The Lotus Flowers,

Part I: The Three Upper Lotus Flowers

By Valentin Tomberg, Translated by Robert Powell from a German manuscript written before or
during World War II and previously unpublished in English.
Footnotes and words in brackets [ ] added by the translator.
[For practical reasons this material has been divided into three parts. Originally published in ‘Starlight” Newsletter of
the Sophia Foundation of North America Vol 7 No1, Vol 7 No2, Vol 8 No1,

Introduction
Every astral body has seven lotus flowers. Their essence consists of primal thoughts from the
power of the Father.
The human being has seven lotus flowers, which are his seven spiritual organs. The seven seals
of the Apocalypse refer to the seven lotus flowers. The transfiguration of Christ was the opening
and penetration [of the lotus flowers] by the power of Christ pouring through them. Temptation is
the wrong development of the lotus flowers. Saints are human beings who are penetrated from the
spiritual world in such a way that one or more lotus flowers are transfigured by the power of Christ
pouring through them. Every esotericist must have been a saint at some time [in a previous
incarnation] and had the experience of being irradiated by the Sun radiance of Christ pouring
through them.
[It is] the I AM power that effects the
transfiguration of the lotus flowers—I AM
being the esoteric name of Christ.
All [seven] I AM sayings are healings of the
seven lotus flowers. Also the seven healing
miracles, which accompany the I AM
sayings as Imaginations, are symbolic acts
for the purification of the seven lotus
flowers. Evil arises if instead of the power of
Christ the power of evil enters into the lotus
flowers. This is also sevenfold, since each I
AM saying has an evil saying counterposed
to it. Each lotus flower or chakra
corresponds to a planet.

[from Lacquanna Paul & Robert Powell, Cosmic

Dances of the Planets, San Rafael, CA: Sophia
Foundation Press, 2007.]

[Crown Chakra] 8Petal Lotus Flower: Saturn

This lotus flower is above the head and it is the one which creates a connection with the spiritual
world. To those who can see it, it appears to light up in one thousand scintillating violet sparks. In
the case of saints it appears in a special way. This was known in earlier times. On this account
they were depicted with halos. All the consequences of the human being’s positive karma are
contained in this lotus flower. It bears the human being’s eternal name. The eternal name is the
mystery surrounding each human being. It also indicates [her or] his special task. Every human
being is a thought of God. Thereby each human being has his special task through all incarnations
from [Ancient] Saturn to [Future] Vulcan. That which the human being has already attained, up to
the present, in a positive sense is contained in the 8petal lotus flower.
Concerning the form of this lotus flower: the upper stream leads to the spiritual world and connects
the human being with his Angel; the lower stream goes down through the 2petal lotus flower and
eventually reaches the feet as a purifying, ennobling stream. Then a ‘washing of the feet’ takes
place.
The 8petal lotus flower belongs to the three most important. The 8, 12, and 4petal lotus flowers
are the most important. The other lotus flowers are only there to help [these three]. The three
upper lotus flowers – the 8, 2, and 16petal lotus flowers – comprise the wisdom through which one
attains self-knowledge.
Adam Kadmon had an ideal 8petal lotus flower. However, it was damaged at the time of the Fall.
Christ heals and purifies it again through the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, speaking the words:
‘I am the resurrection and the life’. When warmth enters into the 8petal lotus flower, permanent
‘vertical memory’ arises, so that a continuous stream reaches the human being from the spiritual
world, who is then open to the revelations from the spiritual world. If a human being had true faith
in one life, then not only does he have memory of his own positive karma in the next life but also
knowledge of the higher worlds. This is called the apostolic faculty, for which the monk’s tonsure is
an earthly symbol. One then attains ‘spatial memory’ and is continuously open for the spiritual
world. The 8petal lotus flower is disposed toward knowledge of cosmic evolution (God the Father)
and toward ‘mechanical occultism’ (cosmic thought).

[Third Eye] 2Petal Lotus Flower: Jupiter

This is the lotus flower of ‘I’ initiative. It is located in the small cavity in the forehead above the
nose and between the eyebrows. Science does not know why this cavity is there. All concentration
and all initiative of thought come from this lotus flower. If one does not put questions to the world,
this lotus flower is weak. If one has a lot of questions, it is strong. The eyebrows are an expression
of its streams: one to the right (Ahrimanic) and one to the left (Luciferic).
Consciousness is in the center and doubts [when it is pulled from one or the other or from both
sides]. If one is able to direct the streams from the horizontal into the vertical, this becomes a
stream of spiritual cognition which passes through the 8petal lotus flower into the spiritual world.
It [the 2petal lotus flower] turns 60times a minute. It is strengthened through concentration.

The history of the 2 petal lotus flower: originally this ‘I’ lotus flower was in the heart. After the Fall it
was relocated as the 2petal lotus flower. It is the ‘sign of Cain’. This was a protective measure so
that Ahriman and Lucifer would not come too close to the heart lotus flower. In the future, thinking
will take place again with the heart, the 12petal lotus flower, feeling with the 2petal lotus flower,
and willing with the 6petal lotus flower. This is the separation of thinking, feeling, and the will which
Rudolf Steiner spoke about: three ‘seeing points’ [three soul organs of perception] in the future.
In the 2petal lotus flower is the possibility of looking up to God and down to the Earth. For
example, Thomas Aquinas had the possibility of looking up, and there he found the [Church]
dogmas as a reality. At the same time he worked continuously with his own human thinking to
grasp the revelations [of the spirit].

