The Archangel Michael: His Mission and Ours

For centuries, the tradition of the mystical chronology of the worlds seven archangelic regents has been part of Western esoteric teaching. According to this tradition, 1879 marked the return of the solar spirit Michaelthe archangel of the Sunto oversee earthly evolution. Steiner always placed his life and work in the service of Michaels evolutionary task. And he recognized that, at the beginning of the twentieth century, humanity emerged from the Kali Yugathe Dark Ageand entered the Age of Light. Against this background, Steiner described the ascent of Michael as cosmic ruler, his battle with the dragon of the spirits of darkness, and his roles as the countenance of Christ and the guardian of cosmic intelligence. He also gave many profound indications of how Michaels evolutionary task depends on the free and independent collaboration of human coworkers. Speaking on behalf of Michael, Steiner laid out the essentials for a new Michaelic path to full humanity. Among the elements of this path are the development of selfless individuality; cosmopolitanism; the practice of the presence of Christ; fearlessness; the transformation of thinking and perception in a new synthesis of science, art, and religion; the spiritualization of space; and the separation of thought from language.