an as yet undiscovered force, more significant
than electricity...
Steiner gave a particularly interesting lecture in 1918 summarized and
translated below by Mr. Wim A. M. Leys of The Netherlands:
"In the ages to come, humanity will develop three new occult faculties,
in the same natural way as it developed her mental faculties in the past.
These will be:
1. The material occultism (or mechanical occultism).
2. The hygienic occultism.
3. The eugenic occultism.
These faculties will not be developed by all people in the same degree;
in fact they will be found separately in three regions of the earth.
I. The "West-people" of England and North America will develop the
material-mechanical occultism. They will be able to create machines,
mechanical devices which work with hardly any human effort; which work
with the help of the "Laws of Sympathetic Vibrations." These machines
will do about 90% of the work, and all the social and material trouble
of work as we know it now, will cease to exist."
--| Memories of Hans Kuhn |----------
Memories of Hans Kühn (1989-1977) taken from an article "Vom
Strader-Apparat" (Published in "Mitteilungen aus der Anthroposophischen
Arbeit in Deutschland", 25. Jg., Heft 4, Nr. 98, p. 291)
On the occasion of the performance of Rudolf Steiner's four mystery plays
in 1921 one may speak of the apparatus which stands on a table in the
fourth picture of the drama 'The guardian of the threshold'. There
should be two tables though, because beside the bigger object there were
originally - a bit removed- three objects that were more little.
Additionally there was an open copper sphere at the wall at the
performances in Munich. I hereby refer to the apparatus, that was built
during the winter 1912/13 after spcification of Rudolf Steiner by
Dr. Oskar Schmiedel and his mechanics. When the 'Guardian' was performed
for the first time in 1912 in Munich a sort of dummy was used for which
Imme von Eckardstein had received specifications by Rudolf Steiner.
The next Winter one had the time to work out an exact model, for which
various metals, that were specified by Rudolf Steiner, were used for the
four half spheres. RS did entrust Oskar Schmiedel with their production.
Two of the half spheres were made from Antimon, one from Nickel, one
half of the fourth was made of copper. The other half should be
completed with a metal that was so far unknown. Very thin feel/sense
organs made from gold foil (1/1000 mm thickness) were hanging at the
lower side of this double bowl. At the fourth side of a cross of lead a
tip of uranium pitchblend should be mounted. The conections between the
six tips were partly made of copper and partly of tin. From one bowl to
the opposite one there was a spiral glass tube. Even more cryptic were
the three additional objects: one was a glass container with wire of
platinium that was hanging inside of it or w as molten into it, the
second was a lemniscate of glass tube, with a coal tip on top, that had
a little copper bowl above it. The third object should have four uranium
tips on the same level. The form of this object let it seem probable that
it could rotate. Electricity should be kept away.
The original models have vanished, though they have survived the
Goetheanum fire. One didn't take enough care and didn't recognise the
importance of the apparatus. Today they show a dummy at the performances.
--| Fragments of a Biography - Ehrenfried Pfeiffer |--------------------
"...The method of science, in a materialistic sense, is based on analysis
splitting apart (today atomsplitting and fusion etc.), disintegration,
separation, dissecting and all the procedures which have to destroy and take
apart, to work on the corpse rather than to grow, to develop, to synthesize. That
the human mind was captured by these methods of braking apart: in that I saw the
source of our present situation. My question therefore was: is it possible to
find another force or energy in nature, which does not have in itself the ductus
of atomazing and analysis but builds up, synthesizes. Would we discover that
force constructive, which makes things alive and grow, develop adequate building
up methods of investigation, evt. use this force for another type of technic,
applied to drive machines, than because of the inner nature of this force or
energy we might be able to create another technology, social structure,
constructive thinking of man rather than destructive thinking. This force must
have the impulse of life, of organisation within itself as the so-called physical
energies have the splitting, separating trend within themselves. My question to
Rudolf Steiner October 1920 and spring 1921 therefore was: does such a force or
source of energy exist? Can it be demonstrated? Could an altruistic technic be
build upon it?
"When these questions formed themselves in my mind I met in Günther Wachsmuth a
life long friend who pondered about exactly the same problems.