In Paradise human beings had one eye vertically above the other. Having the eyes one above the
other expressed the possibility of looking up and looking down. Through the activity of Lucifer and
Ahriman, the eyes came to be positioned next to one another. Lucifer and Ahriman gave us the
horizontal positioning of the eyes. However, the vertical stream has to be re-established, for the
horizontal positioning of the eyes is the ‘sign of Cain’.
Rudolf Steiner wanted to bring human beings to develop the 2petal lotus through spiritual science
– through study and concentration. If one accomplishes this, the inner work of the development of
the 16petal lotus flower begins. However, Rudolf Steiner also prepared a further stage: that the
heart lotus flower will shift to the center again and the 2petal lotus flower to both sides, to the right
and to the left. With the one, one will be able to cognize all the Divine Laws, and with the other, all
that which is evil. At some time in the future the human being will have two 12petal lotus flowers.
In Devachan [in the life after death] one has the 12petal lotus flower around one and one is at the
center. This reflects the Christ surrounded [in the spiritual world] by twelve Bodhisattvas and on
Earth by twelve disciples.
Moses had an ideal 2petal lotus flower. Therefore he is depicted with two rays streaming out from
the head, which later became horns [see Michelangelo’s statue of Moses]. When the gods saw
that the children of human beings were beautiful, and when Adam and Eve saw that they were
naked, the 2petal lotus flower was damaged so that the human being could no longer see in a
pure way. One sees ahrimanically with the right eye, i.e. one sees cynically, or one sees
luciferically with the left eye, i.e. one sees with false ideals. In the middle is the Christ seeing that
has to be re-established. With the healing of the man born blind Christ heals this lotus flower and
speaks the words: ‘I am the light of the world’. On the cross Christ experienced the crucifixion of
the 2petal lotus flower so that consciousness of his connection with God was extinguished. And
then he took the highest human initiative with the 2petal lotus flower and asked after God. [‘My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’]

The 2petal lotus flower gives the fundamental tone for everything. It creates initiative, upon which
everything depends and from which everything proceeds. When it begins to rotate, the force of the
8petal lotus flower pours into it [the 2petal lotus flower] as a blessing, then after one year [this
force descends from the 2petal lotus flower] into the 16petal lotus flower, and so on [to complete
the descent] through all the lotus flowers in six years.
If warmth enters into the 2petal lotus flower, formal logic is transformed into moral logic, according
to which something is true if it is good. Only the Good – that which is moral – is the measuring
standard and not simply that which is logical. This faculty is called the evangelical faculty.

[Throat Chakra] 16Petal Lotus Flower: Mars

This is the lotus flower of the word – the word in a physical and in a spiritual sense – to understand
the world as a creative process through the Word. This lotus flower is to be found in the region of
the larynx. Its rotation lasts an hour. On this account a lecture should not last longer than an hour
– then repeat the beginning.
History [of the 16petal lotus flower, the lotus flower of the word]: originally the 16petal lotus flower
had only 12 petals and was an etheric Sun. In earlier times the 8petal lotus flower [crown chakra],
that of death, and the present 4petal lotus flower [root chakra], that of life, both had 8petals.
However, 4petals of the lotus flower of life ascended, so that the lotus flower of the word – instead
of 12petals – now had 16petals. This took place after the Fall, and thereby the force of procreation
was taken away from the lotus flower of the word, because it – the magical word – was too
dangerous. In the future, however, we will have to restore this force again.

The 16petal lotus flower listens above for the Words of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and the
Persona, and it proclaims on Earth the Words of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and the Persona that
it has experienced. It cognizes the Four Hierarchies—their genesis and birth.
It [also] cognizes the Four Elements, through which it can have magical forces. It speaks on Earth
and is part of the World Word. For through listening on the one hand, and through hearing and
proclaiming on the other hand, something new arises in the spiritual world and on the Earth.

What is most important for the development of this lotus flower is self-control. The eightfold path of
the Buddha – and also Rudolf Steiner’s [eightfold path] exercises – are classical ones for its
development. Through these exercises one arrives firstly at Inspiration (through listening), and
then at Imagination (lines and figures full of significance, which express much), and then at
Intuition – the working together of the spiritual world and the human being. Buddha had an ideal
16petal lotus flower. Through pride, at the building of the tower of Babel, the 16petal lotus flower
was damaged. Then human beings no longer understood [the spiritual world]. [Being separated
into different languages, human beings also no longer understood one another.]
Christ heals and purifies the 16petal lotus flower with the miracle of the walking on the water and
through the words: ‘I am the good shepherd’—when one hears his voice again and wants to follow
him. ‘I thirst’ is the saying of Christ from the cross [corresponding to this lotus flower]. He thirsted
after [proclaiming] the World Word, when [on the cross] he was able to see only human beings
who inflicted pain on him.
He was no longer conscious of the whole [the interconnection of everything]. The resurrection of
this lotus flower took place when he said: ‘Go forth and baptize all peoples in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ – meaning: let all peoples participate in the World Word.
When warmth enters into the 16petal lotus flower, the Word not only brings to expression the
interconnection of everything but also the Word magically proclaims what the spiritual world has to
say. This faculty is called the prophetic faculty. Then a [spiritual] being can speak through
the human being. In earlier times the human being was taken hold of [from above]. Now this
faculty has become the Boddhisattva faculty – that is, two beings can ‘speak together’, if the
human being wants [to allow a spiritual being to speak through him or her]. Now the human being
has to make [herself] himself ready so that a higher being can speak through [her] him. This is true
faith.

Part II: The Lower Lotus Flowers

By Valentin Tomberg
Translated by Robert Powell from a German manuscript written before or during World War II and previously
unpublished in English.
Footnotes and words in brackets [ ] have been added by the translator.
[For practical reasons this material has been divided into parts. The first part dealing with the upper three lotus flowers
was published in the previous issue of Starlight. Part II focuses upon the lower lotus flowers – specifically the 12petal,
the 10petal, and the 6petal lotus flowers. Among the esoteric material relating to the lotus flowers in Part II, there are
also scattered references to the 4petal lotus flower, which is the Root Chakra and corresponds to the Moon.]

Introduction
Every astral body has seven lotus flowers. Their essence consists of primal thoughts from the
power of the Father.
The human being has seven lotus flowers, which are his seven spiritual organs. The seven seals
of the Apocalypse refer to the seven lotus flowers. The transfiguration of Christ was the opening
and penetration [of the lotus flowers] by the power of Christ pouring though them. Temptation is
the wrong development of the lotus flowers. Saints are human beings who are penetrated from the
spiritual world in such a way that one or more lotus flowers are transfigured by the power of Christ
pouring through them. Every esotericist must have been a saint at some time [in a previous
incarnation] and had the experience of being irradiated by the Sun radiance of Christ pouring
through them.

