Sun and Moon Separating out of the Earth

The subject of separation of the Moon is certainly an interesting topic within Steiner's cosmology. It deals with the shifting of gravity over time, and how in this different gravity large sized animals such as dinosaurs could exist. The separation of the Sun is another aspect treated by Steiner, as it cooled down the planet. Also, Steiner describes something as unusual as flying animals who swallow hot rocks coming from the cosmos..

We will thus try to get a grasp on Rudolf Steiner’s highly imaginative and complex descriptions of deep Earth history!
A starting point can be the following three core concepts from his lectures on cosmic evolution (particularly in Cosmic Memory and his lectures on the Lemurian and Hyperborean epochs). [1, 2]

Here is how those specific memories map out in Anthroposophy: [1]

1. Gravity, the Moon Separation, and Dinosaurs

Steiner stated that before the Moon separated from the Earth, the planet had an entirely different state of density and weight. [1]

• The "Heavy" Matter Cast Out: The Moon was expelled because it contained the coarsest, most hardening mineral substances. [1, 2]
• The Shift in Gravity: When this heavy matter was thrown out, the remaining Earth became lighter, drastically changing the nature of earthly gravity. [1]
• How Dinosaurs Could Exist: Because the atmosphere and the physical substance of the Earth were much more fluid, buoyant, and watery-dense before the final hardening, enormous creatures—like giant amphibians and the precursors to dinosaurs—could exist, move, and support their massive bodies. They were essentially "floating" through a much thicker, soup-like atmosphere and semi-fluid environment rather than walking under today's crushing gravity.

2. The Sun Separation and the Cooling of the Planet

The separation of the Sun initiated a massive transformation, though with a slight twist in Steiner's cosmic timeline.

• The Sun Left First: The Sun—actually constituted of many spiritual beings—separated before the Moon did, during what Steiner called the Hyperborean period. [1]
• Extreme Heat vs. Cooling: When the Sun was still united with the Earth, the planet was a blindingly hot, radiant entity of light and beings of pure, spiritual and divine energy. The separation of the Sun caused the remaining Earth-Moon body to condense and cool down. [1, 2]
• The Threat of Over-Cooling: However, once the Sun left, the remaining heavy Moon forces inside the Earth began to cool and harden the planet too much. The Earth was in danger of becoming a frozen, mummified block of solid rock where life could not evolve. This is precisely why the spiritual powers had to force the Moon out later—to strike a perfect balance between the burning cosmic forces of the Sun and the freezing, hardening forces of the Moon. [1, 2]

3. Flying Creatures Swallowing Hot Rocks from Space

This is one of Steiner's most bizarre and fascinating descriptions from his lectures on the Lemurian epoch.
During this period, the Earth’s atmosphere was a dense vapor filled with volcanic eruptions, boiling mud, and constant meteor showers of cosmic debris. Steiner describes early, grotesque animal forms that were highly adapted to this chaotic environment:

• "Air-Animals" and Pterodactyl-like Beings: He describes precursors to birds and flying reptiles that possessed membranous wings and swam or flew through the thick, smoky atmosphere.
• Swallowing Fire and Minerals: Because the Earth's crust was constantly shooting out fiery, molten matter and the sky was raining down cosmic stones, these primitive flying creatures would actively swallow these hot, mineral-rich substances.
• The Origin of Bird Gizzards: They used the intense inner heat of these swallowed rocks to aid their own chaotic, metabolic digestion. In spiritual science, this is cited as the archetypal spiritual origin of why modern birds still swallow small stones or pebbles (gastroliths) to grind food in their gizzards! [1]

We will follow up on these unusual descriptions of Earth's beginnings by Steiner in a next posting. Although unusual, these descriptions, when taken as non-static states of early phases of the earth, as it emerged from still more ancient states, can throw light on many aspects of the earth's constitution which otherwise to this day remain a mystery. It is hereby not that we want definite "answers", but rather that questions can be opened, so that our very notions receive the needed fluidity for grasping those very liquid and spiritual states of the earth's beginnings.