"Some discussion with Rudolf Steiner were carried out individually, often we both
together had with Rudolf Steiner.
"My questions were answered as follows:
"Yes, such a force exists, but is not yet discovered. It is what is generally
known the ether (not the physical ether) but the force which makes things grow,
lives for instance in the seed as Samenkraft. Before you can work with this force
you must demonstrate its presence. As we have reagents in chemistry, so you must
find a reagent upon the etheric force. It is also called formative etheric force
because it is the force which creates the form, shape, pattern of a living thing,
growth. You might try crystallization processes to which organic substrata are
added. (This has been done and the results described elsewhere, known today as
the method of sensitive crystallization). It is possible then to develop
machines, which react upon and are driven by this force. Rudolf Steiner than
outlined the principles of the application of this force as source of a new
energy. In the presence of Günther Wachsmuth at some other time he outlined the
principle of the four etheric formative forces, light ether, chemical ether, life
ether and warmth ether (somewhat different than in the so-called warmth and light
course before Waldorf teachers) and pointed to a book by Rama Prashad, Nature
Finer Forces, which described some of it.
"Wachsmuth in turn wrote his book on the Etheric Formative Forces. To me the task
fell to start experiments. In this, the cooperation between us, the seed for the
Forschungsinstitut am Goetheanum was layed. I had to perform certain experiments
which do not feel at liberty to describe for Rudolf Steiner. The result of these
experiments where reported whereupon R. St. said with utmost ernestness: the
outcome of the experiment points to another force not the etheric one but an
astral one (i.e. forces which live in sentient matter, nerve, brain). That the
experiment did turn out this way is the answer of the spiritual world to him and
it means that the time is not yet ready to make use of the etheric force. I asked
when will the time be ready. Answer: when the social conditions are such that no
misuse of this force can be done for selfish purposes, that would only be the
case if the threefold commonwealth order would be practice at least over a few
territories on earth. Until this time experiments in the direction of using the
etheric forces would not be successful or should not be done.
"Since we live today in a world which is further away than ever from the solution
of the social problem, when selfishness and personal advantage, profit and
national conflicts because of them have the upper hand, since especially the
anthroposophical society has never put the solution of the social problem in
front of all its aim and not contributed that which was demanded by Rudolf
Steiner to be done, I see no other way but to bury the instructions with regard
to the use of the etheric force deep down in my chest, probably to take it with
me to grave, with the hope that other times will come, other circumstances, other
ages and lifes, where the time then will be ready. My conscience is deeply moved
but I have to obey higher reason for this means that for the time being the world
must go on with the use of energies which have the power death and destruction in
their essence and it is only to be hoped that the world learns the hard way, by
endless suffering that one day it will awaken to accept the mission of life, of
living together in peace, of mutual acceptance and coordination.
"Everything else we developed in anthroposophical natural science, experimenting,
had to remain with the first step, the demonstration of the presence and
existence of formative forces. Only in the use of the biodynamic method of soil
improvement could we go a step farther. How this developed is described elsewhere
(in "Wir erlebten Rudolf Steiner")."
--| References by Rudolf Steiner to Future |-------
--| Technology - Mechanical Occultism |------------
1. 16-12-04- GA93 The physical Atom as condensed electricity. Lecture:
"The essence and task of Freemasonry from the point of view of Spiritual
Science" Book: "The Temple Legend". Rudolf Steiner Press 1985. lecture 9.
2. 23-12-04 - GA93 - Z 215 The atom as coagulated electricity. Book: "The
Temple Legend", lecture 10, also typescript entitled "The work of the
Secret Societies in the World: The atom as coagulated electricity"
3. 30-03-05 - Tolstoi - Keely (not translated)
4. 02-01-06 - GA93 "The Keely Motor - the interpenetration of Mechanism
and Morality" Book: "The Temple Legend" lecture 20.
5. 12-02-06 - GA97 - Z59 - "The Keely Motor - The transformation of the
mechanical mechanism within a moral mechanism" Notes of a lecture: The St.
John Gospel.