[It is] the I AM power that effects the transfiguration of the lotus flowers—I AM being the esoteric
name of Christ.
All [seven] I AM sayings are healings of the seven lotus flowers. Also the seven healing miracles,
which accompany the I AM sayings as Imaginations,are symbolic acts for the purification of the
seven lotus flowers. Evil arises if instead of the power of Christ the power of evil enters into the
lotus flowers. This is also sevenfold, since each I AM saying has an evil saying counterposed to it.
Each lotus flower or chakra corresponds to a planet.
[Heart Chakra] 12petal lotus flower: Sun
The 12petal lotus flower is like a Sun and has twelve petals or rays. When the 16petal lotus flower
moves and one of its rays meets the 12petal lotus, the latter also begins to rotate – from the word
[16petal lotus] to love [12petal lotus]. Its content is: the three crosses from Golgotha laid one upon
the other (3x4). Its effect is healing. With the 16petal lotus flower healing takes place through the
word. With the 12petal lotus flower healing is through a stream of love. It rays out love and
goodness. It is quite especially effective, because it is not bound to one location, but rather it can
move around and enter into other human beings. It is the astral Sun, the lotus flower of love. It
contains the crosses of Lucifer, Ahriman, and Christ. When Lucifer’s pride is transformed into
shame and then conscience, this sphere is purified. Ahriman has to make the transition
from the fear of judgment to awe (ontzag) and reverence (eerbied) before God. The Christ’s cross
of love is in the center and all is [filled with] the Sun’s power. Right now [1st layer in the structure
of the heart] coldness and death are at the center. [Proceeding from the center of the heart
outward layer by layer, the next layer is the second layer, then comes the third layer, followed by
the fourth layer.] 2nd layer: fear; 3rd layer: worry; 4thlayer: boredom. All of this is [the nature of]
Ahriman.
Then [in the structure of the heart] comes the sphere of Lucifer, and on the outermost periphery [of
the heart] is the [realm of the] Christ impulse. The Christ sphere [proceeding outwards in the
structure of the heart] comprises: 1stlayer: being; 2ndlayer: joy; 3rdlayer: humility; 4th layer: pain.
When it begins to radiate, the inner goes to the periphery. [This is the first stage.] Then the lotus
flower of love cognizes the secret [mystery] of Golgotha. At the second stage the kernel is
transformed again into a Sun [*], where the ‘I’ is at the focal point again. [This is the] level of
Imagination.
At the following stage [the third stage] a ray proceeds from the 16petal lotus flower around the
12petal lotus flower, entering into it and teaching it, whereby the Sun [*] begins to ray in upon itself
in response to this stream. A whole ‘streaming system’ then forms, which in turn enlivens the
16petal lotus flower. This is the second level – Inspiration. An etheric stream then forms the
etheric heart. Here the 16petal lotus flower takes the initiative. This heart is purely etheric, forming
as a heart on the right alongside the heart on the left. Here also [between the physical heart and
the etheric heart] a center arises and the rays form three crosses which, however, are able to
recognize evil. Through conscience (first heart) and through love (second heart) we have to
cognize the crosses of Ahriman, Lucifer, and the Asuras.
This is knowledge [cognition] of the threefold evil. This is the eighth lotus flower, which only a few
people have at the present time. Now [at the present time] one cannot have more [than eight] lotus
flowers. This is the level of initiation [Intuition] – three circles [one imagines the three circles
around one, centered in the heart chakra, adding a circle each time that one speaks or thinks or
meditates one of the following mantra]:

‘I unite myself with the Spirit’ – cognize the first cross.

Imagination
‘I love the Son’ – cognize the first and the second cross.
Inspiration
‘I revere the Father’ – cognize all three crosses.
Intuition

The Imagination of [the Mystery of] Golgotha and [also] the [three] Rosicrucian Mantra [‘I revere
the Father’; ‘I love the Son’; ‘I unite myself with the Spirit’] belong to this lotus flower.

The Nathan Jesus had an ideal 12petal lotus flower. [After the Fall] the 12petal lotus flower was
damaged when human beings no longer received the right nourishment from seed forces. Christ
purified and healed this lotus flower with the words: ‘I AM the bread of life’. The corresponding
saying from the Cross is: ‘Today you shall be with me in paradise’, [‘in paradise’ signifying] in the
kingdom of the heart and soul. The resurrection of this lotus flower is connected with the words of
the Risen One in the Apocalypse about a new heaven and a new earth – the New Jerusalem
[‘Behold a new heaven and a new earth’ – Revelation 21:1].
This is the lotus flower in which human morality flourishes, where wisdom and revelation come
together.
The upper three lotus flowers are those of wisdom through which one acquires self-knowledge.
The lower three lotus flowers are those of revelation. Both [wisdom and revelation] come together
in the 12petal lotus flower.

[Solar Plexus Chakra] 10petal lotus flower: Mercury

This is the lotus flower of the conscious and the subconscious. If its contours are sharply defined,
the human being thinks clearly and not indistinctly. Clear, well-defined thoughts help to develop
this lotus flower.
Indefinite thoughts and thinking that flutters around weakens it. It is the lotus flower of knowledge
and also science. Usually the 10petal lotus flower is connected directly with the 2petal lotus flower,
and the two in between – the 12petal and the 16petal lotus flowers – are excluded. On this
account scientific thinkers are generally unable to work at all convincingly with the word – their
heart is not present [in what they say].
Clairvoyant perception in color and form is yielded by the 10petal lotus flower when directed
outwards.
Directed inwards, it is the memory of everything from the other lotus flowers transformed into form,
color, and image. It is the ‘keeper of the archives’ in the human being.
It has a very definite form: two pentagrams one upon the other—the front one has two points
directed downward, and the rear one has one point directed downward.
First it develops Imagination, then Inspiration and Intuition [which is the classical development]. It
is the lotus flower of knowledge. It nurtures analysis —however, without losing sight of the whole.
It strongly develops the elaboration of elements—for example, [to study] Thomas Aquinas’ mode
of thought and cognition is conducive to health. This mode entails always proceeding from a set
point and placing everything else in relationship to it. Vague mysticism is not healthy for the
10petal lotus flower. It has a movement toward the front and one toward the rear, toward the
spinal column.
Its ten petals correspond to ten senses: five ‘day senses’ and five ‘night senses’.
It is the 4petal lotus flower which bears the memory of the past, [that] of negative karma, the
memory of the astral body. The 8petal lotus flower bears the memory of the future, [that] of
positive karma, the memory of the physical body. Memory of everything to do with the present
incarnation lives in the 10petal lotus flower, [the memory of] the etheric body.

