35.8  The pole transformation of male and female beings
When the beings' cosmic consciousness degenerates in the spiritual worlds it is due to the degeneration of the double-poled state. And the one of the being's two sexual poles that last manifested itself as the leading pole will now enter into a kind of resting state, a latent state where it manifests itself only to a lesser extent. The pole that was latent or at its minimum in this being during its last one-poled state now breaks through and takes over the lead in the being's consciousness. If the masculine pole takes the lead, the being will appear as a male being in the new spiral cycle. If the being's feminine pole was latent in its last one-poled state, and now breaks through and takes the lead in the being's consciousness, it will be a female being in its new spiral cycle. The being has thus from a sexual point of view a double talent. It can appear as a male being just as well as a female being, and as a female being just as well as a male being. But it appears as a male being or a female being only when it is one-poled. This in turn means that it is a one-poled being mainly in the animal kingdom. In the other kingdoms of the spiral cycle it is double-poled. This is symbolised at the top of the symbol by the two long, horizontal sections that each contain a yellow and a green figure, which indicate the feminine pole and the masculine pole respectively. We see that these poles are equal in the kingdoms of the spiral, with the exception of the animal kingdom and a little part of the plant kingdom. But here the being has as yet almost no physical consciousness. As we have already explained, we see on the symbol the beings' one-poled area in the section symbolising the animal kingdom. The lowest figure symbolises the masculine principle's latent or minimal area of manifestation, while the feminine principle here is the dominating one. And the beings here are female beings, but they are double-poled throughout the next spiral kingdoms until the next animal kingdom. And here the feminine principle in the beings manifests itself at its minimum, while the masculine principle in the beings is the leading or dominating one. And here the beings are thus male beings. These beings will in turn be double-poled throughout the following cosmic spiral kingdoms, and will become female beings again in the animal kingdom following this in order to become male beings again in the next animal kingdom, and so on eternally. We see that the same is symbolised in the uppermost long, horizontal figure. It shows merely that the beings that are male beings exist at the same time as the beings that are female beings in the same animal kingdom. In the next animal kingdom these male beings will become female beings, and the other beings that are female beings in the present animal kingdom will become male beings, and thereafter once again become female beings in the next spiral's animal kingdom, and so on eternally.
      We see here that a being's sexual pole cycle spans two cosmic spiral cycles. In the animal kingdoms of these two cycles the being has thus attained to being a male being and a female being, and has therefore experienced both principles to perfection. The fact that the beings' sexual cycle spans two spiral cycles is an inevitable pre-requisite for the simultaneous existence of male beings and female beings. If these beings did not exist at the same time fertilisation or copulation could not take place. And the animal kingdom or the epoch of darkness would be a total impossibility in the cosmic spiral cycle. And without the experience of darkness no being whatsoever could become a human being in God's image after his likeness. And the spiritual or cosmic worlds in the spiral cycle would be a total impossibility too. And we thus see here that through the pole principle or "the highest fire" the eternal cosmic laws guarantee all existing living beings an unfailing path through darkness to eternal light in the highest cosmic worlds of universal love and bliss, which are the same as "the kingdom of heaven" that has been heralded throughout all ages in various ways.