Planetary spirit

A planetary spirit, also called dhyan chohan in theosophy, is the 'giving' spirit connected to a planetary body and sphere, and it's community of developing beings.

Each planet has a planetary spirit through which the planet enters into the right relationship with the Cosmos and directing and guiding it into the right mutual relations with the other heavenly bodies in the environment. (1912-04-04-GA136). It can be deduced or understood that with spirit is meant the higher principles (Schema FMC00.274).

As part of the process of evolution of spiritual beings as part of the great cosmic dynamic (see Cosmic fractal), beings evolve along a ladder of Twelve conditions of consciousness, and there comes a stage when beings go from receiving (observing and developing one's own consciousness) to emanation (giving and sacrifice) - see Schema FMC00.048. This is a pivoting stage at (around) Condition of Consciousness CoC=8 which induces this reversal, as described in 1904-11-09-GA089 and illustrated on Schema FMC00.077A [DL editor contribution/hypothesis].

Schema FMC00.077A can be used to see how the planetary spirit maps to the higher Condition of Consciousness,

Aspects

The following pointers can be taken together to develop an understanding of what is meant with planetary spirit
- study Old Saturn#1903-GA089 and take Schema FMC00.413 alongside. Look at the legend on the right on that Schema, for the CoL where the archai reach CoC=4, that is indeed the CoL when the Thrones reach CoC=8. The extract describes that "In the first cycle the Thrones were the soul element that gave direction ... in the fifth the planetary spirit of Old Saturn itself. This did not have full clear consciousness from the beginning of Old Saturn evolution but only gained it in the fourth cycle. It was also only then that it was actually able to experience events on the planet as a soul. During the fifth cycle it was then able to be active as soul itself." (shortened extract)
  - commentary: this shows that the planetary spirit of Old Saturn is 'born' when the Thrones began to shine, give and reveal in connection with the lower hierarchies that were receiving. Again take into account the distinction as made on Schema FMC00.187 and Schema FMC00.048 between giving and receiving.
- One can imagine the process of humanity from current level CoC=4 and how it will evolve in the future planetary stages Future Jupiter, Future Venus and Vulcan - see stages CoC=5 to 7 on Schema FMC00.048. The latter schema also shows the further evolution to CoC=8 or 9, but these are so 'un-imagineable' for current human consciousness, that they are not covered by spiritual science. Until now, humanity has been fully on the receiving end, and we have been receiving our lower bodily principles as interwoven by the thoughts, and substance, of the higher hierarchies. What is changing in the current Earth cycle is that Man becomes an active contributor to the further cosmos, participating at first only through actions of the current human 'I' of thinking feeling willing, as seeds for future worlds. In the future though, Man will become ever-more Free Man Creator, the creative power of human consciousness will develop such that Man will be able to create through his thoughts or 'speaking the word' (as depicted by the first apocalyptic seal, see Schema FMC00.367). As one can imagine from the CoC-ladder Schema FMC00.048, at a further stage takes place what is described in Twelve Conditions of Consciousness#1904-11-09-GA089, there is a reversal and mankind will become a planetary spirit in the sense of what is depicted on Schema FMC00.187.
- a second element that can be deduced from study of Old Saturn#1903-GA089 and Schema FMC00.413, is that the split-off of different groups or clusters of spiritual beings to different planets, makes that one does not only have to speak of the planetary spirit for Old Saturn, but of the planetary spirits for all planets (planetary body/sphere/community of beings). So one can imagine that across the different planetary stages, each planet develops such planetary spirit. This is what Rudolf Steiner describes in 1912-06-11-GA137 when explaining .. "Christ shows us when He calls the directing Spirit of Venus (Lucifer) His brother .. accounting him a Planetary Spirit like the other Planetary Spirits .. Lucifer .. reveals himself as a planetary Spirit taking his place among the seven Regents of the planets among his brothers. We enter thus into a world where we find what we might call a highly exalted College of seven planetary Spirits, who are in completely brotherly relation one with another." (shortened extract)
Christ became the planetary spirit for humanity and the planet Earth.
- this has to be put in perspective, that Christ was 'not just' the lead archangel on Old Sun stage, that developed to SoF on the Earth stage (and thus planetary spirit level, like the spirits of the other planets, whereby Lucifer is mentioned as the planetary spirit of Venus). Christ on Old Sun received a special initiation whereby this spiritual entity developed to something much higher, as a channel for the Logos (see 1911-08-25-GA129 and 1912-06-12-GA137)

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.187 is essential and comes from the key lecture put forth for the study of this topic.

