Soul                                                                                                                                       Dutch: ziel

A human does have a physical body, an ethereal body, a soul and a spirit. The soul is the carrier of normal consciousness. Sometimes it’s also called astral body, star body, because it’s influenced by the stars (astrology). Although there is a nuance here, that will be an other text.

Around the 14th year the soul starts to work from within the human. Before the soul worked more from outside the body. Emotions and thoughts are felt by children as general emotions, coming from outside. From 14th year onwards emotions and thoughts are felt as their own emotions. Besides this the consciousness and Self-experience are seated in the soul. These also start to develop more as an inner, own force, than an outside, uncontrolled and general force comming from outside.

Around the 21st year the spirit starts to work upon the soul and starts to develop it. This happens on 3 different levels in 7 year periods.

Between 21 en 28 the sentient soul is developed further. This part of the soul combines sensations from the physical and ethereal body and creates a livid experience of the outside world. Without it, the observed world would be just unconnected sensations of color, smell, sound, etc. With it, these becomes shapes, music and speech, coherent.

Between 28 en 35 the intellectual soul, or mind-soul is developed further. This part of the soul thinks and feels about the experiences coming from the sentient soul and gives them value, checks if these experiences are true. Truth is not only a matter of thought, also of feeling and by developing the mind-soul, both thinking a feeling become instruments for finding truth.

Between 35 and 42 the conciousness-soul is developing. This reflects on the consciousness itself, if it is truthful. By this process, the soul also develops truth in itself; first thruth is your own truth, but by developing the soul you come further and further to eternal truths, true for the cosmos as a whole.

In the present time the humanity as a whole is developing the consciousness-soul. The consciousness of acting as a group, a nation, as humanity, with al its quality and problems.

Developments in 7 years periods
Theosophy by Rudolf Steiner
Online Theosophy, chapter about the 3 parts of the soul