THE STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

In 1902, Rudolf Steiner at the invitation of theosophists, to whom he had held some lectures on Goethe, was invited to become President of the German section of one of the Theosophical societies at the time. While he accepted and held the position up to 1912, he also stressed that he only would work out of his own spiritual research. But he also for a time used the traditional terms of the theosophical tradition when speaking to theosophists.

Both theosophy and later anthroposophy present a picture of the stages in the development of our present solar system.

In the theosophical tradition the basic stages in the development of our solar system is referred to with the term "root races". This not the case in anthroposophy, as developed separate from the theosophical tradition. In anthroposophy the development of our present solar system is not, as in theosophy, understood or referred to in terms of "races". Instead it is understood and referred to out of the perspective and concept "Earth epochs".

For more on the theosophical concept "root races" and the way the stages in the evolution of our present solar system in anthroposophy, as developed separate from the theosophical tradition, is understood out of a geocentrical perspective in terms of "Earth epochs", see here.

In the theosophical tradition the basic stages in the development of our solar system is referred to with the term "root races". The theosophical term from the end of the 19th century much comes out of the fixation on the concept "race" during Victorian times as part of the efforts to understand evolution at the time. While already the term as such automatically seems to indicate a racist attitude of the one using it, that is not the case.

In anthroposophy the development of our present solar system is not in general, as in theosophy, understood or referred to in terms of "races". Instead it is understood and referred to out of the perspective and concept "Earth epochs". The term focuses on an understanding of the development of our solar system as a reflection of the stages in the development wo/man and Earth. Another reason for Steiner for not using the concept "root race" is that the concept of "race", as it was understood at the beginning of the 20th century is misleading in general as a descriptive term in relation to the development of the solar system and humanity.
 

THE THEOSOPHICAL TERM "ROOT RACES" - NOT A BIOLOGICAL, BUT MAINLY TEMPORAL CONCEPT, REFERRING TO STAGES IN THE EVOLUTION OF OUR PRESENT SOLAR SYSTEM

One point is:
In 1875, the Theosophical Society was founded in New York. In 1902, Rudolf Steiner was invited, and accepted to become the head of one of the two Theosophical Societies in Germany. In the theosophical tradition, one used and still today uses a concept: "root races" to describe stages in the evolution of mankind. In speaking to theosophical audiences, also Rudolf Steiner used the term in question when talking about what it refers to. This seems to indicate that he was a racist.

That is not the case. The term "root race" is not a biological concept, but uses the term "race" in the broad sense that was common in Victorian times to simply refer to "group of humans" or "group of human souls", in the case of "root race" referring to "the human race" or humanity.

Theosophy describes what it refers to as seven sequential "root races" as the basic stages in the evolution of our solar system.

The first of these "root races" refers to humanity as a whole when we only, according to theosophy and anthroposophy, lived as spiritual beings in the womb and care of higher spiritual beings during the first period in the development of our present solar system, from the time before any of the present planets in our solar system was formed up to the the first formation of the planet Saturn.

What theosophy refers to as the second "root race" refers to humanity as a whole during the time from this event up to the first formation of the present Earth as a planetary body separate from the Sun. 

In anthroposophy as developed separate from theosophy, the stages in question, referring to the basic stages in the development of our present solar system, are simply referred to as "Earth epochs".

For more on this, see here.