Schema FMC00.274 sketches a functional view on how we can imagine the work of the first and second spiritual hierarchy in what we call the cosmos or the world of the stars and planetary systems.

Lecture coverage and references

Overview coverage

The term planetary spirit is most explained in those two famous lectures of 1904-11-09-GA089 and 1904-11-10-GA089. That lays out the concept or principle. Furthermore see also 1912-04-04-GA136 and Schema FMC00.274.

And:

The term is then also used several times in various lectures in the 1905-GA093A cycle.
.. it appears eg in the 1903-GA089 extract, see Old Saturn#1903-GA089.
and, in 1912-06-11-GA137 and 1912-06-12-GA137 the term is used in the context of Lucifer being a planetary spirit (of Venus), one of seven planetary spirits for our solar system. And how the Christ went from the Spirit of the Sun 'planet' (esoterically) to evolve to the regent of the whole solar system.

Reference extracts

1903-GA089

see: Old Saturn#1903-GA089

1904-11-09-GA089

see: Twelve Conditions of Consciousness#1904-11-09-GA089

1912-04-04-GA136

We shall carry the connection with our I into the world in which we awaken with our astral body, if we can, as it were, remain awake in our sleep, preserve our consciousness and carry it with us into the condition in which with our astral body we are freed from the physical and etheric bodies. Then, if we awake with our I, not only do we feel our astral body to be connected with all the spiritual beings we have to-day described as the Spirits of the Rotation of Time belonging to our planet, but we feel in a quite peculiar way, that we actually no longer have a direct relation to the individual who is the bearer of the physical body and etheric body in which we usually live. We feel, so to speak, as if all the qualities of our physical and etheric bodies were taken from us. Then too we feel everything taken from us which can only live externally in any one country of our planet. For that which lives on a particular territory of our planet is connected with the Spirits of the Rotation of Time. Now, however, when we waken with our ego, we feel ourselves not only poured out into the whole world of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time, but we feel ourselves one with the whole undivided spirit of the planet itself; we awaken in the undivided spirit of the planet itself. It is extremely important that we should feel ourselves as belonging to the whole of our planet. For example, when our occult vision is sufficiently awakened, and we are so far advanced that we can awaken our ego and astral body simultaneously, then our common life with the planet so expresses itself that, just as during the waking hours in the sense-world, we can follow the sun as it passes over the heavens from morning till night, so it no longer now disappears when we fall asleep. When we sleep the sun remains connected with us; it does not cease to shine but takes on a special character, so that whilst we are actually asleep during the night, we can still follow the sun. Man is of such a nature that he is connected with the changing conditions of the planet only in so far as he lives in his astral body.
[planetary spirit]
When however, he becomes conscious of his I, he has nothing to do with them. He then becomes conscious of all the conditions which his planet can go through. He then pours himself into the whole substance of the planetary spirit. When I say that a Man becomes one with the planetary spirit, that he lives in union with this planetary spirit, you must not suppose that this implies an advanced degree of clairvoyance; this is but a beginning. For when a Man awakens in the manner described, he really only experiences the planetary spirit as a whole; whereas it consists of many, many differentiations—of wonderful, separate, spiritual beings—as we shall hear in the following lectures.
The different parts of the planetary spirit, the special multiplicities of this spirit, of these he is not yet aware. What he realizes first of all, is the knowledge: “I live in the planetary spirit as though in a sea, which spiritually laves the whole earth planet and itself is the spirit of the whole Earth.”
One may go through immensely long development in order further and further to experience this unification with the planetary spirit; but to begin with, the experience is as has been described. Just as we say with regard to Man: “behind his astral body is his I ”—so do we say that behind all that we call the totality of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time is hidden the Spirit of the Planet itself, the Planetary Spirit.
Whereas the Spirits of the Rotation of Time guide the nature-spirits of the elements in order to call forth the rhythmic change and repetitions in time - the alterations in space of the Earth-planet, the Spirit of the Earth has a different task. It has the task of bringing the Earth itself into mutual relation with the other heavenly bodies in the environment, to direct it and guide it, so that in the course of time it may come into the right relations to the other heavenly bodies.
The Spirit of the Earth is, as it were, the great sense-apparatus of the Earth, through which the Earth-planet enters into the right relationship with the Cosmos. If I were to sum up the succession of those spiritual beings with whom we on our Earth are first of all concerned, and to whom we can find the way through a gradual occult development, I must say:

As the first external veil we have the sense-world, with all its multiplicity, with all we see spread out before our senses and which we can understand with our human mind.

