Ramblings, Reflections and Ruminations of Daniel Giamario | April 14, 2026 |
Introduction
Coming of age in the mid to late sixties, I gravitated to the metaphysically and philosophically inclined counterculture. As a philosophy and East Asian studies major, the tendency, indeed the consensus, was the rejection of behaviorism, logical positivism, British Empiricism, and Utilitarianism. We believed those approaches had been swept aside for good. How naive we were!
Now, in 2026, AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), along with the embrace of the tyranny of the “greater good”, are here as the ultimate materialistic extensions of Logic, devoid of Consciousness and Soul.
However, back then, nearly all of us embraced the Perennial Philosophies, holding that Consciousness precedes Matter and is not merely a materialistic creation of the physical brain. As the well-known Sanskrit term “Sat-Chit-Ananda”, representing the ultimate reality or true nature of the self in Hindu philosophy, particularly Vedanta, as in
Sat: Absolute Existence/Being
Chit: Pure Consciousness/Awareness
Ananda: Limitless Bliss / Peace describing a state of being that is eternal, undivided, and inherently joyful
points to:
Consciousness is a foundational attribute of the Absolute, The One Reality.
Under the sway of the emergent psychologies of the time, such as transpersonal psychology, Jungian psychology, and archetypal psychology, as well as the faddish popularity of Indian Gurus, what happened though in those heady and halcyon times was that the question of evil was swept under the rug. Evil was assumed to not exist, and certainly not to be discussed. Instead, the inversions of light polarization and spiritual bypassing were rapidly being popularized. I am reminded of this quote, attributed to different sources but hailing back to early 19th century Quakerism:
“The Devil’s greatest trick is to convince humans that he doesn’t exist.”
The Turning Point
I too was taken in by this! What it took for me to snap out, was reading “The War of the Gods in Addiction” by David Schoen (2009) about 15 years ago. The book is based on a series of letters exchanged between Bill Wilson (Bill W: the founder of AA) and Carl Jung just before his death. Through these letters, Bill W convinces Jung, who previously had been in denial about it, of the existence of archetypal Evil. In Bill W’s view, through various forms of addiction (not just alcohol), a certain point can be reached where the individual soul is taken over by the spirit or agent of addiction. At that point, the individual, either by choice or for survival, surrenders possession of their soul and basic core humanity. Only a direct experience of a “higher power” can remedy the situation.
After reading this really important book, I started opening up to the “Evil” issue. As I did, and as I started talking about it, strange things started to happen, though fortunately not that often: folks leaving the school. They simply would and could not accept the reality of evil, the fact that I was openly talking about it!
So then, what indeed is Evil? And what to do about it? This Part One of my Ramblings is designed to help initiate YOUR inquiry, just as mine is ongoing.
Rudolf Steiner Enters My Awareness
The Goetheanum in Dornach/Switzerland, designed by Rudolf Steiner to serve as the world center of the Anthroposophical Movement.
Over the last decade, the latter teachings and writings of Rudolf Steiner have entered my awareness, often via my wife’s input. As far back as the 1980s I had been influenced by the form of astrology, known as Astrosophy, that grew out of Steiner’s inner esoteric circle after his death in 1925. Particularly the works of Elizabeth Vreede, Norman Davidson and Joachim Schultz (some of their books can be found on our resource lists) have had a lasting impact on me. However, I had not until this past decade, gone deeper into the writings of Steiner himself. What initially accelerated my interest was his post-WWI warnings about vaccines: that they would be created to cut off a human being’s connection to Spirit, Soul, and Divinity. Had he presciently and clearly seen the Scamdemic of the Covidcon?
Back to the topic of Evil, several of Steiner’s lectures informed my inquiry:
- November 18, 1917 (Dornach, GA 178): Steiner stated that learning to overcome or transform the powers of evil is a necessity for people in our epoch.
- October 26, 1918 (Dornach, GA 185): In a lecture titled “Evil and the Future of Man,” he argued that the “mission of the age” is for humanity to recognize its evolutionary goals and the forces—specifically the Ahrimanic and Luciferic—that work to undermine them.
- September 23, 1921 (Dornach, GA 207): In “Evil and the Power of Thought,” he discussed how the mystery of evil is a “deep secret” of our current period that humans are still struggling to develop the maturity to face.
