Christian Community priest Richard Dancey, a beloved mentor of mine, was working with this theme of the Mystery of Evil, right before his sudden death. My Spiritual teacher Rudolf Steiner wrestled with what he called ‘The green demons’ at the threshold of his premature passing, describing these adversarial beings in letters to Ita Wegman, & in his last leading thought: From Nature to Sub-Nature. When we look into the abyss of our daily screen, we know the abyss is looking back at us. Long before the RNA adjuvant nanobot, ‘smart’ tech AI takeover was even a gleam in the evil eye – we can go back to humbler times & ponder the story of Job - Delve into the many tests in Genesis – the story of Cain & Abel - or look at what was working behind the 8th Ecumenical Council of 869 - to dis-cover that “The devil is gods monkey”. Years ago, I was tapped to explore the notion of the ‘9 layers of the Inner Earth’ in relation to the fallen Hierarchies. I dug into Goethe’s Faust & the image of the origins of Mephistopheles as coming up from the Volcano. If we want to cut to the chase, we can talk about the end game: The adversarial powers seek to create a ‘counter-earth’ – Rudolf Steiner likens it to a slag heap prison, where the human being is enslaved - our life force used to feed what in Rosicrucianism is called: Deus Inversus. The word Diablos means: To throw across or slander. So as not to go down a rabbit hole, we need to set some ballast, by bringing in the primal mystery of the origins of ‘evil’ - 1st seen as a behest from the godhead - that the Cherubim - the Sprits of Harmony, should not completely accept the offering from the Thrones, the Spirits of Will, which gives birth to The Archai – the Spirits of Time – otherwise eternity would be lost. This rejection causes some of the Spirits of Will to turn their back, to shut themselves off, creating a counter-force in evolution – a laming of the Will - which down the line causes Spirit to fall into matter. And yet - this also creates the pre-condition for the human being to become free! Do not, in the face of the Cross, forget the Resurrection. The Russian Tale: God’s Blacksmith, demonstrates the idea that we must ‘give the devil his due’. Steiner, when speaking to the farmers who came to him when agriculture was just beginning to become industrialized, told them: Whenever you drive the tractor, or use any kind of technology, say the command: ‘Work Ahriman, work’. I often think of the Hebrew term Tsimtsum: ‘God is present in his absence’. We can’t shut ourselves off from evil as the Essenes did. Steiner reminds us that we must strive to: “See germinating forces everywhere.” In the Major Arcana, the Death Card, #13, is the path from Beauty (Tiphareth) to Victory (Netzach). In the tradition of the Mystical Cabbala, it is associated with the Hebrew letter Nun which is a verb that means to sprout or grow. We may not be able to ‘see into god’s kitchen’ to view the purpose of evil in god’s plan, but we can learn to recognize evil in ourselves – striving hopefully to see it before it completely takes form thru our words & deeds - by ‘following our flowing thoughts’ – Seeking to objectively recognize our motivations. What began as the science of eugenics, when unchecked, became the basis for genocide. We must remember that evil comes when we are semi-conscious. Be alert! Cultivate discernment. Strive to ‘Be as wise as a serpent & as pure as a dove.’ Can we discern the difference between ‘black, grey & White Magic’? I think of ‘grey magic’ as greed – the blatant disregard of others for personal gain - it’s on the edge of ‘black magic’ - which turns the corner into absolute evil thru intentional abuse, & murder. ‘White Magic = Selfless service to the good of all. Can we reclaim our Will to do the Good? The last line from Steiner’s Philosophy of Spiritual Activity: “For idea to become deed, the human being must first will it, before it can happen. Such willing must have its foundation in the human being. Ultimately therefore, if it is the individual who determines their own deed. This is freedom.” We can see then that meditation is a free deed. The nightly review is a powerful tool for asking ourselves: Where were the adversarial powers working in me this day? Where were my illusions? Where my negativity - my sympathies & antipathies? This doppelgänger or ‘double’, that we all carry, each according to our personal karma, is like an elemental being that takes on the unconscious parts of ourselves. Like all of Nature, elemental beings are amoral; they have no morality except what we give them. Thru their interaction with us they become servants, either for White, black or grey Magic. How we