Then, behind this sense-world, we have the world of nature-spirits.

Behind this world of nature-spirits we have the Spirits of the Rotation of Time, and behind these the Planetary Spirit.

If you wish to compare what is known to the normal consciousness concerning the structure of the cosmos, with the structure of the cosmos itself, you may make that clear in the following way. We will take it that the most external veil is this world of the senses, behind that is the world of the nature-spirits, and behind that the Spirits of the Rotation of Time and behind that the Planetary Spirit.
Now we must say that the Planetary Spirit in its activity, in a certain respect penetrates through to the sense-world; so that in a certain way we can perceive its image in the sense-world; this also applies to the Spirits of the Rotation of Time, as well as to the nature-spirits. So that if we observe the sense-world itself with normal consciousness, we can see in the background as it were, the impression, the traces, of those worlds which lie behind; as if we drew aside the sense-world as the outermost skin, and behind this we had different degrees of active spiritual beings. The normal consciousness realizes the sense-world by means of its perceptions; the world of nature-spirits expresses itself from behind these perceptions as what we call the Forces of Nature. When science speaks of the forces of nature, we have there nothing actually real; to the occultist the forces of nature are not realities but Maya, they are the imprints of the nature-spirits working behind the world of sense. Again the imprint of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time is what is usually known to ordinary consciousness as the Laws of Nature. Fundamentally all the laws of nature are in existence because the Spirits of the Rotation of Time work as the directing powers. To the occultist the laws of nature are not realities. When the ordinary natural scientist speaks of the laws of nature and combines them externally, the occultist knows that these laws are revealed in their reality when, in his awakened astral body, he listens to what the Spirits of the Rotation of Time say, and hears how they order and direct the nature-spirits. That is expressed in Maya, in external semblance, as the laws of nature, and the normal consciousness, as a rule, does not go beyond this. (See Figure 1) It does not usually reach the imprint of the Planetary Spirit in the external world. The normal consciousness of present-day humanity speaks of the external world of perception, of the facts that can be perceived; speaks of the forces of nature, light, warmth, magnetism, electricity, and so on; of the forces of attraction and repulsion, of gravity, etc. These are the beings of Maya, behind which, in reality, lies the world of the nature-spirits—the etheric body of the earth. External science also speaks of the Laws of Nature; that again is a Maya. Underlying these laws is what we have to-day described as the world of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time. Only when we penetrate still further do we come to the stamp or imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself in the external sense-world. Science to-day does not do this. Those who still do so are no longer quite believed. The poets, the artists do; they seek for a meaning behind things. Why does the plant-world blossom? Why do the different species of animals arise and disappear? Why does man inhabit the earth? If we thus inquire into the phenomena of nature, and wish to analyze the meaning, and to combine the external facts as even a deeper philosophy still sometimes tries to do, we then approach the imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself in the external world. To-day, however, nobody really believes any longer in this seeking after the meaning of existence. Through feeling, one still believes a little, but science no longer wishes to know of what could be discovered about the laws of nature by studying the passage of the phenomena.
If we still seek a meaning as to the laws of nature in the things of the world perceptible to our senses, we should be able to interpret this meaning as the imprint of the Planetary Spirit in the sense-world. That would be the external Maya. In the first place the sense-world itself is an external Maya, for it is what the etheric body the earth, the substance of the nature-spirits, drives out of itself. A second Maya is what appears to man of the nature-spirits in the forces of nature. A third Maya is that which appears as the laws of nature, coming from the Spirits of the Rotation of Time. A fourth Maya is something which, in spite of its Maya-nature, speaks to the soul of man because, in the perception of the purpose of nature, man at any rate feels himself united with the Spirit of the whole planet, with the Spirit which leads the planet through cosmic space, and gives meaning in fact to the whole planet. In this Maya lies the direct imprint of the Planetary Spirit itself.
Thus we may say that we have to-day ascended to the undivided Spirit of the Planet. If again we wish to compare what we have now discovered for the planet, with man, we may say: “The sense-world corresponds to the physical body of man; the world of nature-spirits to the etheric body, the world of the Spirits of the Rotation of Time to the astral body, and the Planetary Spirit to the ego of man.” Just as the ego of man perceives the physical environment of earth, so does the Planetary Spirit perceive everything in the periphery, and in cosmic space as a whole outside the planet; it adjusts the acts of the planet and also the feelings of the planet, of which we shall speak tomorrow, according to these perceptions of cosmic space. For what a planet does outside in space when it passes on its way in cosmic distances, and what it effects its own body, in the elements of which it consists, that again is the result of the observations of the Planetary with regard to the external world. Just as the individual human soul lives in the world of the earth side by side with other men, and adjusts himself to them, so does the Planetary Spirit live in its planetary body, which is the ground on which we stand; but this Planetary Spirit lives in fellowship with other planetary Spirits, other Spirits of the heavenly bodies.