At the level of Imagination the stream ascends straight up [direction ascends from below above in
relation to the five lotus flowers listed here, and alongside is written ‘Imaginative consciousness’]:

8petal lotus flower

2petal lotus flower
16petal lotus flower Imaginative consciousness
12petal lotus flower
10petal lotus flower

[At the level of Inspiration the stream ascends up and then descends down again as far as the
16petal lotus flower. Alongside the diagram representing this is written ‘Inspirational
consciousness’]:

8petal lotus flower

2petal lotus flower
16petal lotus flower Inspirational consciousness
12petal lotus flower
10petal lotus flower

[At the level of Intuition the stream ascends directly from the 10petal lotus flower to the 8petal lotus
flower and then directly back down to the 12petal lotus flower.
Alongside the diagram representing this is written ‘Intuitive consciousness’]:

8petal lotus flower

12petal lotus flower Intuitive consciousness
10petal lotus flower

All scientific, objective thinking arises through the working together of the 2petal lotus flower and
the 10petal lotus flower, in their meeting. Mathematical thinking arises from the subconscious. A
hypothesis is only a hypothesis as long as it is in the subconscious.
When it is brought to consciousness, it is no longer a hypothesis.
The [five primary] senses of the human being have been separated by Ahriman. Through the
development of the lotus flowers the five senses become re-united again. For example, one then
sees with the sense of touch or with the sense of hearing, and so on.
The complete development of the 10petal lotus flower would make the human being into an
architect. [On the other hand] music belongs to the 6petal lotus flower.
Music and painting belong to hygienic esotericism.
Architecture and sculpture are ‘Father arts’ [belonging] to mechanical esotericism.
A [clockwise] spiral proceeds from the 10petal lotus flower to the 12petal lotus flower. In every
petal of the 12petal lotus flower is a special form of healing —[belonging to] healing esotericism.
On this account there are twelve specializations in medicine. All forms of healing belong to one or
other of these twelve.
Whichever petal comes into contact with the revolving spiral from the 10petal lotus flower is
responsible for the special development of the human being [in a particular direction]. This is
medical ‘healing intuition’.
Black occultism dives down to the 4petal lotus flower, thereby cognizing the four directions of the
physical, etheric, and astral bodies and the ‘I’, and [from there] directs everything in such a way
that [all] the lotus flowers are corrupted.
The 10petal lotus flower does not have anything to do with morality directly. However, its
imperfection has consequences for morality. Everything is then fuzzy; nothing is sharply
contoured. In our time the 10petal lotus flower has to be developed, and therefore it is now
quite especially attacked by dark forces. Nowadays life is very ‘indefinite’ in a moral sense.
The upper lotus flowers sleep during the night, and the lower ones are filled from below. Thus, one
has no choice. If one does not definitely decide [to serve the Good], one serves evil. However, the
10petal lotus flower is awake at night. It is awake through all 24hours of the day. It is the light of
the subconscious. It awakens the human being when danger threatens.
Bodily asceticism was practiced as the conscious renunciation of the 4petal lotus flower and the
force of procreation, because this force can be used for evil purposes. A lotus flower can be
healed when it rests in God and becomes a servant of the Good. Thus, one can renounce the
10petal lotus flower in our time, because otherwise [potentially] it would only be misused for
scientific knowledge [in that it would be used for this kind of knowledge alone]. Then one would
have no interest in things which do not have to do with God.
This [renunciation] is also able to effect healing. In so far as a human being is able to misuse his
lotus flowers, he is a human being [and not an Angel].
The saying from the Cross for this lotus flower is, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do’.
[This refers to] unconscious behavior. Healing takes place through the words, ‘I am the door’ in
relation to the healing of the paralyzed man [at the pool of Bethesda], who lay there for 38years.

[Sacral Chakra] 6petal lotus flower: Mercury, now Venus

This is the lotus flower of the balance of body, soul, and spirit—also of peace. It has the quality of
working harmonizingly upon polarities, bringing them into accord. [Here there is] a covenant, in
freedom, between the body, the soul, and the spirit. The 6petal lotus flower has the ability to
harmonize the character of other people. It also gives the capacity of intercourse with spiritual
beings in the soul realm and regulates the contact between the two worlds [the soul realm
and the world of normal human consciousness]. It enables a quite definite acquaintance with
spiritual beings. Its form is the Seal of Solomon [6-pointed star].
Its movement is a rotating triangle, describing a circle. Its being is harmony: the principle of
balance between body, soul, and spirit. It is the lotus flower of eugenic esotericism.
1See Valentin Tomberg, Christ and Sophia(Steiner Books: Gt. Barrington, Massachusetts,2006), p. 159 concerning
eugenic, hygienic, and mechanical esotericism. These three branches of esoteric knowledge
refer to reproduction, health, and the ‘mechanics’ of
using subtle energies

The conscience of healing esotericism is the 10petal lotus flower.

The conscience of eugenic esotericism is the 6petal lotus flower.
The conscience of mechanical esotericism is the 4petal lotus flower.

Inspiration of healing esotericism is through the 12petal lotus flower.

Inspiration of eugenic esotericism is through the 16-12-6petal lotus flowers.
Inspiration of mechanical esotericism is through the 2-12-4petal lotus flowers.

Intercourse with beings of the third hierarchy: a point between the 12and 10petal lotus flowers.
Intercourse with beings of the second hierarchy: a point between the 10and 6petal lotus flowers.
Intercourse with beings of the first hierarchy: a point between the 6and 4petal lotus flowers.