could become aware of our own double? Asking: Can I work to develop a dialogue with this part of me? Can I listen to hear the needs of my doppelgänger? Can I learn to bless this part of myself? A German tale called “The Little Hunchback” can help us understand this concept of the human ‘double’. The story ends with a plea from the doppelgänger for a prayer of redemption. Just like when Jacob wrestled with the angel, he asked for a blessing. In taking on the 6 Basic Essential Exercises, & other inner development practices, I am working to see the connections of what wants to be known, revealing my ‘blind spots’ as well as strengthening my virtues. It’s not easy. And my karma often reminds me that the measure with which I gage others will be used on me. As a tool of learning to know, confront & transform evil, I often count on my beloved husband to hold a mirror to my actions. We check-in with each other on our spiritual snags & progress to get a reflection of ourselves from the other’s point a view. This loving objectivity is helpful in revealing the workings of the ‘double’ within our soul forces. This is very helpful, since it’s so easy to get stuck in our own rationalized version of reality. I wish I could find a willingness to make this a practice amongst all my closest colleagues. But most folks like to keep a convention of politeness - surface safe - never saying plainly what they really think - uncomfortable sharing their experience of us – not willing to be vulnerable - until it comes out sideways, or thru gossip behind the back, or more often than not, the unacknowledged bad vibes hang like the proverbial pink elephant in the room, polluting the spiritual atmosphere. Of course, we don’t want to simply criticize each other - our reflections need to be constructive – spoken in I statements: ‘When you do this it makes me think, feel, or react this way…etc…’ Taking responsibility for our own sympathies’ antipathies & responses, or lack thereof. Instead of being willing to clear the air, these unspoken antipathies create a negative egregore that feeds on those unexpressed emotions, reinforcing & building up the negative traits one to another…Sigh… How wonderful it would be to have all groups of sincere colleagues who seek the same goal, not only as study buddies, but as practice buddies – those we can cultivate a transparent, heart-to-heart, tough-love refection with, so that we can all grow. To strive to know, confront & transform evil we must cultivate ‘White Magic’ in a culture of selflessness. For we need community so that we can co-create a chalice big enough to receive & hold the strength from the Higher Worlds, so we can stand up to the dragon – together. We are told by St. Paul to ‘put on the armor of god’. To stand in the Wisdom of the Sophia, with the Christ & Michael, & with all the heavenly hosts, sword in hand, & in mind, to hold our grounding in the Spirit, allowing us to share the Power of Peace. We especially need this armor whenever we go into any confrontational situation; for there is always some aspect of evil behind conflict – it twists us in its grip - seeks to divide us. We must put on the consciousness of god’s armor even when we pray, so that the adversarial powers can’t steal our thoughts & take the power of our prayer for themselves. We can also recognize that the Spiritual World must also step back sometimes, to give us the ability to gain spiritual muscles thru resistance – to consciously call Spirit in. And yes, the old adage must be made true: ‘Patience swallows the devil’. We can’t deny that ‘evil’ is becoming all pervasive - so we need to have endurance. Remembering that the tempter is only appearance & delusion. Thru faith we endure the trial, & stand the test, discerning between illusion & truth, putting fear, doubt, & hatred beneath our feet. Let us picture Christ speaking to us the Lord’s Prayer - Speaking it with us, when we recite it - receiving it as a gift that we send back to Christ, thru our human lips - Connecting the 7 lines to the 7 epochs of human evolution - from our Divine origins, into the future – to be delivered from evil. The first World War, which has led to all others - was a complete failure on the part of humanity to wake up to the reality of evil. And yet it became a pre-condition for the reappearance of Christ in the etheric. “I, with concentration, and with full love - Look into the darkness. There I see the light” Let us transform evil thru Art & the practical Science of the Spirit. ~hag
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Tuesday, 19 August 2025
How to Know, Confront, & Transform Evil
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