play as the Paradise time, and the descent to
earth, or entanglement of humanity in the sense-world, as the expulsion
from Paradise.)

The Atlantean period of evolution was the real time of separation into the
Saturn, Sun, Jupiter, and Mars humanities. Up to that time only
predispositions for this separation had been developed. The division
between the state of waking and sleeping had special consequences, which
appeared particularly in the Atlantean race. During the night the human
astral body and ego were in the sphere of the beings superior to man, as
far up as the Sons of Personality. Man could perceive the Sons of Life
(the Angels) and the Sons of Fire (the Archangels) through that part of
his etheric body which was not united with the physical body. For he was
able to remain united, during sleep, with that part of his etheric body
which was not interpenetrated by the physical body. It is true, his
perception of the Sons of Personality was vague, owing to the Luciferian
influence; but not only the Angels and Archangels became visible to man in
this condition but also those beings who were not able to enter upon
earthly existence because they had lagged behind on the Sun or Moon, and
were therefore obliged to remain in the psycho-spiritual world. But man,
by means of the Luciferian influence, drew them into his soul which was
separated from his physical body during sleep. Thus he came in contact
with beings whose influence was highly corrupting. They increased in his
soul the propensity for error; especially the tendency to misuse the
powers of growth and reproduction, which since the separation of the
physical and etheric bodies were now under his control.

Certain human beings of the Atlantean period however became entangled in
the sense world only to a very limited degree. Through them, the
Luciferian influence became, instead of a hindrance to human evolution, a
means of further progress. It enabled them to develop knowledge of earthly
matters sooner than would otherwise have been possible. They sought to
expel error from their imaginative life and to interpret, by means of
cosmic phenomena, the original purposes of spiritual beings. They kept
themselves free from those impulses and desires of the astral body which
were directed merely toward the sense-world. Hence they became more and
more free from the errors of the astral body. This resulted in a condition
through which they were able to confine their percept