1912-06-11-GA137

As we proceed further on the path of initiation we come to another striking and significant experience. If we succeeded in holding fast to the Christ, in linking ourselves inwardly with Him, so that He enabled us to carry over the thought of the I—the idea of the I, the self-consciousness of Earth—into the super-sensible world that we are entering, then a feeling took possession of us that this Christ Power has to do with the power of the Sun. We had as it were a presentiment of the connection. Now at the second stage something more is added. The Christ Power reveals itself to us as a form,—I may even, as a form or figure that we can grasp and perceive, that we can gradually learn to know more intimately, that grows clearer and clearer to us in the super-sensible world. At this second stage of initiation we are brought into a nearer knowledge of the super-sensible Christ. And then this Christ shows us that He calls the directing Spirit of Venus—who, as we have learned, is Lucifer—His brother, calls him His brother, accounting him a Planetary Spirit like the other Planetary Spirits. So that when Lucifer shows himself in the second stage of initiation, he at once reveals himself as a planetary Spirit taking his place among the seven Regents of the planets among his brothers. We enter thus into a world where we find what we might call a highly exalted College of seven planetary Spirits, who are in completely brotherly relation one with another. But here lurks a danger, and the pupil must needs possess himself of a great deal more knowledge if he is not to go under at this point. For he must on no account simply receive easily what here shows itself to him; he must earnestly endeavour to acquire an exact knowledge of what lies behind it.
When we come to enter into occult knowledge in detail, we can look in many directions for help to find our way. Although we have learned to recognise the seven brothers who are the seven Planetary Spirits, we are still a long way from any full knowledge of them. Seven brothers may be quite different one from another, and the difference does not perhaps show itself at first sight. We have to look a little nearer, we have to study them in detail, if we would gain a more intimate knowledge. At this point I want to bring forward something which, if you examine it carefully and test it by the side of what you know from exoteric myth, you will find to be well founded and reasonable even though it appear strange at first. It will prove to be authentic, for it is a direct outcome of occult research. Compare it with the religious and historical records from olden times, and the demands of your intelligence will be completely satisfied. The farther you look into it with your ordinary understanding, the more will you find yourself able to say “Yes” to what I am now going to tell you; for it is a result of occult investigation that is comparatively easy of approach to the man of the present day.
We must first of all find something to take as our starting-point; we must begin from some known fact. For the moment, let it be the fact that we have come to a kingdoms. We have, however, only learned to know the ruling Spirits with their kingdoms, the corresponding Planets. We must go further. We must investigate these kingdoms more closely, as far as occult research will allow. And the following is one among many ways that offer themselves to the pupil of our times who sets to work conscientiously with the means afforded in modern practical occultism. He can take his start, always under the guidance and counsel of an experienced occultist, from the study of the life of Gautama Buddha.

