We will further, through observation of the principle of cycles, be able to establish where terrestrial mankind is in its cosmic spiral cycle. Even the course of life of terrestrial mankind as a whole, according to the law of movement, forms of necessity a cycle. And we can, as mentioned above, establish terrestrial mankind's present position in this cycle. We see that all cycles in Nature have four specific stages, each representing its own specific principle. So we see that the year cycle has four stages that we term "seasons". These seasons together constitute, through their greatest mutually contrasting relationship to one another, light and darkness or "good" and "evil". We know the seasons of the year cycle as "winter", "spring", "summer" and "autumn". The season of winter is the epoch of coldness and frost. Here the unfolding of life or Nature is at its minimum. Out of the epoch of winter grows spring. Light and warmth begin to increase. All life in Nature sprouts and grows. Next comes summer. Here light and warmth reach a peak, just as life, that is Nature, unfolds fully, reaching its peak. After summer follows autumn. The light and warmth decrease, as do the unfolding of life in Nature. And so winter comes again with its coldness and darkness, which become more or less prevailing factors. And the unfolding of life in Nature is once again at its minimum. We can see the same four principles in the twenty-four hour or day cycle. We begin with "midnight". Here we have the domain of coldness and darkness, where the unfolding of life is at its minimum. Midnight is thus the principle of "winter" in the day cycle. After that comes the period of time we call "morning". Here the light and warmth begin to increase, and life wakes up once more and unfolds. We have here the principle of "spring" in the day cycle. After that comes the part of the day we call "noon". This is when the warmth and light reach their peak, as do life and Nature. The time around noon is the principle of "summer" in the day cycle. Next comes the "autumn" of the day cycle. We call this period of time "evening". Here the light and warmth begin to wane, it becomes cooler, the unfolding of life in Nature dies away and becomes dormant. And after that we have once more the "winter stage" in the day cycle. These four principles of the seasons are therefore contributory, vital factors in the manifestation and experience of physical states of life.