible knowledge issuing from Rosicrucian initiate and “master of wisdom,” Rudolf Steiner. Tomberg’s feeble attempt with Meditations on the Tarot is pathetically obvious.

To begin with, the meditative imagery that Tomberg chooses for his “spiritual exercises” are coloured woodcut designs from Jean Dodal’s early eighteenth-century version of the Tarot de Marseille, a deck of cards purportedly invented in the fifteenth century in northern Italy. So why does Tomberg refer to these images as “Hermetic”? According to some occult historians, tarot cards (particularly the major arcana) were originally derived from the ancient Egyptian “Book of Thoth,” and later introduced into Medieval Europe by migratory gypsies. As explained by occultist, Manley P. Hall (1901‒1990) in The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928):

A curious legend relates that after the destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria, the large body of attendant priests banded themselves together to preserve the secrets of the rites of Serapis. Their descendants (Gypsies) carrying with them the most precious of the volumes saved from the burning library―the Book of Enoch, or Thoth (the Tarot)―became wanderers upon the face of the earth, remaining a people apart with an ancient language and a birthright of magic and mystery.

Since the Egyptian god, Thoth, is also known as “Hermes” or “Hermes Trismegistus” (the “Thrice-great”), tarot cards are therefore considered by some occultists (such as Tomberg) to be “Hermetic.” However, even granting that tarot cards had an Egyptian origin, the images of the Tarot de Marseille are entirely Renaissance European: the clothing, the architecture, the furniture, the objects and the people―which include an emperor, an empress, a pope and a papess (female pope)―all did not exist during the ancient time of Hermes.

Even in such a “Europeanized” form, it’s still rather bizarre that Tomberg would choose meditative images loosely derived from pre-Christian Egypt to use as Catholic “spiritual exercises”! For all the areas of concern that have been previously identified with the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises (in Chapter sub-section 4.3), at least most of the meditative imagery was safely taken from the Gospels.

Besides, there already exists within the Catholic Church a safe and effective developmental path leading to union with Christ-Jesus, and that is the sevenfold path of Mystic-Christianity. This tried and true developmental system has been successfully practiced within the various monastic orders for centuries, and exclusively employs meditative scenes from the life of Christ-Jesus―not from ancient Egypt or Renaissance Europe.

Rather than meditating on “The Magician, The Hanged Man, The Devil, The Lovers, The Chariot, The Moon, The Wheel of Fortune” and fifteen other non-biblical images, Mystic-Christianity focuses on the Gospel of John and seven profound events in the life of Christ-Jesus:

the washing of the feet
the scourging
the crowning with thorns
the crucifixion
the mystic death
the burial and resurrection
the ascension

Why anyone―especially devout Catholics―would think that meditating on the images of the tarot is a superior method of Christian development, instead of that used in Mystic-Christianity, is certainly difficult to comprehend.

And what exactly is the goal, the end result of the Tombergian tarot meditations? It certainly can’t be mystical union with Christ-Jesus. If becoming Christ-like requires that the disciple follow in the footsteps of the Master, it’s not likely that our Saviour would be leading us through the labyrinthine symbolic imagery of a pseudo-Egyptian deck of cards so that we can finally reach him.

Therefore, one does not need to read very much of Tomberg’s Meditations on the Tarot to conclude that the entire enterprise is a blind occult alleyway leading to spiritual darkness, rather than to the true light of Christ.

Even aside from the shadowy occultism and the unsavory appeal to magic contained in the Meditations on the Tarot, it’s also astonishing how unabashedly arrogant and openly heretical Tomberg appears with certain of his written pronouncements. Once again on page 4, Tomberg wrote:

The seven sacraments of the Church are the prismatic colours of the white light of one sole Mystery or Sacrament, known as the Second Birth, which the Master pointed out to Nicodemus in the nocturnal initiation conversation which He had with him. It is this which Christian Hermeticism understands by the Great Initiation.

