"Our very 'I' consciousness is possible because the mineral earth--the first layer of the interior of the Earth--and the other chthonic regions exist. Our human nature is a reflection of the subearthly and supraearthly realms that comprise the macrocosm and the microcosm. 'The true meaning of the microcosm-macrocosm analogy is not that the human being is a little cosmos, but that the cosmos is a big human being.' From this perspective, it makes complete sense that the subterranean realms described by spiritual science live within the deepest realms of our human nature and subconscious life of darker feelings and will. Deep within the human being, they radiate into the shadows of thought. This region is more familiarly known as Hell, Hades, or the Abyss. The subterranean spheres, then, are the Earth's 'dark side'" (from Paul V. O'Leary's introduction).
Throughout human history, ancient wisdom and traditional myths have placed human beings between the heavens and the underworld, describing the heavens as the light-filled realm of the gods and the source of goodness, and characterizing the underworld as a demon-filled realm of darkness and the source of evil. Modern science, however, denies the heavens and knows little of the Earth's interior -- even physically -- beyond the first few miles, after which it simply resorts to conjecture based on the extrapolation of existing sensory data. In other words, natural science fails to take into account that the Earth is a living, spiritual being and ignores the presence of its soul-spiritual qualities and influences.
To remedy this, during the early twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner researched the psychic, spiritual, and cosmic nature of the Earth's interior. He described how the different layers of the inner Earth affect and interact with human beings living on Earth. More theologically and cosmically, he spoke of the layers of "Hell," through which Jesus Christ traveled in the period between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, uniting and integrating himself with the Earth and with human destiny.
The seven authors in The Inner Life of the Earth approach this difficult and little-discussed topic from different directions. They discuss how the forces emanating from the interior of the Earth affect the weather, our atmosphere, human beings, and how human behavior in turn affects them, showing that earthly and human evolution are a unity and should never be thought of as occurring separately. They also discuss the deep significance of Christ's incarnation, by which he united with the Earth to become the Spirit of the Earth.
Without Christ's deed, the Mystery of Golgotha, which reunites cosmic and human evolution with the divine, human beings would be unable to work in freedom with Christ or with Sophia, divine feminine Wisdom, in her form as the Soul of the Earth, to overcome evil and help lift all creation toward goodness and greater human, cosmic, and divine fellowship.
Paul V. O'Leary was a real estate appraiser and attorney who specialized in forensic appraisals and the appraisal of conservation properties. He wrote, taught, and lectured extensively on real estate economics and appraisal for The Appraisal Institute, The Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers, the American Society of Appraisers, and the Massachusetts and United States Bar Associations. He was also a special faculty member of the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a think tank associated with Harvard University, with an international portfolio, researching, publishing, and teaching on real estate planning and taxation issues.
Christopher Bamford (1943-2022) was born in Cardiff, South Wales, and lived for a while in Hungary and then in Scotland. He studied as an undergraduate at Trinity University in Dublin and earned his master's degree at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. For nearly thirty years, he was Editor in Chief at SteinerBooks (Anthroposophic Press) and its imprints. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he lectured, taught, and wrote widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions. His books include a selection of his numerous introductions, Encountering Rudolf Steiner: Introductions to Essential Works (2022); Healing Madonnas: Exploring the Sequence of Madonna Images Created by Rudolf Steiner and Felix Peipers for Use in Therapy and Meditation (2017); An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (2003); and The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity (1990). He also translated and edited numerous books, including Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science (2001); The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz (1984); and Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness (1982). Essays by Mr. Bamford are included in The Best Spiritual Writing 2000 ("In the Presence of Death") and The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 ("The Gift of the Call"). Christopher passed over the threshold on May 13, 2022, at his Mt. Washington, Massachusetts home.
Robert A. Powell, PhD, is an internationally known lecturer, author, eurythmist, and movement therapist. He is founder of the Choreocosmos School of Cosmic and Sacred Dance, and cofounder of the Sophia Foundation of North America. He received his doctorate for his thesis
The History of the Zodiac, available as a book from Sophia Academic Press. He is the author and coauthor of numerous work, including
The Sophia Teachings (a six-tape series), as well as numerous books on star wisdom (
Astrosophy), the divine feminine (
Sophia), the Christian Mysteries, and sacred movement. He has also been a contributing editor of the annual journal
Star Wisdom. He translated the spiritual classic
Meditations on the Tarot and co-translated Valentin Tomberg's
Lazarus, Come Forth! Robert teaches a gentle form of healing movement: the sacred dance of eurythmy, as well as the Cosmic Dances of the Planets and signs of the zodiac. Through the Sophia Grail Circle, Robert facilitates sacred celebrations dedicated to the Divine Feminine. He has also offered numerous workshops in Europe and Australia, and with Karen Rivers, cofounder of the Sophia Foundation, and has led pilgrimages to the world's sacred sites since 1996.
Marko Pogačnik is UNESCO Artist for Peace 2016 to 2018. He was born in 1944 in Kranj, Slovenia, and trained as a sculptor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. He works worldwide to promote multidimensional ways to approach the Earth and its beings, developing methods of ecological healing such as "lithopuncture" (Earth acupuncture). His books in English include
Nature Spirits & Elemental Beings, Turned Upside Down, Sacred Geography, Touching the Breath of Gaia, and
Gaia's Quantum Leap. Marko is a visiting professor at Columbia University, New York.
Rachel C. Ross is an educator and eurythmist of wide experience. She holds a diploma in Artistic and Pedagogical Eurythmy from the London School of Eurythmy; a diploma in Therapeutic Eurythmy from the Medical Section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland; and a Masters of Science in Education from Sunbridge College in New York. Rachel specializes in treating children with developmental disorders and learning disabilities. She has been involved as a developmental specialist, designing and implementing programs, training staff, teaching, and consulting at Waldorf and public schools. Rachel is a faculty member and co-director of the Waldorf Resource/Remedial Teacher Training Programs in Spain, Brazil, Ireland and Toronto. These training initiatives are in partnership with the Association for Healing Education. She maintains an active practice in therapeutic eurythmy and remedial movement therapy and is a traveling consultant to many Waldorf and private schools nationwide. She is the author of
Adventures in Parenting(AWSNA, 2008).