The 16and 6petal lotus flowers develop together, as do the 2and 10petal lotus flowers and [also]
the 8and 4petal lotus flowers. The 12petal lotus flower stands alone [in that] it has knowledge from
above and revelation from below. One can only work upon the upper lotus flowers, which then
work upon the lower ones with which they are connected. One is not able to work directly upon the
lower ones.
The 4petal lotus flower corresponds to Future Vulcan (Ancient Saturn).
The 6petal lotus flower corresponds to Future Venus (Ancient Sun).
The 10petal lotus flower corresponds to Future Jupiter (Ancient Moon).
Only the 12petal lotus flower is in the present, i.e. it is the lotus flower of the world.
The three upper lotus flowers correspond to the human being prior to the Fall.
Lucifer works upon the upper three [and] Ahriman upon the lower three lotus flowers.

The Son works upon the 16petal lotus flower.

The Spirit works upon the 2petal lotus flower.
The Father works upon the 8petal lotus flower.
The highest development of the lotus flowers is reached when higher spiritual beings can be taken
into them.
Thus, the highest development of the 12petal lotus flower is reached when the Nathan Jesus is
taken into it. The power of Michael can be taken into the 10petal lotus flower. The power of the
being that was the Time Spirit in the Ancient Indian epoch, the Angelic Being that inspired the
Manu, can be taken into the 6petal lotus flower. The highest hierarchical being can be
taken into the 4petal lotus flower – this is that part of the Christ Power that works as Yahweh. The
other lotus flowers belong to other hierarchical beings whose names are not yet known [except to
initiates]. As long as this is so, they will remain undeveloped [that is, without knowing these
names, a potent means for the development of these lotus flowers is lacking].

All the lotus flowers have their basic law of operation.

The following is an application of this:
The 8petal lotus flower: breadth [width]
The 2petal lotus flower: coldness
The 16petal lotus flower: air [discussed below at the end of this section]
The 12petal lotus flower: movement
The 10petal lotus flower: warmth
The 6petal lotus flower: height
The 4petal lotus flower: length
The 2petal lotus flower is connected with coldness. For example, a person from the north is more
individual than one from the south. Human beings from the north have a stronger ‘I’. In the south
there are more types who are similar to one another.

The movement of the 12petal lotus flower is the cause of the heart’s flow of life. Twelve rays from
the zodiac penetrate through the twelve petals into the heart. These rays, which are effected by
Yahweh, have a moonlike quality. However, when [Christ] rays out from the 12petal lotus flower,
they become partly sunlike. Illnesses are [a matter of] destiny, and death is independent thereof.
When one becomes old and tired, the rays go higher and higher into the head until they eventually
arrive at the 8petal lotus flower—from the Sun sphere of the heart into the Father sphere (death).
Then the movement of the heart ceases.
[In the spirit of the ancient yoga tradition] the Indians seek to raise their consciousness to the
Father, into the 1000petal lotus flower, as they call it. However, this is wrong. For one cannot
come here [into this lotus flower] without bringing one’s life experience with one. They attempt [to
do so] without life experience. Through this madness, drops of this lotus flower sprinkle down
which, however, all fall into Ahriman’s realm.

Warmth in the10petal lotus flower signifies that love penetrates into all twelve senses. Someone
who is filled with love finds that, even if their senses were not previously open, now all their senses
open. One can stand a bad smell without feeling nauseous if one recognizes it. In the legend of
Christ Jesus [about him seeing a dead dog], with the [sight of the] dead dog it is said that he did
not see only decay and dissolution but also the wonderful image that arises when the elements
return to their home.If one is unable to feel love for a stone, one can think of Nature [lovingly], and
one’s senses will be opened through love.

The ‘height’ of the 6petal lotus flower signifies the harmonization of thought, feeling, and will in the
vertical (not in the horizontal). In a practical sense this means a continuous, ever-present
thought/remembrance of the spiritual world, more as a mood than on the level of consciousness.
One has to learn to say I AM vertically. Then a vertical stream ascends above from the eyes, and
a triangle descends from above, outside of the human being’s [normal] consciousness, coming
from the higher self in the future. And if the human being comes to this point in the course of life,
he [or she] knows what has to be done. For the Y-fork of deciding has already been accomplished.
(This reference by Valentin Tomberg is just one example of his panoramic overview of the whole domain of initiation science.
The Y-fork of deciding is something that was practiced in the Rosicrucian School and was spoken of by Rudolf Steiner in his first Esoteric School.
The communications of Rudolf Steiner within the first Esoteric School were not known outside of a small handful of people, and their content was
only published (in German, in three volumes) in the 1990’s, long after Valentin Tomberg’s death. In 2007the first of these three volumes was
published in English translation, from which the following description of the exercise of the Y-fork of deciding is taken: “In the good Rosicrucian
school a symbol was given…Y [on the left arm of the Y the words ‘Command me’ are written, and on the right arm of the Y the words ‘Forbid me’
are written]. Concerning this symbol the teacher says: To be sure, you cannot use the method you receive with this symbol with everything that
happens to you during the day, especially in these fast-paced times, yet in a thousand instances you should do it at least once. That one time
imagine this form before your spiritual eye when you are confronted with the need to make a decision. Then imagine that along one line the words
are written: ‘Command me’. Then in a contemplative way let everything pass though your soul that can be said in favor of the deed in question.
Everything must be well and logically thought through. A fact that follows from the previous fact must be truthfully, that is, in accordance with the
facts, thought through, until at the conclusion of the line of thought you have standing clearly before your soul what appears as the goal of the
decision that is to be translated into a deed. Then think of the other line. On the other line stands written: ‘Forbid me’. Here you must also list all the
facts that speak against the decision. This must be done just as clearly, with complete objectivity, without sympathy or antipathy. Then let your gaze
sweep along the line with no writing. There, you imagine, you yourself are standing, but your true ‘I’, not your sheath-‘I’, stands there.
Then wait quietly and compare what appears as the facts that speak for the line labeled ‘command me’ and for the line labeled ‘forbid me’, by
looking back and forth between them. And then the correct decision will appear in your mind and your true ‘I’ will have given it to you. You must do
the same if you have to make a judgment. Along one line is written ‘correct’, on the other ‘incorrect’. Your higher self stands on the unwritten
line…Your true, unique, inner ‘I’, uninfluenced by the sheath-‘I’, will then tell you the correct judgment if, again, you listen quietly and with perfect,
inner calm and seclusion to what it says” (Rudolf Steiner, Esoteric Lessons 1904-1909, Steiner Books, Gt. Barrington, Massachusetts, 2007, pp.
318-319).)