For over two thousand years the Catholic Church has celebrated seven sacraments that are unquestioningly held to have been established by Christ-Jesus himself, and lovingly entrusted to his body the Church: (1) baptism, (2) confirmation, (3) Holy Communion (Eucharist), (4) holy matrimony (marriage), (5) holy orders, (6) penance (reconciliation), and (7) anointing of the sick. Tomberg here astoundingly claimed to have discovered an eighth, overarching sacrament―the sacrament of sacraments―which he termed the “sacrament of the second birth,” which he also called the “Great Initiation”!

Other pronouncements that Tomberg made in Meditations on the Tarot, which attempt to combine his brand of tarot-occultism with Catholicism, are just plain silly. For example, commenting on “The Pope” meditation (or “Letter”) on page 119, Tomberg wrote:

The post of Pope or the Holy See is a formula of divine magic―just as the post of Emperor is―in the history of humanity. It is what is meant by the esoteric term Petrus (Peter) … Petrus is the term in the Old and in the New Testament designating the divine, immovable ordinance or formula of divine magic.

I’m sure the present pope, Francis I, would be shocked and amused to learn that Tomberg and his present-day Catholic supporters regard him as the “grand magician” of the “Church of divine magic.”

De-Mystifying the “Mystical Stigmata” of Judith von Halle

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Since 2004, German anthroposophist, Judith von Halle (b.1972), has publicly claimed that she regularly experiences the “bleeding wounds of Christ”―the mystical stigmata―together with inedia (the ability to survive on very little food and water) and clairvoyant visions. Not surprisingly, these claims erupted into immediate sensationalism and controversy within the anthroposophical community; resulting in a deep, substantial and continuing division between influential detractors and wealthy supporters. Von Halle’s most vocal detractor has been prominent Russian anthroposophist, Sergei O. Prokofieff (1955‒2015); while her most public supporter has been well-known German anthroposophist, Peter Tradowsky (b.1934).

In order to understand this heated and often rancorous intellectual polarization, it is necessary to delve deeply into the curious phenomena known as the “mystical stigmata.” Typically, the mystical stigmata are marks, sores or wounds that spontaneously appear on the physical body of a Christian devotee which correspond primarily with the crucifixion piercings of Christ-Jesus in his hands, feet and side. Occasionally these may also include the forehead (where the crown of thorns was placed) and the back (where the scourging was inflicted).

Though St. Paul may have been the first recorded mystical stigmatist, based on the scriptural statement: “I bear on my body the marks [in Greek: ‘stigmata’] of Jesus” (Gal 6:17), St. Francis of Assisi (c.1181‒1226) is most often given the historical credit in 1224. Since that time there have been well over 300 reliable instances of the mystical stigmata being recorded, of which about 60 can be attributed to various saints. Even though many saints have experienced the mystical stigmata, such as St. Catherine of Siena (1347‒1380) and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887‒1968), the Catholic Church does not consider the mystical stigmata to be an indication of saintliness, or an incontestable instance of a miracle. In fact, the Church is extremely cautious and reserved about reported cases of mystical stigmata; and therefore conducts a thorough investigation into such claims before any official acceptance.

While there have certainly been numerous instances of fraudulent mystical stigmata (such as self-mutilation), so far in authentic instances there has been no conclusive scientific explanation. While hypnotism and auto-suggestion have produced some mild psychosomatic effects, the force of ordinary imagination does not appear strong enough to produce mystical stigmata. Even so, both Church and science are reluctant to attribute non-physical, supernatural causes to mystical stigmata.

