d Moon he felt a greater
measure of independence when the Sun was turned away from him; but at the
same time he also felt as though the ego belonging to him, which had
disappeared from the picture-consciousness during the Sun period, now
became visible. It was, for Moon-humanity, what may be described as a
change in the states of consciousness, so that the Moon-being had this
feeling: "In the Sun period my ego wafts me away into higher regions, into
the presence of exalted beings, and when the Sun disappears it descends
with me into lower worlds."

The actual Moon evolution was preceded by a preparatory stage. In a
certain way the Saturn and Sun evolutions were recapitulated. Now, after
the reunion of Sun and Moon, during what we have termed the ebb-tide, two
epochs may be distinguished one from the other. In the course of these,
even physical condensation occurs to a certain degree. Therefore
psycho-spiritual conditions of the Sun-Moon organism alternate with others
of a more physical nature. In such physical epochs human beings and those
of the lower kingdoms appear as though they were preparing, in stiff not
yet self-reliant forms, the type of what they were to become in a more
independent manner during the Earth period. We may therefore speak of two
preparatory epochs in the Moon evolution, and of two others during the
ebb-tide. In occult science such epochs may be termed cycles.(20) In that
period which follows the two preparatory epochs, and precedes those of the
ebb-tide--that is to say, during the time of the separation of the
Moon--three epochs can again be distinguished. The middle period is the
time when the Sons of Life reached the human level. It is preceded by a
period in which all conditions lead up to that crowning event; and it is
followed by one which may be called a time of adaptation and of perfecting
the new creations.

In this way the middle period of the Moon evolution is again divided into
three epochs, which, with the two preparatory periods and the two during
the ebb-tide make up seven Moon cycles, or rounds. It may therefore be
said that the whole Moon evolution passes through seven cycles, or rounds.
Between them are intervals of rest, which have been mentioned repeatedly
in the above description. Yet we can approach a true concept of these
facts only if we do not think of the changes between the periods of
activity and those of rest, as sudden ones. For instance, the Sun-beings
little by li