The Y-fork which is only for the purpose of decision making in the horizontal causes
disadvantages for development in the vertical. Then a constant dilemma arises between above
and below. [For] the Y-fork in the vertical: [imagine a triangle with the point up *, this point being
the higher self; one side of the triangle is a line proceeding down from the higher self to
the point * representing the 6petal lotus flower, and the other side of the triangle is a line
proceeding down from the higher self to the point * representing something of the future – see
schematic figure].
*higher self
*6petal lotus flower
*point in the future

The fact of not placing the Y-fork in the vertical but rather in the horizontal signifies THE illness of
this lotus flower, through which the whole of humanity is passing. If humanity does not become
creative in the vertical, it will always remain blind. The eyes of the 8petal lotus flower are pierced
through the Father. In the 4petal lotus flower there is a splinter of Ahriman. Only through the
two eyes becoming vertical [“vertical seeing”] can they be restored to the ‘I’.

Air: the 16petal lotus flower. If air enters the blood, the human being dies. Air and blood are
inimical. This is an expression of the Fall. Both [air and blood] are part of Christ. Through the Fall
they have been torn apart. In the [future] Jupiter period [of evolution] both will be able to be
reunited again. Air is the I AM spoken in the cosmos.

Blood is the power of the word I AM in the human being. Now blood and air are not able to be
united. At the present time one can only acknowledge [cognize] these two I AM’s.
Work on the 16petal lotus flower does not take place directly, but [indirectly] from the 2petal and
the 6petal [lotus flowers]—from the 2petal lotus flower because the principle of higher
consciousness is in this lotus flower, and from the 6petal lotus flower because there is
harmonization in this lotus flower. One has to imagine the 16petal lotus flower as a knot of veins
which are empty within, like empty tubes that have an opening at each end. The Word of Christ is
breathed into one end, and the word is breathed out the other end through the human being. In the
future this lotus flower will not look very nice; it will look like the glandular system. However, what
will sound forth from it will be wonderful. In the case of Ahrimanic human beings this lotus flower
will look wonderful – transparent, crystalline – but it will be the work of Ahriman shaping it, not of
the human being. These human beings will avoid pronouncing certain words, for example: Christ.
If they speak his name, a part of this fragile structure [of the 16petal lotus flower] will fall off. This
will be healing for them, but they will be afraid of it. In the etheric bodies of these human beings a
degeneration of the etheric blood will take place, corresponding to what takes place in the blood
on a physical level with syphilis.

Part III: Development of the Lotus Flowers

Valentin Tomberg
Translated by Robert Powell from a German manuscript written before or during World War II and previously unpublished in English.
Footnotes and words in brackets [ ] have been added by the translator.
[Part III, the concluding part, focuses upon the movements of the lotus flowers, illnesses associated with their
malfunctioning, the development of the lotus flowers, and much else as well. However, there are some things referred
to in the following which cannot really be understood without some background – for example, the reference to the
three karmic classes of humanity. In his Lord’s Prayer Course (Our Mother Course) Valentin Tomberg discusses three
karmic levels of humanity. The first level relates to the Holy Spirit, the second to the Son, and the third to the Father.
He speaks of Rudolf Steiner as a “Father” human being and that such “God-sent spirits radiate like stars in the heaven
of eternal being.” He goes on to say, “According to these levels there are three karmic classes of humanity divided into
‘Holy Spirit’ people, ‘Son’ people, and ‘Father’ people – just as there are the three divisions of the [spiritual]
hierarchies, and humanity is the fourth hierarchy.”
Furthermore, in the following Valentin Tomberg writes about “the karmic situation of the present” being “similar to that
of Ancient Israel, when Yahweh and Baal stood in opposition.” We have to bear in mind that he was writing at the time
of the activity of Hitler, and in another context he referred to Hitler’s impulse – the will to power – as being
diametrically opposed to Rudolf Steiner’s impulse expressed in his fundamental work Philosophy of Freedom. The will
to power works up from the 4petal lotus flower, whose symbol is the swastika, and influences the thinking activity to
follow the force of direction of the will – this being a modern, twentieth century manifestation of the Baal impulse,
where the danger is that human beings can be swept away by a tyrannical force of will that informs their thinking,
rather than thinking for themselves.
This is diametrically opposed to the work Philosophy of Freedom, which was written to activate the free thinking of the
2petal lotus flower in every human being. Once having arrived at freedom of thought, the next step outlined in
Philosophy of Freedom is that the will is guided in freedom by the free thought activity, this being a modern
manifestation (albeit in metamorphosed form) of the Yahweh impulse in service of the Christ of which Moses was the
great historical example – see also “Yahweh and Baal in the Destiny of Israel” in Valentin Tomberg, Christ and
Sophia, Steiner Books, 2006, pp. 86ff.
It is unfortunate that this manuscript of Valentin Tomberg’s on the lotus flowers suddenly breaks off. Given the great
present-day interest in the chakras, it is a gift to be able to study this fragment on the lotus flowers – of which this is
the third and final part – as it represents an extraordinarily detailed modern initiation knowledge concerning the lotus
flowers.
By way of a footnote to the opposition (in terms of the lotus flowers) between the Yahweh and Baal streams discussed
in the following, it is interesting that Rudolf Steiner, in notes that have not yet been published in English translation,
wrote of a positive mode of ascent from the 4petal lotus flower including the other lotus flowers: “Two streams are in
the Kundalini fire: 1. one through the 4– 6– 10petal lotus flowers to the organ of the heart; 2) from the heart organ to
the 12– 16– 2etc.”* Given Valentin Tomberg’s indications in the following, it is evidently the direct line of connection
between the 4petal and the 2petal lotus flowers without including the other lotus flowers which is dangerous – this
being the Baal stream.]
*Rudolf Steiner, SeelenübungenI [“Soul Exercises” volume I], Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1997, p.
460.]