So what does esoteric Christianity and the spiritual scientific (anthroposophical) investigations of Rudolf Steiner (1861‒1925) have to say about mystical stigmata? Basically, that these unusual phenomena are indeed the result of an exceptional psychosomatic process. In this case the disciple of Christ-Jesus passionately identifies and vicariously empathizes with the horrific sufferings on the Cross. These excruciating feelings and emotions are so powerfully aroused and held in the astral body that they forcefully impinge on and press into the etheric or life body. Since the etheric body contains the formative forces that determine the shape and life activity of the physical body, wounds will actually corporeally appear. More than mental imagery, then, it is powerful religious emotion that produces the mystical stigmata.

Furthermore, as was the case of St. Francis, certain dedicated followers of Christ-Jesus have been privileged to interweave a copy of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth into their own astral bodies. As explained by Rudolf Steiner in a lecture given on 6 April 1909 (and published in The Principle of Spiritual Economy; 1986):

In the period spanning the eleventh through the fifteenth centuries the time had come when a copy of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth was woven into the astral bodies of certain reincarnated souls. From the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries many human beings, for example Francis of Assisi and Elisabeth of Thüringen, had the imprint of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth woven into them while their own astral bodies—the source of their knowledge—were formed during reincarnation. This enabled these individuals to proclaim the great truths of Christianity in the form of judgments, logical constructs, and scientific wisdom. But, in addition, they were also able to experience the feeling of carrying the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth within themselves.

Your eyes will be opened if you allow yourselves to experience vicariously all the humility, the devotion, and the Christian love that was part of Francis of Assisi. You will then know how to look at him as a person prone to make mistakes—because he possessed his own ego—and as a great individual because he carried a copy of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth within his own astral body. All the humble feelings, the profound mysticism, and the spiritual soul life of Francis of Assisi become comprehensible if we know this one secret of his life.

Since a replica of the astral body of Christ-Jesus preserves the entire emotional record of the crucifixion, the bearer of such additional astral forces can more easily re-experience the Saviour’s anguish and suffering on the cross. Not surprisingly, then, the mystical stigmata first appeared around the time of St. Francis. It is quite logical to conclude, therefore, that many other Christians who have experienced the mystical stigmata over the centuries did so because of an interweaving with a replica of Christ-Jesus’ astral body.

Also noteworthy in regard to the mystical stigmata is that these phenomena have almost exclusively occurred throughout history within the monastic confines of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. This was because the difficult developmental path of Mystic-Christianity requires prayerful solitude and seclusion from worldly concerns. Though this developmental path differs from Rosicrucian-Christianity, it leads nonetheless to an authentic encounter with Christ-Jesus in the superphysical realm.

According to the research of Rudolf Steiner, the mystical stigmata very often spontaneously occur during the intense meditations of the fourth stage of Mystic-Christian initiatory development, known as “The Crucifixion.” As described in a lecture given on 27 November 1906 entitled “The Gospel of St. John and Ancient Mysteries”:

[As] a fourth experience he had to develop the feeling that his body was no more for him than any other object in the world. He carried the body with him only as an instrument … In this way the mystic experienced in himself the Crucifixion. He saw himself crucified. The outer symbol was that during the meditation stigmata appeared at the places of the wounds of Christ―in the hands, in the feet and in the right side. This is the blood-trial of the Mystic, the fourth stage of initiation.

From the foregoing information, we can clearly see that the mystical stigmata is an initiatory experience which commonly occurs on the developmental path of Mystic-Christianity that has been historically practiced within the monastic orders of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Moreover, it is also associated with the replicated astral body of Christ-Jesus. It is not an experience that is common to or associated with the developmental path of Rosicrucian-Christianity.

Since the anthroposophical spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner promotes the Rosicrucian-Christian path of initiatory development, not the path of Mystic-Christianity, the stigmatist Judith von Halle is an obvious anomaly within the anthroposophical movement. If in fact her claims of mystical stigmata, inedia and visionary experience are genuine, then obviously she has been following a Mystic-Christian path of development, rather than the Rosicrucian-Christian path as encouraged in anthroposophy. Since Mystic-Christian development is a “path of the heart”―of affective development―not a “path of the head”―of intellectual development―(as is practiced in Rosicrucian-Christian development), von Halle’s connection with anthroposophy is clearly an attempt to cognitively understand and explain her own mystical experiences.

