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 perceptions to that part of the etheric body which was separated from the physical body in the manner described above. Under these conditions the capacity of the physical body for perception was practically extinguished and the physical body itself was as though dead. For through the etheric body, these individuals were wholly united with the kingdom of the Lords of Form, and were able to learn from them how they were being guided and directed by that exalted Being the “Christ,” who was the Leader at the time of the separation of sun and earth. These people were Initiates. But since human individuality had been brought into the sphere of the Moon-beings, as described above, these Initiates could not as a rule come into direct contact with the Christ-Being, they could only see it as a reflection, shown them by the Moon-beings. Thus they did not see the Christ-Being directly, but only the reflection of its glory. They became leaders of the rest of humanity, to whom they were able to impart the mysteries they had seen. They attracted disciples, to whom they communicated the methods for attaining the condition which leads to Initiation. Only those could attain knowledge of the Christ who belonged to the Sun-humanity mentioned above. They cultivated their mystic learning, and the occupations which promoted it, at a particular spot which, in occult science terminology may be called the Christ oracle, or Sun oracle, the term “oracle” being used to denote a place where the purposes of spiritual beings are unveiled.