The movement of the 10petal lotus flower [solar plexus chakra]:

From here the same content passes into the 6 petal lotus flower, which also is set in movement
[rotation; see adjacent figure] .
The movement of the 6petal lotus flower[sacral chakra]:

Introduction
Every astral body has seven lotus flowers. Their essence consists of primal thoughts from the
power of the Father.
The human being has seven lotus flowers, which are his seven spiritual organs. The seven seals
of the Apocalypse refer to the seven lotus flowers. The transfiguration of Christ was the opening
and penetration [of the lotus flowers] by the power of Christ pouring though them. Temptation is
the wrong development of the lotus flowers. Saints are human beings who are penetrated from the
spiritual world in such a way that one or more lotus flowers are transfigured by the power of Christ
pouring through them. Every esotericist must have been a saint at some time [in a previous
incarnation] and had the experience of being irradiated by the Sun radiance of Christ pouring
through them.
[It is] the I AM power that effects the transfiguration of the lotus flowers—I AM being the esoteric
name of Christ. All [seven] I AM sayings are healings of the seven lotus flowers. Also the seven
healing miracles, which accompany the I AM sayings as Imaginations, are symbolic acts for the
purification of the seven lotus flowers.
Evil arises if instead of the power of Christ the power of evil enters into the lotus flowers. This is
also sevenfold, since each I AM saying has an evil saying counterposed to it. Each lotus flower or
chakra corresponds to a planet.
Concerning the movement of the lotus flowers

From here its content passes into the Sun lotus flower. The 8petal lotus flower [crown chakra]
sends its force into the 2petal lotus flower at the end of the year on the day when this moving
system takes place within 24hours. On the day of the year when the rhythm is concluded, the next
time this content passes into the 16petal lotus flower [throat chakra], in the third year into the
12petal lotus flower, in the fourth year into the 10petal lotus flower, in the fifth year into the 6petal
lotus flower, and in the sixth year into the 4petal lotus flower. [Thus] after six years karmic force
becomes a creative power. Then also the 4petal lotus flower begins to rotate. It forms a net of light
through the rays which are directed inward.
Then there is an unbroken stream from above – from the 2petal lotus downward – whereby the
more the 2petal lotus flower streams out, all the more streams into it from the 8petal lotus flower.
This [complete] system [of interconnected streamings throughout the lotus flowers] exists in the
case of human beings belonging to the second karmic class. The 8petal lotus flower bears all
those forces stored within it which the human being has gathered through karma from the previous
incarnation. One person may have less of these forces, the other more.
It is also physiologically possible that the physical heart moves to the right, so that the function of
the Sun lotus [heart chakra] and [that of] the physical are separated.
The content of the 4petal lotus flower is initially equal to zero. It [the content] can only be
introduced from above. The 2petal lotus flower gives the basic tone. [It is good that the 8petal and
4petal lotus flowers come to consciousness later than the other lotus flowers.]
The later the 8petal and 4petal lotus flowers come to consciousness, i.e. are experienced, the
better it is.

8 Karmic forces
2 Power of the “I”
16 Word
12 Love (physical heart)
10 Knowledge
6 Harmony
4 Creative power

A general outline of the lotus flowers in relation to illnesses

The planetary spheres are the lotus flowers of the world. The [actual] planets are “dark places” in
the lotus flowers of the world, just as with human beings the glands are “dark places” in the lotus
flowers. The glands thus correspond to the planets. The nerves correspond to the orbits of the
planets. The lotus flowers correspond to the planetary spheres. The [planetary] orbit is where the
planetary sphere meets the planet. In the human being the nerves are where the lotus flowers
meet the glands.

The pineal gland (pijnappelklier) belongs to the 8petal lotus flower.

The pituitary gland (hypofyse), the balance of the “I”, belongs to the 2petal lotus flower.
The thyroid glands (schildklier) belong to the 16petal lotus flower.
The lung [thymus] gland (zwezerik) belongs to the 12petal lotus flower.
The pancreas (alvleesklier) belongs to the 10and 6petal lotus flowers.
The sexual glands [gonads] belong to the 4petal lotus flower.

Father: the 8petal lotus flower originated on Ancient Saturn.

Son: the 12petal lotus flower originated on Ancient Sun.
Holy Spirit: the 4petal lotus flower originated on Ancient Moon.

Illnesses in relation to the lotus flowers

16petal lotus flower—throat, lungs and heart
12petal lotus flower—arthritis and neuralgia
10petal lotus flower—intestines, diarrhoea, constipation
6petal lotus flower—stomach
4petal lotus flower—bladder (not kidneys), sexual organs

Degeneration: [a lotus] flower has too few petals

Regeneration: [a lotus] flower has too many petals
Atrophy: [a lotus] flower has petals that are too small
Hypertrophy: [a lotus] flower has petals that are too large
The 12petal lotus flower is healthy only if the [circular] round of its outermost tips forms a perfect
circle. How big it is does nothing to its health; this has to do with the human being’s level of
development. For example, the Antichrist has 24 petals in his 12petal lotus flower. [This is] a
perfect hypertrophy, which allows everything to appear very good but is a lie inwardly.

After the Fall all the lotus flowers were normal.

Their [present] distortion is an expression of the extent to which a human being has allowed evil to
enter. Ultimately this shows itself in illness. When this illness and the suffering it brings is over,
there are better conditions for the future healing of the [corresponding] lotus flower.

Light and Sun work upon the human body in a chaotic way. Thus, the Sun works in a disturbing
way upon the head and the upper parts of the human being, because it works in a chaotic way
into a region where there should be light-filled clarity. The head becomes stupefied, incapable of
clear thinking. In the middle region of the human being, where the rhythmic system is, clarity of the
head as well as chaotic influences from the lower part [of the human being] hold sway, so that light
and Sun can do good in certain cases but also cause damage with other illnesses. In the human
being’s digestive system a chaotic condition holds sway and has to hold sway there. Thus the Sun
can do a lot of good with most illnesses of the lower body.
Those on the spiritual path must not bathe in the Sun, because that destroys all the more refined
organs—especially the head should not be exposed, but other parts also not. The illness
proceeding from the 12petal lotus flower is heart [cardiac] neurosis. The etheric heart contracts in
two ways.
With pessimists [there is] an incongruity with the heartbeat [which] causes anxiety. With optimists
it [the etheric heart] skips [which] also causes an incongruity [with the heart beat] and results in
being short of breath. A person who laughs [a lot] is often weeping in the etheric body. A person
who cries [a lot] is often laughing in the etheric body.