Some overly-suspicious anthroposophists regard von Halle as a Catholic “Trojan Horse”; that is, a covert means of introducing Catholic practices―such as mystical stigmata, inedia and personal visions―into the anthroposophical movement. And even though her early education included attending a Jesuit-run high school in Berlin, this is hardly proof that this Jewish stigmatist is some nefarious Catholic infiltrator seeking to subvert anthroposophy.

Nevertheless, as demonstrated by both science and the Catholic Church, the anthroposophical leadership has a right and a duty to be cautious regarding claims of mystical stigmata within its membership. As yet, there has been no objective scientific or medical investigation into von Halle’s claims. Of the anthroposophical leadership in Dornach, the only one who has seriously challenged von Halle’s various claims has been Sergei Prokofieff. While some anthroposophists have considered many of his statements and conclusions to be overly harsh, no doubt von Halle would be just as critically assessed under a Catholic Church investigation. Without an objective investigation into her claims, most anthroposophists are left to accept these claims “on faith,” which runs entirely contrary to the scientific approach of anthroposophy.

As Prokofieff indicated in numerous instances, based solely on von Halle’s published pronouncements, her veracity as a reliable esoteric teacher is seriously called into question. One glaringly-mistaken assertion that von Halle has made is that her “alleged” mystical stigmata is the result of incorporating the “phantom” or “resurrection body” of Christ-Jesus. As Prokofieff correctly pointed out, stigmatic effects have nothing to do with the “phantom” of Christ-Jesus, since this perfected physical form is no longer “wounded” in any way (even from past memory). Moreover, as previously indicated, if any vehicle of Christ-Jesus is associated with stigmata, it is a replica of Christ-Jesus’ astral body, not the phantom.

By associating her “alleged” stigmata with the Saviour’s phantom, von Halle is clearly sending the message that her mystical condition is the result of a special connection with Christ-Jesus; rather than just a predictable effect of Mystic-Christian meditation. This of course lends more weight to her pronouncements by fallaciously “appealing to authority.” Furthermore, is von Halle suggesting that all authentic instances of mystical stigmata are physical effects of the phantom body of Christ-Jesus, or just her own? Even if von Halle’s mystical stigmata proved to be authentic, this does not mean that all her visionary pronouncements and explanations are accurate.

Another glaringly-mistaken assertion that von Halle has made is that Rudolf Steiner is also the Master Serapis. While Rudolf Steiner is certainly one of the twelve bodhisattva-masters of the Great White Lodge, he is definitely not Serapis. Steiner has indicated that Serapis and Skythianos are one and the same exalted individuality, but never once suggested that this individuality was he himself.

While Prokofieff has pointed out numerous other mistaken visionary assertions by von Halle, even the two glaring errors indicated here are sufficient to call into question her esoteric accuracy. This should come as no surprise since von Halle (as did Prokofieff) chose to ignore Rudolf Steiner’s clear esoteric admonition: “I had reached the age of 40, an age before which no one in the sense of a master may openly appear as a teacher of occultism. Everywhere where someone teaches earlier than this there is an error (Correspondence and Documents 1901-1925).” When she began to publicly disseminate her esoteric ideas in book form in 2005, von Halle was only thirty-three. Does she think that this strict esoteric requirement applies only to Rudolf Steiner (a bodhisattva-master), but not to herself because she is somehow more advanced because of mystical stigmata?

While Judith von Halle may be a warm and friendly person (as attested to by others), this does not mean that she is an accurate and reliable esoteric teacher. Even without authenticating her alleged mystical stigmata, von Halle can be reliably assessed on the basis of her published ideas. As biblically expressed: “Beware of false prophets … You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15,16). Unfortunately for discerning anthroposophists, von Halle bears bitter fruit.

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