- January 25, 1910 (GA 118): He warned that there would be “so much evil and materialism on earth” in the coming century (20th and beyond) that many might fail to recognize the most important spiritual events for humanity.
After you and I spend some more time with this inquiry, in Part Two of this contribution we will explore Steiner’s solution. This will also look into what is meant by Luciferic and Ahrimanic (a clue is to replace Satanic for Ahrimanic). But first, let’s look at the word ‘evil’ itself and how it has evolved and changed over time.
The Word “Evil”
Many will simply say that “evil” is the opposite of “good.” Another approach is to say that evil is the absence of good, or even that evil is the lowest form of good. Many others, particularly of my generation, either deny its existence or spiritually bypass it entirely. I have also heard some say to just reverse the word “evil” to spell “live”, implying that evil is the opposite of living. The Christian biblical view defines evil as anything contrary to the holy nature, will, and commands of God, representing a “spoiling” or privation of good. It encompasses moral wickedness (sin, injustice, rebellion) and, in some contexts, natural calamity or suffering (ra’ah). Ultimately, it is defined as preferring anything above God.
Clues and kernels of truth can be found in each and every one of these conceptions.
Etymology
I love etymology and the origins of the word “evil” are quite interesting. As you all know, I loath AI. But I do value research tools, and in this case, it did offer value to this research.
The etymology of “evil” traces back to a word meaning “to go beyond limits,” originally signifying something “uppity” or “excessive” rather than morally sinister.
Linguistic Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European (PIE): It likely stems from the PIE root
*upelo-, a derivative of*upo, which means “up” or “over”. This suggests the original concept was about “exceeding due limits” or extremism. - Proto-Germanic: The PIE form evolved into
*ubilaz, which meant “bad” or “vicious”. - Old English: The word became
yfel, used broadly by Anglo-Saxons to describe anything bad, cruel, unskillful, or even a disease (e.g., “the king’s evil” or scrofula).
Shift in Meaning
- Broad to Specific: In Old and Middle English, “evil” was simply the standard word for “bad”. It wasn’t until the 18th century that it solidified its modern meaning of extreme moral wickedness.
- Replacement by “Bad”: Over time, the word “bad” (which originally had a narrower meaning) took over the general senses of disapproval, while “evil” became reserved for the most serious moral offenses.
The origin and evolution of the word “evil” as shown above will offer great insight once we delve deeper into Steiner’s ideas in Part Two of these Ramblings.
The Importance of Free Will
There is one more topic to introduce to deepen our inquiry, namely Free Will.
The reality of Free Will is essential to this inquiry. TOTAMS has explored the topic of Free Will in a slightly different context, and it is foundational to our astrological paradigm and school. I have always loved Jung’s statement. When asked about free will, he responded that “Free Will means to gladly do what you must do.” From this stems my rephrase of the rather well known words of Jesus: “Many are Called and Few are Chosen.” Instead I say: “Many are called and Few agree!” Being originally a follower of Dane Rudhyar, I learned that one of the main purposes of astrology at this junction point in The Great Turning, is to help each individual align with their Life Purpose. Often, this is not the path of least resistance, and the individual can choose to align with their dharmic intent—or not. As Rudhyar once said:
“If you fail to live your Dharma, there is a hole left in the universe, where you were intended to be!”
Just as Consciousness is foundational to our existence, so is Free Will an essential component of an authentic, pure human being, and central to our inquiry into evil.
Of course, these views run counter to the philosophies and ideas of the technocratic oligarchs, who almost without exception, deny Spirit and Soul, and really believe that consciousness is somehow just a product of the brain. Some even believe that AI and LLM’s can be sentient. The lack of empathy and compassion in these people is becoming increasingly clear. Their court philosopher Yuval Harari is known to have stated: “Free Will? That’s Over.” For them, data is religion, and humans are just algorithms.
Free Will is key to exploring the Enigma of Evil. Hopefully this Part One will spark deep Inquiry. Part Two will explore the approach to recognizing evil and how to confront it, inspired by Rudolf Steiner. In my constantly evolving views of spirituality, philosophy and astrology, I find Steiner’s approach the most useful.
“What people in this fifth post-Atlantean epoch must learn to recognize is the fully conscious struggle against the evil rising up in the evolution of Humanity.” Rudolf Steiner, 18 November 1917
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