1912-06-12-GA137

Our considerations then led us to an astonishing, yet none the less true, communication concerning the Buddha. This again was no mere chance. I had to begin the lecture yesterday by telling you about the man of inner movement, in order to explain to you how man can take a still further step in initiation into the higher worlds; and in that connection I gave expression to a truth which was perhaps at first hearing difficult to grasp (we shall return to it again presently)—the truth, namely, that Lucifer shows himself in a completely changed form when we advance to this second stage of initiation, appearing before us as the ruler in the realm of Venus.
I told you also how the Sun, which hitherto we have thought of as being supreme in power and might, now appears as a planet among the seven planets, and Christ as the Spirit of the planet of the Sun. Christ himself manifests in this connection as a planetary Spirit, brother to the Spirit of Venus. In other words, Christ appears as a brother of Lucifer.
[recap parenthesis]
This opened the way for a consideration of the post-Earthly destiny of the Buddha. For the later destiny of the Buddha cannot be livingly experienced in its pure and original truth, without attaining to this second stage of initiation; it is impossible to arrive at the truth which we expounded yesterday concerning the Buddha, unless one goes beyond the first meeting with death and with Lucifer where one beholds the scene of the Temptation, and passes on to the next stage of initiation where the seven Spirits of the Planets become manifest. This had, therefore, first to be described. Should you still ask whether the truth concerning the life of the Buddha after he left the Earth is not in some way attainable by external consciousness—the consciousness, that is, which is directed to impressions from without—then the reply must be that it is not possible for the consciousness of Earth to make such research into the conditions of life and culture on Mars as could reveal what the Buddha accomplishes there. The moment, however, initiation penetrates as far as to the stage we described yesterday, it becomes possible for the consciousness without external object to have this experience by virtue of its own nature. Therefore in relation also to this truth about Buddha it is a question of acquiring the consciousness without external object, The conditions and circumstances of the facts here revealed to us are of course external. For the Buddha lives—quite really—on Mars. Nevertheless the consciousness does not go out of itself; in the recognition of such a truth it is not yielding to the influence of an external impression, it is still a consciousness without external object. I have thus led you to the third of the three things we placed before us at the beginning of these lectures,—the consciousness without external object.
Looking back over our study, we see that we have found three stages or conditions of human consciousness. We have first the ordinary physical consciousness. Then we have the consciousness that is attained at the first stage of initiation,—and I gave you as an example of what is experienced in this consciousness the picture “Death and Lucifer” or “Christ and Lucifer, in the Story of the Temptation.” Finally, the third stage of consciousness is the one where the seven planetary Spirits manifest themselves to man. And we illustrated this third stage by reference to Buddha. At the third stage you experience the destiny of Buddha after he has become Buddha and returns no more to physical existence on Earth. We have thus considered three conditions of human consciousness: physical consciousness; consciousness of higher worlds at the first stage as we described it yesterday, illustrating it by the story of the Temptation; finally a still higher consciousness, the second consciousness of a super-sensible nature. Many of you would perhaps like it very much if we could go further and describe still higher stages of consciousness, but time does not allow. I will, however, just hint at one other stage.
[end recap]
...
All subsequent evolution is a direct outcome of what Lucifer and Christ were at that time. The Christ Being, as we saw, received into Himself the great and all-embracing secrets of the Worlds. The Lucifer Being, having what I can only describe as a “proud figure of Light,” lost thereby his kingdom, lost his Venus kingdom. On other grounds, to enter into which would take us too far afield, the other Spirits of the Planets lost also their kingdoms, or rather changed their natures. But they need not concern us here.
What is important for us here is the contrast between Christ and Lucifer. It came about that Lucifer lost more and more of his rulership; the kingdom of Venus gradually fell away from him. Lucifer with his light became a dethroned ruler, and the planet Venus had thenceforward to do without a proper ruler and was consequently obliged to undergo a backward evolution.
The Christ, however, had during the old Sun time received the Word of the Worlds, and this Word of the Worlds has the quality of kindling itself to new light in the soul by which It is received; so that from that time forward the Word of the Worlds became in the Christ Light, and the planet of which the Christ was ruler, the Sun, became the center of the whole planetary system, the other planets being brought into subjection to It. The same is true also of their spiritual Rulers.
We must let these scenes live before us, we must learn to see the divergence that came about during the old Sun time between the path of Lucifer and the path of Christ. Lucifer went downward, he had to remain behind in his evolution, and he remained behind also during the Moon time. Christ went forward. The Christ Spirit, the Sun Spirit, became a Spirit evolving ever forward until at length He was able to appear on Earth in the Form we have often described. Through His devotion to the World All, through His having received and identified Himself.

Discussion

Note 1 - Planetary spirit

Rudolf Steiner uses the term 'planetary spirit' specifically to denote the fact that Christ became the spirit of the Earth as this being unified his spirit with humanity and our planet Earth. But what does this mean? What was the planetary spirit of the Earth before this, what is the planetary spirit of a planet in general, how are we to understand this?