If someone has a weak “I”, he or she does not much use the 2petal lotus flower. The human being
then beholds the Earth not from themselves, but allows the outside world in and only rejects that
which doesn’t please them personally. Thus abscesses can come about in the eye sockets,
because an overgrowth starts there. However, one can also let in [impressions from the outer
world] and look out [into the world] in complete balance. This was the case with Goethe—he
allowed the world in without [his impressions] being colored by his personality.
There is also the strong gaze, the magical gaze, through which the human being works upon the
surrounding world.

Melancholy sets in when a human being is not fully incarnated and then continually knocks up
against his or her body which he or she has not fully penetrated and of which consequently he or
she is also not completely master. To heal this one has to at some point drive in the astral body so
strongly that all of a sudden the human being comes in completely [to his or her body]. This was
attempted in earlier times through religious healings whereby the person then found themselves in
a cramp. A condition of cramp arises when the astral body penetrates too strongly into the
physical body.
Now possibilities exist in [modern] medicine of artificially bringing on a cramp—resulting in a real
improvement [of the condition of the human being who is not properly incarnated]. As long as we
do not have anything better, one has to acknowledge this [approach] although one knows that it is
not right.

With healing, three factors play a role:

I. The diagnosis. A true diagnosis would be to actually recognize [know] the whole human
being in all of the seven bodies and also his or her karmic line [of incarnations].
II. The medicine [or means of healing] which perhaps one would be able to find and [also]
the most appropriate conditions of the air, food, etc. [conducive to healing].
III. The third [factor], however, is lacking [at the present time]—namely, how to call forth in
the ill person their own healing forces or to increase them. Perhaps the way would be to
seek how a person could create such a relationship with another [human being] that a
Third – namely the power of Christ – can enter in to increase the healing forces of the ill
person.

One can best understand the lotus flowers by considering them in relation to the seven planetary
conditions [of evolution].
Thus, the 4petal lotus flower corresponds to the [future] Vulcan condition. However, at the present
time it is at the level of development of Ancient Saturn.
The 6 petal lotus flower corresponds potentially to the [future] Venus condition. However, at the
present time it is at the level of development of Ancient Sun.
The 10petal lotus flower has within it the potential forces of the [future] Jupiter condition. However,
at the present time it is at the level of development of Ancient Moon.
Only the 12petal lotus flower is that of the present; it is the lotus flower of Earth evolution.
The three higher lotus flowers (16, 2, 8petals) correspond to the condition of the human being
prior to the Fall. However, if they would have remained alone [without the other lotus flowers]
the human being would be a created god but would never have attained freedom. The intention
of Lucifer relates to the three higher lotus flowers.
Ahriman’s plan relates to the four lower lotus flowers. The three upper lotus flowers are human,
yet they are divine-human. The Father works in the 8petal lotus flower; it works divinely in
the Father. The Son works in the 16petal lotus flower. The Holy Spirit works in the 2petal lotus
flower. The other lotus flowers are brought to development in that in each of them a hierarchy
is taken in [to that lotus flower]. And this is not a hierarchy in general but a definite hierarchical
being [from each hierarchy].
The greatest capacity, the highest development, of the 12petal lotus flower is attained when the
Nathan Jesus is taken into it. [With the second coming, the Nathan Jesus is active in the sphere
of the Angels]. The 10petal lotus flower takes the forces of [the Archangel] Michael into itself when
it is developed. The 6petal lotus flower takes that being into itself which was the Time Spirit
[Archai] of the Ancient Indian epoch. At the same time this [being] is the Angel of the Manu [who
was the leader of the seven Holy Rishis in the Ancient Indian epoch].The next hierarchical being
who is known by name to human beings [and who] is taken into the 4petal lotus flower is that
aspect of the Christ power that works in Yahweh. [Yahweh is a hierarchical being of the rank of the
Elohim also known as Exusiai, Powers, or Spirits of Form.] The remaining five lotus flowers (the
human being will one day actually have twelve) correspond to the five remaining hierarchies
(Dynamis to the Seraphim).
These five further lotus flowers are not even present in seed form, because the human being has
no individual relationship to individual beings of the five higher hierarchies. The human being does
not know the names of those individual [hierarchical] beings who would come into consideration.
This is the only reason why the human being has not developed the other lotus flowers, only
because (and as long as this is so) for the human being [it is] simply [that] general hierarchies
begin after the Elohim.
The karmic situation of the present is similar to that of Ancient Israel, when Yahweh and Baal
stood in opposition. Thus, also in the present two streams oppose one another, whereby the same
beings stand behind these streams. Baal occultism consisted in the line [between the 4petal and
2petal lotus flowers], awakening the force of the 4petal lotus flower [and] leading [this] to the
2petal lotus flower, without touching the other lotus flowers.
The Yahweh [esoteric] path consisted in working upon the 4petal lotus flower from the 2petal lotus
flower. The wildest [imaginable] cults arose in the service of Baal.

Up until the year 1879 the 12petal lotus flower was that of knowledge, and the 2petal lotus
flower that of initiative. Since 1879 [the start of the present age of the Archangel Michael] the
10petal lotus flower is the one for creative activity while the 16petal lotus flower takes it up as the
future lotus flower of the [creative] word. The 2petal and 12petal lotus flowers, however, are
potentially given [to be active in this process as well].
In the Anthroposophical Society it is now happening [on a widespread scale] that what
Rudolf Steiner said is simply repeated. Thereby the 10petal lotus flower rotates only mechanically
instead of working creatively. From here a stream goes to the 16petal lotus flower which, in turn,
streams the same thing back [to the 10petal lotus flower]. Thus there arises a circulus vitiosus
[“vicious circle”] a [purely] mechanical activity.
However, the consequence of this is that the entire system of the lotus flowers is mummified,
bonelike. At the present time this is the same as what the cult of Baal was in the past.

For human beings of the third karmic class the thyroid gland plays only a physical role. However,
for human beings of the second karmic class it is effective [active] in connection with the 16petal
lotus flower —balance of the word.
[Here at this point Valentin Tomberg’s manuscript on the lotus flowers breaks off.]