6. 01-10-11 - GA130 - RSE 560 - Light, electricity, Chemical forces,
Magnetism, Third Force, Answers to questions at end of lecture - "The
Etherisation of the Blood" Book: "The reappearance of Christ in the
etheric" selected Lectures, lecture 9, Anthroposophic press N.Y. 1983.
7. August 1912 - GA14 Mystery Drama - "The Guardian of the Threshold"
Scene 1. Strader and the Strader Apparatus.
8. 20-06-16 - GA169- C43 - "Keely as a polar opposite to Tolstoy" Book:
"Toward Imagination" lecture 3 "The Twelve Human Senses" - Anthroposophic
press 1990. Also:- Lecture Series "Cosmic Being and Egohood" Berlin
June-July 1916.
9. 02-10-16 - GA171 - Z156 - "Concerning the incorporation of magnetic and
electric forces in Mankind from out of the cosmos: an examination of
evolutionary development from Lemuria to the 18th and 19th Century"
Typescript: "The Templars" Notes on a Lecture.
10. 12-11-16 - GA172 - "Man and Machine" Book: "The Karma of Vocation"
lecture 4. Anthroposophic Press and Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co. 1944.
11. 26-11-16 - GA172 - "Modern Technology and demon magic" Book: "The
Karma of Vocation" lecture 9.
12. 18-12-16 - GA173 - "Carrying over the etheric vibrations from Man to
Machine" Book: "The Karma of Untruthfulness" Vol.1 Lecture 7. Rudolf
Steiner Press 1988.
13. 16-11-17 - GA178 - Z444 - "Nervous systems and electrical Force:
electric currents in man and their Ahrimanic Nature" Typescript:
"Geographical Medicine" Mercury Press 1979. (new edition)
14. 25-11-17 - GA178 - "Man and Mechanisation, 'animal machines', cosmic
forces and Machines" Book: "Secret Brotherhoods" 1931. Reprinted as "The
wrong and right use of Esoteric Knowledge" 1966. Rudolf SteinerPress -
lecture 3.
15. 09-10-18 - GA182 - "The release of enormous machine forces through
harmonising nature forces and technology" Typescript: "What does the Angel
do in our Astral Body" Rudolf SteinerPublishing 1941.
16. 12-10-18 - GA184 - "Nature Rythms and Technology" Book: "Three streams
in the Evolution of Mankind" Lecture 5, Rudolf SteinerPress 1965.
17. 01-12-18 - GA186 - "The principle of harmonious vibrations and their
technical conversion (realisation) mainly within the English speaking
world" Book: "In the changed conditions of the times" Anthroposophic Press
1941 - Lecture 3 entitled "The Mechanistic, Eugenic and Hygenic aspects of
the future"
18. 08-11-20 - GA197 - Z392 - "Keely Motor - the unification of the
mechanical-material with the spiritual" Book: "East, Middle and West"
1920. More recently published as "Polarities in the evolution of Mankind"
Rudolf SteinerPress1987 - lecture 9.
19. 20-10-23 GA230 - "Machines and Vibrations" Book: "Man as Symphony of
the Creative Word" - Rudolf Steiner Press - 1945, 1970, 1978, 1991.
Lecture 2. Also a good translation of this segment in Anthroposophical
News Sheet under the title "The Mechanisation which threatens mankind"
--| Illustrations of Rudolf Steiner's "Strader Machine" |--------------
source: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~dieringe/Strader/
SteinerIllustration.gif
Sketch by Rudolf Steiner.
These are apparently photographs taken from the original
sheet of paper.
StraderApparat.gif
Sketch by Oskar Schmiedel (who built a test device according
to Steiner's specifications).
KuhnPhoto.gif
KuhnSketch.gif
Model and sketches by Hans Kuhn (1889-1977).
--| References |----------------
Anthro-WIKI Strader Apparat
(Exerpted from: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, *Fragments of a Biography*, Manuskript, 56 S.:
Die erstmalige Veröffentlichung der hier in deutscher Übersetzung abgedruckten
Passage...erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Adelheid Pfeiffer, Spring
Valley, USA. English Original: E. Pfeiffer-Nachlassverwaltung, Spring Valley/USA.
Deutsche Übersetzungsrechte: Perseus Verlag, Basel).
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